JPH055410Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Industrial application field This invention relates to an ice-making water tank for an automatic ice-making machine, and more specifically, to immediately melt the flocculent ice that forms over time in the ice-making water circulation path of an automatic ice-making machine. The present invention relates to a structure of an ice-making water tank configured to avoid interruptions in the supply of ice-making water to an ice-making section and to effectively prevent the formation of cloudy ice that is undesirable in appearance.

PRIOR ART The present invention provides an ice-making water tank for quickly melting flocculent ice that is generated over time in the ice-making water circulation path while circulating and supplying the ice-making water stored in the ice-making water tank to the ice-making section. Regarding the structure, first, the cause of the formation of flocculent ice will be explained using a conventionally known open cell type automatic ice making machine as an example. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of an automatic ice making machine that employs an ice making water tank according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but since the basic configuration is the same as before, Fig. 2 is used for convenience. Refer to and explain.

The illustrated automatic ice making machine has an ice making section 10 that makes ice.
, an ice-making water tank 12 that stores ice-making water at a predetermined level, and an ice-making water tank 12 that stores ice-making water at a predetermined level;
Basically, it is equipped with a pump 14 that circulates and supplies water. The ice-making section 10 is disposed inside and above a casing (not shown) of the ice-making machine, has a large number of ice-making chambers 16 defined to open downward, and is disposed in close contact with the top surface of the ice-making chambers 16, and has a refrigeration system ( (not shown). Below the ice-making chamber 16, an ice guide plate 20 is arranged at an angle, which is provided with a number of slits 20a that do not allow ice cubes to pass through, but allow ice-making water (including cotton ice, which will be described later) to pass through. Ice making water tank 1 below the guide plate 20
A water receiving plate 22 (described later), which constitutes a part of the water receiving plate 2, is located.

The ice-making water tank 12 includes a water receiving plate 2 that primarily collects ice-making water that falls without freezing in the ice-making section 10 through the slit 20a of the ice guide plate 20.
2, and a storage chamber 24 communicating with the water receiving plate 22 and facing the inlet of the pump 14. Below the water receiving plate 22 in the ice-making water tank 12, an ice falling port 26 having a rectangular opening 26a is formed upright in the shape of a rectangular cylinder. It opens diagonally downward and is positioned so that it can receive ice cubes sliding down on the ice guide plate 20 and guide them to an ice storage (not shown) located directly below. In addition, an enclosure frame 28 surrounding the ice making compartment 16
The curtain 30 fixed to the lower end of the ice guide plate 20 hangs between the lower end of the ice guide plate 20 and the opening 26a, and can prevent the ice making water that has fallen onto the ice guide plate 20 from scattering. In addition, an overflow pipe 32 is arranged in the storage chamber 24 of the ice-making water tank 12.
Excess ice-making water is discharged to the outside through this.

The pump 14 facing the storage chamber 24 is connected to a motor 34 disposed above it and rotated,
The storage chamber 2 is supplied from the external water supply system via the water supply valve 36.
Ice-making water stored at a predetermined water level in the water supply pipe 38 and the ice guide plate 20 can be injected from a nozzle 40 located below the water supply pipe 38 and the ice guide plate 20 .
The ice-making water injected from the nozzle 40 passes through the ice guide plate 2
The ice making chamber 1 is inserted through the slit 20a drilled at 0.
6, some of which is cooled in the ice making compartment 1.
It freezes on the inner wall surface of 6 and gradually grows as ice cubes. Further, the ice-making water that has not been frozen falls as it is, is collected by the water receiving plate 22 through the slit 20a of the ice guide plate, and is returned to the storage chamber 24 for circulation again.

When ice cube production in the ice making chamber 16 is completed, an appropriate sensor detects this and stops the ice making operation.
By switching the valves of the cooling system, a deicing operation is started in which hot gas is supplied to the evaporation tube 18, the frozen surface between the ice making chamber 16 and the ice cubes is melted, and the ice cubes are allowed to fall under their own weight. The ice cubes that have fallen from the ice making compartment 16 slide down the ice guide plate 20 arranged at an angle and reach the ice making water tank 12.
The ice is stored in an ice storage (not shown) through the ice falling port 26 opened in the above.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention In the above-mentioned automatic ice making machine, most of the ice making water that is injected from the nozzle 40 and comes into contact with the ice making chamber 16 during the ice making operation falls down with a temperature drop due to heat exchange. It returns to the storage chamber 24 and is circulated again. Therefore, as the ice-making operation progresses, the entire temperature of the ice-making water stored in the storage chamber 24 reaches 0°C.
When the cooled ice-making water contacts the ice-making chamber 16 again, it finally becomes supercooled. When ice-making water is supercooled in this way, it begins to freeze with impurities in the water as its core.
Incomplete ice having a cotton-like or mud-like appearance (hereinafter referred to as "cotton ice") is generated in ice-making water.

This cotton ice returns to the ice-making water tank 12 together with the ice-making water that did not freeze, floats on the surface of the ice-making water in the tank, and is sucked into the pump 14 during ice-making operation, causing the pump chamber to become clogged. nozzle 40
This is causing problems such as clogging. It has been empirically confirmed that this phenomenon is more likely to occur as the ice making water injected into the ice making chamber 16 is cooled in a shorter time and the amount of ice made is larger.

If the cotton ice blocks the pump 14 and the nozzle 40 in this way, the pump discharge amount will pulsate, the amount of injection from the nozzle 40 will decrease, and eventually the circulation of the ice-making water will stop. Furthermore, if the amount of cotton ice generated in the ice-making chamber 16 is reduced or the injection stop time is prolonged as described above, the appearance will be poor and cloudy ice with low commercial value will be produced. .

As one solution to deal with the occurrence of this cotton ice, for example, the Utility Model Application Publication No.
The invention of No. 38664 has been proposed. This idea is
As shown in FIG. 7, the ice making water tank 12 is connected to a water receiving plate 22 for collecting ice making water from the ice making section 10, and a first storage chamber that communicates with the water receiving plate 22 and faces the inlet of the pump 14. 24, and a second storage chamber 4 which is partitioned from the water receiving plate 22 by a first partition plate 42 and from the first storage chamber 24 by a second partition plate 44.
6. In addition, the second partition plate 44 has
A through hole 44a is bored through which the first storage chamber 24 and the second storage chamber 46 communicate with each other and allow ice-making water to flow therethrough.

The ice making water in this first storage chamber 24 is pumped 14
The water is constantly circulated, and the water temperature gradually decreases as the ice-making operation progresses. However, since the ice-making water in the second storage chamber 46 is stagnant with almost no circulation, the water temperature is maintained warmer than that of the ice-making water in the first storage chamber 24. In this state, when the aforementioned cotton ice is generated, the cotton ice partially adheres to the water circulation path such as the ice making chamber 16, the ice guide plate 20, the water receiving plate 22, etc., and accumulates, and therefore, the cotton ice accumulates in the first storage chamber 24. It is assumed that the water level will decrease. Therefore, the relatively warm water in the second storage chamber 46 is transferred to the pump 1 in the first storage chamber 24 through the through hole 44a.
It is thought that the cotton ice present near the inlet can be effectively melted by the difference in water temperature.

However, when the ice making water tank according to this proposal is actually implemented, the ice making chamber 16 opens downward, the ice guide plate 20 has a slit 20a, and the water receiving plate 22 has the required slope. Therefore, when the injection of ice-making water is stopped due to the generation of cotton ice, most of the cotton ice that exists in the water circulation path is
It was found that the ice flows down together with the unfrozen ice-making water and is collected in the first storage chamber 24. At this time, the drop in the water level in the first storage chamber 24 is smaller than previously assumed, and therefore the relatively warm water from the second storage chamber 46 flows into the first storage chamber 24.
The proportion flowing into the storage chamber 24 was also small. Rather, by stopping the injection of ice-making water, all the ice-making water in the water circulation path is collected into the first storage chamber 24 and the water level rises, and the water temperature in the first storage chamber 24 does not rise as much as expected, causing cotton ice to There was still a problem in melting it quickly. That is, the cotton ice in this case melts slowly due to heat from the outside of the ice-making water tank 12, frictional heat from the pump 14, etc., and cannot be melted in a short time.

Purpose of the invention The present invention was devised to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is capable of immediately melting cotton ice that inevitably occurs as the ice making operation progresses with a simple configuration. In this manner, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel means capable of avoiding interruptions in the supply of ice making water to an ice making section and effectively preventing the formation of cloudy ice that is undesirable in appearance.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems and achieve the intended purpose, the present invention provides an ice-making section for making ice, an ice-making water tank for storing ice-making water, and an ice-making section in the tank. The ice-making water tank is connected to a water receiving plate that collects ice-making water falling from the ice-making unit, and the water receiving plate is connected to the water receiving plate so that the inlet of the pump faces the ice-making water tank. a first storage chamber; and a second storage chamber partitioned from the water receiving plate by a first partition plate and from the first storage chamber by a second partition plate; In an automatic ice maker configured such that a storage chamber and a second storage chamber communicate with each other through a through hole formed in a second partition plate, ice-making water is allowed to pass between the water receiving plate and the first storage chamber. , a water passage plate is disposed to block the passage of cotton ice, and the first partition plate is configured to separate the first partition plate from the water receiving plate when cotton ice is generated and the water passage plate blocks the passage of cotton ice. It is characterized by being set at a height that allows ice-making water or cotton ice to flow into the second storage chamber.

Embodiment Next, the ice-making water tank of the automatic ice-making machine according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings as a preferred embodiment in which the ice-making water tank is applied to the above-mentioned open cell type automatic ice-making machine. The basic structure of the open-cell automatic ice maker is as described in connection with FIG. 2, and therefore, the same members will be designated by the same reference numerals and detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

FIGS. 1 to 3 schematically show the configuration of the ice-making water tank according to this embodiment, which basically has the same configuration as explained above in connection with FIG. 7. . That is, the ice making water tank 12 is the same as the ice making section 10.
a water receiving plate 22 for collecting ice-making water from the water receiving plate 22; a first storage chamber 24 communicating with the water receiving plate 22 and facing the inlet of the pump 14; It is partitioned by a partition plate 42, and the first storage chamber 24 is divided into a second storage chamber 46 partitioned by a second partition plate 44. At the center of the diagonally lower part of the water receiving plate 22, the ice falling port 26 described above is formed upright, and a second storage chamber is formed between the horizontal wall 26b of the ice falling port 26 and the horizontal wall 12a of the ice making water tank 12. 4
6 is defined. Further, a first storage chamber 24 is defined at the lower left inner corner of the ice-making water tank 12 and communicates with the water receiving plate 22 and the second storage chamber 46, respectively.

A first partition plate 42 is removably disposed in a passage formed between the right side wall 26c of the ice falling port 26 and the right side wall 12b of the ice-making water tank 12. A storage chamber 46 is partitioned off. In addition, a second partition plate 4
4 is removably arranged, thereby partitioning the second storage chamber 46 and the first storage chamber 24. A through hole 44a of a required size is opened at a suitable location in the second partition plate 44, and the second storage chamber 46 and the first storage chamber 24 are communicated through the through hole 44a.

Further, between the left side wall 26d of the ice falling port 26 and the left side wall 12c of the ice making water tank 12, ice making water is allowed to pass through the passage communicating between the water receiving plate 22 and the first storage chamber 24. A water passage plate 48 is provided which is configured to block the passage of cotton ice. This water passage plate 48, for example, as shown in FIG. 4a,
The mesh body 48a of the required mesh is formed into a rectangular frame body 48.
It is also possible to have a structure in which a rectangular plate 48c is provided with a slit 48b of a required size, as shown in FIG. 4b. In either case, it is required that the cotton ice clog the net 48a and the slits 48d, preventing their passage, and allowing only the ice-making water to pass through. Note that the water passage plate 48 is connected to the left side wall 26d of the ice falling port 26 and the left side wall 12c of the ice making water tank 12.
It is preferable that the ice-making water tank 12 and the water passage plate 48 be removably fitted into the fitting grooves 50 and 52 formed in the ice-making water tank 12 and the water passage plate 48, respectively, by removing the water passage plate 48 as necessary. .

Further, the height of the first partition plate 42 is such that as the ice-making operation progresses, fluff ice is generated and the water passing plate 42 is
The dimensions are set to allow the ice-making water and cotton ice accumulated in the water receiving plate 22 to flow into the second storage chamber 46 from the water receiving plate 22 side when the water receiving plate 22 blocks the cotton ice from passing through. There is. That is, during normal ice-making operation when cotton ice is not generated in the water circulation path, the first partition plate 42 is set to be slightly higher than, or at least the same height as, the circulating water level in the water receiving plate 22. There is.

Effects of the Embodiment The effects of the ice-making water tank of the automatic ice-making machine according to the embodiment configured as described above will be described below.

Tap water supplied from the water supply valve 36 connected to the external water supply system is stored in the first storage chamber 24 up to a predetermined water level via the slit 20a of the ice guide plate 20 and the water receiving plate 22 of the ice making water tank 12. . Also the second
Ice-making water is also stored in the storage chamber 46, and the water temperature in both storage chambers 24, 46 has reached room temperature as shown in the diagram a-b in FIG. When the ice-making operation is started, the ice-making water in the first storage chamber 24 is sucked by the pump 14, and is injected and supplied from the nozzle 40 to the ice-making chamber 16 that opens downward, and a part of it is kept cooled in the ice-making chamber 16. The ice making water is cooled on the inner wall surface of the ice making water tank 12 through the slit 20a of the ice guide plate 20 while the temperature decreases due to heat exchange.
The water falls onto the water receiving plate 22. This ice-making water passes through the aforementioned water passage plate 48 provided between the water receiving plate 22 and the first storage chamber 24, returns to the first storage chamber 24,
The ice is again circulated and supplied to the ice making chamber 16 by the pump 14. By repeating this water circulation cycle, the temperature of the ice-making water in the first storage chamber 24 gradually decreases as the ice-making operation progresses (diagram b-c in FIG. 6). Note that since the second storage chamber 46 is isolated from the other first storage chambers 24 and the water receiving plate 22 by the first partition plate 42 and the second partition plate 44, there is almost no movement of ice-making water, so this Second storage chamber 4
The temperature of the ice-making water in No. 6 is kept relatively warm.

As the ice-making operation progresses further, the ice-making water is finally supercooled and reaches below 0°C (as shown in line c-c in Figure 6).
d) Then, as mentioned earlier, the cotton ice is in the ice making compartment 1.
6, and falls onto the water receiving plate 22 of the ice making water tank 12 through the slit 20a of the ice guide plate 20 together with the supercooled ice making water, and then further
Head to the storage chamber 24. However, since a water passage plate 48 is disposed between the water receiving plate 22 and the first storage chamber 24 and has the function of allowing ice-making water to pass through but blocking the passage of cotton ice, this cotton ice The cotton ice and the ice-making water in which it is suspended cannot be returned to the first storage chamber 24 because they are trapped in the water passage plate 48 and cannot be returned to the first storage chamber 24 . At this time, the pump 14 continues to pump ice-making water toward the nozzle 40 even though some cotton ice is mixed in the ice-making water in the first storage chamber 24, so that the cotton ice is The subsequent ice-making water mixed with cotton ice, which is captured by the passage plate 48, raises the water level on the water receiving plate 22.

The ice-making water containing the cotton ice whose water level has risen crosses the first partition plate 42 and enters the second storage chamber 46, as shown by the broken line arrow in FIG. raise. As a result, the relatively warm ice-making water stored in the second storage chamber 46 is
As shown by the dashed arrow, the ice flows into the first storage chamber 24 through the through hole 44a in the second partition plate 44, and the cotton ice present in the first storage chamber 24 and the casing of the pump 14 is removed. It melts rapidly (diagrams d-f in Figure 6). Then, until the cotton ice clogged in the water passage plate 48 is melted, the cotton ice continues to enter the second storage chamber 46 over the first partition plate 42, so the temperature inside the second storage chamber 46 is relatively warm. Ice-making water continues to flow into the first storage chamber 24 . Also, the second storage chamber 46
Since the ice-making water arriving from the ice-making water is warm as shown in the diagram e in FIG. 6, the cotton ice stuck in the water passage plate 48 is also melted while the warm ice-making water makes one round.

FIG. 5 shows an ice-making water tank 12 according to another embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment relates to a type of ice-making water tank that does not have an opening in the center of the tank for guiding ice cubes to an ice storage storage. The second partition plate 44 separates the first storage chamber 24 and the second storage chamber 24 from each other.
A storage chamber 46 is defined. Further, the first storage chamber 24 and the water receiving plate 22 that receives unfrozen ice-making water are separated by a water passage plate 48. Further, the first partition plate 42 is formed so that its central portion 42a is lower, so that when cotton ice is generated, the cotton ice flows over this portion and enters the second storage chamber 46, similar to the above-mentioned embodiment. It is becoming possible to do so.

Effects of the Invention As explained above, according to the ice-making water tank of the automatic ice-making machine according to the present invention, water at a temperature relatively warmer than the temperature of the ice-making water that generates cotton ice can be supplied to the ice-making water tank in the ice-making water tank. Since it is configured to be stored in the second storage chamber, the cotton ice that has flowed into the first storage chamber can be instantly melted by the warm water in the second storage chamber. Therefore, a long-term suspension of the ice-making water injection supply is avoided, the formation of cloudy ice is suppressed, and high-quality ice with high commercial value can be produced. In addition, there is no need to improve the pump motor or the like in order to deal with the generation of ice fluff, and manufacturing costs can be reduced.
In the example, an open cell type automatic ice maker was described which forms ice cubes in each compartment by spraying ice making water into a number of ice making compartments that open downward. It can also be suitably implemented in a falling-type automatic ice-making machine that produces ice cubes by sprinkling ice-making water on the front or back surface of ice-making plates, and melts the ice cubes into a large number of ice cubes using grid-shaped heating wires. It is something.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an ice-making water tank according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of an open cell automatic ice-making machine equipped with an ice-making water tank according to a preferred embodiment. FIG. 3 is a plan view of an ice-making water tank according to a preferred embodiment, FIG. 4a and FIG. 4b.
5 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the ice-making water tank, FIG. 6 is a graph showing the water temperature in the ice-making water tank according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a plan view of an ice-making water tank installed in an open-cell automatic ice-making machine according to the prior art. 10...Ice making section, 12...Ice making water tank, 14
... pump, 22 ... water receiving plate, 24 ... first storage chamber, 42 ... first partition plate, 44 ... second partition plate,
44a...through hole, 46...second storage chamber, 48...
water passage plate.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] The ice making section 10 comprises an ice making section 10 that makes ice, an ice making water tank 12 that stores ice making water, and a pump 14 that circulates and supplies the ice making water in the tank 12 to the ice making section 10. The water tank 12 is divided into a water receiving plate 22 for collecting ice-making water falling from the ice-making section 10, a first storage chamber 24 communicating with the water receiving plate 22 and facing the inlet of the pump 14, and the water receiving plate 22. A second storage chamber 46 is partitioned from the plate 22 by a first partition plate 42 and from the first storage chamber 24 by a second partition plate 44.
and the first storage chamber 24 and the second storage chamber 4.
In this automatic ice maker, ice making water is allowed to pass between the water receiving plate 22 and the first storage chamber 24, but ice making water is allowed to pass between the water receiving plate 22 and the first storage chamber 24. A water passage plate 48 is disposed to prevent ice from passing through, and the first partition plate 42 is configured to prevent ice from passing through the water receiving plate 22 when cotton ice is generated and the water passage plate 48 blocks the passage of cotton ice. An ice-making water tank of an automatic ice-making machine, characterized in that the ice-making water tank is set at a height that allows ice-making water or cotton ice to flow from the tank into the second storage chamber 46.