JPH0961024A - Water supply device for ice tray in refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To decrease the number of component parts, save a space and lower a cost without requiring a driving device or a controller mainly comprising a conventional water feed pump. SOLUTION: A water feeder comprises an ice making tray 8, a water feed tank 3, an expansible and manual air pressure-feed part 1 with a bellows structure which is provided in the water feed tank 3, a water filling mechanism 12 for feeding water to the ice making tray 8 and a water feed pipe 6 for connecting the water feed tank 3 to the water filling mechanism 12. When the air pressure-feed part 1 is manually operated and air is fed under pressure into the water feed tank 3, the internal pressure of the water feed tank 3 is raised and a pressing force for pressing out water operates. Thus, the water of the water feed tank 3 is fed to the ice making tray via the water feed pipe 6 and the water filling mechanism 12. Accordingly, a driving device or a controller mainly including a water feed pump is not required.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a device for supplying water to an ice tray of a refrigerator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a water supply device for an ice tray of a refrigerator of this type, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-127177, the water is sucked up from a water supply tank by a water supply pump and supplied to the ice tray. There is.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional water supply apparatus, since water is supplied by the drive source of the water supply pump, a drive apparatus and a control apparatus centering on the water supply pump are required. Moreover, a large installation space is required accordingly.
As a matter of course, the cost is also high.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and by providing a water feed tank with a manual pneumatic feed unit, the number of constituent parts of the water supply device is reduced, and the installation space is narrowed. An object of the present invention is to provide a water supply device for an ice tray of a refrigerator that can reduce the cost.

[0005]

A water supply device for an ice tray of a refrigerator according to the present invention comprises an ice tray, a water supply tank, and a manually operable pneumatic pumping unit provided in the water supply tank and having a bellows structure. A water injection mechanism for injecting water into the ice tray and a water supply pipe connecting the water supply tank and the water injection mechanism are provided. An air pressure feed port is provided in the water supply tank, and a joint joined to the manual air pressure feed unit is detachably attached to the air pressure feed port.

Between the water injection mechanism and the ice tray, a water tray for receiving water from the water injection mechanism is arranged. The water receiving tray has a small-diameter outlet portion for supplying water to the ice tray at the deepest bottom portion of the inner bottom of the water receiving tray, and a partition cylinder surrounding the upper portion of the outlet portion, and the outlet is provided at a part of the circumference of the partition cylinder. A split groove communicating with the section is provided. A guide for preventing water splashing is provided in a portion of the water tray that is offset from the partition tube. A scale line will be provided on the water tray. The water supply tank is provided with an air bleeding mechanism. The air pressure feeding unit is provided with a pressing spring that is pressed by the closing operation force of the refrigerator door.

[0007]

[Operation] When the air pressure feeding section is manually operated to feed air into the water supply tank, the internal pressure in the water supply tank rises, and the pushing force that pushes out the water acts, so that the water in the water supply tank acts as a water supply pipe and a pipe. Water is supplied to the ice tray via the water injection mechanism. By removing the joint from the air pressure feed port, the air pressure feed port can also be used as the water supply port.

Inside the water tray, the guide can prevent the water from the water injection mechanism from splashing. Water from the water injection mechanism goes around the outer circumference of the partition cylinder and flows out from the split groove to the outlet. Since this outlet part is narrowed down, water can be surely and gradually poured into the ice tray. Furthermore, a certain amount of water can be poured into the ice tray by the scale line.

By providing an air bleeding mechanism in the water supply tank, the water in the water supply pipe can be returned to the water supply tank when the water supply tank is removed from the refrigerating chamber when the water is replenished to the water supply tank, and water leakage can be prevented.

By providing the air pressure feeding unit with the pressing spring, the air can be automatically fed into the water supply tank by opening and closing the door of the refrigerator without manually pushing the air pressure feeding unit.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of a water supply device for an ice tray of a refrigerator according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows the structure of the entire water supply device. A manual pneumatic pumping unit 1 is joined to a water supply tank 3 via a joint 2. The water supply tank 3 has a water supply pipe section 4, and this water supply pipe section 4
Is connected to the inlet of the discharge pipe 5 via a water supply pipe 6. At the outlet of the discharge pipe 5, a water injection port 7 and a water injection button 13
A water injection mechanism 12 having a water injection port 7 and an ice tray 8
A water receiving tray 9 is provided between the water receiving tray 9 and the water receiving tray 9. The air pressure feeding unit 1, the joint 2, and the water supply tank 3 are provided in the refrigerating chamber, the discharge pipe 5,
The water injection mechanism 12, the water tray 9 and the ice tray 8 are arranged in the freezing compartment.

At this time, when the air pressure feeding section 1 is manually operated to pressure feed air into the water supply tank 3 to increase the internal pressure in the water supply tank 3, a pushing force for pushing out water acts. At this time, when the water injection button 13 of the water injection mechanism 12 is pressed, the water in the water supply tank 3 is supplied with the water supply pipe portion 4, the water supply pipe 6, and the discharge pipe 5.
After that, water is poured into the water tray 9 from the water inlet 7 of the water injection mechanism 12, and water is supplied from the water tray 9 to the ice tray 8.

FIG. 2 shows a conceptual diagram of the manual pneumatic pressure feeding unit 1. The air pressure feeding unit 1 is configured to have an expandable and contractible bellows structure, and is provided with a valve 10 that opens inward (inside) and a valve 11 that opens outward toward the joint 2. The figure (a) is a standby state (normal state), and when the tip 1a of the air pressure feeding part 1 is pushed and contracted by hand from this state, the air in the air pressure feeding part 1 is compressed and the valve 11 opens. ,
Air is pushed out into the water supply tank 3 toward the joint 2 (state shown in FIG. 3B). When it is further pressed and pressed completely, the pressures inside the joint 2 and the air pressure feeding portion 1 become equal, and the valve 11 closes (state of FIG. 7C). Next, when the hand is released from the tip 1a of the air pressure feeding unit 1, the air pressure feeding unit 1
The internal pressure decreases, the valve 10 opens, and the air enters from the outside into the air pressure feeding unit 1 (state (d) in the same figure). When the shape inside the air pressure feeding unit 1 returns to the original expanded state, the pressure inside and outside the air pressure feeding unit 1 becomes equal, and the valve 10 closes and returns to the standby state ((a) in the figure).

FIG. 3 shows the structure of the water injection mechanism 12. The water injection mechanism 12 has a valve casing 14 and a water injection button 13. The valve casing 14 has an inlet portion at the upper end thereof for the discharge pipe 5
Connected to the outlet of the water tank, the water inlet 7 at the lower end faces the water tray 3, and the valve chamber 14 is provided in the middle of the water passage connecting the inlet and the water inlet 7.
a is formed in a bulge shape. The water injection button 13 is the valve body 13
a is integrally provided via a valve rod 13b, and the valve body 13a is slidably fitted in the valve chamber 14a in a direction orthogonal to the water passage. The valve rod 13b projects to the outside from a through hole 14b provided in the valve casing 14, and a water injection button 13 is attached to this projecting end. A packing 15 for preventing water leakage is interposed between the sliding surfaces of the valve rod 13b and the through hole 14b. The packings 16 and 17 for preventing water leakage are also interposed between the sliding surfaces of the valve body 13a and the valve chamber 14a and between the contact and separation surfaces, respectively.
A compression spring 18 is provided on the valve rod 13b between the water injection button 13 and the valve casing 14. The spring action closes the water passage in the valve casing 14 with the valve body 13a, and the water injection button 13 is pushed out. (Fig. (A)
Waiting state). When the water injection button 13 is pushed against the compression spring 18, the water passage is opened by the valve body 13a, and water from the discharge pipe 5 can be injected from the water injection port 7 into the water receiving tray 9 (FIG. 2 (b)). State).

FIG. 4 shows a state in which water is supplied to the water supply tank 3. The joint 2 is detachably joined to the air pressure feed port 30 by screwing the female screw 2a of the joint 2 joined to the air pressure feed unit 1 into the male screw 30a of the air pressure feed port 30 opened on the upper wall of the water supply tank 3. .
Now, the water supply tank 3 is removed from the refrigerating compartment, the female screw 2a of the joint 2 is loosened, and the water supply tank 3 is removed from the air pressure feed port 30. Then, the air pressure supply port 30 can also be used as a water supply port for supplying water to the water supply tank 3.

5 and 6 show the structure of the water receiving tray 9. 5 is a plan view of the water tray 9, and FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view thereof. The water receiving tray 9 has a mountain-shaped guide guide 19 having a concave curved surface 19a for receiving water at a position deviated from the central portion of the inner bottom surface thereof in order to prevent water from splashing from the water inlet 7.
Is projected upward so that the vicinity of the top of the concave curved surface 19a is located immediately below the water injection port 7. Further, in order to surely and gradually pour water from the water injection port 7 into the ice tray 8, the diameter of the outlet 9a at the deepest bottom center of the inner bottom surface of the water receiving tray 9 is narrowed down, and the center of the inner bottom surface of the water receiving tray 9 is reduced. By providing the partition tube 20 having the split groove 20a above the outlet portion 9a of the portion, water circulates around the outer circumference of the partition tube 20 and the fixed split groove 20 is formed.
It is designed to flow out from a to the outlet 9a. Further, the water receiving tray 9 is provided with a scale line 21 on its outer surface so that a certain amount of water can be poured into the ice tray 8.

FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 show the structure of the air venting mechanism provided in the water supply tank 3. In this mechanism, an air vent hole 23 is provided on the upper wall of the water supply tank 3 side by side with the air pressure feed port 30, and the air vent hole 23 can be opened and closed by an air vent button 22. The air vent button 22 is integrally provided with a valve body 22a via a valve rod 22b, and the valve rod 22b is inserted into the air vent hole 23 to put the valve body 22a into the water supply tank 23. Valve rod 22b between the air vent button 22 and the upper wall of the water tank 23
A compression spring 24 is interposed on the upper side, and the spring action causes the valve body 2 to
2a comes into contact with the inner surface of the upper wall of the water supply tank 23 so that the air vent hole 2
3 is closed and the air vent button 22 is pushed out (standby state in FIG. 4A). When the air vent button 22 is pushed against the compression spring 24, the valve body 22a is separated from the inner surface of the upper wall of the water supply tank 23 to open the air vent hole 23,
It is possible to remove air from the water supply tank 3 ((b) in the figure)
State). The packing 25 is fitted on the inner surface of the upper wall of the water supply tank 23 with which the valve body 22a abuts so as to surround the air vent hole 23, so that the air vent hole 2 is closed when the air vent hole 23 is closed.
Air leakage and water leakage from 3 can be reliably prevented. This air bleeding mechanism is used to return the water in the water supply pipe 6 into the water supply tank 3 when the water supply tank 3 is replenished with water and when the water supply tank 3 is removed from the refrigerating chamber. As shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of protrusions 26 project from the inner periphery of the air vent hole 23 toward the center thereof to receive the lower end portion of the compression spring 24.

FIG. 9 shows an embodiment in which a pressing spring 27 is provided in the manual air pressure feeding section 1. FIG. 3A shows a standby state or a state where the refrigerator door 28 is open. Initially, when the air is not pumped into the water supply tank 3, the door 28
When the is closed, the pressing spring 27 hardly shrinks, the pressed force is transmitted to the air pressure feeding unit 1, the air in the air pressure feeding unit 1 is compressed, the valve 11 is opened, and the air is fed into the water supply tank 3 via the joint 2. Are pumped (state of FIG. 7B).
When the opening and closing of the door 28 is repeated once or several times (the number of times changes depending on the relationship between the capacity of the water supply tank 3 and the capacity of the air pressure supply unit 1), the internal pressure in the water supply tank 3 increases and the air pressure supply unit 1 The pressing spring 27 is compressed without contracting (state of FIG. 7C). By arranging the pressing spring 27 side by side with the air pressure feeding unit 1 as described above, the air is automatically pressure fed into the water supply tank 3 by opening and closing the door 28 of the refrigerator without manually pushing the air pressure feeding unit 1. be able to.

[0019]

As described above, according to the invention of claim 1 of the present invention, the water supply tank having the manual pneumatic feed unit, the water supply pipe, and the water injection mechanism are provided. This is advantageous because it does not require a drive unit or a control unit, and has the effect of reducing the number of constituent parts, reducing the size and weight, and also reducing the installation space and cost.

According to the second aspect of the invention, since the air supply port for supplying the air from the air supply unit to the water supply tank can also be used as the water supply port, it is necessary to separately provide a water supply port and a water supply port cap as in the conventional case. Also, in this respect, the number of constituent parts can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

According to the third aspect of the invention, it is possible to surely and gradually pour water into the ice tray without scattering water from the water pour mechanism. Furthermore, a certain amount of water can be poured into the ice tray with a scale line.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the water supply tank is provided with the air bleeding mechanism, the water in the water supply pipe must be returned to the water supply tank when the water supply tank is removed from the refrigerating chamber when water is replenished to the water supply tank. It is possible to prevent water leakage.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the pressure spring is provided in the air feed section of the water supply tank, the water feed tank is automatically opened and closed by manually opening and closing the door of the refrigerator without manually pushing the air pressure feed section. Air can be pumped inside.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an entire water supply device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an operating state of an air pressure feeding unit of the apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a water injection mechanism of the device.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which water is supplied to a water supply tank of the same device.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a water tray of the device.

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a water tray of the device.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an air bleeding mechanism of the device.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of an air vent hole of an air vent mechanism of the device.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing an operating state of an air pressure feeding unit provided with a pressing spring of the same device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Air Pressure Feeding Part 2 Joint 3 Water Supply Tank 4 Water Supply Pipe 5 Discharge Pipe 6 Water Supply Pipe 7 Water Injection Port 8 Ice Making Plate 9 Water Receiving Plate 10 ・ 11 Valve 12 Water Injection Mechanism 13 Water Injection Button 14 Valve Casing 15 ・ 16 ・ 17 ・ 25 Packing 18・ 24 Compression spring 19 Guide guide 20 Partition cylinder 21 Scale line 22 Air vent button 23 Air vent hole 27 Pressing spring 28 Refrigerator door 30 Air pressure feed port

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An ice tray, a water supply tank, a manually operated pneumatic feed unit provided in the water supply tank and having a bellows structure, and a water injection mechanism for injecting water into the ice tray, and the water supply tank and the water injection. A water supply device for an ice tray of a refrigerator, which is provided with a water supply pipe for connecting with a mechanism. 2. The water supply to an ice tray of a refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the water supply tank is provided with an air pressure feed port, and a joint joined to the manual air pressure feed unit is detachably attached to the air pressure feed port. apparatus. 3. A water pan for receiving water from the water pouring mechanism is arranged between the water pouring mechanism and the ice tray, and the water pan is supplied to the ice tray at the deepest bottom portion of the inner bottom thereof. Each of the partition cylinders has a small-diameter outlet part and surrounds the upper part of the outlet part, and a dividing groove communicating with the outlet part is provided in a part of the circumference of the partition cylinder, and water is scattered at a portion deviated from the partition cylinder. The water supply device for an ice tray of a refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a guide guide for prevention is provided and a scale line is provided on the water tray. 4. The water supply device for an ice tray of a refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the water supply tank is provided with an air bleeding mechanism. 5. The water supply device for an ice tray of a refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a pressure spring that is pressed by the closing operation force of the refrigerator door is provided in the air pressure feeding unit.