RU2345296C2 - Ice-tray filling system in refrigerating plants - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: heating.

SUBSTANCE: ice-tray filling system for refrigerating plants, which are provided with freezing compartment where support is installed with at least one pair of middle guides, has at least one ice tray mounted on the guides so that they can slide and be disconnected. At least one pair of the upper guides is installed on the support. There is a sliding and dismountable tank being mounted on the upper guides. The tank dimensions are calculated to store water volume at final filling, which is equal to the volume required for proper filling of ice-tray being underneath. In addition the above tank is provided with discharge nozzle in the bottom part, which is situated directly above the ice tray. Besides there is an outlet valve, which is continuously and elastically closed in forced manner and opens automatically when the tank is on the support.

EFFECT: development of ice tray filling system for refrigerating plants, which ensures properly reliable and automatic filling of ice tray without overflow.

8 cl, 5 dwg

Description

Technical field

The invention relates to a system for filling ice molds in a freezer compartment of a refrigerator, typically a refrigerator having a freezer compartment and a refrigerator compartment, which are separated from each other by an intermediate wall and closed by respective front doors.

State of the art

Various systems are known in the art for mounting ice molds in the freezer compartment of a refrigerator.

In some technical solutions, ice molds are simply mounted on a shelf or on the bottom of the freezer compartment.

In other designs, the ice molds are made in the form of compartments sliding on rails attached to the internal structure of the freezer compartment.

Also known technical solutions according to which the molds for ice pivotally mounted on frames sliding on the guides made in the structure of the freezer compartment and rotatable about their longitudinal axis by approximately ⁹⁰ °, to release the ice cubes in a box collecting ice cubes, which also the possibility of sliding mounted on the rails and located under the ice molds. A technical solution of this type is described in the Brazilian patent documents PI960391-9 and PI9603902-7.

Regardless of the characteristics of prior art solutions with respect to methods for removing ice cubes from molds and storing said ice cubes in a freezer compartment, prior art installation systems require that the ice molds be filled in manually, usually outside the freezer compartment, and then installed in a specific place that could be formed by a shelf or rails inside the freezer compartment. Such an operation of filling ice molds is inconvenient, since water is often spilled, and said forms are only partially filled. Moreover, in cases where water is poured outside the freezer compartment, the user must carefully convey it to the installation site, trying to avoid frequent and almost inevitable spills of water.

In addition to the disadvantages mentioned above, these systems depend on their design and do not allow the user to change their operational characteristics depending on the features of use attached to the ice molds. Known systems are not universal and force the user to use the forms in accordance with a single sample determined by the manufacturer.

Objectives of the present invention

In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks, the general objective of the present invention is to provide a system for filling an ice mold in refrigerators, which will ensure correct, reliable and automatic filling of molds, without spilling, with an appropriate amount of water, when said molds are already installed at the places of their installation in the freezer compartment, and allows the ice molds to be manually and selectively rotated at the installation site so that the ice cubes are released due to gravity inside the collection box, which can to disconnect from the inner space of the freezer compartment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To achieve the above goals, according to the invention, an ice mold filling system is created in refrigeration appliances having a freezer compartment, inside which there is a support means on which at least one pair of middle rails is mounted, on which slide and detach are mounted, according to at least one mold for ice.

According to the invention, at least one pair of upper rails is mounted on the support means, on which a container, the size of which is designed, upon final filling, is installed to slide and detach to accommodate the volume of water corresponding to the volume necessary for proper supply for the one located directly below molds for ice; moreover, the said container in the lower part has a drain nozzle located above the ice mold located directly below, while there is an outlet valve that is constantly and resiliently in the forced closed position and automatically moves to the open position when the container is mounted on the support means.

In a preferred embodiment, the opposite ends of the ice mold are horizontally and pivotally mounted on a frame that is slidably and detachably mounted on at least one of the pairs of middle guides and upper guides for manually rotating around its longitudinal axis from its original position to freeze the water filled in it in an inclined position so that ice cubes are released due to gravity, and in which the ice mold undergoes a certain torsion.

The support means may also include, in particular, in the case of the above-mentioned construction using rotary ice molds, at least one pair of lower guides, on which an ice cube collecting box is mounted that can be slid and disconnected, located directly on at least under one ice mold to receive ice cubes that are released by gravity from the ice mold, which can be placed directly on top and which can be made tiu displacement in an inclined position, and is subjected to a certain torsion.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention is further disclosed with reference to the accompanying drawings, given by way of example only, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a proposed filling system in an embodiment operatively associated with a sliding frame carrying a pair of ice molds and located below the collection box.

Figure 2 is a front perspective view of the assembly of Figure 1 and installed in the freezer compartment of the partially shown refrigerator;

Figure 3 - median longitudinal vertical section of the node shown in figure 2;

Figure 4 is a view in cross section of the tank of the proposed filling system;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged front view of the filling system shown in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to the drawings, the proposed filling system is designed for refrigeration devices having a freezer compartment 1, which can be formed in the upper part of the cabinet, and in the lower part of which a refrigeration compartment 2 can be formed, which is shown, for example, separated from the freezer compartment 1 by an intermediate wall 3.

The filling system according to the present invention has a support means 10, which can be made in the form of a frame made of injection molded plastic having a cross section in the form of an inverted letter "U" and having an upper wall 11, from which two opposite side walls 12 extend in a vertical direction, however, the length of the said frame has a size that allows it to be installed inside the freezer compartment 1. The upper wall 11 is attached to the upper wall of the freezer compartment.

A pair of upper rails 20, two pairs of middle rails 30 and a pair of lower rails 40 are mounted on the support means 10, inside it and along its side walls 12, while the aforementioned pairs of rails are located in horizontal planes spaced apart vertically at predetermined intervals .

It should be noted that the distribution of the guide pairs mentioned above is explained only as an example, and that with different numbers of guide pairs, other arrangements can be used, but provided that they form at least an upper level, a middle level and a lower level, so that the items mentioned below are installed on them.

The guides can be made in various ways, that is, both in the form of separate parts attached to the support means 10, and in the form of parts included in the side walls 12 of the support means 10.

In the embodiment of FIG. 5, a container 50 is installed on the pair of upper rails 20 with a possibility of sliding and disconnecting, the dimensions of which are calculated, upon final filling, to accommodate the volume of water corresponding to the volume required for proper supply for the ice mold 60 located directly below as will be described later.

The container 50, mainly molded from plastic, contains: a housing 51 in the form of a tray, which is slidably mounted on a pair of upper guides 20; a cover 52 in the form of a plate, hermetically and detachably mounted on the housing 51 and forming the upper wall of this housing; and a small top cover 53, made on the cover 52 and manually driven both in the open position to fill the tank 50, and in the closed position, and hermetically closing the volume of water in the tank 50.

The top cover 53 is configured to fill the container 50 and visually indicate the necessary filling of the corresponding ice mold 60.

The container 50 in the lower part has a drain nozzle 55 located when the container 50 is mounted on the support means 10, above the corresponding ice mold 60; at the same time, an exhaust valve 56 is installed in the drain nozzle 55, which is constantly and resiliently in the forced closed position, and automatically shifts to the open position when the container 50 is mounted on the support means 10.

It should be noted that the exhaust valve 56 can be performed in such a way that it will only open if the user performs a certain action, that is, after the container 50 is correctly installed on the support means 10. In this case, the opening of the exhaust valve 56 will not be automatic .

In an embodiment with automatic opening of the exhaust valve 56, it will have an actuating pin 57 located below the container 50 and engaged with the support means 10, usually in the closest upper guide 20, to actuate the exhaust valve 56 when the container 50 is inserted into the support means 10, facilitating the displacement of the outlet valve 54 to the open position (see FIG. 3) and filling out the ice mold 60 immediately below.

In the illustrated construction, the casing 51 of the container 50 in the middle is divided into two casing parts 51a, 51b, each of which has a drain nozzle 55 with an outlet valve 56 located above the corresponding ice mold.

The design of the container 50 described above is used when two ice molds 60 are located next to each other under it, and the opposite ends of each form are horizontally and pivotally mounted on the frame 70, which is mounted for sliding and detaching on at least one of two pairs of middle guides 30. Thus, each ice mold 60 is rotatable around its longitudinal axis from its original position to freeze the volume of water supplied to it in an inclined position in the whole x release the ice cubes by gravity, and wherein the shape of the ice 60 undergoes a certain torsion.

It should be noted that the frame 70 is made in the form of a support for only one ice mold 60, while the housing 51 of the container 50 can be made integral and having one or more drain nozzles 55, each of which has a corresponding exhaust valve 56.

Also according to FIG. 5, on a pair of lower guides 40, an ice cube collecting box 80 is mounted that can be slid and disconnected, which remains in the installed state, located directly below the ice mold (s) 60, which are rotatably mounted on the frame 70 to receive ice cubes, due to gravity released from the molds 60 for ice when they are rotated into an inclined position.

Claims (8)

1. The system for filling the ice mold in refrigerators having a freezer compartment (1), inside which there is support means (10), on which at least one pair of middle guides (30) is mounted, on which are slideable and removable at least one ice mold (60) is installed; characterized in that at least one pair of upper rails (20) is mounted on the support means (10), on which a container (50) is installed with the possibility of sliding and disconnecting, the size of which is calculated, upon final filling, to accommodate the volume of water, corresponding to the volume necessary for proper supply for the ice mold (60) located immediately below; moreover, the said container (50) in the lower part has a drain nozzle (55) located above the ice mold (60) located immediately below, and there is an outlet valve (56), which is constantly and resiliently in the forced closed position and automatically moves to open position when the container (50) is installed in the support means (10). 2. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the support means (10) further comprises at least one pair of lower guides (40), on which an ice cubes collection box (80) is located with the possibility of sliding and disconnecting, located directly at least one ice mold (60). 3. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the opposite ends of the ice mold (60) are horizontally and rotatably mounted on the frame (70), which is mounted for sliding and detaching on at least one of the pairs of middle guides (30) and the upper guides (20), for manually turning around its longitudinal axis from its original position to freeze the volume of water filled in it into an inclined position so that due to gravity it releases ice cubes, and in which the ice mold (60) is exposed specific to to the guarantee. 4. The system according to claim 3, characterized in that at least one pair of upper rails (20) are installed on the support means (10), on which the container (50) is located; at least a pair of middle guides (30) on which a frame (70) is mounted on which at least one manually rotatable ice mold (60) is mounted rotatably; and at least one pair of lower guides (40) on which the collection box (80) is mounted. 5. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the container (50) comprises: a housing (51) in the form of a tray mounted on at least one pair of upper guides (20) of the support means (10); a cover (52), which is removably and hermetically mounted on the housing (51) and forms its upper wall; and an upper lid (53) made on the lid (52) and arranged to fill the container and visually indicate the necessary filling of the corresponding ice mold (60); moreover, the exhaust valve (56) is installed on the bottom wall of the tank (50). 6. The system according to claim 5, characterized in that the exhaust valve (56) comprises an actuating pin (57) that engages the support means (10) when the container (50) is installed in the support means (10) and biases the exhaust valve (56) to the open position and carries out subsequent filling for the ice mold (60) located immediately below. 7. The system according to claim 5, characterized in that the casing (51) of the container (50) in the middle is divided into two parts (51a, 51b) of the casing, each part containing a drain nozzle (55), which has an exhaust valve (56) located above the corresponding ice mold (60); moreover, its opposite ends are rotatably mounted horizontally on a frame (70), which is slidably and detachably located on at least one pair of middle guides (30) of the support means (10). 8. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the support means (10) has a frame, the cross section of which has the shape of an inverted letter "U"; while its side walls (12) from the inside attach pairs of upper rails (20), middle rails (30) and lower rails (40); and its upper wall (11) is attached to the upper wall of the freezer compartment (1).

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