JPH0243025Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] a. Field of Industrial Application This invention relates to an ice maker, and more particularly to an ice maker equipped with a water tank whose liquid level is constant just before making ice.

b Prior art Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional ice maker, and Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the - line in Fig. 3. The ice making plate 1 constituting the ice making section is made of stainless steel. It is made of thin plates such as those pressed into a corrugated shape, and consists of a set of two sheets, front and back. A cooling pipe 2 is connected between both ice-making plates 1 by a suitable means for good heat conduction, such as welding. The cooling pipe 2 is connected to a well-known cooling device (not shown), and when ice making starts, refrigerant gas flows inside the pipe. A slope plate 4 in which a plurality of water recovery holes 3 are formed is provided below the ice-making plate 1, with its tip facing toward the bottom of the water storage tank 5.

A circulation pump 6 and a float sensor 7 are disposed in a water storage tank 5 that stores ice-making water. The circulation pump 6 is connected to a water sprinkler 9 above the ice-making plate 1 via a circulation hose 8. The water sprinkler 9 has a rectangular hollow shape, and a number of water sprinkler holes 10 are formed in the lower part thereof. An overflow part 11 is provided on the wall of the water storage tank 5 to discharge excess ice-making water to the outside of the water storage tank 5.

Next, the operation of the ice maker having the above configuration will be explained. During the ice-making cycle, ice-making water in the water storage tank 5 is circulated through the circulation hose 8, the water sprinkler 9, the ice-making plate 1, the water recovery hole 3 of the slope plate 4, and the water storage tank 5 in this order by the operation of the circulation pump 6. Water for ice making is
While flowing down the surface of the ice-making plate 1, it is gradually cooled by the cooling pipe 2, and gradually grows as ice on the surface of the ice-making plate 1. As the ice grows, the water level in the water tank 5 gradually decreases, and when the liquid level reaches a preset reference low water level C, the float sensor 7 is activated, and the operation of the circulation pump 6 is stopped.
The ice making cycle ends.

At the end of the ice-making cycle, a hot gas valve (not shown) opens, and high-temperature, high-pressure gas from a compressor (not shown) is sent into the cooling pipe 2, heating the ice-making plate 1 and starting the de-icing cycle. During the deicing cycle, the contact surface of the ice with the surface of the ice making plate 1 melts, and the ice slides down on the slope plate 4 due to its own weight and is stored in an ice storage (not shown). When the ice falls, the temperature of the ice-making plate 1 rises, so a temperature detection means (not shown) such as a thermistor detects the temperature, and the ice-making cycle described above is restarted.
On the other hand, at the same time as the deicing cycle is started, the water supply valve 12 of the pipe connected to the general water supply is opened, and ice making water is supplied to the water tank 5, and is stored as ice making water for the next ice making cycle. The liquid level of the ice-making water supplied to the water storage tank 5 gradually rises.
The surplus ice-making water is then discharged from the overflow portion 11 to the outside of the water storage tank 5, as shown in FIG.

Next, fluctuations in the liquid level height in the water tank 5 will be explained. When the deicing cycle ends, the water supply valve 12 closes, the cooling pipe 2 is cooled, and the circulation pump 6 resumes operation. With the operation of the circulation pump 6, the liquid level in the water tank 5 decreases from the reference high water level A to the reference medium water level B, and after the start of the ice making cycle until just before ice is generated on the ice making plate 1, the liquid level in the water storage tank 5 is lowered to the reference medium water level B. is maintained. This decrease in the liquid level height corresponds to the amount of water in the ice-making water circulation path, that is, the amount of circulating water. When ice begins to form on the ice-making plate 1, the liquid level in the water storage tank 5 begins to gradually decrease from the standard medium water level B, and reaches the preset standard low water level C.
When the ice-making cycle reaches the ice-making cycle, the float sensor 7 operates and the circulation pump 6 stops operating. In other words, the amount of ice-making water between the reference medium water level B and the reference low water level C is the amount of ice produced in one ice-making cycle.

c Problems to be solved by the invention In the conventional ice making machine as described above, when the capacity of the circulation pump 6 increases, the flow rate of ice making water flowing down on the ice making plate 1 increases and the amount of circulating water also increases. The standard medium water level B of the water storage tank 5 decreases, and as a result, the amount of ice-making water between the standard medium water level B and the standard low water level C decreases, and conversely, due to the frequency changing from 60Hz to 50Hz, voltage drop, etc. As the capacity of the circulation pump 6 decreases, the amount of circulating water also decreases, the reference medium water level B of the water storage tank 5 rises, and the amount of ice-making water between the reference medium water level B and the reference low water level C increases. There was a problem in that the amount of ice produced in one ice making cycle also varied due to variations in the capacity of the circulation pump 6.

This invention was made in order to solve such problems, and the purpose is to obtain an ice maker in which the amount of ice produced in one ice making cycle is constant even if the capacity of the circulation pump 6 fluctuates. .

d Means for solving the problem In the ice making machine according to this invention, one end d faces below the liquid level D of the ice making water in the water storage tank 5 which has been lowered by the start of the circulation pump 6, The siphon 13 that drains the ice-making water to below the liquid level D is connected to the water storage tank 5.
It was established in

e Effect In this invention, the liquid level of the ice-making water in the water storage tank 5 is lowered by starting the circulation pump 6 during the ice-making cycle, and then the liquid level is further lowered to one end d of the siphon 13. This liquid level height D is maintained constant until just before ice is generated in the ice making section 1.

f. Example Hereinafter, an example of this invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 and 2 show an embodiment of this invention, and the same or corresponding parts as in FIGS. 3 and 4 are given the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will be omitted. In the figure, a mountain-shaped siphon 13 is provided in an overflow portion 11 of a water storage tank 5. Saiphon 13
One end extends to the vicinity of the bottom surface 14 of the water tank 5, and a first opening 15 is formed between the bottom surface 14 and one end of the siphon 13. Water tank 5
A second opening 16 is formed at the other end of the siphon 13 extending outside. An elliptical inlet 17 is formed below the reference intermediate water level B of the siphon 13. An adjustment plate 18 having a U-shaped cross section is provided on the front surface of the inlet 17 so as to be movable up and down along the groove 19 of the siphon 13. A toothed portion 20 is provided at the end of the adjusting plate 18, and a stopper 21 is engaged with the toothed portion 20, so that the adjusting plate 18 is stopped at a predetermined position.

Next, the operation of the ice maker having the above configuration will be explained. When the liquid level of the ice-making water in the water storage tank 5 reaches the reference low water level C, the float sensor 7 is activated, the operation of the circulation pump 6 is stopped, the ice-making cycle is completed, and the water supply valve 12 is subsequently opened. Ice-making water is supplied into the water storage tank 5 and enters the de-icing cycle. The water level of the ice-making water in the water storage tank 5 gradually rises, and when it reaches the reference high water level A, the ice-making water starts overflowing and is drained from the overflow part 11. Further, when the ice-making water in the water storage tank 5 is maintained at the standard high water level A while being discharged from the overflow portion 11, the ice-making water is discharged from the first opening 15 and the inlet 17 through the siphon 13, and the second opening 1
Water for ice making is also discharged from No. 6. During this time, deposits such as iron rust and dust that have settled on the bottom surface 14 of the water tank 5 are also sucked and discharged from the first opening 16.

When the ice on the surface of the ice-making plate 1 melts and falls into the ice storage, the temperature detection means detects a rise in the temperature of the ice-making plate 1, and as a result, the deicing cycle ends and the circulation pump 6
operation will be resumed. Further, at the same time as the deicing cycle ends, the water supply valve 12 is closed and the supply of ice-making water to the water storage tank 5 is stopped. When the ice-making cycle begins with the operation of the circulation pump 6, the liquid level in the water storage tank 5 decreases from a reference high water level A corresponding to the amount of circulating water to a reference medium water level B. Then, the liquid level continues to fall further due to the siphon 13, and the liquid level continues to fall until it reaches the position d of the lower end surface of the adjusting plate 18, where air is sucked in from the inlet 17 and the siphon phenomenon disappears. When the liquid level of the ice-making water reaches this control water level D, the ice-making water is no longer drained, and the control water level D is maintained until just before ice begins to form on the surface of the ice-making plate 1. When ice begins to form on the ice-making plate 1, the liquid level in the water storage tank 5 begins to gradually decrease from the control water level D, and when it reaches a preset reference low water level C, the ice-making cycle ends.

The reference medium water level B also moves up and down due to fluctuations in the capacity of the circulation pump 6, but the control water level D is determined by the position of the adjustment plate 18 provided at the inlet 17 of the siphon 13, and the control water level D and the reference low water level C are Since the amount of water in between is the amount of ice for one ice-making cycle, a constant amount of ice for one ice-making cycle can always be obtained without being affected by fluctuations in the capacity of the circulation pump 6. In addition, the adjustment plate 18
By arbitrarily changing the height H using the mark 22, the height H between the control water level D and the reference low water level C changes, and the amount of ice in one ice making cycle can be changed arbitrarily. Also, during the ice making cycle, the control water level D
When flocculent or muddy ice occurs in the circulation path (a phenomenon in which supercooled ice-making water instantly turns into muddy or flocculent ice), flocculent or muddy ice Because the water temporarily clogs the circulation path, the circulating water returns to the water tank 5 with a considerable flow velocity, raising the water level in the water tank 5. The amount of ice-making water that returns to the water tank 5 is between the maximum standard high water level A and the standard medium water level B, and the ice-making water tends to overflow from the water tank 5 depending on the speed at which it returns. For reference medium water level B
This can be prevented by the side wall of the water tank 5 corresponding to the difference in height between the control water level D and the control water level D.

In the above embodiment, one end of the siphon 13 is extended to the vicinity of the bottom surface 14 of the water tank 5, and an inlet 17 with an adjustment plate 18 is provided in the middle. Even with a simple-configured wallet, the same effects as in the above embodiment can be achieved.

g. Effect of the invention As explained above, according to this invention, the siphon 13 with one end d facing below the liquid level D of the ice-making water, which has been lowered by the start of the circulation pump 6, is connected to the water storage tank 5. Since the ice-making water level in the water storage tank 5 immediately before ice-making water is generated in the ice-making section 1 is not affected by fluctuations in the capacity of the circulation pump 6, the amount of ice produced in one ice-making cycle is always constant. There is an effect.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a sectional view of a water tank showing an embodiment of this invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view of the main parts of Figure 1, Figure 3 is a perspective view of an example of a conventional ice maker, and Figure 4 is FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the - line in FIG. 3; 1...Ice plate, 5...Water tank, 6...Circulation pump, 13...Siphon, 17...Inflow port. In each figure, the same reference numerals indicate the same or equivalent parts.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] 1. A water storage tank 5 in which ice-making water is stored, an ice-making section 1 that cools and freezes the ice-making water, and a system for discharging the ice-making water between the ice-making section 1 and the water storage tank 5. In the ice making machine equipped with a circulation pump 6 for circulating, the water storage tank 5 has one end d below the liquid level D of the ice-making water in the water storage tank 5 which has been lowered by starting the circulation pump 6. The ice maker is characterized by being equipped with a siphon 13 for discharging ice making water to a level D below the liquid level. 2 The siphon 13 has one end facing near the bottom surface 14 of the water storage tank 5, and has an inlet port D below the liquid level of the ice-making water in the water storage tank 5, which has been lowered by starting the circulation pump 6. 17 is formed.