JPS6152379B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION a. Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to an automatic ice making machine that includes an ice making section, a water storage section, and an ice storage section in a water storage tank.

b. Prior art FIG. 6 is a sectional view of an automatic ice maker disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 54-114846. Inside the outer box 1, there are an ice storage section 2, a water storage section 3, and a freezer compartment 4. etc. are respectively defined by the heat insulating material 5 and provided. A large number of ice-making chambers 6 are provided above the ice storage section 2. A fountain device 7 is provided directly below the ice-making chamber 6, and when the ice-making water stored in the water storage section 3 is driven, the fountain device 7 supplies the ice-making water to the ice-making chamber 6 as a fountain. The water storage part 3 is a partition wall 8
It is divided into two parts, a first water storage part 3a and a second water storage part 3b, and an opening 9 is formed in this partition wall 8 to provide fluid communication between the inside of the first water storage part 3a and the inside of the second water storage part 3b. There is.

The conventional automatic ice making machine is configured as described above, and the ice making water in the first water storage section 3a is supplied from the fountain device 7 into the ice making chamber 6 by the action of the pump 10, and is cooled by the cold heat from the evaporator 11. The ice cubes are cooled and frozen in the ice making chamber 6. The unfrozen ice-making water passes through a return pipe (not shown) and returns to the first pipe.
The water is returned to the water storage section 3a. By continuing the above ice making cycle and the well-known deicing cycle,
As ice cubes are continuously produced, the shortage of ice-making water in the first water storage section 3a is replaced by the second water storage section 3b.
ice-making water is replenished through the opening 9.

By the way, in the conventional automatic ice maker, the first water storage section 3
A partition wall 8 is installed as a special member between the ice-making chamber 6 and the second water storage section 3b, and a fountain is supplied to the ice-making chamber 6, and ice-making water that is not used to make ice is returned to the first water storage section 3a. Therefore, it is necessary to take the trouble to provide a return pipe between the ice storage 2 defined by the heat insulating material 5 and the first water storage tank 3a, resulting in a complicated structure, time-consuming manufacturing, and high cost. I had no choice but to do so. Further, since the heat insulating material 5 is provided between the water storage section 2 and the water storage section 3, the effective internal volumes of the ice storage section 2 and the water storage section 3 are reduced accordingly.

c. Problems to be Solved by the Invention As mentioned above, the conventional automatic ice maker has problems such as a complicated structure and a small effective internal volume of the ice storage section 2 and water storage section 3.

d Means for Solving the Problems The automatic ice making machine of the present invention includes a water storage tank 18 having a water storage section 35 around which a heat insulating material 17 is provided and for storing water for ice making, and a water storage tank 18 provided above the water storage tank 18. Ice making sections 27, 50, 54 where ice is generated
a partition section 36 that is provided above the water storage section 35 and forms an ice storage section 37 that receives ice falling from the ice making sections 27, 50, 54 and stores this ice; ,54
Ice-making water guide portions 40, 53, 56 are provided below the ice-making portions 27, 50, 54 and guide unfrozen ice-making water to the water storage portion 35.
and the ice-making water guide section 40, 53, 56.
The water storage section 35 is connected to the ice making section 27, 50,
The bottom wall of the water storage tank 18 is divided into two parts: a first water storage part 35a where ice-making water that has not frozen in the ice-making water falls and is stored therein, and a second water storage part 35b located directly below the partition part 36. The facing part extends downward,
Further, the first water storage section 35a and the second water storage section 35b are in fluid communication, and when the ice making water in the first water storage section 35a is distributed and supplied to the ice making sections 27, 50, 54, the second water storage section The ice-making water in 35b is replenished into the first water storage part 35a.

e Effect In the ice-making cycle of the automatic ice-making machine of the present invention, the ice-making water in the first water storage section 35a is supplied to the ice-making section 2.
7, 50, 54 and the ice-making water that is not used for ice making is distributed to the ice-making water guide portions 40, 53, 56.
and is returned to the first water storage section 35a. The ice making water circulated in this way is passed through the ice making sections 27 and 5.
When the ice making section 27,5 is supplied to the ice making section 27,5
Since this ice-making water is repeatedly distributed and supplied to the ice-making units 27, 50, and 54, the temperature of the ice-making water drops to the freezing temperature in a short time. On the other hand, the amount of water in the first water storage section 35a will decrease as the ice grows in the ice making compartment 27a, but this decrease will be replenished from the ice making water in the second water storage section 35b based on the principle of a communicating pipe. . This second
The ice-making water in the water storage section 35b is also directly cooled by the ice cold air, ice water, etc. in the water storage section 37 located above through the partition section 36, so that the ice-making water reaches near freezing temperature in a short time. As a result, the ice making sections 27, 50, and 54 can make ice in a short time.

f Example 1 Hereinafter, an example of the automatic ice making machine of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line - in FIG. Inside, there is a water tank 18 surrounded by a heat insulating material 17, a compressor 19, a condenser etc. 20,
A refrigerator room 22 and the like equipped with a fan 21 and the like are provided. The top surfaces of the outer box 16 and the water tank 18 are open, and the top surface of the outer box 16 and the water tank 18 are opened.
A lid holder 25 is fixed by bolts 23 and 24 provided at the opening upper edge 18a of the water tank 18 and the opening upper edge 18a of the water tank 18, respectively. A lid 26 is attached to one side of the lid holder 25 so that it can be opened on one side. Note that the lid 26 may be foldable, for example.

In the upper part of the water storage tank 18, there is an ice making chamber 27a defined in a square shape as an ice making section, and an evaporator 28.
An ice making compartment 27 is provided. Directly below the ice making chamber 27, there are square-shaped partition plates 29a spaced apart at regular intervals, and hot gas pipes 30
A cutting frame 29 is provided. A detection section 31 of a thermostat is attached to the cutting frame 29 to detect the completion of ice making and the completion of ice removal. An inner edge 32a of a heat insulating plate 32 is clamped between the flange 27b of the ice making chamber 27 and the flange 29b of the cut frame 29 with bolts 33.
The outer edge portion 32b of 2 is attached to the lid holder 2 by a bolt 34.
It is fixed to 5.

Water for ice making is stored in a water storage section 35 below the water storage tank 18. Above this, a partition plate 36 having a U-shaped cross section and having leg portions 36a is removably provided as a partition portion. The partition plate 36 receives ice that has grown and fallen within the ice making compartment 27a, and
An ice storage section 37 is formed to store this ice. A plurality of holes 36b are formed on the upper surface of the partition plate 36 and have dimensions that do not allow ice to pass through, but that allow water generated by melting ice to flow into the water storage section 35.

Immediately below the ice making chamber 27, there is an ice guide plate 2 that guides the ice in the ice making chamber 27a to the ice storage section 37 on its way down.
8 is provided. This ice guide plate 38 has a claw portion 38a formed at the end of the ice guide plate 38 so as to hang down therefrom, and is engaged with a locking hole 39a of a locking portion 39 spot-welded to the inner surface of the water storage tank 18. and fixed. On the top surface of the ice guide plate 38,
A plurality of holes 38b having a larger diameter than the hole 36b described above.
However, a notch portion 38c and a leg portion 38d are formed on the front surface thereof.

Immediately below the ice guide plate 38, an ice making water guide plate 40 is provided as an ice making water guide unit that guides ice making water that has been supplied to the ice making compartment 27a from a fountain but has not frozen to the water storage portion 35. This ice-making water guide plate 40 has side portions 40a formed at both ends thereof, and a notch portion 40b formed at its front surface.
The ice-making water guide plate 40 has its upper portion abutted against the leg portions 38d of the ice guide plate 38, and its lower end abutted against the bottom surface of the water storage tank 18, thereby directing the water storage portion 35 into the first
It is divided into two parts, a water storage part 35a and a second water storage part 35b,
The ice-making water that has not frozen in the ice-making chamber 27a is
The ice making water is allowed to fall along the ice making water guide plate 40 and is stored in the first water storage section 35a. A first water storage section 35 is located at the center of the lower end of the ice-making water guide plate 40.
A communication hole 40c is formed to provide liquid communication between the water storage portion a and the second water storage portion 35b.

A pipe 41 is attached to the bottom surface of the first water storage section 35a. This pipe 41 is shown in FIG.
As shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 2, a fountain pipe 43 is located directly below the ice guide plate 38 via a pump 42.
is connected to. A fountain hole 43a is formed in the fountain pipe 43 so as to face the hole 38b of the ice guide plate 38. The ice-making water in the first water storage section 35a is supplied to the ice-making compartment 27a from a fountain hole 43a of a fountain pipe 43 through a pipe 41.

The partition plate 36, the ice-making water guide plate 40, and the ice guide plate 38 described above are easily installed in the water storage tank 18 in the following manner. First, the ice-making water guide plate 40 is positioned directly below the ice-making chamber 27. next,
The leg 3 is attached to the bottom of the water tank 18 so that the ice-making water guide plate 40 is brought into pressure contact with the side wall of the water tank 18 at the end face of the vertical portion of the side portion 40a.
Position it with 6a facing down. Next, the claw portion 38a of the ice guide plate 38 is locked in the locking hole 39a of the locking portion 39 so that the leg portion 38d of the ice guide plate 38 comes into contact with the upper surface of the ice making water guide plate 40. Moreover, when cleaning the water storage tank 18, each part 36, 40, 38 may be disassembled by following the procedure reverse to the above.

Next, the operation of the automatic ice maker having the above configuration will be explained. First, after opening the lid 26 and supplying an appropriate amount of water into the water storage tank 18, the lid 26 is closed to start ice-making operation, and the ice-making chamber 27 is cooled by the cooling action of the refrigerant passing through the evaporator 28.

On the other hand, water for ice making is supplied from the water storage part 35 of the water storage tank 18 by the pump 42 through the pipe 41 to the fountain hole 43a of the fountain pipe 43, and from there is directed upward and is sprayed into each ice making compartment 27a. This ice-making water is cooled by heat exchange with the refrigerant in the evaporator 28 in the ice-making chamber 27a, and then the ice guide plate 38
The water returns from the ice-making water guide plate 40 to the first water storage section 35a through the hole 38b and the notch 38c. At this time, the sloping portion of the side portion 40a of the ice-making water guide plate 40 prevents the ice-making water from scattering. In this way, ice-making water is transferred to the ice-making chamber 27a and the first water storage section 3.
5a, the temperature of the ice-making water gradually decreases, and when the temperature reaches nearly 0° C., a portion of the ice-making water fountain-supplied into the ice-making chamber 27a begins to freeze.

Furthermore, if ice making water is continued to be supplied to the ice making chamber 27a, the ice in the ice making chamber 27a will grow further, and just before the ice making is completed, the ice in the adjacent ice making chamber 27a will grow.
The ice pieces in a are connected to each other and reach the cutting frame 29. As a result, cut frame 2
The temperature of ice cube 9 drops rapidly, and the detection unit 31 detecting the temperature issues a signal indicating the completion of ice making, and the supply of ice making water to the ice making chamber 27 is stopped, and the ice making cycle is completed. Subsequently, a hot gas valve (not shown) is opened and hot gas is supplied to the hot gas pipe 30 to enter the de-icing cycle. Note that the hot gas pipe 30 may be replaced with a heating means such as a heater.

When the deicing cycle begins, the ice making compartment 27 is gradually heated by the high temperature gas and the temperature rises, causing the ice making compartment 2
The ice in 7a melts at its contact surface and gradually starts to fall under its own weight, and the connected ice is melted and cut by the cut frame 29 heated by the heat from the hot gas pipe 30, and the ice is shaped. You will get well-formed ice cubes. This ice cube slides down along the ice guide plate 38 and is stored in the water storage section 37. When the ice in the ice making compartment 27 finishes falling, the temperature in the ice making compartment 27 rises rapidly, so the detection unit 31 detects the temperature and closes the hot gas valve, and the pump 42 is operated again to enter the ice making cycle.

By the way, the internal volume ratio of the first water storage section 35a and the second water storage section 35b is determined by the height dimension of the side part 40a of the ice-making water guide plate 40, and the cooling effect of the evaporator 28 during the ice-making cycle is determined. The water cooled by the ice-making chamber 27 circulates between the first water storage section 35a, which has a small internal volume, and the ice-making chamber 27.
The ice-making water supplied to a is cooled to about 0° C. in a short time. Further, the amount of water in the first water storage section 35a decreases with the amount of ice made, but the shortage is replenished by the ice making water in the second water storage section 35b that enters through the communication hole 40c. This second water storage section 3
The ice making water in 5b is the cold air of the ice cubes in the water storage part 37,
It is directly cooled by melting water or the like falling through the hole 36b, and after the start of the ice-making operation, ice cubes grow within a short time and the ice-making cycle ends.
The above embodiment can also be applied to a so-called open cell type automatic ice maker in which each ice making chamber is formed into a cup shape by a separate member and the ice making chamber is assembled into an ice tray with its opening facing down.

Next, a second embodiment of the invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the same or corresponding parts as in FIGS. 1 to 3 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will be omitted. This embodiment shows a falling type automatic ice maker without the ice guide plate 38 shown in the first embodiment. Above the ice storage section 37, a falling ice making plate 50 is provided as an ice making section so as to be inclined toward the first water storage section 35a. A water sprinkling pipe 51 is attached to the surface of the falling ice making plate 50 to sprinkle water on the surface. A pipe 57 through which a refrigerant flows during the ice-making cycle and through which hot gas flows during the de-icing cycle is attached to the back surface of the falling ice-making plate 50. A cutter grid 52 for cutting plate-shaped ice generated by cold heat from a pipe 57 into ice cubes is provided directly below the falling ice making plate 50.

In the case of this embodiment, the ice-making water sprayed from the sprinkler pipe 51 flows down along the surface of the falling ice-making plate 50 while being cooled by the cold heat from the pipe 57 . The ice-making water is guided to the first water storage part 35a by the ice-making water guide plate 53 having a U-shaped cross section, and then again by the action of the pump 42 into the water sprinkling pipe 51.
sent to. Since the ice-making water is thus circulated and cooled, it reaches the freezing temperature in a short time, and ice is generated on the surface of the falling ice-making plate 50 within a short time after the ice-making operation is started. In addition, to compensate for the shortage of ice-making water due to freezing, the ice-making water in the second water storage portion 35b is transferred to the communication hole 4.
Refilled through 0c.

FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment of the present invention, in which the structure of a falling ice making plate 54 which is an ice making section, the installation position of the water sprinkling pipe 55 and pipe 58 attached to it, and the ice making water guide plate 56 are shown. It differs from the second embodiment shown in Fig. 4 in that it is shorter;
The other configurations are the same as the second embodiment.
This flowing-down type ice making plate 54 has a large number of ice making chambers 60 defined by a wall surface 59, and the cross section thereof has a wavy shape. Ice cubes are generated in each ice-making compartment 60 by cold heat from the refrigerant passing through the pipe 58 during the ice-making cycle. This ice cube is
During the deicing cycle, the heat from the hot gas passing through the pipe 58 causes the contact surface to melt and fall directly from the ice making chamber 60 into the water storage section 37 . Note that the passage route of the ice-making water and the cooling process are the same as those in the first and second embodiments, and a description thereof will be omitted.

g. Effects of the Invention As explained above, according to the automatic ice making machine of the present invention, the water storage section 35 is divided into two parts, the first water storage section 35a and the second water storage section 35b, and the first water storage section has a small amount of water for ice making. section 35a and ice making sections 27, 50, 54
Ice-making water is circulated and cooled in a short time between the second water storage section 35 and the first water storage section 35a is replenished.
The ice-making water in b is also cooled by the cold air of the ice in the ice storage part 37 formed through the partition part 36, ice-melting water, etc., so ice is generated within a short time after the ice-making operation starts. , the ice making cycle is completed and the ice making capacity is greatly improved.

Furthermore, the first water storage section 35a and the second water storage section 35b are defined by an ice-making water guide section 4 that serves as a return path for ice-making water that is distributed and supplied to the ice-making sections 27, 50, and 54.
0, 53, and 56, the automatic ice maker can be manufactured easily and at low cost without the need to prepare special defining members.

Furthermore, since the water storage section 35 and the water storage section 37 are defined simply through the partition section 36 that partitions the inside of the water storage tank 18, the water storage section 35 and the water storage section 37 occupy the inside of the water storage tank 18.
5. There is also the effect that the internal volume of the water storage section 37 is increased compared to the conventional one described above.

In addition, as in the third embodiment without the first embodiment, an ice guide plate 38, an ice making water guide plate 40,
53, 56 and the partition plate 36 are each removably attached, each member 3 is removed during cleaning.
8, 40, 53, 56, and 36 can be removed from the water tank 18, and the inside of the water tank 18 can be cleaned very easily. In addition, the partition plate 38
By changing the height dimension of the leg portion 36a, there is an effect that the volume ratio of the water storage portion 35 and the water storage portion 37 occupying in the water storage tank 18 can be easily changed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line - in FIG. FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the invention, FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a third embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing an example of a conventional automatic ice making machine. 17...Insulation material, 18...Water tank, 27...Ice making room (ice making section), 35...Water storage section, 35a...First water storage section, 5b...Second water storage section, 37...Ice storage section, 36... Partition plate (partition part), 40,5
3, 56... Ice-making water guide plate (ice-making water guide part), 50, 54... Drop-down type ice-making plate (ice-making part).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A water storage tank 18 having a water storage part 35 around which a heat insulating material 17 is provided and which stores ice-making water; and ice-making parts 27, 50, and 54 provided above the water storage tank 18 to generate ice; A partition section 36 that is provided above the water storage section 35 and forms an ice storage section 37 that receives ice falling from the ice making sections 27, 50, 54 and stores this ice; ice-making water guide sections 40, 53, and 56 provided below the ice-making sections 27, 50, and 54 to distribute and supply unfrozen ice-making water to the water storage section 35; Reference numerals 40, 53, and 56 designate the water storage portion 35 as a first water storage portion 35a in which ice-making water that has not frozen in the ice-making portions 27, 50, and 54 falls and is stored.
and a second water storage section 3 located directly below the partition section 36.
The first water storage part 35a and the second water storage part 35b are in fluid communication with each other.
The ice making water in the water storage section 35a is transferred to the ice making sections 27 and 5.
0,54, the second water storage section 35
An automatic ice making machine characterized in that the ice making water in b is replenished into the first water storage part 35a.