JP3379602B2 - Water supply device for automatic ice maker - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a water supply device for an automatic ice maker of a refrigerator having a refrigerating room at the upper part and a freezing room at the lower part.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a refrigerator, as shown in FIG. 5, a refrigerating chamber 21 is provided at an upper portion, a freezing chamber 22 is provided at a lower portion, a water supply device 23 of an automatic ice maker is provided in the upper refrigerating chamber 21, and a lower freezing chamber 22. There is also an automatic ice maker (not shown) provided. The water supply device 23 includes a water supply tank 25 having a water stopcock 24 at the bottom, a solenoid valve 26 that pushes up the water stopcock 24 of the water supply tank 25 based on a command from a control unit (not shown), and a waterstop 24. The water receiver 28 is designed to receive the water flowing down from the water supply tank 25 by being pushed up, and to make it flow down from the lower water discharge port 27, and the water receiver 28 is connected to the outer periphery of the water discharge port 27 via the water supply pipe fitting 29. Freezer
It is composed of a water supply pipe 30 leading to 22 and a freeze prevention heater 31 etc. provided on the outer periphery of the upper part of the water supply pipe 30 to prevent freezing in the pipe, and water is supplied to the ice making container 32. In addition, a spiral spring body 33 is provided on the outer periphery of the shaft of the water stopcock 24 of the water supply tank 25 to make the water stop more reliable, and the water supply tank 25 is provided at the upper opening of the water outlet 27 of the water receiver 28. A float 34 that floats with water from, and a cylindrical float fixture 35 that accommodates this float 34 are provided, and the upper opening of the water outlet 27 is closed by the float 34 except when water is supplied to the ice making container 32, and frozen. The cold air on the side of the chamber 22 is prevented from leaking to the side of the refrigerator chamber 21.

[0003]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the freezer compartment
The float as described above is used to prevent cold air leakage between the refrigerator 22 and the refrigerator compartment 21.
The configuration using the 34 and the float fixture 35 is time consuming to assemble and is costly. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a water supply device for an automatic ice maker that reduces the above-mentioned components and prevents cold air leakage between the freezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment by a simpler method.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is a refrigerator having a refrigerating chamber at the upper portion and a freezing chamber at the lower portion, and a water stopper at the lower portion. A water tank having a valve, a solenoid valve that pushes up the water stopper, a water receiver that receives water flowing down from the water tank and flows down from a lower water outlet, and a water supply pipe on the outer periphery of the water outlet of the water receiver. A water supply pipe that is connected through a fixture and that communicates with the freezer compartment and a freeze prevention heater that prevents the water supply pipe from freezing are provided, and the water flowing through the water supply pipe is supplied to the ice-making container in the freezer compartment. In this case, the water outlet of the water receiver is provided with a valve body that is opened by water pressure.

[0005]

With the above construction, when the water from the water supply tank is supplied to the ice making container, the valve body is pushed open by the pressure of the water flowing down the outlet of the water receiver, and the water to the ice making container is opened. When the supply is finished, the valve body returns to the original position and closes the water outlet of the water receiver, so that the leakage of cold air from the freezer compartment to the refrigerating compartment side can be suppressed.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a water supply device of an automatic ice maker, 1 is a refrigerating room, 2 is a freezing room,
Reference numeral 3 is a heat insulating partition that divides the refrigerating room 1 and the freezing room 2 into upper and lower parts, 4 is a water supply device of an automatic ice making machine, and 5 is an ice making container of the automatic ice making machine. The water supply device 4 has a water supply tank 7 having a water stopcock 6 at the bottom, and a solenoid valve 8 for pushing up the water stopcock 6 of the water supply tank 7 based on a command from a control unit (not shown).
And a water receiver 10 that receives the water flowing down from the water supply tank 7 by pushing up the water stopcock 6 and causes it to flow down from the water discharge port 9 at the lower part, and a water supply pipe on the outer periphery of the water discharge port 9 of this water receiver 10. The water pipe 12 connected via the fixture 11 and this water pipe
In order to prevent water from leaking from the water supply tank 7, it is composed of an antifreezing heater 13 provided on the outer circumference of the upper part of 12 to prevent freezing in the pipe, and the like. A spiral spring body 14 is provided.

By the way, a feature of this embodiment is that the water outlet 9 of the water receiver 10 is provided with a valve body 15 which is opened by water pressure. The valve body 15 is for preventing the cool air on the freezer compartment 2 side from leaking to the water receiver 10 side, and is integrated with the water supply pipe fitting 11. FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional and enlarged view of the water supply pipe fitting 12 of FIG. Silicon rubber is used as the material, and the valve body 15 is cut 16 leaving a part of the lower circumference of the water supply pipe fitting 11 formed in a cylindrical shape with a bottom.
Is provided so that it can be opened and closed by utilizing the elasticity of the material. The valve body 15 is not necessarily limited to the shape shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and for example, as shown in FIG. 3, a radial notch is formed in the bottom of the water supply pipe fitting 11 formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape. It may be provided with 16 or may be provided with innumerable parallel cuts 16 as shown in FIG. In any case, if the valve body 15 integrated with the water supply pipe fitting 11 is provided, the cold air leaking from the freezer compartment 2 to the water receiver 10 side can be shut off during the ice making time, and the water can be supplied when the ice making container 5 is supplied with water. The weight (water pressure) of the water flowing down from the receiver 10 causes the valve body 15 to bend and supply water to the ice making container 5.

[0008]

As described above, in the case of the water supply device having the valve body, since the valve body is integrated with the water supply pipe fitting, the number of parts is reduced as compared with the conventional product using the float. Since the labor of installation can be saved, it will be cheaper.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a water supply pipe fitting showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a water supply pipe fitting showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a water supply pipe fitting showing the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of a conventional water supply device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 refrigerating room 2 Freezer 3 Insulation partition 4 Water supply device 5 ice making containers 6 stopcock 7 water tank 8 solenoid valve 9 water outlet 10 water receptor 11 Water pipe fitting 12 Water pipe 13 Antifreeze heater 14 Spring body 15 valve body 16 notches

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A refrigerating room having a refrigerating chamber at an upper part and a freezing chamber at a lower part, a water tank having a water stopcock at a lower part, a solenoid valve for pushing up the water stopcock, and a downflow from the water supply tank. The water receiver that receives the water to be discharged and flows down from the lower water discharge port, and the water supply pipe connected to the outer circumference of the water discharge port of the water receiver via the water supply pipe fitting, and the water supply pipe that leads to the freezer compartment, and the water supply pipe A freeze prevention heater for preventing freezing, wherein water flowing in the water supply pipe is supplied to an ice making container in the freezing chamber, wherein a valve body that is opened by water pressure is provided at a water discharge port of the water receiver. A water supply device for an automatic ice maker. 2. The water supply device for an automatic ice maker according to claim 1, wherein the valve body is provided integrally with the water supply pipe fitting. 3. The water supply device for an automatic ice maker according to claim 1, wherein the valve body is formed into a bottomed cylindrical shape which is integral with the water supply pipe fitting, and a radial split is provided on the bottom portion. 4. The water supply device for an automatic ice maker according to claim 1, wherein the valve body is formed into a cylindrical shape having a bottom and is integral with the water supply pipe fitting, and innumerable splits are provided parallel to the bottom.