Ice maker

Abstract

To miniaturize an ice maker.SOLUTION: An ice maker 10 includes: an ice making unit 21 including an ice making surface 24 for freezing water to generate ice; and a discharge port 11D1 for discharging ice 70 made by the ice making unit 21 to the outside. An ice storage part for storing the ice 70 made by the ice making unit 21 is not disposed to the ice maker. The ice 70 made by the ice making unit 21 is discharged to the outside from the discharge port 11D1 immediately after detached from the ice making surface 24.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present technology relates to ice makers. [Background technology]

[0002] An example of a conventional commercial ice maker is disclosed in Patent Document 1. Patent Document 1 describes a flow-down type ice maker, in which ice is produced by freezing ice-making water flowing down an ice-making plate, and an auger type ice maker, in which ice frozen on the inner surface of a cylinder is scraped off with an auger (a rotating body with a spiral blade). In commercial ice makers typified by this type of ice-making method, the produced ice is stored in an ice storage case, and the user opens a door or the like to remove the ice they need from the ice storage case. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-007930 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In recent years, the types of stores have become more diverse, and the number of small stores is increasing. In small stores, the space available for installing kitchen equipment is often narrow, making it difficult to install a conventional commercial ice maker.

[0005] The technology described in this specification has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to reduce the size of ice makers. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The ice making machine related to the technology described in this specification comprises an ice making unit having an ice making surface that freezes water to produce ice, and a discharge port that discharges ice made in the ice making unit to the outside, and an ice storage unit that stores ice made in the ice making unit is not provided, and the ice made in the ice making unit is discharged to the outside from the discharge port immediately after detaching from the ice making surface.

[0007] The ice making unit may also include a cooling device that cools the ice making surface, a water tank that stores water to be supplied to the ice making surface, and a housing that houses the ice making unit, the cooling device, and the water tank, and the outlet may be provided on a side wall that constitutes the housing.

[0008] Furthermore, when the direction intersecting the side walls is defined as the width direction and the direction along the side walls is defined as the front-to-rear direction, the ice making surface may be erected so as to extend in the front-to-rear direction.

[0009] The length of the bottom wall of the housing in the width direction may be 60% or less of the length in the front-rear direction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] The technology described in this specification allows for the miniaturization of ice makers. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of an ice maker according to a first embodiment; [Figure 2] Cross section of the ice maker shown in Figure 1 along line II-II [Figure 3] A cross-sectional view of the ice maker of Figure 1 taken along line III-III in Figure 2. [Figure 4] Cross-sectional view showing ice being released from the ice making plate [Figure 5] Cross-sectional view of the ice maker in Figure 1 taken along line VV in Figure 2 [Figure 6] Schematic diagram showing the refrigeration circuit and ice-making water flow path [Figure 7] 2 is a cross-sectional view of the ice maker according to the second embodiment taken along line II-II in FIG. [Figure 8]8 is a cross-sectional view of the ice making machine according to the second embodiment taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] <Embodiment 1> Ice making machine 10 according to embodiment 1 will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 6. The symbols F, B, L, R, U, and D shown in some of the drawings respectively indicate the front and rear in the front-to-rear direction of ice making machine 10, the left and right in the width direction (left-to-right direction) when viewed from the front, and the top and bottom in the vertical direction (up-down direction).

[0013] Ice making machine 10 is a so-called flow-down type ice making machine that produces ice by freezing water flowing down through an ice making section, and is thinner than conventional machines in terms of width L1. Ice making machine 10, a compact flow-down type ice making machine, is equipped with discharge port 11D1 (see FIG. 3) that discharges made ice plates 70 (an example of ice) to the outside. Discharged ice plates 70 are received by and stored in container 75 located outside ice making machine 10. Container 75 may be prepared by the user or may be provided as an optional accessory for ice making machine 10.

[0014] 1 to 4, ice making machine 10 mainly comprises ice making plate 21 (an example of an ice making unit) for making ice, cooling device 30, water tank 50, control unit 60, and housing 11 for accommodating these components. No ice storage unit for storing connected ice plates 70 is provided inside ice making machine 10, and connected ice plates 70 are discharged to the outside from discharge port 11D1 immediately after ice making (immediately after detachment from ice making surface 24, described below).

[0015] 1, the housing 11 has a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape and includes a front wall 11A, a rear wall 11B, a left side wall 11C, a right side wall 11D, a top wall 11E, and a bottom wall 11F. An opening that serves as the outlet 11D1 for the ice cubes 70 is formed in the upper part of the right side wall 11D, and a cover member 11G is attached to cover the outlet 11D1 from the right side.

[0016] The cover member 11G is attached to the top, left, and right portions of the opening edge of the outlet 11D1 with fastening members (screws, etc.) and opens downward. The cover member 11G protrudes to the right from the top, left, and right portions of the opening edge of the outlet 11D1, forming an inclined shape whose protrusion length increases as it extends downward. In addition, a bracket 13 is attached to the bottom of the opening edge of the outlet 11D1 to guide the sliding down of the plate-shaped linked ice 70. The shapes and sizes of the outlet 11D1, cover member 11G, and bracket 13 can be changed as needed to suit the shape and size of the plate-shaped linked ice 70 to be released.

[0017] As shown in Figures 2 to 4, ice making plate 21 is installed vertically at the top of housing 11. One of the plate surfaces of ice making plate 21 is ice making surface 24, which freezes water to produce ice, and multiple ice making chambers 21A are formed on the ice making surface 24 side. Ice making chambers 21A are spaces surrounded by ice making surface 24 and multiple partition walls 26 protruding from ice making surface 24. Partition walls 26 are arranged in a lattice pattern in a plan view, and partition walls 26 extending in the front-to-rear direction are inclined downward from ice making surface 24 in a cross section.

[0018] A temperature sensor 40 is provided on ice-making surface 24 of ice-making plate 21, and an evaporation pipe 35 that constitutes part of cooling device 30 is provided on the surface opposite ice-making surface 24 (rear surface 25).

[0019] When the ice-making surface 24 is cooled by the evaporator pipe 35, the ice-making water flowing down along the ice-making surface 24 freezes, producing numerous blocks of ice in each ice-making chamber 21A. The blocks of ice in each ice-making chamber 21A are formed slightly larger than the protruding length of the partition wall 26. This causes the blocks of ice in each ice-making chamber 21A to be partially connected to the blocks of ice in adjacent ice-making chambers 21A. As a result, on the ice-making surface 24, connected plate-shaped ice 70 is produced, in which the blocks of ice are connected to form a plate-like shape overall. However, the blocks of ice in each ice-making chamber 21A may be formed small enough so that they do not connect to the blocks of ice in adjacent ice-making chambers 21A.

[0020] As shown in Figures 2 to 4, an ice thickness sensor 41 (e.g., a proximity sensor) is provided on the ice making surface 24 side of ice making plate 21. Ice thickness sensor 41 detects the thickness (growth) of connected ice plates 70 made on ice making surface 24. This also makes it possible to detect when connected ice plates 70 have separated from ice making surface 24. Ice thickness sensor 41 in this embodiment is provided at the center of the width of the upper part of ice making plate 21 on the ice making surface 24 side, with a predetermined distance between it and ice making surface 24.

[0021] 3 and 4, a thin, plate-like shielding plate 43 is provided in a swingable manner on housing 11. Shielding plate 43 is attached so as to swing within a predetermined angular range around its upper end as an axis. Shielding plate 43 prevents cold air from leaking to the outside and also prevents ice-making water and defrosting water that flow down ice-making surface 24 from scattering to the outside.

[0022] The shielding plate 43 blocks the discharge port 11D1 from the inside of the ice making machine 10 except when the ice blocks 70 are being removed. This prevents foreign matter such as dust from entering from the outside. The discharge port 11D1 is blocked when the lower end 43A of the shielding plate 43 comes into contact with the upper surface 51A of the right tank wall 51 (the tank wall on the discharge port 11D1 side) that constitutes the water tank 50. The upper surface 51A of the right tank wall 51 is inclined downward toward the discharge port 11D1, and the lower end 43A of the shielding plate 43 is bent at approximately the same inclination angle as the upper surface 51A. The inclination angle of the bracket 13 described above is also approximately the same as the upper surface 51A.

[0023] When the plate-shaped connected ice 70 is released, the shielding plate 43 is pushed outward by the sliding down plate-shaped connected ice 70. This creates a gap between the lower end 43A of the shielding plate 43 and the upper surface 51 of the right tank wall 51, opening the discharge port 11D1 to the outside, and the plate-shaped connected ice 70 is released from the discharge port 11D1 (see the two-dot chain line in Figure 4).

[0024] As shown in Figures 2 and 3, water tank 50 is disposed below ice-making plate 21. Water is supplied to water tank 50 through water supply pipe 45 (see Figure 6) connected to a water source such as a tap. Inside water tank 50, there are provided water pump 46, water supply pipe 47 connected to water pump 46, and float switch 48 (an example of a water level sensor) that detects the level of ice-making water in water tank 50. Above ice-making plate 21, there is provided a sprinkler pipe 49 connected to water supply pipe 47.

[0025] As shown in Fig. 6, the cooling device 30 includes a compressor 31 that compresses a refrigerant, a condenser 33 that cools and liquefies the compressed refrigerant gas by air blown by a condenser fan 32, an expansion valve 34 that expands the liquefied refrigerant, an evaporation pipe 35 that vaporizes the expanded liquefied refrigerant to cool the ice-making plate 21, and a dryer 36 that removes moisture that has become mixed in the refrigerant pipe. These components are connected by a refrigerant pipe to form a refrigeration circuit in which the refrigerant circulates. The cooling device 30 also includes a bypass pipe 37 that connects the compressor 31 and the evaporation pipe 35, and a hot gas valve 38 is installed in the bypass pipe 37. A cooling valve 39 is installed in the refrigerant pipe between the dryer 36 and the expansion valve 34.

[0026] The control unit 60 includes circuits for controlling operation and supplying power, and is housed in an electrical box (see FIG. 2). The control unit 60 includes, for example, a microcomputer, and controls the operation of electrically connected devices based on a control program while referring to the detection results of various sensors.

[0027] During ice-making operation, the control unit 60 closes the hot gas valve 38 of the cooling device 30, opens the cooling valve 39 and the expansion valve 34, and operates the compressor 31 and the water pump 46. As a result, the refrigerant circulates through the refrigeration circuit as shown by the solid arrows in Figure 6, and the ice-making plates 21 are cooled by the evaporator pipes 35. The ice-making water in the water tank 50 is sent by the water pump 46 through the water pipe 47 to the spray pipes 49. The water flowing down from the spray pipes 49 toward the ice-making surfaces 24 of the ice-making plates 21 freezes into ice. The unfrozen water flows down into the water tank 50, where it is collected and circulated by the water pump 46. In Figure 6, this ice-making water flow path is indicated by a shaded area.

[0028] The control unit 60 determines that the ice blocks 70 have grown to the desired thickness and have been made by detecting changes in the water level in the water tank 50 with the float switch 48 and detecting the thickness of the ice blocks 70 with the ice thickness sensor 41. When the control unit 60 determines that the ice blocks 70 have been made, it starts deicing operation.

[0029] During deicing operation, the control unit 60 stops the water pump 46, closes the cooling valve 39 and expansion valve 34 of the cooling device 30, opens the hot gas valve 38, and operates the compressor 31. As a result, as shown by the white arrows in Figure 6, hot gas is sent from the compressor 31 to the evaporator tube 35, heating the ice-making plates 21. As a result, the contact portions of the connected ice plates 70 with the ice-making surface 24 and the partition wall 26 melt. The melted connected ice plates 70 fall along the downward-sloping partition wall 26 and detach from the ice-making surface 24 and the partition wall 26.

[0030] The ice blocks 70 that have fallen off the ice making plate 21 come into contact with the shielding plate 43, pushing the shielding plate 43 outward, and are then released to the outside through the outlet 11D1. The ice blocks 70 that have been released and stored in the container 75 can be broken up by the impact of falling into the container 75, or broken into pieces of the required size by the user for use.

[0031] According to ice making machine 10 described above, ice released from ice making surface 24 is immediately released to the outside through outlet 11D1. Because an ice storage section for storing ice is not required inside ice making machine 10, eliminating the need for an ice storage section allows the ice making machine to be more compact. In particular, by erecting ice making plate 21 so that ice making surface 24 extends in the front-to-rear direction, the width of ice making machine 10 can be reduced, resulting in a thinner machine. More specifically, widthwise length L1 of bottom wall 11F of housing 11, as shown in FIG. 5, is approximately 40% of front-to-rear length L2, and can be reduced to at least half of this length. This slimming down allows ice making machine 10 to be installed in a small space.

[0032] <Embodiment 2> Ice maker 110 according to embodiment 2 will be described with reference to Figures 7 and 8. In embodiment 2, the length of ice maker 110 in the front-to-rear direction is shorter than in embodiment 1. In embodiment 2, duplicated descriptions of the configuration and effects similar to those of embodiment 1 will be omitted.

[0033] Ice making machine 110 according to this embodiment differs from embodiment 1 in the shape of water tank 150 and the arrangement of water pump 46, float switch 48, condenser fan 32, and condenser 33. More specifically, the length of water tank 150 in the front-to-rear direction is smaller than that of water tank 50 according to embodiment 1 and is approximately one size larger than ice making plate 21. On the other hand, the length of water tank 150 in the width direction is larger than that of water tank 50 according to embodiment 1. Water pump 46 and float switch 48 are arranged in a portion of water tank 150 on the rear surface 25 side of ice making plate 21. Condenser 33 is arranged so that the extension direction of the condensation pipe is along the width direction of ice making machine 110.

[0034] Furthermore, in accordance with the above arrangement, the size and shape of housing 111 (i.e., the size and shape of front wall 111A, rear wall 111B, left side wall 111C, right side wall 111D, top wall 111E, and bottom wall 111F) differ from those of embodiment 1. As shown in FIG. 8, length L12 in the front-to-rear direction of bottom wall 111F is smaller than length L2 of bottom wall 11F in embodiment 1. Length L11 in the width direction of bottom wall 111F is approximately 60% of length L12 in the front-to-rear direction. In this way, the length of ice maker 110 in the front-to-rear direction can be reduced, allowing it to be installed in a small space with a small dimension in the front-to-rear direction.

[0035] <Other embodiments> The technology described in this specification is not limited to the embodiments described above and in the drawings, and for example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the technology described in this specification.

[0036] (1) Ice makers 10 and 110 may be configured symmetrically so that discharge ports are provided on left side walls 11C and 111C.

[0037] (2) The ice to be made is not limited to the plate-shaped connected ice cubes 70, and the configuration of the ice-making plates 21 that form the ice-making chambers 21A can be changed as needed to suit the ice to be made. Furthermore, to ensure that the plate-shaped connected ice cubes 70 are removed more quickly, the plate-shaped connected ice cubes 70 may be pushed out by a pin or the like.

[0038] 10, 110: Ice maker, 11, 111: Housing, 11D, 111D: Right side wall, 11D1: Outlet, 11F, 111F: Bottom wall, 21: Ice making plate (ice making section), 24: Ice making surface, 30: Cooling device, 50, 150: Water tank

Claims

1. an ice making unit having an ice making surface that freezes water to produce ice; a discharge port for discharging the ice made by the ice making unit to the outside, An ice storage unit for storing ice made by the ice making unit is not provided, The ice made in the ice making unit is discharged to the outside through the discharge port immediately after being separated from the ice making surface.

2. a cooling device for cooling the ice making surface; a water tank for storing water to be supplied to the ice making surface; a housing that houses the ice making unit, the cooling device, and the water tank, The ice maker according to claim 1 , wherein the outlet is provided in a side wall that constitutes the housing.

3. When the direction intersecting the side wall is the width direction and the direction along the side wall is the front-rear direction, The ice making machine according to claim 2 , wherein the ice making surface is erected so as to extend in the front-rear direction.

4. The ice maker according to claim 3 , wherein the width of the bottom wall of the housing is 60% or less of the length of the bottom wall in the front-rear direction.

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