JPH0433457Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to the lower bearing structure of an auger ice maker, and in particular relates to an improvement for simplifying the structure and shortening the length of the bearing part. It is.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, various types of lower bearing structures have been used in auger-type ice makers, and typical structures will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

In FIGS. 3 and 4, in the auger-type ice maker, an auger screw 2 having a screw blade 2a is rotatably installed in a refrigeration casing 1 which is cylindrical in its entirety and has a cooling pipe 1a on its outer periphery. The shaft portion 2b at the upper end of the auger screw 2 is rotatably held within a pressing head 4 provided at the upper end of the refrigeration casing 1 via a bolt 3. On the other hand, the shaft portion 2c at the lower end of the auger screw 2 is rotatably supported by a lower bearing structure that will be described below.

That is, according to this lower bearing structure, the shaft portion 2c at the lower end of the auger cage 2 is connected to the first, second, and third shaft portions of the housing 6 fixed within the lower end of the refrigeration casing 1 via the O-ring 5. It is rotatably inserted into the opening. A bearing body 6a is provided in the second opening 6b, and an L-shaped elastic ring 7a and a floating seat 7b, which constitute a part of the mechanical seal 7, are provided in the third opening 6c. The bearing body 6a and the floating seat 7b are separate members separated by an elastic ring 7a. The mechanical seal 7 further includes a seal ring 7c, a bellows 7d, and a drive ring 7.
e and a spring 7f. Seal ring 7
c and a bellows 7d are arranged in a compressed state by a drive ring 7e and a spring 7f. Therefore, the floating sheet 7b is held between the elastic ring 7a and the seal ring 7c, comes into contact with the seal ring 7c, and performs a sealing function on the upper surface of the seal ring 7c side.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] The mechanical seal 7 includes the above-mentioned L ring 7a, floating seat 7b, seal ring 7c, bellows 7d, and drive ring 7.
e and the spring 7f are essential components, and it is unavoidable that they are separate parts, but since the bearing body 6a is required separately in addition to the mechanical seal 7, the number of parts is large. This not only requires time and effort during assembly and disassembly, but also increases the axial dimension of the entire bearing structure, resulting in increased costs.

That is, the axial length of the portion having a bearing function is determined by the load applied to it, and a minimum length is required, but with the above-mentioned conventional structure, the floating seat 7b and the L-shaped ring 7
Since a has only a sealing function and does not have a bearing function, the above-mentioned minimum length must be ensured by the bearing body 6a, and as a result, the length of the part that has a bearing function and a sealing function is Now, the bearing body 6a
+ the axial length of the floating sheet 7b + the axial length of the vertical part of the L-shaped ring 7a, which is shown vertically when viewed in FIG.

Furthermore, since the floating seat 7b is supported exclusively from below by the elastic ring 7a, when the floating seat 7b is mounted in a compressed state as described above, the floating seat 7b
Since b is slightly tilted, even if an attempt is made to impart a bearing function to the floating sheet 7b, it is impossible to do so because the bearing body 6a and the floating sheet 7b are no longer concentric. without the said upper surface and the seal ring 7
A problem occurred in contact with the lower surface of c, and the sealing function was sometimes impaired.

Therefore, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a lower bearing structure for an auger-type ice maker that not only has fewer parts than conventional ones, but also has a shorter axial dimension and has a complete sealing function. be.

[Means for Solving the Problem] In order to achieve this objective, the inventor of the present invention proposed that the lower bearing structure of the conventional auger ice maker
In addition to the fact that the bearing body and the floating seat are similar in function and durability, we focused on the fact that the bottom of the L-shaped elastic ring supports the floating seat from below. If the floating sheet extends downward into the bearing housing through the elastic ring and is supported by the bearing housing, the floating sheet will have both a bearing function and a sealing function. By omitting the bearing body, which had a sealing function, it was possible to shorten the length of the conventional part that had a sealing function, and it was also possible to eliminate the need to rely solely on the elastic ring to support the floating seat. , arrived at the present invention.

Therefore, according to the present invention, in an auger-type ice making machine comprising a cylindrical freezing casing having a cooling pipe on the outer periphery and an auger chest disposed coaxially within the freezing casing, the auger chest is connected to the main body of the auger ice maker. A lower bearing structure for rotatably supporting a shaft portion at a lower end extending downward from a stepped portion of the refrigeration casing is disposed within the lower end portion of the refrigeration casing,
A first opening extending in the axial direction is provided at the center to receive the shaft portion of the auger screw, and a lower cylindrical opening having a diameter successively larger than the first opening is coaxially with the first opening. a bearing housing having two openings and an upper third opening; an elastic ring having an annular bottom and an annular vertical wall received within the third opening; and an elastic ring extending through the annular bottom and into the second opening; In addition to a small-diameter extension part that abuts the bottom part, the cylindrical floating part has a large-diameter main part that enters the elastic ring and engages the upper surface of the annular bottom part, and supports the shaft part of the auger screw. a seat, a seal ring bonded to the upper surface of the floating sheet, a bellows bonded to the seal ring and bonded to the shaft portion, and a bellows provided on the outer periphery of the seal ring and the bellows. and a spring interposed between the drive ring and the stepped portion of the auger screw.

Operation: A small diameter extension of the floating seat extends downwardly through the resilient ring and into the second opening of the bearing housing. This small diameter extension of the floating seat also performs the function of a conventional bearing body and is supported within the second opening by the bearing housing. Since the bearing housing is more rigid than the elastic ring, the floating seat will not tilt due to compressive force, and the upper surface of the floating seat will always suitably abut against the lower surface of the seal ring to perform the sealing function. In this way, the floating seat performs both a bearing function and a sealing function, and is reduced in axial length by at least the portion conventionally required for the sealing function.

[Example] Next, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings. are given the same reference numerals.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the reference numeral 1 indicates a refrigeration casing having a cylindrical shape as a whole and having a cooling pipe 1a on its outer periphery. A bearing housing 6 constituting a part of the bearing housing 6 is watertightly provided via an O-ring 5. A shaft portion 2c at the lower end of the auger screw 2 disposed coaxially within the refrigeration casing 1 extends downward through an opening to be described later in the bearing housing 6, and is coupled to the output shaft of the drive motor as is well known. ing. Augus Kuryu 2
has a screw blade 2a.

The bearing housing 6 has a first opening 6d, a second opening 6b, and a third opening 6c, each having a diameter that gradually increases from the bottom to allow the shaft portion 2c to penetrate therethrough. A stepped portion is formed between the openings.

According to the invention, an elastic ring 7a having an annular bottom 7a' and a vertical wall 7a'' extending perpendicularly upward from the outer peripheral edge of the annular bottom is accommodated in the third opening 6c with the annular bottom 7a' downward. The inner circumferential edge of the annular bottom 7a' of the elastic ring is substantially flush with the inner circumferential surface of the bearing housing 6 defining the second opening 6b, and is lower than the inner circumferential surface of the bearing housing 6. The surrounding cylindrical floating sheet 7b that surrounds and supports the shaft portion 2c of the auger screw 2 does not extend inward in the radial direction.
In addition to the main body 7b'' fitted inside the vertical wall 7a'' of the main body 7b, the small diameter extension 7b' extends downward in the axial direction from the main body 7b''.
b' extends into the second opening 6b beyond the inner peripheral edge of the annular bottom 7a' of the elastic ring 7a, and extends into the second opening 6b.
is in contact with the bottom of the

A seal ring 7c is closely bonded to the upper surface of the floating sheet 7b, and a ring-shaped bellows 7d is attached to the upper surface of the seal ring 7c so as to also contact the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 2c. They are closely connected. The seal ring 7c and the bellows 7d are held by a drive ring 7e disposed on the outer periphery thereof, and a stepped portion 2 of the auger screw 2 is attached to the outer periphery of the drive ring 7e.
A spring 7f is provided between the spring d and the spring 7f. Therefore, the seal ring 7c and the bellows 7d are firmly pressed against the contact surfaces of the floating seat 7b and the shaft portion 2c by the spring 7f. The above-described elastic ring 7a, floating seat 7b, seal ring 7c, bellows 7d, drive ring 7e, and spring 7f constitute the mechanical seal 7 as is well known.

Further, although the floating sheet 7b is made of metal in the embodiment, if it is made of ceramic material, the durability can be further improved.

Since the lower bearing structure according to the present invention is constructed as described above, ice-making water is supplied into the refrigerator casing 1 from the water supply port pipe 8 at the lower end of the refrigerator casing 1, and a compressor (not shown) is operated to supply water to the cooling pipe. When the refrigerant is passed through 1a, the frozen casing 1
Ice grows on the inner wall of the auger ice maker, and this ice can be shaved by rotating the auger ice maker.While the auger type ice maker is operating in this way, the shaft portion 2c of the auger ice maker 2 It is rotatably supported by the floating sheet 7b, and is held watertight by the floating sheet 7b, the elastic ring 7a, the seal ring 7c, and the bellows 7d.

[Effects of the invention] According to the invention, the floating sheet 7b, which had only a sealing function in the conventional technology, is configured to perform both the sealing function and the bearing function, which was necessary in the conventional technology. Since the bearing body 6a is not required, the axial dimension of the lower bearing structure can be shortened. Therefore, the size of the entire ice maker can be shortened while keeping the ice making capacity the same as the conventional ice maker, which has a great effect on cost reduction and allows the ice maker to be easily installed in a narrow space. Conversely, by increasing the length of the refrigerating casing by the reduction in the axial dimension of the lower bearing structure, the ice making capacity of the ice maker can be increased while keeping the overall dimensions of the ice maker the same as conventional ones. Furthermore, since the floating seat 7b is supported not only by the elastic ring 7a but also by the rigid bearing housing, the upper surface of the floating seat 7a is always in close contact with the lower surface of the seal ring 7c, resulting in a good watertight effect. can be maintained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged sectional view showing the lower bearing structure of the auger ice maker according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of essential parts of the auger ice maker having the lower bearing structure shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram corresponding to FIGS. 1 and 2 of a conventional auger ice maker. 1... Refrigerated casing, 1a... Cooling pipe,
2...August Kuryuu, 2d...Danbe, 2c...
...Shaft portion, 6...Bearing housing, 6d...First opening, 6b...Second opening, 6c...Third opening, 7a
...Elastic ring, 7a'...Annular bottom, 7a''...Annular vertical wall, 7b...Floating sheet, 7
b'...Small diameter extension part, 7b''...Large diameter main body part, 7c...
...Seal ring, 7d...Bellows, 7e...Drive ring, 7f...Spring.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In an auger type ice making machine comprising a cylindrical freezing casing 1 having a cooling pipe 1a on the outer periphery and an auger chest 2 disposed coaxially within the freezing casing 1, the auger chest 2 is mounted on a stage of its main body. A lower end shaft portion 2c extending downward from the portion 2d.
The first opening 6d, which is disposed within the lower end of the refrigeration casing 1 and extends in the axial direction to receive the shaft portion 2c of the auger screw 2, is provided at the center of the lower bearing structure. a cylindrical lower second opening 6b and an upper third opening 6c coaxially with the first opening 6d, the diameter of which is successively larger than that of the first opening 6d; an elastic ring 7a having an annular bottom 7a' and an annular vertical wall 7a'' housed in the third opening 6c; a small diameter extending through the annular bottom 7a' and into the second opening 6b and abutting the bottom; In addition to the extension 7b', the elastic ring 7a
a cylindrical floating seat 7b that has a large diameter main body 7b'' that enters inside and engages with the upper surface of the annular bottom 7a', and supports the shaft 2c of the auger screw 2; A seal ring 7c is provided to be joined to the upper surface, a bellows 7d is provided to be joined to the seal ring 7c and to the shaft portion 2c, and a bellows 7d is provided on the outer periphery of the seal ring 7c and the bellows 7d. A lower bearing structure for an auger-type ice maker comprising a drive ring 7e and a spring 7f interposed between the drive ring 7e and the stepped portion 2d of the auger ice maker 2.