JPH07270016A - Refrigerator with icemaker - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent scattering of ice pieces from an ice storage box without reducing the strength of an ice storage vessel. CONSTITUTION:A refrigerator with an icemaker comprises a deep freezing chamber 2 partitioned by a heat insulation wall in a refrigerator body 1, an automatic icemaker body 11 provided in the chamber and having an icemaking tray 12, and a detecting lever (ice storage amount detecting lever) 14 rotatably supported to the body 11, wherein an ice storage vessel 13 is so provided under the tray 12 as to be drawn, and an oblique part 15 is provided at a rear wall of the vessel 13 in such a manner that the lowermostend of the part 15 is lower than the lowermost point of the movement locus of the lever 14.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerator with an ice making machine for automatically making ice, removing ice and supplying water.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional automatic ice making machine for a refrigerator,
For example, there is one disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 62-23230.

The conventional refrigerator with an ice making machine will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a front view of a main part of a conventional refrigerator with an ice making machine in a state where the door is opened, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an ice storage box of the ice making machine shown in FIG.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a refrigerator main body, which is composed of a heat insulating wall, and is provided with a door (not shown) which can be opened and closed on the front surface. A freezer compartment 2 and a refrigerating compartment (not shown) are formed in the refrigerator body 1 by being partitioned by a heat insulating wall. 2 is the main body of the automatic ice making machine, and the freezer compartment 2
It is arranged inside.

Reference numeral 4 denotes an ice storage box, which is mounted so that it can be pulled out toward the front of the refrigerator body 1 by suspending a flange above the ice storage box 4 on a rail provided at the bottom of the automatic ice making machine body 3. ing. An ice tray 5 is rotatably supported inside the automatic ice machine body 2. Reference numeral 6 denotes a cutout portion, which is provided in an arc shape on the rear wall of the ice storage box 4. Reference numeral 7 denotes a substantially U-shaped arm, the end portion of which is rotatably supported by a shaft 8 and inserted into the cutout portion 6. The notch 6 has substantially the same shape as the path along which the arm 7 rotates, and the rear wall of the ice storage box 4 keeps the arm 7 in the space inside the ice storage box 4 at all times.
It is always divided into a part located outside the ice storage box 4.

The operation of the refrigerator with an ice making machine constructed as described above will be described below. First, when the control means of the automatic ice maker detects that the ice making is completed in the ice maker 5 provided in the automatic ice maker main body 3 in the upper part of the freezer compartment 2 by temperature or time, a drive motor (not shown) is activated. Let it work,
The ice tray 5 is rotated to remove ice, and the arm 7 is rotated about the shaft 8. When the arm 7 rotates, a part of the arm 7 moves downward in the cutout portion 6 provided on the rear wall of the ice storage box 4.

At this time, when the arm 7 hits the ice in the ice storage box 4, the control means stops the operation of the drive motor,
By stopping the subsequent rotation of the drive motor,
The water supply operation after that is stopped.

On the other hand, when taking out the ice stored in the ice storage box 5, the user pulls the ice storage box 5 forward. At this time, even if the arm 7 is located deep inside the ice storage box 4, since the shape of the arm 7 conforms to the shape of the cutout portion 6, when the ice storage box 4 is pulled out, when full ice is detected, or The arm 7 does not collide with the rear wall of the ice storage box 4 regardless of non-detection.

[0009]

However, since the cutout portion 6 is provided on the rear wall of the ice storage box 4, when the ice is removed from the ice tray 5, the ice pieces adhere to the cutout portion 6 and the arm 7 is removed. Had the drawback that it would get stuck and could not move.

Further, if the notch 6 is enlarged in order to prevent the arm 7 from being caught, the ice pieces are notched 6.
There are drawbacks such that the structure pops out of the freezing compartment 2 and scatters in the freezer compartment 2 or reduces the structural strength of the ice storage box 4.

The present invention solves the above conventional problems, and provides a refrigerator with an ice making machine which can prevent the scattering of ice pieces from the ice storage container without lowering the strength of the ice storage container. To aim.

[0012]

In order to achieve this object, a refrigerator with an ice making machine of the present invention comprises a freezing compartment defined by a heat insulating wall in the refrigerator body and an ice tray provided in the freezing compartment. In an refrigerator with an ice maker, the automatic ice maker main body, an ice storage amount detection lever pivotally supported on the main body of the automatic ice maker, and an ice storage container that can be pulled out below the ice tray are provided. There is an inclined portion provided on the rear wall, and the lowermost end of the inclined portion is formed lower than the lowest point of the locus of movement of the ice storage amount detection lever.

The ice storage amount detection lever has an inclined surface at a portion facing the upper end of the rear wall of the ice storage container, and the tip of the ice storage amount detection lever is always located above the upper end of the rear wall of the ice storage container.

[0014]

In the refrigerator with an ice making machine of the present invention, even if the ice storage container is pulled out during the ice storage amount detecting operation, the detection lever abuts on the inclined portion provided on the rear wall of the ice storage container and is pushed upward,
Since the detection lever is not damaged, it is not necessary to provide the conventional cutout portion.

Further, even if the ice storage container is pulled out during the ice storage amount detecting operation, the rear wall of the ice storage container abuts on the inclined surface provided at the portion of the detection lever facing the upper end of the rear wall of the ice storage container, and this inclination Since the upper end of the rear wall of the ice storage container goes under the detection lever along the surface and does not push up the detection lever to damage the detection lever, it is not necessary to provide a conventional notch.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A refrigerator with an ice making machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the same configurations as those of the conventional one are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an essential part of a refrigerator with an ice making machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the ice storage container shown in FIG.

In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes an automatic ice making machine main body, which is provided in the freezer compartment 2 and is a drive motor (not shown) which is a driving means for rotating the ice tray 12 and a detection lever 16 described later. Is equipped with. An ice storage container 13 is located below the automatic ice maker main body 11 and the ice tray 12 and is installed so as to be pulled out by sliding on the bottom surface of the freezer compartment 2. Reference numeral 14 denotes a detection lever (ice storage amount detection lever) as an ice storage amount detection means, which has a tip formed into a curved surface and is pivotally supported by the automatic ice making machine main body 11 about a shaft and moves up and down in the ice storage container 13. By this, ice storage container 1
Detect the amount of ice in 3. The detection lever 14 is located outside the ice storage container 13 when not operating.

Reference numeral 15 denotes an inclined portion, which is provided on a part of the rear wall of the ice storage container 13 so as to incline from the deep side of the freezer compartment 2 toward the front side of the refrigerator body 1. The height of the lowermost end of the inclined portion 15 from the bottom surface of the ice storage container 13 is formed to be lower than the position where the height from the bottom surface of the ice storage container 13 in the movement locus of the detection lever 14 is the lowest. And
The positional relationship in the left-right direction between the detection lever 14 and the inclined portion 15 is configured to match.

The operation of the refrigerator with an ice making machine constructed as described above will be described below. First, when the automatic ice maker main body 11 detects that ice making is completed in the ice making tray 12, a drive motor (not shown) is operated to rotate the ice making tray 12 to apply a twisting operation to remove ice. Done,
The ice is dropped into the ice storage container 13.

After a predetermined time, the detection lever 14 is rotated downward by the drive motor, and the detection lever 14 descends inside the ice storage container 13 and comes into contact with the ice, thereby detecting the amount of ice.

At this time, when the refrigerator user happens to pull out the ice storage container 13 to remove the ice from the ice storage container 13, the tip end of the detection lever 14 is brought into contact with the inclined portion 15 provided on the rear wall of the ice storage container 13. Abut. And ice storage container 1
As 3 is pulled out further, the detection lever 14
Are pushed up along the inclination of the inclined portion 15. When the detection lever 14 is pushed up to the uppermost part of the inclined portion 15, the tip of the detection lever 14 crosses over the rear wall of the ice storage container 13, the entire detection lever 14 is brought out of the ice storage container 13, and gradually descends to a predetermined position. Stop at the position.

Immediately after that, when the refrigerator user finishes taking out the ice and pushes the ice storage container 13 into the deep side of the freezer compartment 2,
The upper end of the rear wall of the ice storage container 13 contacts the detection lever 14.
When the ice storage container 13 is further pushed in, the tip of the detection lever 14 goes over the rear wall of the ice storage container 13 and descends along the inclined portion 15, so that the detection lever 14 as a whole descends in the ice storage container 13. Then, after a predetermined time, a control unit (not shown) connected to the detection lever 14 detects the ice storage amount.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the detection lever 1 by pulling out the ice storage container 13 during the ice storage amount detecting operation.
In order to prevent breakage of No. 4, the conventional notch is not provided, so that the strength of the ice storage container 13 is not reduced, and further, the scattering of ice pieces from the ice storage container 13 during ice removal can be prevented.

Although the detection lever 14 of this embodiment is a straight rod, it may be a substantially L-shape or a substantially U-shape, and by doing so, the area that can be contacted with the ice is increased and more accurate. It can detect the amount of ice storage. .

Further, although the detection lever 14 of this embodiment is located outside the ice storage container 13 when not operating,
If the height of the tip end of the detection lever 14 from the bottom surface of the ice storage container 13 is higher than the height of the lowermost end of the inclined portion 15, a part of the detection lever 14 is in the ice storage container 13 when not operating. May be located at.

Further, the lowermost end of the inclined portion 15 of this embodiment was in contact with the rear wall of the ice storage container 13, but the ice storage container 13
May be in contact with the bottom surface of the ice container, and by doing so, the movement locus of the detection lever can be increased, and it is possible to prevent the ice at the bottom of the ice storage container 13 from being left without being taken out forever.

Furthermore, although the inclined surface of the inclined portion 15 of this embodiment is a flat surface, the inclined surface may be a curved surface.

Next, a refrigerator with an ice making machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The same configurations as those of the conventional and first embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the essential parts of a refrigerator with an ice maker according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 21 denotes an ice storage container, which is located below the automatic ice maker body 11 and the ice tray 12 and is installed so as to be pulled out by sliding on the bottom surface of the freezer compartment 2. 22 is a detection lever (ice storage amount detection lever) as an ice storage amount detection means,
The tip is curved, and the tip side is bent upward in a substantially V shape to form a bent portion 23, which is pivotally supported by the automatic ice making machine body 11 about a shaft. The detection lever 22 moves the bent portion 23 up and down in the ice storage container 21 to move the ice storage container 2
Detect the amount of ice in 1.

It should be noted that the detection lever 22 is located outside the ice storage container 21 when it is not operating, and even when the detection lever 22 is rotated to the lowest position in the ice storage container 21 during operation.
The tip portion is located above the upper end of the rear wall of the ice storage container 21.

The operation of the refrigerator with an ice making machine constructed as described above will be described below. After a lapse of a predetermined time from the ice removing operation, the detection lever 22 is driven by the drive motor.
Rotates downward, and the detection lever 22 and the bent portion 23 descend in the ice storage container 21 and come into contact with ice, thereby detecting the amount of ice.

At this time, when the refrigerator user pulls out the ice storage container 21 to take out the ice from the ice storage container 21, the bent portion 23 of the detection lever 22 comes into contact with the rear wall of the ice storage container 21. Then, as the ice storage container 21 is pulled out further toward the front, the upper end of the rear wall of the ice storage container 21 is bent at the bent portion 2
The detection lever 22 is pushed up so as to go under the detection lever 22 along the inclined surface of 3. When the upper end of the rear wall of the ice storage container 21 reaches the bending point of the detection lever 22,
The detection lever 22 is in the highest pushed state.
Then, when the ice storage container 21 is further pulled out, the upper end of the rear wall of the ice storage container 21 is pulled out from the bending point of the detection lever 22 so that the entire detection lever 22 is moved outside the ice storage container 21, and gradually descends and stops at a predetermined position. To do.

Immediately after that, when the refrigerator user finishes taking out the ice and pushes the ice storage container 21 into the deep side of the freezer compartment 2,
The upper end of the rear wall of the ice storage container 21 comes into contact with the detection lever 22 and pushes it up, the bending point of the detection lever 22 gets over the rear wall of the ice storage container 21, and the detection lever 22 descends inside the ice storage container 21. Then, after a predetermined time, a control unit (not shown) connected to the detection lever 22 detects the ice storage amount.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the detection lever 2 by pulling out the ice storage container 21 during the ice storage amount detecting operation.
In order to prevent the damage of No. 2, since the conventional notch is not provided, the strength of the ice storage container 21 is not reduced, and further, it is possible to prevent the scattering of ice pieces from the ice storage container 21 at the time of ice removal, and at the same time. The amount of ice storage in the ice storage container 21 can be increased.

Although the detection lever 22 of this embodiment has a substantially dogleg shape, it may have an arcuate shape or a triangular shape having a substantially doglegged slope.

Although the detection lever 22 of this embodiment is located outside the ice storage container 21 when it is not operating, the tip of the detection lever 22 closest to the rear wall of the ice storage container 21 is As long as it is located above the upper end of the rear wall of the ice storage container 21, part of the detection lever 22 may be located inside the ice storage container 21.

[0038]

As described above, according to the present invention, the conventional notch is not provided in order to prevent damage to the detection lever due to the withdrawal of the ice storage container during the ice storage amount detecting operation, so that the strength of the ice storage container is improved. It is possible to prevent the scattering of ice pieces from the ice storage container during ice removal without lowering the temperature.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an essential part of a refrigerator with an ice maker according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the ice storage container shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts of a refrigerator with an ice maker according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a main part of a conventional refrigerator with an ice maker with an opened door.

5 is a perspective view of an ice storage box of the ice maker shown in FIG. 4;

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Refrigerator main body 2 Freezer compartment 11 Automatic ice maker main body 12 Ice tray 13 Ice storage container 14 Detection lever (ice storage amount detection lever) 15 Inclined part 21 Ice storage container 22 Detection lever (ice storage amount detection lever) 23 Bent part

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A freezer compartment defined by a heat insulating wall in a refrigerator main body, an automatic ice maker main body provided with an ice tray in the freezer compartment, and a pivotally rotatably rotatably rotatably supported by the automatic ice maker main body. An ice making refrigerator having an ice storage amount detection lever and an ice storage container that is provided so as to be able to be pulled out below the ice making tray, having an inclined portion provided on a rear wall of the ice storage container,
The refrigerator with an ice maker, wherein the lowermost end of the inclined portion is lower than the lowermost point of the movement locus of the ice storage amount detection lever. 2. A freezer compartment defined by a heat insulating wall in a refrigerator main body, an automatic ice maker main body provided with an ice tray provided in the freezer compartment, and a pivotally rotatably rotatably supported by the automatic ice maker main body. In a refrigerator with an ice maker having an ice storage amount detection lever and an ice storage container that can be pulled out below the ice tray, the ice storage amount detection lever is inclined to a portion facing the upper end of the rear wall of the ice storage container. A refrigerator with an ice maker having a surface, and a tip of the ice storage amount detection lever is always located above an upper end of a rear wall of the ice storage container.