JPH06265247A - Water pan structure of automated ice making apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent any ice block from being bit between an ice making chamber and an ice pan as well as reduce the amount of consumed water. CONSTITUTION:A plate material 38 comprising a heat-insulating material is demountably disposed on the upper surface of a water pan 18. A long hole 40 is formed through the plate material 38, which communicates commonly with a spout hole 22 and return holes 26, 26 formed through the water pan 18 and corresponding to ice making small holes 12. The long hole 40 is opened and expanded from an upper opening directed to an ice making chamber 10 to a lower opening directed to the ice pan 18. Hereby, an ice layer 42 grown in the long hole 40 upon ice making operation is caught on the edge of the upper opening of the long hole 40 when the water pan 18 is inclined following an ice removal operation, and is folded and separated along a boundary surface with the lower surface of a square ice 44.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic ice making machine for injecting ice making water into a corresponding ice making small chamber from a fountain hole formed in a water tray to generate an ice block, and tilting from the ice making small chamber during deicing operation. The present invention relates to a water tray structure capable of smoothly sliding an ice block that has fallen on a water tray that is open.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A large number of downward ice making chambers defined in an ice making chamber and a water tray with an ice making water tank for tiltably opening the ice making small chamber from below are provided. An automatic jet ice-making machine configured to jet and supply ice from a fountain hole in a water tray to the ice making small chamber, collect water that has not frozen and to use it again for circulation, such as coffee shops and restaurants. It is suitable for use in various kitchen facilities. Since the present invention relates to a water tray structure of an injection type automatic ice making machine, prior to the detailed description of the invention,
The outline of the basic structure of the ice making machine will be described.

FIG. 6 shows a vertical side surface of a closed cell type automatic jet ice maker for producing ice cubes. An ice making chamber 10 is horizontally arranged and fixed above the inside of the machine, and the lower surface of the ice making chamber 10 is
A plurality of partition plates divide the board into a grid pattern and define a large number of small ice making chambers 12 that open downward. Further, on the upper surface of the ice making chamber 10, an evaporator 14 connected to a refrigeration system (not shown) is closely arranged in a meandering manner to cool the ice making small chamber 12 during the ice making operation, and to make ice making water jet-supplied by a mechanism described later, It can be frozen in the small ice making chamber 12. A water tray 18 integrally provided with an ice making water tank 16 is pivotally supported directly below the ice making chamber 10 via a pivot 20. The water tray 18 is horizontally positioned during the ice making operation and closes the opening of the ice making compartment 12 from below. When the ice making operation is performed, the water tray 18 is tilted by the urging of an actuator (not shown), Open 12 openings.

Fountain holes 22 are formed in the water tray 18 corresponding to the ice making compartments 12, and a distribution pipe 24 for supplying ice making water to the fountain holes 22 is arranged on the back surface of the water tray 18. There is. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, return holes 26, 26 are formed adjacent to the fountain hole 22 of the water tray 18, and the ice making water which has not reached the freezing in the ice making small chamber 12 (hereinafter referred to as “unfreezing water”).
Is returned to the ice making water tank 16 through the return holes 26, 26. A required amount of ice making water is stored in the ice making water tank 16, and a suction pipe 28 led out from the bottom of the tank 16 is connected to a discharge pipe 34 communicating with a pressure chamber 32 shown in the figure via a pump 30. This pressure chamber 32
Is connected to the distribution pipe 24. A water supply pipe 36 communicating with an external water supply system (not shown) is located above the water tray 18.

In the ice-making water circulation supply system thus constructed, the ice-making water stored in the ice-making water tank 16 is pumped to the pressure chamber 32 through the suction pipe 28 and the discharge pipe 34 by driving the pump 30. After that, the pressure chambers 32 are distributed to the respective distribution pipes 24, and are spray-supplied from the fountain holes 22 to the ice-making small chambers 12. At this time, since the ice making small chamber 12 is cooled by exchanging heat with the refrigerant circulating in the evaporator 14 by the ice making operation, the ice making water supplied into the small chamber is lowered in temperature and then cooled. It returns to the ice making water tank 16 from the return hole 26, and is again circulated and supplied to the ice making small chamber 12 by the pump 30. By repeating this, the temperature of ice making water is 0 ℃
When cooled to near, a part of the ice making water gradually starts to freeze from the inner top surface and the inner wall surface of the ice making chamber 12, and the unfrozen water that has not been frozen is returned to the return hole 2 of the water tray 12.
It falls from 6, 26 and is collected in the ice making water tank 16.

When freezing progresses and complete ice cubes are formed, an appropriate sensor detects this and outputs an ice making completion signal to stop the ice making operation. Next, the deicing operation is started, and hot gas is supplied to the evaporator 14 by switching the valve body to heat the ice making chamber 10 to melt the ice formed between the inner wall surface of the ice making small chamber 12 and the ice cubes. Then, the water tray 18 tilts at a required timing to open the lower opening of the ice making compartment 12,
The continuously supplied hot gas gradually melts between the inner wall of the small ice making chamber and the ice cubes. Then, the ice cubes are dropped from the ice making compartment 12 by their own weight, slid down on the water tray 12 obliquely and stored in an ice storage (not shown).

In the automatic ice maker, when the ice making operation is completed, the ice cubes formed in the ice making compartment 12 adhere to the surface of the water tray 18 almost entirely. Since this freezing layer is strongly frozen to the water tray 18, when the water tray 18 is tilted during deicing operation, an excessive load is applied to the water tray 18 and its tilting mechanism (actuator, etc.), There was also a problem that ice cubes could not be taken out in good condition. Also, the tilted water tray 18
Part of the peeled freezing layer remains attached to the surface of the ice cube, and the ice cubes that have fallen from the ice making compartment 12 are caught on the residual ice,
When the water tray 18 is returned to be tilted, an accident that bites ice cubes between the water tray 18 and the ice making chamber 10 and damages the water tray 18 or the like has occurred. Therefore, in order to melt the remaining ice on the tilted water tray 18, water is sprinkled from the water supply pipe 36 to the water tray 18 at a required timing. This increases the amount of water consumed in one ice making operation. Meaning, it is extremely uneconomical.

Regarding the point where an excessive load is applied to the water tray 18 and the tilting mechanism described above, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a material from which ice blocks can be easily separated between the ice making chamber 10 and the water tray 18. A plate member 38 made of (that is, a material to which ice blocks are hard to adhere)
And a fountain hole 22 formed in the water tray 18 through the plate 38.
The applicant of the present invention has proposed a structure for smoothly performing the deicing operation by forming a long hole 40 that communicates with the return holes 26, 26 in common. That is, according to this proposal, since the ice cubes formed in the ice making compartment 12 do not freeze strongly on the plate member 38, it is possible to prevent an excessive load from being applied to the water tray 18 and its tilting mechanism during the deicing operation. Is.

[0009]

In the ice making machine having the above structure, even if the plate member 38 made of the above-mentioned material is interposed between the ice making chamber 10 and the water tray 18, the long hole 40 of the plate member 38 is operated during the ice making operation. An ice layer 42 grows therein as shown in FIGS. 8 (a) and 9 (a). Since the plate material 38 is a material from which ice blocks can be easily peeled off, when the water tray 18 is tilted during the deicing operation, the ice layer 42 remains in the state of being elongated from the long hole 40 as shown in FIG. 8B. It peels off and projects to the lower surface of the ice cube 44. Therefore, if the ice cubes 44 drop from the ice making chamber 10 to the plate member 38 tilting from the ice making chamber 10 as shown in FIG. 9B.
As shown in, the ice layer 42 may be caught in the long hole 40 and may not be smoothly slid off. And in this case,
The tilted return of the water tray 18 causes the ice cube 44 to be caught between the ice making chamber 10 and the plate member 38, and the problem of damaging the water tray 18 and the like still occurs. Therefore, ice cubes 44 caught on the surface of the tilted plate 38
The water supply pipe 36 at a required timing to release water.
It is conceivable that water is sprinkled from the water tray 18 to the water tray 18, but this causes the problem that the amount of water consumed in one ice making operation increases and it becomes uneconomical as described above.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-mentioned problems inherent in the above-mentioned prior art, and has been proposed in order to solve this problem. An ice block is caught between an ice making chamber and a water tray. It is an object of the present invention to provide a water tray structure that can prevent the water from getting caught and can reduce the amount of water consumed.

[0011]

[Means for Solving the Problems] Overcoming the above-mentioned problems,
In order to preferably achieve the intended purpose, the present invention provides an ice making chamber that defines a large number of downwardly opening ice making chambers, and an opening portion of the ice making chambers that is tiltably openable from below, and each opening is opened. A water tray having a fountain hole and a return hole corresponding to the opening, and a length that is interposed between the ice making chamber and the water tray and communicates with the fountain hole and the return hole corresponding to each opening in common. A plate made of a material in which an ice block having a hole is difficult to grow easily, and an ice making water tank integrally formed below the water tray are provided, and the ice making water in this tank is passed from the fountain hole to the ice making chamber. In an injection type automatic ice maker configured to form an ice block in the ice making chamber by jetting and supplying, the opening size of the long hole facing the water tray is wider than the opening size facing the ice making chamber. It is characterized by setting so that

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, a water tray structure of an automatic ice maker according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings with reference to preferred embodiments. Since the basic structure of the automatic ice maker in which the water tray structure according to the present invention is adopted is the same as that described in the related art with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, the same members already described are the same. The reference numerals will be used for the description, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 1 shows an ice making chamber 10 and a water tray 18 in an ice making unit which is a main part of an injection type ice making machine, and the basic construction thereof is as described in connection with FIGS. 6 and 7. Then, the plate member 38 according to the embodiment is disposed on this.
That is, on the upper surface of the water tray 18, a plate member 38 made of a heat-defective conductive material (material in which ice blocks are hard to grow) such as synthetic resin and having a required thickness dimension is detachably arranged. This plate member 38 is used for all the small ice making chambers 12 defined in the ice making chamber 10.
The size is set so that the lower opening of the can be closed. The plate material 38 is made of a material having a property of easily peeling ice blocks (a property that ice blocks do not easily adhere), such as fluorocarbon resin represented by Teflon (registered trademark), polypropylene, polyacetal or other fluorocarbon resin represented by Teflon (registered trademark). You may comprise.

The plate member 38 has a structure shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 (a),
As shown in (b), a long hole 40 that is commonly communicated with the fountain hole 22 and the return holes 26, 26 corresponding to each ice making small chamber 12 formed in the water tray 18 is formed. This long hole 40 is
As shown in the figure, it is a tapered hole that widens from an upper opening that directs the ice making chamber 10 toward a lower opening that directs the water tray 18, and has a substantially trapezoidal cross section. As a result, the ice layer 42 grown in the long hole 40 can be separated from the lower surface of the ice cube 44 during the deicing operation. That is, the ice layer 42 grown in the long hole 40 by the ice making operation described later is caught on the upper opening edge portion of the long hole 40 when the water tray 18 is tilted by the deicing operation and becomes the lower surface of the ice cube 44. It breaks and is separated at the boundary surface. As a result, ice making room 1
The ice cubes 44 falling from 0 slide smoothly on the plate member 38 and are discharged to the ice storage chamber.

[0015]

The operation of the water tray structure of the jet type automatic ice maker according to the embodiment will be described below. When the ice making operation is started, the ice making water stored in the ice making water tank 16 is distributed to each distribution pipe 24 via the pump 30, and the ice making small chamber 12 is made to go through the fountain hole 22 and the long hole 40 of the plate member 38. Is supplied by injection. At this time, since the ice making small chamber 12 is cooled by exchanging heat with the refrigerant circulating in the evaporator 14 by the ice making operation, the ice making water supplied into the small chamber 12 has its temperature lowered, It returns to the ice making water tank 16 from the long hole 40 and each return hole 26, and is circulated and supplied again to the ice making small chamber 12 by the pump 30. By repeating this, the ice making water gradually starts to freeze from the inner wall surface of the ice making small chamber 12, and finally ice cubes 44 are generated in the ice making small chamber 12.
At this time, even in the long hole 40 of the plate member 38, as shown in FIG.
And as shown in FIG. 2A, the ice layer 42 is growing.

When the perfect ice cube 44 is formed, an appropriate sensor detects it and outputs an ice making completion signal to stop the ice making operation. Next, the deicing operation is started, the actuator is operated to tilt the water tray 18, and the lower opening of the ice making compartment 12 is forcibly opened. The long hole 40 of the plate member 38
Has a lower opening directed toward the water tray 18 which is set wider than an upper opening directed toward the ice making chamber 10,
The ice layer 42 formed therein is caught at the edge of the upper opening of the elongated hole 40 and is broken at the boundary surface with the ice cube 44, as shown in FIG. Therefore, the lower surface of the ice cube 44 of the ice making chamber 10 becomes substantially flat, and the ice cube 44 dropped from the ice making chamber 44 onto the plate member 38 by the progress of the deicing operation is as shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the surface of the plate 38 is smoothly slid off and discharged to the ice storage. That is, when the deicing operation is completed and the water tray 18 returns to tilt, the ice cube 44 is not caught between the water tray 18 and the ice making chamber 10, and the water tray 18 and the tilting mechanism are damaged. Can be prevented in advance. Further, since deicing water is not required, it is possible to reduce the amount of water consumed and keep running costs low.

Here, the ice layer 42 remaining in the long hole 40
Is almost never projected from the surface of the plate member 38,
There is no risk of ice cubes 44 getting caught in the ice layer 42. In addition,
Even if a part of the ice layer 42 protrudes from the surface of the plate member 38, the amount thereof is extremely small. Therefore, for example, a small amount of deicing water can be easily sprinkled on the plate member surface by required tamping during deicing operation. Can be thawed.

The ice layer 42 remaining in the elongated holes 40 is melted by the ice making water jetted and supplied from the water jet holes 22 in the next ice making operation. Even when the entire long hole is closed by the ice layer 42, as shown in FIG. 1, on the inner surface of the lower portion of the long hole 40 in the plate member 38, the fountain hole 22 and the return hole 26 of the water tray 18, It communicates with 26. Therefore, when the operation shifts to the ice making operation in this state, the ice making water jetted and supplied through the fountain hole 22 of the water tray 18 comes into contact with the ice layer 42 closing the long hole 40, and then through the return holes 26, 26. By repeating the circulation returning to the ice making water tank 16, the ice layer 42 closing the long hole 40 is melted in a short time, and thereafter, the smooth supply of the ice making water to the ice making small chamber 12 is achieved.

[0019]

[Another embodiment] FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the water tray structure, which is an elongated hole 40 formed in the plate member 38.
Is a first long hole 40a having a small opening size provided on the upper side of the plate member 38 facing the ice making chamber 10 and a second long hole 40 having a large opening size provided on the lower side of the plate 38.
b, and the ice layer 42 is hooked on the step portion between the long holes 40a and 40b. That is, also in another embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b), the ice layer 42 grown in the long hole 40 by the ice making operation is caught on the stepped portion of the long hole 40 and bounds with the ice cube 44. Long hole 40 broken at the surface
Remains inside. Therefore, the lower surface of the ice cube 44 of the ice making chamber 10 becomes substantially flat, and the ice cube 44 falling from the ice making chamber 10 slides down smoothly on the plate material 38 to form the ice cube between the ice making chamber 10 and the water tray 18. It is possible to prevent the biting of 44.

[0020]

As described above, according to the water tray structure of the automatic ice maker according to the present invention, the water tray side of the long hole formed in the plate material interposed between the ice making chamber and the water tray is provided. Since the opening size was set wider than the opening size on the ice making chamber side, the ice layer that grew in the long holes during the ice making operation was separated from the ice blocks formed in the ice making chamber when the water tray was tilted during the deicing operation. To be done.
Therefore, the lower surface of the ice lump becomes substantially flat, and the ice lump falling on the plate member tilting from the ice making chamber slides down smoothly. As a result, it is possible to prevent the ice block from being caught between the ice making chamber and the water tray, and prevent the water tray and the tilting mechanism from being damaged. In addition, the ice block can be smoothly slid off by not spraying deicing water at all on the tilted water tray or by spraying a very small amount of deicing water, thereby saving the amount of water consumption.
Furthermore, when the elongated hole is a tapered hole, the hole is easily machined and the mechanical strength of the drilled portion is not reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional front view of essential parts showing a water tray structure according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of essential parts showing a water tray structure according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic vertical perspective view of a main part showing a water tray structure according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic vertical perspective view of a main part showing a water tray structure according to another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional front view of essential parts showing a water tray structure according to another embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing an ice making mechanism of an injection type automatic ice making machine according to a conventional technique.

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional front view showing an ice making mechanism portion of a jet type automatic ice making machine according to a conventional technique.

FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional front view of essential parts showing a water tray structure of a jet-type automatic ice making machine according to a conventional technique.

FIG. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of essential parts showing a water tray structure of a jet type automatic ice maker according to a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 ice making chamber, 12 ice making small chamber, 16 ice making water tank 18 water tray, 22 fountain hole, 26 return hole, 38 plate material 40 long hole

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An ice making chamber (10) defining a large number of downwardly opening ice making small chambers (12), and an opening of the ice making small chamber (12) is tiltably opened from below, and each opening is opened. A water tray (18) having a fountain hole (22) and a return hole (26, 26) corresponding to the section, and is interposed between the ice making chamber (10) and the water tray (18). Fountain hole (22) and return hole (2) corresponding to the opening
A plate material (38) made of a material in which an ice block having a long hole (40) commonly communicating with (6, 26) does not easily grow, and the water tray (18)
And an ice-making water tank (16) integrally formed below
Injecting the ice making water in this tank (16) from the fountain hole (22) to the ice making small chamber (12), in an injection type automatic ice making machine configured to form an ice block in the ice making small chamber (12), The opening size of the elongated hole (40) on the side toward the water tray (18) is set to be wider than the opening size on the side toward the ice making chamber (10). Construction. 2. The automatic ice making device according to claim 1, wherein the elongated hole (40) is a tapered hole that widens from a side facing the ice making chamber (10) toward a side facing the water tray (18). Water tray structure of the machine. 3. The ice making chamber of the plate material (38), wherein the elongated hole (40) is formed.
(10) A first elongated hole (40a) having a small opening size formed on the side directed to (10), and an opening communicating with the elongated hole (40a) and formed on the side directed to the water tray (18) The water tray structure for an automatic ice maker according to claim 1, wherein the water tray structure comprises a second elongated hole (40b) having a large size.