Drum type ice-making machine

Abstract

To provide a drum type ice-making machine capable of improving ice production efficiency.SOLUTION: A drum type ice-making machine includes a tank 3 for storing ice-making water W, an ice-making drum 5 having a drum body 51 rotating around a horizontal axis J in a state of being partially immersed in the ice-making water W in the tank 3, a driving device 6 for rotating the ice-making drum 5 around the horizontal axis J, a cooling device 7 for cooling the drum body 51, and a blade 8 for scraping ice produced by freezing of the ice-making water W adhered to the drum body 51. Further, the blade 8 includes a first portion 81 facing an outer peripheral surface of the drum body 51 and scraping the ice produced on the outer peripheral surface, and a second portion 82 facing an end surface of the drum body 51 and scraping the ice produced on the end surface.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a drum-type ice maker. [Background technology]

[0002] The drum-type ice maker described in Patent Document 1 has an ice making tank that stores ice-making water (tap water) supplied from an external water system, a cylindrical ice making drum that is journaled in the ice making tank and rotates around a horizontal axis with part of it immersed in the ice-making water inside the ice making tank, a refrigeration system that cools the ice making drum, and a cutter that thinly peels off ice formed on the outer surface of the ice making drum. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-046828 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In such drum-type ice makers, the cutter scrapes off only the ice produced on the outer peripheral surface of the ice making drum, which causes a problem of poor ice production efficiency.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a drum-type ice maker that can increase ice production efficiency by scraping off ice formed on both end surfaces of the ice making drum in addition to ice formed on the outer peripheral surface of the ice making drum. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] These objects can be achieved by the present invention as set forth in (1) to (6) below.

[0007] (1) a tank for storing ice-making water; an ice making drum including a drum body that rotates about a horizontal axis while being partially immersed in the ice making water in the tank; a drive device that rotates the ice making drum about the horizontal axis; a cooling device that cools the drum body; a blade that scrapes off ice that has been produced by freezing the ice-making water that has adhered to the drum body, A drum-type ice maker characterized in that the blade has a first portion that faces the outer peripheral surface of the drum body and scrapes off ice that has formed on the outer peripheral surface, and a second portion that faces the end surface of the drum body and scrapes off ice that has formed on the end surface.

[0008] (2) The drum type ice maker according to (1) above, wherein the first portion and the second portion are integrally formed.

[0009] (3) The drum type ice maker according to (1) above, wherein the first section and the second section are configured as separate bodies.

[0010] (4) a conduit connecting the tank to an external tank that stores the ice-making water to be supplied to the tank; The drum type ice maker described in (1) above, further comprising: a liquid feed pump that sends the ice-making water from the external tank to the tank via the conduit.

[0011] (5) A drum-type ice maker as described in (4) above, which has a filter provided at the end of the conduit on the external tank side, submerged in the ice-making water, and removing foreign matter from the ice-making water.

[0012] (6) At least a portion of the conduit is flexible; The drum type ice making machine according to (5) above, wherein the position and attitude of the end of the conduit on the external tank side can be changed. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] In the present invention, the blade has a first portion that scrapes off ice formed on the outer peripheral surface of the drum body and a second portion that scrapes off ice formed on the end surface of the drum body. This allows for a higher ice production volume compared to conventional configurations that can only scrape off ice formed on the outer peripheral surface of the drum body. Therefore, the present invention allows for improved ice production efficiency. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional side view of a drum ice maker according to a preferred embodiment. FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a top view of the drum type ice maker shown in FIG. [Figure 3] 2 is a cross-sectional view of an ice making drum of the drum type ice making machine shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the ice making drum shown in FIG. 3. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a side view of the ice making drum. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a top view showing a modified example of the blade. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A drum-type ice making machine according to the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

[0016] Drum-type ice maker 1 shown in Figures 1 and 2 has a housing 2, a tank 3 arranged in housing 2 and storing ice-making water W, a conduit 4 that supplies ice-making water W stored in an external tank 9 to tank 3, an ice-making drum 5 that is journaled on housing 2 and rotates about horizontal axis J while being partially immersed in the ice-making water W in tank 3, a drive unit 6 that rotates ice-making drum 5 about horizontal axis J, a cooling unit 7 that cools ice-making drum 5, a blade 8 that scrapes off ice formed on the surface of ice-making drum 5, and a control unit 10 that controls the operation of each of these parts.

[0017] The downstream end of the conduit 4 is connected to a supply port 40 provided in the housing 2, and the ice-making water W in the conduit 4 is supplied to the tank 3 via the supply port 40. The supply port 40 is also provided with a water level sensor 41 that detects the level of the ice-making water W in the tank 3. The water level sensor 41 is, for example, a float switch.

[0018] Meanwhile, the upstream end of the conduit 4 is submerged in the ice-making water W stored in the external tank 9. Also, a filter 43 is provided at the upstream end of the conduit 4 to remove foreign matter from the ice-making water W in the external tank 9. The filter 43 also functions as a weight that is submerged in the ice-making water W. Therefore, the upstream end of the conduit 4 can be kept submerged in the ice-making water W in the external tank 9, and the ice-making water W in the external tank 9 can be more reliably supplied to the tank 3.

[0019] In addition, a liquid supply pump 44 is provided in the middle of the conduit 4, and by operating the liquid supply pump 44, ice-making water W in the external tank 9 is pumped up and supplied to the tank 3 through the conduit 4. The liquid supply pump 44 is fixed to the housing 2.

[0020] Furthermore, at least a portion of conduit 4 is flexible. The position and posture of the upstream end of conduit 4 (the end on the external tank 9 side) can be changed to match the position of external tank 9. This increases the degree of freedom in the placement of drum type ice maker 1. In this embodiment, the portion of conduit 4 upstream of liquid feed pump 44 is made up of a flexible hose, tube, or the like. Note that, for example, the flexible portion may be made up of a bellows pipe or the like that can maintain its state after deformation.

[0021] The control device 10 maintains the level of the ice-making water W in the tank 3 at an appropriate height by controlling the operation of the liquid supply pump 44 based on the detection result of the water level sensor 41 for the level of the ice-making water W in the tank 3. Specifically, when the level of the ice-making water W in the tank 3 falls below a lower threshold (i.e., the float switch turns ON), the control device 10 operates the liquid supply pump 44 to start supplying the ice-making water W from the external tank 9 to the tank 3. When the level of the ice-making water W in the tank 3 exceeds an upper threshold (i.e., the float switch turns OFF), the control device 10 stops operation of the liquid supply pump 44 to stop supplying the ice-making water W from the external tank 9 to the tank 3. This method allows the level of the ice-making water W in the tank 3 to be maintained at an appropriate height with simple control. Therefore, uniform ice can be produced. However, the method of controlling the liquid supply pump 44 by the control device 10 is not particularly limited as long as it can maintain the level of the ice-making water W in the tank 3 at an appropriate height.

[0022] In this way, with a configuration in which ice-making water W in external tank 9 is pumped up and supplied to tank 3, various types of ice-making water W can be used depending on the purpose. In other words, in a conventional configuration in which an external water pipe is connected, only tap water can be used as the ice-making water W, but with this embodiment, there is no substantial limit to the ice-making water W that can be used. This makes drum-type ice maker 1 highly convenient.

[0023] The ice-making water W is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, it is salt water. By using salt water as the ice-making water W, ice with a melting point below 0°C can be easily produced. Furthermore, since the melting point of ice can be easily adjusted by simply adjusting the salt concentration, ice with a desired melting point can be easily produced. Furthermore, salt water has excellent biocompatibility and is highly suitable for refrigerating and preserving food, etc. For example, if the salt concentration of the ice-making water W is 1%, ice with a melting point of approximately -1°C can be obtained. This ice is suitable for storing foods such as seafood at low temperatures below 0°C without freezing them. Furthermore, if the salt concentration of the ice-making water W is 23.5%, that is, if the ice-making water W is saturated salt water, ice with a melting point of approximately -21°C can be obtained. This ice is suitable for rapid freezing foods such as seafood. However, the ice-making water W is not limited to salt water, and for example, water, sugar water, sodium hydroxide aqueous solution, calcium hydroxide aqueous solution, ethylene glycol, etc. can be used. Furthermore, the use of ice is not limited to cooling food, but may also be used to cool organs for transplantation, for example.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 3, ice making drum 5 has a cylindrical drum body 51 and shafts 52 protruding from both ends of drum body 51. Drum body 51 and shafts 52 are arranged coaxially along horizontal axis J. Ice making drum 5 is journaled to housing 2 at shafts 52 via bearings B. This allows ice making drum 5 to rotate around horizontal axis J relative to housing 2. As shown in FIG. 1, when an appropriate amount of ice making water W is stored in tank 3, a portion (the lower end) of drum body 51 is immersed in the ice making water W in tank 3.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 3 , the drum body 51 has a cylindrical base 510 extending along a horizontal axis J. The base 510 has a cylindrical outer drum 511 and a cylindrical inner drum 512 inserted into the outer drum 511. A spiral groove 512a is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the inner drum 512, and the opening of the groove 512a is closed by the inner peripheral surface of the outer drum 511. This forms a flow path 741 within the base 510. This flow path 741 functions as the evaporator 74 of the cooling device 7. The outer drum 511 is made of a metal material with high thermal conductivity, such as aluminum (Al). In contrast, the inner drum is made of a resin material, such as PC (polycarbonate), ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), PPA (polyphthalamide), PP (polypropylene), or PBT (polybutylene terephthalate), and has extremely low thermal conductivity compared to the outer drum 511. This allows the cooling device 7 to cool the outer circumferential surface of the drum main body 51 particularly efficiently.

[0026] The drum main body 51 also has end portions 513 and 514 provided at both ends of the base portion 510. The end portion 513 is a disc-shaped (doughnut-shaped) member provided concentrically at one end of the base portion 510 and having a through-hole at its center through which the shaft portion 52 is inserted. Similarly, the end portion 514 is a disc-shaped (doughnut-shaped) member provided concentrically at the other end of the base portion 510 and having a through-hole at its center through which the shaft portion 52 is inserted. The outer diameters of the end portions 513 and 514 are approximately the same as the outer diameter of the base portion 510 (the outer drum 511). Like the outer drum 511, the end portions 513 and 514 are each made of a metal material with high thermal conductivity, such as aluminum (Al).

[0027] Drive unit 6 rotates ice making drum 5 about horizontal axis J. Drive unit 6 has motor 61, which is a drive source fixed to housing 2, and the rotation shaft of motor 61 is connected to shaft 52. However, the configuration of drive unit 6 is not particularly limited as long as it can rotate ice making drum 5 about horizontal axis J. For example, drive unit 6 may have a reducer interposed between the rotation shaft of motor 61 and shaft 62, which reduces the speed of rotation of motor 61 and transmits it to shaft 62.

[0028] Cooling device 7 cools ice making drum 5. Specifically, cooling device 7 cools the outer peripheral surface of base 510. As shown in FIG. 2 , cooling device 7 includes compressor 71 that compresses low-pressure refrigerant gas to produce high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant gas, condenser 72 that condenses the high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant gas from compressor 71 to produce high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant liquid, expansion valve 73 that expands the high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant liquid from condenser 72 to produce low-temperature, low-pressure refrigerant gas, and evaporator 74 that evaporates the low-temperature, low-pressure refrigerant gas from expansion valve 73 to produce low-pressure refrigerant gas, and the low-pressure refrigerant gas evaporated in evaporator 74 is compressed again by compressor 71. The operation of compressor 71 is controlled by control device 10.

[0029] In the cooling device 7, the compressor 71, condenser 72, and expansion valve 73 are disposed within the housing 2, and the evaporator 74 is disposed within the drum body 51 of the ice making drum 5. As described above, the evaporator 74 has a flow path 741 formed within the drum body 51. In this cooling device 7, low-temperature, low-pressure refrigerant gas mixed with liquid from the expansion valve 73 flows into the evaporator 74, evaporates, and absorbs heat from the surrounding area, thereby cooling the surface (outer peripheral surface and both end surfaces) of the drum body 51. In particular, in this embodiment, the inner drum 512 is made of a resin material with low thermal conductivity, so heat exchange between the evaporator 74 and the outer drum 511 and the end portions 513 and 514 is efficient, thereby efficiently cooling the surface of the drum body 51. The cooling temperature of the surface of the drum body 51 is not particularly limited, but is preferably, for example, approximately −50°C or higher and −40°C or lower. This allows for efficient production of ice. However, the configuration of the cooling device 7 is not particularly limited as long as it can cool the surface of the drum body 51.

[0030] Blade 8 is fixed to housing 2 and scrapes off ice produced in ice making drum 5. As shown in FIG. 4, blade 8 has a first portion 81 and a pair of second portions 821 and 822. Of these, first portion 81 extends along horizontal axis J, with its cutting edge facing outer peripheral surface 51a of drum body 51 and positioned opposite outer peripheral surface 51a with a small gap therebetween. Meanwhile, second portion 821 faces one end face 51b of drum body 51 with its cutting edge facing end face 51b with a small gap therebetween, and second portion 822 faces the other end face 51c of drum body 51 with its cutting edge facing end face 51c with a small gap therebetween. Also, as shown in FIG. 5, second portions 821 and 822 are disposed so as to cross areas Q on both end faces of drum body 51 that are immersed in ice-making water W in tank 3. That is, in a plan view along the horizontal axis J, the base ends of the second portions 821 and 822 are located on the outer circumferential side of the region Q, and the tip ends are located on the inner circumferential side of the region Q.

[0031] In this embodiment, the first portion 81 and the second portions 821 and 822 are integrally formed. Such a configuration simplifies the configuration of the blade 8. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the first portion 81 and the second portions 821 and 822 may be formed separately, and the second portions 821 and 822 may be displaceable relative to the first portion 81. In particular, in the configuration shown in FIG. 6, the second portions 821 and 822 are fastened to the first portion 81 with screws. By loosening the screws, the second portions 821 and 822 become movable relative to the first portion 81 in the direction along the horizontal axis J, and by tightening the screws, the second portions 821 and 822 are fixed to the first portion 81. With this configuration, the distance between the first portion 81 and the outer peripheral surface of the drum body 51, the distance between the second portion 821 and the end face of the drum body 51, and the distance between the second portion 822 and the end face of the drum body 51 can each be adjusted independently.

[0032] The configuration of drum-type ice maker 1 has been described above. Drum-type ice maker 1 with this configuration produces ice as follows: First, cooling device 7 is driven to cool ice making drum 5 to a predetermined temperature. Next, while cooling ice making drum 5 with cooling device 7, drive device 6 rotates ice making drum 5 about horizontal axis J. This produces a thin layer of ice on the outer circumferential surface and both end surfaces of drum body 51 immersed in ice-making water W in tank 3. When this ice floats out of the ice-making water W due to the rotation of drum body 51 about horizontal axis J, it is supercooled and becomes dry ice that does not contain moisture. The dry ice produced on the outer circumferential surface of drum body 51 is scraped off by first portion 81 of blade 8, and the dry ice produced on both end surfaces of drum body 51 is scraped off by second portions 821 and 822 of blade 8, producing scaly ice (flake ice). The ice produced in this manner is stored in an ice storage bin (not shown) installed below via chute 21. In particular, in this embodiment, ice generated on not only the outer peripheral surface of the drum body 51 but also both end surfaces is scraped off, so more ice can be generated per unit time, thereby improving ice production efficiency.

[0033] In this embodiment, in a plan view from the horizontal direction, the horizontal axis J is located above the water surface of the ice-making water W in the tank 3. Also, the cutting edges of the first portion 81 and the second portion 82 of the blade 8 are located below the horizontal axis J. Therefore, the ice making drum 5 rotates 200° or more, preferably 250° or more, from the time the ice produced in the ice-making drum 5 floats on the ice-making water W until it is scraped off by the blade 8. Therefore, the ice can be dried for a longer period of time, and drier ice can be produced.

[0034] Drum-type ice maker 1 also achieves the following effect. If second portions 821 and 822 of blade 8 were not provided, as in the conventional system, ice formed on both end surfaces of drum body 51 would continue to grow on drum body 51 without being scraped off by blade 8. As a result, the growing ice would spread to shaft 52, causing blockages or freezing of bearing B, which could impede the rotation of ice making drum 5. If the rotation of ice making drum 5 is impeded, the ice production efficiency would decrease and the ice produced would become uneven. For this reason, for example, it would become necessary to periodically remove ice adhering to both end surfaces of drum body 51 or shaft 52, and the operation of drum-type ice maker 1 would have to be temporarily stopped each time. As a result, drum-type ice maker 1 could not be operated continuously for long periods of time, which would reduce ice production efficiency and increase maintenance efforts. In contrast, with drum type ice making machine 1, second portions 821, 822 scrape off ice formed on both end surfaces of drum body 51, thereby preventing excessive ice growth on both end surfaces. This prevents ice from growing on both end surfaces of drum body 51, allowing drum type ice making machine 1 to operate continuously for long periods of time. This also reduces the frequency of maintenance.

[0035] The above describes drum-type ice maker 1. As described above, drum-type ice maker 1 includes tank 3 for storing ice-making water W, ice-making drum 5 having drum body 51 that rotates about horizontal axis J while partially immersed in ice-making water W in tank 3, drive device 6 that rotates ice-making drum 5 about horizontal axis J, cooling device 7 that cools drum body 51, and blade 8 that scrapes off ice produced by the freezing of ice-making water adhering to drum body 51. Blade 8 also includes first portion 81 that faces the outer circumferential surface of drum body 51 and scrapes off ice produced on the outer circumferential surface, and second portions 821, 822 that face the end faces of drum body 51 and scrape off ice produced on the end faces. With this configuration, blade 8 scrapes off ice produced not only on the outer circumferential surface of drum body 51 but also on both end faces, allowing more ice to be produced per unit time. This improves ice production efficiency.

[0036] As described above, the first portion 81 and the second portions 821 and 822 are integrally formed, which simplifies the configuration of the blade 8.

[0037] Furthermore, as described above, the first portion 81 and the second portion 821 may be configured as separate bodies, and the second portions 821, 822 may be displaceable with respect to the first portion 81. With this configuration, the distance between the first portion 81 and the outer peripheral surface of the drum main body 51, the distance between the second portion 821 and the end face of the drum main body 51, and the distance between the second portion 822 and the end face of the drum main body 51 can each be adjusted independently.

[0038] As described above, drum type ice maker 1 also has conduit 4 connecting tank 3 to external tank 9, which stores ice-making water W to be supplied to tank 3, and liquid feed pump 44, which sends ice-making water W from external tank 9 to tank 3 via conduit 4. This configuration allows various types of ice-making water W to be used depending on the purpose, making drum type ice maker 1 highly convenient.

[0039] As described above, drum type ice maker 1 has filter 43, which is provided at the end of conduit 4 on the external tank 9 side, submerged in ice-making water W, and which removes foreign matter from ice-making water W. With this configuration, ice-making water W from which foreign matter has been removed can be supplied to tank 3. Furthermore, because the end of conduit 4 can be submerged in ice-making water W, ice-making water W can be stably supplied to tank 3.

[0040] Furthermore, as described above, at least a portion of conduit 4 is flexible, allowing the position and posture of the end of conduit 4 on the external tank 9 side to be changed. With this configuration, drum type ice maker 1 can be arranged with greater freedom.

[0041] While the drum-type ice maker of the present invention has been described above based on the illustrated embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and the configuration of each part can be replaced with any configuration that has the same function. Also, any other configuration may be added to the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] 1...drum type ice maker, 10...control device, 2...casing, 21...chute, 3...tank, 4...conduit, 40...supply port, 41...water level sensor, 43...filter, 44...liquid supply pump, 5...ice making drum, 51...drum body, 510...base, 511...outer drum, 512...inner drum, 512a...groove, 513...end portion, 514...end portion, 52...shaft, 6...drive unit, 61...motor, 7...cooling unit, 71...compressor, 72...condenser, 73...expansion valve, 74...evaporator, 741...flow path, 8...blade, 81...first portion, 821...second portion, 822...second portion, 9...external tank, B...bearing, J...horizontal shaft, W...ice making water

Claims

1. A tank for storing ice-making water; an ice making drum including a drum body that rotates about a horizontal axis while being partially immersed in the ice making water in the tank; a drive device that rotates the ice making drum about the horizontal axis; a cooling device that cools the drum body; a blade that scrapes off ice that has been produced by freezing the ice-making water that has adhered to the drum body, A drum-type ice maker characterized in that the blade has a first portion that faces the outer peripheral surface of the drum body and scrapes off ice that has formed on the outer peripheral surface, and a second portion that faces the end surface of the drum body and scrapes off ice that has formed on the end surface.

2. 2. The drum-type ice maker according to claim 1, wherein the first portion and the second portion are integrally formed.

3. The first portion and the second portion are configured as separate bodies, The drum-type ice maker of claim 1 , wherein the second portion is displaceable relative to the first portion.

4. a conduit connecting the tank to an external tank that stores the ice-making water to be supplied to the tank; 2. The drum type ice maker according to claim 1, further comprising: a liquid feed pump that feeds the ice making water from the external tank to the tank through the conduit.

5. 5. The drum type ice maker according to claim 4, further comprising a filter provided at the end of the conduit on the external tank side, submerged in the ice making water, and configured to remove foreign matter from the ice making water.

6. At least a portion of the conduit is flexible; 6. The drum type ice making machine according to claim 5, wherein the position and attitude of the end of the conduit on the external tank side can be changed.

Images