JPH0547767U - Refrigerator with built-in ice maker - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] It is possible to improve the ice making efficiency by applying cold air almost uniformly to the entire lower surface of the ice tray without being obstructed by the ice storage box placed below the automatic ice making device. To do. [Structure] An ice making chamber 3 is provided, an automatic ice making device 5 is provided in an upper portion of the ice making chamber 3, and an ice storage box 10 is provided below the automatic ice making device 5 so as to face an ice making tray 6 of the automatic ice making device 5. Is arranged so that it can be inserted and removed freely, and the ice blocks that have been frozen in the ice tray 6 of the automatic ice making device 5 are dropped into the ice storage box 10 and stored therein, and cold air is blown onto the bottom wall 9 of the ice making chamber 3. Exit 1
6, a ventilation passage 19 is formed through the side wall of the ice storage box 10 in the vertical direction and faces the air outlet 16, and cool air blown out from the air outlet 16 is passed through the air passage 1 of the ice storage box 10.
It sprays on the lower surface of the ice tray 6 in the automatic ice making device 5 through 9.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to an ice-making device-equipped refrigerator that is equipped with an automatic ice-making device that makes ice blocks using the cold air in the refrigerator.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 In this type of refrigerator with an ice making device, an ice making chamber is formed in the refrigerator, an automatic ice making device is provided at the upper part of the ice making chamber, and an ice storage box is inserted and removed below the automatic ice making device. It is arranged. Then, a cool air outlet is formed in the interior of the ice making chamber, and the cool air is blown into the ice making chamber from this blower outlet.

The automatic ice making device includes a horizontally arranged ice making tray. The ice making tray is made of a synthetic resin having flexibility, and the inside is divided into a plurality of pockets. Then, the water contained in the ice tray is cooled by the cold air blown out from the outlet and gradually freezes to form an ice block for each pocket portion, and then the ice tray is inverted and twisted, and accordingly the ice tray is twisted. Each ice block in the plate peels off and falls, and is stored in the ice storage box below it.

[0004]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, in such conventional refrigerators with built-in ice making equipment, the cool air outlet is located in the interior of the ice making chamber, so that the cool air blown out from this outlet mainly hits the rear side of the ice tray to the front end side. As a result, there is a problem in that the ice is not exposed to a lot of cold air, and as a result, the freezing speed in each pocket portion of the ice tray varies, and the overall freezing speed in the ice tray slows down, which lowers the ice making efficiency.

Therefore, if an outlet for cold air is provided below the ice tray, that is, at the bottom of the ice making chamber, it is possible to apply cold air almost uniformly to the entire lower surface of the ice tray to achieve efficient ice making. However, since the ice storage box is located below the ice tray, even if a blowout port is simply formed at the bottom of the ice making chamber, the ice storage box obstructs the ice tray evenly on the bottom surface of the ice tray. It becomes difficult to apply cold air.

The present invention has been made paying attention to such a point, and its purpose is to apply ice to the entire lower surface of the ice making tray almost uniformly without being obstructed by the ice storage box. An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator with an ice making device capable of improving efficiency.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to achieve such an object, the present invention has an ice making chamber, an automatic ice making device is provided in an upper part of the ice making chamber, and an ice making tray of the automatic ice making device is provided below the automatic ice making device. The ice storage box is arranged so that it can be inserted and removed freely, and an ice block that has been frozen in the ice tray of the automatic ice making device is dropped into the ice storage box and stored, and a cold air outlet is provided on the bottom wall of the ice making chamber. Forming an air passage vertically through the side wall of the ice storage box and facing the air outlet, and cool air blown from the air outlet is passed through the air passage of the ice storage box to make ice in the automatic ice making device. It is designed to be sprayed on the bottom surface of the plate.

[0008]

[Action]

 In such a configuration, cold air is blown out from the air outlet formed on the bottom wall of the ice making chamber, the cold air flows through the air passage formed on the side wall of the ice making box, and the ice tray is made from the air passage. Spills towards the underside of. This cold air diffuses along the entire bottom surface of the ice tray, thus equalizing the freezing speed of water in each pocket of the ice tray and shortening the entire ice completion time.

[0009]

【Example】

 An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 is a refrigerator main body, and inside the refrigerator main body 1, a freezing compartment 2, an ice making compartment 3 and a refrigerating compartment 4 are defined by an insulating wall.

An automatic ice making device 5 is provided in an upper part of the ice making chamber 3, and the automatic ice making device 5 is provided with a horizontally supported ice making tray 6 and a drive unit 7 for reversing the ice making tray 6. The inside of the plate 6 is divided into a plurality of pockets 8. An ice storage box 10 is removably mounted on the bottom wall 9 of the ice making chamber 3 below the automatic ice making device 5 so as to face the ice making tray 6.

A cold air chamber 11 is formed at the back of the freezing chamber 2, and a cooler 12 is housed in the cold air chamber 11. A cool air opening 13 is formed in the upper part of the cool air room 11, a blower fan 14 is provided at the cool air room 13, and a cool air communicating with the cool air room 11 through the cool air room 13 on the front side of the cool air room 11. A passage 15 is formed.

The lower end side of the cold air passage 15 extends to the inside of the bottom wall 9 of the ice making chamber 3, and a pair of slit-shaped outlets 16 communicating with the cold air passage 15 are provided on the upper surface of the bottom wall 9. , 16 are formed in parallel.

As shown in FIG. 1, stepped portions 17, 17 are formed on the opening edges of the outlets 16, 16 so as to slightly expand to the outside thereof. The lower ends of both side walls of the ice storage box 10 arranged on the peripheral wall 9 project downward as leg portions 18 and 18, and these leg portions 18 and 18 are attached to and detached from the step portions 17 and 17 of the outlets 16 and 16. The ice storage box 10 is held in a predetermined position on the bottom wall 9 by this fitting.

On both side walls of the ice storage box 10, slit-shaped ventilation passages 19 and 19 are formed so as to penetrate from the lower end to the upper end, and the lower end surfaces of the ventilation passages 19 and 19 face the outlets 16 and 16. They are aligned and face each other so that the upper end surface faces the lower surface of the ice tray 6 in the automatic ice making device 5.

Reference numeral 20 is a water supply tank provided in the refrigerating chamber 4, and 21 is a water supply pump for replenishing the water in the water supply tank 20 into the ice tray 6 of the automatic ice making device 5 through the water supply pipe 22.

In such a configuration, the air in the cool air chamber 11 is cooled by the cooler 12 to become cool air, and the cool air is sequentially blown into the cool air passage 15 by the blower fan 14. Then, this cold air flows through the cold air passage 15 and is blown out from the air outlets 16, 16 formed in the bottom wall 9 of the ice making chamber 3.

Ventilation passages 19 and 19 formed on the side walls of the ice making box 10 are connected to the air outlets 16 and 16, so that the cool air blown out from the air outlets 16 and 16 flows through these air passages 19 and 19. Then, the cold air flows toward the lower surface of the ice tray 6, and the cold air diffuses along the lower surface of the ice tray 6 over the entire surface.

In this way, the entire lower surface of the ice tray 6 is almost uniformly exposed to the cold air, so that the freezing speed of water in each pocket portion 8 of the ice tray 6 is equalized. Overall freezing time is shortened and ice making efficiency is improved.

After the water in the ice tray 6 is completely frozen, it is detected by a temperature sensor (not shown), and the drive portion 7 is actuated to reverse the ice tray 6 based on this detection. Twisted together, the ice blocks in the ice tray 6 are peeled off, fall downward, and are stored in the ice storage box 10. Then, after that, the ice tray 6 reversely reverses and returns to the horizontal state, and at the same time, the water in the water supply tank 20 is replenished through the water supply pipe 22 by the operation of the water supply pump 21, and the process proceeds to the next ice making step. . Further, the ice blocks stored in the ice storage box 10 can be used for various purposes at any time by removing the ice storage box 10 from the ice making chamber 3.

[0020]

[Effect of the device]

 As described above, according to the present invention, the cold air outlet is formed on the bottom wall of the ice making chamber, and the ventilation passage facing the air outlet is formed on the side wall of the ice storage box. The lower surface of the ice tray can be sprayed through the ventilation path of the ice container without being obstructed by the ice container, so that the entire lower surface of the ice tray can be cooled almost uniformly and the improvement of the ice making efficiency can be reliably achieved. There is an advantage that

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an essential part showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the ice storage box of the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the overall configuration of the same embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 ... Ice making chamber 5 ... Automatic ice making device 6 ... Ice making tray 9 ... Bottom wall 10 ... Ice storage box 16 ... Air outlet 19 ... Ventilation passage

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An ice making chamber, an automatic ice making device is provided in an upper part of the ice making chamber, and an ice storage box is removably arranged below the automatic ice making device so as to face an ice making tray of the automatic ice making device. Then, in the one in which the ice blocks iced in the ice tray of the automatic ice making device are dropped and stored in the ice storage box, a blowout port for cold air is formed on the bottom wall of the ice making chamber, and on the side wall of the ice storage box. An ice making device characterized by forming a ventilation passage that penetrates vertically and opposes the air outlet, and cool air blown out from the air outlet is blown against the lower surface of an ice tray in the automatic ice making device through the air passage of the ice storage box. On-board refrigerator.