JPS6214537Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] a. Industrial application field The present invention relates to an auger-type ice maker, and in particular, scale (water scale) formed by precipitation of calcium, silica, etc. contained in the ice-making water is formed on the inner surface of the frozen casing. This invention relates to a new improvement for eliminating troubles such as wear of the bearing part, abnormal noises, etc. that occur due to adhesion to the press head and the bearing part.

b. Prior Art Various types of auger-type ice makers of this type have been developed, but a typical configuration is the one shown in Japanese Utility Model Application No. 59-28779 by the same applicant as the present application. be.

That is, in FIG. 1 showing this type of auger-type ice maker, there is a screw 3 having a screw blade 2 made of stainless steel inside a refrigeration casing 1 which has a cylindrical overall shape and constitutes a cylinder.
is rotatably provided, and an upper shaft portion 3a and a lower shaft portion 3b are formed at both ends of the screw 3, and the upper shaft portion 3a is a pressing member fixed to the upper part of the refrigeration casing 1 by a fixing bolt 4. A lower shaft portion 3b is rotatably held in a bearing hole 5a of a bearing body 5b made of resin in the head 5, and a lower shaft portion 3b is rotatably held in a bearing hole 6a of a bearing body 6 provided at the bottom of the refrigeration casing 1. .

Upper shaft portion 3a passing through bearing hole 5b of press head 5
A cutter assembly 7 is attached with a bolt 7a so that it can rotate integrally with the upper shaft portion 3a, and the compressed ice sent out from the pressing head 5 is cut by the cutter 7b of the cutter assembly 7. , are released to the outside from a release cover 8 provided at the upper end of the casing 1.

A cooling pipe 9 is spirally wound around the outer side 1a of the refrigeration casing 1, and refrigerant is supplied to the cooling pipe 9 from a compressor (not shown).

However, in the above configuration,
Normally, the hardness of ice-making water (content of calcium, etc.)
When the silica content is high, only pure water freezes during the ice-making operation, so the hardness and silica concentration of the ice-making water in the frozen casing 1 increase by about 7 to 9 times that of the raw water (ice-making (varies depending on the moisture content of the ice). As a result, the above-mentioned substances cannot be dissolved, precipitate, and adhere to the inner surface of the freezer casing, the press head, and the bearing parts as scale (water scale), and the rotating parts,
The surface resistance to the rotation of the screw and the scraping of ice increased, causing problems such as wear of the bearings and abnormal noises during ice making.

In addition, since food ice passes through the press head and bearing portion, the material for the bearing portion is extremely limited. In other words, it is difficult to use bearings because it is difficult to select a lubricant and prevent oil leakage, and the above-mentioned difficulties have been overcome by using non-lubricated or water-lubricated metal or synthetic resin as the material for the bearing part. However, the lifespan of these metals, synthetic resins, etc. is only about 1/3 of the designed life of the ice maker, making them unreliable, and depending on the quality of the ice making water (hardness, high silica content) If the shaft and bearing were left to wear out, the screw blade would come into contact with the refrigeration casing, causing the screw blade to scrape off the inner wall of the casing, causing a serious accident.

In addition, in the conventional structure, the pressing head is made of stainless steel, and the surface of the ice compression passage formed in this pressing head is smooth as in the initial stage of operation, and the adhesion force of scale to the surface is strong against the compression passage. The scale is peeled off by the thrust of the screw blade until it is smaller than the resistance to the ice during passage, and is sent out together with the ice. However, as ice passes intermittently through the ice compression passage of the pressing head, it repeats dry and wet conditions, making it easy for scale to adhere.
As the operation continues for a long period of time, the ice compression passage becomes easily damaged, especially due to the high hardness of silica.
Gradually, the surface becomes rough and the adhesion force of the scale becomes greater than the thrust of the screw blade. Therefore,
When the scale grows and the resistance to passing ice becomes greater than the thrust of the screw blade, not only does the driving torque of the screw blade increase abnormally, but also problems with ice clogging occur, and scale accumulates in the bearings, causing further wear. It turns out.

c. Purpose of the invention The purpose of the invention is to provide extremely effective means for quickly eliminating the above-mentioned drawbacks.

d. Structure of the invention In view of the above object, the present invention is particularly characterized by a structure in which the shaft portion of the screw having the screw blade is made of ceramic material, and the pressing head itself is made of ceramic material.

e. Embodiments Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the auger-type ice making material according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the same parts as in the conventional example will be explained using the same reference numerals.

In FIG. 2, the reference numeral 1 indicates a frozen casing having a cylindrical shape as a whole. Inside the frozen casing 1, a screw 3 having a screw blade 2 made of stainless steel is rotatably provided. An upper shaft portion 3a and a lower shaft portion 3b are integrally formed at both ends of the shaft. The upper shaft part 3a and the lower shaft part 3b are made of ceramic material, and the upper shaft part 3a is rotatably held in a bearing hole 5a of a pressing head 5 fixed to the upper end of the refrigeration casing 1 with a fixing bolt 4. A lower shaft portion 3b is rotatably held in a bearing hole 6a of a bearing body 6 provided at a lower portion of the refrigeration casing 1. The entire pressing head 5 is made of ceramic, and the bearing hole 5
A is also integrally molded from ceramic.

On the outer peripheral surface of the pressing head 5, there is a plurality of groove-shaped ice compression passages 5c formed in the axial direction (a third
(Fig.), the surface of the ice compression passage 5c is also made of a smooth surface made of ceramic material.

Upper shaft portion 3a passing through bearing hole 5a of press head 5
A cutter assembly 7 is attached to the cutter assembly 7 by a bolt 7a so as to be able to rotate together with the upper shaft portion 3a. The cutter 7b cuts it to a certain length and releases it to the outside from the release cover 8 fixedly attached to the upper end of the refrigeration casing 1 via bolts 1b.

A cooling pipe 9 is spirally wound around the outer side 1a of the refrigeration casing 1, and refrigerant is supplied to the cooling pipe 9 from a compressor (not shown).

Furthermore, a drive motor 10 consisting of a geared motor is attached to a housing 11 at the lower end of the refrigeration casing 1.
The output shaft 12 of the drive motor 10
is connected to the lower shaft portion 3b, and the screw blade 2 and the screw 3 can be rotated by the drive motor 10. An ice-making water supply pipe 13 provided adjacent to the drive motor 10 supplies ice-making water into the refrigeration casing 1 .

In the above configuration, the case where the auger type ice maker according to the present invention is operated is as follows.
First, water supply starts when the power is turned on, and when a certain amount of ice-making water is stored in the ice-making water tank (not shown), the ice-making water is sent into the freezer casing 1, and the refrigerant is supplied to the cooling pipe 9, and the ice-making water is fed into the freezer casing 1. Ice grows on the inner walls of the The ice formed on the inner wall surface is scraped off by the screw blade 2 and sent to the surface of the smooth ice compression passage 5c of the pressing head 5 made of ceramic material, and the bar-shaped ice formed in the ice compression passage 5c is cut extremely smoothly. It is cut into a certain length at 7b and released from the release cover 8.

f Effects of the invention Since the auger ice maker according to the invention has the above-mentioned structure and function, the surface of the ice compression passage is made of ceramic and has high hardness, making it resistant to physical damage caused by scale adhesion and peeling. The high abrasion strength prevents scratches, and the surface roughness does not change, allowing smooth ice guidance and reducing the load on the bearing. In addition, since both bearing parts are made of ceramic, the amount of wear is extremely low and the mechanical life as designed can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a conventional auger type ice maker with a partial cross section, Fig. 2 is an overall configuration diagram showing a partial cross section of an auger type ice maker according to the present invention, and Fig. 3 is a partial cross sectional view of an auger type ice maker according to the present invention. It is a top view which shows a press head. 1 is a frozen casing, 2 is a screw blade, 3 is a screw, 3a is an upper shaft portion, 3b is a lower shaft portion,
4 is a fixing bolt, 5 is a pressing head, 5a is a bearing hole, 5
b is a bearing link, 5c is an ice compression passage, 6 is a bearing body, 6a is a bearing hole, 7 is a cutter assembly, 7a is a bolt, 7b is a cutter, 8 is a discharge cover, 9 is a cooling pipe, 10 is a drive motor, 11 is a housing, 12 is an output shaft, and 13 is an ice-making water supply pipe.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A screw blade 2 is rotatably provided inside the cylindrical refrigeration casing 1 in order to guide the ice upward while scraping off ice frozen on the inner wall surface of the cylindrical refrigeration casing 1; A pressing head 5 having an ice compression passage 5c, a bearing body 6 provided at the lower part of the freezing casing 1 for pivotally supporting the lower shaft portion 3b of the screw blade 2, and an upper shaft portion 3a of the screw blade 2. A bearing hole 5a formed in the pressing head 5 for pivotal support.
, a drive motor 10 provided below the freezing casing 1 for rotating the screw blade 2, and a cooling pipe 9 provided outside the freezing casing 1, and the upper shaft portion 3a is made of ceramic. The pressing head 5 is made of
An auger-type ice maker characterized by being entirely made of ceramic material.