JPS6089659A - Ice making pan for fountain type ice machine - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an ice tray for a fountain ice maker, and more particularly to a structure for fixing an ice cup made of a good thermal conductor to an ice tray base.

There are various structures of the ice making tray in this type of fountain ice making machine that have been used in the past, and a typical structure among them is the one disclosed in US Pat. No. θθbbos.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,
A large number of openings are formed in the bottom part a of the ice making tray base l, which is generally dish-shaped as a whole and made of a thermally poor conductor such as resin, and a first opening end 2a of each opening part is formed. An upright peripheral wall portion 3 protruding almost perpendicularly toward the interior of the ice tray base 1 is formed into a substantially rectangular frame shape. An end portion 4 (a) of an ice-making cup made of a good thermal conductor such as copper and whose entire length is drawn into an inverted cup shape is fitted into the open end portion 3 a of the upright peripheral wall portion 3 . The first flange portion llb formed at the end +a and the second flange portion 3b formed at the x-th open end 3a are in contact with each other.

Furthermore, a cooling pipe S is installed on the top surface IC of each ice making cup.
are joined by low-temperature molten metal, and a U-shaped spacer 5a is inserted between the bottom part a of the ice tray base and the lower surface of the cooling pipe 5. Since the height of the spacer 5a is slightly longer than the distance between the bottom part a of the ice tray base l and the lower surface of the cooling pipe 5, it pushes the ice cup and the ice tray l apart. The structure is such that a force acts in the direction in which this occurs, and this force causes the first and second flange portions +b and 3b to fit strongly into each other.

Furthermore, FIG. 1 shows an assembly mode when the ice tray base l and the ice making cup are fitted together, and the presser jig lb is shown in FIG.
A Yotsu-C ice-making camp lI is fitted into each opening of the ice-making tray base l.

However, in the conventional 1Q configuration as described above, a holding jig is required, and the spacer holds the ice making cup on the ice making tray base by the force of pushing the ice making cup apart from the ice making tray base. Therefore, the vertical dimension should be made slightly thicker.9,The welding must be done with a slight gap between the cooling pipe and the ice-making cup to be welded. This made the work difficult.

In addition, the ice tray base tends to become distorted due to the force of the spacer trying to push it apart, and if the presser jig is not pressed properly during welding, the ice cup may be tilted and the opening may not be fully seated. There were many cases where the ice cube tray did not fit properly, and the ice tray was welded with insufficient fit, resulting in the entire ice tray being defective.

Further, each of the flanges can be tightly attached to each other by force of pushing and separating, but the joining surface of each flange is completely flat, and the ice-making cup can be fitted into the opening without tilting. Otherwise, complete waterproofing cannot be achieved.

However, in reality, it was impossible to completely flatten the joint surface and fit and insert the ice-making cup without tilting.

If water leaks from each flange due to the above reasons, the water supplied during deicing may cause water to leak. &The ice in the ice cup will melt, resulting in irregularly shaped ice with jagged edges.In addition, the ice melting will not only reduce the amount of ice made, but also reduce the weight of each ice cube, making it difficult to remove ice. The gravity fall could not be carried out smoothly, and as a result, the deicing time became long, and the amount of ice melted was large, resulting in a significant decrease in the ice making ability.

Another problem with the assembly process is that the cooling pipe and the ice cup must be welded together while a force is applied to each flange to push them apart, so that the plastic ice tray base does not melt. Although cooling means were used, even the slightest mistake could cause the flange of the ice tray base to melt, requiring a highly skilled and sophisticated assembly technique.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an extremely effective means for quickly eliminating the above-mentioned drawbacks. In particular, an elastic body is provided in the ice making cup, and an ice making tray base opening is provided on the outer periphery of the elastic body. The ice-making cup is characterized by a configuration in which an upright peripheral wall extending from the ice-making cup is fitted into the ice-making tray base via an elastic body.

Hereinafter, the ice tray structure of the fountain ice maker according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

3 and 3 show a first embodiment of the ice tray structure according to the present invention, and the same parts as in the conventional example will be described using the same reference numerals.

Indicated by the symbol /1 in the drawings. 1 is an ice tray base made of a poor heat conductor such as resin and having a generally plate shape as a whole, and a large number of openings are formed in the bottom part a of the ice tray base l. At the first opening end 2a of each opening, an upright peripheral wall 3 is formed in a substantially rectangular frame shape and projects almost vertically toward the inside of the ice tray base. The second open end 3a located at 3 forms an annular protrusion with a hemispherical cross section as shown in FIGS. A concave portion 3d of an annular elastic body 3C, which is generally rectangular in plan view, is fitted into the open end 3a, and the inner circumferential surface 3e of the elastic body 3C is made of heat-resistant material such as copper. The outer circumferential surface of the end lla of the ice-making cup tray, which is drawn into the shape of an inverted cup made of a good conductor, abuts and is held integrally by the elastic force of the elastic body 3C. Further, at the lower part of the end rim a of the ice-making candida, a flange part llb extending substantially parallel to the bottom part a of the ice-making tray l is fitted into the cutout part 3f of the elastic body 3C.

A cooling pipe 5 is joined to the top surface pc of each ice-making cup stall by low-temperature molten metal, and the n1 cooling pipe S and the ice-making cup stall are integrated.

In the above-described first embodiment, when attaching the ice-making cup tray to the ice-making tray base, first, a rectangular annular elastic body 3c made of rubber or the like is fitted onto the outer periphery of the ice-making cup l;
When the flange part /Ib of the ice-making cup tray and the notch 3f of the elastic body 3C are fitted, the elastic body 3C is held at the outer circumference of the lower end of the ice-making cup tray. and the ice cup-tei will be integrated.

Furthermore, in order to fit the ice-making cup holder having the elastic body 3C into the opening of the ice-making tray l, when the ice-making cup holder is inserted into the opening part y in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3, the elastic body 3c
A tapered guide portion 3g formed on the outer periphery of comes into contact with the open end 3a, and when the ice-making cup l is further inserted using the guide portion 3g as a guide, the elastic body 3C is deflected. The second opening end 3a of the upright peripheral wall 3 fits into the concave portion 3d of the ice making cup holder, and the ice making cup holder is attached integrally with the ice making tray base.Next, FIG. This shows a third embodiment of the dish structure, in which an extension part 3h is formed in the cutout part 3f of the elastic body 3C, and the flange part llb of the ice-making canzoder is connected to the extension part 3h.
h and the notch 3f,
Compared to the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 3, dimensional stability is improved and problems such as the ice cup falling off during the assembly process are reduced.

Furthermore, although not shown in the drawings, as a third embodiment of the means for joining the elastic body 3C to the ice-making cup, electroplating (for example, nickel plating, etc.) is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the ice-making cup.
After applying anti-rust surface treatment, unvulcanized rubber is injected into the mold and molded, and an elastic body 3C is placed around the outer periphery of the ice making cup.
form. Thereafter, when the elastic body 3C is vulcanized, the elastic body 3C is firmly bonded to the anti-corrosion treated surface of the ice making cup tray. In this case, if an auxiliary material such as a primer is applied to the outer circumferential joint surface of the ice-making cup tray first, it will become even stronger.

As described above, in the ice making tray of the present invention, after a large number of ice making cup trays are fitted to the ice making tray base, as shown in FIG. are first brazed together, and then each ice-making cup tray and the cooling pipe 5 are assembled by soft brazing with a low-temperature molten metal (for example, solder, etc.).

Next, a case will be described in which the ice making tray configured as described above is used in a fountain type ice making machine.

As shown in Figure 7, there is an ice making section g inside the ice making machine main body g.
A and a mechanical part gb are provided, and an ice storage/Q surrounded by a heat insulating material is formed in the ice making part ra, and a water storage IO is provided.
A cooling pipe S is provided on the top of the ice making tray, and a water supply pipe attached to the top of the ice making machine body g is guided into the ice making tray. A slope /3 having a water collection hole / is provided at a lower position of this ice tray l.
Ice-making water tank below slope 1/3/Dagapol)/
It is detachably installed on the ice maker main body g via a holder.

A circulation pump IS and a water sprinkler 16 are provided in the ice-making water tank llI, and the circulation pump/& and the water sprinkler 16 are connected to each other by a pipe 7, and an overflow is provided in the ice-making water tank llI. 9tt is connected to the drain pipe 20 via a drain hose/9. A magnolia closing plate 2 is provided below the ice making tray base 2 to prevent ice making water from the water sprinkler 6 from scattering into the water storage IO.

Furthermore, below the ice maker body is a compressor connected to a cooling pipe S! , 2, a condenser, 23 and a fan motor tag are provided.

When the power supply (not shown) is turned on in the above configuration, water is supplied from the water supply pipe // into the ice tray. The ice flows down the slope (Fig. 6), passes through the water collection hole, and is stored in the ice-making water tank. More ice making water tanks than necessary
The water in lI is drained from the drain pipe 20 via the overflow pipe tg.

The ice-making water in the water is sent to the water sprinkler 16 by the circulation pump 15.
A fan-shaped stream of water flows upwards, resembling a fountain. Since each ice-making cutter is cooled by a cooling pipe, ice gradually grows inside the ice-making cutter. When a sensor (not shown) detects that ice has grown sufficiently in the ice making cup 1, ice making is completed, the circulation pump/S and fan motor 2 are stopped, and the water from the sprinkler 16 is stopped. Stop the fountain. At the same time, a hot gas valve (not shown) is opened to feed high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant from compressors J and Z directly into cooling pipe s, heating the outer wall of ice-making cup q and supplying water from water supply pipe //. The ice in the ice making cup melts slightly and falls onto the system 4/3 due to its own weight, pushes aside the waterside closing plate 2/, falls into the water storage 10, and is stored.

Since the ice-making tray structure of the fountain-type ice-making machine according to the present invention has the above-described structure and operation, a holding jig is not required for attaching the ice-making cup, and assembly is facilitated. Furthermore, the elastic body is formed so that when the ice making cup and the ice tray base are fitted, the ice making cup is held substantially horizontally, so that the ice making cup is held horizontally. The decision on whether or not to use a product can be made without relying on visual inspection, which eliminates the defective rate of products.

Furthermore, when welding the ice-making cup and the cooling pipe, an elastic body with good heat resistance is provided between the ice-making tray base and the ice-making cup, so that the heat transferred to the ice-making cup is directly transferred to the ice-making tray base. Since there is no transmission of fL, a stable product can be obtained even in rough processing steps, and t1 skill is not required.

Further, according to the present invention, since no force is applied between the ice tray base and the ice cup to push them apart, no distortion occurs in the ice tray base.

Since the ice making cup and the cooling pipe can be welded in a completely intimate state, the ice making time is shortened and the operating efficiency of the ice making machine is improved, as heat conduction between the ice making cup and the cooling pipe is improved.

Complete waterproofing was achieved without requiring high precision because the grooves on the elastic body and the protrusions on the open end of the ice tray base were fitted together.

Since the elastic body can absorb the contraction and expansion of the ice-making cup over a long period of time, it is possible to completely prevent the ice-making tray from cracking due to fatigue.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 and 2 are cross-sectional views showing conventional ice trays, and Figures 3~
Fig. 7 shows the ice tray structure of the fountain ice maker according to the present invention, Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing the first embodiment of the ice making tray structure, and Fig. 7 is an enlarged cross section of the main part of Fig. 3. 5 is a sectional view showing the second embodiment, FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the ice tray, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing the second embodiment.
The figure is a sectional view showing an ice making machine using the ice making tray of the present invention. / is the ice tray base, /a is the bottom, a is the opening, 2a is the first
3 is an open end, 3 is an upright peripheral wall, 3a is an open end (projection with a hemispherical cross section), 3C is an elastic body, 3d is a grooved part, 3e
is the inner peripheral surface, 3f is the notch, 3g is the guide, 3h is the extension, g is the ice making cup, ri is the end, Hirosu is the 7 tank part,
Q, c I (i top surface, 5 is the cooling pipe, 6 is the outlet vibe, 7 is the accumulator, g is the ice maker body, ga is the ice making section, gb is the mechanical section, 9 is the insulation material, 10 is the ice storage, / l
is the water supply pipe, 7.2 is the water recovery hole, /3 is the slope, /
G is the ice making water tank, /3 is the circulation pump, 16 is the water sprinkler,
/7 is a pipe, 7g is an overflow pipe, )9 is a drain hose, 20 (d drain pipe, -/ is a water speed closing plate, 2.2 is a compression type, 1.23 is a condenser 1.2≠ is an unan motor) Tokuken Applicant Hoshizaki Electric Co., Ltd. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) An ice making tray base which is approximately dish-shaped as a whole and has a large number of openings at the bottom and is made of a thermally poor conductor such as resin; An upright peripheral wall portion extending toward the upright peripheral wall portion, an elastic body provided at a second opening end of the upright peripheral wall portion, and a good thermal conductor such as false copper provided on the inner wall portion of the elastic body in a cup shape. and an ice-making cup formed in the shape of an ice-making cup, the elastic body is engaged with an end face of the ice-making cup, and the elastic body is fitted into a second open end of the upright peripheral wall, whereby the ice-making cup is An ice tray for a fountain ice maker, characterized in that the ice tray is held on the ice tray base. (2) The upright peripheral wall portion of the ice tray base is provided with a protrusion formed at the open end thereof, and the outer peripheral portion of the elastic body is provided with a recess that fits into the protrusion. The elastic body is fixed to the outer circumferential surface of the ice making cup by its elastic force. An ice-making tray for a fountain-type ice-making machine according to claim 1 or 1, characterized in that the ice-making tray for a fountain-type ice-making machine according to claim 1 or 1 is characterized in that the ice-making tray is formed by injection molding in a vulcanized state and then heating and adding it to obtain elastic force. .