JPH0820154B2 - Ice vertical carrier - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ice vertical transport device suitable for transporting ice, particularly rectangular or cubic ice having a substantially uniform shape produced by an ice making machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional automatic ice making machine, a front door for taking out ice is provided on the front of the ice storage, and the front door is opened to take out the ice from the ice storage. The removal work is done using a scoop, but depending on the position of the front door,
The unloading operation places a considerable burden on the operator.

Therefore, it has been proposed to provide a vertical ice conveying device in the ice storage and take out the ice in the ice storage from an outlet formed in the upper part of the ice storage. In that case, a conveyor device (Publication No. 47-26162) or a bucket elevator (Publication No. 48-7774) is used to convey the ice to the discharge port.
No. 2) was used. Further, as a general vertical conveying device for ice such as crushed ice, which is used in other than the ice making machine, a screw type conveying device (Shokai Sho 56-
No. 130675) or two endless conveying members with a large number of reiki means attached thereto (Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-11).
No. 792) is known.

[0004]

However, in a conventional conveyor device using a conveyor, it is difficult to convey vertically and requires a large area, and there are two endless conveying chains having buckets and rake means. In the case of the one attached to the above, a space for projecting the bucket from the endless transport chain is required, and it is difficult to arrange the bucket in a narrow place such as an ice storage of an ice making machine.

Further, although the ice cubes just produced by the ice making machine are in a normal state in which the size and shape are relatively uniform, the ice cubes produced by the ice making machine are stored in an ice storage unit integrated with the ice making machine. Even when the ice cubes are stored in a separate ice storage from the ice making machine, the ice cubes melt with the passage of time and become small and irregularly shaped ice or scrap ice. Also, the ice cubes may become deformed or scrap ice due to chipping or splitting due to the force from the upper ice cubes during storage, or the force when the ice cubes are carried out. It has been known. Furthermore, it is known that ice pieces are easily joined to each other and are in a connected state.

Needless to say, these debris ice can be used together with normal ice cubes when the use of ice is, for example, cooling for keeping the freshness of fresh fish. However, in the field of service industry such as hotels, restaurants, etc., such products as on-the-rock, soft drinks, etc., and when used in combination with them to provide cooling water to customers, these products Alternatively, if the cooling water contains a large amount of debris ice or the like as described above, it tends to give the illusion that there is a problem with the product or the water quality itself.

Therefore, it is necessary to sort and supply scrap ice and normal ice cubes as much as possible, but if a conveyor, a bucket, or a rake is used like a conventional ice carrier, However, the scrap ice, etc. were also indiscriminately supplied together, and it was not possible to satisfy the above-mentioned needless need.

[0008] Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to provide an ice vertical transporting device which can be easily arranged in a narrow space and can selectively remove and supply scrap ice and the like. .

[0009]

In order to achieve this object, according to the present invention, a cube or a cube having a relatively constant shape and having the longest side D is supplied, and
An ice vertical transport device for transporting ice cubes from below to above along a vertical ice transport unit is provided with a large number of horizontal bars at predetermined intervals and is arranged so as to be able to circulate along the vertical ice transport unit. An endless conveying member provided, and a support guide plate spaced apart along the upper running path of the horizontal bar, and a gap between the upper running path of the horizontal bar and the support guide plate. L is smaller than the longest side D and is 1/2 to 2 / of the longest side D.
It is set within a range greater than or equal to 3.

[0010]

When a normal ice cube having the longest side D is operated by the vertical ice carrier having the distance L set as described above, the ice cubes entering the space between the adjacent horizontal bars are moved by the horizontal bars. It is pushed and transported toward the vertical ice transport section. In this space, not only normal ice cubes, but also debris ice that has melted or crushed into small pieces enters, and is similarly transported toward the vertical ice transport section.

However, these debris ice is not positively conveyed upward by the horizontal bar because it does not ride on the horizontal bar in the vertical ice-carrying section due to its dimensional relationship. Therefore, the debris is
Although it is passively pushed up from below by riding on the lower ice, it becomes a very unstable state because it is a deformed ice and there are many gaps left in the space Therefore, there are many cases where the endless conveying member is separated from the vertical ice-carrying unit due to vibration of the endless conveying member, reaction due to inertia when a sudden movement direction is changed toward the vertical ice-carrying unit, and the like. Thus, debris is sorted from normal ice cubes. Also, if the debris ice is connected, and if the connecting direction is along the conveying direction in the vertical ice carrying section, the connecting ice will drop easily in the vertical ice carrying section, and the connecting direction will be transverse to the carrying direction. Even in the case of the direction, the center of gravity of the connecting ice falls off the horizontal bar and falls easily.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the illustrated ice vertical transport apparatus. The same or corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall structure of an ice vertical transport device according to the present invention. This ice vertical transport device is a vertical ice carrying part A at the bottom and a vertical ice carrying part upward from the horizontal ice carrying part A ( It does not have to be at a right angle) and has a vertical ice carrying section B and a discharge section C which may be slightly upwardly inclined. The ice is loaded on the ice vertical transport device in the horizontal transport unit A, carried up upward in the vertical transport unit B, and discharged from the ice vertical transport device in the discharging unit C. In this embodiment, the horizontal transport unit A is configured integrally with the vertical transport unit B, but the horizontal transport unit A may be configured separately from the vertical transport unit B. In that case, the horizontal transport unit A is The section A can be replaced with a conventionally known normal tilt guide or a conveying device.

The endless belts, that is, the chains 1 and 1 which circulate along the above-mentioned respective portions A, B and C, are connected by a large number of horizontal bars 2 having a predetermined interval determined in consideration of the shape and size of ice to be conveyed. ing. The endless conveying member composed of the chain 1 and the lateral bar 2 is surrounded by a frame 9 also serving as a cover, and is supported by the guide sprocket 5 and the drive gears 10a and 10b. (Not shown) etc., other sprockets,
It is rotatably supported by appropriate rails, guides 8 (support guide plates), and the like. The drive motor 11 is the drive gear 10
The a and 10b are rotated so that the chain 1 and the lateral bar 2 orbit the above-mentioned respective parts and convey the ice. Also, inside the chains 1 and 1, sandwiching the horizontal bar 2 from both sides,
Side guide plates 7 are provided facing each other with a width W ₁ .

FIG. 2 is a detailed enlarged cross-sectional view of the vertical ice-carrying section B. As can be seen from the drawing, it is bent into a substantially L shape.
The pair of frames 9 cooperate with the side guide plates 7 while being spaced apart from each other at a distance slightly larger than the above-mentioned width W ₁ to move the ends of the chain 1 and the horizontal bar 2 which are on the outward path, that is, upward. It also surrounds and encloses the chain 1 and the transverse bar 2 which are in the return path, i.e. descending, in cooperation with the guide 8.
The horizontal ice-carrying section A can also have the above-mentioned structure. In that case, the chain 1 of the horizontal ice-carrying section A is preferably supported from below by means such as a rail (not shown). . Of course, the chain 1 may also be supported by means such as rails in the vertical ice carrying section B.

Although not shown, the lower bent portion between the horizontal ice carrying portion A and the vertical ice carrying portion B and the upper bent portion between the vertical ice carrying portion B and the discharging portion C are Guide means, which may be in the form of guide sprockets or bent rails, are provided to circulate the chain 1 and lateral bar 2 along such bent portions. Therefore, the distance L between the longitudinal axis 2a of the lateral bar 2 and the outer surface 8a of the guide 8 (FIG. 2)
Is effectively determined by the position of the upper and lower guide means.

FIG. 3 schematically shows a vertical cross section of a part of the vertical ice-carrying section B. As can be best seen from this figure,
Each ice cube 12 rides on the horizontal bar 2 from below and is supported thereby, is supported by the outer surface 8a of the guide 8 from behind, and is conveyed in the direction indicated by the arrow. Therefore, if the center of gravity of the ice cube 12 is G, and this center of gravity G is not outside the contact line between the horizontal bar 2 and the ice cube 12 (on the left side in FIG. 3), the horizontal bar 2 moves the ice cube 12 upward. Can be transported.

On the other hand, when the ice is supplied from an ice making machine (not shown) installed integrally or separately to the ice storage in which the above-mentioned ice vertical transport device according to the present invention is installed. If the longest side of ice cubes, that is, the longest side of normal ice cubes is D, this dimension D is considered to be substantially constant even if there is some difference depending on the ice making conditions, if the model of ice making machine is the same. It doesn't matter. When this dimension D is used as a reference, the scrap ice mentioned at the beginning and the ice that is not to be discharged from the discharge portion C are
According to the experience obtained from various requests and reactions of customers or users, the longest side is about 2D / 3 or less according to a relatively strict request, and according to a relatively loose request, The longest side is about D / 2 or less.

Therefore, the longitudinal axis 2 of the horizontal bar 2 described above is used.
Considering the range of the distance L between the a and the outer surface 8a of the guide 8, for the normal ice cube 12, if the distance L exceeds the dimension D, the ice cube 12 does not ride on the horizontal bar 2 and cannot be conveyed. Therefore, the upper limit of the distance L is D, and it can be inferred that the normal gravity center position of the ice cube 12 is approximately at the center thereof. Therefore, the lower limit of the distance L for the gravity center G not to deviate from the axial center 2a is approximately D. / 2. Therefore, the range of the distance L that the normal ice cube 12 can carry is

[0020]

## EQU1 ## D / 2 ≦ L <D. In addition, from the viewpoint of eliminating the scrap ice, the distance L is

[0021]

## EQU2 ## L ≧ D / 2 to 2D / 3. Therefore, it is understood that if the range of the distance L is set based on the equations 1 and 2, the normal ice cube 12 is transported, but the scrap ice is not transported. In addition, the ice that is connected is also out of the above range, so that the ice mainly falls when the bent portion changes to the vertical ice carrying portion.

When the ice vertical transport device having the distance L set as described above with respect to the normal ice cube 12 is operated, the ice entering the space between the adjacent horizontal bars 2 in FIG. It is pushed by and is conveyed toward the vertical ice carrying section B. Not only normal ice cubes, but also ice cubes that have been melted or crushed into small pieces enter the space, and are conveyed toward the vertical ice carrier B.

However, these debris ices are not positively conveyed upward by the horizontal bar because they are not on the horizontal bar in the vertical ice-carrying section due to their dimensional relationship. Therefore, the debris is
It rides on the lower ice and is pushed up passively from below, but it is in a very unstable state because it is a strange shape of ice and there are many gaps left in the space. Therefore, in the vertical ice-carrying section B, many of them are detached from the vertical ice-carrying section B due to the vibration of the chain 1, the reaction due to the inertia when the abrupt movement direction of the bending portion is changed, and the like.
There are few correctly discharged from the ice discharge port 3a. Therefore, the above-described vertical transport device sorts the transported ice.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described with respect to an ice vertical transporting device having a pair of endless chains and a plurality of horizontal bars attached to them, the present invention is limited to this embodiment. However, various modifications or alterations are possible.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, FIGS.
As can be understood from the above, the pitch P between the pair of adjacent horizontal bars 2 and the width W ₁ between the pair of side guide plates 7 are designed so that two normal ice cubes 12 can be conveyed side by side. However, the number of sheets to be accommodated and conveyed between the pair of horizontal bars 2 is arbitrary, and for example, a space capable of accommodating 4 to 5 ice cubes per row in the conveying direction can be provided. Also, horizontal bar 2
The cross section of B does not have to be circular as shown in FIG. 3, but may be a square or any other shape.
Obviously, it is not necessary to extend upwards exactly 90 ° with respect to the horizontal line, and it is obvious that it may be inclined with respect to the vertical line.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, in order to reduce the cost, only one endless chain 1 is installed in the center, and a horizontal bar is provided at each end of a T-shaped connecting member 2c attached to the chain 1 at predetermined intervals. 2 may be attached. Also in this case, the horizontal bar 2
Axis 2a (end face if horizontal bar cross section is square) and guide 8
The distance L between the outer surface 8a and the outer surface 8a is selected similarly to the above-described embodiment. Reference numeral 2b is a guide rail for the horizontal bar 2.

Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the endless chain 1 and the lateral bar 2 constitute the endless conveying member, but as shown in FIG. 5, it is convenient for cleaning, and the length can be easily adjusted and assembled. From this point of view, the space S indicated by diagonal lines may be punched out from the flexible belt 13 made of an appropriate material having sufficient strength, and the remaining portions 14 and 15 may be used instead of the chain and the horizontal bar, respectively. Both ends of the portion 14 are connected endlessly by being firmly connected to each other, and are driven by a pulley 16.

Similarly, from the viewpoints of length adjustment and ease of assembly, as shown in FIG. 6, two endless wires 17a are provided.
A large number of short wires 17b may be connected at a predetermined interval to form an endless transport member.

[0029]

As can be understood from the above description, according to the present invention, the basic dimensions of the vertical ice-carrying portion, which is the main portion disposed in the ice storage and occupying a part of the space thereof, are as follows. It is limited by the above formula 2, and since a conveyor, a basket, a reiki, etc. extending outward from the endless conveying member unlike the conventional conveying device is not used, the space occupied by the conveying device can be reduced accordingly. It can be installed in a narrow place, and by determining the size according to the above equation 2, the ice to be conveyed can be selected and its size can be made relatively constant.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of an ice vertical transport device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a vertical ice carrying section in the ice vertical carrying apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of a vertical ice carrying section in the ice vertical carrying apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified embodiment of the endless transport member in the ice vertical transport device of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing another modified example of the endless conveying member.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing still another modified example of the endless conveyance member.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A Horizontal ice carrying part B Vertical ice carrying part C Discharging part D Longest side of normal ice cube L Distance between horizontal bar and support guide plate 1 Chain (endless transfer member) 2 Horizontal bar 2a Horizontal bar axis 8 Support guide plate (guide) 8a Outer surface of guide 12 Normal ice cube 14 Part (endless transfer member) 15 Part (horizontal bar) 17a Wire (endless transfer member) 17b Wire (horizontal bar)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An ice vertical for transporting ice cubes having a longest side D and having a relatively constant shape of a rectangular parallelepiped or a cube, and transporting the ice cubes from below to above along a vertical ice carrier. A transporting device, which is provided with a number of horizontal bars at predetermined intervals, and is provided with an endless transporting member that is arranged so as to be able to circulate along the vertical ice-carrying section, and along an upward traveling path of the horizontal bars. And a support guide plate arranged apart from each other, and a distance L between the upper running path of the horizontal bar and the support guide plate is smaller than the longest side D and is 1/2 to the longest side D. 2/3
An ice vertical transport device characterized by being set within a range greater than or equal to.