JPH058353B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an ice maker, and in particular, to selectively supply ice making water and deicing water to the ice maker by changing the rotation direction of a reversible circulation pump. This article relates to new improvements to enable the [Prior Art] Conventionally, ice makers with various configurations have been proposed and adopted, and representative configurations are listed as schematically shown in FIGS. 11 to 13. There is something. First, in the case of FIG. 11, the ice making water sprinkling pipe 2 and the deicing water sprinkling pipe 3 provided above the ice making member 1 having the cooling pipe 1a have a water tank 4.
A first circulation pump 5 and a second circulation pump 5a are connected to each other, and ice making water or deicing water is supplied to the ice making member 1 by selectively operating these circulation pumps 5 or 5a. It was hot. An ice guide plate 6 is disposed above the water tank 4. In addition, in the case of the configuration shown in FIG. 12, the ice-making water sprinkling pipe 2 and the de-icing water sprinkling pipe 3 provided above the ice-making member 1 having the cooling pipe 1a include:
A first solenoid valve 7 and a second solenoid valve 7a are provided, respectively, and these solenoid valves 7 and 7a are connected to the water tank 4 via a common circulation pump 5,
Ice making water or deicing water was supplied by selectively opening and closing the solenoid valves 7 and 7a. Furthermore, in the case of the configuration shown in FIG. 13, the ice-making water sprinkling pipe 2 and the de-icing water sprinkling pipe 3 provided above the ice-making member 1 having the cooling pipe 1a are connected to a valve device 7b consisting of an electromagnetic three-way valve. , this valve device 7b was connected to the water tank via the circulation pump 5. Therefore, by switching the outlet port of the valve device 7b connected to the circulation pump 5, ice-making water or deicing water is selectively supplied to the ice-making member 1. [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Since the conventional ice making machine was constructed as described above, there were various problems as described below. (1) First, in the case of the configuration shown in Fig. 11, two circulation pumps must be used, and if a control unit (not shown) that controls each circulation pump is included, the cost will increase significantly and failures will occur. There was also a problem with reliability. (2) In the case of the configuration shown in FIG. 12, although there is one circulation pump, two electromagnetic valves are required, which results in a significant increase in cost as described above, and also poses problems in reliability. (3) In the case of the configuration shown in Fig. 13, both the circulation pump and the valve device are one piece, but since the valve device is an electromagnetic three-way valve, an increase in cost is unavoidable.
There were also problems with reliability. (4) Furthermore, a problem common to all conventional configurations is that the number of parts is large;
It required a lot of space and it was difficult to obtain a small ice maker. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to selectively send ice-making water and de-icing water to an ice-making member using only one circulation pump, that is, without interposing a solenoid valve between the circulation pump and the ice-making member. The objective is to provide an ice maker that can supply ice. [Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, an ice making machine according to the present invention includes: an ice making member provided with a cooling pipe; a refrigeration device for supplying a refrigerant to the cooling pipe;
An ice-making water sprinkling pipe and a de-icing water sprinkling pipe for supplying ice-making water and de-icing water to the ice-making member, respectively, and a water inlet from a water source are connected to the ice-making water sprinkling pipe and de-icing water sprinkling pipe, respectively. a reversible circulation pump having an ice making water outlet and a deicing water outlet; A switching means is provided for selectively switching between the ice-making water outlet and the de-icing water outlet depending on the rotational direction of the ice-making water outlet. [Function] In the ice maker according to the present invention, the circulation pump is reversible, and is provided with switching means for switching the destination of the water sucked in from the suction port. When rotated in one direction, ice-making water is fed from the ice-making water outlet to the ice-making water sprinkling pipe. Furthermore, when the circulation pump is rotated in the other direction, deicing water is fed from the deicing water outlet to the deicing water sprinkling pipe. In this way, the water supply destination or pressure delivery destination can be arbitrarily switched simply by changing the rotation direction of the circulation pump. [Embodiments] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the ice making machine according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the overall configuration of an ice maker according to the present invention. What is indicated by the reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1 is an ice-making member disposed in the upper part 8a of the heat-insulating box 8. In the embodiment, this ice-making member 1 consists of a pair of ice-making members, as shown in FIG. 10. Vertical ice-making plates 1b and 1c formed in a corrugated shape, cooling pipe 1a
On this ice making member 1, an ice making water sprinkling pipe 2 and a deicing water sprinkling pipe 3 are provided. Ice making water sprinkling pipe 2 and deicing water sprinkling pipe 3
are integrally formed, and each ice making plate 1b
and 1c, and each ice-making plate 1b and 1c has an ice-making surface 1bA,
1bB, 1cA, and 1cB are formed, respectively. As shown in FIG. 1, an ice storage section 10 equipped with an ice storage detection switch 9 is formed in the lower part 8b of the heat insulating box 8, and on the bottom 10a of this ice storage section 10,
An inclined ice discharge mechanism section 11 is detachably disposed with a front section 11a located upward and a rear section 11b located downward. The ice discharging mechanism section 11 is integrally formed entirely of resin, and includes a box-shaped guide member 13 with an open top that can store a considerable amount of ice particles 12;
A screw 14 rotatably provided in the guide member 13, a screw driver 15 for driving the screw 14, and a guide member 13.
The ice outlet 16 is located on the front side of the bottom 13a of the ice holder. Further, a water guide hole 17 is formed on the rear side of the bottom portion 13a of the guide member 13. Further, at the rear of the ice storage section 10, this ice storage section 10 is provided.
A water tank 4 is formed integrally with the water tank 4 in a downwardly recessed state, and a float switch 18 having an upper limit switch 18a and a lower limit switch 18b is disposed within the water tank 4. Therefore, the water dropped into the guide member 13 is supplied into the water tank 4 through the water guide hole 17. Water in the water tank 4 is supplied to the ice making member 1 by a reversible circulation pump 5 disposed on the bottom 8c of the heat insulating box 8 and having an inlet 5d. This circulation pump 5 includes an ice making water outlet 5b and a deicing water outlet 5c communicating with the above-mentioned inlet 5d,
The ice-making water supply pipe 19 connected to the ice-making water outlet 5b is connected to the ice-making water sprinkling pipe 2, and the de-icing water supply pipe 19a connected to the de-icing water outlet 5c is connected to the de-icing water sprinkling pipe 3. Opening 8d formed in the upper part 8a of the heat insulating box 8
A lid 20 is removably provided therein, and is connected to a water source (not shown) such as an external water supply near the lid 20, and is connected to the water tank 4 via a water supply pipe 21. A water supply valve 22 for supplying water is provided. Further, an ice guide plate 6 is provided at a lower position of the ice making member 1.
and a water droplet tray 23 are provided, and this water droplet tray 23
The water droplets falling from the water droplet are supplied into the water tank 4 through the water droplet guide plate 24. A refrigeration device 25 for supplying refrigerant to the cooling pipe 1a provided in the ice making member 1 is disposed below the bottom plate 8c of the heat insulating box 8, and this refrigeration device 25 includes a compressor 26, hot gas valve 27,
It is composed of a fan motor 28 and a condenser 29. The circulation pump 5 has an overall appearance as shown in FIG. 2, and has a motor section 5.
e and a pump section 5f, and this pump section 5
The above-mentioned ice making water outlet 5b and deicing water outlet 5 are provided at f.
c and an inlet 5d . 3 to 9 show various embodiments of the reversible circulation pump 5. FIGS. 3 and 4 are the first embodiment, FIG. 5 is the second embodiment, and FIG. 6 is the first embodiment. 9 to 9 show a third embodiment. First, in the case of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a seal 3 is provided in the casing 30 of the pump section 5f.
A switching lever (switching means) 34 having a pair of plates (switching means) 33 and an impeller 35 are provided on the rotating shaft 32 of the motor part 5e protruding through the rotary shaft 32 , and the impeller 35 and the axis of the rotating shaft 32 edge 3
A spring member 36 is inserted between the spring member 2a and the spring member 2a. A switching valve 37 (switching means) made of a ball is disposed between the pair of plate bodies 33 .
7 is a first opening 5bA formed in the ice making water outlet 5b or a second opening 5bA formed in the deicing water outlet 5c.
The opening 5cA is configured to be selectively closed as described later, and the casing 30 includes an ice-making side stopper 30a and a de-icing side stopper 30b.
is formed. The switching valve 37 constitutes a valve device together with the plate body 33 and the switching lever 34 . Therefore, depending on the rotation direction of the impeller 35,
Either opening 5bA or 5cA is opened or closed by the switching valve 37. Next, in the case of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the first openings 5 of the ice making water outlet 5b and the deicing water outlet 5c formed in the casing 30 of the pump section 5f
At the edges of bA and 5cA, ice-making water ribs (switching means) 38 and de-icing water ribs (switching means) 39 are formed that extend toward the outside of the casing 30, and inside the casing 30, Impeller 35
is rotatably provided. Therefore, due to the rotation of the impeller 35, the discharge port 5
A difference in lift occurs between b and 5c, and which discharge port has a higher lift changes depending on the rotation direction of the impeller 35. Therefore, water can be discharged from either the ice-making water outlet 5b or the deicing water outlet 5c without using a valve. Furthermore, in the case of the third embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, an ice-making water guide port 40 and a deicing water guide port 41 are integrally provided at the outer peripheral position of the impeller 35 provided in the casing 30 of the pump portion 5f. A switching ring (switching means) 42 is provided to be reversible in the direction shown by the arrow, and a wall portion 43 is formed in a part of the switching ring 42, and a wall portion 43 is formed at both ends of the wall portion 43. , hole wall 5 of ice-making water outlet 5b
The first wall portion 43 formed to be flush with bB
a, and a second wall portion 43b formed to be flush with the hole wall 5cB of the deicing water outlet 5c, and a pair of stoppers 43c and 43.
d is formed. Therefore, when the impeller 35 rotates in the direction of arrow A in FIG.
The second wall portion 43b is flush with the hole wall 5cB, and deicing water is discharged from the deicing water outlet 5c. Further, when the impeller 35 rotates in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 7, the water flow causes the switching ring 42 to similarly rotate in the direction of arrow B, and the first wall portion 43a becomes flush with the hole wall 5bB. Ice-making water is discharged from the ice-making water outlet 5b. In each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the same parts are given the same reference numerals, and some explanations thereof are omitted. The ice making machine according to the present invention is constructed as described above, and its operation will be described below mainly with reference to FIG. 1 (for the circulation pump 5, the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4). explain. First, when a power switch (not shown) is operated to turn on the power, a deicing cycle is started and the compressor 26 is operated. Next, the hot gas valve 27 is opened, hot gas is supplied to the ice making member 1, and heating begins. In this case, the upper limit switch 18a in the water tank 4
is in the off state, the water supply valve 22 is opened, and water starts to be supplied into the water tank 4 via the water supply pipe 21. The circulation pump 5 has an impeller 3 of a motor section 5e.
5 is rotated forward in the direction of arrow A, the spring member 36
Since the impeller 35 is crimped onto the switching lever 34 by the
While holding 7, impeller 35 at the same time as starting.
The ice-making side stopper 30b rotates in the rotational direction A.
The plate body 33 comes into contact with and stops rotating, and at the same time, the switching valve 37 closes the first opening 5bA. When the impeller 35 continues to rotate in the above-mentioned state, water pumping starts shortly thereafter, and the deicing water passes from the deicing water outlet 5c to the deicing water supply pipe 19a and the deicing water sprinkling pipe 3 to each ice making plate 1b. Water is sprinkled on each back side 1bB and 1cB of 1c and 1c. In this case, since the switching valve 37 closes the ice-making water outlet 5b, highly efficient operation with less water leakage is achieved. Also, during pump operation, the impeller 35
Since a large thrust is generated on the side of the suction port 5d , the impeller 35 moves toward the suction port 5d against the tension of the spring member 36, and the coupling between the impeller 35 and the switching lever 34 is released, and there is no friction at all. Further, the deicing water sprinkled onto each of the ice making plates 1b and 1c of the ice making member 1 is collected into the water tank 4 through the ice guide plate 6, the water droplet tray 23, and the water droplet guide body 24. When a predetermined amount of ice-making water is stored in the water tank 4, the upper limit switch 18a detects the water level, the water supply valve 22 is closed, and the water supply is stopped. During this time, the aforementioned deicing cycle using the hot gas and deicing water progresses, and the heating of the ice making member 1 is promoted. After a predetermined period of time has elapsed, when the end of the deicing cycle is detected by a timer or temperature detection, the ice making cycle is switched to the next ice making cycle. First, the hot gas valve 27 is closed and the fan motor 28 starts operating. After stopping for a certain period of time, the circulation pump 5 begins to rotate in the direction of arrow B, which is opposite to the deicing cycle described above. When the impeller 35 begins to reverse in the direction of arrow B, the switching relay 34 rotates in the rotational direction of the impeller 35, similar to the forward rotation described above, and the switching valve 37 is moved to the deicing water outlet 5c side. The plate body 33 comes into contact with the deicing side stopper 30a, and the second opening 5cA
is closed by the switching valve 37. Therefore, the ice-making water outlet 5b is opened, and the ice-making water that has passed through the ice-making water supply pipe 19 and the ice-making water sprinkling pipe 2 is sprinkled onto the ice-making surfaces 1bA and 1cA of the ice-making plates 1b and 1c. At the same time, each ice making plate 1b and 1c is cooled by the refrigerant from the compressor 26 via the cooling pipe 1a, and as shown in FIG.
Crescent-shaped semi-column-shaped ice particles are formed on each ice-making surface 1bA and 1cA corresponding to . When the ice grains grow to a predetermined size, the water level in the water tank 4 decreases, and when the lower limit switch 18b detects this water level, the ice making cycle is switched to the deicing cycle by the control circuit section (not shown), and the fan motor is switched. 28, the circulation pump 5 is stopped, and the water supply valve 22 and the hot gas valve 27 are opened. At the same time, water is supplied into the water tank 4 from the water supply valve 22 via the water supply pipe 21. After that, after a predetermined period of time has passed, the circulation pump 5
starts rotating in the forward direction again, and the switching lever 3
4 rotates in the direction of arrow A and the switching valve 37 moves from the second opening 5cA to the first opening 5bA, thereby closing the ice making water outlet 5b and opening the deicing water outlet 5c. Become. In addition, during the above-mentioned ice making cycle, if water droplets are generated that are not completely collected in the ice guide plate 6 and scattered among the ice making residual water that has flowed down from the ice making member 1, these water droplets fall into the guide member 13, Water guide hole 1
7 and is collected into the water tank 4. Therefore, when the deicing cycle described above begins, the fan motor 28 is stopped and the water supply valve 22 and hot gas valve 27 are opened. The deicing water from the deicing water outlet 5c of the circulation pump 5 is sprinkled and flowed down onto the back surfaces 1bB and 1cB of each ice making plate 1b and 1c, and the ice guide plate 6
The water is collected into the water tank 4 through the water droplet tray 23. Further, when a predetermined ice-making water is stored in the water tank 4, the upper limit switch 18a detects the upper water level and the water supply valve 22 is closed. When the de-icing thermostat switch (not shown) detects that the temperature has reached a predetermined value due to the removal of all the ice particles from the ice-making member 1, a timer (not shown) starts the hot gas valve 27 after a predetermined period of time has passed. The valve is closed and the ice making cycle begins again. Therefore, as described above, the de-icing cycle and the ice-making cycle are repeated, and the ice storage detection switch 9
When it detects that ice storage is complete, it becomes stopped. In the above operation description, the circulation pump 5 is
Although the configurations shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 have been described, in the case of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 5, when the impeller 35 rotates in the direction of arrow A, the deicing water outlet 5
The lift height on the c side is increased, and the water flow is reduced to the deicing water rib 39.
The deicing water is guided along the deicing water and discharged from the deicing water outlet 5c. In this case, the ice-making water discharge port 5b side has a low lift and no ice-making water is discharged from the ice-making water sprinkling pipe 2.
Further, when the impeller 35 rotates in the direction of arrow B, the lift on the ice-making water outlet 5b side increases, and the water flow is guided along the ice-making water rib 38 and is discharged from the ice-making water outlet 5b. In this case, the deicing water outlet 5c side has a low lifting height, and the deicing water sprinkling pipe 3
There is no discharge from. Furthermore, in the case of the third embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, when the impeller 35 rotates in the direction of arrow A, the deicing water guide port 41 opens and enters the deicing water discharge state, and the impeller 3
5 rotates in the direction of arrow B, the ice-making water guide port 40 opens and enters the ice-making water discharge state. Note that the circulation pump is not limited to the above-mentioned configuration, but any configuration in which one circulation pump can selectively switch between two discharge ports by changing its rotation direction may be used. It goes without saying that similar effects can be obtained when using a circulation pump with another structure. [Effects of the Invention] Since the ice making machine according to the present invention has the above-described configuration and operation, it can obtain various effects as described below. (1) Switching between de-icing water and ice-making water can be done by simply using one circulation pump, that is, by changing the rotation direction of the circulation pump without installing a solenoid valve between the circulation pump and the ice-making component. is carried out reliably, resulting in significant cost reductions and improved reliability. (2) Since the number of parts is reduced, the water circulation circuit can be simplified and the shape of the ice maker itself can be significantly downsized. (3) Therefore, both the water circulation circuit and the control circuit are simplified, making it possible to design an extremely compact ice maker that is excellent for use in a vending machine.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the overall structure of the ice maker according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of a circulation pump used in the ice maker of FIG. 1, and FIGS. 3 and 4. 5 is a plan sectional view and a side sectional view showing the first embodiment of the circulation pump, FIG. 5 is a plan sectional view showing the second embodiment of the circulation pump, and FIGS. 8 is a side sectional view of the circulation pump of the third embodiment, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the main parts of the circulation pump of the third embodiment. , FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view showing essential parts of the ice maker shown in FIG. 1, and FIGS. 11 to 13 are schematic configuration diagrams showing various conventional configurations. 1...Ice making member, 1a...Cooling pipe, 2...
Ice-making water sprinkling pipe, 3... De-icing water sprinkling pipe,
4...Water tank, 5...Reversible circulation pump, 5
b...Ice making water outlet, 5c...Deicing water outlet,
5d... Suction port, 25... Refrigeration device, 33 ... Plate of valve device (switching means), 34 ... Switching lever of valve device (switching means), 37... Switching valve of valve device (switching means) , 38... Ice making water rib (switching means), 39... Deicing water rib (switching means), 42...
...Switching ring (switching means).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An ice making member 1 provided with a cooling pipe 1a;
A refrigeration device 25 for supplying refrigerant to the cooling pipe 1a, an ice-making water sprinkling pipe 2 and a de-icing water sprinkling pipe 3 for supplying ice-making water and de-icing water to the ice-making member 1, respectively, and water from a water source. In addition to the inlet 5d , the reversible circulation pump 5 is provided with an ice-making water outlet 5b and a de-icing water outlet 5c connected to the ice-making water sprinkling pipe 2 and the de-icing water sprinkling pipe 3, respectively. In the type circulation pump 5, the destination of the water sucked in from the suction port 5d is selected as either the ice making water outlet 5b or the deicing water outlet 5c depending on the rotation direction of the reversible type circulation pump 5. Switching means 3 for switching
An ice maker equipped with 3, 34 , 37, 38, 39, and 42. 2. The circulation pump 5 has a reversibly rotatable impeller 35 therein, and the switching means directs water to the inlet portions of the ice-making water outlet 5b and the de-icing water outlet 5c, respectively. 5b and the deicing water discharge port 5c, the ice making machine comprises an ice making water rib 38 and a deicing water rib 39 formed to protrude toward the impeller 35 so as to be guided to the deicing water discharge port 5c. 3. The circulation pump 5 has a reversibly rotatable impeller 35 therein, and the switching means selectively closes the ice-making water outlet 5b or the deicing water outlet 5c depending on the rotation direction of the impeller 35. An ice making machine according to claim 1, comprising valve devices 33 , 34 , and 37 provided so as to. 4. The circulation pump 5 has a reversibly rotatable impeller 35 therein, and the switching means is rotatably disposed around the outer periphery of the impeller 35 coaxially with the impeller 35, and The ice making water outlet 5 depending on the direction of rotation.
The ice making machine according to claim 1, comprising a switching ring 42 in which an ice making water guide port 40 and a deicing water guide port 41 are formed which selectively communicate with the deicing water outlet 5c.