JPH05240541A - Falling type icemaker - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve assembling properties by separately forming an icemaking unit and an ice storage box and to easily coupling the both. CONSTITUTION:A refrigerating mechanism 4, etc., is mounted on a heat insulation bottom wall 31A and an icemaking mechanism 6 is mounted on a vertical heat insulation partition wall 31B by using a board 31 having the wall 31A and the wall 31B standing from an end of the wall 31A to constitute an icemaking unit 2. On the other hand, a step 47 for engaging the unit 2 is provided on an upper end of an ice storage box 3, the wall 31A of the board 31 is engaged with the step 47, and clamped fixedly with clamping screws 48, 48.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a downflow type ice making machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a technique prior to the present invention, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-62
There is a configuration example of a downflow type ice making machine shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. 141478/1989.

According to this publication, an ice making unit composed of a condensing unit and an ice making mechanism and an ice storage unit for mounting the ice making unit on the upper surface are mounted, and the upper end surface of the ice storage unit and the lower end surface of the ice making unit are flat. In order to position the connection between the two, a component which is a mounting portion (mounting portion 13 shown in FIG. 2 of the publication) separately provided on the upper end surface of the ice storage portion is used.

Further, the connection is performed by horizontally tightening a screw (the screw 15 shown in FIG. 2 of the publication).

[0005]

However, with the assembly structure shown in the above publication, a mounting portion for a separate member must be provided on the ice storage portion side, and the number of parts increases and the structure of the ice storage portion itself becomes complicated. Become. Also, since the screw tightening direction is horizontal,
However, there is a drawback that the upper end surface of the ice storage unit and the lower end surface of the ice making unit cannot be firmly adhered.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a downflow type ice making machine which is easy to assemble, strongly combines both the ice making unit and the ice storage unit, reduces the manufacturing cost, and has a more compact structure.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises an ice making mechanism,
In a downflow type ice making machine consisting of a freezing mechanism unit that cools the ice making mechanism unit and an ice storage that stores the ice made in the ice making mechanism unit, a fitting step is formed inside the upper ends of the opposite side walls. The above-mentioned refrigeration mechanism part is installed on the ice storage structure having an opened upper surface and the heat insulation bottom wall, and the refrigeration mechanism part is installed on the heat insulation partition wall standing from the end of the heat insulation bottom wall so as to be located on the opposite side to the refrigeration mechanism part. The ice making unit is equipped with an ice making mechanism, and the heat insulating bottom wall of the ice making unit is fitted to the step and fixed on the ice storage.

[0008]

The freezing mechanism section and the ice making mechanism section are partitioned by the heat insulating partition wall, and the ice making unit section is mounted on the substrate and integrated with each other. On the other hand, an ice storage is manufactured separately from the ice making unit. The ice making unit is placed on the ice storage, and the ice making unit is easily combined with the ice storage to assemble the flow-down type ice making machine.

In the ice making unit portion on the upper surface of the ice storage, the portion corresponding to the ice making mechanism portion in the upper surface opening of the ice storage is connected in an unobstructed manner to secure an ice fall path.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The flow-down type ice making machine 1 is structurally composed of two components, an ice making unit 2 and an ice storage 3.

In the ice making unit 2, the freezing mechanism 4 such as the condensing unit 22 is installed on the heat insulating bottom wall, and the ice making mechanism 6 is installed on the heat insulating partition wall standing at the end of the heat insulating bottom wall. The structure is such that it is mounted so as to be located on the side opposite to the mechanical section. The ice making mechanism unit 6 includes a water circulation unit for ice making water.

Next, the ice making mechanism 6 will be described.
The ice making mechanism part 6 has an uneven ice making surface, and a pair of ice making plates 7 and 7 arranged substantially vertically opposite to each other, a cooling pipe 8 arranged between the back surfaces of the ice making plates 7 and 7, and an ice making surface on the ice making surface. An ice making water sprinkler 9 for sprinkling water, an ice making water sprinkler 10 for flowing the ice making water on the back surfaces of the ice making plates 7, 7 at the time of ice breaking, a water tub 11 and a water storage tank 12 are integrally formed, and an overflow hose After being stored in the water collector 13 having 20, the water circulation part 16 is circulated as ice making water to the ice making sprinkler 9 through the pipe 15 by the pump 14.

On the other hand, a freezing mechanism portion 4 for cooling the ice making mechanism portion 6 and the like are housed in the machine room 5. That is,
An electric compressor 18 and a condenser 1 which are connected together with the cooling pipe 8 by a refrigerant pipe 17 to form a refrigeration cycle.
9, condenser fan 21, and capillary tube 3
First, the condensing unit 22 composed of 0 or the like is stored. In addition, an electrical equipment box 23 containing a control device that controls the operation of the refrigeration cycle and the water supply to the ice making mechanism 6,
Furthermore, a hot gas valve 2 additionally provided in the refrigeration cycle
The hot gas circuit having 4 and the water supply pipe 26 having the water supply valve 25 are also arranged.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the freezing mechanism portion 4 and the ice making mechanism portion 6 are made of a heat insulating material, and the heat insulating bottom wall 31A and the heat insulating partition wall 3 standing upright at the end thereof.
It is mounted on a substrate 31 made of 1B.

That is, the condensing unit 22, the electrical equipment box 23, etc. are installed on the heat insulating bottom wall 31A of the substrate 31, while the ice making mechanism 6 is mounted on the substrate 31 by the mounting bracket 32.
It is attached to the heat insulating partition wall 31B which is erected from the end of the. The refrigerant pipe 7, the water supply pipe 26 and the like penetrate the heat insulating partition plate 31B and are pipe-connected to the ice making mechanism unit 6. In this way, the ice-making unit 2 is configured by integrally mounting the freezing mechanism 4 and the like and the ice-making mechanism 6 on the substrate 31, except for the water collector 13 to be attached later.

Reference numeral 33 is a heat insulating cover case that covers the ice making mechanism 6, and has a bottom surface and a front surface opened. The lower end of the heat insulating cover case 33 has an inner box 3 of the ice storage 3 on the inner surface side.
A projecting edge 34 formed by lowering the upper end surface of a is provided. The action of the protruding edge 34 will be described later. The top plate 36 covers the upper surface of the machine room 5 and is attached to the upper surface of the heat insulating cover case 33. An outside air suction port 38 is formed in the front plate 37 provided in the front surface of the machine room 5, and an outside air discharge port 39 for discharging the air after heat exchange is formed in the top plate 36.

On the other hand, in the ice storage 3 having an upper surface opening 40 formed by filling the heat insulating material 41 between the inner box 3a and the outer box 3b, an ice storage door 42 is provided on the front surface thereof so as to be openable and closable back and forth. In addition, a door mask 4 that prevents ice from spilling from the side when the ice storage door 42 is opened behind it.
4 is openable and closable.

In the ice storage 3, as shown in FIG. 5, stepped portions 47 for fitting the heat insulating bottom wall 31A of the substrate 31 of the ice making unit 2 into the upper ends of the left and right side walls 46, 46. , 47 are formed. This step 47,
47 can be integrally provided at the time of molding the inner box 3a, and is cut out from the front end at the depth of the thickness of the heat insulating bottom wall 31A and the depth dimension.

Therefore, the assembled ice making unit 2 is
The ice-making unit 2 is assembled by fitting the stepped portions 47, 47 and positioning them on the ice storage 3, and then screwing the fixing screws 48, 48 in the vertical direction to tighten and fix them. As a result, the lower end surface of the ice making unit 2 and the upper end surface of the ice storage 3 can be firmly and firmly fixed to each other, and the both can be surely combined and fixed. 49 and 50 are fixing screws 4 respectively
8 and 48 show mounting holes on the board side and the step portion 47 side.

After the ice making unit 2 is placed and fixed on the ice storage 3 in this manner, the water collector 13 is mounted on the ice making unit 2 from inside the ice storage 3. That is, the inner wall 3h of the ice storage 3
After the back end of the water collector 13 is locked to the support fitting 51 provided at the bottom, the front end side of the water collector 13 is fastened and fixed to the heat insulating bottom wall 31A of the substrate 31 with the screw 52. ..

An ice storage sensor 53 detects the amount of ice storage so that the ice making operation can be stopped and started according to the amount of ice storage in the ice storage 3, and is mounted on the back wall 3h. A drain pipe 54 drains the water in the ice storage 3.

Explaining how to assemble, the ice making unit 2 is placed on the ice storage 3 by fitting the heat insulating bottom wall 31A of the substrate 31 and the step 47, and is fastened with fixing screws 48, 48. .. Next, the water collector 13 is attached from the inside of the ice storage 3. Then, the heat insulating cover case 33 is covered on the ice making mechanism 6 to insulate the ice making mechanism 6 from the outside. Finally, the front plate 37, a unit panel (not shown), and the top plate 36 are attached to complete the assembly of the product. After the product is completed, the ice making unit 2 can be pulled out by sliding the stepped portions 47, 47, which facilitates repair and maintenance.

Thus, the ice storage 3 and the ice making unit 2 are
By making each of them into a separable structure, and by making the ice storage 3 and the ice making unit 2 separately, it is possible to easily connect them to each other and to improve the assemblability.

In the downflow type ice making machine 1 which has been assembled, as shown in FIG. 2, the protruding edge 34 at the lower end of the heat insulating cover case 33 extends below the upper end surface of the inner box 3a of the ice storage 3. Because of the structure, the water droplets that flow along the inner surface of the heat insulating cover case 33 do not flow toward the joint surface between the heat insulating cover case 33 and the ice storage case 3 and flow out of the ice storage case 3 inside. Be surely collected.

The ice making operation is as follows.

While the electric compressor 18 is operated to circulate the refrigerant in the cooling pipe 8 to cool the ice making plates 7 and 7, the ice making water is repeatedly flowed down from the ice making sprinkler 9 to the ice making plates. Ice blocks i are formed at 7, 7. When the refrigeration cycle is temporarily stopped by time control, hot gas flows in the cooling pipe 8 for a certain period of time, and at the same time, ice-breaking water flows down from the ice-breaker sprinkler 10, and the ice blocks i are deiced from the ice making plates 7 and 7. Store in ice storage 3. Ice accumulates in the ice storage 3 as indicated by a chain double-dashed line M in FIG. The ice is taken out with a scoop or the like by opening the ice storage door 42. When the ice storage amount decreases, the ice storage sensor 53 starts the ice making operation.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, the ice-making mechanism unit and the freezing mechanism unit are heat-insulated and attached to the substrate to form a unit, that is, the ice-making unit unit is installed in the ice storage. The assembly is almost completed by just tightening the fixing screw from the top, and the connecting surface between the ice making unit and the ice storage is firmly adhered, the heat insulating effect is excellent, and the assembly work is easy and robust. Further, it is possible to provide a downflow type ice making machine which can be made compact.

Further, a step portion for fitting with the ice making unit portion can be provided on the upper end surface of the ice storage so that the positioning at the time of assembling can be sufficient, and the step portion for fitting can be formed at the time of forming the inner box of the ice storage. It can be integrally formed and it is not difficult to provide it.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a downflow type ice making machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an ice making mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional side view of a downflow type ice making machine.

FIG. 4 is an assembly exploded view of a downflow type ice making machine.

FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of an ice making unit and an ice storage.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 ice making unit part 3 ice storage 4 freezing mechanism part 6 ice making mechanism part 31 substrate 31A heat insulating bottom wall of substrate 31B heat insulating partition wall of substrate 47 step portion 48 fixing screw

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A downflow type ice making machine comprising an ice making mechanism part, a freezing mechanism part for cooling the ice making mechanism part, and an ice storage for storing ice made in the ice making mechanism part. An ice storage with a heat insulating structure with a step opening for fitting is formed inside the part, and the freezing mechanism part is installed on the heat insulating bottom wall, and is frozen on the heat insulating partition wall standing from the end of the heat insulating bottom wall. The ice making unit is equipped with the ice making mechanism so as to be located on the side opposite to the mechanism, and the ice making unit is mounted on the ice storage box with its heat insulating bottom wall fitted to the step. A flowing-down ice machine characterized by being fixed.