JPH0663683B2 - Water circulation type ice maker - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a water circulation type ice making machine,
In particular, it relates to a new improvement for preventing the generation of mud-like or cotton-like ice during ice making.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a so-called water circulation type ice making machine for producing ice on an ice making plate while circulating water, mud-like or cotton-like ice is generated, and this phenomenon is extremely inconvenient. As is well known. The generation of cotton-like ice or mud-like ice is a phenomenon peculiar to a water circulation type ice making machine, as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-15706 by the same applicant as the present application. In the above, even if the temperature of the flowing water reaches 0 ° C., the ice-making part does not freeze, and is further cooled to be in a supercooled state. Therefore, the supercooled water contains the ice-making water tank in an instant in any state. It is known as a phenomenon of crystallization in the water circulation system.

That is, the above phenomenon will be described in detail below with reference to the conventional water circulation type ice making machine shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, a pair of ice-making plates 1 forming a part of the ice-making section are made of a heat-conductive metal such as copper and are arranged in a substantially vertical shape. A metal pipe made of a good heat conductor such as copper is bent into a serpentine shape and attached to the back surface of each ice making plate 1 by a good heat conducting coupling means such as welding.

The upper portion of each ice making plate 1 is connected to each other by a mountain-shaped connecting portion 3, and a sprinkler pipe 4 is arranged at the upper position of the connecting portion 3. A large number of small holes 5 are formed in the sprinkler pipe 4, and the ice making water discharged from each small hole 5 is connected to the connecting portion 3
After passing through the top, it flows down on the ice making surface 1a of each ice making plate 1 from the upper end to the lower end. The ice-making water that has flowed down each ice-making surface 1a is collected in a water collecting trough 6 disposed below the ice-making plate 1 and then collected in a tank 7 and then again by a circulation pump (not shown). It is pumped to the sprinkling pipe 4.

The cooling pipe 2 is supplied with a refrigerant by a refrigerating unit including a compressor, a condenser and the like (not shown), and the temperature of the ice making water gradually decreases while flowing down each ice making surface 1a, so that the ice making water is sufficient. When cooled to the ice plate 8 on the surface of the ice plate 1
Grows. When the growth of the ice plate 8 to a predetermined size is detected by a known ice making completion detecting means (not shown) such as a temperature sensor or a float switch, the ice removing step is started, and the upper portion of each ice making plate 1 The deicing water is supplied to the back surface of each ice making plate 1 from each small hole 10 of the deicing water pipe 9 provided in the ice making plate 1, the cooling pipe 2 and each ice making plate 1 are heated, and the ice making plate 1 of the ice making plate 1
The contact surface with the ice making surface 1a melts slightly and the ice plate 8
Drop and collect. In addition, usually, a heating means such as a heater and a hot gas means for supplying the high-temperature discharge gas from the compressor into the cooling pipe 2 are used together during the deicing process.

In the conventional structure shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the cooling pipe 2 is usually used to make the ice growth state uniform (that is, to make the cooling condition of the ice making water uniform). Since it is more advantageous in the working process to process the serpentine pipes at equal intervals, they are arranged at regular intervals. But,
According to an experiment by the applicant, in the above-mentioned configuration, when the cooling pipes 2 are arranged at the ice-making plate 1 at uniform intervals, the cooling condition of the ice-making water becomes uniform, so that the whole ice-making water is likely to be overcooled. Therefore, it is known that mud ice or cotton ice is likely to be generated.

Next, the generation mechanism of this mud ice or cotton ice will be described in more detail. In the ice making process using the above-mentioned conventional cooling pipe arrangement, the temperature of water supplied from the outside at the start of ice making. Is a water temperature considerably higher than 0 ° C., and is T ° C. for explanation. This T ℃
Since the ice making plate 1 is being cooled by the cooling pipe 2 while the ice making water of the water temperature flows down on the ice making plate 1, the temperature thereof gradually decreases. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the temperatures of the ice making water flowing down the respective points A, B, C, D, E, and F on the ice making plate 1 are T ° C., T ₁ ° C., T ₂ ° C., and T _{3 respectively.} ℃, T ₄ ℃,
If T ₅ ℃, the temperature of ice-making water is T ℃ ＞ T ₁ ℃ ＞ T ₂ ℃ ＞
The temperature decreases as T ₃ ℃> T ₄ ℃> T ₅ ℃.

On the other hand, the temperature of the ice making water sprinkled from the sprinkler 4 is substantially constant regardless of the distance from the point A in the horizontal direction. That is, if the temperature at point A is T ° C., the temperature at points A ′, A ″, A ″ ′ shown in FIG. 5 is also T ° C., and if the temperature at point B is T ₁ ° C., then B The points ', B "and B"' are also T ₁ ° C.

Further, the ice-making water cooled to T ₅ ° C. at the point F flows down to the tank 7 through the water collecting trough 6, but since the ice-making water at T ° C. remains in the tank 7, it flowed down. Mix with water at T ₅ ℃ to lower its temperature, for example, T '℃
(However, T ° C> T '° C) and sent again to the sprinkler 4,
Ice water at T '° C is sprinkled from the sprinkler, and by repeating this operation with the lapse of time, the water temperature in the tank 7 also gradually decreases.

That is, it can be seen that in the conventional structure, a large amount of ice-making water having substantially no difference in temperature exists on the ice-making surface 1a of the ice-making plate 1 near the end of the ice-making process. Therefore,
When the temperature just before freezing, for example, the temperature at point F is about 0 ° C,
As mentioned above, the amount of heat required to freeze a large amount of water (about 80 cal / g) cannot be taken away at a time by this ice making unit, so the water at 0 ° C will not freeze and the water collecting trough 6 The water temperature of the tank 7 is further lowered by flowing down and flowing into the tank 7. The next time the water is sprayed, the water temperature of the water is still lower, so at point F, for example, it will reach -1 ° C.
At such a temperature, it flows down without freezing, so that it finally becomes a supercooled state and mud ice or cotton ice is generated.

A known structure as an improvement means for removing the above-mentioned mud ice or cotton ice is described in JP-A-55-53.
It is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 668, Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-15706, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 58-2574, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 58-2575, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57-142467 and the like.

That is, according to the configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 55-53668, a part of the ice making water before flowing is supplied to the unfrozen ice making water containing mud-like or cotton-like ice after flowing down the ice making plate. By doing so, he was trying to extinguish the mud or cotton ice that had occurred. In addition, the configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-15706 pays attention to a peculiar change of a variable factor (for example, ice making water temperature, refrigerant temperature, etc.) of an ice making mechanism that appears before the occurrence of mud or cotton ice. This variable factor is detected by the detection means, and the output signal thereof is used to control, for example, the ice-making water circulation pump to reduce or stop the circulation amount for a predetermined period of time to eliminate mud or cotton ice. Further, in the structures disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 58-2574, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 2575 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-142467, a retained water part is provided in a part of the ice making part.

[0014]

In the above-mentioned conventional constructions, none of them is a perfect means for preventing the formation of mud or cotton-like ice, and there are various problems. .

That is, in the structure described in JP-A-55-53668, after mud-like or cotton-like ice is generated after flowing down the ice making plate, it is intended to disappear, so that a sufficient effect is obtained. Couldn't be expected and wasn't a fundamental solution.

Further, in the structure described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-15706, various detecting means and control means are required for detecting the variable factors of the ice making mechanism and controlling the ice making water circulation pump, so that the structure itself becomes complicated. , The production cost was rising. In addition, because the amount of circulation of ice making water is temporarily reduced, the ice looks very bad due to freezing of the ice, forming a white film on the surface of the ice, and making the ice surface uneven. In particular, there is a problem in providing food and drink, and the circulation amount is temporarily reduced, so that the ice making capacity cannot be fully exhibited, and the ice making efficiency is reduced.

Further, in the structures described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 58-2574, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 2575, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57-142467, there are cases where the water flow does not stay,
It was not always possible to achieve that goal 100%. Moreover, the surface of the ice has irregularities, which makes the appearance unsightly and has a low commercial value.

In each of the above-mentioned conventional configurations, when mud-like or cotton-like ice is generated, the water collecting gutter 6 is clogged and overflowed, or overflow from the tank 7 is also generated, and the ice making is completed.
In the case of the configuration in which the temperature sensor provided in the is used for detection, the ice making plate 1
The sprinkling of water that had flown into the water had stopped, or the amount of ice making water had become extremely low. Therefore, the ice making plate 1 is in an extremely light load state, the temperature of the ice making plate suddenly drops, and there is a serious problem that an ice making completion signal is generated although ice is not formed.

Further, when mud-like or cotton-like ice is generated,
At the initial stage of ice making, the opaque ice frozen on the ice making plate 1 with no water or a very small amount of ice making water is the ice plate 8
And the surface of the ice plate 8 was clouded white and uneven, and the appearance was extremely unsightly, and the commercial value was lowered for food and drink. Incidentally, such a phenomenon has been a common problem regardless of the ice making completion means.

[0020]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention aims to provide an extremely effective means for promptly eliminating the above-mentioned drawbacks, and the present invention for achieving this object. The main point of this is that the ice-making water is circulated and supplied to the surface of the ice-making plate from the upper end toward the lower end thereof, and the refrigerant is supplied to the cooling pipes arranged in a meandering shape on the back surface of the ice-making plate. Flowing, in a water circulation downflow type ice making machine for making ice in the ice making region of the surface of the ice making plate, the cooling pipe, while having a refrigerant inlet on the lower end side of the ice making plate,
The refrigerant entering the cooling pipe from the refrigerant inlet flows substantially in the opposite direction to the downward direction of the ice making water from the upper end to the lower end of the ice making plate, so that the ice making area of the ice making plate is substantially the same. In general, it exists in a downflow type ice making machine that has a pipe portion extending from the bottom to the top over the entire height, and the pipe portion forms an ice growth promoting portion.

[0021]

Since the ice making water flows from the upper side to the lower side in the ice making area of the ice making plate, that is, the ice making surface, and is cooled by the refrigerant through the cooling pipe in the meantime, the ice making water can be said exactly near the end of the ice making process. The lower the temperature, the lower the temperature.

On the other hand, the refrigerant enters the cooling pipe through the inlet and exits through the outlet, and the refrigerant at the inlet has a higher cooling capacity. Therefore, preferably, the temperature of the ice-making water having a lower temperature can be further lowered by making the refrigerant entering from the refrigerant inlet flow from immediately below to above to reverse the flow direction of the ice-making water.

The cooling pipe according to the present invention has a pipe portion through which the refrigerant flows in this way, which acts as an ice growth promoting portion before the entire water in the tank becomes supercooled.
A part of the ice making surface of the ice making plate is cooled earlier than other parts to form an ice nucleus, and starting from this ice nucleus, normal ice is grown on the whole ice making plate.

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of a water circulation type ice making machine according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same or equivalent portions as those of the conventional example will be described using the same reference numerals.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a water circulation type ice making machine according to the present invention.
1 shows an embodiment, and a reference numeral 1 in the drawings is a pair of substantially vertically arranged ice making plates (only one of which is shown in the drawing). The ice making plate 1 is made of copper or the like. The cooling pipe 2 is made of a heat conductive metal, and the cooling pipe 2 is provided on the back surface of each ice making plate 1 by a heat conductive coupling means such as welding by bending a metal pipe made of a heat conductive metal such as copper into a serpentine shape.

The upper portion of each ice making plate 1 is connected to each other by a mountain-shaped connecting portion 3, and a sprinkler pipe 4 is arranged above the connecting portion 3. A large number of small holes 5 are formed in the water sprinkling pipe 4, and the ice making water discharged from each small hole 5 flows down onto the ice making surface 1 a of each ice making plate 1 via the connecting portion 3. Ice making surface 1
The ice-making water that has flowed down a is collected in the water collecting trough 6 arranged at the lower position of the ice-making plate 1, and after being collected in the tank 7,
It is again pressure-fed to the sprinkling pipe 4 by an appropriate circulation pump (not shown), and the above-mentioned process or process is repeated. Further, a deicing water pipe 9 having small holes (not shown) is arranged between the ice making plates 1 to supply deicing water to the back side of each ice making plate 1 during the deicing process.

The cooling pipe 2 is connected so as to be supplied with a refrigerant by a refrigeration unit including a compressor, a condenser and the like (not shown), and the lowermost pipe portion of the cooling pipe 2 serving as a refrigerant inlet, that is, At the lowermost portion of the ice making plate 1, an ice growth promoting portion 2a formed by bending the cooling pipe 2 in a denser state than other portions is provided.

Since the pipe portion of the cooling pipe 2 of this ice growth promoting portion 2a is denser than other portions, the ice making plate 1 other than the ice growth promoting portion 2a is excluded except for the ice growth promoting portion 2c described later. The temperature is lower than that of the part. The ice growth promoting section 2a is not always necessary if there is another ice growth promoting section 2c.

Next, the installation position of the ice growth promoting section 2c will be described. Regarding the flow of water, the ice making water ejected from the small holes 5 of the sprinkler 4 flows down while being gradually cooled on the ice making plate 1. Therefore, the water temperature becomes the lowest at the bottom of the ice making plate 1. On the other hand, considering the flow of the refrigerant gas, the refrigerant gas flowing into the cooling pipe 2 has the highest cooling effect in the vicinity of the inlet indicated by the arrow.
Therefore, the ice-growth promoting unit 2c is set at the lowest position of the ice making plate 1 immediately after the refrigerant enters the cooling pipe 2 through its inlet or immediately after the refrigerant first crosses the ice making plate 1 substantially in the lateral direction. Most preferably.

That is, in the first embodiment of FIG. 1, the cooling pipe 2 having the refrigerant inlet at the lowermost portion of the ice making plate 1 is a mosquito coil in a state where a snake is wound, strictly speaking, The ice-making plate 1 is arranged in a substantially quadrangular shape along the quadrangular shape, and first crosses the ice-making plate 1 laterally and then extends upward.
Are configured. The ice growth promoting portion 2c extends in the longitudinal direction along the flow direction of the ice making water, and is arranged for the purpose of achieving the same effect as that of the ice growth promoting portion 2a described above. It can be said that it is further improved than the ice growth promoting section 2a. In addition, the piping portion of the cooling pipe 2 is 2
The portion that crosses the ice making plate 1 from the lower side to the upper side at the second time also has an ice growth promoting effect, although it is weaker than that described at the beginning.

In the second embodiment of FIG. 2, the cooling pipe 2
First, as in the case of FIG. 1, first, the lowermost part of the ice making plate 1 is transversely traversed first, and then, the refrigerant is extended upward so that the refrigerant flows in the direction opposite to the flow of the ice making water. 2c is formed and then meanders as illustrated to separate from the ice making plate 1.

In the third embodiment of FIG. 3, the cooling pipe 2
Extends upward in the vicinity of the refrigerant inlet and then folds downward at the uppermost portion to form the ice growth promoting portion 2c through which the refrigerant flows as described above.

In each of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 described above, the water flowing down from the small holes 5 of the sprinkler 4 flows down perpendicularly to the cooling pipe 2 and the longitudinal ice in the cooling pipe 2. There is a water stream E flowing down along the growth promoting portion 2c. In this case, the water flow D is only cooled stepwise by the cooling pipe 2, but since the water flow E is continuously cooled by the ice growth promoting section 2c, the water flow E is cooled better than the water flow D. Therefore, a part of the ice making water can be cooled more effectively.

If the flow rate of the water stream E is set to be smaller than that of the water stream D, a more efficient cooling effect can be obtained. As a specific configuration for reducing the flow rate, the size of the small holes 5 of the sprinkler 4 is set to be smaller than the diameter of the other small holes 5 only in the portion corresponding to the water flow E or the water flow D.
It is possible to employ a means for making the pitch of the small holes 5 in the portion of (3) smaller than the pitch of the small holes 5 of the water flow E.

Next, in the above-mentioned structure, the case where the water circulation type ice maker according to the present invention is operated to make ice will be described. When the ice making process is started and the ice making water is cooled, the ice making plate 1 The ice-making surface 1a of this is the temperature just before freezing
When it reaches (0 ℃ ~ 2 ℃), with the conventional configuration, the cooling condition of the ice making water is uniform, so the latent heat of freezing (80 cal / g) of water cannot be taken from the ice making water at once, and it is in a supercooled state. However, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the ice making water flowing down the vertical ice making surface portion (especially the lowermost portion) corresponding to the ice growth promoting portion 2c flows down the other ice making surface portions. Since it is cooled more than water, a thin ice film that becomes nuclear ice grows on the ice making surface portion corresponding to the ice growth promoting section 2c before the circulating water temperature reaches the supercooled state or when the circulating water temperature slightly enters the supercooled state. . Therefore, by forming a thin ice film on the ice-making surface portion, normal ice grows around the thin ice film, so that it is possible to prevent generation of mud-like or cotton-like ice.

The shape or arrangement of the ice growth promoting portion 2c described above is not limited to the configuration disclosed in each of the present embodiments, and similar effects can be obtained even if some changes are made. Therefore, it goes without saying that in such a case, such variations or modifications are also included in the scope of the present invention.

[0037]

Since the water circulation type ice making machine according to the present invention has the above-mentioned structure and operation, it can exert various effects as follows.

(1) It is possible to prevent the generation of mud-like or cotton-like ice with a simple structure without requiring any additional parts.

(2) Since transparent nuclear ice can be produced on the ice-making surface, it is possible to obtain ice that is highly transparent and has a smooth skin and a high commercial value.

(3) Since it is not necessary to temporarily stop or reduce the flow of ice making water as in the conventional case, it is possible to prevent the generation of mud-like or cotton-like ice in the normal ice-making state. , No decrease in ice-making ability occurs.

(4) Since it is not necessary to provide water retention means such as holes and recesses as in the prior art, and ice can be grown by the ice nuclei, no protrusions or recesses are formed on the surface of the ice making. It is possible to obtain ice having a very smooth surface without causing the ice.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing a first embodiment of a water circulation type ice making machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a second embodiment of the same.

FIG. 3 is a front view similarly showing a third embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing a water circulation type ice maker having a conventional configuration.

5 is a front view of the water circulation type ice maker shown in FIG. 4. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Ice plate 1a Ice surface 2 Cooling pipe 2c Ice growth promotion section

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Ice-making water is circulated and supplied to the surface of the ice-making plate (1) so as to flow downward from its upper end to its lower end, and cooling is provided in a meandering shape on the back surface of the ice-making plate (1). In a water circulation downflow type ice making machine for making a refrigerant flow in a pipe (2) to make ice in an ice making area of a surface of the ice making plate (1), the cooling pipe (2) is provided at a lower end side of the ice making plate (1). A refrigerant inlet into the cooling pipe (2) from the refrigerant inlet, the refrigerant flowing in a direction substantially opposite to the downward direction of the ice making water from the upper end to the lower end of the ice making plate (1). A downflow type ice making machine which has a pipe portion extending from bottom to top over substantially the entire height of the ice making region of the ice making plate (1) so as to flow, and which forms the ice growth promoting portion (2c). Machine.