JPS61143671A - Ice machine - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an improvement of an ice making machine, and more specifically, an ice making operation that produces ice on an ice making plate, and an ice making operation that removes ice produced on the ice making plate. This paper relates to measures to improve the ice removal performance of an ice maker that alternates between repeated operations.

(Prior art) Conventionally, as an ice making machine, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-28964
As disclosed in the above publication, the ice-making plate includes an ice-making plate for producing ice, a watering circuit for sprinkling water on the ice-making plate, and an ice-making refrigerant circuit for circulating a liquid refrigerant through cooling pipes of the ice-making plate. ,
During ice-making operation, water is flowed down from above onto the ice-making plate, and low-temperature liquid refrigerant is passed through the cooling pipe of the ice-making machine, so that the water flowing down to the ice-making plate is cooled and frozen by the endothermic action of the low-temperature refrigerant. It is known that the ice making plate is adapted to generate ice. In this device, during the ice-removing operation, hot gas is passed through the cooling pipe, so that the ice on the ice-making plate is removed by the heat transfer effect from the ice-making plate due to the hot gas.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the above-mentioned conventional system, the amount of heat of the hot gas during ice removal is set to a level that allows the ice to be removed from the ice plate, but does not melt the iceberg body. For this reason, for example, if the ambient concentration around the ice plate becomes considerably low or if a large amount of ice is formed, ice removal may not be performed sufficiently. In this case, during the next ice-making process, water sprinkling on the ice-making plate will help the ice break away, and some of the ice remaining on the ice-making plate will break off, but the low-temperature refrigerant will not flow through the cooling pipes of the ice-making plate. Since the ice is still being cooled, not all of the ice is removed, and ice is formed roughly on top of the remaining ice, leading to not only defective ice removal but also defective ice making. It turns out. For this reason, during ice removal operation, it is possible to flow hot gas until ice removal is completed, but some of the generated ice may melt, unnecessarily lengthening the ice removal time and increasing the cycle time. invite.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and its purpose is to distribute hot gas to the ice-making plate when a portion of ice begins to be removed from the ice-making plate during ice-removal operation. On the other hand, by sprinkling water for ice making for a period of time that does not melt the ice much, ice removal can be promoted and ice-making can be accelerated.
The objective is to completely remove ice from an ice plate in a short time.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the solving means of the present invention, as shown in FIG. A water sprinkling circuit (8) that sprinkles water, and the ice making plate (
Ice-making refrigerant circuit (1) that circulates liquid refrigerant through the cooling pipes (1)
1), in which the ice making machine generates ice by cooling and freezing the water sprinkled on the ice making plate (1) from the water sprinkling circuit (8), the cooling tube of the ice making plate (1) is provided with hot water. An ice-removing refrigerant circuit (12) that circulates gas, an ice-removing operation command means (50) that instructs an ice-removing operation of ice generated on the ice-making plate (1), and an ice-removing operation command means (50) ), which operates the de-icing refrigerant circuit (12).
ice-off control means (51); ice-off state detection means (52) for detecting a state in which ice generated on the ice making plate (1) starts to break off from the am ice plate (1); - the water sprinkling circuit ( 8); water temperature detection means (22) for detecting the water temperature; and water sprinkling time setting means (22) for receiving the output of the water temperature detecting means (22) and setting water sprinkling time for ice removal according to the water temperature of the water sprinkling circuit (8). 53) and the output of the de-icing state detecting means (52), the water sprinkling circuit (8) is activated, and when the de-icing water sprinkling time set by the water sprinkling time setting means (53) has elapsed, the water sprinkling circuit (8) is activated. 8) and a second cooling water control means (54) for stopping the ice removal refrigerant circuit (12).

(Function) As described above, in the present invention, during ice-making operation, water is sprinkled on the ice-making plate and at the same time, low-temperature liquid refrigerant flows through the cooling pipe, so that the sprinkled water is cooled and frozen. While ice is generated on the ice-making plate, hot gas flows through the cooling pipe of the ice-making plate during ice-removal operation, and ice substantially begins to be removed from the ice-making plate based on the flow of this hot gas.

In other words, when the ice is ready to be removed from the ice-making plate, water for ice-making is sprinkled onto the ice-making plate for a time corresponding to the water temperature along with the hot gas flow, thereby preventing the ice-making time from becoming long and allowing the ice to be removed. There is not much to melt, and the ice is removed completely from the ice plate.

<Example> Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings from FIG. 2 onwards.

Figure 2 shows the overall configuration of the ice making machine, where (1) is an ice making plate for producing ice, 2) is placed above the ice making plate (1), and there are many water sprinkling holes (2a) at the bottom. A water tank (4) having a water tray (4a) arranged below the ice-making plate (1) is connected to the water tank (2) through a water pipe (3). and the water tank (4)
Inside, there is a water device that collects water from the water tank (4)! A water pump (5) is installed to pump up and supply water to the water tank (2) through the water tank (3), and the water tray (4a) of the water tank (4)
The other end opening of the water supply pipe (7) with a water supply solenoid valve (6) interposed therein faces, and after supplying the water from the water tank (4) to the watering tank (2), this water is Water is sprinkled down from the watering hole (2a) onto the ice-making plate (1) for ice-making, and
The water falling from the ice-making plate (1) is returned from the water tray (4a) to the water tank (4), and the water dropped from the ice-making plate (1) is returned to the water tank (4).
A water sprinkling circuit (8) is configured to return the water level of 4) to a predetermined high water level by supplying water from the water supply pipe (7). Note that (9) is an overflow pipe for discharging excess water from the water tank (4).

Furthermore, (10) and (10) are the cooling pipes provided in the ice making plate body (Ia) and (1a) of the ice making plate (1), and (11)
) is a water softening refrigerant circuit that circulates liquid refrigerant through the cooling pipes (10), (10), and (12) is a separation circuit that flows hot gas through the cooling pipes (10), (10) of the ice making plate (1). The ice-making refrigerant circuit (11) includes a compressor (13) and an air-cooled condenser (14) equipped with a fan (14).
15), an expansion valve (16), and a cooling pipe as an evaporator (
10) and (10) are sequentially connected by a refrigerant pipe (17). Note that (18) is an accumulator.

On the other hand, the de-icing refrigerant circuit (12) is connected to the compressor (13).
The ice-removing W1 magnetic valve (20), which opens when ice is removed, and the cooling pipes (10), (10) are connected to the refrigerant distribution I! (17) makes a primary connection.

During ice making, the refrigerant is circulated as shown by the solid arrow in the figure by closing the ice-releasing electromagnetic valve (20) and opening the expansion valve (16), thereby increasing the temperature discharged from the compressor (13). After the heat of the refreshing pressure refrigerant is radiated to the outside air in the condenser (15), the heat is absorbed from the water flowing down the ice-making plate (1) in the cooling pipes (10) and (10) (evaporator). The ice making plate (1) repeatedly cools and freezes water to generate ice, while at the time of ice removal, the ice removal solenoid valve (20)
By opening the expansion valve (16) and closing the expansion valve (16), the refrigerant (hot gas) is circulated as shown by the broken line arrow in the figure, thereby transferring the heat of the refrigerant (hot gas) from the compressor (13) to the cooling pipe (10). ).

The ice making plate (1) is configured to release the ice generated on the ice making plate (1) by repeating the heat dissipation in (10). In addition, the water supply pipe (7) is arranged around the ice-making plate body (1a) of the ice-making plate (1) along this, and when replenishing water to the water tank (4) at the time of ice removal, The heat of this make-up water is applied to the ice on the ice-making plate (1) in order to improve ice removal efficiency.

In addition, (21) is a float switch that detects predetermined high and low water levels in the water tank (4), and (22) is a water temperature detection device that detects the water temperature of the water supply circuit (8) based on the water temperature of the water supply pipe (7). The water supply pipe thermistor (23) as a means is a suction pipe thermistor for detecting the cold Is temperature of the suction side refrigerant pipe (suction pipe) (17) to the compressor (13), and each of the devices (21) to The detection signal of (23) is
4), and the controller (24) controls the water pump (5), pressure 1111M (13), condenser fan (14), water supply solenoid valve (6), and ice removal solenoid valve (2).
0) is activated.

Inside the controller (24), as shown in FIG.
l(31),! =, 11[Water R start 11+lI tm I
i station (32) and a break-off control device (33). The ice making end control device I (30) receives a low water level detection signal from the float switch (21) or an ice making period elapsed signal from the ice making end timer (34),
At the end of ice making, the operation of the pump (5) is stopped, the ice removal solenoid valve (20) is opened to start ice removal, the rotation of the condenser fan (14) is stopped, and the water tank (4) is stopped. ) to supply water to the water supply solenoid valve (6).
) is opened for a predetermined time (1+) (for example, 2 minutes).

The watering time selection device (31) also receives a water temperature signal from the water supply pipe thermistor (22), and sets a first timer (35) (for example, timer time T1 -1 minute), the second timer (36) (for example, timer time T2-3 minutes), or the third timer (37) (for example, timer time T3-6 minutes). Furthermore, the water sprinkling start control device (32) receives a suction pipe temperature signal from the suction pipe thermistor (23), and when the suction pipe temperature value is equal to or higher than a predetermined value (for example, 16°C), the water spray start control device (32)
) is rotated by the timer time T+, T2 or T8 selected by the watering time selection device (31). In addition, the ice removal end control device [(33) closes the ice removal solenoid valve (20) at the end of driving the water pump (5) by the water spray start control device (32), that is, at the end of ice removal, A water supply solenoid valve (6) is used to rotate the condenser fan (14) and the water pump (5), and to compensate for a drop in the water level in the water tank (4) due to the rotation of the water pump (5).
) is opened for a predetermined time (tz) (for example, 40 seconds). In addition, in the same figure, (38) is a float switch (21
This is a water cutoff check control Il device that checks for water cutoff in the water tank (4) based on the detection signal from ) and stops the operation of the compressor (13) when the water cutoff occurs. Also, (39) ~ (
43) is an electromagnetic contactor; (44) is a water supply timer that sets the closing time of the electromagnetic contactor (39) of the water supply solenoid valve (6);
45) is a driving indicator light.

Next, the operation of the controller (24) will be explained based on the flowchart shown in FIG. First, when the run/stop switch (not shown) is operated to the operating side in step S1, the operating indicator light (45) is turned on in step S2, and then the suction pipe thermistor (2) is turned on in step S3.
Based on the detection signal from 3), it is determined whether the suction pipe temperature TF is higher than a predetermined temperature (for example, 15°C), and if TF≧15°C (YES), it is determined that it is time to start ice making, and the process starts from step S4. On the other hand, if TF<15°C (NO), it is determined that it is time to start ice removal operation, and the process immediately proceeds to step S1 and subsequent steps.

Then, in step S4, the water pump (5), compressor (13), and condenser fan (1) are used to start ice-making operation.
4> and close the ice-removal solenoid valve (20) to spray water from the water tank (2) and the cooling pipe (10).
Ice making on the ice making plate (1) is started by flowing the low temperature refrigerant to (10).

At this time, water is pumped up into the water spray tank (2) by the rotational drive of the water pump (5), and in order to compensate for the immediate drop in the water level in the water tank (4), the water supply solenoid valve (6 )
is opened for a predetermined time (t2) (for example, 40 seconds) to maintain the water level in the water tank (4) at a high water level.

After that, in step Ss, the float switch (2
It is determined whether or not there is a high water level detection signal in 1), and in the case of NO without a high water level detection signal, it is determined that there is a water outage, and the water pump (5), compressor (13), and condenser are activated in step S6. After stopping the drive of the fan (14), in step S7, the process waits for receiving an ice making period elapsed signal from the ice making end timer (34), and then returns to step S4 to replenish water to the water tank (4). On the other hand, if there is a high water level detection signal from the float switch (21) in step S5,
In this case, it is determined that the water is not cut off, and the process proceeds to step S8 to continue the ice making operation.In step S8, it is determined whether or not there is a low water level detection signal from the float switch (21), and in step S9, the ice making end timer is set. It is determined whether or not there is an ice making period elapsed signal from (34), and if the signal is NO while ice making is received and neither signal is received, the ice making operation is continued as it is, while if it is YES if either signal is received, the ice making operation is continued. It is determined that it is time to finish, and the process proceeds to step S+e.

Next, in step S+a, the water pump (5) and the condenser fan (14) are stopped to start the ice removal operation, and the ice removal solenoid valve (20) is opened to remove the ice from the compressor (1). The refrigerant (hot gas) is passed through the cooling pipe (10),
(10) to start ice removal, and water tank (4).
), the water supply solenoid valve (6>) is opened in order to restore the water level that has dropped due to the ice-making operation to a high water level, and the opening operation time is measured by the water supply timer (44) in step Sn.

Then, in step S12, it is determined whether or not the timer time (1+) (for example, 2 minutes) of the water supply timer (44) has elapsed, and if YES, the water tank (4)
It is determined that the water level has returned to the high water level, and the water supply solenoid valve (6) is closed in step S+a to finish water supply to the water tank (4), and at the same time, in order to calculate the water sprinkling time at the time of ice removal At S14, input the stable water temperature signal (see Figure 5) from the water supply pipe thermistor (22), and at step S +s
The higher the water temperature value, the shorter the watering time, for example, when the water temperature is 0~
At 7℃, set the third timer (37) of T3 (6 minutes) to
At 14℃, the second timer (36) of T2 (3 minutes) is set to 1
At 4° C. or higher, the first timer (35) of T1 (1 minute) is selected.

After that, in step SI6, the suction pipe thermistor (23)
When the suction pipe temperature TF signal from the water pump (
5) to sprinkle water on the ice making plate (1), and then,
In step S18, after the watering time T1, T2 or T3 selected in step S+s has elapsed, the drive of the water pump (5) is stopped in step S11, and the suction from the suction pipe thermistor (23) is stopped in step S820. It is checked again that the tube temperature TF signal is 16° C. or higher, and the process returns to step S4.

In addition, after starting the ice removal operation in step S+e, the water supply 'R'
Water tank (4) from water supply based on opening operation of solenoid valve 6)
In the case of step S21 in which the suction pipe temperature TF becomes 16°C or higher during the predetermined time (t+) (2 minutes) until the water level returns to the high water level, the water temperature signal from the water supply pipe thermistor (22) water pump (5) in step 822 regardless of
is driven for a short watering time T+ (1 minute) to start watering for 1 minute from the watering tank (2), and then, in step SB, after the timer time (tl) of the water supply timer (44) has elapsed. In step 824, the water supply solenoid valve (6) is closed to complete the water supply to the water tank (4), and the process returns to step S4.

Therefore, in the operation flow of the controller (24) in FIG. Board (
1) constitutes an ice-removal operation command means (50) configured to instruct ice-removal operation of the ice generated in step Sm, and also controls the output of the float switch (21) or the ice-making end timer (34) in step Sm. Solenoid valve for ice removal (20)
The 11th I11th ice control means (51) is configured to operate the ice-removing refrigerant circuit (12) by opening the ice control means (51). Further, in step S+s, the state in which the ice generated on the ice making plate (1) starts to be detached from the ice making plate (1) indirectly based on the suction pipe temperature TF signal from the suction pipe thermistor <23) is detected. Freezing state detection means (5
2), and in step S+s, receives the output from the water supply pipe thermistor (22) and determines the ice-release watering time T+, T2 according to the water temperature of the watering circuit (8).
Or watering time setting means (53
). Furthermore, step 817~S n
*84 receives the output of the ice removal state detection means (52), operates the watering circuit (8) by rotationally driving the water pump (5), and sets the watering time for ice breaking by the watering time setting means (53). The water sprinkler circuit (8) and ice-removal refrigerant circuit (12) are stopped based on the stop of the water pump (5) and the opening operation of the ice-removal solenoid valve (20) when T+, Tz or T8 has elapsed. 21 constitutes ice control means (54).

Therefore, in the above embodiment, during the ice-making operation, water is sprayed onto the ice-making plate (1) by the water spray circuit (8), and the cooling pipes (10), (10) of the ice-making plate (1) are sprinkled with water.
), the low-temperature liquid refrigerant from the ice-making refrigerant circuit (11) flows through the ice-making refrigerant circuit (11), so that the water sprayed down is cooled and frozen to produce ice on the ice-making plate (1).

When the ice produced on the ice making plate (1) is separated, hot gas from the ice removing refrigerant circuit (12) flows through the cooling pipes (10), (10) of the ice making plate (1). heat is given to the ice on the ice making plate (1), and the water tank (4
) is replenished with water from the water supply pipe (7) to prepare for the next ice-making operation. At this time, the water temperature of the water tank (4) is indirectly detected by the water supply pipe thermistor (22), and the water sprinkling time T+ at the time of ice removal is determined according to this tank water temperature.

T2 or T3 is selectively set by the watering time setting means (31). And the cooling pipe (10) of the ice making plate (1)
, (10) based on the distribution of hot gas to the ice making plate (1
) starts to substantially break off, water is sprayed down the ice making plate (1) by the water sprinkler circuit (8) along with the flow of this hot gas, thereby assisting and promoting the break-off of the ice. Therefore, even if the ambient temperature around the ice making plate (1) becomes too low or a large amount of ice is formed, it can be easily removed. Moreover, the time for spraying water on the ice-making plate (1) is short when the tank water temperature is high, and long when the tank water temperature is low, so that the ice-release performance based on the water spraying can be made uniform. This can be ensured as well as promoting ice removal.In addition, since the above ice removal promotion is performed by the existing equipment, the water sprinkler circuit (8), it can be easily achieved without requiring additional equipment. It can be implemented.

In the above embodiment, the de-icing state detection means (52) was configured by detecting that the suction pipe temperature TF to the compressor (13) became 16°C or higher; 1) cooling pipe (10).

(10) It may also be configured by detecting the passage of a predetermined time after the start of the flow of hot gas to (10). In addition, the setting of the ice removal time during ice removal operation is performed using three timers (35) to (
37), but the water tank (4)
It may also be carried out continuously so that the length becomes gradually shorter as the water temperature increases.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the present invention, ice is generated on the ice-making plate by sprinkling water on the ice-making plate and flowing a liquid refrigerant through the cooling pipe of the ice-making plate. In the ice maker,
At the time of ice removal, hot gas is passed through the cooling pipe of the ice making plate, and from the beginning of ice filling BHR1 of the ice maker, water for ice making is sprinkled on the ice making plate for a time corresponding to the water temperature, and ice is removed. Even if the ambient temperature around the ice-making plate becomes too low or a large amount of ice is formed during ice-making, it can be removed reliably and quickly with a simple configuration using existing equipment. Therefore, the ice removal performance can be improved and the ice removal time can be shortened.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present invention. 2 to 5 show embodiments of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the controller, FIG. 4 is a flow chart diagram showing the operation of the controller, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the change characteristics of the feed water temperature with respect to time. (1)...Ice plate, (2)...Water tank, (4)
... Water tank, (7) ... Water supply pipe, (8) ... Water supply circuit, (10) ... Cooling pipe, (11) ... Ice-making refrigerant circuit, (12) ... Refrigerant circuit for ice removal, (20)・
... Solenoid valve for ice removal, (22) ... Water supply pipe thermistor,
(24)...Controller, (50)...Icing operation command means, (51)...First ice-off control means, (52)
. . . Ice removal state detection means, (53) . . . Watering time setting means, (54) . . . Second ice removal Ill m means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) An ice-making plate (1) for producing ice, and an ice-making plate (
1), a water sprinkling circuit (8) for sprinkling water on the ice-making plate (1), and
ice-making refrigerant circuit (11) that circulates liquid refrigerant through the cooling pipe of
), in which the ice making machine generates ice by cooling and freezing the water sprinkled on the ice making plate (1) from the water sprinkling circuit (8), in which hot gas is supplied to the cooling pipe of the ice making plate (1). A refrigerant circuit for ice removal (12) that circulates ice, and the ice making plate (
1) an ice-removing operation command means (50) for instructing an ice-removal operation of the ice generated in step 1); and receiving the output of the ice-removing operation command means (50) and operating the ice-removing refrigerant circuit (12). a first ice-off control means (51); an ice-off state detection means (52) for detecting a state in which the ice generated on the ice-making plate (1) starts to be removed from the ice-making plate (1); and the water spraying a water temperature detection means (22) for detecting the water temperature of the circuit (8);
water sprinkling time setting means (53) for receiving the output of 22) and setting the water sprinkling time for ice removal according to the water temperature of the water sprinkling circuit (8);
In response to the output of the deicing state detection means (52), the watering circuit (8) is activated, and when the deicing watering time set by the deicing time setting means (53) has elapsed, the watering circuit (8) and the deicing state are activated. The second to stop the ice refrigerant circuit (12)
An ice-making machine characterized by comprising an ice-off control means (54).