JPH06123535A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To utilize the interior of an ice storage vessel for storing other foodstuffs and effectively utilize a capacity in a freezing chamber. CONSTITUTION:An ice storage vessel 3 for containing ice cubes dropping from an ice making device 2 is provided. An ice detecting lever 26 is provided, which detects the quantity of ice cubes in the ice storage vessel 3 and controls the operation of the ice making device 2. A freely detachable partition is provided, which divides the interior of the ice storage vessel 3 into a rear space 3A, into which the ice cubes are dropped from the ice making device 2, and another front space 3B. The ice decting lever 26 is positioned on the side of the rear space 3A.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator in which an ice making device is provided in a freezing compartment and an ice storage container for accommodating ice blocks produced by the ice making equipment and falling therein is provided in the freezing compartment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of refrigerator, as shown in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 58-291 (F25D11 / 02), an ice making device is provided in a freezing chamber, and
A water storage tank is arranged in the refrigerating chamber, and water for ice making is supplied from the water storage tank into the ice making device, and the ice making device automatically generates ice blocks. Then, in the freezing chamber below the ice making device, an ice storage container for receiving and accommodating ice blocks falling from the ice making device is provided, and by always storing a predetermined amount of ice blocks in this ice storage container, the user can It is designed so that the ice can be taken out at any time.

[0003]

However, the frequency of use of ice varies depending on the season, and although it is frequently used in the summer, the frequency of use decreases in the winter when the temperature drops.
Therefore, if the volume of the ice storage container is increased according to the summer, the generated ice blocks will not be taken out in the winter and will be stored for a long period of time. Since it is exposed to the circulating cold air for a long time, there is a problem that the odor of other foods is transferred to the ice block and the ice becomes unpleasant.

Also, since a relatively large space in the ice storage container is occupied by a large amount of ice blocks that are rarely used in winter, the corresponding storage volume is wasted, and the freezing chamber volume is effectively used. It was a cause of hindrance.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional technical problems, and the amount of ice storage in the ice storage container can be appropriately adjusted, and other foods can be stored in the unused space in the ice storage container. By doing so, it is an object to provide a refrigerator that can effectively use the volume of the freezing chamber.

[0006]

That is, the refrigerator 1 according to the present invention
Is an ice making device 2 and an ice storage container 3 for accommodating ice blocks falling from the ice making device 2 in the freezer compartment 4. The ice making device 2 is provided in the freezing chamber 4 to control the amount of ice blocks in the ice storage device 3. The ice detecting lever 26 for detecting, the rear space 3A and the other front space 3 in which the ice blocks fall from the ice making device 2 inside the ice storage container 3.
It is equipped with a detachable partition plate 42 for partitioning into B and
It is characterized in that the ice detecting lever 26 is arranged on the rear space 3A side where the ice blocks fall.

[0007]

According to the refrigerator 1 of the present invention, one of the partitioned spaces is made into ice by partitioning the inside of the ice storage container 3 by the removable partition plate 42 in the season such as winter when the frequency of use of ice decreases. A front space 3A in which ice blocks fall from the device 2 and are stored therein, and the other front space 3 in which ice blocks do not drop
As B, it can be used for accommodating other frozen foods. In particular, since the ice detecting lever 26 is located on the rear space 3A side where the ice blocks fall from the ice making device 2, the operation control of the ice making device 2 is not hindered.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a perspective view of an ice making device 2 and an ice storage container 3 of a refrigerator 1 according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional side view of a freezing chamber 4 portion of the refrigerator 1, and FIG. 3 is a duct plate 6 of the freezing chamber 4 and an ice making device 2. FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the ice making device 2, and FIG. 5 is an ice making device 2
FIG. 6 is a side view of the ice storage container 3, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the ice storage container 3. In FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the refrigerator 1 has a main body constituted by a heat insulating box 7 having a front opening.
The interior is divided into upper and lower parts by an integrally formed partition wall 8, and the freezing chamber 4 is cooled upward to a freezing temperature such as −20 ° C.
However, the refrigerating chambers 9 that are maintained at a refrigerating temperature such as + 5 ° C. are formed below.

The front opening of the freezer compartment 4 is closed by a heat insulating door 11 so as to be openable and closable, and a duct plate 6 is attached to the right side of the inner compartment of the freezer compartment 4. Duct board 6
Is spaced from the back wall of the freezing chamber 4, and a cooling chamber 14 in which the cooler 12 and the blower 13 of the refrigeration cycle are arranged is formed inside. An ice making duct member 16 is attached to the left side of the duct plate 6, and an ice making chamber 17 is formed below the ice making duct member 16. An ice making duct member 16 is formed in the ice making duct member 16 and extends to the left and right to communicate with the cooling chamber 14 in the duct plate 6.
A large number of slit-shaped cool air discharge ports 19 that open above the ice making chamber 17 are formed on the lower surface of 6.

An ice making device 2 is installed in the ice making chamber 17. The ice making device 2 includes an ice making mechanism 21 and this ice making mechanism 21.
On the left side of the ice making mechanism 21, an ice making mechanism 21 and an ice tray 23 rotatably supported between a pivot shaft 22 of the ice making duct member 16 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 4, the ice making mechanism 21 has a built-in drive means such as a motor and a speed reduction mechanism connected to the drive means. It is attached so as to be vertically rotatable. The ice detecting lever 26 extends leftward from the front surface of the ice making mechanism 21, and the ice making mechanism 21 rotates the front side of the ice making tray 23 in the vertical direction as shown by the solid line arrow in FIG. A contact plate 28 is attached to the rotary shaft 27 at the tip of the ice detecting lever 26 as shown in FIG.
The contact plate 28 is rotatably attached as indicated by an arrow with a broken line inside.
Holds to hang more.

On the other hand, the ice tray 23 is formed of a flexible material such as a synthetic resin, and a plurality of small chambers open to the upper surface thereof are defined therein. This ice tray 23 is rotated by the ice making mechanism 21 as shown by the broken line in FIG.
By blocking the rotation of the tip portion at a position of a predetermined angle, the whole structure is twisted at a position where the ice making mechanism 21 side is reversed. A water supply pipe 31 is opened above the ice tray 23, and the water supply pipe 31 is connected to a water storage tank (not shown) housed in the refrigerating compartment 9. Then, the ice making water in the water storage tank is supplied to the ice making device 2
It is configured to be pumped up by a pump (not shown) controlled by the water supply system and supplied to the ice tray 23 through the water supply pipe 31.

When the blower 13 is operated,
Cold air that has exchanged heat with the cooler 12 is supplied into the ice making duct 18 as shown by the arrow in FIG. 3, and is blown onto the ice making tray 23 below the cold air discharge port 19. The cool air from the blower 13 is further discharged into the freezer compartment 4 from a discharge port (not shown) formed in the duct plate 6, and is also supplied to the refrigerating compartment 9 through the refrigerating compartment duct 32 descending from the lower part of the cooling compartment 14. . When ice blocks are generated in the ice tray 23 by blowing such cold air, the ice making mechanism 21 is operated by the signal from the time limiter or the temperature sensor, and the ice tray 23 is rotated and twisted to be removed as described above. To ice.

On the other hand, in the freezer compartment 4 on the partition wall 8, an ice storage container 3 having an upper opening corresponding to the lower side of the ice making device 2 is placed. The ice storage container 3 is configured such that the ice making device 2 is located above the rear portion of the ice storage container 3 in a state of being placed at a predetermined position in the freezing chamber 4, and the ice blocks that have been deiced from the ice making tray 23 and fallen thereafter. Received by the department and stored as shown in FIG. Ice making mechanism 21
When the deicing is completed, the ice detecting lever 26 is rotated to lower it into the ice storage container 3, and the amount of ice storage in the ice storage container 3 is detected by the angle at which the contact plate 28 contacts the ice blocks in the ice storage container 3.
When the user's finger or the like hits the contact plate 28 during the ice detection, the contact plate 28 rotates as indicated by the broken line arrow in FIG. 4 to injure the user and the contact plate 28. Prevent the occurrence of damage. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the ice making device 2 repeats the water supply and the ice making until a predetermined amount of the ice mass is stored, and when the ice mass in the ice storage container 3 reaches the predetermined amount, the water supply and the ice making are stopped.

The ice storage container 3 is formed of a hard synthetic resin, has an opening on the upper surface as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 5 to 7, and a rear portion from a constricted portion 36 formed in the middle portion of one side wall. The width is narrower than the front portion, and the bottom surface of this narrow portion is an inclined surface 43 that is inclined rearward higher than the front portion. A retaining wall 37 is formed vertically on one side wall of the front of the constricted portion 36 and projects inward with a small clearance from the constricted portion 36. A groove 38 is formed between the retaining wall 37 and the constricted portion 36. Are configured. Further, the constricted portion 36 on the other side wall of the ice storage container 3
Also, the same holding wall 3 is provided at a portion facing the holding wall 37.
Projections 9 and 40 form a groove 41 between them.

A partition plate 42 made of hard synthetic resin is inserted into and engaged with the grooves 38 and 41 from above as shown in the arrow in FIG.
It is detachably held as shown in FIG. When the partition plate 42 is attached, the inclined surface 43 portion becomes the rear side of the partition plate 42, and in this state, the storage space in the ice storage container 3 has the inclined surface 43.
It is partitioned into an upper rear space 3A and a front space 3B in front of the partition plate 3. Further, the rear space 3 partitioned as shown in FIG.
The ice making device 2 including the ice detecting lever 26 is located above A.

With the above-described structure, the partition plate 42 is removed from the ice storage container 3 in a season such as summer when the ice is frequently used.
As a result, the ice blocks falling from the ice making device 2 are stored in the entire storage space in the ice storage container 3 as shown in FIG.
A large amount of ice blocks can always be stored and placed in the ice storage container 3.

On the other hand, the partition plate 42 is attached to the ice storage container 3 as described above in a season such as winter when the frequency of ice use is low. As a result, the storage space inside the ice storage container 3 is partitioned into a front space 3B and a rear space 3A in front of and behind the partition plate 42. And
The ice blocks generated in the ice tray 23 of the ice making device 2 fall into the rear space 3A, and the rear space 3 on the inclined surface 43 as shown in FIG.
It will be stored in A. Further, since the ice detecting lever 26 is also located above the rear space 3A, it is possible to detect the ice storage amount in the rear space 3A by descending into the rear space 3A during the ice detecting operation after deicing. Also, the ice making operation of the ice making device 2 is not hindered, and therefore the ice blocks do not overflow from the ice storage container 3.

As described above, when the partition plate 42 is attached to the ice storage container 3, the ice blocks are automatically stored in the rear space 3A of the ice storage container 3 in a small amount. That is, the partition plate 42
The amount of ice storage in the ice storage container 3 can be appropriately adjusted only by attaching and detaching. Further, since there is no ice block in the partitioned front space 3B, other ice creams and frozen foods can be stored in this front space 3B, and the internal volume of the freezer compartment 4 can be effectively used. become able to. In particular, the bottom surface of the rear space 3A in which the ice blocks are stored is an inclined surface 43, which is higher than the bottom surface of the front space 3B, so that the waste such as food stored in the front space 3B is in the rear space 3A. It is difficult to mix with the ice lump, and the ice lump can be sanitarily stored even when the frozen food and the ice lump coexist in the ice storage container 3.

In the embodiment, the partition plate 42 is provided inside the ice storage container 3.
Although it was divided into front and back by the structure, it is not limited to this,
There is no problem with a structure that divides into left and right by a partition plate. In that case, the ice block from the ice making device is made to fall into one of the partitioned right and left spaces, and further, the ice detection lever is arranged so as to be located on the space side.

[0021]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the space in the ice storage container is partitioned by a partition plate according to the frequency of use of ice, and one of the partitioned spaces stores the ice blocks falling from the ice making device. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately adjust the amount of ice storage in the ice storage container, and by utilizing the other space for storing other frozen foods, it is possible to effectively use the storage capacity of the freezing chamber. become. In particular, since the ice detection lever is located on the space inside the ice storage container where the ice blocks fall from the ice making device, the operation control of the ice making device is not hindered, and the inconvenience such as the ice blocks overflowing from the ice storage device can be prevented. It can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ice storage container with an ice making device and a partition plate of a refrigerator according to the present invention attached thereto.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional side view of a freezer compartment of a refrigerator.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a duct plate of a freezing room and an ice making device.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of an ice making device.

FIG. 5 is a side view of an ice making device and an ice storage container.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an ice storage container.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the ice storage container with an ice making device and a partition plate removed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Refrigerator 2 Ice Maker 3 Ice Storage Container 3A Rear Space 3B Front Space 4 Freezing Chamber 26 Ice Detection Lever 42 Partition Plate

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A refrigerator provided with an ice making device and an ice storage container for accommodating ice blocks falling from the ice making device in a freezing compartment, wherein the refrigerator is provided in the ice making device and detects the amount of ice blocks in the ice storage container. An ice lever, and a detachable partition plate for partitioning the inside of the ice storage container into a space in which ice blocks fall from the ice making device and another space, and the ice detection lever is provided on the space side in the ice storage container in which the ice blocks fall. Refrigerator characterized in that the refrigerator is located.