JPH0519066B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an ice storage dispenser that stores a large number of small ice cubes and takes out each of the small ice cubes as needed.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, in this type of ice storage dispenser, as shown in US Pat. As the wire auger rotates, it is guided in the axial direction of the wire auger and discharged downward from the discharge port located at the end of the bottom wall of the stocker. In such a case, a plurality of fingers radially fixed perpendicularly to the shaft end of the wire auger are used to break up the ice, which consists of a large number of small pieces of ice located near the discharge port, and facilitate its discharge from the discharge port. There is.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, in such a configuration, each finger is located close to the side wall of the stocker corresponding to the position of the discharge port, so the decomposition of ice as described above is difficult. It was difficult to do it smoothly. In addition, when the guide distance of small ice by wire auger is maximum,
Since the distance is longer than the total axial length of the wire auger, there is a problem that the small ice guiding efficiency is poor and the small ice is easily damaged.

In response to this, as shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-9829, a pair of rotating shafts installed in parallel inside the stocker is rotated, and each of these rotating shafts is directed from both left and right ends toward the center. Each small ice cube is guided toward the center along each axis of rotation by each spiral fin provided around the reverse feed pitch, and each small ice piece guided in this way is transferred to a stocker facing the center of each axis of rotation. It is also conceivable to release the liquid from the outlet. However, in such a case, if the small pieces of ice are frozen, there is a problem that it is difficult to release them from the outlet only by the guidance by the fins.

Therefore, in order to deal with the above-mentioned problems, the present invention improves the quality of a large number of small ice cubes stored in a casing in an ice storage dispenser, regardless of the presence or absence of frozen solids among them. The aim is to always ensure smooth discharge from the discharge port while maintaining the same temperature.

(Means for Solving the Problem) In solving the problem, the structural features of the present invention include a casing for storing a large number of small ice cubes, and a casing for storing small ice such as a large number of ice cubes. In the ice storage dispenser, the ice storage dispenser has a built-in agitator for stirring and guiding small ice, and discharges each small ice stirred and guided by the agitator from the outlet of the casing, from the front wall of the casing. An inner surface with a curved cross section is formed over the bottom wall, and a guide groove is formed from above to below along the middle portion of this inner surface in the left-right direction, and the guide groove opens outward from the upper end of the guide groove through a part of the front wall. the discharge port is formed so as to a longitudinal guide member extending in the radial direction from an intermediate portion of the shaft so as to be loosely fit into the guide groove; and a helical wire disposed around at least one of the left and right parts of the rotation shaft. and the spiral wire is provided around the left and right parts of the rotating shaft at opposite feed pitches.

(Function) By configuring the present invention in this way, when each small piece of ice guided by a spiral wire falls into the guide groove, each of these pieces of ice is sequentially guided by the guide member along the guide groove. and is pushed up and released from the outlet. In such a case, each small ice cube stored in the casing for a long period of time
Even if the ice on each surface melts and then refreezes, the ice becomes a large block of ice.
The helical wire and guide member push up along the curved cross-sectional inner surface, collapse and rise, and after reaching the highest position, due to its own weight, it collapses onto the remaining ice located behind the agitator. After the ice block is separated into small pieces of ice that remain almost in their original shape, they are released from the outlet in the same manner as described above. Furthermore, since the spiral wires are arranged around the left and right parts of the rotating shaft at opposite feed pitches, when the agitator is rotated, each of the wires moves in the casing. Each small piece of ice located nearby is guided from both left and right sides toward the intermediate portion of the rotating shaft while being stirred by each of the wires.

(Effect) Therefore, even if the small ice cubes are frozen together in the casing, the small ice cubes are easily separated from each other and discharged from the discharge port as described above, so that the ice cubes are not frozen inside the casing. As long as there is ice, it is possible to always ensure timely release of small ice from the outlet, and each small ice guided to the intermediate portion of the rotating shaft is guided to the outlet by the rotation shaft. This is achieved by the guide member and the guide groove located in the intermediate region. Further, since the distance over which each small ice cube is stirred and guided by the agitator is shorter than the axial length of the rotating shaft, quality deterioration due to damage caused by stirring and guiding each small ice cube does not occur.

(Embodiment) Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 to 3 show an ice storage dispenser according to the present invention, and this ice storage dispenser has a box-shaped housing 10. It is constructed by assembling a stocker 20 and a drive mechanism 30 in the upper part. The stocker 20 includes a casing 20a that stores a large number of ice cubes.
0a is formed by interposing a layer of heat insulating material between a pair of metal plates. Front wall 21 of casing 20a
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, an inclined wall 21a is provided at the corner of the base wall 22 and the bottom wall 22, and the inner surface of the inclined wall 21a has an arcuate cross section from the top to the bottom. ing. In addition, the inclined wall 21
A guide groove 23 is formed in the left and right center portions of the inner surface of a and the inner right and left center portions of the bottom wall 22, and has an arcuate cross section from the top to the bottom.
The width and depth of No. 3 are set to values that make it easy to guide the ice cube from the bottom to the top along the guide groove. Further, at the upper end of the guide groove 23, a discharge port 23a is formed on the inclined wall 21a.
The outlet 23a is formed to open toward the outlet 11 of the housing 10 through the outlet 23a, and the opening area of the outlet 23a is determined to facilitate discharging the ice cubes downward. Note that the inner surface of the bottom wall 22 has a casing 20a so as to easily guide the ice cubes to the front part thereof.
The closer it gets to the rear wall 24, the more it curves upward.

Inside the casing 20a, the azidata 26 is
The azimuth data 26 is assembled so as to be positioned parallel to the inclined wall 21a.
a, a guide member 27, and a pair of left and right spiral wires 28, 29. Rotation axis 26
A is rotatably supported at both left and right ends of the left and right walls 25a and 25b of the casing 20a via respective bearings, and is located parallel to the inner surface of the inclined wall 21a in the left-right direction. , this rotation axis 2
The center portion of 6a coincides with the center of the arc formed by the bottom surface of the guide groove 23. However, the rotation axis 26a
is located closer to the front wall 21 than the center of the casing 20a in the longitudinal direction.

The guide member 27 has a cylindrical boss 27a fitted into the center of the rotation shaft 26a.
A pair of rods 27b and 27c are fitted into the shaft 26a so as to extend at right angles to the center of the rotating shaft 26a and in opposite directions. Both rods 27b,
Each rod 27d, 27e is attached to the tip of 27c.
are fixed in a T-shape, and the lengths of these rods 27d and 27e and the above-mentioned rods 2
The length of each rod 27a, 27b is
When the rod 27d or 27e is rotated in conjunction with the rotation shaft 26a, the rod 27d or 27e can be easily moved along the guide groove 23.

The wire 28 is provided around the left side of the rotation shaft 26a, and both ends of the wire 28 are fixed to both ends of the left side of the rotation shaft 26a. On the other hand, the wire 29 is provided around the right side of the rotating shaft 26a, and both ends of the wire 29 are fixed to both ends of the right side of the rotating shaft 26a. In such a case, both wires 28 and 29 are
At each rotation, the ice cubes are formed at opposite feeding pitches so that the ice cubes are guided and stirred from both left and right ends of the rotation shaft 26a toward the center. In FIG. 4, reference numerals 28a and 29a indicate auxiliary rods for supporting the intermediate portions of the wires 28 and 29 on a part of the rotating shaft 26a.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the drive mechanism 30 rotates a rotating shaft 26a by a sprocket 32, a chain 33, and a sprocket 34 in response to the drive of a geared motor 31 assembled on the lower surface of the bottom wall 22 of the casing 20a. It is configured to rotate. In this case, the sprocket 32 is pivotally supported by the output shaft of the geared motor 31, while the sprocket 34 is pivotally supported by the right outer end portion of the rotation shaft 26a. Further, the chain 33 is wound around both sprockets 32 and 34. Note that the geared motor 31 is connected to the operation panel 1 of the housing 10.
It is driven by turning on the power switch provided at 2. In addition, in FIGS. 1 and 2, the reference numeral 13
indicates the ice catcher.

In this embodiment configured as described above, it is assumed that a large number of ice cubes are stored in the casing 20a of the stocker 20. In this state, when the power switch is turned on, the geared motor 31 rotates and both sprockets 32 and 34 are turned on.
And the chain 33 rotates the rotation shaft 26a of the azimuth data 26. Then both wires 28,2
A plurality of ice cubes located near the same wire 2
The rotation shaft 26 is stirred by each wire 28, 29 in accordance with the rotation interlocked with the rotation shaft 26a of 8, 29.
It is guided from both left and right sides toward the center of a.
Then, each ice cube guided in this way is guided through the guide groove 2.
3, each of these ice cubes is sequentially guided along the guide groove 23 by the rod 27d or 27e of the guide member 27, pushed up, passes through the outlet 23a by its own weight, and reaches a cup (not shown) in the outlet 11. ) to fall within. Note that the ice cubes spilled from the cup are stored in the ice receiver 13.

By the way, in the above-described operation, the ice cubes that had been stored in the casing 20a for a long period of time were refrozen after their respective surfaces had melted, and were integrated with each other to form a large ice block. However, this ice block is pushed up along the inner surface of the inclined wall 21a having an arcuate cross section by the wires 28, 29 of the agitator 26 and the guide member 27, and is pushed up while collapsing. After the collapsing ice block that has been raised in this way reaches its highest position, it further collapses and descends behind the agitator 26 due to its own weight.

In other words, the ice block existing behind the azimuth data 26 moves forward along the curved inner surface of the bottom wall 22, and is pushed up by the azimuth data 26 along the inner surface of the inclined wall 21a, collapsing and rising up. Then, by repeating the process of descending onto the remaining ice existing behind the azidata 26 by its own weight, the ice block is separated into individual ice cubes in almost their original state, and then the above-mentioned process is performed. Similarly, it passes through the discharge port 23a and falls into the cup. In this way, even if the ice cubes are mutually frozen, the ice cubes are easily separated from each other and discharged from the outlet 23a in the same manner as described above, so that no ice cubes exist in the stocker 20. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of a situation in which the liquid cannot be ejected from the ejection port 23a even though the ejection port 23a is used.

Further, the distance that each ice cube is stirred and guided by the agitator 26 is only equivalent to approximately half the length of the rotating shaft 26a, and the distance of each ice cube guided to the center of the rotating shaft 26a is released. Since guidance to the outlet 23 is achieved by the guide member 27 and the guide groove 23 located in the center block of the rotating shaft 26a, quality deterioration such as breakage of each ice cube hardly occurs.

Furthermore, in such a case, the above-mentioned operation is realized by providing the rotation shaft 26a closer to the front than the front-rear center of the casing 20a, so that the maximum rotation radius of the azimuth data 26 is reduced. As a result, the output torque of the drive mechanism 30 can be reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a right side view of the same, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the same (with the top wall removed), and FIG. FIG. 2 is an enlarged partially cutaway perspective view of the stocker shown in FIG. 1; Explanation of symbols, 20...Stotzker, 20a...
Casing, 21...front wall, 21a...slanted wall,
22...Bottom wall, 23...Guide groove, 23a...Discharge port, 26...Azidata, 26a...Rotation shaft, 2
7... Guide member, 28, 29... Wire.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. This device includes a casing for storing a large number of small ice cubes, and an agitator rotatably provided within the casing to stir and guide each small ice cube. In an ice storage dispenser that discharges each small ice that is stirred and guided by an agitator from a discharge port of the casing, an inner surface with a curved cross section is formed from the front wall to the bottom wall of the casing, and the middle of this inner surface in the left and right direction. A guide groove is formed from above to below along the part, and the discharge port is formed so as to open outward from the upper end of the guide groove through a part of the front wall, and further, the agitator is a rotating shaft located parallel to the inner surface in the left-right direction and rotatably supported on both left and right walls of the casing; An ice storage dispenser characterized in that it is formed by an extended longitudinal guide member and a spiral wire provided around at least one of the left and right parts of the rotating shaft. 2. The ice storage dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the helical wire is provided around the left and right parts of the rotating shaft, respectively, with opposite feed pitches.