JP4097641B2 - Automatic ice maker and freezer refrigerator equipped with automatic ice maker - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic ice maker incorporated in a refrigerator-freezer, and more particularly to an automatic ice maker configured to be detachable from the refrigerator-freezer and a refrigerator-freezer provided with the automatic ice maker.

Some automatic ice makers for refrigerators have a configuration in which the ice tray can be attached and detached (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1, a thermistor is attached to an ice tray, the temperature of the ice tray is detected by the thermistor, and the process proceeds to the deicing process. It is related to technology.
JP 2000-88410 A

  As described above, the invention of Patent Document 1 is a technique for facilitating the attachment and detachment of the ice tray and the thermistor. However, the electric mechanism that rotates the ice tray remains in the refrigerator. For this reason, when the ice making room is used as a normal freezing room for storing food, the remaining portion is in the way and the usability is poor.

  In view of these points, the present invention makes it possible to remove the ice tray while leaving the electric mechanism that rotates the ice tray in the ice making chamber, and simultaneously removes the ice tray and the electric mechanism from the refrigerator. It is possible to provide technology that makes it easy to assemble, repair, and inspect an automatic ice making machine and to clean an ice tray. In addition, taking into account the ease of operation, the ice tray can be removed and stored by sliding, and the ice tray can be stored and held in its normal position and easily removed. I will provide a.

The automatic ice making machine according to the first aspect of the present invention freezes the water in the ice tray by the cold air discharged from the cold air passage on the back side of the ice making chamber in the freezer and rotates the ice tray by an electric mechanism and twists it. In the automatic ice maker configured to drop the ice in the ice tray downward by providing the automatic ice maker, the automatic ice maker is provided in a housing member that is slidably supported in the front-rear direction on left and right rail portions provided in the ice making chamber. The housing member is provided with a storage portion of the electric mechanism at a rear portion and an ice tray storage portion whose upper surface is covered with a cover at a front portion thereof, and the ice tray storage portion An ice tray support that supports the ice tray so as to be rotatable and detachable upward is housed slidably in the front-rear direction, and a power transmission that connects the rear portion of the ice tray and the electric mechanism. And a power line to the electric mechanism includes a connector provided in the ice making chamber and a connector provided in the rear part of the housing member. A housing member lock configured to be detachable by sliding the member in the front-rear direction, sliding the left and right rail portions to hold the housing member housed in the ice making chamber in a normal position and manually releasing the lock. An ice tray support body lock device configured to lock the ice tray support body in a normal position with respect to the housing member and to manually release the lock, the housing member lock device includes: A lock lever rotatably provided on the front wall of the housing member is engaged with and disengaged from a locking recess of the ceiling wall of the ice making chamber, and the ice tray support The body locking device is configured such that a locking protrusion provided on the ice tray supporter rotatably supports a locking portion provided on the housing member by a spring force applied to the pulling handle. The ice tray is configured such that the engagement is released by the rotation of the pulling handle against the spring force, and the ice tray is removed to an exposed position where the ice tray can be removed with the electric mechanism left in the housing member. A stopper device for limiting the drawer of the ice tray support is provided at this position so that the support is pulled out, and the stopper device supports the ice tray when the ice tray is pulled out from the housing member to a removable position. The elastic locking piece provided at the lower part of the body abuts against a stopper provided at the bottom front part of the housing member, and the drawing out of the ice tray supporter stops, and the elastic locking piece The piece can be manually detached from the stopper portion, and the ice tray supporter can be further pulled out forward of the housing member.

The automatic ice maker according to a second aspect of the present invention is the automatic ice maker according to the first aspect, wherein the stopper device is provided with the elastic lock provided at a lower portion of the ice tray support when the ice tray is pulled out from the main body member to a removable position. The piece is configured to be in a relationship in which the drawing out of the ice tray support is stopped by abutting against the stopper portion provided at the bottom front portion of the main body member.

A third invention is a refrigerator-freezer provided with the automatic ice maker according to the first invention or the second invention.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic ice maker having an ice tray and an electric mechanism portion for rotating the ice tray with a connector that is detachable by sliding the housing member in the front-rear direction on the left and right rail portions provided in the ice making chamber. Since the power line can be attached to and detached from the electric mechanism, the automatic ice maker can be easily attached to and detached from the ice making room, and the ice making room can be pulled out and stored. It becomes easy to do. Further, the automatic ice making machine can be easily assembled, repaired, and inspected, and can be selected to use this ice making room as an ice making room or as a normal frozen food storage room. The ice tray of the automatic ice making machine is supported by an ice tray support that is separate from the housing member, so the ice tray can be pulled out by sliding while the electric mechanism remains in the ice chamber. Therefore, it is easy to remove the ice tray and wash it with water without removing the housing member. In addition, since the ice tray support can be held in a normal position with respect to the housing member by the ice tray support lock device, the ice making tray and the electric mechanism can be connected to each other by the detachable power transmission section. The regular connection between the ice tray and the electric mechanism when the tray is stored can be maintained, and a stable ice making operation can be obtained. Since the lock is manually released, the ice tray can be pulled out by the person, so that safe operation can be achieved. Further, when the ice tray support pull-out handle and the lock device are separately provided, the cost increases and the cooperation between the unlocking and the pull-out operation is necessary, and it becomes difficult to operate. Since the engaging projection provided on the drawer handle of the ice tray supporter is engaged with the engaging portion provided on the housing member, the structure is simplified, and a series of ice tray extraction operations are performed. The lock can be released and it becomes easy to operate. In addition, by providing a stopper device that restricts the drawer of the ice tray support at a position where the ice tray can be removed, the ice tray support is not dropped from the main body member by the pull-out operation, and a safe operation is achieved. .

According to the second invention, in addition to the effects of the first invention, the stopper device is an engagement configuration of an elastic locking piece provided at the lower portion of the ice tray support and a stopper portion provided at the bottom front portion of the main body member. Therefore, when the ice tray support is pulled out and stored by sliding, a stable engagement relationship can be obtained even if the ice tray support is swung left and right. Furthermore, the structure can be provided in an inconspicuous portion, and the elastic locking piece and the stopper portion can be formed by molding the ice tray support and the body member, respectively, so that the configuration is simple.

3rd invention can provide the novel refrigerator-freezer which the convenience and usability in the refrigerator-freezer of a full surface opening improved by providing the automatic ice maker which has the above effects.

The present invention provides the above-mentioned method by freezing the water in the ice tray by the cold air discharged from the cold air passage on the back side of the ice making chamber in the freezer and rotating the ice tray by an electric mechanism to give a twist. In the automatic ice maker configured to drop the ice in the ice tray downward, the automatic ice maker is provided on a housing member that is slidably supported in the front-rear direction on left and right rail portions provided in the ice making chamber and is outside the ice making chamber. The housing member is provided with a storage portion of the electric mechanism at a rear portion thereof and an ice tray storage portion whose upper surface is covered with a cover at a front portion thereof, and the ice tray storage portion includes the ice tray. The ice tray supporter that supports the pivotable and detachable upward is housed slidably in the front-rear direction, and the power transmission unit that connects the rear portion of the ice tray and the electric mechanism is the ice making tray. The power line to the electric mechanism includes a connector provided in the ice making chamber and a connector provided in the rear part of the housing member. A housing member locking device configured to be detachable and to slide the left and right rail portions to hold the housing member housed in the ice making chamber in a normal position and to manually release the lock, and the housing An ice tray support body locking device configured to lock the ice tray support body in a normal position with respect to a member and manually release the lock; the housing member locking device includes a front wall of the housing member A lock lever provided on the ceiling wall of the ice making chamber is engaged with and disengaged from a locking recess of the ice making chamber. The pulling handle latching convex portion provided on the ice tray support is pivotally engaged with the latching portion provided on the housing member by the spring force applied to the drawer handle. The ice tray supporter is pulled out to an exposed position where the ice tray can be removed with the electric mechanism left on the housing member. In this position, a stopper device for restricting the drawer of the ice tray support is provided, and the stopper device is provided at a lower portion of the ice tray support when the ice tray is pulled out of the housing member to a removable position. The provided elastic locking piece comes into contact with a stopper provided at the bottom front portion of the housing member to stop the drawing out of the ice tray support, and the elastic locking piece is manually moved forward. The ice tray supporter can be further pulled out forward of the housing member in a configuration that can be removed from the stopper portion . Examples of the invention are described below.

  Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a front view of the refrigerator-freezer of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal side view of the ice making chamber and the freezer compartment where the automatic ice maker of the refrigerator-freezer body of the present invention is installed, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of the automatic ice maker part in a state where the ice making room door of the refrigerator / freezer according to the present invention is opened (drawn), and FIG. FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of the automatic ice making machine slightly pulled out, FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of the automatic ice making machine with the ice making chamber door opened (drawn) and the ice tray of the automatic ice making machine pulled out. FIG. 8 is a front perspective view for explaining a state where the ice making chamber door of the refrigerator / freezer of the present invention is opened (drawn) and the ice tray of the automatic ice maker is pulled out and removed, FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the automatic ice maker of the present invention, FIG. Is a front perspective view of the automatic ice making machine of the present invention, and FIG. 11 is a rear perspective view of the ice making machine, FIG. 11 is a front perspective view of the automatic ice making machine of the present invention with the ice tray being pulled out, and FIG. 12 is a front perspective view of the automatic ice making machine of the present invention with the ice tray being pulled out and removed. 13 is a front perspective view of the automatic ice maker according to the present invention in which a part of the upper wall of the main body member is cut. FIG. 14 is a front perspective view of the automatic ice maker according to the present invention showing a state in which the ice tray is slightly rotated. 15 is a front view of the automatic ice making machine of the present invention shown in a longitudinal section, FIG. 16 is a front view of the automatic ice making machine of the present invention showing a state in which the ice tray is slightly rotated, and FIG. 17 is an automatic ice making machine of the present invention. FIG. 18 is a longitudinal side view showing a state in which the automatic ice making machine of the present invention is slightly pulled out forward of the ice making room, and FIG. 19 shows the automatic ice making machine of the present invention. FIG. 20 is a side view of a longitudinal section showing a state of being slightly pulled further forward than the ice making chamber. FIG. 21 is a vertical side view of the automatic ice maker according to the present invention showing the unlocked state of the ice tray, and FIG. 22 is a vertical side view of the automatic ice maker according to the present invention showing the state where the ice tray is unlocked. It is a vertical side view of the automatic ice making machine of this invention which shows the state which pulled out slightly.

  The refrigerator-freezer 1 which concerns on Example 1 is the structure which partitions off the inside of the refrigerator-freezer main body 2 of front opening, and forms several storage chambers, and the front surface of each of these storage chambers can be opened and closed with a door. The refrigerator-freezer main body 2 has a heat insulating structure in which a foam heat insulating material 2C is filled between an outer box (outer wall plate) 2A and an inner box (inner wall plate) 2B. A refrigerator compartment 3, a freezing temperature compartment 5, and a vegetable compartment 4 are partitioned and provided in the refrigerator main body 2 from the top. In the freezing temperature chamber 5, an ice making chamber 6 having a front opening that is maintained at the freezing temperature is partitioned by a partition plate (partition plate) 41, and a freezing chamber 5 </ b> A that is maintained at the freezing temperature is partitioned in the lower portion. An automatic ice making machine 7 is attached to the upper part of the ice making chamber 6, and an ice storage container 8 is disposed below the automatic ice making machine 7. A freezer compartment 5B is defined on the side of the ice making chamber 6.

  The refrigerating chamber 3 located in the upper part and the freezing temperature chamber 5 (in the figure, the ice making room 6 and the freezing small room 5B) located in the lower part are partitioned by a heat insulating partition wall. The heat insulating partition wall 28 is a heat insulating material 31 in which polyurethane resin is foam-filled between an injection-molded synthetic resin upper plate 29 and an injection-molded synthetic resin lower plate 30, foamed polystyrene or the like previously molded into a predetermined shape, etc. The heat insulating structure provided with the heat insulating material 31 is formed.

  An automatic ice making machine 7 is attached to the upper part of the ice making chamber 6, and an ice storage container 8 having an upper surface opening is disposed immediately below the automatic ice making machine 7. The front opening of the ice making chamber 6 is opened and closed by a pull-out door 14 supported by the support device 18 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction together with the ice storage container 8. The support device 18 is configured such that the rails 16 of the left and right support members 19 extending horizontally from the back side of the door 14 are placed on rollers 17 attached to the left and right walls of the ice making chamber 6. 8, the left and right sides of the ice storage container 8 are placed on the left and right support members 19 so as to be removable upward. With this configuration, with the automatic ice maker 7 left in the ice making chamber 6, the ice storage container 8 is pulled out to the front of the ice making chamber 6 as the pull-out door 14 is pulled out. As shown in FIG. 2, the ice storage container 8 has a size such that the automatic ice maker 7 enters the upper surface opening and wraps the automatic ice maker 7 from below, and the drawer type door 14 is pulled out. It is supported so as to be removable upward from the support member 19.

  The front opening of the refrigerator compartment 3 is opened and closed by a revolving refrigerator door 10 that is rotated laterally by hinge devices 21 </ b> A and 21 </ b> B on one side of the refrigerator refrigerator body 2. The front opening of the vegetable compartment 4 is opened and closed by a drawer-type door 11 that is supported so as to be movable in the front-rear direction together with the vegetable container by a support device using a combination of left and right rails and rollers, as in the ice making compartment 6. Like the ice making chamber 6, the front opening of the freezing chamber 5 </ b> A is a drawer-type door 12 that is supported so as to be movable in the front-rear direction together with the container 15 by a support device that is a combination of left and right rails and rollers provided in the freezing chamber 5 </ b> A. It is opened and closed at. Similar to the ice making chamber 6, the front opening of the freezer compartment 5B is formed in a drawer type door 13 that is supported in the freezer compartment 5B so as to be movable in the front-rear direction together with the container of the upper surface opening by a support device using a combination of left and right rails and rollers. Open and close.

  Reference numeral 20 denotes a refrigerant compressor installed in a machine room provided at the bottom of the refrigerator-freezer main body 2. The refrigerant compressed by the compressor 20 is condensed by a condenser (not shown), and a decompression unit such as a capillary tube is provided. After passing through the evaporator (cooler) 24 and evaporating, the refrigerant is returned to the compressor 20 and compressed again, and a refrigeration cycle is constituted by these. A blower 25 circulates the cold air cooled by the evaporator (cooler) 24 to the freezing room 5A, the ice making room 6 and the freezing small room 5B constituting the freezing temperature room 5, and further to the refrigerating room 3 and the vegetable room 4 through a duct. It is. The freezer compartment 5A, the ice making compartment 6 and the freezer compartment 5B are configured to be cooled by circulating the cool air cooled by the evaporator (cooler) 24 by the blower 25, while the refrigerator compartment 3 and the vegetables The chamber 4 may be configured to be cooled by circulating the cool air cooled by another evaporator (cooler) connected to the refrigeration cycle by another blower.

  The automatic ice making machine 7 includes an electric mechanism 7A and an ice tray 7B that is rotationally driven by the electric mechanism 7A. The electric mechanism 7 </ b> A and the ice tray 7 </ b> B are configured to be removable together with the drawer outside the refrigerator 1, including automatic attachment / detachment of the power supply line to / from the electric mechanism 7 </ b> A. The ice-making tray 7B is formed of a twistable material and has a long shape in the front-rear direction. The ice-making tray 7B is arranged in a plurality of ice-making cells 7B1 such as four rows, five rows, two rows, or six rows in the longitudinal direction. It is made of synthetic resin that is divided into 8 to 12 square ice cubes. The ice storage container 8 is made of a white, transparent, translucent or other color synthetic resin, and has a box shape with a top opening that is longer than the left and right widths.

  Reference numeral 9 denotes a water supply container (also referred to as a water storage container) for storing ice-making water to be supplied to the ice tray 7B of the automatic ice making machine 7. The water supply container 9 has a rectangular shape whose depth is longer than the horizontal width, and is a small chamber partitioned in the refrigerator compartment 3 And is cooled at the temperature in the refrigerator compartment 3. By opening the front door 10 of the refrigerator compartment 3, the water supply container 9 can be taken out to the front of the refrigerator 1 and the upper lid 9A can be opened to inject new water. The ice making water may be pumped from the water supply container 9 by a pump and supplied to the ice tray 7B of the automatic ice making machine 7. In the embodiment, however, the ice making water is supplied from a water supply channel 51 that vertically penetrates the heat insulating partition wall 28 by a natural fall method. The structure supplied to the ice tray 7B of the automatic ice making machine 7 is shown.

  A solenoid 52 is disposed around the water supply channel 51, and the operation rod disposed in the water supply channel 51 is raised by energization of the solenoid 52, and the open / close valve 53 provided at the bottom of the water supply container 9 is pushed up to supply water. The water supply hole 54 at the bottom of the container 9 is opened, and ice-making water is supplied from the water supply channel 51 to the ice tray 7B. Then, when the solenoid 52 is not energized, the on-off valve 53 is lowered by a spring force to close the water supply hole 54 at the bottom of the water supply container 9.

  The automatic ice maker 7 includes an electric mechanism 7A and an ice tray 7B that is rotationally driven by the electric mechanism 7A in the main body member 100. Since the main body member 100 of the automatic ice maker 7 constitutes a frame that combines the respective members, It will be referred to as member 100. In the housing member 100, an electric mechanism 7A and an ice tray 7B are disposed in front of the electric mechanism 7A. The rear part of the housing member 100 is provided with a connector 120 that is detachably connected to a connector 121 provided on the refrigerator-freezer main body 2 side. The housing member 100 can be pulled out to the front of the ice making chamber 6 using the supporting portion 200 as a rail and can be stored in the ice making chamber 6. With such a configuration, the automatic ice maker 7 including the electric mechanism 7A and the ice tray 7B can be removed by pulling forward of the refrigerator 1 and can be stored in the refrigerator 1.

  A specific configuration related to this will be described below. A partition plate 40 between the ice making chamber 6 and the freezer compartment 5B is attached to the left and right middle portions of the synthetic resin lower plate 30 of the heat insulating partition wall 28 constituting the ceiling wall of the ice making chamber 6 and the freezer compartment 5B. Support portions 200 are formed on the left and right side portions near the ceiling wall portion of the chamber 6 so as to perform a rail function in the front-rear direction. Although the support part 200 is formed by integral molding with the lower plate 30, a structure in which the support part 200 is formed in a rail form extending in the front-rear direction integrally or separately from the left and right walls of the ice making chamber 6 may be used. The left and right flange portions 100A of the housing member 100 are placed on the support portion 200 so that they can be pulled out in the front-rear direction. For this reason, the left and right support portions 200 can be referred to as the left and right rail portions 200.

  The housing member 100 is formed with an automatic ice making unit 101 surrounded by front and rear and left and right walls 101A, 101B, 101C, 101D and a bottom wall 101E. The housing member 100 is formed with an auxiliary ice making portion 105 that accommodates an auxiliary ice tray 7C made of synthetic resin that can be manually twisted so that it can be pulled out forward. The automatic ice making unit 101 and the auxiliary ice making unit 105 are adjacently arranged on both the left and right sides with the right wall 101D of the automatic ice making unit 101, which is a partition wall therebetween, as a boundary. The auxiliary ice making unit 105 is surrounded by the front and rear and left and right walls 105A, 105B, 105C (same as 101D), 105D and the bottom wall 105E, and the auxiliary ice tray 7C is placed on the bottom wall 105E so as to be slidable back and forth. . Further, from the form of the housing member 100, the right side wall 105D and the right bottom wall 105E of the auxiliary ice making unit 105 have a structure in which the integrated members Q are combined.

  The front part of the automatic ice making unit 101 forms the storage part 102 of the ice tray 7B, and the rear part of the automatic ice making part 101 forms the storage part 103 of the electric mechanism 7A. The housing member 100 is made of a synthetic resin, and includes a main body member base (hereinafter referred to as a housing main body) 100B and a cover 106 that covers the upper surface thereof. The cover 106 is attached to the housing main body 100B with screws at the fixing portion 106B so as to cover the automatic ice making portion 101 and the auxiliary ice making portion 105, and forms an upper wall of the housing member 100. Therefore, the storage portion 102 of the ice tray 7B is an area surrounded by the cover 106, the front wall 101A, the left and right walls 101C, 101D, and the bottom wall 101E. The storage portion 103 of the electric mechanism 7A is an area surrounded by the cover 106, the rear wall 101B, the left and right walls 101C, 101D, and the bottom wall 101E. The auxiliary ice making section 105 is an area surrounded by the cover 106, the front wall 105A, the left and right walls 105C, 105D, and the bottom wall 105E. In order to improve the cooling from the bottom surface of the ice tray 7B, a hollow portion R is formed in the bottom wall 101E of the storage portion 102, and in order to improve the cooling from the bottom surface of the auxiliary ice tray 7C, an auxiliary A hollow portion S is formed in the bottom wall 105E of the ice making portion 105.

  In the storage portion 102 of the ice tray 7B, a frame-shaped ice tray support 104 that supports the ice tray 7B is placed on the bottom wall 101E so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction. In the electric mechanism 7A, an electric motor and a speed reduction mechanism that is a combination of a plurality of gears rotated by the electric motor are housed in a case, and a drive shaft 110 that decelerates in front of the case protrudes in the horizontal direction. In the electric mechanism 7A, the left and right engaging claws 7A1 formed on the front upper part of the case are held in the storage portion 103 in a state of being engaged with the engaging portion 106B of the cover 106.

  A horizontal shaft portion 70 is formed at the front portion of the ice tray 7B, and a bearing portion 71 that rotatably supports the shaft portion 70 of the ice tray 7B is formed at the front portion of the ice tray support 104. Yes. The bearing portion 71 is opened upward, and the shaft portion 70 of the ice tray 7B can be taken out and placed on the bearing portion 71 in the vertical direction. A driven shaft 72 is formed at the rear of the ice tray 7B. The drive shaft 110 of the electric mechanism 7A and the driven shaft portion 72 of the ice tray 7B are non-circularly coupled so that the non-circular portion of the drive shaft 110 can be detachably fitted to the driven shaft portion 72 in the front-rear direction. The power transmission unit 80 is configured.

  At the rear of the ice tray support 104, a circular hole support portion 73 is formed in which a driven shaft portion 72 provided at the rear of the ice tray 7B is supported in a penetrating state. The driven shaft portion 72 at the rear part of the ice tray 7B may be formed simultaneously with the ice tray 7B, but in the embodiment, the driven shaft member 75 in which the front shaft 77 is fitted to the protruding shaft 74 at the rear portion of the ice tray 7B. Is formed by. The driven shaft member 75 is attached with the upper and lower elastic claws 76 engaged with the protruding shaft 74. Since the driven shaft portion 72 is loosely fitted to the support portion 73, the electric mechanism 7A is pulled by pulling the ice tray 7B forward while the shaft portion 70 of the ice tray 7B is slightly lifted from the bearing portion 71. Since the driven shaft portion 72 of the ice tray 7B is detached from the drive shaft 110, the ice tray 7B can be removed from the ice tray support 104 upward.

  In addition, when the ice tray 7B is placed on the ice tray support 104, pulling the ice tray support 104 forward removes the driven shaft 72 from the drive shaft 110, and the ice tray 7B has a front portion. With the shaft portion 70 placed on the bearing portion 71, the rear driven shaft portion 72 is placed on the support portion 73. In this state, the ice tray 7B is held in a substantially horizontal state, and the ice tray 7B is prevented from falling off. Then, the ice tray 7B can be removed upward from the ice tray support 104. Thus, since the ice tray 7B can be held in a substantially horizontal state with the ice tray support 104 being pulled out, the ice tray 7B is placed on the ice tray support 104 and is slid to the normal position. In this case, the driven shaft portion 72 and the drive shaft 110 can be connected smoothly.

  In the present invention, as described above, the ice tray 7B is pivotally supported by the ice tray support 104 that is slidably supported by the housing member 100, which is a main body member, and the electric mechanism 7A is left in the housing member 100. In this state, the ice tray support 104 can be pulled out of the freezing temperature chamber 6 together with the ice tray 7B. In addition, a lock device is provided in which the ice tray support 104 is locked to a normal position with respect to the housing member 100 and the lock is manually released.

  As one form of this locking device, a drawer handle 78 is rotatably attached to the front surface portion of the ice tray support 104. The handle 78 is positioned in front of the front wall 104A so as to keep a distance from the front wall 104A of the ice tray support 104, and an upper part is rotatably supported by a shaft 78A, and an applied spring (not shown) force is provided. Thus, the locking projection 79 protruding upward is engaged with the locking portion 81 formed on the cover 106. With this engaged state, the ice tray support 104 is kept in the normal position of the storage portion 102 of the ice tray 7B, and the drive shaft 110 of the electric mechanism 7A and the driven shaft portion 72 of the ice tray 7B are fitted. Thus, power transmission is possible.

  When the ice tray support 104 is pulled forward from the housing member 100, the handle 78 is rotated by pulling it forward (forward) against the spring force, and the locking projection 79 is disengaged from the locking portion 81. Therefore, the ice tray support 104 can be pulled forward from the housing member 100. In order to prevent the ice tray support 104 from falling off the housing member 100 in a state where the entire upper surface of the ice tray 7B is almost exposed and the ice tray 7B is pulled out from the ice tray support 104 to a position where it can be removed. A stopper device 111 is provided. In this manner, the ice tray 7B can be detached from the ice tray support 104 with almost all the ice tray 7B being pulled out.

  When the ice tray 7B is pulled out from the housing member 100, which is a main body member, to the detachable position by pulling out the ice tray support 104, the stopper device 111 is provided with an elastic locking piece 112 provided at the lower portion of the ice tray support 104. The locking projection 113 is in contact with a stopper portion 111 provided at the bottom front portion of the housing member 100 so that the drawing out of the ice tray support 104 is stopped. In the state stopped by the stopper device 111, the ice tray 7B can be taken out from the ice tray support 104. Further, when removing the ice tray support 104 from the state stopped by the stopper device 111, the ice tray support 104 is supported in a state where the elastic locking piece 112 is pushed up from below to remove the locking projection 113 from the stopper portion 114. This is accomplished by pulling the body 104 forward of the housing member 100.

  The elastic locking piece 112 is formed by integral molding with the bottom of the synthetic resin ice tray support 104, and the stopper 111 is formed by integral molding with the bottom wall of the synthetic resin housing member 100. The device 111 can be easily formed in an inconspicuous place.

  In the present invention, since the ice tray 7B can be taken out of the ice making chamber 6 with the electric mechanism 7A left in the ice making chamber 6, even when the ice tray 7B is washed with water, the electrical components are not splashed with water. It is. As a configuration that exhibits this effect, since the electric mechanism 7A for rotationally driving the ice tray 7B is housed in the rear portion of the automatic ice making unit 101, the cold air cooled by the evaporator (cooler) 24 is converted into the ice tray 7B. It cannot be introduced into the ice tray 7B from behind. For this reason, in order to introduce the cool air cooled by the evaporator (cooler) 24 from the cool air passage 91 to the ice tray 7B, the cool air introduction path 90 is formed so as to bypass the automatic ice making machine 7. The cold air introduction path 90 is depressed at a portion corresponding to the auxiliary ice making unit 105 of the cover 106, and automatic ice making is performed so that the cold air supplied from the cold air passage 91 flows into the ice tray storage unit 102 from the side of the ice tray 7B. A cold air introduction path 90 is bent at the side of the portion 101.

  The cold air cooled by the evaporator (cooler) 24 flows from the cold air passage 91 to the cold air introduction passage 90 by the blower 25 and also flows from the cold air passage 92 to the freezer compartment 5A. The cold air that has flowed into the cold air introduction path 90 is diverted by the flow dividing wall 90 </ b> A and flows into the ice tray storage unit 102 from the right side surface of the ice tray storage unit 102. The cold air flowing into the freezer compartment 5A cools the freezer compartment 5A, then returns to the periphery of the evaporator (cooler) 24 from the suction port 93, and is cooled again to circulate as described above.

  The ice tray storage unit 102 and the auxiliary ice making unit 105 communicate with each other through a cold air passage so that the cold air on the ice tray 7B passes to the auxiliary ice tray 7C. That is, the cold air that has flowed into the ice tray receiving section 102 from the cold air introduction path 90 formed by recessing the portion corresponding to the auxiliary ice making section 105 of the cover 106 flows around the ice tray 7B to cool the ice tray 7B. The water in it can be frozen. A wall in which a part of the cold air is a vent hole 83 formed in the right side wall of the ice tray support 104 and a partition wall between the ice tray storage portion 102 and the auxiliary ice making portion 105 that are opened at a position overlapping the vent hole 83. The auxiliary ice tray 7C in the auxiliary ice tray 105 is cooled through the vent hole 84 formed in 101D (same as 105C) to freeze the water in the auxiliary ice tray 7C, so that the hollow portion S and the right side wall 105D It flows out from the vent hole 87 to the ice making chamber 6. Further, the other portions of the cold air that flowed around the ice tray 7B are a portion that flows out from the hollow portion R to the ice making chamber 6 below, and a vent hole 85 formed in the left side wall of the ice tray support 104. There is a portion that flows out to the ice making chamber 6 through a vent hole 86 formed in the left side wall 101C of the ice tray storage unit 102 that is vacated at a position overlapping the vent hole 85. The cold air that has flowed out into the ice making chamber 6 flows into the freezing chamber 5A through a gap around the bottom plate 47 of the ice making chamber 6 and returns to the surroundings of the evaporator (cooler) 24 through the suction port 93 and is cooled again. Repeat the above cycle.

  As described above, the automatic ice maker 7 is supported by the left and right rail portions 200 provided in the ice making chamber 6 in which the housing member 100 is the freezing temperature chamber so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction. For this reason, the automatic ice making machine 7 can be pulled out of the ice making chamber 6 by pulling out the housing member 100 with the front door 14 pulled out and the ice storage container 8 pulled out forward, and can be stored by sliding. . In order to store and hold the automatic ice making machine 7 in a regular position in the ice making chamber 6, a lock device 95 is provided for holding the housing member 100 in the regular position. The locking device 95 is pivotable on the front wall of the housing member 100, and a locking recess 97 formed by recessing upward in the synthetic resin lower plate 30 of the heat insulating partition wall 28 constituting the ceiling wall of the ice making chamber 6. It is comprised in combination with the lock lever 96 attached to.

  The housing member 100 can be held in the normal position by engaging the upper end of the lock lever 96 with the locking recess 97 while the housing member 100 is stored in the normal position. Further, the housing member 100 can be pulled out from the ice making chamber 6 in a state where the lock lever 96 is rotated and removed from the locking recess 97.

  The ice making water supplied from the water supply channel 51 to the ice making tray 7B is supplied to one ice making cell 7B1 of the ice making tray 7B, and is sequentially supplied from there to another ice making cell 7B1 by overflow. Therefore, a water supply hole 106A is formed in the cover 106 at a position corresponding to one ice making cell 7B1 at the rear of the ice tray 7B, and the lower end of the water supply path 51 corresponds to the water supply hole 106A. A groove 106 </ b> D is formed in the cover 106 so as to open rearward from the water supply hole 106 </ b> A so that the lower end of the pipe forming the water supply path 51 does not hit the cover 106 when the housing member 100 is pulled forward.

  As described above, the automatic ice making machine 7 is attached to the housing member 100 disposed along the upper wall 30 of the ice making chamber 6 so as to be disposed in the vicinity of the upper wall of the ice making chamber 6, and the freezing temperature chamber. Are supported by the left and right rail portions 200 provided in the ice making chamber 6 so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction. For this reason, the electric line which electrically connects the electrical equipment part and control circuit part by the side of the refrigerator-freezer main body 2 and the electric mechanism 7A is a detachable connector mechanism. This specific configuration will be described below.

  The housing member 100 is provided with an automatic ice maker 7 side connector 120, and a connector 121 to which electric power is supplied from an electrical component (not shown) of the refrigerator refrigerator body 2 through a lead wire is provided on the refrigerator refrigerator body 2 side. Is provided. The automatic ice maker 7 side connector 120 connected to the electric mechanism 7A is provided to protrude rearward from the rear portion of the housing member 100, specifically, to the housing main body 100B. The connector 121 on the side of the refrigerator main body 2 is attached to the synthetic resin lower plate 30 so as to be disposed in the vicinity of the upper wall 30 of the ice making chamber 6. In order for the automatic ice making machine 7 to be housed in the refrigerator-freezer 1, the left and right portions 100 </ b> A of the housing member 100 are placed on the support portion 200 and pushed in, so that the automatic ice-making machine 7 reaches a predetermined position in the refrigerator-freezer 1. 120 is connected to the connector 121. In order to facilitate the pushing-in of the housing member 100, the combination of the housing member 100 and the support portion 200 is provided with a little flexibility, so that the connector 120 and the connector 121 are also joined slightly. As a result, the connection between the connector 120 and the connector 121 becomes smooth.

  As a specific configuration, the terminal portion of the connector 120 is constituted by a protruding pin, and the connector 121 is a terminal portion in the form of a hole into which the protruding pin is inserted. Even if it is shifted to the left or right, the entrance of the hole of the connector 121 is slightly widened so that the protruding pin of the connector 120 can easily enter the hole of the connector 121. Further, the connector 120 has a flexible mounting structure so that the connector 120 can move slightly in the vertical and horizontal directions.

  In the automatic ice maker 7, the housing member 100 is supported by the left and right rail portions 200 provided in the ice making chamber 6 that is a freezing temperature chamber so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction. If it is removed from the chamber 6, the ice storage container 8 can be used as a storage container for frozen food. Furthermore, by removing the ice storage container 8 from the ice making chamber 6, the ice making chamber 6 can be used as a freezing room for storing frozen food.

  Since the terminal portion of the connector 121 is exposed to the ice making chamber 6 with the housing member 100 pulled out and the automatic ice making machine 7 removed from the ice making chamber 6, there is a risk that the user of the refrigerator / freezer 1 touches the terminal portion of the connector 121. In order to prevent other objects from fitting into the terminal portion of the connector 121, and to prevent water from adhering to the terminal portion of the connector 121, the terminal portion of the connector 121 is covered. A connector cover 130 is provided. The connector cover 130 has a rear end support portion 132 attached to the synthetic resin lower plate 30 so that the front cover portion 131 moves up and down. Therefore, the connector cover 130 is made of a synthetic resin having elasticity so that the cover portion 131 moves up and down while being supported by the rear end support portion 132, and the connector cover 130 is made elastic. Any of the structures made of an unexpected synthetic resin and having a shaft support structure that can be rotated by the support portion 132 may be used. In order to prevent the connector 120 and the connector 121 from freezing and becoming unremovable, an electric heater for heating the connector 121 can be provided.

  The connector cover 130 is lowered so that the cover portion 131 covers the terminal portion of the connector 121 when the housing member 100 is pulled out from the ice making chamber 6. In this state, the housing member 100 is slid rearward along the left and right rail portions 200 in order to store the housing member 100 in the ice making chamber 6, so that the cover portion 131 protrudes rearward of the housing member 100. The terminal portion of the connector 121 is gradually exposed by being pushed up along the inclined surface of the upper surface of the pair of operating portions 133. Further, when the housing member 100 slides rearward along the left and right rail portions 200, when the connector 120 is inserted into the connector 121 and the housing member 100 is stored in the normal position, both connectors are properly connected. It becomes a state.

  When the housing member 100 is pulled out from the ice making chamber 6, the connector 120 is detached from the connector 121 and the cover portion 131 gradually descends along the inclined surface on the upper surface of the operating piece 133. At a predetermined pull-out position of 100, the connector 120 is detached from the connector 121, and the cover part 131 covers the terminal portion of the connector 121 from the front surface.

  The pair of left and right operating pieces 133 are disposed close to both the left and right sides of the connector 120 to protect the connector 120, and the cover portion 134 of the housing member 100 is configured to cover the pair of left and right operating pieces 133 from both the left and right sides and the lower side. It is provided on the rear wall. When the housing member 100 is pulled out, the cover part 134 protects the connector 120 and the pair of left and right operating pieces 133 from collision with other objects.

  The ice making operation of the automatic ice making machine 7 includes an ice making process and a deicing process controlled by a control circuit unit provided in the refrigerator 1. When the ice making process is started in a state where a sufficient amount of ice making water is contained in the water supply container 9 set at a predetermined position in the refrigerator compartment 3, the solenoid 52 is energized for a predetermined time by the control circuit unit, and is opened and closed. The valve 53 opens the water supply port 54, and a predetermined amount of ice making water required for one ice making is automatically supplied to the ice making tray 7B by natural fall.

  By supplying water to the ice tray 7B, the water in the ice tray 7B is frozen, and when the timer means of the control circuit unit has passed for a certain period of time, or the ice tray sensor detects the lowered temperature of the ice tray 7B when ice is formed. Then, the deicing process is started by the control circuit unit, the electric mechanism 7A is started, and the ice tray 7B is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 8 and reversed, and the protrusion provided at the front portion of the ice tray 7B. 7B2 comes into contact with the stopper 104B of the ice tray support 104, and the ice tray 7B is twisted, and the ice in the ice tray 7B is dropped to the ice storage container 8 below. After this twisting, the ice tray 7B is returned and rotated clockwise in FIG. 8, and the ice tray 7B returns to the horizontal state. In this state, the next ice making process starts automatically, and after supplying water again, the above operation is performed. By performing such an ice making operation cycle, ice is stored in the ice storage container 8. In the deicing step, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 16, the ice tray 7B may be rotated clockwise.

  The amount of ice in the ice storage container 8 is detected by the ice detecting lever 140 that is lowered by the electric mechanism 7A for each ice making process. The ice detecting lever 140 is disposed on the side of the ice tray 7B so as not to obstruct the rotation of the ice tray 7B, and enters the ice storage container 8 through the hollow portion R to detect the amount of ice. When the amount of ice in the ice storage container 8 becomes full, the ice detecting lever 140 is restricted from descending by the ice, so this state is electrically detected and the ice tray before entering the next ice making process. It is a mechanism to stop water supply to 7B.

  The automatic ice making machine of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and the arrangement relationship of the refrigerator compartment, the freezing room, the ice making room, etc. of the refrigerator-freezer is not limited to the above form and deviates from the technical scope of the present invention. Unless otherwise specified, it can be applied to various types of refrigerator-freezers.

It is a front view of the present invention refrigerator-freezer. Example 1 It is a vertical side view of the ice making room and the freezing room part which installed the automatic ice making machine of the refrigerator-freezer main body of this invention. Example 1 It is a front view of the automatic ice maker part of this invention refrigerator-freezer. Example 1 It is a front perspective view of the automatic ice maker part of the state which opened the ice-making chamber door of this invention refrigerator refrigerator (drawn). Example 1 It is a front perspective view of the state which opened the ice-making chamber door of this invention refrigerator refrigerator, and pulled out the whole automatic ice making machine a little. Example 1 It is a front perspective view of the state which opened the ice-making chamber door of this invention refrigerator refrigerator, and pulled out the ice tray of the automatic ice maker. Example 1 It is a front perspective view explaining the state which opened the ice-making chamber door of this invention refrigerator refrigerator and pulled out the ice-making tray of the automatic ice maker. Example 1 It is a disassembled perspective view of the automatic ice making machine of this invention. Example 1 It is a front perspective view of the automatic ice making machine of this invention. Example 1 It is a back perspective view of the automatic ice making machine of this invention. Example 1 It is a front perspective view of the automatic ice maker of the present invention in the state where an ice tray was pulled out. Example 1 It is a front perspective view of the automatic ice making machine of the present invention in a state where the ice tray is pulled out and removed. Example 1 It is a front perspective view of the automatic ice making machine of this invention which cut | disconnected a part of upper wall of the main-body member. Example 1 It is a front perspective view of the automatic ice making machine of this invention which shows the state which the ice-making tray rotated a little. Example 1 It is a front view of the automatic ice maker of the present invention shown in a longitudinal section. Example 1 It is a front view of the automatic ice making machine of this invention which shows the state which the ice-making tray rotated a little in the longitudinal section. Example 1 It is a vertical side view of the state in which the automatic ice making machine of the present invention is attached to the ice making chamber. Example 1 It is a vertical side view which shows the state which pulled out the automatic ice making machine of this invention a little to the ice making chamber front. Example 1 It is a vertical side view which shows the state which pulled out the automatic ice making machine of this invention a little further ahead of the ice making chamber from FIG. Example 1 It is a vertical side view of the automatic ice maker of the present invention in which the ice tray is stored. Example 1 It is a vertical side view of the automatic ice making machine of this invention which shows the state which removed the lock | rock of the ice tray. Example 1 It is a vertical side view of the automatic ice making machine of the present invention showing a state where the lock is removed and the ice tray is slightly pulled out. Example 1

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Refrigeration refrigerator 2 ... Refrigeration refrigerator main body 3 ... Refrigeration room 4 ... Vegetable room 5 ... Freezing room 5A ... Freezing room 6 ... Ice making room 7 ... Automatic ice making machine 7A · · Electric mechanism 7B · · Ice tray 7C · · Auxiliary ice tray 8 · · · ice storage container 9 · · · water supply container 24 · · cooler 25 · · blower 28 · · heat insulation partition wall of the refrigerator compartment and ice making chamber 29 ·・ Insulating partition wall top plate 30 ..Insulating partition wall bottom plate 31 ..Insulating material 51 ..Water supply channel 52 ..Solenoid 53 ..Opening / closing valve 54 ..Water supply port 70 ..Shaft part 71 of ice tray · Bearing portion 72 · · · A driven shaft portion of the ice tray 73 · · · A support portion at the rear portion of the ice tray · · · 78 · Handle 78A · · · shaft 79 · · · projection convex 80 · · · power transmission portion 81 · .... Locking part 95 ... Locking device 96 ... Lock lever 97 ... Locking recess 100 ... Body member (housing member)
100A .. Left and right parts of main body member (housing member) 100B .. Main body member base (housing main body)
101.. Automatic ice making unit 102.. Ice tray storage unit 103.. Electric mechanism storage unit 104.. Ice tray support 105.. Auxiliary ice making unit 106.. Cover 110... Drive shaft 111. · · Elastic locking piece 114 · · Stopper portion 120 · · Refrigerator main body side connector 121 · · Automatic ice maker side connector 130 · · Connector cover 200 · · Support portion (rail portion)

Claims (3)

  The ice tray water is frozen by the cold air discharged from the cold air passage on the back side of the ice making chamber in the refrigerator to the ice making chamber, and the ice tray is rotated by an electric mechanism to give a twist. In the automatic ice maker configured to drop the ice downward, the automatic ice maker is provided on a housing member slidably supported in the front-rear direction on left and right rail portions provided in the ice making chamber and can be pulled out of the ice making chamber. The housing member is provided with a storage part of the electric mechanism at the rear part and an ice tray storage part whose upper surface is covered with a cover at a front position thereof, and the ice tray can be rotated in the ice tray storage part. An ice tray support that is detachably supported upward is housed slidably in the front-rear direction, and a power transmission unit that connects the rear portion of the ice tray and the electric mechanism is provided on the ice tray support. The power line to the electric mechanism is detachable by a rear slide, and the connector provided in the ice making chamber and the connector provided in the rear part of the housing member are detachable by a slide in the front / rear direction of the housing member. A housing member locking device configured to slide the left and right rail portions to hold the housing member housed in the ice making chamber in a normal position and to manually release the lock, and to the housing member The ice tray support body is provided with a lock device for the ice tray support body configured to lock the ice tray support body in a normal position and manually release the lock, and the housing member lock device rotates on the front wall of the housing member. A lock lever provided freely engages and disengages with a locking recess of the ceiling wall of the ice making chamber, and the ice tray support locking device includes The pulling handle latching convex portion provided on the ice tray support so as to be pivotable is latched to the latching portion provided on the housing member by the spring force applied to the drawer handle, and resists the spring force. The ice making tray support is pulled out to an exposed position where the ice tray can be removed while the electric mechanism is left on the housing member. At this position, a stopper device is provided for restricting the drawer of the ice tray support, and the stopper device is provided with an elastic member provided at a lower portion of the ice tray support when the ice tray is pulled out from the housing member to a removable position. The locking piece comes into contact with a stopper provided at the bottom front portion of the housing member, and the drawer of the ice tray support is stopped. The elastic locking piece is manually moved to the stopper. An automatic ice making machine characterized in that the ice tray supporter can be further pulled out forward of the housing member in a configuration that can be detached from the part. In the stopper device, when the ice tray is pulled out from the main body member to a detachable position, the elastic locking piece provided at the lower portion of the ice tray support is provided at the bottom front portion of the main body member. 2. The automatic ice maker according to claim 1, wherein the automatic ice maker is configured so as to come into contact with a stopper portion and to stop drawing out the ice tray support . A refrigerator-freezer comprising the automatic ice maker according to claim 1 or 2.

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