JPH065150B2 - Ice making equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION a. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a new type of ice making device that is not an auger type but can collect ice from above.

b. 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, ice making machines having various types of built-in ice making mechanisms have been known.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. -10265, ice-making water is fountain-supplied from below into a cubic cell having an open bottom to produce ice cubes, and the ice cubes are collected by dropping the ice cubes downward from the cell. As disclosed in the fountain type ice making mechanism and the Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 47-2614, after ice making water is made to flow down on a flat plate to generate plate ice, the plate ice is cut by a heater in the vertical and horizontal directions. A cut-type ice making mechanism is known that produces ice cubes and drops the ice cubes downward.

Further, an auger type ice making mechanism for separating the ice layer formed on the inner surface of the cylinder with an auger screw to form flaky ice pieces, and compressing the ice pieces into hard ice is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 56-40259. It is well known that

c. DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the fountain-type ice making mechanism and the cut-type ice making mechanism described above, the produced ice can only be taken out downward, and the ice storage unit is necessarily arranged below the ice making mechanism. Will be. Therefore, the ice outlet of the ice storage unit will be provided at a lower position that is disadvantageous to the removal work, which is a problem especially for vending machines that want to design the ice discharge position from the lower part of the ice storage unit as high as possible. there were.

Further, in the auger type ice making mechanism, although it is possible to solve the problem of the ice making mechanism of the above-mentioned method, a large force is required in the compression process of the ice pieces, so that a large load is applied to the bearing portion of the auger screw, In addition, since the bearing part is installed in the water passage, impurities such as silica and calcium contained in the water deposit and enter the bearing part, resulting in a very short bearing life and high maintenance costs. There was a problem that required.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an ice making device which does not cause problems such as a short life of a bearing portion and a high maintenance cost in an auger type ice making mechanism, although the ice take-out port can be arranged as high as possible. Is to provide.

d. Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is provided with a guide portion (16a) for guiding the ice (20) upward, which is operated during the ice making cycle. A substantially vertical ice making cylinder (16) having an open upper end, which is provided with an evaporator (23) for cooling the ice making water on the other peripheral surface (16d), and is provided on the ice making cylinder (16) and removed. An ice-melting means (6, 23) for operating during the ice cycle to melt the adhering surface of the ice adhering to the one peripheral surface (16c), and the one peripheral surface of the ice making cylinder (16) ( A plurality of substantially vertical blades (14) extending radially toward (16a) and cooperating with both side surfaces of the blades (14) and the one peripheral surface (16a) of the ice making cylinder (16). To define a plurality of space portions (29) arranged in a ring,
It is intended to provide an ice making device having a rotatable drive / partitioning device (12) and means (17c, 18b) for introducing ice making water into the space (29).

e. Action At the time of ice making, ice making water is introduced into the space (29) defined between the ice making cylinder (16) and the drive / partitioning device (12) by means of introducing ice making water (17c, 18b). This ice-making water is cooled by the refrigerant flowing through the evaporator (23), so that the evaporator (2
On the peripheral surface (16c) on the side opposite to the peripheral surface on which 3) is provided, icing occurs and grows into an ice layer. When the ice grows to a predetermined extent, hot gas is caused to flow through the evaporator (23), which is an ice melting means, to heat the ice (20) away from the peripheral surface (16c). When the drive / partitioning device (12) is operated and rotated at this stage, the blade (14) that vertically partitions the annular space (29) also rotates, so that the ice between adjacent blades (14) ( Although a horizontal force acts on (20), a guide (16a) is formed on the peripheral surface (16c), so the action of this guide (16a) converts the horizontal force to a vertical direction. , The ice (20) is pushed upwards, and the ice making cylinder (16)
Is emitted from the top of the.

In this way, since the ice is discharged from the upper end of the ice making cylinder (16) that occupies the main part of the ice making mechanism even though it is not an auger type, the ice storage part can be arranged at substantially the same level as the ice making mechanism. . Further, although there is a step of pushing the ice upward, but there is no step of compressing it, moreover, the annular ice in the space (29) is vertically partitioned by the vertical blades (14), and the ice making cylinder ( Since the groove (16a) is provided in the lateral direction by the guide portion (16a) provided on the (16), the rotating drive / partition device (1
It is possible to separate into individual ice without difficulty, without imposing a heavy load on 2).

f. [Embodiment] Next, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding portions.

FIG. 1 shows a vertical sectional view of an ice making device 1 according to the present invention. The ice making device 1 has an inner surface (one peripheral surface) as described later.
The outer surface (the other peripheral surface) 16d of the ice making cylinder 16 having a cylindrical ice making cylinder 16 in which an ice layer is generated in 16c and having a horizontal flange portion 16b in the upper portion is an evaporator for circulating a refrigerant by a known method. (Ice melting means) 23 is wound. The evaporator 23 is surrounded by a heat insulating material 19. At the open upper end of the ice making cylinder 16, preferably, the ice particles 20a are symmetrically opposed to each other in the diametrical direction.
A rectangular opening or notch 22 of an appropriate size for discharging (Fig. 5) is provided, and during ice collection or deicing, the ice 20a is cut through the two openings 22 (Fig. 5). ) Is discharged and is guided to an ice storage unit (not shown) by a chute 21 communicating with the two openings 22. The inner surface 16c of the ice making cylinder 16 is provided with a guide portion 16a that operates as described below. In the preferred embodiment, the guide portion 16a
Is in the form of two spiral rails with a given pitch, knurl and radial height, the upper end of each spiral rail ending at the location of the corresponding opening 22.

A header 17 that is hermetically sealed from below by a lid 18 is liquid-tightly attached to the lower portion of the ice making cylinder 16 by a suitable means such as a screw. An annular partition plate 17f is provided inside the header 17, and the partition plate 17f cooperates with the lid body 18 to form an outer annular inlet chamber 17a and an inner circular outlet chamber 17b for ice making water.
And are defined. The inlet chamber 17a includes a discharge pipe (means for introducing ice making water) 18b connected to a discharge side of a circulation pump described later, and a discharge outlet (means for introducing ice making water) 17c for discharging ice making water into the ice making cylinder 16. The outlet chamber 17b has a suction pipe 18a connected to the suction side of the pump and the ice making cylinder 1
6 has a suction port 17d for sucking ice-making water. Also,
A concave bearing portion 17e is formed at the center of the top of the header 17.

In the above-mentioned ice making cylinder 16, the drive / partitioning device 12 is positioned and arranged by the bearing portion 17e of the header 17 so as not to come into contact with the guide portion 16a. As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 3, the drive / partitioning device 12 is mainly composed of a cylindrical vertical body portion 15, an extrusion head 13 provided at the upper end of the body portion 15, and the body portion. It is composed of a plurality of (12 in the embodiment) vertical blades 14 extending radially from the outer peripheral surface of 15.

The extrusion head 13 includes a substantially cylindrical guide portion 13b extending vertically upward from the body portion 15, an inverted frustoconical extrusion portion 13a extending radially outward from the upper end of the guide portion 13b, and a guide portion. It is preferable to integrally form the guide portion 13b and the shaft portion 13c extending upward from the bottom of the portion 13b through the inside of the pushing portion 13a. As can be understood from FIG. 1, a reduction motor 11 can be coupled to the shaft portion 13c, and the drive / partition device 12 is driven by the reduction motor 11 in a manner described later.

The body portion 15 is formed hollow and defines a hollow portion 15c therein. In addition to the above-mentioned blades 14, the body 15 has a discharge port.
A plurality of return holes 15b for introducing the ice making water, which has been supplied into the ice making cylinder 16 via 17c but has not been frozen, into the hollow portion 15c are provided in the upper peripheral edge of the body portion 15, and thus the hollow portion 15c. A plurality of return holes 15a for returning the ice making water introduced therein to the outlet chamber 17b are provided at the bottom of the body portion 15. Also, the body 15
A convex portion 15d protrudes downward from the bottom surface of the bottom portion and is fitted into the above-mentioned concave bearing portion 17e. The axial dimension of the convex portion 15d can be set on the upper surface of the body portion 15 so that the lower surface of the bottom portion of the body portion 15 does not contact the upper surface of the header 17 in order to prevent a short circuit of a large amount of water from the outlet 17c to the inlet 17d. Selected to be as close as possible.

The size of the ice particles 20a is the guide part, that is, the spiral rail 16a and the blades.
The upper end of the spiral rail 16a is determined by the mutual pitch relationship of 14 and a position where a virtual line extending upward from the end hits the outer surface of the extruded portion 13b, that is, the ice 20 rises and contacts the extruded portion 13b. The distance to the position is designed to be approximately equal to the pitch of the spiral rail 16a. Therefore, when the ice is pushed up and begins to hit the extrusion head 13, the ice is broken at the position where the groove of the trace of the spiral rail 16a is attached,
It becomes an individual ice grain 20a. Opening at the position that becomes this ice grain 20a
22 is formed, and the ice particles 20a are collected from the chute 21 to an ice storage unit (not shown).

Next, the operation of the ice making device of the present invention having the above configuration will be described with reference to the refrigerant and ice making water system diagrams of FIG.

In FIG. 7, a water level control device such as a float valve 9 provided in the ice making water tank 8 is connected to a water supply pipe 9a, and when the water level in the ice making water tank 8 drops below a predetermined level, ice making is performed. Ice-making water is supplied to the water tank 8 to operate so as to always maintain a predetermined water level. Next, when the power is turned on, the compressor 2 and the fan motor 4 are operated as is known, and the freezing operation of the ice making device is started. Along with this, the pump motor 7 of the ice making water circulation pump P is also operated.
By the operation of the pump motor 7, the ice making water in the ice making water tank 8 is sent to the inlet chamber 17a through the connection pipe 10 and the discharge pipe 18b, and then comes out from the discharge port 17c provided in the header 17 to the inner surface of the ice making cylinder. It is supplied to each of a plurality of vertically extending columnar space portions 29 defined by both side surfaces of the blades 14 and the outer surface of the body portion 16c. The ice making water overflowing from the space 29 falls into the cavity 15c from the return hole 15b provided at the upper peripheral edge of the body 15, and then passes through the return hole 15a at the bottom and the suction port 17d of the header 17 to the outlet chamber 17b. Then, from here, it returns to the suction side of the ice making water circulation pump P through the suction pipe 18a. In this way, the ice making water circulates in the closed water circuit.

On the other hand, as for the temperature of the ice-making water circulated in this way, the refrigerant is sent to the evaporator 23 through the condenser 3 and the expansion valve 5 in accordance with the operation of the compressor 2, and the evaporator 23 and the ice-making cylinder are extended. As 16 cools, it gradually decreases. And ice maker 16
An ice layer is formed on the inner surface 16c and gradually grows to form columnar ice 20 with high purity in each space 29. When the growth of ice progresses to a predetermined degree, a known state of ice-making completion detecting means (not shown) such as a temperature-sensitive type or a timer type is displayed.
Is detected as the completion of ice making, the pump motor 7 and the fan motor 4 are stopped in a known manner, and the hot gas valve (ice melting means) 6 is opened. As a result, the ice making device 1 enters the deicing process, and the hot gas of high temperature and high pressure from the compressor 2 is directly sent to the evaporator 23, so that the heating of the ice making cylinder 16 is started. As a result, the ice 20 formed on the inner surface 16c of the ice making cylinder 16 melts at the contact portion with the inner surface 16c and becomes ready for ice collection.

This state is detected by a deicing timer (not shown) or a temperature detection device (not shown) provided on the refrigerant outlet side of the evaporator 23, and the deceleration motor 11 is activated by the detection. Therefore, the drive / partitioning device 12 rotates and the blades 14
20 also receives the force in the rotation direction or the horizontal direction. But,
Since the guide portion 16a is formed on the inner surface 16c of the ice making cylinder 16, and since the ice 20 is not melted at the height of the guide portion 16a, the horizontal force becomes a vertical upward force,
The ice 20 is generally pushed upwards and proceeds towards the extrusion head 13. As a result, the upper end of the ice 20 is pushed out of the extrusion head 13
Then, it is extruded outward in the radial direction according to the shape of the extrusion head 13. At this time, most of the ice 20 is partitioned by the blades 14 in the vertical direction to form a substantially columnar shape, and the groove of the guide portion 16a is formed in the horizontal direction. Serves as the fracture start portion of the columnar ice, so that the ice can be easily fractured into individual ice 20a (see FIG. 5). In this way, when the predetermined time for collecting the entire amount of ice 20 has elapsed, the deceleration motor 11 is stopped by, for example, a timer (not shown), and the ice making operation starts again.

Although the present invention has been described with respect to only one embodiment, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example,
It is not always necessary to circulate the ice making water, and the ice making cylinder may be arranged inside the driving / partitioning device, the outer surface of which is the ice making surface, and the evaporator may be provided on the inner surface.

g. EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION As described above, since the ice making device according to the present invention is configured to recover the ice from above the ice making mechanism without the need for the ice compression step, the maintenance cost is low and the installation position of the ice storage part is low. Can be set to the same level as the ice making mechanism, and it is possible to easily design the removal of ice from the ice storage unit, and
In particular, it is most suitable for implementation in a device that requires compactness, such as an ice making device for a vending machine.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of an ice making device according to the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the drive / partitioning device of the ice making device of FIG. 1 taken out, and FIG. 3 is a side view partially showing the drive / partitioning device used in the ice making device of FIG.
The figure is a bottom view of FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view showing the vicinity of the ice outlet of the ice making device of FIG. 1, and FIG. 6 is a side view showing the vicinity of the ice outlet of FIG. 5 without being broken. FIG. 7 is a system diagram showing a circuit of ice making water and a refrigerant. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ice making device, 14 ... Blades 6 ... Hot gas valve (ice melting means) 12 ... Driving / partitioning device 16 ... Ice making cylinder, 16a ... Guide part (spiral rail) 16c ... One peripheral surface (inner surface) 16d ... The other Peripheral surface (outer surface) 17c ... Means for introducing ice making water (discharging port) 18b ... Means for introducing ice making water (discharging pipe) 20 ... Ice, 23 ... Evaporator (ice melting means) 29 ... Space portion

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A guide part (16a) for guiding the ice (20) upward is provided on one peripheral surface (16c), and an evaporator (23) for operating the ice making water to cool the ice making water is provided on the other side. Prepared for the peripheral surface (16d),
A substantially vertical ice making cylinder (16) having an open upper end, and the ice making cylinder
An ice-melting means (6, 23) for operating the defrosting cycle provided in (16) to melt the adhering surface of the ice adhering to the one peripheral surface (16c), and the ice-making cylinder (16) A plurality of substantially vertical blades (14) extending radially toward the one peripheral surface (16a) of the blade, both side surfaces of the blade (14) and the ice making cylinder (16)
A rotatable drive / partitioning device (12) that cooperates with the one peripheral surface (16a) to define a plurality of space parts (29) arranged in an annular shape, and the space parts (29). Means for introducing ice making water into the inside (17
An ice making device having c, 18b).