JPH04240367A - ice making device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to an ice making device which circulates water or an aqueous solution in an ice storage tank to supercool it, and then eliminates the supercooled state by recooling to produce a slurry-like frozen product. , especially regarding the cooling performance of the supercooling elimination section.

Conventionally, a water circulation circuit for circulating water in the ice storage tank between a heat exchanger connected to a cooling device and an ice storage tank has been provided, and the heat exchanger converts the water in the ice storage tank into slurry ice. For example, as an ice making device that makes ice
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 217171, the outlet side of the water circulation path is an inclined gutter that faces downward on the upstream side and is formed such that the outlet end opens at a certain height above the water surface of the ice storage tank, and the water circulation path is a sloped gutter that is formed to open at a certain height above the water surface of the ice storage tank. A container is placed between these gutters, and the water that has been supercooled by a heat exchanger in the water circulation path is de-supercooled at the outlet of the gutters and becomes frozen into a slurry, and this frozen product is stored in an ice storage tank. This is a known technique. Also,
As disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 1-112345, a baffle plate and an inclined gutter are installed, and the supercooled water in the heat exchanger is discharged into the atmosphere and collides with the baffle plate, thereby reducing the supercooled state of the water. It is also a known technique to melt the ice, turn the water into ice, and drop it into the ice storage tank through the gutter.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] These conventional techniques use a gutter to transfer water or aqueous solution by falling.
There were design constraints such as equipment placement. In order to solve this problem, the applicant proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 105952/1997 that a supercooling eliminating section by recooling is provided in a pipe in the middle of a water circulation path for circulating water or an aqueous solution in an ice storage tank. We proposed to send frozen water or aqueous solution in slurry form to the ice storage tank through a closed pipe. A certain flow rate is required to flow this slurry-like frozen product without sedimentation, and it is better to have a higher flow rate in order to prevent ice from adhering to the inner wall of the pipe. However, if the flow rate is high, the water or aqueous solution will flow away before the temperature of the water or aqueous solution is sufficiently lowered in the supercooling elimination section. To prevent this, lower the temperature of the supercooling elimination section to increase the temperature difference with the water or aqueous solution to increase the cooling capacity, or increase the heat transfer area of the supercooling elimination section to increase the cooling capacity. It is conceivable to increase the temperature, but the former requires a device to generate a particularly low-temperature cold source for cooling the supercooling elimination section, and the latter has the disadvantage that the device has a large capacity. The present invention has been made in view of these points, and its purpose is to efficiently eliminate the supercooled state of water or an aqueous solution using a small device.

0004

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the solution means of the present invention, as shown in FIG. , a main heat exchanger (22) connected to the cooling device (2) for supercooling water or an aqueous solution, and the main heat exchanger (22)
) and the ice storage tank (5) are interposed in the flow path in the return pipe (51B) to eliminate the supercooled state of water or aqueous solution and turn it into a slurry-like frozen product. Elimination part (8)
An ice making device equipped with

[0005] The first solution, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 12, includes a return pipe (51
A recess (83) that bulges outward is formed on the inner surface of the pipe of B), and the inner surface of this recess (83) is used as a supercooling eliminating section (8).
) as the cooling heat transfer surface (81).

The second solution is, as shown in FIGS. 13 to 18, provided around the cooling heat transfer surface (81) of the supercooling elimination section (8), and near the cooling heat transfer surface (81). It is equipped with a barrier part (82) for locally slowing down the flow rate of water or aqueous solution.

As shown in FIGS. 19 to 22, a third solution means, in addition to the first or second solution means, is provided in the vicinity of the supercooling elimination section (8) and eliminates supercooling. Part (8)
The pipe is equipped with a freeze prevention section (9) that heats the return pipe (51B) so as to break up the adhesion of frozen substances to the pipe wall.

[0008] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 23, a fourth solution means, in addition to the first or second solution means, replaces the cooling device (2) with compressors (11), (21), Condenser (12
), a decompression mechanism (23), and a main heat exchanger (22) functioning as an evaporator are sequentially connected to each other to form a refrigerant circuit (1). It cools supercooled water or aqueous solution by heat exchange with the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit (1), and the refrigerant inlet end of the liquid pipe section (35) and supercooling elimination section (8) of the refrigerant circuit (1) (86) via the pressure reduction part (C4), and the refrigerant outlet end (87) of the supercooling elimination part (8) is connected to the refrigerant circuit (1).
The structure is such that it is connected to the low pressure section (25) of the.

A fifth solution, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 24, includes a cooling device (2) in addition to the third solution described above.
, compressors (11), (21), condenser (12), pressure reduction mechanism (23), and main heat exchanger (2) that acts as an evaporator.
A cooling device (2) is provided with a refrigerant circuit (1) formed by sequentially connecting the refrigerant circuits (1) to
) to cool water or aqueous solution in a supercooled state by heat exchange with the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit (1), and the antifreeze section (9) cools the supercooled water or aqueous solution by heat exchange with the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit (1). It heats the adjacent pipe wall, and connects the refrigerant inlet end (96) of the antifreeze section (9) to the liquid pipe section (35) of the refrigerant circuit (1).
and connect the refrigerant outlet end (87) of the supercooling elimination section (8) to the low pressure section (25) of the refrigerant circuit (1),
The refrigerant outlet end (97) of the freeze prevention section (9) and the refrigerant inlet end (86) of the supercooling elimination section (8) are connected via a pressure reducing section (C4).

0010

[Operation] With the above solution, in the invention of claim 1,
In the recess (83) of the supercooling elimination section (8), the flow of water or aqueous solution becomes stagnant and slow, resulting in a so-called quasi-stationary state. When cooling through a cooled heat transfer surface, if the water or aqueous solution is flowing quickly, it will run off before the temperature has dropped sufficiently. However, the recessed portion (83) of the supercooling eliminating portion (8) of the present invention
), the flow rate of the water or aqueous solution is slowed down, so the temperature of the water or aqueous solution is sufficiently lowered by the cooling heat transfer surface (81) on the inner surface of the recess (83), so the cooling capacity is improved.
Elimination of supercooling is performed efficiently. In addition, since the flow rate of the entire water or aqueous solution is not slowed down, there will be no blockage in the return pipe (51) due to a slow flow of generated frozen substances. Note that the reason why the supercooled state of the entire water or aqueous solution can be eliminated without recooling the entire water or aqueous solution is that a frozen product is formed in the depression (83) and this frozen product becomes a core.

[0011] In the invention of claim 2, the supercooling eliminating section (8)
Since the barrier section (82) around the supercooling section (82) obstructs the flow of the water or aqueous solution, the flow rate of the water or aqueous solution becomes slow at the point where it contacts the cooling heat transfer surface (81) of the supercooling elimination section (8). Further, since the overall flow rate of water or aqueous solution is not slowed down, the cooling capacity is improved, supercooling is efficiently eliminated, and the flow of frozen substances is worsened, as in the invention of claim 1. Also, no blockage occurs in the return pipe (51B).

In the invention of claim 3, in addition to the invention of claim 1 or claim 2, supercooling is eliminated by a freeze prevention section (9) that heats the tube wall around the supercooling elimination section (8). Department (
The frozen product generated in step 8) is dissociated from adhering to the tube wall near the supercooling eliminating section (8), preventing the supercooling eliminating section (8) and the tube wall in this vicinity from freezing, and improving ice making efficiency. Improve.

In the invention of claim 4, in addition to the invention of claim 1 or claim 2, the main heat exchanger (22) is connected to the refrigerant circuit (1) of the cooling device (2), and The cooling elimination section (8) supplies the liquid refrigerant of the refrigerant circuit (1) to the decompression section (
Since the low-temperature refrigerant depressurized by C4) is circulated and cooled,
Supercooling can be eliminated without providing a separate cooling device.

In the invention of claim 5, in addition to the invention of claim 3, the main heat exchanger (22) is connected to the refrigerant circuit (1) of the cooling device (2), and the antifreeze section (9) is connected to the refrigerant circuit (1) of the cooling device (2). ), the relatively high-temperature liquid refrigerant from the refrigerant circuit (1) flows through the supercooling elimination section (8), where it is cooled by heat exchange with the refrigerant at the anti-freezing section (9), and further flows through the decompression section (C4 ), the low-temperature refrigerant is circulated, so supercooling can be eliminated and freezing can be prevented without the need for a separate heating and cooling device.

[0015]

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 2 and subsequent drawings. FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of an air conditioner equipped with an ice making device of the present invention, and the refrigerant circuit (1) of the cooling device (2) is configured as follows. (11) is the first compressor, (12) is an outdoor heat exchanger that is arranged on the discharge side of this first compressor (11) and exchanges heat between the refrigerant and outdoor air, and (13) is this outdoor heat exchanger. An outdoor motorized expansion valve that adjusts the refrigerant flow rate of the exchanger (12) or reduces the pressure, and the above-mentioned devices (11) to (13) are connected in series in the first pipe line (14). . In addition, (21) is the second compressor, (
22) is arranged on the discharge side of this second compressor (21),
A main heat exchanger (23) for supercooling water or aqueous solution in an ice storage tank (5), which will be described later, adjusts the refrigerant flow rate when the main heat exchanger (22) functions as a condenser, and It is a water-side electric expansion valve that reduces the pressure of the refrigerant when functioning as a
24) are connected in series within.

Note that (SD1) and (SD2) are oil separators installed in the discharge pipes of the compressors (11) and (21), respectively, and (C1) and (C2) are the oil separators (SD1). ，
Oil return pipes (R) provided on the suction side of (SD2)
These are capillary tubes for depressurization installed in T1) and (RT2), respectively. Furthermore, (32), (32)
are indoor heat exchangers placed in each room, (33), (33
) is an indoor electric expansion valve as a pressure reducing valve for reducing the pressure of the refrigerant, each of the above devices (32) and (33) is connected in series, and each set thereof is connected in parallel in the third pipe (34). ing. Further, (35) is a liquid pipe section that connects the outdoor electric expansion valve (13) and the water side electric expansion valve (23). The first pipe line (14) and the second pipe line (24) are connected in parallel to the third pipe line (34). In addition, (A
C) is the third compressor on the suction side of each compressor (11), (21).
This is an accumulator provided in the conduit (34). In addition, (10) connects the gas pipes of the outdoor heat exchanger (12) and the gas pipes of the indoor heat exchangers (32), (32) to each compressor (1).
A four-way switching valve (10) that switches between the discharge side and the suction side of 1) and (21), and when the four-way switching valve (10) switches to the solid line side in the figure, the outdoor heat exchanger ( 12
) is the condenser, main heat exchanger (22) or indoor heat exchanger (3
2) and (32) function as an evaporator, while when the four-way switching valve (10) switches to the dotted line side in the figure, the outdoor heat exchanger (12) functions as an evaporator, main heat exchanger (22), or Indoor heat exchangers (32), (32) function as condensing steamers. Furthermore, a low pressure section (25) that bypass-connects the suction side of each compressor (11), (21), and a gas pipe of the main heat exchanger (22) are connected to the discharge pipe of the second compressor (21) and the low pressure section. Part (2
5) is provided with a water side switching valve (26) for switching communication with the water side switching valve (26). This water side switching valve (26) uses three ports of the four-way switching valve, and when the water side switching valve (26) switches to the solid line side in the figure, the main heat exchanger (22) evaporates. On the other hand, when the water side switching valve (26) switches to the side shown by the broken line in the figure, the gas pipe of the main heat exchanger (22) communicates with the discharge pipe of the second compressor (21), and the main heat An exchanger (22) is adapted to function as a condenser. Note that (C3) is a capillary tube interposed in the pipe on the dead port side of the water side switching valve (26).

Furthermore, a bypass passage (3) connects the discharge pipes of the first compressor (11) and the second compressor (21).
The bypass passage (3) is provided with a check valve (4) that allows refrigerant to flow only from the discharge pipe side of the second compressor (21) to the discharge pipe side of the first compressor (11). ) is provided. That is, when the outdoor heat exchanger (12) and the main heat exchanger (22) function as a condenser, the main heat exchanger (22)
When the condensation temperature and pressure in step 2) become high, the amount of heat released can be distributed by releasing the gas discharged from the second compressor (21) to the outdoor heat exchanger (12). Here, an ice storage tank (5) for storing a slurry-like frozen product of water or an aqueous solution as a heat storage medium is arranged in the ice making device, and the ice storage tank (5) and the main heat exchanger (22) is connected through a water circulation path (51) so that water or an aqueous solution circulates therethrough. This water circulation path (
51) is the main heat exchanger (22) from the lower part of the ice storage tank (5).
an outgoing pipe (51A) that supplies water or an aqueous solution to the ice storage tank (5), and a return pipe (51B) that returns a frozen product in the form of a slurry of water or an aqueous solution from the main heat exchanger (22) to the upper part of the ice storage tank (5). A strainer (53) is installed downstream of the pump (52) in the outgoing pipe (51A) to remove solid matter such as frozen matter and dirt from the water or aqueous solution in the water circulation path (51). Furthermore, a preheating heat exchanger (6) for preheating the water or aqueous solution supplied to the main heat exchanger (22) is interposed downstream of the strainer (53). On the other hand, the liquid line of the refrigerant circuit (1) is provided with a preheating bypass passage (61) that allows a part of the liquid refrigerant to bypass the water side electric expansion valve (23) and flow to the preheating heat exchanger (6). A preheating electric expansion valve (62) having a refrigerant pressure reduction function and a flow rate control function (62) is installed on the downstream side of the preheating heat exchanger (6) in this preheating bypass path (61). . With this preheating electric expansion valve (62) and the water side electric expansion valve (23),
The refrigerant flow rate in the preheating bypass passage (61) is adjusted, and the pressure of the refrigerant is also reduced during the ice-making operation of the main heat exchanger (22).

Furthermore, a return pipe (
51B), on the downstream side of the main heat exchanger (22),
A recooler is provided as a supercooling elimination section (8) that cools the water or aqueous solution in the return pipe (51B) to eliminate the supercooled state of the water or aqueous solution that has been supercooled in the main heat exchanger (22). A freeze prevention section (9) having a heating heat transfer surface (91) for preventing freezing of the pipe line is provided around the supercooling elimination section (8), and a freeze prevention section (9) is provided around the supercooling elimination section (8). (8) and the main heat exchanger (22), there is heat insulation as a freeze progress prevention part to prevent the freezing of the return pipe (51B) from progressing to the main heat exchanger (22). An exchanger (7) is provided. In addition, the liquid pipe section (35) of the refrigerant circuit (1)
While the liquid refrigerant is passed from the liquid refrigerant to the thermal insulation heat exchanger (7), the liquid refrigerant is branched from the liquid pipe section (35) to form an elimination bypass path (85).
As shown in FIG. 24, this relief bypass path (85) is connected to the refrigerant inlet end (96) of the antifreeze section (9), and the refrigerant outlet end (97) of the antifreeze section (9) is connected to the It is connected to the refrigerant inlet end (86) of the supercooling elimination section (8) via a pressure reducing section (C4) consisting of a pressure reducing valve or a capillary tube, and its refrigerant outlet end (87) is connected to the compressor (11), (21) is connected to the low pressure part (25) on the suction side. That is, in the supercooling elimination section (8), the water or aqueous solution that has been supercooled in the main heat exchanger (22) is recooled by heat exchange with the refrigerant whose pressure has been reduced and the temperature has decreased in the pressure reduction section (C4), The supercooled state is eliminated and the slurry is frozen, and the frozen slurry is circulated to the ice storage tank (5) via the return pipe (51B), while condensed in the antifreeze section (9). By bypassing the refrigerant liquid, the tube wall is heated, and the ice formed by the removal of the supercooled state from adhesion to the tube wall is dissociated.

Furthermore, in the heat retention heat exchanger (7), the water or aqueous solution is heated by heat exchange with the liquid refrigerant in the liquid line, and the water or aqueous solution is supercooled in the supercooling elimination section (8) and return pipe (51B). The ice formed by melting adheres to the pipe wall of the return pipe (51B) to prevent freezing from progressing to the main heat exchanger (22). When the air conditioner is operated to cool the room, the four-way switching valve (10) is switched to the solid line side in the figure. When the water side switching valve (26) is switched to the solid line side in the figure, each compressor (1
After the refrigerant discharged from 1) and (21) is condensed in the outdoor heat exchanger (12), the refrigerant is transferred to each indoor heat exchanger (32), (
32), the room is cooled by evaporation. Furthermore, when the water side switching valve (26) is switched to the side shown by the broken line in the figure, the refrigerant discharged from the first compressor (11) flows to the outdoor heat exchanger (12), while the refrigerant discharged from the second compressor (21) flows to the outdoor heat exchanger (12). The discharged refrigerant flows to the main heat exchanger (22), where it is condensed and then circulated to be evaporated in each indoor heat exchanger (32). Tank (
5) A cold storage heat operation is performed to store cold heat. That is,
Switch the four-way switching valve (10) and water side switching valve (26) to the solid line side in the figure, close each indoor electric expansion valve (33), (33), and turn on each compressor (11), (21). After condensing the discharged refrigerant in the outdoor heat exchanger (12), the water side electric expansion valve (23)
) or the main heat exchanger (
By evaporating in step 22), the water or aqueous solution in the ice storage tank (5) is supercooled and the water or aqueous solution in the ice storage tank (5) is turned into ice, thereby storing cold heat.

Here, in the present invention, the main heat exchanger (22)
In the return pipeline (51B) on the downstream side, the main heat exchanger (22
) The supercooled water or aqueous solution is recooled in the supercooling elimination section (8), the supercooled state is eliminated, and the water or aqueous solution is forcibly circulated in the form of slurry to the ice storage tank (5). Slurry-like frozen material is stored in the tank, storing the cold energy necessary for daytime cooling operation. At this time, if the overall flow rate of the water or aqueous solution in the return pipe (51B) is high, the water or aqueous solution will flow away before the temperature of the water or aqueous solution is sufficiently lowered in the supercooling elimination section (8). Furthermore, if the overall flow rate of water or aqueous solution in the return pipe (51B) is slowed down, ice may adhere to the pipe of the frozen product slurry or the pipe may be blocked.

Therefore, the embodiment according to the invention of claim 1 forms a recessed portion (83) that bulges outward with respect to the inner surface of the pipe in the return pipe (51B), and the inner surface of this recessed portion (83) is the cooling heat transfer surface (81) of the supercooling elimination section (8), so that the cooling heat transfer surface (81) of the supercooling elimination section (8) is
Since the flow rate of water or aqueous solution can be locally slowed down in step 1), the residence time of water or aqueous solution on this cooling heat transfer surface (81) becomes longer, and the temperature of water or aqueous solution cannot be lowered sufficiently. cooling capacity is improved. Therefore, supercooling can be efficiently eliminated without increasing the heat transfer area of the cooling heat transfer surface (81) and without preparing a particularly low-temperature cold source for the supercooling elimination section (8). . 3 and 4 show the supercooling eliminating section (8) according to the embodiment of the invention of claim 1.
) shows the shape of the cooling heat transfer surface (81). FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view thereof, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view thereof. The inner surface of the cylindrical recess (83) is the cooling heat transfer surface (81).
), the residence time of water or aqueous solution becomes longer in this cylindrical depression (83) and the temperature is sufficiently lowered, so the cooling capacity of the supercooling elimination section (8) is high and supercooling is eliminated. is carried out efficiently.

Here, as a means for cooling the cooling heat transfer surface (81), the cooling heat transfer surface (81) is cooled by a refrigerant introduced from the refrigerant inlet end (86) of the supercooling elimination section (8), and the refrigerant is The refrigerant is discharged from the refrigerant outlet end (87) of the supercooling elimination section (8). As this refrigerant, it is preferable to use the refrigerant circuit (2) of the cooling device (1) as in the invention of claim 4, but in the invention of claim 1, a separate cooling device may be provided and the refrigerant may be used. , the refrigerant circuit (
It is not limited to those using the refrigerant of 2). In addition, in the invention of claim 1, the shape of the recessed part (83) of the supercooling eliminating part (8) is not limited to that shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. 5 to 12 show modified examples of the above-mentioned embodiment 1,
Each odd-numbered figure is a longitudinal cross-sectional view, and each even-numbered figure is a cross-sectional view corresponding to the previous numbered figure. Here, FIGS. 5 and 6 show a case where the shape of the recess (83) is a cone, and FIGS. 7 and 8 show a case where the shape of the recess (83) is a hemisphere, and FIGS. 9 and 10
In the case where there are three cylindrical depressions (83), Fig. 11,
FIG. 12 shows a case where the recesses (83) extend around the cross section of the pipe and are connected. In these modifications as well, the flow rate of water or aqueous solution is locally slowed down and the temperature is sufficiently lowered, so that the cooling capacity of the supercooling eliminating section (8) is high and supercooling is efficiently eliminated. Other recesses (83) shaped like triangular prisms or rectangular parallelepipeds also exhibit similar effects.

Next, an embodiment according to the second aspect of the invention will be described. 13 and 14 show a longitudinal section and a transverse section, respectively, of the cooling heat transfer surface (81) of the supercooling elimination section (8). In the present invention, the cooling heat transfer surface (81) of the supercooling elimination section (8)
is surrounded by a hollow cylindrical barrier part (82), one end of which is closed in contact with the supercooling elimination part (8), and water or aqueous solution is only allowed to enter through the opening at the other end. enters and exits, the flow of water or aqueous solution is obstructed and the flow rate is locally slowed down on this cooling heat transfer surface (81). Therefore, the residence time of water or aqueous solution on this cooling heat transfer surface (81) becomes longer and the temperature is sufficiently lowered, so that the supercooling elimination section (8)
has a high cooling capacity and eliminates supercooling efficiently. Although the structure of the supercooling eliminating section (8) is different, it exhibits the same effect as the invention of claim 1. Here, the cooling means for the cooling heat transfer surface (81) is the same as in claim 1.

In this embodiment, the barrier part (82) shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 is cylindrical, but it may have a shape that surrounds the cooling heat transfer surface (81) of the supercooling eliminating part (8). , may have the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped or a triangular prism, as claimed in claim 2.
In the invention, the cooling heat transfer surface (8) of the supercooling eliminating section (8)
1) and the shapes of the barrier portion (82) are not limited to those shown in FIGS. 13 and 14. 15 to 18 show variations of the above embodiment, each odd numbered figure being a longitudinal sectional view, and each even numbered figure being a transverse sectional view corresponding to the previous numbered figure. Figure 15
, FIG. 16 shows that the cooling heat transfer surface (81) of the supercooling elimination section (8) has a cylindrical shape and protrudes into the pipe, and is surrounded by a hollow cylinder larger than the supercooling elimination section (8). This is a case where the barrier part (82) is surrounded by a shaped barrier part (82), one end of which is closed in contact with the supercooling elimination part (8), and the other end is open. 17 and 18 show that the cooling heat transfer surface (81) of the supercooling elimination section (8) has a cylindrical shape, and the return pipe (51) has a cylindrical shape.
B), and plate-shaped barrier portions (82) are provided upstream and downstream of the water or aqueous solution of this cooling heat transfer surface (81). In these modified examples as well, the flow rate of water or aqueous solution is slowed down and the temperature is sufficiently lowered, so the cooling capacity of the supercooling eliminating section (8) is high and supercooling is efficiently eliminated. In addition, since the flow rate of the entire water or aqueous solution is not slowed down, there will be no blockage in the return pipe (51) due to a slow flow of generated frozen substances. The reason why the supercooled state of the entire water or aqueous solution can be eliminated without cooling the entire water or aqueous solution is that a frozen product is formed in the recess (83) and this frozen product becomes a core. In addition, in the embodiments according to the invention of claims 1 and 2, without recooling the entire water or aqueous solution,
The reason why the supercooled state of the entire water or aqueous solution can be eliminated is because a frozen product is formed inside the recessed portion (83) or barrier portion (82) of the invention, and this frozen product becomes a core.

[0025] The embodiment according to the invention of claim 3 is the embodiment according to the invention of claim 1 or claim 2, in which the supercooling eliminating section (8) is frozen in the vicinity of the cooling heat transfer surface (81). A heating heat transfer surface (91) of the prevention part (9) is provided,
19 and 20 show an embodiment in which a freeze prevention section (9) is provided in the embodiment according to the invention of claim 1. The anti-freezing section (9) close to the supercooling eliminating section (8) can dissociate the frozen matter that has adhered to the tube wall caused by the supercooling eliminating section (8), so that the frozen matter can be removed from the tube wall. can prevent blockage due to adhesion and growth. In particular, since the supercooling eliminating section (8) according to the embodiment of the invention of claim 1 or claim 2 has a high cooling capacity, the cooling heat transfer surface (81) can be made small. Therefore, the heating heat transfer surface (91) of the adjacent anti-freeze section (9)
can also be made smaller. Here, as a means of heating the heating heat transfer surface (91), the heating heat transfer surface (81) is heated by a heat medium introduced from the refrigerant inlet end (96) of the anti-freeze section (9), and the heat transfer surface (81) is frozen. The refrigerant is made to come out from the refrigerant outlet end (97) of the prevention part (9). The antifreeze section (9) and supercooling elimination section (8) in this embodiment are double circular tubes, and the heat medium is transferred to the antifreeze section (9) located outside the supercooling elimination section (8). Through the space, the refrigerant exits from the refrigerant inlet end (96) of the antifreeze section (9) to the refrigerant outlet end (97) of the antifreeze section (9). Also,
As a means for cooling the cooling heat transfer surface (81), the cooling heat transfer surface (81) is cooled by a refrigerant introduced from the refrigerant inlet end (86) of the supercooling elimination section (8), and the refrigerant is transferred to the supercooling elimination section. The refrigerant is discharged from the refrigerant outlet end (87) of (8). As the heating medium and the refrigerant, a cooling device (
It is preferable to use the refrigerant circuit (2) in 1).
In the invention of claim 3, a heating/cooling device may be provided separately and the thermal refrigerant may be used in the refrigerant circuit (2) of this cooling device (1).
The invention is not limited to those using refrigerants. 21 and 22 show a modification of the embodiment according to the third aspect of the invention, which is an embodiment in which a freeze prevention part (9) is provided in the embodiment according to the second aspect of the invention.

The embodiment according to the invention of claim 4 is the embodiment according to the invention of claim 1 or claim 2, in which a cooling device (
2), the liquid refrigerant branched from the refrigerant circuit (1) is used, and in the embodiment shown in FIG. However, in this embodiment, excluding this antifreeze section (9), the elimination bypass passage (85) is directly connected to the supercooling elimination section (
8). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 23, the elimination bypass path (85) branched from the liquid pipe section (35) on the outlet side of the outdoor heat exchanger (12) as a condenser is connected to the pressure reducing section ( C4), the supercooling elimination section (8)
The outlet end of the supercooling elimination section (8) is connected to the compressor (11
), (21) are connected to the low pressure part (25) on the suction side. That is, the refrigerant liquid whose temperature has been lowered by the pressure reduction section (C4) is flowed into the supercooling elimination section (8) to cool the water or aqueous solution. Therefore, there is no need to provide a separate cooling device.

The embodiment according to the invention of claim 5 is the embodiment according to the invention of claim 3, in which the supercooling eliminating section (
8) as a heat source for cooling and heating the antifreeze section (9);
A liquid refrigerant branched from the refrigerant circuit (1) of the cooling device (2) is used, and as shown in FIGS. 2 and 24, the liquid refrigerant is The decompression bypass path (85) branched from the liquid pipe section (35) is connected to the refrigerant inlet end (96) of the antifreeze section (9), and the refrigerant outlet end (97) of the antifreeze section (9) is connected to the decompression section. (C4)
is connected to the refrigerant inlet end (86) of the supercooling elimination section (8) through the refrigerant outlet end (87) of the supercooling elimination section (8).
) is the low pressure part (25) on the suction side of the compressor (11), (21).
). In other words, the liquid refrigerant after condensation is
This liquid refrigerant is used to heat the pipe wall adjacent to the supercooling elimination section (8) by the anti-freeze section (9), and the liquid refrigerant is then transferred to the decompression section (C4).
The water or aqueous solution is cooled by lowering its temperature and passing it through the supercooling elimination section (8). Therefore, there is no need to provide a separate heating and cooling device. Note that FIGS. 25 and 26 show essential parts of each modification of the embodiment according to the fifth aspect of the invention. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 25, a capillary tube is used as the pressure reducing section (C4), and in order to reduce cooling loss, the outlet end of the capillary tube (C4) is used as the refrigerant inlet end (86) of the supercooling elimination section (8). It is provided near the cooling heat transfer surface (81). The embodiment shown in FIG. 26 uses an orifice provided on the wall between the supercooling eliminating section (8) and the antifreezing section (9) as the pressure reducing section (C4). In this embodiment, the refrigerant outlet end (97) of the antifreeze section (9), the pressure reducing section (C
4) and the refrigerant inlet end (86) of the supercooling elimination section (8) are close to each other and are virtually integrated, which simplifies the structure. In addition, in the embodiments related to these inventions, the supercooled state of the entire water or aqueous solution can be eliminated without recooling the entire water or aqueous solution when the inside of the recessed portion (83) or the barrier portion (82) This is because frozen matter is formed and this frozen matter becomes the nucleus.

[0028]

As explained above, according to the invention of claim 1, the cooling heat transfer surface (81) of the supercooling eliminating section (8) that eliminates the supercooling state is used as the cooling heat transfer surface (81) in the return pipe (51B). By forming a recess (83) that bulges outward with respect to the inner surface of the tube and using the inner surface of the recess (83), the flow rate of water or aqueous solution is slowed down in the recess (83) and Since it flows away after the temperature has fallen, the cooling capacity can be improved. Furthermore, the flow rate of water or aqueous solution is controlled by this depression (83).
Since it is possible to maintain a high speed as a whole, the flow of frozen substances generated in the supercooling elimination section (8) will not deteriorate and the return pipe (51B) will not be clogged. In addition, since supercooling can be efficiently eliminated in this depression (83), the cooling heat transfer surface (81) of the supercooling elimination section (8) can be made smaller, or there is no need to prepare a particularly low-temperature cold source. .

According to the invention of claim 2, the supercooling eliminating section (
By providing a barrier part (82) around the cooling heat transfer surface (81) in 8), the flow of water or aqueous solution is obstructed and slows down at the point in contact with the cooling heat transfer surface (81), so that the temperature is sufficiently low. Since it flows away after falling, the cooling capacity can be improved. Furthermore, the flow rate of water or aqueous solution is determined by the cooling heat transfer surface (81).
It slows down only at the point where it comes into contact with , and can be kept fast as a whole, so there is no possibility that the flow of ice generated in the supercooling elimination section (8) will deteriorate and blockage in the return pipe (51B). do not have. In addition, since supercooling can be efficiently eliminated in the supercooling eliminating section (8) having this barrier section (82), the cooling heat transfer surface (81) of the supercooling eliminating section (8) can be made small, or especially at low temperatures. There is no need to prepare a cold source.

According to the invention of claim 3, in addition to the invention of claim 1 or claim 2, the ice generated in the supercooling elimination section (8) is disposed close to the supercooling elimination section (8). By providing the antifreeze section (9) that heats the return pipe line (51B) to dissociate the adhesion of chemical substances to the pipe wall, freezing of the supercooling release section (8) and the pipe wall in the vicinity thereof is prevented. , improves the ice making efficiency of the supercooling elimination section (8). In particular, the cooling heat transfer surface (81
) can be made small, so the heating heat transfer surface (91) of this antifreeze section (9) can also be made small.

According to the invention of claim 4, in addition to the invention of claim 1 or claim 2, the main heat exchanger (22) is connected to the refrigerant circuit (1) of the cooling device (2), Since the liquid refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit (1) is depressurized in the depressurization part (C4) and distributed as a low temperature in the supercooling elimination part (8), there is no need to provide a separate cooling device, which reduces the size and cost of the device. It is possible to reduce the

According to the invention of claim 5, in addition to the invention of claim 3, the main heat exchanger (22) is connected to the refrigerant circuit (1) of the cooling device (2), and the antifreeze section ( 9), the liquid refrigerant of the refrigerant circuit (1) flows through it, while the supercooling eliminating section (8) is cooled by heat exchange with the refrigerant in the anti-freezing section (9), and further passes through the decompression section (C4). ), the refrigerant whose pressure has been reduced to a low temperature flows through the refrigerant, so there is no need to provide a separate heating/cooling device, and it is therefore possible to downsize the device and reduce costs.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of an ice making apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a refrigerant piping system diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of the invention of claim 1.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of the invention according to claim 1.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of the invention of claim 1.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of the invention of claim 1.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of the invention of claim 1.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of the invention of claim 1.

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of the invention of claim 1.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of the invention of claim 1.

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of the invention of claim 1.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of the invention according to claim 1.

FIG. 13 is a vertical sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of the invention of claim 2.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of the invention according to claim 2.

FIG. 15 is a vertical sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of the invention of claim 2.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of the invention according to claim 2.

FIG. 17 is a vertical sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of the invention of claim 2.

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of the invention according to claim 2.

FIG. 19 is a vertical sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of the invention according to claim 3.

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of the invention according to claim 3.

FIG. 21 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of the invention according to claim 3.

FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of the invention according to claim 3.

FIG. 23 is a vertical sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of the invention according to claim 4.

FIG. 24 is a vertical sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of the invention of claim 5.

FIG. 25 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of the invention of claim 5.

FIG. 26 is a vertical sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of the invention of claim 5.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Refrigerant circuit 2 Cooling device 5 Ice storage tank 8 Supercooling elimination section 9 Freezing prevention section 22 Main heat exchanger 25 Low pressure section 35 Liquid pipe section 51B Return pipe line 81 Cooling heat transfer surface 82 of supercooling elimination section
Barrier section 83 of supercooling elimination section Recessed section 85 of supercooling elimination section Elimination bypass path 86 Refrigerant inlet end 87 of supercooling elimination section
Refrigerant outlet end 96 of supercooling elimination section Refrigerant inlet end 97 of antifreeze section Refrigerant outlet end C4 of antifreeze section Pressure reduction section

Claims (5)

[Claims] Claim 1: An ice storage tank (5) for storing frozen slurry of water or an aqueous solution, and a main heat exchanger (2) connected to a cooling device (2) for supercooling the water or an aqueous solution. 2
2) and a flow path in the return pipe (51B) connecting the main heat exchanger (22) and the ice storage tank (5) to eliminate the supercooled state of water or aqueous solution. In an ice making apparatus equipped with a supercooling eliminating section (8) for producing frozen material in the form of slurry, a recess (83) is formed that bulges outward with respect to the inner surface of the pipe in the return pipe (51B). This hollow part (
83) The inner surface is the cooling heat transfer surface (
81). Claim 2: An ice storage tank (5) for storing frozen slurry of water or an aqueous solution, and a main heat exchanger (2) connected to the cooling device (2) for supercooling the water or the aqueous solution. 2
2) and a flow path in the return pipe (51B) connecting the main heat exchanger (22) and the ice storage tank (5) to eliminate the supercooled state of water or aqueous solution. In an ice-making apparatus equipped with a supercooling eliminating section (8) for producing a slurry-like frozen product, the ice making device is provided around the cooling heat transfer surface (81) of the supercooling eliminating section (8), Heat transfer surface (8
1) An ice-making device characterized by comprising a barrier section (82) for locally slowing down the speed. 3. A return pipe (51B) is provided close to the supercooling eliminating section (8) and heats the return pipe line (51B) so as to dissociate iced matter generated in the supercooling eliminating section (8) from adhering to the tube wall. The ice-making device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a freeze prevention section (9). Claim 4: The cooling device (2) includes a compressor (11),
(21), a condenser (12), a pressure reducing mechanism (23), and a main heat exchanger (22) functioning as an evaporator are sequentially connected to each other. It cools supercooled water or aqueous solution by heat exchange with the refrigerant of the refrigerant circuit (1), and the refrigerant inlet of the liquid pipe section (35) and supercooling elimination section (8) of the refrigerant circuit (1). Edge (86)
The refrigerant outlet end (87) of the supercooling elimination section (8) is connected to the low pressure section (25) of the refrigerant circuit (1). Claim 1
Or the ice making device according to claim 2. Claim 5: The cooling device (2) includes a compressor (11),
(21), a condenser (12), a pressure reducing mechanism (23), and a main heat exchanger (22) functioning as an evaporator are sequentially connected to each other. It cools supercooled water or aqueous solution by heat exchange with the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit (1), and the antifreeze section (9) eliminates supercooling by heat exchange with the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit (1). The refrigerant inlet end (96) of the antifreeze section (9) is connected to the liquid pipe section (35) of the refrigerant circuit (1), and the subcooling elimination section The refrigerant outlet end (87) of (8) is connected to the low pressure part (25) of the refrigerant circuit, and the refrigerant outlet end (97) of the antifreeze part (9) and the supercooling elimination part (
4. The ice making apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the ice making apparatus is connected to the refrigerant inlet end (86) of the ice making apparatus (8) via a pressure reducing part (C4).