JPH0531490Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Industrial application field This invention relates to the front panel of an automatic ice maker, and more specifically, the invention relates to the front panel of an automatic ice maker. The present invention relates to a front panel that can be easily manufactured and that can reduce the number of processing steps.

BACKGROUND ART Automatic ice making machines having various configurations have been proposed as devices for continuously producing ice cubes, ice sheets, and other crushed ice. For example, by closing a large number of ice-making chambers that open downward from the bottom so that they can be opened and closed using water trays, and then injecting ice-making water into the ice-making chambers through the water trays, ice cubes are gradually poured into the ice-making chambers. So-called closed cell ice making machines are widely used. In addition, there are many ice-making compartments that open downward.
A so-called open-cell ice maker that directly supplies ice-making water without going through a water tray and forms ice cubes in the small chamber, or a so-called open-cell ice maker that directly supplies ice-making water to form ice cubes in the small chamber, and Drift-type ice makers that form ice sheets on a plate surface are also widely commercialized.

These automatic ice making machines generally include an ice making mechanism in the upper part of the inside of the machine, and a refrigeration mechanism for cooling the ice making section of the ice making mechanism in the lower part of the machine. The recent trend has been to control the operations of various electrical equipment and components disposed in the ice making mechanism and the freezing mechanism by means of control means incorporating a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as a "microcomputer"). Since the present invention relates to a front panel that defines a storage space for an automatic ice maker equipped with a control circuit represented by a microcomputer, an outline of the ice maker will be explained using an example of an injection type automatic ice maker. .

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a known ice-making mechanism 11 is disposed inside and above the ice-making machine main body 10, which is generally box-shaped as a whole, and the ice cubes produced by this ice-making mechanism 11 are The ice is released and stored in the ice storage 12 inside the ice maker. The front of the ice maker includes a ventilation louver section 13 at the lowest stage, an opening/closing door 14 located at the middle stage that opens toward the front and allows ice to be taken out from the ice storage 12, and a front panel at the top stage. 15, and this front panel 15 is disposed in an opening 10a defined between a top plate 16 and an opening/closing door 14 over the entire width of the ice maker.

The front panel 15 is made of, for example, a stainless steel plate, and is formed as a box that opens on the back side of the illustrated shape. Inside the panel 15, the microcomputer 17, electromagnetic relay 18, and power transformer 19 are installed.
A space 21 is defined in which a board 20 on which electronic components such as the above are mounted can be vertically housed. The mounting board 20 shown in the embodiment includes a microcomputer 17 that controls the ice making mechanism 11, an electromagnetic relay 18, and a power transformer 19.
A main control board 22 on which electronic components such as the like are arranged, and a separation board 25 on which lamps 23 and push button switches 24 are arranged are independently separated. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the main control board 22 is placed in a storage box 26 that is open on the back side, with its mounting surface attached to the ice making mechanism 1.
1 (see Fig. 5) and is installed in a vertical position, and this storage box 26 is attached to the front panel 1 (see Fig. 5).
It is vertically fixed to a bracket 27 disposed at 5 by a mounting means 28 such as a screw. Note that each electronic component disposed on the main control board 22 is connected to the ice making mechanism 11.
and electric wires 3 connected to the connectors 29 connected to the board 22 and to elements and electrical components installed in the refrigeration mechanism.
0.

Further, the vertical open surface of the storage box 26 is sealed by a cover 32 formed by lining the back side with a heat insulating material 31 of a required thickness, so that the cold air inside the machine does not penetrate into the storage box. In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, the front panel 1
A cover 33 is disposed on the vertical open surface where the storage box 26 of No. 5 is not stored, and the front panel 15
The storage space 21 is completely sealed.

The front surface of the front panel 15 is a vertical surface 15.
a, and an inclined surface 1 that moves away from the main control board 22 as it moves downward from the lower end of the vertical surface 15a.
5b is formed, and a rectangular operation window 34 is provided at a predetermined position on this inclined surface 15b and is opened with a predetermined dimension. On the front of this operation window 34, there is a lighting surface 35 that switches and displays various operating conditions.
An operation name plate 37 is provided with push buttons 36 and the like that can selectively switch various control operations in the control circuit. This makes it easy to check the operating status from the front side of the ice maker, and also facilitates switching operations.

As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of brackets 38 are protruded from the back surface of the inclined surface 15b at positions close to the operation window 34, and screws 3 are attached to the brackets 38.
The separation substrate 25 is attached via 9. A lamp 23 and a pushbutton switch 24 are mounted on the separation board 25 in correspondence with the illumination surface 35 and pushbutton 36 provided on the operation nameplate 37. It is connected to the microcomputer 17 arranged on the board 22 by an electric wire 42.

By the way, automatic ice making machines are available in many models with different specifications such as ice making capacity and storage capacity, in order to correspond to users' purposes and uses. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, when the specifications differ, the body dimensions also change proportionally, and the external dimensions of the front panel 15 also change accordingly. Note that even if the specifications differ, the number of illumination surfaces 35 and pushbuttons 36 provided on the operation nameplate 37 basically does not change. Therefore, as shown in the figure, in the front panel 15, the upper vertical surface 15a changes proportionally in both the width direction and the height direction as the aircraft dimensions change, but the inclined surface 15b changes in the width direction. Only the dimensions change.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention In the automatic ice maker described above, the front panel 15 is shaped into a desired shape in order to easily check the operating status from the front of the ice maker and to easily perform switching operations. It has a bent shape. Conventionally, processing operations for the front panel 15 required cutting, bending, welding, surface finishing, etc. by skilled workers, which was extremely inefficient and resulted in an increase in manufacturing costs. Moreover, in order to attach the storage box 26 and the separation board 25, a large number of brackets 27, 38 are required, and the number of parts is increased.

Therefore, it is generally considered that the front panel 15 and the brackets 27, 38 are integrally molded by resin injection molding, thereby reducing the number of parts and the number of processing steps. However, as described above, when the specifications of automatic ice makers differ, the external dimensions of the front panel 15 also change proportionately.
For this reason, when the front panel is integrally molded from resin, a special injection mold must be manufactured for each dimensional standard, resulting in an increase in mold cost. Furthermore, it is difficult to store the molds manufactured in various sizes, and it is also difficult to secure a storage space, so this method is not currently used in practice.

Purpose of the invention The inventor focused on the fact that only the width dimension of the area on the front panel where the operation nameplate is placed changes as the aircraft dimensions change, and came up with the invention. It is ivy. In other words, as mentioned above, the present invention was proposed in order to suitably solve this problem in view of the fact that entire front panels are manufactured individually for models with different specifications. can correspond to
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a means for reducing the number of processing steps and the number of parts.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems and achieve the intended purpose, the present invention includes a control means for controlling an ice making mechanism and a freezing mechanism disposed inside the ice making machine body,
The main control board on which this control means is arranged is housed in a storage section defined by the front panel, and
In an automatic ice maker configured such that a separation board on which various display parts and operation parts are mounted is disposed on the back side of an operation nameplate provided on the front panel, the front panel is connected to an upper panel and the separation board is arranged. It is characterized by being separated from the operation panel provided.

Embodiments Next, the front panel of the automatic ice maker according to the present invention will be described below with reference to preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment, a case will be described in which the invention is applied to a closed cell type automatic ice maker, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to the aforementioned open cell type and flowing type automatic ice maker. It can be suitably used. Further, in connection with FIGS. 4 to 7, the same members as those described in the prior art are designated by the same reference numerals.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a front panel according to an embodiment.
3 and an operation panel 44 connectable to the upper panel 43. And the second
As shown in the figure, a storage space 21 is defined by both panels 43 and 44, and the main control board 22 and separation board 25 are stored in this storage space 21.

As shown in the figure, the upper panel 43 is formed as a rectangular frame that is open to the back side and downward, and has an edge 4 at the lower open end that extends horizontally inward of the panel.
5 is provided. An edge 45a extending in the longitudinal direction of the edge 45 is connected to an operation panel 44, which will be described later.
The edges 45b, 45b that fit into the long groove 48 and extend in the transverse direction function to fit into the groove 58b of the panel cover 55, respectively, to connect the panels 43, 44. The dimensions of this upper panel 43 change in both the width and height directions as the body dimensions of the ice maker change, but since the structure is simple, the upper panel 43 can be manufactured for each specification. It's easy to do.

As shown in FIG. 1, the operation panel 44 is a long member having the same cross section, and is integrally formed by extrusion molding of a resin material. Here, extrusion molding involves extruding a resin material melted within a heating cylinder using a screw disposed within the cylinder, forcing the resin material to pass through a mold disposed at the tip of the cylinder, and This is a method for producing long objects of a desired shape by cooling and solidifying them with water or air. Therefore, according to this extrusion molding, it is possible to easily manufacture panels having the same cross section and different length dimensions.

The front surface of the operation panel 44, when the panel 44 is disposed in front of the ice maker, is sloped so as to move away from the main control board 22 disposed in the storage space 21 as it moves downward, and this sloped portion 44a A rectangular operation window 34 is provided at a predetermined position.
Furthermore, protrusions 46, 46 are formed at both upper and lower ends of the inclined portion 44a, and protrude toward the front side, and as shown in FIG. , 46. Therefore, the visibility of the illumination surface 35 from the front side of the ice maker is improved, and the push button 36 can be easily operated.

A long groove 48 that opens to the front side is formed on the upper surface of the upper protrusion 46 of the inclined portion 44a.
8 is fitted with the edge 45a of the upper panel 43. Further, in a state where the upper panel 43 and the operation panel 44 are connected, a regulating piece 49 is provided in a protruding manner above the long groove 48 to abut against the vertical surface of the upper panel 43. Further, an attachment portion 50 is formed on the back side of the upper protrusion 46, and the separation substrate 25 is configured to be attached to this attachment portion 50 and an attachment portion 54 to be described later.

As shown in FIG. 2, a sloped bottom portion 44b having a predetermined length and a downward slope is provided on the back side of the lower end of the sloped portion 44a.
A horizontal bottom portion 44c, which is placed in the front opening 10a of the ice maker main body 10, extends horizontally at the lower end of the sloped bottom portion 44b. A downwardly protruding regulating piece 51 is provided at the connecting portion between the inclined bottom portion 44b and the horizontal bottom portion 44c, and this regulating piece 51 is attached to the outer edge of the opening 10a when the operation panel 44 is attached to the ice maker. It functions to perform positioning by coming into contact with the part. In addition, a pair of protrusions 52, 52 are formed in parallel at the open end of the horizontal bottom portion 44c and protrude upward at a predetermined distance.
In the long groove 53 defined between the protrusions 52, 52,
As will be described later, the lower ends of the covers 32 and 33 are fitted together.

Further, a mounting portion 54 protruding upward is provided on the sloped bottom portion 44b spaced apart from the sloped portion 44a by a predetermined distance on the back side, and this mounting portion 54 and a mounting portion protruding from the upper back side of the sloped portion 44a. 50
Then, the separation board 25 is attached via screws 39. Incidentally, the portions of both the mounting portions 50 and 54 to which the separation board 25 is attached are formed parallel to the inclined portion 44a, so that the operation nameplate 37 and the separation board 25 are disposed in parallel. In addition, the inclined portion 44a of both mounting portions 50, 54
The distance from the illumination surface 35 and push button 36 of the operation nameplate 37 to the lamp 23 of the separation board 25 is
and the pushbutton switch 24 are dimensioned in advance so as to have an optimum separation distance.

Note that a protrusion 54a is formed on the back side of the mounting portion 54, and as shown in FIG. It is configured as follows.

As shown in FIG. 1, panel covers 55 having the shape shown are fitted to both longitudinal ends of the operation panel 44. As shown in FIG. This panel cover 55 is formed to have substantially the same cross-sectional shape as the operation panel 44,
The cover 55 is detachably attached to the operation panel 44 via two elastic pieces 56 and 57 protruding from the side surface of the cover 55 facing the operation panel 44 . That is, a first elastic piece 56 is provided at the bottom of the panel cover 55 and can be fitted between the mounting portion 54 and the opposing protrusion 52 provided at the bottom of the operation panel 44 . In addition, the operation panel 4 is placed in the vertical direction of the cover 55.
A second elastic piece 57 that can be fitted between the upper mounting part 50 and the inclined bottom part 44b of 4 is provided, and by elastically fitting these elastic pieces 56 and 57 into required parts of the operation panel 44, the panel cover 55
is attached to the operation panel 44.

Further, a protrusion 58 is formed at the upper end of the panel cover 55, and a groove 58a is formed in this protrusion 58, opening toward the front side and coinciding with the long groove 48 of the operation panel 44. A groove 58b is formed which is open to the opposite side of the direction in which the image is directed. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the groove 58a
The edge 45a of the upper panel 43 fits into the groove 58b, and the edge 45b fits into the groove 58b, thereby connecting the upper panel 43, the operation panel 44, and the panel cover 5.
5 and 55 are integrally attached.

Next, the operation of the front panel according to the embodiment configured as described above will be explained. First, before connecting the upper panel 43 and the operation panel 44, panel covers 55, 55 are fitted to both ends of the operation panel 44 via elastic pieces 56, 57. Then, from the front side of the operation panel 44, the edge 45b of the upper panel 43 is inserted into the groove 58b of the panel cover 55, and the edge 45a is inserted into the groove 58a and the long groove 48 of the operation panel 44. By this, both panels 43, 44 are connected.

In the storage space 21 of the front panel 15, which is composed of both panels 43 and 44, the storage box 26 in which the main control means 22 is arranged is attached to the bracket 27 arranged in the upper panel 43 and the protrusion 54a of the operation panel 44. Attach via screws 28. At this time, the lower end of the cover 32 disposed on the storage box 26 is fitted into the long groove 53. Further, an operation window 3 in which the separation board 25 is provided on the operation panel 44 is provided.
Attach screws 3 to the mounting parts 50 and 54 on the back side of 4.
At the same time, an operation nameplate 37 is attached to the front surface of the operation window 34. That is, by integrally forming the mounting portions 50, 54 and the protrusion 54a on the operation panel 44, there is no need for a large number of brackets as in the conventional case, thereby reducing the number of parts.

The front panel 15 assembled in this manner is attached to the front opening 10a of the ice maker main body 10 with the regulating piece 51 in contact with the outer edge of the opening, as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 7, when installing ice makers with different ice making capacities, storage capacities, etc. and different machine dimensions, the upper panel 43 is manufactured in various sizes according to the machine body dimensions, but the operation panel 44 teeth,
This can be done by simply changing the length dimension (width dimension of the ice maker). Furthermore, since the panel 44 can be manufactured extremely easily into products with different length dimensions by extrusion molding, there is no need to manufacture molds for each size, and manufacturing costs can be significantly reduced. Further, since the panel cover 55 has a constant cross-sectional shape of the operation panel 44 even if the specifications are different, it can be commonly used for each model, and the trouble of complicated inventory management can be omitted.

That is, in the embodiment, the front panel 15 is
By configuring the upper panel 43 and the operation panel 44 to be separable, and by manufacturing the operation panel 44 by extrusion molding, the complicated labor of manufacturing the entire front panel for each specification as in the past can be avoided. It can be omitted. Furthermore, the design of the operation panel 44 can be easily changed and complex shapes can be easily manufactured, so that manufacturing costs can be reduced.

Effects of the invention As explained above, according to the front panel of the automatic ice maker according to the invention, the operation panel whose only width direction changes according to changes in the body dimensions of the ice maker.
By configuring it so that it can be separated from the upper panel whose width and height dimensions change, it is possible to reduce the number of parts, eliminate complicated processing, improve work efficiency, and reduce manufacturing costs. It's something you get. Furthermore, since it is possible to use a common mold for all the various specifications in the operation panel, it is possible to reduce mold costs and to have beneficial effects such as not requiring complicated inventory management.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the front panel of an automatic ice maker according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the front panel according to the embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an injection-type automatic ice maker according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the main parts of the embodiment, and FIG.
The figure is an overall perspective view of a conventional injection-type automatic ice maker with the opening/closing door opened to the front and the top plate removed. Figure 5 is the internal structure of the injection-type automatic ice maker shown in Figure 4. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing the front panel and each member stored in its storage space according to the prior art, and FIG. It is an explanatory front view showing a state where dimensions change. 10...Ice making machine body, 11...Ice making mechanism, 15
...Front panel, 17...Microcomputer, 21...
... Storage space, 22 ... Main control board, 23 ... Lamp, 24 ... Push button switch, 25 ... Separation board, 37 ... Operation name plate, 43 ... Upper panel, 4
4...Operation panel.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] [1] Control means 17 for controlling the ice-making mechanism 11 and the freezing mechanism disposed inside the ice-making machine main body 10
A main control board 2 on which the control means 17 is arranged.
2 is stored in a storage section 21 defined by the front panel 15, and a separation board 25 on which various display parts 23 and operation parts 24 are mounted is arranged on the back side of an operation nameplate 37 arranged on the front panel 15. In the automatic ice maker configured as above, the front panel 15 is connected to the upper panel 43.
and an operation panel 44 on which the separation board 25 is disposed. [2] The front panel of the automatic ice maker according to claim 1, wherein the operation panel 44 is made of resin and manufactured by extrusion molding.