JPH11304319A - Ice maker of refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent ice from sublimating and ice from becoming smaller by providing an ice maker with roughly L-shaped flanges, at both flanks of the lower opening of a frame, and outward flanges at front and rear of the lower opening, and abutting these four piece of flanges and the upper opening face of an ice reserving box against each other, and covering an ice reserving box with the frame and a shutter. SOLUTION: When a shutter 4 is elongated in condition that an ice making pan 1 is horizontal, the shutter 4 is abutted against a fin 11, and with the shutter 4 as a boundary, the side of the ice making pan 1 and the side of an ice reserving box 15 are separated, and besides roughly L-shaped flanges 8a and 8b, at both flanks of the lower opening of the flame 5, and outward flanges, at front and rear of the lower opening, are made. Then, those roughly L-shaped flanges 8a and 8b and the outward flanges are abutted against the upper opening face of the ice reserving box 15, and the ice reserving box 15 is covered with the flame 5 and the shutter 4. Hereby, even if ice is stored for a long period, the ice never sublimates and never becomes small, and the quality of ice can be raised.

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 device for automatically generating ice provided in a refrigerator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 10 of Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei.
It consists of a driving device that twists the ice tray and a frame that fixes the ice tray and the drive unit together.The ice tray is turned from the horizontal state to reverse and twist, and the ice in the ice tray is placed below. Was dropped on the ice bin.

[0003]

In the above prior art, since the upper part of the ice storage box is open, the dry cold air from the cooler directly contacts the ice of the ice storage box. If it is kept, there is a disadvantage that the ice sublimes and the ice becomes smaller. Further, since the smell of the food stored in the storage room is circulating in the storage room, there is a disadvantage that the smell is attached to the ice and the ice becomes poor.

[0004]

A pair of arms are provided integrally with the ice tray at both ends of a rotating shaft of the ice tray, and one side of a bellows-shaped shutter made of a soft material is fastened between the pair of arms. The other side parallel to one side of the shutter is fastened to the middle of the height of the side of the frame, so that when the ice tray is horizontal, the shutter extends, and when the ice tray is turned over, the shutter contracts so that the shutter contracts. And a pair of arms form an angle. The frame is composed of both side surfaces, a ceiling surface, and front and rear surfaces. A cool air discharge port to the upper portion of the ice tray is provided at an upper portion of the rear surface, and a cool air return port from the lower portion of the ice tray is provided at a lower portion of the rear surface.

[0005] During the ice making, the cool air discharged from the cool air discharge port passes over the ice tray and cools the water in the ice tray. The cool air that has passed over the ice tray falls down from both sides of the ice tray, passes over the shutter, and is guided to the cool air return port at the bottom rear of the frame.
A flange is provided inside the lower opening end face of the side face opposite to the frame side face to which the shutter is fastened, and a fin made of a soft material is fastened to the tip of the flange. During ice making, the ice tray is horizontal and the shutter is extended, and the shutter comes into contact with the fins, separating the ice tray from the ice tray by the shutter and fins. No contact with ice.

[0006] On the other hand, when the ice making is completed, the ice making tray is rotated and inverted from the horizontal state by the driving device for twisting the ice making tray, and twisting is applied, so that the ice in the ice making tray is placed below. Let it fall. At this time, when the ice tray is inverted, the shutter is fastened to the arm that is integral with the ice tray, so the bellows-shaped shutter contracts and folds on the side of the frame where the shutter is fastened, and the ice tray is twisted. The ice falls from the ice tray directly into the ice bin.

[0007] In addition, substantially L
Since the four-sided flanges and the outward flanges are provided on the front and rear surfaces of the lower opening, the four-sided flanges and the upper opening surface of the ice storage box are in contact with each other, and the frame and the shutter cover the ice storage box. Cold air does not come into direct contact with the ice in the box. In addition, one of the lower openings of the frame has a hole through which a lever for detecting the amount of ice passes, and a flange is provided around the hole to make it difficult for cold air to leak from this hole to the ice storage box. is there.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. A pair of arms 3a and 3b are provided integrally with the ice tray 1 at both ends 2a and 2b of a rotating shaft of the ice tray 1 formed by injection molding, and a soft material is provided between the tips of the pair of arms 3a and 3b.
For example, one side of a bellows-shaped shutter 4 made of silicon rubber or the like is fastened. The other side parallel to one side of the shutter 4 is fastened to a shutter fastening portion 5a at a middle height of the side surface of the frame, and when the ice tray 1 is in a horizontal state as shown in FIG. When the ice tray 1 is inverted as shown in FIG. 7, the ice tray 1 and the pair of arms 3a and 3b are at an angle so that the shutter 4 contracts. The frame 5 is composed of both side surfaces, a ceiling surface, and front and rear surfaces. A cool air discharge port 6 to the upper portion of the ice tray is provided at the upper rear portion, and a cool air return port 7 from the lower portion of the ice tray is opened at the lower rear portion. .

During the ice making, the cool air 18 coming out of the cool air discharge port 6 passes over the ice tray 1 and cools the water 16 in the ice tray 1. The cool air 18 that has passed over the ice tray 1 falls down from both sides of the ice tray 1, passes over the shutter 4, and is guided to the cool air return port 7 at the lower rear portion of the frame. A flange 10 is provided inside the lower opening end surface of the side surface facing the shutter fastening portion 5a, and a fin 11 made of a soft material such as silicon rubber is fastened to the tip of the flange 10. During ice making, as shown in FIG. 1, the ice tray 1 is horizontal and the shutter 4 is extended, and the shutter 4 comes into contact with the fin 11, and the shutter 4 and the fin 11 cause the ice tray 1 side and the ice storage box 15 side. To cool the ice tray 1
Does not directly contact the ice 17 in the ice storage box 15.

On the other hand, when the ice making is completed, the driving device 12 for twisting the ice making tray 1 as shown in FIG.
Is turned from the horizontal state to be inverted and twisted, so that the ice in the ice tray 1 is dropped into the ice storage box 15 installed below. At this time, when the ice tray 1 is inverted, the shutter 4 is fastened to the arms 3a and 3b integrated with the ice tray 1, so that the bellows-shaped shutter 4 contracts,
The ice making tray 1 is twisted by folding the ice tray 1 to the side of the frame to which the shutter 4 is fastened, and ice 17 is removed from the ice tray to an ice storage box 15.
Fall directly to.

Further, substantially L-shaped flanges 8a and 8b are provided on both sides of the lower opening of the frame 5, and outward flanges 9a and 9b are provided on the front and rear surfaces of the lower opening. Since the upper opening surface abuts and covers the ice storage box 15 with the frame 5 and the shutter 4, the ice storage box 15
The cold air 18 does not directly touch the ice 17.

Further, at one of the lower openings of the frame 5, there is provided an ice detecting lever passage hole 14a through which an ice detecting lever 13 for detecting the amount of ice passes, and cool air 18 leaks into the ice storage box 15 from this hole. To make it difficult, a flange 14b is provided around the ice detection lever passage hole 14a.

[0013]

According to the present invention, the dry cold air from the cooler does not directly contact the ice in the ice storage box. Therefore, even if the ice is stored for a long period of time, the ice does not sublime and the ice does not become small, and the ice does not smell. Since ice does not adhere, the quality of ice can be maintained in a fresh state for a long time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a normal ice making operation in an ice making device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the ice making device of the present invention during a de-icing operation.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a normal ice making operation of the ice making device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ice tray, 2a, 2b ... Both ends of a rotating shaft, 3a, 3b ... Arm, 4 ... Shutter, 5 ... Frame, 5a ... Shutter fastening part, 6 ... Cold air discharge port, 7 ... Cold air return port, 8a, 8
b: substantially L-shaped flange, 9a, 9b: outward flange, 10, 14b: flange, 11: fin, 12: driving device, 13: ice detecting lever, 14a: ice detecting lever passage hole,
15 ... ice storage box, 16 ... water, 17 ... ice, 18 ... cold air.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An ice tray made of a resin, a driving device for twisting the ice tray, and a frame for integrally fixing the ice tray and a drive unit, wherein the ice tray is turned from a horizontal state to be inverted and twisted. The ice in the ice tray is dropped into an ice storage box placed below.A pair of arms are provided integrally with the ice tray at both ends of the rotating shaft of the ice tray, and a bellows-like material made of a soft material is provided between a pair of arms. One side of the shutter is fastened, and the other side parallel to one side of the shutter is fastened in the middle of the height of the side of the frame,
Normally, when the ice tray is horizontal, the shutter extends to cover the upper portion of the ice bin, and when the ice tray is turned over by ice release operation, the shutter contracts to open the upper portion of the ice bin. The frame has two sides, a ceiling, and front and rear surfaces. A cool air outlet to the top of the ice tray is provided at the top of the rear, and a cool air return port from the bottom of the ice tray is opened at the bottom of the back. A flange is provided inside the lower opening end face of the side face opposite to the side face of the frame to which the shutter is fastened, and a fin made of a soft material is fastened to the tip of the flange. A shutter abuts on the fin to separate the ice tray side and the ice storage box side from the shutter, and a substantially L-shaped flange is provided on both sides of a lower opening of the frame, and front and rear surfaces of the lower opening. Outward franc to The four sides of the flange and the upper opening surface of the ice storage box are in contact with each other to cover the ice storage box with the frame and the shutter, and one of the lower openings of the frame is provided with a flange through which a lever for detecting the amount of ice can pass. An ice making device for a refrigerator, characterized in that a hole attached thereto is open.