JPH0229568A - Ice making device for refrigerator or the like - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent excess cooling state and frost adherence on a cooling plate as well by installing a wind direction plate. CONSTITUTION:When a first ice making pan 15 is housed, then an ice making pushbutton switch is depressed, heating action is carried out from the top of the first ice making pan 15 by way of a heating plate 12 of a heater 11, while cooling action is carried out from the bottom by way of a cooling plate 13. A greater portion of cooled air which passes through a ventilation passage 14 flows along the bottom of the cooling plate 13, thereby cooling the cooling plate 13. The cooled air partially passes through a ventilation hole 23, further through the upper part of the first ice making pan 15, goes out from a front opening, and returns to a wind passage 19. The cooled air, which passes through the upper part of the first ice making pan 15, is slight in quantity. Therefore, the quantity of cooled air does not exceed the heating quantity of a heating plate 12, thereby preventing the advance in freezing from the surface of the water.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIELD OF INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION The present invention relates to an ice-making device for a refrigerator, etc., which is disposed in an ice-making compartment of a refrigerator and is particularly capable of producing transparent ice.

Conventional technology Traditionally, in household refrigerators, etc., an ice making device that stores an ice tray is placed in one section of the freezer compartment, and the water in the ice tray is frozen by the cooling effect of the cold air flowing through the ice making device to make ice. It is common practice to generate .

However, with this ice generation method, when ice is generated, the water in the ice tray progresses from the contact surface between the ice tray and the water and the contact surface between the cold air and water to the center. As a result, gaseous components dissolved in the water and impurities are trapped in the center of the ice, resulting in opaque ice with a cloudy center, which is sensually suitable for beverages such as whisky. It wasn't.

Therefore, there has been a need for transparent ice for a long time, and methods such as those shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 have been considered as devices for producing it.

The contents will be explained below according to the drawings.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a refrigerator body, which is divided by a partition wall 2 into a freezing compartment 3 at the top and a refrigerating compartment 4 at the bottom. Reference numeral 6 indicates a cooler for the refrigeration cycle, and 6 indicates a forced ventilation blower, which are connected to the freezer compartment 3, respectively.
is located on the back of the.

7 is an ice making device placed at the bottom of the freezer compartment 3;
A first ice-making compartment 8 for producing transparent ice is provided in the upper stage, and a second ice-making compartment 9 for producing regular ice is provided in the lower stage. The outer walls of the first ice-making chamber 8 except for the bottom and front surfaces are surrounded by a heat insulating material 1o, and there is an aluminum heating plate 12 on the top surface with a heater 11 disposed on the back surface, and an aluminum heating plate 12 on the bottom surface. Cooling plates 13 made of aluminum are respectively arranged. 14 is a ventilation passage formed at the bottom of the second cooling plate 13;
Reference numerals 5 and 16 denote a first ice tray and a second ice tray that are housed in the first ice making compartment 8 and the second ice making compartment 9, respectively. or,
17 is a discharge duct for forcing cold air cooled by the cooler 6 to the ice making device 7 by the blower 6;
Each of the ventilation passages 14 is provided with a discharge port 18 formed at the lower end.
and communicates with the inside of the second ice making chamber 9. Reference numeral 19 denotes a return duct for returning cold air discharged into the freezer compartment 3 to the cooler 6. Further, reference numeral 2o is a transparent ice making switch, which is configured so that once the switch is turned on, the heater 11 is energized for a predetermined period of time.

In this configuration, the cold air cooled by the cooler 6 is supplied to the freezer compartment 3 and the refrigerator compartment 4 by the forced ventilation action of the blower 6, and at the same time is supplied to the second ice making device 7 through the discharge port 18 of the discharge duct 17. It is discharged into the ice making compartment 9 and the ventilation passage 14. The cold air guided into the second ice making compartment 9 is then
The second ice tray 16 is directly cooled, and the water inside is frozen sequentially from the water surface and the remaining surface that contacts the second ice tray 16 to produce normal ice. However, as mentioned above, the ice produced in this way is cloudy and does not become transparent. on the other hand,
The cold air guided into the ventilation passage 14 cools the cooling plate 13. Therefore, when the user stores the first ice tray 16 filled with water to make transparent ice in the first ice making compartment 8 and turns on the ice making switch 20, the heater is heated from the top surface of the first ice tray 16. 11 starts a heating action via a heating plate 12, and a cooling or freezing action starts from the lower surface via a cooling plate 13. Further, since the outer wall of the first ice tray 16 except the lower surface is covered with the heat insulating material 10, it is not affected by the cooling effect from the freezing chamber 3, and the freezing action progresses in one direction from the lower surface to the upper surface. Since this freezing effect is indirect cooling via the cooling plate 13 and also includes a heating effect by the heater 11 whose capacity has been set in advance, the freezing speed is extremely slow.

That is, gas components are released as the ice freezes, but there is room for them to diffuse into the upper water, so ice making progresses without air bubbles being incorporated into the ice. If the freezing rate is controlled to approximately 3 ff1/h or less in this way, the gas components in the water will be degassed from the surface of the frozen ice to the outside air, so the ice that is finally formed will contain almost no air bubbles. You can get clear ice without any melting. Further, the heater 11 automatically stops being energized after a predetermined time has elapsed, with some margin given to the time required to complete ice making.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, when the power supply to the heater 11 is started at the same time as the ice-making switch 21 is turned on, that is, when the first ice-making tray 16 filled with water is stored, the first Since the heating action of the heater 11 is performed from the top surface even during the so-called water state until the water in the ice tray 16 reaches 0° C. and starts freezing, freezing begins with a very gradual cooling action. However, sometimes freezing does not begin even when the temperature reaches 0° C., resulting in a supercooled state. If this condition continues for a long time and there is a delay in returning to normal freezing conditions, the air bubbles will disperse and form opaque ice.

In addition, since the opening of the first ice making chamber 8 is only at the front,
The water vapor that evaporates during the production of transparent ice stagnates in the first ice-making chamber 8 and adheres as frost to the cooling plate 13, which has the lowest temperature.

If the adhering frost develops, the first ice tray 16 may not be able to be inserted or the cooling from the cooling plate 13 may be insufficient.

The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to prevent overcooling and frost formation on the cooling plate.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, an ice making device such as a refrigerator according to the present invention has a ventilation hole provided on the outer periphery of a cooling plate that partially ventilates the ice making compartment and a ventilation passage, and an ice making device that makes ice through the ventilation hole. It is equipped with a wind direction plate installed on the outer periphery of the inner wall of the ice-making chamber to guide the cold air introduced into the room to the upper part of the ice-making tray.

Function The present invention uses the above-mentioned configuration to guide cold air to the top of the ice cube tray using a wind direction plate and to hit the water surface with the cold air, thereby reliably starting freezing and preventing overcooling. In addition, the cold air guided by the wind direction plate prevents high humidity in the ice making chamber and prevents frost from forming on the cooling plate.

Embodiment Hereinafter, an ice making apparatus such as a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. Incidentally, the same components as those in the prior art are given the same reference numerals, and detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

21 is an ice making device box body 21 provided at the bottom of the freezer compartment 3.
The first one is framed by a and produces transparent ice in the upper layer.
ice making compartment 22, and a second ice making compartment 22 in the lower stage for producing regular ice.
An ice making room 9 is provided.

The outer wall of the first ice-making chamber 22 except for the bottom and front surface is surrounded by a heat insulating material 1o, and a heater 11 is disposed on the back surface of the large surface, and an aluminum heating plate 12 is disposed on the large surface. . Reference numeral 23 denotes ventilation holes provided between the cooling plate 13 and the periphery of the ice-making compartment 22, and in this embodiment, they are provided at both ends except for the back.

24 is a support piece for the cooling plate, and 26 is a wind direction plate fixed to the cooling plate 13 in parallel with the inner wall of the ice making chamber 22 up to several sets of gaps.

In such a configuration, the user first needs to make transparent ice.
When the first ice-making tray 16 is stored in the ice-making compartment 22 and the ice-making switch 2o is pressed, heating is performed from the top surface of the first ice-making tray 16 via the heating plate 12 of the heater 11, and the bottom surface is heated. Cooling is then started via the cooling plate 13.

On the other hand, most of the cold air passing through the ventilation passage 14 flows along the bottom surface of the cooling plate 13 and cools the cooling plate 13.

A part of it passes through the ventilation hole 23 and is further connected to the wind direction plate.
It passes over the ice cube tray 15 (water surface) and returns to the return υ air path 19 through the front opening. Further, the amount of cold air flowing above the first ice tray 16 is small and does not exceed the amount of heating by the heating plate 12 to advance freezing from the water surface.

The water temperature in the first ice tray 15 is the initial temperature (for example, at 30°C)
The temperature eventually reaches 0°C, but at this time, a small amount of cold air is guided to the water surface by the wind direction plate 26, so freezing definitely begins (when it reaches 0°C, there are no physical spots or heat on the water). Freezing is more likely to occur if there is a shock1, but if there is no such shock, there are many cases where the product will be in a supercooled state where it will not freeze even at temperatures below 0°C (for example -50°C).

Once freezing begins, it gradually progresses downwards, discharging gaseous components dissolved in the water from the water surface and forming transparent ice.

On the other hand, the water vapor that evaporates during the production of transparent ice leaves the ice making compartment in a highly humid state, but due to the cold air guided from the wind direction plate 26, the water vapor does not adhere to the cooling plate 13 and is transferred to the first ice making compartment 22.
flows into the front opening.

Effect of the invention As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

1) When the water temperature reaches 0℃, a small amount of cold air is guided by the wind direction plate and flows on the water surface, so freezing will definitely occur due to vibrations caused by the wind. In other words, transparent ice is steadily produced without becoming supercooled.

2) Since the cold air is guided by the wind direction plate, the water vapor generated by the formation of transparent ice is discharged to the opening of the ice-making chamber and does not form frost on the cooling plate.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a front view of an ice making device such as a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is Fig. 2 a-
4 is a sectional view of a refrigerator equipped with the ice making device shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a conventional ice making device, and FIG. FIG. 13...Cooling plate, 14...Ventilation passage, 2
1st ice-making compartment (ice-making compartment) for 2..., 10...
Insulation material, 15...First ice tray (ice tray), 1
1... Heater (heating device), 12...
Heating plate, 21...Ice making device, 23...
Ventilation hole, 26...Wind direction plate. Name of agent Patent attorney Shigetaka Awano and 1 other person +3 +4 −-・ 15 −・− n ・・− n−・− 3−・ Cooling Ventilation Airway No. 1 ice tray (ice tray) fII Ice Table ! 1st II! * 1! (Violet in the heat) vIk Air Hole facing temporary lo-m Island Material +3 ・-- Cut 15- 1st ice tray 23--1 Ventilation L 25-X Haiku Den0-m- +1 --1+3 -・= 14 -1- 15・- Wtr group Material heater (additional vLtJ device) 21III Shikaita Rei #Kyokura Kazero No. 1 ice tray (!!!Woodworking) Do 5-ML Jiryo Itayo 2 Figure 10 -m- 11・- 12-・- WIr# material beater (heating device) Add Ugly Box: I? Plate) Figure Figure

Claims (1)

[Claims] a cooling plate; an ice-making compartment partitioned with the cooling plate as the bottom and an open front; an ice-making tray stored in the ice-making compartment and placed on the cooling plate; and a heating device provided on the top surface of the ice-making tray. a heating plate provided with a cooling plate, a cold air ventilation passage provided below the cooling plate, a ventilation hole provided on the outer periphery of the cooling plate for partially ventilating the ice making compartment and the ventilation passage; A refrigerator, etc., comprising a wind direction plate provided on the outer periphery of the inner side wall of the ice making chamber to guide cold air introduced into the ice making chamber to an upper part of the ice making tray, and a heat insulating plate placed inside the outer wall excluding the bottom and front surface of the ice making chamber. Ice making equipment.