JP7465182B2 - Ice maker - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to an ice maker in which the water tray is pivotally supported so that it can tilt relative to the ice making section.

Ice-making machines capable of producing large amounts of ice blocks are suitable for use in facilities such as coffee shops and restaurants, as well as in other kitchens. Some ice-making machines are equipped with a so-called closed-cell type ice-making mechanism that produces ice blocks by correspondingly spraying ice-making water from a water tray with the opening of the ice-making chamber closed into the ice-making chamber, and then dropping and releasing the produced ice blocks by tilting the water tray in a direction away from the ice-making chamber (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

The ice maker disclosed in Patent Document 1 is provided with a mounting frame in which an ice making chamber that opens downward is mounted within a box body in which an ice storage chamber is defined, and a pair of support parts spaced apart in the front-rear direction vertically attached to the underside of the mounting frame support a pair of corresponding support parts provided on the water tray, so that the water tray can be tilted up and down relative to the ice making chamber (ice making section). Specifically, the pair of support parts are each provided with a shaft hole aligned in the front-rear direction of the box body, and one support part (the rear side of the box body) has a shaft part that protrudes rearward fixed thereto, and the other support part (the front side of the box body) has a hole. The shaft part of one support part is inserted into the shaft hole of the corresponding support part, and the hole part of the other support part is aligned in the front-rear direction with the shaft hole of the corresponding support part, and the shaft part of a shaft with a locking piece protruding radially outward from the periphery of the shaft part is inserted into the shaft hole and hole part, so that the water tray is supported by the mounting frame so as to be tiltable. In addition, a through hole is formed in the shaft portion that protrudes forward from the hole in the shaft support, and a snap pin is inserted into the through hole and attached to the shaft portion to prevent the shaft from coming loose.

JP 2008-175494 A

The water tray of an ice maker becomes dirty over time due to impurities contained in the tap water used to make ice, and so it must be removed from the box (mounting frame) and cleaned or otherwise maintained from time to time. In the ice maker disclosed in Patent Document 1, the snap pin used to prevent the shaft from coming loose is small and difficult to handle, so there is a risk that the snap pin may be accidentally dropped while attaching or detaching the snap pin to the shaft. This creates the problem that the worker must be careful not to drop the snap pin when removing and attaching the water tray during maintenance, which must be done from time to time, which places a heavy burden on the worker. In addition, the working space inside the box for attaching and detaching the water tray is narrow, and the work of attaching and detaching the snap pin, which is difficult to handle, is also a factor that reduces work efficiency.

In other words, the present invention has been proposed in consideration of the problems inherent in the conventional technology described above, and aims to provide an ice maker that is easy to remove and install the water tray and reduces the burden on the operator.

In order to overcome the above problems and achieve the intended object, the ice making machine according to the invention of claim 1 comprises:
An ice making machine comprising a water tray pivotally supported by a support member and tiltable between an ice making position for making ice blocks in the ice making section and a de-icing position for allowing ice blocks to be discharged from the ice making section, the water tray being pivotally supported by inserting an axle provided on one of a support section provided on the support member and a support section provided on the water tray into an axle hole provided on the other of the support section,
a stopper supported on the shaft support portion and movable in a direction in which the shaft portion is inserted into or removed from the shaft hole between a restricting position where a restricting portion overlaps with the support portion to restrict removal of the shaft portion from the shaft hole and a releasing position where the restricting portion does not overlap with the support portion to allow removal of the shaft portion from the shaft hole,
The gist of the invention is that the shaft portion can be inserted and removed from the shaft hole with the stopper positioned at the release position.
In the invention of claim 1, the water tray can be attached to and detached from the support member by a simple operation of simply moving the stopper supported on the pivot support to the release position, improving the efficiency of the work of attaching and detaching the water tray. Also, since there is no need to remove the stopper from the pivot support, there is no risk of accidentally dropping parts during work, and the burden on the worker can be reduced.

The invention according to claim 2 is as follows:
an engaging portion is provided on one of the pivot support portion and the stopper, and an engaged portion with which the engaging portion can be engaged is provided on the other of the pivot support portion and the stopper;
The engaging portion and the engaged portion are configured to be engageable with each other when the stopper is positioned at the regulating position.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, by engaging the engaging portion with the engaged portion, the stopper can be easily positioned at the appropriate regulating position, and the ease of installation can be improved.

The invention according to claim 3 is
a guide hole formed in the pivot support portion and capable of guiding the stopper that moves between the restricting position and the releasing position;
A screw hole provided in the stopper;
a screw that attaches a stopper to the shaft support portion so as to be movable along the guide hole in a state in which a screw shaft portion inserted into the guide hole is screwed into the screw hole,
The stopper is moved along the guide hole and positioned at the regulated position, and is fixed to the shaft support by tightening the screw.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the stopper can be moved or positioned and fixed in the regulated position by the simple operation of tightening and loosening the screw, facilitating the installation and removal of the water tray.

The invention according to claim 4 is
the guide hole includes a slide portion extending in a moving direction of the stopper, and a positioning portion communicating with a release position side of the slide portion and extending in a direction intersecting the moving direction,
The gist of the invention is that the stopper is configured to be displaced in a direction intersecting the moving direction when the screw shaft portion of the screw moves from the slide portion to the positioning portion.
In the invention of claim 4, when the stopper is moved toward the release position, the threaded shaft portion moves to the positioning portion and the stopper is displaced, which makes it possible for the worker to notice that the water tray can be removed, and the worker can easily check whether the stopper has reached the release position in a small work space, improving work efficiency. Also, by positioning the threaded shaft portion at the positioning portion, the stopper can be restricted from moving toward the restricted position during work, which saves the worker the trouble of having to hold the stopper in the release position.

The invention according to claim 5 is
The regulating portion extends in a direction intersecting the movement direction of the stopper, and the side surface of the regulating portion on the regulating position side is formed so as to incline toward the release position side as it approaches the end in the extension direction.
In the invention of claim 5, the side surface of the restricting portion on the restricting position side is formed to be inclined, so that the amount of movement of the stopper to the release position where the restricting portion does not overlap with the support portion can be reduced, and the length of the movement direction of the stopper in the support portion and the guide hole can be kept short. In other words, even in a narrow working space, the stopper can be moved to the release position without interfering with other components.

The ice maker according to the present invention makes it easy to remove and install the water tray during maintenance, and reduces the burden on the worker when removing and installing the water tray.

1 is a schematic side view showing a main part of an ice making mechanism of an ice making machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an ice making machine according to an embodiment with a top plate and an upper front wall member removed from a box body. FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the ice making mechanism according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a mounting member and a stopper according to the embodiment. 1A is a schematic front view showing the support portion by the second support portion and the second pivot portion in the embodiment, where (a) shows the state in which the stopper is positioned in the restricted position, and (b) shows the state in which the stopper is positioned in the released position.

Next, the ice-making machine according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the attached drawings, using a preferred embodiment. In the embodiment, the ice-making machine will be described as an automatic jet-type ice-making machine equipped with a so-called closed-cell type ice-making mechanism. In the following description, the side of the ice-making machine shown in FIG. 2 where the door is provided is defined as the front side, and the front-rear direction is indicated, and the left-right direction is the left-right direction when the ice-making machine is viewed from the front in FIG. 2.

Figures 1 to 3 are schematic diagrams showing an ice-making machine according to an embodiment. The ice-making machine has an ice storage chamber 10a defined inside a box 10, which is the main body of the ice-making machine, and an ice-making mechanism 18 consisting of an ice-making chamber (ice-making section) 12, a water tray 14, and an ice-making water tank 16, etc., disposed in the upper part of the inside of the box 10. Specifically, the ice-making chamber 12, which defines a number of ice-making chambers (not shown) that open downward, is fixed and supported below a mounting frame (support member) 20 arranged horizontally on the top of the box 10. An evaporator 22 that communicates with a refrigeration system (not shown) is arranged in a serpentine manner in close contact with the top surface of the ice-making chamber 12, and is configured to circulate a refrigerant to forcibly cool the ice-making chamber 12 during ice-making operation, and to circulate a high-temperature refrigerant (hot gas) to heat the ice-making chamber 12 during de-icing operation. In addition, a water tray 14 is disposed directly below the ice making chamber 12, and an ice making water tank 16 for storing ice making water is disposed below this water tray 14.

The water tray 14 is pivotally supported by pivotal supports 38, 40 provided at a position offset to the left side of the mounting frame 20 via pivotal supports 44, 46 provided on the left side of the water tray 14 so as to be tiltable. The ice-making mechanism 18 is also provided with a known water tray opening/closing mechanism 30 consisting of a cam 24, an actuator motor 26, a coil spring 28, etc. for opening and closing the water tray 14 on the opposite side (right side) of the pivotal support side of the water tray 14. In the ice-making mechanism 18, the water tray 14 is held in a closed position (ice-making position) in which the bottom of each ice-making chamber of the ice-making chamber 12 is closed by the water tray opening/closing mechanism 30 during ice-making operation, as shown in FIG. 3, and ice-making water from the ice-making water tank 16 arranged in the water tray 14 is sprayed and supplied by the ice-making water pump 32 from the water tray 14 to each ice-making chamber cooled by the evaporator 22, and ice blocks are generated in the ice-making chamber (ice-making section). In addition, in the ice-making mechanism 18, during de-icing operation, the water tray 14 is held in an open position (de-icing position) by the water tray opening/closing mechanism 30, which is spaced downward from the ice-making chamber 12 and tilted to allow ice blocks to be released from the ice-making chamber (ice-making section), and ice blocks that are released from the ice-making chamber (ice-making section) and heated by the evaporator 22 are guided to the tilted upper surface of the water tray 14 and fall into the ice storage chamber 10a.

As shown in FIG. 2, a door 34 that opens and closes the outlet 10b corresponding to the front of the ice storage chamber 10a is provided on the front of the box 10, and by opening this door 34, the ice blocks stored in the ice storage chamber 10a can be removed from the outlet 10b. In addition, an upper front wall member 36 that covers the front of the ice making mechanism 18 is removably arranged on the front of the box 10 above the outlet 10b, and by removing the upper front wall member 36, the water tray 14 can be attached and detached from the front of the ice maker. A top plate (not shown) is removably arranged on the top of the box 10.

Next, the support structure of the water tray 14 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 1, the mounting frame 20 has two support parts 38, 40 spaced apart in the front-rear direction (left-right direction in FIG. 1), which are biased toward the left side. Here, of the two support parts 38, 40, the support part 38 located on the rear side, which is the back side of the box body, is referred to as the first support part 38, and the support part 40 located on the front side, which is the front side where the work is performed when attaching and detaching the water tray 14, is referred to as the second support part 40. The first support part 38 is a plate-like part formed to extend downward from the lower surface of the mounting frame 20, and the first support part 38 has an axial hole 38a penetrating in the front-rear direction. The second support part 40 is composed of a support part 41 and an abutment part 42 spaced apart in the front-rear direction. The support part 41 and the abutment part 42 are approximately rectangular plate-like parts formed to extend downward from the lower surface of the mounting frame 20, and the plate surfaces face each other. The support part 41, which is located forward of the abutment part 42, has an axial hole 41a that penetrates in the front-rear direction, and the axial hole 41a is aligned in the front-rear direction with the axial hole 38a of the first support part 38.

The water tray 14 has a mounting member 48 provided on its left side (one of the sides) with two pivotal supports 44, 46 spaced apart in the front-rear direction. As shown in Figures 1, 3, and 4, the mounting member 48 is composed of a fixed portion 48a that is fixed to face the left side of the water tray 14, and pivotal supports 44, 46 that extend leftward (away from the water tray 14) from the front and rear edges of the fixed portion 48a. That is, the two pivotal supports 44, 46 are formed so that their plate surfaces face each other, spaced apart in the front-rear direction across the fixed portion 48a. The two pivotal supports 44, 46 also have extensions 44a, 46a that extend above the top surface of the water tray 14. Here, of the two pivotal supports 44, 46, the pivotal support 44 located on the rear side, which is the innermost side of the box body, is referred to as the first pivotal support 44, and the pivotal support 46 located on the front side, which is the side where the work is performed when attaching and detaching the water tray 14, is referred to as the second pivotal support 46. In the embodiment, the mounting member 48 is formed integrally with the two pivotal supports 44, 46 by bending the front and rear parts of a sheet metal of a specified thickness at right angles.

1 and 4, a first shaft portion (shaft portion) 50 protruding rearward is provided on the extension portion 44a of the first shaft support portion 44, and a second shaft portion (shaft portion) 52 protruding rearward is provided on the extension portion 46a of the second shaft support portion 46. The first shaft portion 50 and the second shaft portion 52 protrude a predetermined length from the rear surface of the shaft support portions 44, 46 along their axes in the front-to-rear direction. The first shaft portion 50 is inserted from the front into the shaft hole 38a of the first support portion 38, and the second shaft portion 52 is inserted from the front into the shaft hole 41a of the support portion 41 of the second support portion 40, whereby the water tray 14 is pivotally supported on the mounting frame 20 so as to be tiltable. The projection dimension of the second shaft portion 52 from the second support portion 46 is set to a length such that, when the rear surface of the second support portion 46 is in contact with the front surface of the support portion 41 of the second support portion 40, the second shaft portion 52 projecting rearward from the support portion 41 does not contact the abutment portion 42. In the embodiment, the projection dimension of the first shaft portion 50 from the first support portion 44 is set to be longer than the projection dimension of the second shaft portion 52 from the second support portion 46.

As shown in FIG. 4, the second shaft support portion 46 is provided with a guide hole 54 penetrating in the front-rear direction at a position lower than the second shaft portion 52, and the stopper 56 that prevents the second shaft portion 52 from coming off the shaft hole 41a of the support portion 41 of the second support portion 40 is configured to be movably guided by the guide hole 54 relative to the second shaft support portion 46. The guide hole 54 is provided with a slide portion 54a that extends a predetermined length in the left-right direction (the movement direction of the stopper 56), and a positioning portion (engaged portion) 54b that communicates with the left end portion of the slide portion 54a (the release position side of the stopper 56 described later) and extends a predetermined length downward (extending in a direction intersecting the movement direction). The stopper 56 is movably attached to the second shaft support portion 46 without falling off by a screw 58 as a connecting means having a screw shaft portion 58b protruding from a head portion 58a.

4, the stopper 56 includes a first surface portion 60 having a screw hole 60a formed therein, into which the screw shaft portion 58b of the screw 58 inserted into the guide hole 54 is screwed, a second surface portion 62 extending rearward from the upper end edge of the first surface portion 60, and a regulating portion 64 extending upward from the rear end edge of the second surface portion 62. The stopper 56 is positioned and fixed to the second shaft support portion 46 by tightening the screw 58 having the screw shaft portion 58b inserted into the guide hole 54 screwed into the screw hole 60a of the first surface portion 60. The front surface of the first surface portion 60 abuts against the rear surface extending from the lower end of the support portion 41 of the second shaft support portion 46 supported by the support portion 41 with the second shaft portion 52. In addition, the stopper 56 is configured such that, by loosening the screw 58, the screw shaft 58b is guided by the guide hole 54, and the stopper 56 can move left and right along the slide portion 54a relative to the second pivot support 46, and can also move up and down between the slide portion 54a and the positioning portion 54b. The distance of the restriction portion 64 from the front surface of the first surface portion 60 is set so that the restriction portion 64 faces the rear of the abutment portion 42 of the second support portion 40 when the stopper 56 is attached to the second pivot support 46 via the screw 58 (see FIG. 1).

The stopper 56 is configured to move left and right and up and down in the front-rear direction, which is the insertion and removal direction of the shaft parts 50, 52 relative to the shaft holes 38a, 41a, between a restriction position (see FIG. 5(a)) where the restriction part 64 overlaps the rear of the abutment part 42 and a release position (see FIG. 5(b)) where the restriction part 64 does not overlap the abutment part 42. In the embodiment, by moving the screw shaft part 58b to the right end (the end close to the water tray 14) of the slide part 54a in the guide hole 54, the stopper 56 is positioned at the restriction position, and the abutment part 42 and the restriction part 64 prevent the water tray 14 from moving forward, restricting the removal of the shaft parts 50, 52 from the shaft holes 38a, 41a. In addition, by moving the screw shaft portion 58b to the positioning portion 54b that communicates with the left end of the sliding portion 54a (the end away from the water tray 14), the stopper 56 is positioned in the release position, allowing the water tray 14 to move forward and the shaft portions 50, 52 to be removed from the shaft holes 38a, 41a. In other words, with the stopper 56 in the release position, the shaft portions 50, 52 can be inserted and removed from the shaft holes 38a, 41a, and the water tray 14 can be removed and attached to the mounting frame 20 (box 10).

The stopper 56 is configured to allow the water tray 14 to tilt around the shafts 50, 52 as a fulcrum when the stopper 56 is positioned and fixed to the second support portion 46 by the screw 58, and the restricting portion 64 separates from the abutment portion 42 of the second support portion 40 without abutting thereon, restricting the second shaft portion 52 from slipping forward from the shaft hole 41a. The restricting portion 64 of the stopper 56, which is screwed and fixed to the second support portion 46 at the restricting position, is always overlapped behind the abutment portion 42 while the water tray 14 tilts between the open position and the closed position (during the operating displacement range), preventing the water tray 14 (second support portion 46) from moving forward, and restricting the second shaft portion 52 from slipping out of the shaft hole 41a of the second support portion 40. In addition, when the stopper 56 is moved to the left from the restricted position and the screw shaft portion 58b moves from the slide portion 54a to the positioning portion 54b, the stopper 56 is displaced a predetermined amount downward intersecting the direction of movement, and it is possible to know that the stopper 56 has reached the release position. Furthermore, the positioning portion 54b has the function of restricting the movement of the stopper 56 to the restricted position by positioning the screw shaft portion 58b in the positioning portion 54b.

The first surface 60 of the stopper 56 is provided with a positioning protrusion 60b that can engage with the positioning portion 54b in the guide hole 54 from the rear side. As shown in FIG. 5(a), the position of this positioning protrusion 60b is set at a position where it can engage with the positioning portion 54b when the stopper 56 is positioned at the regulated position, and the stopper 56 is configured to be positioned and fixed at the regulated position by screwing the stopper 56 to the second support portion 46 with the positioning protrusion 60b engaged with the positioning portion 54b. The stopper 56, which is attached in a movable state to the second support portion 46 by the screw 58, is set to be movable in the front-rear direction by the amount of insertion and removal of the positioning protrusion 60b with respect to the positioning portion 54b.

Here, the restricting portion 64 of the stopper 56 and the abutting portion 42, which cooperates with the restricting portion 64 to prevent the shaft portions 50, 52 from coming off, extend in opposite directions in a direction intersecting the movement direction of the stopper 56 with respect to the second surface portion 62 and the mounting frame 20 when the stopper 56 is attached to the second shaft support portion 46. As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the restricting portion 64 has a side surface on the restricting position side (side surface close to the water tray 14) formed as an inclined surface 64a that inclines toward the release position side as it approaches the end of the extension direction (extension direction) from the second surface portion 62. Specifically, the inclined surface 64a of the restricting portion 64 is inclined so as to be displaced toward the left as it approaches the upper side opposite to the extension direction of the positioning portion 54b relative to the slide portion 54a in the guide hole 54. By forming such an inclined surface 64a on the restricting portion 64, it is possible to reduce the amount of movement of the stopper 56 required for the restricting portion 64 to reach a position where it does not entirely overlap the rear of the abutting portion 42 (see FIG. 5(b)).

[Function of the embodiment]
Next, the operation of the ice maker according to the embodiment will be described. When attaching the water tray 14, the screw shaft portion 58b of the screw 58 inserted from the front side into the guide hole 54 of the second support portion 46 is screwed into the screw hole 60a of the stopper 56 in a loose state, and the stopper 56 is attached in a movable state relative to the second support portion 46. The screw shaft portion 58b is positioned in the positioning portion 54b of the guide hole 54 to position the stopper 56 in the release position. Then, the first shaft portion 50 of the first support portion 44 is inserted from the front side into the shaft hole 38a of the first support portion 38 provided on the mounting frame 20, and the second shaft portion 52 of the second support portion 46 is inserted from the front side into the shaft hole 41a of the second support portion 40 with the regulating portion 64 of the stopper 56 attached to the second support portion 46 positioned rearward of the abutment portion 42 of the second support portion 40. As a result, the water tray 14 is pivotally supported so as to be tiltable relative to the mounting frame 20 .

Next, the stopper 56 is lifted so that the screw shaft portion 58b of the screw 58 moves from the positioning portion 54b to the slide portion 54a, and then the stopper 56 is moved to the right (toward the water tray 14) and the stopper 56 is brought closer to the second pivot support portion 46, engaging the positioning protrusion 60b with the positioning portion 54b. In this state, the screw 58 is tightened to position and fix the stopper 56 at a regulating position where the regulating portion 64 overlaps the rear of the abutment portion 42. With the stopper 56 fixed to the second pivot support portion 46, the second pivot support portion 46 and the stopper 56 do not clamp the second support portion 40 (the support portion 41 and the abutment portion 42) from the front and rear, and tilting of the water tray 14 relative to the mounting frame 20 is permitted. In addition, the movement of the second shaft support portion 46 (water tray 14) to the front side is prevented by the restricting portion 64 abutting against the abutting portion 42, and the second shaft portion 52 is prevented from coming out of the shaft hole 41a of the second support portion 40. In other words, the installation of the water tray 14 can be performed simply by inserting the two shaft portions 50, 52 from the front into the corresponding shaft holes 38a, 41a, respectively, and then tightening the screws 58 from the front, which is easy to work with and has good operability.

During ice-making and de-icing operations in the ice-making mechanism 18, the water tray 14 tilts within an operating displacement range between a closed position and an open position. Here, the stopper 56 screwed to the second pivot support 46 rotates clockwise or counterclockwise relative to the second support 40 of the mounting frame 20 as the water tray 14 tilts, but throughout the operating displacement range of the water tray 14, the stopper 56 faces a restricting position where the restricting portion 64 overlaps the rear of the abutment portion 42 of the second support 40, so the water tray 14 is prevented from moving forward, and the corresponding shaft portions 50, 52 are restricted from coming out of the shaft holes 38a, 41a of both supports 38, 40.

When removing the water tray 14, as shown in FIG. 5(a), the water tray 14 is tilted to the open position, and the parts connected to the water tray 14, such as the coil spring 28 of the water tray opening/closing mechanism 30, are removed. Also, the screw 58 is loosened without being removed, and the stopper 56 is released from the second support portion 46. Then, the stopper 56 is moved to the left (in the direction away from the water tray 14) while the stopper 56 is separated rearward from the second support portion 46 and the positioning protrusion 60b is removed from the positioning portion 54b. As shown in FIG. 5(b), when the screw shaft portion 58b of the screw 58 moves to the left end along the slide portion 54a of the guide hole 54, the screw shaft portion 58b moves to the positioning portion 54b due to the weight of the stopper 56, and the stopper 56 is displaced downward by a predetermined amount. At this time, the stopper 56 reaches a release position where the restricting portion 64 does not overlap the rear of the abutment portion 42, and the second shaft support portion 46 is allowed to move forward. In this state, by moving the water tray 14 forward, the corresponding shaft portions 50, 52 come out of the shaft holes 38a, 41a of both supports 38, 40, and the water tray 14 can be removed from the mounting frame 20 (box body 10).

According to the ice maker of the embodiment, the water tray 14 can be attached and detached without removing the stopper 56, which prevents the shafts 50, 52 from coming out of the shaft holes 38a, 41a of the support parts 38, 40 in the mounting frame 20, from the second shaft support part 46. In other words, there is no need to attach or remove small parts such as snap pins when attaching or detaching the water tray 14, so there is no need to be careful not to drop parts, and the burden on the worker can be reduced. In addition, the water tray 14 can be attached and detached by a simple operation of simply moving the stopper 56 in the left and right directions, so that work efficiency can be improved even in a narrow working space. Furthermore, when attaching the water tray 14 to the mounting frame 20, the positioning protrusion 60b of the stopper 56 can be engaged with the positioning part 54b of the second shaft support part 46, so that the stopper 56 can be easily positioned in the appropriate regulating position, improving the ease of installation. Furthermore, the stopper 56 can be fixed and unlocked from the second pivot support 46 by simply tightening and loosening the screw 58 from the front, making it easy to attach and remove the water tray 14.

When the stopper 56 is moved toward the release position, the screw shaft 58b of the screw 58 moves from the slide portion 54a to the positioning portion 54b, displacing the stopper 56 downward by a predetermined amount, so that it is clear that the stopper 56 has reached the release position. Even if the working space is narrow and the working area is difficult to see from the front, the worker can be made aware that the stopper 56 has reached the release position and the water tray 14 can be removed, and the work of checking whether the stopper 56 has reached the release position or not can be improved in work efficiency. In addition, when installing or removing the water tray 14, if the screw shaft 58b is positioned at the positioning portion 54b, the stopper 56 can be restricted from moving from the release position to the restricted position, so that the worker does not need to hold the stopper 56 to prevent the stopper 56 from moving to the restricted position, which improves workability. In particular, in the embodiment where the water tray 14 is tilted to the open position when attaching or detaching the water tray 14, the stopper 56 can be prevented from moving on its own and returning to the restricted position even if the worker is not holding the stopper 56.

Here, in order to remove the water tray 14 from the second shaft support 46 with the second shaft portion 52 inserted into the shaft hole 41a of the second support 40, it is necessary to move the stopper 56 to the left side to the release position where the regulating portion 64 does not overlap the rear of the abutting portion 42. In this case, the right side surface of the regulating portion 64 in the embodiment is an inclined surface 64a that slopes upward toward the release position, so that the amount of movement of the stopper 56 to the release position can be reduced compared to when the regulating portion 64 is rectangular (see FIG. 5(b)). In other words, the length of the movement direction of the stopper 56 in the second shaft support 46 and the guide hole 54 can be kept short, and the stopper 56 can be moved to the release position without interfering with other components even in a narrow working space. Furthermore, when the screw shaft 58b of the screw 58 moves into the positioning portion 54b of the guide hole 54 and the stopper 56 is displaced downward by a predetermined amount, the inclined surface 64a of the restricting portion 64 is displaced from the two-dot chain line position in FIG. 5(b) to the solid line position, i.e., away from the left end (the end on the release position side) of the abutment portion 42, so that the length by which the stopper 56 moves linearly to the left can be kept shorter.

[Example of change]
The present application is not limited to the configurations of the above-described embodiments, and other configurations may be appropriately adopted. Also, configurations in which the following modified examples are mutually combined may be adopted.
(1) In the embodiment, an axial hole is provided in the support portion of the mounting frame, and an axial portion protruding rearward is provided in the axial support portion of the water tray. However, a configuration can be adopted in which an axial portion protruding forward is provided in the support portion of the mounting frame, an axial hole is provided in the axial support portion of the water tray, and the water tray is inserted into the box body from the front, so that the axial portion of the support portion is inserted into the axial hole of the axial support portion and supported.
(2) In the embodiment, the guide hole is composed of a slide portion and a positioning portion, but a configuration can be adopted in which the positioning portion is omitted and the screw shaft portion moves in the left-right direction on the slide portion to move the stopper between the restricted position and the released position. Also, in a configuration in which the positioning portion is omitted, a configuration can be adopted in which an engaged portion such as a hole or recess with which a positioning protrusion (engagement portion) provided on the stopper can be engaged is provided on the second support portion separately from the guide hole. Note that the engaging portion and the engaged portion may be a protrusion provided on one of the stopper and the second support portion, and a hole or recess provided on the other.
(3) In the embodiment, the regulating portion of the stopper is approximately triangular in shape with the side closest to the water tray in the direction of movement of the stopper inclined, but the shape of the regulating portion may be any shape that overlaps with the rear of the second support portion of the mounting frame within the operating displacement range of the water tray when positioned and fixed in the regulating position.
(4) In the embodiment, the mounting member having the pivot support portion is disposed on the water tray. However, the pivot support portion may be integrally formed with the water tray.

(5) In the embodiment, the second support portion is composed of a support portion and an abutment portion spaced apart in the front-rear direction, but it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the second support portion is composed of only the support portion and the regulating portion of the stopper is shaped so as to be able to abut against the rear surface of the second support portion (support portion) without interfering with the second shaft portion protruding rearward of the second support portion (support portion). Also, if the thickness of the second support portion (support portion) is set to a thickness that does not cause the second shaft portion to protrude rearward, the second shaft portion can be prevented from coming off by the regulating portion having the same shape as in the embodiment, without providing an abutment portion.
(6) In the embodiment, the stopper is configured to be movably attached to the second support portion by a screw, but, for example, a configuration can be adopted in which positioning portions are provided at both ends in the extending direction of the sliding portion of the guide hole, and the second support portion and the stopper are connected by a connecting member (connecting means) inserted into the guide hole so that the second support portion and the regulating portion are spaced apart by a predetermined distance, and the connecting member is positioned at one positioning portion to position the stopper in the regulating position, and the connecting member is positioned at the other positioning portion to position the stopper in the release position.
(7) In the embodiment, an ice-making machine is described in which the water tray is tiltably arranged below the horizontally arranged ice-making chamber (ice-making section). However, any known type of ice-making machine may be used as long as the water tray is tiltable relative to the ice-making chamber (ice-making section), such as an ice-making machine in which the water tray is tiltably arranged to the side of the vertically arranged ice-making chamber (ice-making section).

12 Ice making chamber (ice making section), 14 Water tray, 20 Mounting frame (support member)
38 First support portion (support portion), 38a Shaft hole, 40 Second support portion (support portion), 41a Shaft hole 44 First shaft support portion (shaft support portion), 46 Second shaft support portion (shaft support portion), 50 First shaft portion (shaft portion)
52 Second shaft portion (shaft portion), 54 Guide hole, 54a Slide portion, 54b Positioning portion (engaged portion), 56 Stopper, 58 Screw, 58b Screw shaft portion, 60a Screw hole, 60b Positioning protrusion (engagement portion), 64 Regulating portion

Claims (5)

An ice making machine comprising a water tray (14) journalled to a support member (20) and tiltable between an ice-making position for making ice blocks in an ice-making section (12) and a de-icing position for allowing ice blocks to be discharged from the ice-making section (12), the water tray (14) being journalled by inserting a shaft portion (50, 52) provided on one of support portions (38, 40) provided on the support member (20) and a shaft support portion (44, 46) provided on the water tray (14) into a shaft hole (38a, 41a) provided on the other of the support portions (38, 40) and the water tray (14),
a stopper (56) supported by the shaft support portion (46) and movable in a direction in which the shaft portion (50, 52) is inserted into or removed from the shaft hole (38a, 41a) between a restricting position where a restricting portion (64) overlaps with the support portion (40) to restrict removal of the shaft portion (50, 52) from the shaft hole (38a, 41a) and a releasing position where the restricting portion (64) does not overlap with the support portion (40) and allows removal of the shaft portion (50, 52) from the shaft hole (38a, 41a);
The ice-making machine is characterized in that the shaft portions (50, 52) can be inserted into and removed from the shaft holes (38a, 41a) with the stopper (56) positioned at a release position. an engaging portion (60b) is provided on one of the pivot support portion (46) and the stopper (56), and an engaged portion (54b) with which the engaging portion (60b) can be engaged is provided on the other of the pivot support portion (46) and the stopper (56);
2. The ice making machine according to claim 1, wherein the engaging portion (60b) and the engaged portion (54b) are configured to be engageable with each other when the stopper (56) is positioned at the regulating position. a guide hole (54) formed in the pivot support portion (46) for guiding the stopper (56) which moves between the restricting position and the release position;
A screw hole (60a) provided in the stopper (56);
a screw (58) for attaching the stopper (56) to the shaft support portion (46) so as to be movable along the guide hole (54) in a state in which a screw shaft portion (58b) inserted into the guide hole (54) is screwed into the screw hole (60a),
3. The ice making machine according to claim 1, wherein the stopper (56) moved along the guide hole (54) and positioned at the regulated position is fixed to the axial support portion (46) by tightening the screw (58). the guide hole (54) includes a slide portion (54a) extending in a moving direction of the stopper (56), and a positioning portion (54b) communicating with a release position side of the slide portion (54a) and extending in a direction intersecting the moving direction,
4. The ice making machine according to claim 3, wherein the stopper is displaced in a direction intersecting the moving direction when the screw shaft portion of the screw moves from the slide portion to the positioning portion. The ice making machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the regulating portion (64) extends in a direction intersecting the moving direction of the stopper (56), and a side surface of the regulating portion (64) on the regulating position side is formed so as to incline toward the release position side as it approaches the end in the extension direction.

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