JPH06249559A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a refrigerator with an automatic ice-making device which produces hygienic, good quality ice while a water receiving container in which a constant volume of water from a water supply tank is stored is maintained in a hygienic condition without growth of mold. CONSTITUTION:A water supply chamber 21 is provided in a refrigerating compartment 13 of a refrigerator. A water supply tank 28 is set in the upper part of the water supply chamber 21 and a water receiving container 29 in the lower part. An ice-making chamber 19 is provided in a freezing compartment 12. An ice-making tray 30 is housed in the upper part of the ice-making chamber 19 and an ice storage container 31 in the lower part. A constant volume of water stored in the water receiving container 29 is supplied to the ice-making tray 30 by a pump 32 through a water supply pipe 33. After ice is made, the ice-making tray 30 is turned upside down to store ice ire the ice storage container 31. An ultraviolet lamp and its reflection plate are installed above the water receiving container 29 to sterilize water in the water receiving container 29 and the container itself by ultraviolet rays.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator equipped with an automatic ice making device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Today, some refrigerators are equipped with an automatic ice making device. The refrigerator is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-2-1951.
As disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 67, etc., a water tank and a water receiver are installed in a refrigerating chamber, an ice tray and an ice storage container are installed in a freezing chamber, and a fixed amount of water stored in the water receiver is pumped. And, the ice tray is supplied to the ice tray through a water supply pipe to cool the ice tray, and the ice tray is stored in the ice storage container by inverting and twisting the ice tray after ice making.

Here, in a general automatic ice making device, when the ice in the ice storage container is consumed and becomes less than a certain amount, it is necessary to automatically start ice making and supply the ice without delay. For that purpose, it is necessary to always store sufficient water in the water receiver so that a constant amount of water can be immediately supplied to the ice tray.

[0004]

However, when water for ice-making is stored in the water receiver, the water etc. near the boundary between the water and the air in the water receiver or the wetted portion of the peripheral flange of the container may cause mold and the like. Occurrence may occur.

As the ice-making water, tap water in which chlorine is dissolved and sterilized is usually used, but when stored for a long time, chlorine is released into the air and the sterilizing effect is lost. It causes the mold to get into a bad situation where mold is likely to occur.

Reflecting the recent gourmet boom and the like, attention has also been paid to the taste of water and ice. Therefore, for example, in a water supply tank set in a water receiver, the plug or the water receiver of the water receiver from the tank is stored. By installing a water purification device with activated carbon in the passage leading to the section and removing chlorine in the water,
It is also made to make tasteless and odorless ice. However, the removal of chlorine content with such a water purifier such as an activated carbon filter is one of the causes of easily causing mold. Furthermore, when the amount of ice in the ice storage container exceeds a certain amount (for example, in a state where ice is not used) for a long time, such as in winter, the ice making operation is not performed and there is no water circulation in the water receiver. Molds are more likely to occur.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an ultraviolet lamp is provided above the water receiver so as to prevent generation of mold or the like on the components such as the water receiver due to the sterilizing effect of the ultraviolet rays. The purpose is to do so.

[0008]

The present invention comprises an ice making chamber formed in a freezing chamber and a water supply chamber formed in a refrigerating chamber, and an ice tray and an ice storage container arranged in the ice making chamber, and the water supply. In a refrigerator having a water supply tank arranged in a chamber and a water receiver for storing a fixed amount of water in the tank, and supplying water in the water receiver to the ice making tray to automatically make ice, It is characterized in that a water receiver and an ultraviolet lamp for irradiating the water in the water receiver with ultraviolet rays are provided above the water receiver.

[0009]

A UV lamp is installed above the water receiver, and the UV light emitted from this lamp irradiates the water receiver and the water in the water receiver. Since ultraviolet rays have a bactericidal effect, mold is generated due to the sterilization of the water-receptive part of the water receptor, and even if it tries to propagate, it is effectively prevented. Therefore, you can keep the water receiver etc. clean for a long time and store the water used for ice making with confidence.

[0010]

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

Reference numeral 1 is a refrigerator. This refrigerator has an outer box 2, an inner box 3, and a heat insulating box body 5 formed of a foamed heat insulating material 4 filled between them, and a door body 6 for opening and closing the opening of the heat insulating box body 5. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and a partition member 14 for partitioning the interior of the refrigerator into a freezer compartment 12 and a refrigerating compartment 13.
Partition plates 17 and 18 for further partitioning the interior of the refrigerating compartment 13 into an ice greenhouse 15 and a vegetable compartment 16, an ice making compartment 19 and a quenching compartment 20 defined in the freezing compartment 12, and an interior of the refrigerating compartment 13. It is composed of a water supply chamber 21 formed, a cooler 22 and a fan 23 installed in a cooling chamber formed behind the freezing chamber 12, and a damper device 24 for adjusting the flow rate of cold air to the refrigerating chamber 13. . In addition, cold air outlets 25, 26, 2 are provided on the back surfaces of the ice making chamber 19, the freezing chamber 12, and the refrigerating chamber 13, respectively.
7 are formed.

The door bodies 6 and 7, and 8 and 9 are double-door type doors whose outer ends are pivotally supported.
1 is a drawer type door.

Further, in this refrigerator, a water supply chamber 21 is provided in an image in the lower corner of the refrigerating chamber 13 and an ice making chamber 19 is provided in an image in the freezing chamber 12, and automatic ice making units arranged in both chambers are provided. The device automatically makes ice. That is, this automatic ice making device has a water supply tank 28 arranged in an upper part of the water supply chamber 21, a water receiver 29 arranged below the water supply tank 28 for measuring a predetermined amount of water, and the water receiver 29. Pump 32 for supplying a fixed amount of water stored in the ice tray 30 described later and a water supply pipe 33 buried in the heat insulating material 4, the ice tray 30 installed in the upper portion of the ice making chamber 19, and the ice tray 3
It is composed of an ice storage container 31 installed below 0 and a drive device 34 for dropping the ice in the ice tray 30 by twisting the ice tray 30 while inverting the ice tray 30 after making the ice.

More specifically, first, the water supply chamber 21 includes a box-shaped container body 35, a cover 36 covering the container body 35, and the container body 3.
5, a door 37 for opening and closing the front opening of the container 5, a partition plate 38 for vertically partitioning the container body 35, a water receiver 29 mounted on the lower side of the partition plate 38, and a water supply mounted on the upper side of the partition plate 38. It is formed by the tank 28. A rib 41 on which the shelf 40 is placed is formed on one side surface of the cover 36.

A packing body 42, a valve body 43, a cap 44, a plug body 47 including a spring 45 and a ring 46 is mounted on the lower surface of the water supply tank 28, and the valve body 43 is a protrusion of a water receiver 29 described later. By being pushed up by 48, the plug 47 is opened and the water in the tank 28 flows out into the water receiver 29.

An opening 39 on the partition plate 38 has its suction port 49 exposed to a water reservoir 50 of a water receiver 29, which will be described later, while a pump 32 having a feed port 51 connected to a water supply pipe 33 is attached. .

Although not shown, when the water supply tank 28 is pushed to a predetermined position in the partition plate 38, O
A water supply tank mounting detection switch (for example, a reed switch) that generates a signal indicating that the tank 28 has been set by N operation is arranged.

A notch 80 is formed in the rear wall of the container body 35 to let the water supply pipe 33 out of the body 35.

A guide 57 for guiding the water tank 28 in and out of the water supply tank 28, a rib 58 for mounting the partition plate 38, and bosses 59, 60 of a water receiver 29, which will be described later, are provided on the upper end of the container body 35. Locking part 6 for locking
Each pair of boss guides 63, 6 integrally including 1, 62
4 and 4 are integrally formed.

The water receiver 29 has a partition plate 66 having a vertically long slit 65 in the center thereof and a partition plate 66 which is partitioned by the partition plate and is located on the plug 47 side of the water supply tank 28.
A water receiving portion 67 for storing water poured from 8 and a water reservoir portion 5 which is also partitioned by a partition plate 66 and is located on the suction port 49 side of the pump 32 to store water pumped by the pump 32.
0, a projection 48 that abuts the valve body 43 of the plug body 47 of the water supply tank 28 to open the valve body, the rib 7 that inserts the activated carbon 69 shown in FIG. 7 and the case 70 that houses the activated carbon 69.
1, 72, an engaging portion 74 which is formed on the front edge of the container 29 and engages with the projecting piece 73 on the front edge of the partition plate 38, and is formed on the rear edge of the container 29. , And an engaging portion 76 that engages with the projecting piece 75 provided on the rear portion of the container body 35.

The method of inserting the water supply tank 28 in the water supply chamber 21 is as follows. The tank is inserted from the front opening of the container main body 35, and the guide 57 of the main body is slid so that the plug body 47 has the hole 77 of the partition plate 38. It is carried out by setting at a place that matches with. At this time, when the water receiver 29 is set below the partition plate 38, the protrusion 48 of the container pushes up the valve body 43, so that the valve body 43 opens.

The method of inserting the water receiver 29 is to insert the container from the front opening of the container body 35 and slide the guides 63 and 64 of the body to guide the bosses 59 and 60 of the container 29 to the guide 63. , 64, while engaging the engaging portion 74 with the projecting piece 73 of the partition plate 38, the engaging portion 76.
Is attached by engaging with the projecting piece 75 of the container body 35.

Here, the bosses 59 and 60 of the water receiver 29 are dimensioned so as to be close to the container body 35 at the time of insertion.
Water is not spilled when attaching or detaching.

Even if water is spilled from the container 29, the water supply chamber 21 is isolated from the refrigerating chamber 13 by the container body 35, so that water does not flow out to the refrigerating chamber 13.

Therefore, focusing on the known fact that ultraviolet rays have a bactericidal effect, it was decided to irradiate the water receptor with an ultraviolet lamp. For this purpose, a protrusion 52 is formed at the rear of the partition plate 38, and an ultraviolet lamp storage space 53 is defined inside the rear wall 35h of the container body 35.

As shown in FIG. 7, the ultraviolet lamp 54 faces the upper side of the water receiver 29 and is in a horizontal state so that the back wall 3
It is installed with screws (not shown) fixed to 5h. 54
Reference numeral b indicates the lamp socket, and reference numeral 54c indicates a lead wire for power supply. When the power is supplied, the ultraviolet lamp 54 emits ultraviolet rays having a wavelength of 253.7 nm to the outside of the lamp.

An aluminum reflector 55 is attached inside the top surface of the storage space 53 with a slight gap. This reflector 55 receives ultraviolet rays from the water receiver 2
9 is provided for the purpose of efficiently irradiating. In general, ultraviolet rays do not pass through anything other than air or water, so that in order to obtain a sterilizing effect in the shortest possible time by concentrating ultraviolet rays on a place where it is difficult to irradiate, such as the inner wall of the water receiver 29, the reflector 55 should be installed. It is valid.

The aluminum material is suitable for the reflector 55 because it is light and inexpensive and has a high reflectance. On the other hand, resins are susceptible to discoloration and deterioration due to ultraviolet rays,
Since the reflecting plate 55 is placed so as to shield the top surface of the partition plate 38, the reflecting plate 55 also plays a role of preventing deterioration of the partition plate 38.

The ultraviolet lamp 54 emits light, and the water receiver 29
When the water is irradiated with ultraviolet rays, the bacteria in the water are sterilized, and the bacteria attached to the wall surface of the water receiver 29 are also sterilized, so that the generation of mold can be prevented.

Here, the method of energizing the ultraviolet lamp is such that when the doors 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 of the refrigerator 1 are opened in consideration of adverse effects on the human body (inflammation of the eyeball, inflammation of the skin). Needs to be turned off. Also, judging from the life of the UV lamp, etc., use of the refrigerator 1 (durability)
When the number of years is 10 years, it is appropriate to turn on the lamp for 1 to 2 hours per day, and it is preferable to control such lighting.

With respect to the water receiver 29, it has been found that silver zeolite in which silver is ion-bonded to the zeolite by utilizing the ion exchange function of the zeolite exerts an antibacterial activity superior to the conventional one. It is noted that the water receiver 29 is made of a resin material mixed with the silver zeolite having the sterilizing and antifungal effect.

That is, when this silver zeolite is kneaded into a resin material such as plastic to form a water receiver 29 integrally formed with this resin, even if bacteria in the air enter the water in the water receiver 29, the antibacterial effect of the silver zeolite is obtained. By the action, the growth and reproduction of bacteria can be effectively prevented, and the water receptor 29 itself can be maintained in a substantially sterile state as a whole, and an unsanitary condition such as mold will not appear, and the food It is possible to provide ice with good hygiene and good quality.

Therefore, the water in the water receiver 29 and the water receiver 29 itself are irradiated with the ultraviolet rays from the ultraviolet lamp 54, and the sterilizing action is also added, thereby further enhancing the antibacterial effect on the water receiver 29. Has become.

When the water supply tank 28 is set and mounted on the water receiver 29 in the container body 35, the water collected from the tank 28 in the water receiver 67 in the water receiver 29 is activated carbon. The water is permeated through 69 to be purified and supplied to the water reservoir 50 through the slit 65 so that a constant amount of water can be stored in the water reservoir 50. Then, the water in the water reservoir 50 is pumped up by the pump 32 and supplied into the ice tray 30 through the water supply pipe 33.

By the way, in the ice making chamber 19, an ice tray 30 connected to a drive unit 34 via a drive shaft (not shown),
An ice storage container 31 that is provided below and stores the ice produced by the ice tray 30 and a duct cover 80 installed above the ice tray 30 are stored.

Here, after the ice making, the driving device 34 causes the ice tray 30 to rotate around the driving shaft as a fulcrum, but a supporting shaft (not shown) opposite to the driving device 34 is provided with a stopper in the rotating direction. The ice tray 30 is twisted from a certain rotation angle by this stopper, and the deicing is made favorable.

Before the ice tray 30 is rotated, the driving device 34 tilts and enters the ice storage container 31, and an ice storage detecting member 59 for detecting the amount of ice storage in the container 31 is attached to the driving device 34. is there. When the ice storage detecting member 59 detects that the amount of ice in the ice storage container 31 is less than or equal to a predetermined amount, the drive device 34 completely reverses the ice making tray 30 to supply ice.

The ice making operation is performed as follows. After the completion of the water injection into the ice tray 30, ice making is started by cold air. When the ice making is completed, the temperature sensor attached to the lower surface of the ice tray 30 detects the temperature drop state of the ice tray, and the driving device 3
4 to the driving device 34 after the ice detecting operation by the ice storage detecting member 59, the ice removing operation (reversing operation of the ice tray 30) is performed.
Turns the ice tray 30 in reverse and waits for the next ice making operation.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to simply install an ultraviolet lamp above the water receiver.
It is possible to easily prevent the propagation of germs and mold on the water receptor by the bactericidal effect of ultraviolet rays. Therefore, it can be applied to a refrigerator equipped with an automatic ice-making device to manufacture high-quality ice in peace.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a refrigerator.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the refrigerator.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the refrigerator with the door opened.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a water supply chamber.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a water supply chamber.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a water receiver.

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view of a water supply chamber.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of built-in parts in a water supply chamber and an ice making chamber.

[Explanation of symbols]

 12 Freezer 13 Refrigerator 19 Ice Making Room 21 Water Supply Room 28 Water Supply Tank 29 Water Receptor 30 Ice Making Plate 31 Ice Storage Container 32 Pump 33 Water Supply Pipe 54 UV Lamp 55 Reflector 69 69 Activated Carbon 70 Case 65 Slit 66 Partition Plate 67 Water Receptor 50 Water reservoir

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Fujiko Masuda, 2-18, Keihan Hondori, Moriguchi City, Osaka Prefecture Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Hidefumi Mogi, 2-18, Keihan Hondori, Moriguchi City, Osaka Sanyo Denki Within the corporation

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An ice making chamber formed in a freezing chamber and a water supply chamber formed in a refrigerating chamber, and an ice making tray and an ice storage container arranged in the ice making chamber, and a water supply tank arranged in the water supplying chamber. And a water receiver that stores a fixed amount of water in this tank, and in the refrigerator that automatically supplies ice to the ice tray by supplying the water in the water receiver to the water above the water receiver. A refrigerator provided with an ultraviolet lamp for irradiating ultraviolet rays to a receiver and water in the water receiver.