JPS6128994Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] This invention relates to an improvement of an auger-type ice maker incorporated in a cup-type beverage vending machine or the like.

First, with reference to FIG. 1, the structure of a conventional auger-type ice maker and the beverage system of a cup-type beverage vending machine incorporating the ice maker will be explained. In Fig. 1, 1 is a water reservoir that receives water from a water supply 2 through a water inlet valve 3, 4 and 5 are cold water lines and ice-making water lines drawn out from the water reservoir 1, respectively, and 6 is an auger-type ice maker. It is. The cold water line 4 is routed through a water pump 7, a water cooling coil 8, and a cold water valve 9 as a three-way valve to a bending stage where a cup 10 is placed. Further, a carbonator 11 and a carbonated water line 13 are piped between the bend stages branching from the cold water valve 9. 14
is a tank containing syrup, which is an undiluted beverage solution,
A syrup line 16 is connected to the bend stage via a syrup valve 15. The beverage vending operation using this circuit configuration is well known.
When a sales command is given, syrup, cold water, carbonated water, and ice from the ice maker 6 are supplied to the cup 10 carried out to the bending stage.

On the other hand, the auger type ice maker 6 has an ice making section 61 and an ice storage chamber 6.
The ice making section 61 includes an evaporator 63 connected to a refrigerator, an auger 64 that scrapes ice frozen on the inner wall of the evaporator and sends it upward, an ice extrusion head 65 located above the auger 64, and an ice extrusion head 65 located above the auger 64, which scrapes ice frozen on the inner wall of the evaporator and sends it upward. It has a built-in cutter 66 that crushes ice into pieces. One of the ice storage chambers 62 is equipped with an agitator 67, an ice outlet 68, and the like. 69 is a drive unit for the auger 64 and the agitator 67. Ice making is performed as follows. That is, water introduced from the ice-making water line 5 through the water inlet 70 opened at the bottom of the ice-making section 61 forms an ice film on the inner wall of the evaporator 63 and freezes. This ice film is scraped off by an auger 64 and pushed into the opening of an extrusion head 65 to form columnar ice, and the ice is further crushed by a cutter 66 to form ice pieces. The ice pieces are stored in the ice storage chamber 62. Ice storage room 6
When 2 is full of ice, it will be detected by the ice level switch and the refrigerator will stop. If a sales signal is given here, the agitator 67 rotates, and the ice carrying out port 6
The door 8 is opened and a predetermined amount of ice is carried out toward the cup 10. When sales progress and the amount of stored ice falls below a predetermined level, the operation of the refrigerator is restarted and water is supplied from the water reservoir 1 to make ice. Furthermore, ice storage room 6
2, a drain pipe 71 is drawn out from the bottom of the chamber and connected to a three-way joint 72 on the water inlet 70 side.

The above-mentioned beverage vending machines are
The interior is required to be clean and the water must maintain specified water quality standards. For this reason, in addition to regular cleaning using a potable cleaning and sterilizing solution, water cleaning is performed as part of routine maintenance work. In this case, for the ice making water line 5 and the ice making machine 6, unlike the cold water line 4 where water flows for each sales operation, the water line dead ends at the ice making machine, so the next ice making cycle starts from the ice making cycle. Water remains stagnant for a long time until the ice making cycle. As a result, microorganisms tend to propagate and scale buildup tends to occur, so it is particularly important to clean the ice maker system with water as part of routine maintenance work.

For this purpose, conventionally, a three-way tank 17 is inserted in the middle of the ice-making water line 5, and this three-way tank 17 is used to drain water from the ice-making machine 6 and re-supply water. In other words, the three ports a, a, c of the three-way connector 17
Among them, the c port is used as a drain port, and the drain hose 18 connected here faces the drain container 19.
First, the three-way pot 17 is switched to the port b-c conduction position to drain the water that has accumulated in the ice maker 6. Next, the three-way pot 17 is switched to port a-b continuity again, water is supplied again from the water reservoir 1, and water is replaced with new water. However, with the conventional method of draining the accumulated water inside the ice maker and then supplying new water, not only does it take time to drain the water, but the air mixed in when water is resupplied cannot be properly removed, making it difficult for the next ice making cycle. This will interfere with the ice making operation. Alternatively, the ice may contain too much air, causing problems such as not being able to make high-quality ice.

This invention was developed in consideration of the above points, and its purpose was to eliminate the drawbacks of refrigerators and make cleaning work easier and more effective, as well as to make it easier to assemble with other water circuits in vending machines. An object of the present invention is to provide an auger-type ice maker that enables forced cleaning of the ice maker by combining the two.

This purpose is achieved by providing independent water inlets at two locations in the ice making section, and by inserting and connecting a three-way water inlet between one of the water inlets and a melt water drain pipe pulled out from the bottom of the ice storage compartment. This is achieved by configuring.

This invention will be described in detail below based on illustrated embodiments.

In FIG. 2, according to this invention, in addition to the conventional water inlet 70, another water inlet 70 is independently provided at a position opposite to the water inlet 70 at the lower part of the ice making section 61. Furthermore, a three-way pot 20 is inserted and connected between one of the water inlets 70' and the melt water drain pipe 71. The other water inlet 70 is connected to the ice making water line 5 as in FIG.

FIG. 2 shows the state of use when making ice using the above-mentioned ice maker, and the three-way kettle 17 is connected to the port a-
b conduction, the other three-way socket 20 is port a-
c is set to conduction. Therefore, ice making machine 6
Water is supplied through the water inlet 70, while melted water generated in the ice storage chamber 62 is led into the body of the ice-making section 61 from the water inlet 70' via the drain pipe 71 and the three-way tank 20. Note that solid arrows indicate the flow of water.

Figure 3 shows the state when ice is made using a method different from that shown in Figure 2. This example of use is especially advantageous when the volume of the drainage container 19 is sufficiently large, and the three-way pot 2
0 to port b-c continuity, and the drain hose 18 is switched to the port b-c connection without returning the melted water from the ice storage chamber 62 to the ice making section 61.
The water is dropped into the drainage container 19 through the drain. As a result, melt water is not reused, and deterioration in the water quality of the ice-making water supply can be more safely prevented.

FIG. 4 shows the state during washing with water as a routine operation of the ice maker 6, in which the three-way socket 20 is switched to port a-b-c conduction. Therefore, while the accumulated water in the ice making section 61 and the melted water in the ice storage chamber 62 are discharged through the three-way tank 20, new water is continuously supplied to the ice making section 61 from the water reservoir 1 through the ice making water line 5. Ru. This will replace the water in the ice maker with fresh water. Furthermore, due to this water flow, a water inlet 70 is formed inside the body of the ice making section 61.
Since new water flows through from to 70', effective water washing can be performed, and since the inside of the ice maker remains filled with water, there is no fear of air getting into the water system. In addition, by switching the three-way pot 17, water supply to the ice maker 6 can be stopped, water can be drained, etc.

As mentioned above, the water inlets 70 are located at two locations on the ice maker 6,
70' and a three-way socket inserted and connected between one water inlet 70' and the melt water drain pipe 71, by using these two water inlets and switching the three-way socket 20, While draining water through one water inlet 70', new water can be replenished from the other water inlet 70, and as described in FIG. Compared to separate methods, cleaning and water replacement can be done more quickly and smoothly.

Furthermore, by using the ice maker of this invention, it is also possible to perform the following forced cleaning in combination with the water circuit of a vending machine. That is, in FIG. 5, a water extraction port 21 is provided branching from between the water pump 7 and the water cooling valve 9 in the cold water line 4, and a hose 2 is provided at the water inlet 70' of the ice maker 6.
2 is connected, and a circuit is configured such that the hose 22 and the water extraction port 21 are removably connected to each other by an auto connector 23. With this, when cleaning, if the auto connector 23 is connected, the cold water valve 9 is closed, and the water pump 7 is started, the water or cleaning solution in the water reservoir 1 is transferred from the water reservoir 1 to the water pump 7.
- Water extraction port 21 - Hose 22 - Ice making machine 6 - Ice making water line 5 - Water reservoir 1 through continuous circulation to effectively force wash the ice making machine 6 and ice making water line 5. Can be done. By providing a service port for carbonated water extraction in the carbonated water line 13, carbonated water can also be sent to the ice maker 6 for final cleaning. Such forced cleaning of the ice maker cannot be performed with the structure of the conventional ice maker shown in FIG. 1, but is made possible by using the ice maker of this invention.

Furthermore, it is also possible to construct a circuit as shown in FIG. 6 using the ice maker of this invention. i.e. water reservoir 1
A three-way joint 24 is inserted between the and water pump 7,
The hose 22 drawn out from the water inlet 70' of the ice maker 6 is connected to this three-way joint branch boat, as in FIG. 5. According to this circuit, in addition to supplying cold water through the cold water line 4 for each beverage sales operation, water from the ice making water line 5 and the ice making machine are supplied via the branch port of the three-way joint 24 to the water inlet 70' and the hose 22.
The water flows through the water pump 7 so as to be sucked into the water pump 7.
That is, during sales operation, water will not remain in the ice maker for a long time, and water will flow and be replenished with fresh water from the water reservoir 1 every time the sales operation is performed, similar to the cold water line. In this way, the propagation of microorganisms and the formation of scale in the ice-making water line and the ice-making machine can be effectively prevented, and the quality of the ice-making water can be maintained. The ability to operate in this manner is a major feature of the ice maker of this invention.

As mentioned above, this idea provides two water inlets for the ice maker, whereas conventionally there was only one water inlet, and a three-way socket is inserted and connected between one of the water inlets and the melted water drain pipe of the ice storage compartment. By using these two water inlets and a three-way socket, the ice maker can be cleaned more easily and effectively, and in a shorter time than before, making it a highly practical product. You can get an auger ice maker.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a structural cross-sectional view of an auger-type ice maker incorporated into a cup-type beverage vending machine, and Figures 2 to 4 show ice-making systems using the ice maker according to the embodiment of this invention, each showing different usage conditions. The circuit diagrams in FIGS. 5 and 6 are application circuit diagrams using the ice making machine of this invention. 1...Water reservoir, 5...Ice making water line, 6...
...Ice maker, 61...Ice making section, 62...Ice storage chamber, 6
3... Evaporator, 64... Auger, 70,7
0'... Water inlet, 71... Melt water drain pipe, 2
0...Mikata Kotuku.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] An ice making unit with a built-in evaporator, auger, etc.
In an auger-type ice maker, which consists of an ice storage chamber combined with the upper part of the ice making section, ice is made with water introduced from the water inlet of the ice making section, and the ice is sent to the ice storage chamber and stored. An auger-type ice maker characterized in that an independent water inlet is provided, and a three-way socket is inserted and connected between one of the water inlets and a melt water drain pipe pulled out from the bottom of the ice storage chamber.