JPH0746004B2 - Ice makers such as refrigerators - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ice making device arranged in a freezer or the like of a refrigerator and capable of producing particularly transparent ice.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a refrigerator for a garden or the like, an ice making device for accommodating an ice making plate is arranged in one part of a freezing room, and the water in the ice making plate is frozen by the cooling action of the cold air flowing through the ice making device. It is common practice to produce ice.

However, with such an ice production method, freezing of water in the ice tray during ice production proceeds from the contact surface between the ice tray and water and the contact surface between cold air and water to the central portion. Therefore, gas components and impurities dissolved in water are confined in the central part of the ice, resulting in opaque ice with a cloudy central part, which is organoleptically suitable for beverages such as whiskey. Was not.

Therefore, there has been a need for transparent ice from the past, and devices for producing it have been described, for example, in FIGS.
The method shown in the figure is considered. The contents will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a refrigerator main body, which is divided by a partition wall 2 into a freezer compartment 3 at an upper portion and a refrigerating compartment 4 at a lower portion. 5 is a cooler for the refrigeration cycle, 6 is a blower for forced ventilation, and each is the freezing chamber 3
Is located on the back of. Reference numeral 7 denotes an ice making device arranged at the bottom of the freezing chamber 3, for forming a first ice making chamber 8 for forming transparent ice in the upper stage, which is framed by the box 7a, and for producing normal ice in the lower stage. The second ice making chamber 9 is provided. In the first ice making chamber 8, the outer walls except the bottom surface and the front surface are heat insulating materials.
It is surrounded by 10, and has a heating plate 12 made of aluminum with a heater 11 arranged on the back surface on the top surface and a cooling plate 13 made of aluminum on the bottom surface.
Are arranged respectively. Reference numeral 14 denotes an air passage formed on the cooling plate 13. 15 and 16 are the first ice making chamber 8 and
A first ice tray and a second ice tray housed in a second ice making chamber 9. Reference numeral 17 denotes a discharge duct for forcedly ventilating the cool air cooled by the cooler 5 to the ice making device 7 by the blower 6. The outlets 18 formed at the lower end communicate with the ventilation passage 14 and the second ice making chamber 9, respectively. Reference numeral 19 is a return duct for returning the cool air discharged into the freezer compartment 3 to the cooler 5. Further, reference numeral 20 is a transparent ice making switch, which is configured to energize the heater 11 for a predetermined time when the switch is turned on once.

In such a configuration, the cool air cooled by the cooler 5 is supplied to the freezing chamber 3 and the refrigerating chamber 4 by the forced ventilation of the blower 6, and at the same time, the second air in the ice making device 7 is discharged through the discharge port 18 of the discharge duct 17. It is discharged to the ice making chamber 9 and the ventilation passage 14.
Then, the cool air introduced into the second ice making chamber 9 directly cools the second ice making tray 16, and the water in the inside is sequentially frozen from the surface to the water surface and the rest contacting the second ice making tray 16. Generates normal ice. However, as described above, the ice generated in this way is cloudy and does not become transparent ice. On the other hand, the cold air introduced into the ventilation passage 14 cools the cooling plate 13. The first ice tray filled with water so that the user can make clear ice.
When 15 is housed in the first ice making chamber 8 and the ice making switch 20 is turned on, a heating plate by the heater 11 is applied from the upper surface of the first ice making tray 15.
The heating action is started via 12 and the ventilation passage 14
The cooling, that is, the freezing action via the cooling plate 13 is started by the cold air flowing through. Since the outer wall of the first ice making chamber 8 is covered with the heat insulating material 10, the first ice making chamber 8 is not affected by the cooling from the freezing chamber 3, and the unidirectional freezing action proceeds from the lower surface to the upper surface. In addition to the indirect cooling through the cooling plate 13, this freezing action also includes the heater 11 having a predetermined capacity.
Due to the heating effect by the, the freezing rate becomes sufficiently slow. Therefore, the traveling speed of the frozen surface of ice is slower than the upward diffusion speed of the gaseous component in the water, the dissolved concentration of the gaseous component in the water near the frozen surface is thinned, and the chance of generating bubbles is reduced. Further, even if bubbles are generated, the freezing speed is slow, so that the bubbles are not caught in the ice. In this way, if the freezing speed is controlled to about 3 mm / h or less, the gas components in water are degassed from the surface of the water that freezes last to the outside air, and the ice finally produced contains almost no bubbles. Clear ice is obtained. In addition, the heater 11 has a certain margin in the time required to complete the ice making, and the power supply is automatically stopped after a predetermined time has elapsed.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in this way, the cooling plate 13 is cooled by the cold air flowing through the ventilation passage 14 to form the transparent ice making of the first ice making tray 15.
On the other hand, in the case where the second ice tray 16 is directly cooled to be performed at the same time as the normal ice making, while the first ice tray 15 is used to make clear ice, the second ice tray 16 is usually used at the lower portion thereof. When the ice making is performed, the heat effect of the water temperature of the water in the second ice tray 16 affects the cooling plate 13 and the temperature of the cooling plate 13 rises to lower the cooling capacity, so that the inside of the first ice tray 5 There was a subject that the ice making speed of the above became slower than necessary and the ice making time became long. Further, until the water in the second ice tray 16 freezes, water vapor is generated from the surface of the water, and the moisture adheres to the bottom surface of the cooling plate 13 to cause frosting or freezing, thereby causing the cooling plate 13 to cool. As a result, this is also the first
There was a problem that the ice making time of the ice making tray 15 was prolonged.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and even if the second ice tray is made, the time for making transparent ice in the first ice tray does not extend longer than necessary, and the second ice tray is made. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ice making device that does not hinder the ice making of the plate itself.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve this object, the ice-making device such as the refrigerator of the present invention, a partition plate is provided below the cooling plate at a predetermined interval,
A first ventilation path is formed between the cooling plate and this partition plate, and a second ventilation path is formed below the partition plate.

Operation According to the present invention, with the above-described configuration, the cold air that cools the second ice tray flows through the second ventilation passage and is shielded from the upper side by the partition plate, so that the heat generated by the water in the second ice tray is used. The influence does not reach the cooling plate and the cooling power of the cooling plate does not decrease. Also,
Since the generated water vapor does not directly act on the bottom surface of the cooling plate, frost does not freeze and the cooling plate is sufficiently cooled by the cold air flowing through the first ventilation passage.

Example An ice making device such as a refrigerator according to an example of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. It should be noted that the same components as those of the related art are designated by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Reference numeral 21 denotes an ice making device provided in the lower portion of the freezer compartment 3, which is a box body 21a.
The first ice making chamber 22 for producing transparent ice is partitioned and formed in the upper stage. Reference numeral 23 denotes a partition plate provided below the cooling plate 13 at a predetermined interval, and a second partition is provided below the partition plate.
The ice-making chamber 24 is partitioned and formed. Further, 25 is the cooling plate 13
Is a first ventilation passage formed between the partition plate 23 and the partition plate 23, and 26 is a second ventilation passage formed in the second ice making chamber 24 below the partition plate 23. Further, in 27 and 28, the duct 17 communicating with the back surface of the ice making device 21 has the first ventilation passage 25 and the second ventilation passage.
It is a discharge port for communicating with 26.

In such a configuration, the cool air cooled by the cooler 5 is discharged through the duct 17 by the forced ventilation action of the blower 6.
The air flows from 7,28 to the first ventilation passage 25 and the second ventilation passage 26, respectively. The cold air flowing through the first ventilation passage 25 cools the cooling plate 13, and the first ice tray 15 is indirectly cooled from the lower surface.
At the same time, the upper surface of the first ice tray 15 is heated by the heater 11 through the heating plate 12, and the lower surface is gradually frozen to produce transparent ice. Next, the cold air flowing through the second ventilation passage 26 flows into the second ice-making chamber 24 and performs ice-making operation mainly from the upper surface of the second ice-making tray 16 to generate normal ice in a short time. At this time, the heat generated in the freezing process of the water in the second ice tray 16 is shut off by the partition plate 23 provided above the second ice tray 16 and then directly from the front opening portion of the second ice tray 24. It is discharged to the outside of the ice making device 21 and does not affect the cooling plate 13. Therefore, the temperature of the cooling plate 13 does not rise, the cooling power for cooling the first ice tray 15 does not decrease, and the ice making time of transparent ice does not take longer than necessary. On the other hand, water vapor generated until the water in the second ice tray 16 freezes is also blocked by the partition plate 23 and does not act on the cooling plate 13, so that no frost or freezing develops on the bottom surface of the cooling plate 13. Therefore, the cold air flowing through the first ventilation passage 25 can directly cool the cooling plate 13 without hindering frost or ice, and the cooling power of the cooling plate 13 does not decrease, and the ice making time of transparent ice does not become long.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION As described above, according to the ice-making device of the present invention such as the refrigerator, even if the second ice-making tray is used to make the normal ice while the transparent ice-making is made by the first ice-making tray, The effect of frosting and freezing due to the heat of water and steam generated on the cooling plate of the first ice tray does not extend to the transparent ice making time of the first ice tray. is there.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a front view of an ice making device for a refrigerator showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a refrigerator provided with the ice making device of FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a refrigerator provided with a conventional ice making device, FIG. 5 is a front view of the ice making device provided in the refrigerator of FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view of FIG. 10 ... Insulation material, 11 ... Heater (heating means), 12 ... Heating plate, 13 ... Cooling plate, 15 ... First ice tray, 16 ... Second ice tray, 21 ... Ice making device , 21a ... box, 22 ... first ice making chamber, 23 ... partition plate, 24 ... second ice making chamber, 25 ... first ventilation passage, 26 ... second ventilation passage.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A box body having front and bottom surfaces opened, a partition plate for vertically partitioning the box body at a predetermined distance from the lower end of the box body, and a predetermined space above the partition plate. A cooling plate provided and a first plate formed between the partition plate and the cooling plate
A ventilation path, a first ice-making chamber defined on the upper side of the cooling plate, a second ice-making chamber defined on the lower side of the partition plate, and a first ice-making chamber housed in the first ice-making chamber on the cooling plate. A first ice tray, a heating plate provided with a heating means such as a heater provided on the upper surface of the first ice tray, and a heat insulator arranged in the box surrounding the first ice making chamber. An ice making device, such as a refrigerator, comprising a material, a second ice tray stored in the second ice making chamber, and a second ventilation passage formed in the second ice making chamber.