JPS5813250Y2 - automatic ice maker - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] This invention relates to an improvement of an automatic ice maker, particularly an automatic fountain ice maker.

Conventionally, as this type of fountain-type automatic ice maker, the ice maker shown in FIG. 1 has been widely used.

Namely, 1 is an ice-making unit having a large number of ice-making compartments that open downward, 2 is an evaporator of a refrigeration cycle system, 3 is a water tray, and 4
is the water supply pipe for ice making, 5 is the water tank, 6 is the water pipe, P
M is a water pump, 7 is a water supply pipe of the external water supply system, and W is a solenoid valve for water supply. In the ice making cycle, the water in the water tank 5 is sent to the distribution pipe 4 by the pump PM, and the water fountain in the water tray 3 is The water is injected from the hole 3a to each ice-making chamber, where it is frozen, and the excess water passes through the drain hole 3b in the water tray 3 and is then drained into the water storage tank 5.
The ice making cycle is completed and the pump PM is stopped.

Next, when the deicing cycle begins, the water tray 3 is tilted downward together with the water tank 5 toward the position where the opening surface of the ice making chamber is opened, and the ice cubes that have frozen inside the ice making chamber fall off and are removed from the water tray 3. It falls onto the surface and slides down the surface to be discharged into a water reservoir (not shown).

However, in the above-mentioned ice maker, ice pieces from freezing remain stuck to the surface of the tilted water tray 3, the water fountain hole 3a, and the drain hole 3b, and if this is left unattended, the water tray 3 This residual ice may cause malfunctions due to ice build-up when tilting upward, or residual ice particles that block the fountain hole 3a and drainage hole 3b may cause cloudy water or fire water in the next ice-making cycle. In order to melt and remove ice chips, an automatic water supply system is used in which the electromagnetic valve WV is opened and cleaning water is sprayed onto the surface of the water tray.

The automatic water supply system generally supplies washing water as soon as the water tray is fully opened, and continues to supply water for washing until the water tray begins to close. A method has been proposed in which water is supplied immediately before or after the fall of the water.

However, in the above-mentioned water-saving method, when the water temperature of the water supplied from the water supply system (external water supply system) is low, especially in winter or in cold regions, when the water temperature is about 5 to 1 °C, the frozen ice pieces on the surface of the water tray are removed. It takes a long time to melt the ice, so the initial setting time for supplying the minimum amount of washing water may not be sufficient to melt the ice chips on the surface of the water tray.

Therefore, in the conventional water saving method described above, when the water supply temperature becomes low, the water supply time must be lengthened.

This invention was made in order to solve the above problem, and the amount of washing water that is sufficient and necessary to melt the frozen ice pieces on the surface of the water tray is determined according to the temperature of the washing water that is supplied. The purpose of this invention is to provide an automatic ice maker equipped with a water supply control means that can supply water.

Hereinafter, this invention will be explained in detail based on the drawings showing an example of its implementation.

In FIG. 2, 3 is a water tray in the automatic ice maker shown in FIG. 1, 7 is a water supply pipe of the external water supply system, and WV is a water supply solenoid valve.
Reference numeral 7a denotes a water supply pipe, and a temperature sensor 8 of a water temperature detection thermoswitch Th3, which is activated by detecting the temperature of the supplied washing water, is placed in contact with the water supply pipe 7. , as shown in FIG. 3, is incorporated into the electric circuit of an automatic ice maker.

That is, COMP is the refrigeration system compressor, FM is the condenser fan motor, PM is the water pump mentioned above, WV is the water supply solenoid valve, AM is the water tray drive motor, SW is the water tray interlocking switch, and Th1 is the ice making detection thermometer. switch, Th2 is a deicing detection thermoswitch, HGV is a hot gas supply solenoid valve, TM is a thermal timer, water temperature detection thermoswitch Th3 is a deicing detection thermoswitch, and a contact d that connects a water supply solenoid valve Wv to a power supply E. It is placed at a location where it can be switched to the contact C connected to the detection thermoswitch Th2, and when the water temperature of the water supply pipe of the external water system is higher than a predetermined temperature (for example, 5°C or higher), it forms a closed circuit with the contact C, and the water temperature When it becomes less than that, it is adjusted so that it forms a closed circuit with the contact point d.

In the automatic ice making machine configured as described above, the ice making cycle is started by the ice making thermoswitch Th1 as shown in FIG.
is connected to terminal a, and the water dish interlocking changeover switch SW is activated with it connected to terminal a.

That is, the water pump PM is driven together with the compressor COMP and the fan motor FM, and by driving the pump PM, the water in the water storage tank 5 is injected and supplied from the distribution pipe 4 to the ice making chamber of the ice making section 1, and ice is made.

When the above ice making cycle is completed and it is detected by the ice making detection thermoswitch Th1 and the contact is switched from a to b, the water tray drive motor AM is started and the water tray 3 is moved to the water storage tank 5.
At the same time, the remaining ice-making water in the water storage tank is discharged.

When the water tray reaches the fully open position, the switch SW linked to it changes its contacts from the a contact on the ice making operation side to the b contact on the deicing operation side, that is, the solenoid valve WV side connected to the water supply pipe 7 of the external water system. , the water tray drive motor AM is stopped,
At the same time, the hot gas supply solenoid valve HGV operates and opens.
Hot gas is sent to the evaporator 2, and a cycle for deicing the ice cubes frozen in the ice making chamber is started.

In this de-icing cycle, the ice cubes in the ice-making chamber are dropped onto the water tray 3 in the fully open position, and are then slid down there and discharged into a water storage tank (not shown).

On the other hand, when the temperature of the ice-making chamber rises due to hot gas, the deicing detection thermoswitch Th2 is activated, its contact closes, and the solenoid valve WV for supplying washing water is energized, but the water temperature detection thermoswitch Th3 is not assembled. The system operates as described below and saves washing water.

(1) When the water supply water temperature is above a predetermined temperature, the water temperature detection thermoswitch Th3 is in a closed circuit with the contact C, so when the deicing detection thermoswitch Th2 is closed, the solenoid valve WV is opened. Supply of cleaning water begins.

This is the water supply control of C in the time chart of FIG.

(2) When the water supply ice temperature is below the predetermined temperature, the water temperature detection thermoswitch Th3 is in a closed circuit with the contact d, so the ice tray interlocking changeover switch SW is connected to the contact d, regardless of the deicing detection thermoswitch Th2. When this happens, the solenoid valve WV opens and the supply of cleaning water is started.

This is the water supply control of A in the time chart of FIG.

(3) Normally, the external water supply system is buried underground or in a wall, and the pipes are exposed on the ground or outside the wall near the ice maker, but the water in the exposed water supply pipes is When the temperature decreases, heat is taken away and the water temperature decreases.

(4) When the ice maker enters the deicing cycle, when the water temperature is below the predetermined temperature, the solenoid valve Wv is opened as described in (2) above, and washing water is supplied.

(5) Here, after the low-temperature water from the exposed external water supply system was sprayed as cleaning water, it entered the water supply pipe underground or inside the wall, so it was relatively free from heat loss due to the outside temperature. When high-temperature water flows into the water supply pipe section where the temperature sensor 8 is installed, the temperature of the water supply pipe in this section rises.
The water temperature detection thermoswitch Th3 is activated and the contact is switched from d to C.

(6) With the above contact switching, the solenoid valve WV is temporarily closed,
The supply of washing water is stopped midway through.

(7) Next, when an ice cube falls from the ice making chamber and the deicing detection thermoswitch Th2 closes, the solenoid valve WV opens again.
Cleaning water supply will be resumed.

(8) In other words, the water temperature detection thermoswitch Th3 is
As shown by C in the time chart in the figure, after the completion of deicing is detected and until the water tray drive motor AM is restarted at the time described later, the washing water is used to sufficiently melt the ice chips on the surface of the water tray, etc. The water temperature is set at a temperature lower than that, and the circuit is set so that a closed circuit is formed with the d contact only when frozen pieces of ice cannot be sufficiently melted at ice temperatures below that temperature.

(9) Therefore, as described in items (5) to (7) above, when the temperature of the water supply reaches a predetermined temperature or higher, there is no need to stop the water supply and waste water supply.

(10) Items (3) to (8) above are the water supply control of the time chart ρD in FIG.

(11) A situation like A in the time chart of FIG. 4 occurs when the exposed part of the external water supply system is long and the amount of water greater than the amount of water used for washing the water dish is cooled by the outside air.

(12) In the above case, ice chips stuck on the surface of the water tray cannot be easily melted due to the low temperature of the washing water, and water is supplied at the same time as the water tray is fully opened, and the water tray drive motor returns and starts. It is necessary to sprinkle cleaning water until the

(13) By supplying washing water for a long period of time as described above, the ice chips stuck on the surface of the water tray will be completely melted and removed, which may lead to malfunctions due to ice retention, cloudy water, or irregularly shaped ice blocks such as missing books. That's not it.

This has been demonstrated with conventional ice makers.

(14) In contrast to the conventional ice maker (A in the time chart in Figure 4) that wastes washing water without any water supply control even if the water supply temperature reaches a predetermined temperature or higher, the ice maker with the above configuration In this case, when the water supply temperature is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature, water supply control is performed and there is no wastage of washing water (C in the time chart of FIG. 4).

(15) In addition, in the ice making machine having the above configuration, the water supply temperature changes when the water supply temperature is below a predetermined temperature, when the water temperature rises with consumption, or when the water temperature is above a predetermined temperature. However, the amount of water used can be controlled to a minimum without causing malfunctions due to ice build-up, cloudy water, or irregularly shaped ice due to missing pieces.

(16) Furthermore, in the ice making machine having the above configuration, when the water supply temperature also decreases due to a decrease in the outside temperature, water supply control is performed as shown in D in the time chart of FIG.

(17) B in the time chart in Figure 4 is the water supply control of cleaning water using a timer, but this is a control that is not related to the water supply water temperature, so if the water supply water temperature is below a predetermined temperature, ice buildup may occur. Failures, cloudy water, and the formation of irregularly shaped ice due to missing pieces cannot be prevented.

Next, the operation after the deicing detection thermoswitch Th2 is closed will be described.

When this switch Th2 is closed, the heater of the thermal timer TM is also energized at the same time, so after a certain period of time has elapsed, the switch of the thermal timer TM is closed, the water tray drive motor AM is started, and the water tray is filled with water. When it starts to rotate with the tank and returns to its original position, the changeover switch SW switches its contact to a, cutting off the power to the water tray drive motor AM, and the water supply solenoid valves W and Power to the hot gas supply solenoid valve HGV is also cut off, and the deicing cycle is completed.

As described above, this invention is equipped with a switching switch that switches to the contact on the solenoid valve side connected to the water supply pipe of the external water system when the water tray of the ice making section is fully opened. In an automatic ice maker that opens fully and supplies washing water to a water tray, the water supply pipe is provided with a temperature sensing element of a water temperature detection thermoswitch, and the water temperature detection thermoswitch operates when the detected temperature is higher than a predetermined temperature. The solenoid valve is connected to the contact side of the changeover switch via the de-icing detection thermoswitch, and when the detected temperature is below a predetermined value, the solenoid valve is switched to the contact point that is directly connected to the contact side of the changeover switch. This reduces the use of washing water to the water tray to an effective minimum, and also prevents malfunctions due to ice buildup that can easily occur due to a drop in water supply temperature, cloudy water, and the formation of irregularly shaped ice with missing pieces. Excellent effect on melting and removing stuck ice chips.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the main parts of a conventional automatic ice maker, Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the installation of a water temperature detection thermoswitch showing an embodiment of this invention, and Fig. 3 is a control circuit diagram of the ice maker. FIG. 4 is a timer chart. 1... Ice making section, 2... Evaporator, 3...
...Water dish, 4...Distribution pipe, 5...
Water tank, 6... Water pipe, 7... Water supply pipe of external water system, COMP... Compressor, FM...
...Fan motor, AM...Water tray drive motor, W■...Solenoid valve for water supply, HGV...
・Hot gas supply solenoid valve, Th1... Ice making detection thermo switch, Th2... Deicing detection thermo switch, TM... Thermal timer, SW...
...Selector switch, Th3...Water temperature detection thermoswitch, 8...Temperature sensing element.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] When the water tray of the ice making section is fully opened, it is equipped with a changeover switch that switches to the contact on the solenoid valve side that connects to the water supply pipe of the external water system, and this switch fully opens the solenoid valve and automatically supplies washing water to the water tray. In the ice making machine, the water supply pipe is provided with a temperature sensing element of a water temperature detection thermoswitch, and the water temperature detection thermoswitch switches the electromagnetic valve via a deicing detection thermoswitch when the detected temperature is higher than a predetermined temperature. An automatic ice maker characterized in that when the detected temperature is below a predetermined value, the solenoid valve is switched to the contact that connects directly to the contact side of the changeover switch.