JPS5867Y2 - Auger ice maker - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] This invention relates to an auger-type ice maker, and particularly relates to an improvement of its press head.

A water supply pipe is connected to the cooling cylinder around which the evaporator of the refrigeration system is wrapped, and a rotating spiral blade is arranged inside the cooling cylinder, and a fixed pressing head is attached to the upper end of the blade. The rotating spiral blade sequentially guides the thin ice chips upward while scraping them off, and the pressing head is provided with a plurality of protrusions extending downward in the axial direction and outward in the radial direction, and an ice compression passage is formed between adjacent protrusions. An auger-type ice maker is widely known in which thin ice cubes are passed through an ice compression passage to be compressed and compacted, and then delivered through a delivery port. In order to increase the ice compression ratio and obtain high-quality ice blocks called chip ice with low moisture content, the radial cross-sectional area of the ice compression passage provided in the pressing head is made smaller on the delivery port side.

For this reason, when a thin piece of ice enters the ice compression passage and passes through it, a large pressing force is required, but when the amount of ice entering slightly exceeds the amount of compression, such as in winter, the ice at the head of the compression Extra pushing force is required to pass through the compression passage,
Since the ice pieces tend to rotate in the circumferential direction together with the rotating helical blade, there is a possibility that the ice pieces stop rising, resulting in a so-called ice jam.

In order to eliminate this possibility, conventionally, the
As shown in the figure, one or more ribs extend downward at a predetermined length and interval on the inner circumferential wall surface of the cooling cylinder directly below the pressing head 18 mounted in the upper end of the cooling cylinder 10 by, for example, a set screw 11. 22 is implanted, and the diameter of the rotary spiral blade 20 at a position corresponding to the rib is formed to be slightly smaller, and the rib 2 is
2 prevents the rotating spiral blade 20 and the ice pieces from rotating together and forcibly moves the ice pieces upward,
It becomes possible to obtain a pushing up effect that is much larger than the force required when passing through the ice compression passage 16 of the pressing head 18, and a state in which ice cannot pass through the ice compression passage 16 of the pressing head 18, that is, occurrence of clogging is prevented. An auger-type ice maker was proposed.

This conventional auger-type ice maker was very good in terms of effectively preventing the occurrence of ice clogging. As a result, the following manufacturing problems existed.

(1) In order to insert the ribs into the cooling cylinder, a notch groove 23 had to be formed, and since the notch groove was not a through groove, troublesome cutting work was required to process it.

(2) The ribs must have sufficient strength to prevent ice chips from rotating, which requires difficult welding within the cooling cylinder after the ribs are installed.

Furthermore, there was a possibility that the ribs would fall off due to poor welding or fatigue of the welded portion.

(3) Rib welding sometimes caused distortion in the cooling tube.

Therefore, the purpose of this invention is to provide an auger-type ice maker that is improved so that the above-mentioned problems of the conventional auger-type ice maker can be solved without causing clogging of ice pieces. A preferred embodiment of this invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal sectional view of the conventional auger ice maker mentioned above, and the general structure of the auger ice maker is the same as that of the ice maker of this invention.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, a refrigerating system evaporator 12 is wrapped around the outer periphery of the cooling cylinder 10, and a heat insulating material 14 is further wrapped around the outer periphery.
At the upper end of the cooling cylinder 10, there is a pressing head 18 having an ice compression passage 16 whose cross-sectional area gradually decreases upward.
Attach.

An auger consisting of a spiral blade 20 and a shaft 30 passes through this cooling cylinder 10.

The lower end of the shaft 30 is rotatably supported by a bearing 28,
The upper end extends further upwards into the ice stocker 21.

25 is an agitator for stirring ice. A water supply pipe 26 is connected to the bottom of the cooling cylinder 10, and a shaft 30 is connected to a drive motor 32 via a suitable speed reduction mechanism.

In the auger ice maker having such a structure, water supplied from the lower part of the cooling cylinder 1 through the water supply pipe 26 is cooled by the evaporator 12 and is formed as a thin layer of ice on the inner peripheral wall surface of the cooling cylinder 10.

This thin layer of ice is scraped off by the spiral blade 20 and sequentially pushed upward while rotating, and guided into the ice compression passage 16 formed in the pressing head 18.

The ice pieces are further compressed in this passage to become high-quality ice cubes with low moisture content, and are stored in the stocker 21.

According to this invention, as shown in Fig. 4, instead of implanting ribs on the inner surface of the cooling cylinder as in the conventional case (Figs. 1 to 3),
The lower end 17a of the protrusion 17 forming the ice compression passage 16 has a predetermined length sufficient to prevent the ice pieces and the auger from rotating together.
Preferably, it is further extended downward by an amount corresponding to the length of the conventional rib, and is positioned below the lower end surface 18a of the pressing head 18.

During assembly, this pressing head 18 has its lower end surface 18a aligned with the shaft 3.
It is inserted into the shaft upper end 30b in the direction of arrow A until it comes into contact with or approaches the shoulder 30a of No. 0, and is then fixed to the cooling cylinder in the same manner as in the prior art.

Therefore, the lower end 17a of the protrusion of the pressing head 18 is connected to the spiral blade 20.
No spiral blade is formed near the shoulder 30a of the shaft 30 in order to prevent them from entering the rotating region of the blades and interfering with each other.

Moreover, as a modification of the one shown in FIG. 4, a pressing head and a spiral blade can be formed as shown in FIG.

That is, in the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the radially inward surface 17b of the lower end 17H of each protrusion 17 of the pressing head 18 extends straight downward from the lower end surface 18a of the pressing head parallel to the axis. However, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the lower end portion 17a extends toward the lowest end of the radially outer surface 17C while being inclined radially outward. Lower end 17
The space surrounded by a has a shape in which the radius increases as the distance from the lower end surface 18a increases.

In order to adapt to this space shape, the helical blade 20 provided on the shaft 30 is also formed so that the radial dimension, that is, the tooth height, is gradually reduced in the portion 20a near the shoulder 30a. There is no interference between the ridge and the lower end portion 17a of the protrusion.

Next, the operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be explained.

In the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, when the flakes of ice that have been swirled upward by the spiral blade 20 of the auger reach the lowest end of the flat end of the protrusion 17, their spiral movement is stopped by the lower end 17H. The icicles proceed straight upward without causing any blockage, and then enter the ice compression passage 16 of the pressing head 18, and gradually become icicles and enter the ice cube 21 from the outlet or upper opening of the ice compression passage 16. released.

Furthermore, in the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the lower end 17a of the protrusion, which the ice chips reach first, is located at a position far away from the center in the radial direction, and the tooth height of the helical blade portion 20a is also almost at its full height. However, at this position, sufficient compressive force is not yet applied to the ice piece, and therefore the force that tries to make the ice piece idle is small, but as the ice piece rises, the radius of the lower end 17a Since the directional dimension, that is, the thickness increases, the lower end portion 17a reliably prevents idling even if the component force of idling increases as the compressive force increases, making the entire structure rational.

On the contrary, the tooth height of the spiral blade portion 20a gradually decreases, but at the lowest end of the protrusion it is still completely flaky, but as it rises it solidifies, and in the ice compression passage it becomes almost flake-like. Since it is completely solidified, the propulsive force is maintained even though the tooth height is lower as the tooth rises during the intermediate process.

In particular, in both embodiments of this invention, even when compared with the pressing head shown in FIG. 1, the pressing head shown in FIG. ), the axial length of the ice compression passage 16 is longer by at least the length from the lower end surface 18a of the pressing head to the lowest end of the protrusion, so the side surface of the protrusion 17 that limits the ice compression passage 16 is It can draw a natural curved surface and extend downward in a downward direction.
Compression becomes smoother.

As described above, according to this invention, a water supply pipe is connected to a cooling cylinder around which a refrigeration system evaporator is wrapped, an auger is placed inside the cooling cylinder, and a fixed pressure head is attached to the upper end of the auger. , the thin ice flakes formed on the inner circumferential wall surface of the cooling cylinder are sequentially guided upward while being scraped off by the auger, and the pressing head is provided with a plurality of protrusions extending downward in the axial direction and outward in the radial direction so as to be adjacent to each other. forming an ice compression passage between the ridges, compressing and compacting the thin ice pieces by passing them through the ice compression passage;
In an auger-type ice maker that delivers ice through a delivery port, the protrusion extends a predetermined distance further downward from the lower end surface of the pressing head and partially overlaps the auger, and is located at a position corresponding to this overlapping portion. Since the diameter of the auger is made smaller than other parts by an amount sufficient to prevent interference with the extension of the protrusion, various effects as described below can be obtained.

(1) The ice compression path becomes substantially longer, allowing smoother compression.

(2) Grooving of the cooling cylinder and auger becomes unnecessary.

(3) The number of parts is reduced by the rib.

(4) Welding of ribs and finishing after welding becomes unnecessary.

(5) Distortion of the cooling cylinder due to welding is eliminated.

(6) The accident of ribs falling off is resolved.

In addition, although the pressing head with four protrusions is shown in the example,
This invention is not limited to the number, and the length of the extension of the lower end of the protrusion and the shape of the protrusion are not limited to the illustrated example and can be determined as appropriate.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional auger ice maker, Figure 2 is a sectional view of the cooling cylinder of the auger ice maker shown in Figure 1, Figure 3 is an elevation view of the auger, and Figure 4 is based on this invention. An exploded perspective view of the press head and auger of an auger-type ice maker, Fig. 5 is a view corresponding to Fig. 4 showing another embodiment of this invention, and Fig. 6 is another view of the press head of a conventional auger-type ice maker. It is a perspective view showing an example. In the figure, 10 is a cooling cylinder, 12 is an evaporator, 16 is an ice compression passage, 17 is a protrusion, 17a is an extension of the lower end of the protrusion, 18 is a pressing head, 18a is a lower end surface of the pressing head, and 20 is a spiral blade. , 26 is a water supply pipe.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A water supply pipe is connected to a cooling cylinder around which the evaporator of the refrigeration system is wrapped, and an auger is placed inside this cooling cylinder, and a fixed pressing head is attached to the upper end of the auger, and thin ice is formed on the inner circumferential wall of the cooling cylinder. The pieces are successively guided upward while being scraped off by the auger, and the pressing head is provided with a plurality of protrusions extending axially downward and radially outward to form ice compression passages between adjacent protrusions; In an auger-type ice maker in which the thin ice pieces are compressed and compacted by passing through the ice compression passage and sent out through the delivery port, the protrusion extends a predetermined distance further downward from the lower end surface of the pressing head. An auger-type ice making device that partially overlaps the auger and has a diameter of the auger at a position corresponding to the overlapping portion smaller than other portions by an amount sufficient to prevent interference with the extension of the protrusion. Machine.