KR20130008760A - Ice making unit preventing nozzle clogging - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An ice making unit for preventing a nozzle from being Plugged is provided to make ice from sprayed water from the nozzle, and to smoothly supply water to the nozzle without vortex and bubbles. CONSTITUTION: An ice making unit comprises a circulation pump(32), an ice maker, a water supply path, and a filter(33). The circulation pump comprises a water inlet and a water outlet. The ice maker comprises a water spray nozzle, and freezes the water discharged from the circulation pump. The ice maker comprises an evaporator, an evaporation finger protruding from the evaporator, and a nozzle assembly with the water spray nozzle. The water supply path connects the water outlet of the circulation pump to the ice maker. The filter is installed at the water inlet of the circulation pump. A filter hole is same or smaller than a nozzle hole formed in the water spray nozzle.

Description

Ice making unit preventing nozzle clogging

The present invention relates to an ice making unit for preventing nozzle clogging, and more particularly to an ice making unit for preventing clogging of the water spray nozzle by preventing foreign matter from being supplied into the ice maker.

In the apparatus for discharging ice and cold water, there is an ice cold and hot water machine that combines an ice water purifier to purify raw water to make ice, cold water and hot water, and a commercial water purifier instead of a filter unit for water purification to produce ice, cold water and hot water. . Such ice water purifier and ice cold and hot water machine are provided with an ice maker for producing ice and cold water. And ice makers can be divided into submerged type and nozzle type based on the ice production method. Immersion type is a method of manufacturing ice by dipping the evaporation finger formed on the ice maker provided in the ice or cold water to a tray containing water, and nozzle type is to spray the water by spraying water using a nozzle to the evaporation finger. It is a method of manufacturing.

On the other hand, raw water often contains foreign matters, and in the case of ice water purifier and ice cold and hot water using a nozzle-type ice maker, when the ice and cold water is made of water containing foreign matters, the following problems occur. First, there is a problem that the nozzle for spraying water to make ice is clogged by foreign matter, so that unfinished ice having a small size of ice is produced, or second, the amount of ice and cold water is made too small.

If the above problem occurs, in order to normalize the amount of ice and cold water produced, after-sales service for the ice water purifier and the ice cold water dispenser must be performed, which in turn increases the manufacturing cost of the ice water purifier and the ice cold water dispenser. Can be.

Therefore, it is urgent for the manufacturers of ice water purifiers and ice cold and hot water dispensers to prevent water clogging caused by foreign substances in order to secure competitiveness in manufacturing cost and to reduce manpower and cost waste caused by after-sales service. Therefore, there is a need for a structure that can block foreign matter from entering the ice maker.

In addition, when the conduit leading to the nozzle is formed in a complicated shape, vortices of water may occur or bubbles may occur, in which case water is irregularly sprayed from the nozzle or there is a problem that the amount of injection is small.

In addition, a considerable amount of water sprayed from the nozzle is not sprayed on the evaporation finger, but is also rotated around the nozzle hole formed in the nozzle is not used to produce ice.

The present invention has been conceived to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an ice making unit which prevents clogging of a water spray nozzle formed in an ice maker.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an ice making unit capable of lowering the manufacturing cost of the ice water purifier and the ice cold / hot water dispenser and reducing the after-sales service cost.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an ice making unit in which foreign matter does not flow into the ice maker.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an ice making unit in which water is smoothly supplied to a water spray nozzle.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an ice making unit in which most of the water injected from the water spray nozzle is used to produce ice.

In order to achieve the above object, an ice making unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a circulation pump having an inlet for introducing water and an outlet for discharging water; An ice maker which ices water discharged from the circulation pump and has a water spray nozzle; A water supply passage connecting the discharge part of the circulation pump and the ice maker; And a foreign matter filter net installed in the inlet of the circulation pump, and the filter net hole formed in the foreign matter filter net is smaller than or equal to the nozzle hole formed in the water spray nozzle.

Here, the ice maker includes an evaporator through which a refrigerant flows; An evaporation finger protruding from the evaporator; And a nozzle assembly having a water spray nozzle for injecting water into the evaporation finger.

The foreign matter sieve may be formed integrally with the circulation pump.

Preferably, water flows inside the nozzle assembly, and a through hole through which the evaporation finger can be inserted is formed in the nozzle assembly, and a water spray nozzle is formed around the through hole.

Meanwhile, in order to prevent vortices or bubbles of water supplied to the water spray nozzle, a guide member extending from the nozzle hole of the water spray nozzle toward the direction away from the center of the through hole may be formed in the nozzle assembly.

Preferably, in order to prevent the water sprayed from the water spray nozzle flowing around the nozzle hole of the water spray nozzle, a water flow prevention projection protruding around the nozzle hole of the water spray nozzle is formed.

In addition, the ice making unit is installed in an ice water purifier or ice cold water.

The present invention has the following effects.

First, clogging of the water spray nozzle formed in the ice maker is prevented.

Second, the manufacturing cost of ice water purifiers and ice cold and hot water heaters is lowered, and after-sales service costs can be reduced.

Third, foreign matter does not flow into the ice maker.

Fourth, water is smoothly supplied to the water spray nozzle without bubbles or vortex in the water.

Fifth, most of the water sprayed from the water spray nozzles is used to make ice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention and, together with the description of the invention given above, serve to further the understanding of the technical idea of the invention, And should not be construed as interpretation.
1 is a schematic diagram showing the main configuration of an ice water purifier provided with an ice making unit according to the present invention.
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the ice maker provided in the ice making unit according to the present invention.
Figure 3 is a plan view of the foreign matter sieve from where the inlet of the circulation pump is located.
4 is a perspective and partially enlarged view of the nozzle assembly viewed from below;
5 is a perspective and partially enlarged view of the nozzle assembly viewed from above;
6 is an exploded perspective view of the nozzle assembly viewed from above;

Hereinafter, an ice making unit according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The terms and words used in the present specification and claims should not be construed as limited to ordinary or dictionary terms and the inventor may appropriately define the concept of the term in order to best describe its invention It should be construed as meaning and concept consistent with the technical idea of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments described in the specification and the drawings shown in the drawings are only the most preferred embodiment of the present invention and do not represent all of the technical idea of the present invention, various modifications that can be replaced at the time of the present application It should be understood that there may be equivalents and variations.

In the drawings, the size of each component or a specific portion constituting the components is exaggerated, omitted, or schematically illustrated for convenience and clarity of description. Therefore, the size of each component does not entirely reflect the actual size. In the following description, it is to be understood that the detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear.

For the convenience of description, the ice water purifier will be described as an example. Instead of the ice water purifier having the water purifying tank 10 and the filter unit 40, the ice cold and hot water purifier has a water purifying container. It is noted that the description of other configurations also applies to ice cold water heaters.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a main configuration of an ice water purifier having an ice making unit according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view of an ice maker provided in the ice making unit according to the present invention.

1 and 2, the ice water purifier includes a filter unit 40, a purified water tank 10 storing purified water purified by the filter unit 40, a cold water tank 30 storing cold water, and In addition, the purified water feed valve 14 for supplying purified water in the purified water tank 10 to the cold water tank 30, the circulation pump 32 for supplying the cold water in the cold water tank 30 to the ice maker 20, and The ice maker 20 which ices a part and cools the other, and the control part (not shown) which controls various valves, a pump, an ice maker 20, etc. are provided.

Hereinafter, the ice making unit means a combination of essential components necessary for ice making, and is used as a concept encompassing a circulation pump 32, a foreign matter filtering net, an ice maker 20, and a cold water supply pipe 34.

The filter unit 40 purifies raw water such as tap water and the like, and may be formed of conventional filters such as a precipitation filter and a carbon filter.

The purified water generated by the filter 40 is stored in the purified water tank 10.

Preferably, the water level tank 10 is provided with a water level detecting member 18 for detecting the water level. When the water level detecting member 18 detects that the water level has reached a predetermined level, for example, the purified water supply is blocked to prevent the purified water from being supplied to the purified water tank 10.

The water at room temperature is supplied to the user through the purified water intake valve 16.

The purified water feed valve 14 supplies water from the purified water tank 10 to the cold water tank 30, and a solenoid valve or the like is usually used.

An ice grill 28 installed to be inclined above the cold water tank 30 is disposed, and a circulation pump 32 is disposed inside or outside the cold water tank 30. Preferably, the cold water tank 30 is provided with a cold water level sensor for detecting the water level, and a cold water temperature sensor for detecting the temperature. The cold water stored in the cold water tank 30 is supplied to the user through the cold water intake valve 46.

The ice grill 28 is composed of a plurality of grids, and the distance between adjacent grids is narrower than the size of the ice to be manufactured, so that the ice produced by the ice maker 20, which will be described later, falls on the ice grill 28, the cold water tank 30 Is moved to the ice reservoir 8 along the slope. In addition, the remaining water used for ice making or cold water cooled by the ice maker 20 passes between the grids of the ice grill 28 and is stored in the cold water tank 30.

The circulation pump 32 supplies the cold water stored in the cold water tank 30 to the ice maker 20 through the cold water supply pipe 34 to produce cold water or ice. When the circulation pump 32 and the cold water supply pipe 34 are disposed in the cold water tank 30, even though the ambient temperature of the ice and water dispenser is high, the temperature of the cold water in the cold water tank 30 is increased in the circulation pump 32 and the cold water supply pipe ( Since it does not rise while passing through 34, there is an advantage that the temperature of the water supplied to the ice maker 20 to be described later can be kept low.

3 is a plan view of the foreign matter sieve from the inlet of the circulation pump. The circulation pump 32 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3.

The circulation pump 32 has an inlet portion through which water is introduced and a discharge portion through which water is discharged. A foreign matter strainer 33 is installed at the inlet, and the outlet and the ice maker 20 to be described later are connected by a cold water supply pipe 34 serving as a water supply passage therebetween.

The foreign matter sieve 33 has a plurality of sieve holes (33a) is formed, and serves to filter the foreign matter mixed in the water flowing into the circulation pump (32). In more detail, the foreign matter sieve 33 serves to filter out the foreign matter having a size enough to block the water spray nozzle 25a of the ice maker 20 which will be described later. The foreign matter sieve 33 may be formed integrally with the circulation pump 32. In this case, a portion having a plurality of sieve holes 33a formed on the lower surface of the circulation pump 32 may function as an inlet of the circulation pump 32. do.

The strainer hole 33a may be formed, for example, as a square having an angle of 1.2 mm, or a circle having a diameter of 1.2 mm, and may have various shapes, and according to the size of the foreign matter to be filtered out of the strainer hole 33a. The size can be selected to an appropriate value.

4 is a perspective view and a partially enlarged view of the nozzle assembly from below, FIG. 5 is a perspective view and a partially enlarged view of the nozzle assembly from above, and FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the nozzle assembly viewed from above. For convenience of description, the top plate 25e is illustrated as being formed of a transparent material in FIG. 5.

2, 4, 5, and 6, the ice maker 20 serves to cool the water discharged from the circulation pump 32 or to prepare ice, and the evaporator 22 and the evaporator ( A plurality of protrusion-shaped evaporation fingers 24 and nozzle assembly 25 protruding from 22, and are installed on top of the water purifier. One end of the nozzle assembly 25 is connected to the cold water supply pipe 34 and is wider than the diameter of the evaporation finger 24 so as to surround the evaporation finger 24 with a predetermined distance from the outer circumferential surface of each evaporation finger 24. It is a plate-shaped structure with a through hole formed. Thus, the evaporation finger 24 is inserted into the through hole of the nozzle assembly 25.

Water flows in the space between the upper plate 25e and the lower plate 25f of the nozzle assembly 25, that is, the internal space of the nozzle assembly 25, and the water spray nozzle 25a around the through hole in the lower plate 25f. It is formed and cold water is sprayed on the evaporation finger (24). The water spray nozzles 25a are preferably formed at equal intervals around the through holes of the nozzle assembly 25. In the drawing, four water spray nozzles 25a are formed in each through hole. The number may be less or more than this. Since the nozzle hole 25b of the water spray nozzle 25a is inclined in the direction in which the evaporation finger 24 extends, it is preferable to spray water inclined downward, which is for easily producing ice.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a separate water supply pipe is connected to each of the water spray nozzles 25a formed in the nozzle assembly 25, and the upper plate 25e and the lower plate 25f are not employed. Water flows through the formed space, and a simple structure in which the nozzle hole 25b is formed around the opening of the lower plate 25f is adopted. This structure has the advantage of easy manufacturing and manufacturing cost reduction. However, since water flows in the space formed between the upper plate 25e and the lower plate 25f, bubbles or vortices may occur around the nozzle hole 25b.

In order to prevent such a phenomenon, the guide member 25c is formed by starting from the nozzle hole 25b of the water spray nozzle 25a and extending toward a direction away from the center of the through hole formed in the nozzle assembly 25. It is preferable that it is formed in the inside. The guide member 25c is formed in the left and right both sides of the nozzle hole 25b, and is arrange | positioned in the space between the upper board 25e and the lower board 25f.

According to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, since the water spray nozzle 25a is formed in such a manner that the nozzle hole 25b is drilled in the nozzle assembly 25, a large amount of water sprayed from the nozzle hole 25b is likely. It can flow around the nozzle hole 25b, and when this phenomenon occurs, the shape of the ice to be manufactured is not uniform. That is, there exists a problem that ice different from the shape originally intended is manufactured.

Therefore, in order to prevent such a phenomenon, it is preferable to form the water flow preventing projection 25d protruding around the nozzle hole 25b. As shown in FIG. 4, the water flow prevention jaw 25d has a cold water tank 30 having a 'c' shape on the remaining three surfaces except for a direction in which water is sprayed from the nozzle hole 25b toward the evaporation finger 24. It may be formed to project toward the downward direction located.

In the conventional nozzle ice water purifier, since the flow path of water leading to the nozzle is bent several times, foreign substances close the flow path of the water so that water is not easily injected from the nozzle. However, in the case of the ice water purifier according to the present invention, the water flow path of the water spray nozzle 25a may be formed in a straight or gentle curve rather than in a bent state, thereby reducing the phenomenon in which foreign substances close the water flow path. .

The nozzle hole 25b of the water spray nozzle 25a may be formed in, for example, a square each having a size of 1.3 mm or a circular shape having a diameter of 1.3 mm, and may have various shapes. Although the shape can be selected relatively freely, the size of the nozzle hole 25b and the size of the sieve hole 33a should be carefully selected. If the size of the sieve hole 33a is larger than the size of the nozzle hole 25b, foreign matter smaller than the sieve hole 33a but larger than the nozzle hole 25b passes through the nozzle assembly 25 and the nozzle hole 25b or the like. The water flow line leading to the nozzle hole 25b can be blocked. Therefore, the size of the sieve hole 33a is preferably smaller than or the same as the size of the nozzle hole 25b. In this case, since the foreign matter passing through the sieve hole 33a is smaller than the nozzle hole 25b, the nozzle hole 25b. ) Has the advantage of not blocking.

As a result, since the number of after-sales service for the ice maker 20 can be significantly reduced, the after-sales service cost can be reduced, and further, the manufacturing cost of the ice water purifier is lowered.

When the temperature of the cold water sprayed on the evaporation finger 24 is about 2.5 ° C. or more, cold cold water is produced, and when it is less than about 2.5 ° C., ice is produced.

The evaporator 22 has an inlet portion 22a and an outlet portion 22b, the refrigerant flows through the inlet portion 22a, passes through the plurality of evaporation fingers 24, and passes through the outlet portion 22b. Exit the evaporator 22 through.

The low-temperature liquid refrigerant flows into the evaporator 22, and when cold water is injected into the evaporation finger 24, the injected cold water becomes colder cold water or ice. On the other hand, the liquid refrigerant flowing into the evaporation finger 24 gets heat from the cold water injected into the evaporation finger 24 and exits the evaporator 22 in the gas state. Repeating this process produces cold water or ice.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the details thereof and that various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. And various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the appended claims.

8: ice cellar 10: water purification tank
14: purified water inlet valve 16: purified water intake valve
18: water level detection member 20: ice maker
22: evaporator 22a: inlet
22b: outlet 24: evaporation finger
25: nozzle assembly 25a: water spray nozzle
25b: nozzle hole 25c: guide member
25d: Waterflow Bump 25e: Top Plate
25f: Bottom 28: Ice Grill
30: cold water tank 32: circulation pump
33: foreign matter sieve 33a: sieve hole
34: cold water supply pipe 40: filter unit
46: cold water intake valve

Claims (7)

A circulation pump having an inlet for introducing water and an outlet for discharging water;
An ice maker which ices water discharged from the circulation pump and has a water spray nozzle;
A water supply passage connecting the discharge part of the circulation pump and the ice maker; And
It is provided with a foreign matter strainer installed in the inlet of the circulation pump,
The deicing unit formed in the foreign matter sieve is smaller than or equal to the nozzle hole formed in the water spray nozzle. The method of claim 1,
The ice-
An evaporator through which a refrigerant flows;
An evaporation finger protruding from the evaporator; And
And a nozzle assembly having a water spray nozzle for injecting water into the evaporation finger. The method of claim 1,
The foreign matter sieve is an ice making unit, characterized in that formed integrally with the circulation pump. The method of claim 2,
Water flows inside the nozzle assembly,
Through holes through which the evaporation fingers can be inserted are formed in the nozzle assembly,
An ice making unit, characterized in that the water spray nozzle is formed around the through hole. 5. The method of claim 4,
In order to prevent vortices or bubbles of water supplied to the water spray nozzle, a guide member extending from the nozzle hole of the water spray nozzle toward the direction away from the center of the through hole is formed in the nozzle assembly. . 5. The method of claim 4,
In order to prevent the water sprayed from the water spray nozzle flows around the nozzle hole of the water spray nozzle, a water flow preventing projection protruding around the nozzle hole of the water spray nozzle is formed. 7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The ice making unit is installed in the ice water purifier or ice cold water hot water unit.

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