JP2854505B2 - Automatic ice making equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic ice making device, and more particularly to an improvement of an ice releasing device provided in an ice making device for automatically and continuously producing ice in an ice tray.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various proposals have been made for an automatic ice making device and an ice releasing device used therefor, such as for home refrigerators. For example, JP
According to Japanese Patent No. 158669, transparent and high-quality ice is obtained by covering the upper surface of an ice tray with a lid during ice making.
Furthermore, there is disclosed an automatic ice making device configured to provide a locking portion of a lid when the ice tray is inverted so that the ice removing operation is reliably performed. Although this technology is expected to exert a certain effect, it not only flips the ice tray when removing ice, but also attaches a lid that is at least as wide as the ice tray as the lid opens. Projecting to one side of the ice tray, thus occupying considerable space around the ice tray. However, in recent years, the trend toward compact refrigerators has come to be seen, and from such a viewpoint, this can be said to be disadvantageous.

On the other hand, the applicant of the present invention has previously proposed a new ice separating apparatus in Japanese Patent Application No. 3-216110 in order to reduce the size of an ice making machine. This technology detects the amount of ice stored in an ice storage box, and if the amount is small, inverts the ice tray and twists to release ice, and then returns to the horizontal position. Detecting means are provided so as to return to the horizontal position. In this case, the rotation and the return of the ice tray are performed by a drive motor, and the operation timing of the drive motor is controlled by connecting a cam having a projection or the like at a predetermined position on the outer edge of the ice tray. By contacting the protrusion, the rotation angle of the ice tray is detected,
This controls the drive motor.

However, in the above technique, the torque of the drive motor required for ice removal is large, but the torque of the drive motor for returning the ice tray to the horizontal position is small.
The rotation speed becomes high, and it is necessary to set the stop position of the drive motor with due consideration of the inertia of the motor core or the reduction gear. However, the drive motor or the reduction gear has variations such as friction. In some cases, the ice tray is stopped when the ice tray is not completely returned to the horizontal position, or the drive motor is operating even when the ice tray is level and the stopper is applied, and the drive motor or the deceleration means may be overloaded.
For this reason, a large number of components are required, such as a motor stopping means at the time of overload and a microswitch for detecting the forward / reverse operation completion position. In other words, it is difficult to reduce the size of a refrigerator or the like, and the cost is increased due to the large number of parts.

Various attempts have been made to obtain a large amount of ice for each ice making. For example, FIG.
(B) is a schematic explanatory view of one embodiment of an ice releasing device used in a conventional automatic ice making device having a plurality of ice trays.
First, in FIG. 12 (a), reference numeral 1 denotes a drive motor, and ice trays 4 a, 4 b provided with gears 20 a, 20 b connected to be driven by the terminal gear 15 via the reduction gear 2.
b is illustrated as a quadruple ice tray supported by the centers of the gears 20a and 20b, respectively. FIG.
2B shows an example of a means for supplying water to the ice trays 4a and 4b in FIG. 2A. The ice trays 4a, 4b are supplied from the water supply tank 60 via the water supply pump 50 to the water supply passage 40.
4b are respectively configured to supply water.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 12 (a), each ice tray 4a or 4b is supported by a central axis and rotates around the axis. Ice is stored in an ice storage box (not shown). FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing one embodiment, in which 30 is a driving device, which is the gear 20a, the terminal gear 15, the reduction gear 2, and the driving motor shown in FIG. It is a generic term including 1 and the like. Reference numeral 4 denotes an ice tray, and in the case of FIG. 13, an ice tray having a double structure is exemplified. The ice tray 4 is provided so as to be rotatable about a rotation shaft 70. The produced ice is separated from the ice tray 4 by a known means such as turning over the ice tray 4 and then twisting the ice tray 4 to form an ice storage box. It is configured to be stored in 101.

FIGS. 14 (a) and 14 (b) are schematic illustrations for explaining the reversing and de-icing operations of the ice tray 4, and FIG. 14 (a) shows the ice tray 4 during ice making. FIG. 14B shows the position of the ice tray 4 at the time of ice removal. By the way, in these figures, the ice storage box 101
If the height and H, the width L _1, as is apparent from the perspective view of the previous Figure 13, the ice separating restore the middle of the ice tray 4, about the ice tray as shown in FIG. 14 (b) 160 If the clearance H _C between the bottom of the ice tray 4 and the upper edge of the ice storage box 101 is not sufficiently maintained during the rotation of about 180 °,
There is a problem that the two collide when the ice storage box 101 is pulled out in the direction of the arrow. Therefore total height L ₂ of the height H of the rotational diameter and ice box 101 of the ice tray 4 becomes larger, it is clear that it is disadvantageous to reduce the size of the refrigerator. Furthermore, the ice storage amount is 10
Since the height H is controlled only by the height H and the portion occupied by the clearance H _C becomes an ineffective volume, the ice storage efficiency also deteriorates.

In the above-described ice making device shown in FIG. 12 (a), even if water is simultaneously supplied to the left and right two ice trays 4a and 4b as shown in FIG. The airflow in the ice making room changes due to a change in the air volume, a change in the ice storage amount, or the like, and a considerable time difference may occur between the freezing times of the two ice trays 4a and 4b. For this reason, since the ice making tray is inverted and separated according to the longer freezing time, the ice making time becomes longer. Further, as shown in FIG. 12 (b), the water is supplied to the two ice trays 4a and 4b by one water supply device including the water supply passage 40, the water supply pump 50, and the water supply tank 60, so that the water supply time becomes long. In order to prevent problems such as icing in the water supply passage, a pump having a high water supply capacity is used.

On the other hand, in the conventional automatic ice making apparatus, the inside of the ice tray 4 is generally formed by a group of containers equally divided by sections of the same capacity, and thus the obtained ice blocks have almost the same size. The shape is unified. FIG. 15 is a schematic explanatory view schematically showing a cross section of a conventional automatic ice making apparatus. Reference numeral 60 denotes a water supply tank, and water in a water receiving cup 65 for receiving a predetermined amount of water is supplied by a water supply pump 50 to a water supply pipe 45. Is supplied to the ice tray 4 via the.
On the other hand, reference numeral 80 denotes an ice making switch, and when this switch is pressed, the ice making device operates. Whether or not the freezing has been completed can be determined by detecting the time, temperature, and the like.
In this way, the ice making tray 4 is twisted by a motor built in the driving device 30 to perform an ice-releasing operation.
0 falls into an ice storage box and is stored.

The operation of the conventional automatic ice making apparatus shown in FIG. 15 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, as a step 1 (S1), the water tank 6 is started.
After the water is supplied to 0, the ice making switch 80 is turned ON, and it is determined in step 2 (S2) whether the amount of water in the water receiving cup 65 has reached a fixed amount (YES) or not (NO).
If so, the process proceeds to step 4 (S4) and the water supply pump 50
Is supplied from the water supply pipe 45 to the ice making tray 4, and if NO, the water supply lamp indicating the water shortage is turned on in step 3 (S3). In this case, it means that the water supply tank 60 is empty. Therefore, water is supplied to the water supply tank 60. Next, the microcomputer 8
5, the temperature of the ice tray 4 is detected in step 5 (S5). If the temperature is lower than -12.degree. C. (YES), the icing is completed, and the driving device 30 is automatically turned on.
Is operated, in step 6 (S6), the ice making tray 4 is twisted to separate ice, and the obtained ice block 100 is dropped into the ice storage box 101. The above operation is repeated, and when the ice storage box 101 is full of ice, the apparatus automatically stops.

[0011]

As described above, the prior arts exhibit their respective effects, but in any case, since the turning radius of the ice tray is large, the invalid volume of the ice storage is correspondingly large. Due to the size increase, the volumetric efficiency of ice storage is low, and the amount of ice storage in a limited space is limited by itself. Furthermore, basically,
Looking at the inverted ice-separating structure of the ice tray, it cannot be said that the conventional configuration can solve the problem of compactness, which has recently been demanded for refrigerators. Further, in the conventional ice making means, only ice blocks having a certain size and shape can be obtained for each ice making device. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to eliminate the need for a reverse rotation of a drive motor as in a conventional ice making device, so that no detection means is required, and no overload prevention measures are required for the drive motor or deceleration means. When two pieces are used, the structure is such that water is supplied and ice is separated by rotating in the normal and reverse directions so that the reversal direction is one direction, and the ice making efficiency and the volumetric efficiency relating to ice storage are high, which leads to a compact refrigerator and the like, and It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic ice making device that can obtain ice blocks having different sizes and shapes according to a user's preference.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and the gist thereof is as follows. First, the first one is an automatic ice maker that automatically and continuously manufactures ice in an ice tray and rotates and separates ice, and an ice storage box that stores ice that has been separated from ice. , Wherein the ice removing device is driven by a driving motor, and the Geneva transmits the driving force to the ice tray by driving the pinned cam by engaging the pinned cam with the driving of the pinned cam. The automatic ice making apparatus includes a gear, a detection sensor for detecting a predetermined portion of the cam with a pin, driving a drive motor to stop at a predetermined position, and a return unit for returning the ice tray to a horizontal position.

The following is a summary of the invention: an ice-separating device for automatically and continuously producing ice in an ice tray and rotating and ice-free, and an ice storage box for storing ice that has been ice-separated. In the automatic ice making device, the ice releasing device is related to one pin-equipped cam driven by a drive motor capable of rotating forward and reverse, and the pin of the pin-equipped cam is driven by the driving of the pin of the pin-equipped cam. The driving motors are detected by detecting two predetermined Geneva gears provided on the two ice trays corresponding to the respective ice trays for transmitting the driving force, and a predetermined portion of the cam with pins. Two detection sensors for driving and stopping at a predetermined position, an ice making tray having completed freezing, and a stop position of the cam with a pin are detected to determine either forward rotation or reverse rotation of the drive motor. Control means and the direction of inversion of the two ice trays are always one In an automatic ice making device comprising a connecting means provided, and a return means for returning the ice tray in a horizontal position between the Geneva wheel for transmitting a driving force of the Geneva gear and the ice tray to be.

Further, another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic ice making apparatus having an ice removing device for automatically and continuously producing ice in an ice tray and rotating and ice removing, and an ice storage box for storing the ice removed from the ice tray. In the automatic ice making apparatus, the ice tray has a single-row structure with a plurality of rows, and each ice tray is provided with a rotating shaft capable of rotating with a small radius.

Another feature of the present invention is that an ice-separation device for automatically and continuously producing ice in an ice tray and rotating and ice-free, and an ice storage box for storing ice that has been ice-freed. In the automatic ice making device having, the ice removing device is driven by engaging with a pin-equipped cam driven by a drive motor and a pin of the pin-equipped cam with driving of the pin-equipped cam,
A Geneva gear that transmits a driving force to the ice tray, a detection sensor that detects a predetermined portion of the cam with a pin, drives a drive motor and stops at a predetermined position, and a return unit that returns the ice tray to a horizontal position. An automatic ice making apparatus having a plurality of rows of ice trays in a single-unit structure, and a rotatable rotating shaft with a small radius for each ice tray.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an automatic ice maker having an ice releasing device for automatically and continuously producing ice in an ice tray and rotating and releasing ice, and an ice storage box for storing ice released from ice. In the apparatus, the ice removing device is driven by engaging with a pin-equipped cam driven by a drive motor and a pin of the pin-equipped cam with the driving of the pin-equipped cam, thereby transmitting a driving force to the ice tray. A Geneva gear, a detection sensor that detects a predetermined portion of the cam with a pin, drives a drive motor and stops at a predetermined position, and a return unit that returns the ice tray to a horizontal position, and further includes the ice tray. An automatic ice making device is provided which is divided into at least two types of container groups, large and small, and provided with a movement adjusting means for changing the relative position between a water supply pipe and the container group so as to be able to move forward and backward.

Still another aspect of the present invention is to provide an ice removing device for automatically and continuously producing ice in an ice tray and rotating and releasing ice, and an ice storage box for storing ice released from ice. In the automatic manufacturing apparatus having the above, the ice removing device is driven by being engaged with a pin-equipped cam driven by a drive motor and a pin of the pin-equipped cam with the driving of the pin-equipped cam, and is driven to the ice tray. A Geneva gear for transmitting a force, a detection sensor for detecting a predetermined portion of the cam with a pin, driving a drive motor and stopping at a predetermined position, and a return unit for returning the ice tray to a horizontal position, further comprising: The ice tray has a single-row structure having a plurality of rows, and each ice tray is provided with a rotatable rotating shaft with a small radius, and the ice tray is divided into at least two types of large and small container groups. , Water supply pipe and the container group In an automatic ice making device provided with the position adjusting means allowed to retractably change the relative position of the.

In this case, it is effective to use an arbitrary connecting means so that at least two or more rows of a plurality of rows of ice trays having a single structure are rotated using a single drive source.
It is also effective to provide a water supply branching means formed by an electromagnetic valve or the like in the water supply passage for supplying water to the ice tray.

[0019]

According to the present invention, the driving of the driving motor drives the cam with the pin connected thereto, and the pin moves with the driving of the cam with the pin. Drives. By driving the Geneva gear, the ice tray is inverted and twisted through a spur gear formed integrally with the Geneva gear and a spur gear coaxial with the ice tray, and ice in the ice tray is released at a predetermined angle. . Further, when the Geneva gear is still driven and the pin of the cam is separated from the Geneva gear, the Geneva gear is restrained from the pin of the cam, and the ice tray is returned to the horizontal position by the return means such as a spring. The cam with pin is further driven, and when the predetermined portion provided on the outer edge of the cam with pin comes just before the detection sensor, the detection sensor detects this and stops driving the drive motor. For this reason, the reverse drive of the drive motor as in the related art is not required, and therefore, a detecting means for the reverse rotation is not required.

Further, according to the present invention, the ice tray has a single-row structure having a plurality of rows, and each of the ice trays is provided with a rotating shaft capable of rotating with a small radius. Of the conventional ice tray having a double structure can be reduced to one half, and the capacity of the ice tray does not change at all, so that the amount of ice making does not decrease. . In addition, since the center of rotation can be moved upward by an amount corresponding to the reduced radius of rotation, this makes it possible to secure a large effective space below the ice tray, while increasing the size of the ice storage box and increasing the amount of ice storage. On the other hand, instead of keeping the ice storage box at the same capacity, the ice storage box compresses the space around the ice tray, thereby making it possible to make a refrigerator or the like compact.

Further, according to the present invention, instead of dividing the compartment of the ice tray into equal volumes as in the prior art, for example, the front half is made into a small capacity container row and the rear half is made into a container row of a large capacity container group. Either the ice tray or a water supply pipe for supplying water to the ice tray is provided with a movement adjusting means for moving forward and backward so that the relative position between the two can be changed. The desired ice block size can be selected by selecting the relative position between the tip of the ice tray and the ice tray using a microcomputer. In addition, large ice blocks can be used as, for example, rock ice, while small ice blocks can store a large amount of ice as in the past, and have a large total surface area. The cooling effect increases.

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view showing an example of an embodiment of an ice releasing device used in the automatic ice making device of the present invention. FIG. 1 (a) is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 1 (b) is an operation of an ice tray. FIG. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a drive motor, and a pin-equipped cam 3 having a pin 3a
, And driven at a low rotation speed. Reference numeral 7 denotes a Geneva gear, which is provided with a groove which can be engaged with the pin 3a, as described later. The gear 5 is meshed with a gear 5 having a predetermined gear ratio attached to one end of the rotating shaft 70 so as to be able to transmit a driving force, and the ice tray 4 is connected to be reversible.

The rotating shaft 70 at a position between the gear 5 and the ice tray 4 is provided with a return means such as a spring 9 for returning the inverted ice tray 4 to a horizontal position. The plate 4 is rotatably supported at both ends in the longitudinal direction by a rotating shaft 70, and an ice making frame 11 is provided therearound.
As shown in FIG. 1B, one end of the ice making frame is provided with an ice making tray 4.
It is effective to provide a step for locking when the member is returned to a horizontal position, and to arrange the cushioning material 14 on the step for the purpose of buffering, noise prevention, and the like.

Further, FIGS. 2A to 2C show FIG.
3 is a schematic explanatory view showing the configuration and operation of a portion taken along line AA in FIG. 3, wherein reference numeral 3 denotes the above-described cam with a pin, which has a pin 3 a and emits a drive / stop signal of the drive motor. An outer peripheral projection 3b for contacting the detection switch 8 to perform detection is provided.
Is the aforementioned Geneva gear, which has a groove 90 to be engaged with the pin 3a. The return means includes an ice tray 4 and a gear 5
The coil spring 9 is formed by fixing one end 9 b of the coil spring 9 to the ice tray 4 and fixing the other end 9 a to the ice frame 11.

The operation of one embodiment of the ice separating apparatus in the above embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 2A is a diagram showing a state in which the outer peripheral projection 3b of the cam 3 with a pin is in contact with the detection switch 8 and the drive motor 1 and the cam 3 with the pin is stopped by engaging with the drive motor 1. is there. FIG. 2B shows a state in which the Geneva gear 7 is engaged with the pin 3a and the groove 90 and is being driven. Therefore, although not shown, the ice tray is also rotating. FIG. 2 (c) shows that the cam 3 with the pin is still rotated and driven to rotate the pin 3a.
Is released from the Geneva gear 7 and the position of the groove 90 indicates that the Geneva gear 7 is returned to the position before the driving by the return means of the ice tray. At this time, the cam with pin 3 is driven. In this case, the pin 3aa shown in FIG. 2A is for explaining that the position of the pin 3a in FIG. 1A corresponds to the position of the pin 3aa in FIG. 2A.

Since the above operation is performed, when the water supplied into the ice tray 4 freezes, an ice sensor (not shown) detects this and drives and rotates the drive motor 1. As the drive motor 1 rotates, the pinned cam 3 starts driving at a set speed via the reduction gear 2 connected to the drive motor 1. The pin-attached cam 3 is driven, and as shown in FIG. 2A, the pin 3a of the pin-attached cam 3 moves to the position of 3aa and engages with the groove 90 of the Geneva gear 7. Further, the Geneva gear 7 starts driving together with the pin 3a as shown in FIG. 2B by the movement of the pin 3a accompanying the driving of the cam 3 with the pin.

With the driving of the Geneva gear 7, the Geneva gear 7
The ice tray 4 connected to the gear 5 is rotated via the gear 7a formed integrally with the gear 5 and the gear 7a and the gear 5 having a predetermined gear ratio. When the ice tray 4 rotates to a predetermined angle, the ice tray 4 is twisted, and ice frozen in the ice tray 4 falls into the ice storage chamber. When the pin cam 3 is driven and approaches the position shown in FIG. 2C, the pin 3a is released from the groove 90 of the Geneva gear 7, so that the Geneva gear 7 is
As shown in FIG. 1 (c), the return position returns to the same position as that of FIG. 2 (a) by return means including a spring 9 and the like provided between the gear 5 and the ice tray 4 shown in FIG.

When the cam 3 with the pin is further driven in the same direction and comes to the position shown in FIG. 2A again, the outer peripheral projection 3b provided on the outer edge of the cam 3a with the pin comes into contact with the detection sensor 8, and the detection sensor 8 8 is transmitted to a control unit of the drive motor 1 (not shown) to stop the drive of the drive motor 1. The above operation is repeated until the ice storage chamber (not shown) is full of ice.
As described above, according to the ice removing device used in the automatic ice making device of the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, it is not necessary to reverse the drive motor as in the conventional ice removing device. ,
Therefore, there is no need for a detecting means for reverse rotation of the drive motor, a drive motor for reverse rotation, or measures and means for preventing overload on the deceleration means, and it is possible to provide an inexpensive ice removing device for an ice making machine.

Next, FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory view showing an example of an embodiment of an ice releasing apparatus used in an automatic ice making apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. The ice making tray 4 and the reversing mechanism for the ice tray 4 of the device a) are provided two mirror-symmetrically in the left and right directions. The driving motor can be rotated forward and reverse, and the motor with one pin is driven by the motor to drive the left and right. The main point is that the ice trays 4a and 4b can be inverted and returned. That is, in FIG. 3, reference numeral 21 denotes a forward / reverse rotatable drive motor, which is configured to drive the pinned cam 3 having the pin 3 a via the reduction gear 2. Reference numerals 7A and 7B denote Geneva gears provided symmetrically with respect to the reduction gear 2, and have grooves 90 which can be engaged with the pins 3a as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, spur gears 7aA and 7aB are integrally formed coaxially with the Geneva gears 7A and 7B, respectively, so that the driving force can be transmitted to one end of the rotating shaft of the ice trays 4a and 4b. Gears 12A and 1 mounted respectively
2B and connecting gears 6Aa, 6Ab, 6Ac to be described later.
6Ba, 6Bb, and 6Bc are inserted, and forward and reverse rotations of the drive motor 21 are transmitted to the ice trays 4A and 4B. In this case, it goes without saying that the driving force is separately transmitted to each of the ice trays 4A and 4B in accordance with the procedure of engagement between the pin 3a and the groove 90 of the Geneva gears 7A and 7B. In addition, the configuration of the ice making frames 11A and 11B in FIG.
The structure of the return means composed of A and 9B, that is, having both ends 9a and 9b and being wound around the rotating shaft 70 of the ice tray 4, is the same as that of FIG. In FIG. 3, a portion that accommodates the driving motor 21, the reduction gear, and a series of cams, gears, and gears is referred to as a driving device 30.

Next, FIGS. 4A to 4C show A in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory view showing the configuration and operation of a portion viewed in the direction of the arrow A, wherein the reference numeral 3 denotes a cam with a pin, which has a pin 3a and is provided at 180 ° above and below the cam 3; An outer peripheral protruding portion 3b for contacting the individual detection sensors 8A and 8B to perform detection is provided. Both of these detection sensors 8A and 8B
1 is a switch for detecting the position of the ice tray for operation / stop. The projection 8a is provided as a detector so as to be freely retractable, and the ice tray 4 is controlled by a signal from the switch.
Which of A and 4B is to be rotated is configured so that a forward / reverse rotation command is issued to the drive motor 21 via control means (not shown). In this case, of course, either the ice making tray 4A or 4B on the side where the freezing has been completed is inverted and separated from the ice, and a freezing completion detecting sensor (not shown) is provided for this purpose. In conjunction with the position signal, the ice tray, which has been frozen, is inverted and separated from the ice tray. Reference numeral 90 denotes a groove provided on the Geneva gear, which is provided to engage with the pin 3a.

FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory view showing the structure and operation of a portion taken along the line BB in FIG. 3, wherein a spur gear 7aA integrally formed with a Geneva gear 7A and an ice tray 4 are shown.
9 shows a connection configuration of connection gears 6Aa, 6Ab, and 6Ac that connect between a spur gear 12A axially mounted on one end of a rotary shaft 70 of A. 3, reference numerals 105a and 105b denote rotating shafts of the connecting gears 6Aa and 6Ab, respectively. These rotating shafts 105a and 105b are elongated holes 30a and 30b provided in the storage case of the driving device 30 shown in FIG. Movably supported in the vertical direction. Although the above description has described the reversing mechanism on the side of the ice tray 4A, the same reversing mechanism is also provided on the side of the ice tray 4B so that the reversing direction of the two ice trays is always one direction. Can be.

The operation of the ice releasing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First,
When the cam 3 with the pin is stopped at the position shown in FIG. 4A and is in a standby state, the outer peripheral protruding portion 3b of the cam 3 with the pin comes into contact with the detection sensor 8A, and the detection sensor 8A operates to drive the drive motor 21. A signal is sent to the control unit (not shown) to stop the driving of the drive motor 21 and wait. Next, based on the signal from the ice tray 4A or 4B from the sensor for detecting the completion of freezing, the control unit determines the rotation direction of the drive motor 21 based on the drive motor rotation direction setting reference shown in Table 1 and drives it.

[0034]

[Table 1]

FIG. 4 shows a cam 3a with a pin at the position shown in FIG.
Shows an operation example when the ice making tray 4A completes freezing while the apparatus is stopped and on standby. Under the above conditions, the drive motor 21 rotates forward based on the reference in Table 1, and the pinned cam 3 is driven counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 4B.
The pin 3a engages with the groove 90 of the Geneva gear 7A to drive the Geneva gear 7A as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the spur gear 7aA and the connecting gears 6Aa, 6Ab, 6Ac, and the spur gear 12 formed integrally with the Geneva gear 7A with the driving of the Geneva gear 7A.
The ice making tray 4A connected to the spur gear 12A via A is rotated. When the ice tray 4A rotates to a predetermined angle, the ice tray 4A is twisted, and ice frozen in the ice tray falls into the ice storage chamber.

The rotation direction of the ice tray 4A depends on the connection gear 6
By providing Aa, 6Ab, and 6Ac, the rotation direction of the Geneva gear 7A and the spur gear 7aA is always one direction (for example, right) regardless of whether it is counterclockwise or clockwise. When the pin cam 3 is driven to approach the position shown in FIG. 2C, the pin 3a is moved to the groove 9 of the Geneva gear 7A.
0, the Geneva gear 7A is a coil spring 9A wound around a shaft connecting the ice tray 4A and the spur gear 12A.
Then, the Geneva gear 7A and the ice tray 4A return to the horizontal position by the above-mentioned return means formed by fixing one end 9b of the coil spring 9A to the ice tray 4A and the other end 9a to the ice frame 11A.

Further, the cam with pin 3 is driven, and FIG.
When the pin 3a comes to the position just before the detection sensor 8B and the outer peripheral projection 3b of the cam 3 with the pin comes into contact with the projection 8Ba of the detection sensor 8B to activate the detection sensor 8B, the drive motor 21 is actuated by this signal. Stop. Then, ice tray 4
When either of A and 4B is completely frozen, ice trays 4A and 4B
Since the water is supplied to the ice tray separately and does not freeze at the same time, the drive motor 2 is controlled by the signal from the ice detection sensor of the ice tray, which has been completely frozen, and the signal from the detection sensor 8B.
The control unit 1 controls the driving motor 2 according to the criteria shown in Table 1 above.
1 is determined, and the same ice removing operation as described above is repeated. Although the operation of the Geneva gear 7A has been described above with reference to FIG. 4, the operation of the Geneva gear 7B is also performed completely in the same manner as the Geneva gear 7A.

Each of the ice trays 4, 4A and 4B of the automatic ice making apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 has a multiple structure centered on the rotating shaft 70, and has a quadruple structure in the figures. Therefore, as described above with reference to FIG.
To increase the amount of ice stored in the ice storage box 30 by expanding the effective volume around the ice storage device, or to reduce the ineffective volume of the ice storage amount instead of keeping the ice storage amount in the conventional manner, thereby reducing the size of the refrigerator or the like. For the purpose, it is hard to say that it is advantageous in that the turning radius of the ice tray 4 or the like is large. Accordingly, in the present invention, as another embodiment, as shown in a perspective view of FIG. 6, as one mode of an ice releasing device used in an automatic ice making device, an ice tray 4 and the like are arranged in a single row structure having a plurality of rows, for example, in FIG. Indicates a single-row structure having two rows, in which each ice tray 4 and the like are rotatable with a small radius.

That is, in FIG. 6, reference numeral 30 denotes a drive unit, which incorporates a drive motor, a reduction gear, gears, gears, switches, etc. as in the case of FIG. Reference numeral 4 denotes an ice tray, which is constituted by two single rows in the figure, and one end of which is rotatably provided by the driving device 30 via the rotating shaft 70.
An icing sensor or the like is connected to the driving device 30, and rotation, twist, and the like are applied to the ice tray 4 and the like according to the signal,
It is configured to perform ice removal. Reference numeral 101 denotes an ice storage box for storing the ice thus separated.

FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b) are schematic illustrations for explaining the reversing and de-icing operations of the ice tray 4 of FIG. 6, and FIG. 7 (a) shows the ice tray 4 during ice-making. The position of
(B) shows the position of the ice tray 4 at the time of ice removal. First, after water is supplied at the position shown in FIG. 7A, when ice making is completed, the driving device 30 is operated by an electric signal from a sensor (not shown), and as shown in FIG. The ice making trays 4 are rotated by about 160 ° and twisted to release ice, and then the ice making trays 4 are turned over to return to the original ice making position.

Here, as means for rotating or twisting the single row of ice trays 4 in two rows by one drive source,
For example, known means as shown in the schematic explanatory diagrams of FIGS. 8A to 8D can be appropriately selected and used. 8 (a) to 8 (d) will be briefly described. First, FIG. 8 (a) shows a driving gear 30A and a gear 30A for four rotations of an ice tray in one row inside a driving device 30. And a driven gear 30B for rotating the ice trays 4 of the other rows in accordance with the rotation of the other trays, and an intermediate gear 30C for interlocking the two gears and for making the rotation directions of the two gears the same. With this configuration, when the gear 30A is rotated by a drive motor (not shown), the gear 30B also rotates in the same direction via the intermediate gear 30C, and the two rows of ice trays 4, 4 are rotated in the same direction. Rotate at the same time.

FIG. 8B shows the same configuration and operation as in FIG. 8A except that a chain 30D is interposed as interlocking means in place of the intermediate gear 30C in FIG. 8A. Further, FIG. 8 (c) shows the gears 30A,
30B and the driven side rotating plate 30F and the driven side rotating plate 30
G, and both are connected by a link 30E. As shown in the perspective view of FIG.
30G, the pins 102 are erected at predetermined positions, and holes 103 are formed at both ends of the link 30E.
Is rotatably inserted into the hole 103 and then the pin 102
It is possible to prevent the link 30E from falling off, for example, by caulking the end of the link 30E.

In this case, as apparent from comparison with the configuration shown in FIG. 11, in the configuration shown in FIG.
The center of the rotating shaft 70 for supporting the ice tray is substantially at the center of each single ice tray 4, so that the ice tray 4 can be rotated with a much smaller radius as compared with the case of FIG. Becomes For example, in the case of the configuration shown in FIG. 13, the radius of rotation is almost halved.
With respect to the ice tray 4 having the continuous structure, the radius of rotation is almost 1/4. Therefore, assuming that the height of the conventional ice storage box 101 is H, as shown in FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b), the rotation range of the ice trays 4, 4 indicated by the dashed line in the figure becomes smaller. conventionally, it is possible to utilize part of the height H _c of the ineffective volume portion. Therefore, in this case, the height of the ice storage box is set to H + H
or promote an increase in the ice storage amount as _c, or the height of the ice storage box is kept at H, the alternative by the height H _c min the ice removal device is miniaturized, or made compact refrigerator, either The benefits can be chosen according to the purpose.

In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which the rotating operation is performed on the ice trays 4 and 4 having a two-row single structure, but a known operation as shown in FIGS. 8A to 8D is performed. Means are
The connecting means is not limited to the two-row single-layered structure, but may be any connecting means that gives a rotating operation to at least two or more rows of a plurality of single-layered ice trays using a single drive source. Of course, it is possible, and as a connecting means, FIG.
It goes without saying that known connecting means commonly used other than those exemplified in (a) to (d) can be arbitrarily selected and used. Further, for example, the ice tray 4 shown in FIG. 1A has a single-row structure of four rows each having a rotation axis, and is configured to transmit the rotational drive of the gear 5 to each ice tray using an arbitrary connection structure. It is possible.

Incidentally, the ice tray 4 described above in the present invention can be constituted by a group of containers equally divided into compartments having the same capacity, according to the above-mentioned conventional technology. This makes it possible to efficiently make ice blocks of the same size and shape, and the ice trays 4, 4a, and 4b shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 6 shown in FIGS. It is a thing of an aspect. However, as mentioned above, this method requires one ice making means.
Since only ice blocks of various sizes and shapes can be obtained, a user cannot obtain ice blocks having different sizes and the like by the same ice making means. Therefore, in the present invention, as another embodiment, in addition to the various configurations described above, the ice tray 4 is further divided into at least two types of container groups 4c and 4d, and the water supply pipe 45 and the container A movement adjusting means 30H or 30I for changing the relative position with respect to the groups 4c and 4d so as to be able to move forward and backward is provided.

9 (a) to 9 (d) show another embodiment of the present invention having an ice tray 4 provided with a group of containers 4c and 4d having different dimensions from the movement adjusting means 30H or 30I. It is a partial schematic explanatory view of an automatic ice making device. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 30 denotes the above-described driving device incorporating a motor, gears, and the like, and reference numeral 45 denotes a water supply pipe.
In (b), 30H is a fixed small container group 4
c, a water supply pipe movement adjusting device for moving the water supply pipe 45 forward and backward relative to the ice tray 4 provided with the large container group 4d. In FIGS. 9 (c) and 9 (d), 30I is a fixed water supply pipe. An ice tray movement adjusting device for moving the ice tray 4 side provided with a small container group 4c and a large container group 4d relatively to 45.

In FIGS. 9A and 9B, the relative positions of the water supply pipe 45 and the ice tray 4 are adjusted by the adjusting device 30H or 30I so that water is supplied to the large container group 4d. FIG. 9 (b)
And (d) adjusts the relative position between the water supply pipe 45 and the ice tray 4 so that water is supplied to the small container group 4c.
Alternatively, it is adjusted by 30I. As for the selection of the size and shape of the ice, the ice making switch 80 of the ice making apparatus shown in FIG. 15 shown in the description of the prior art is provided with an ice block size selection function, for example, a "large", "small" button, The adjusting device 30H or 30I is actuated to move the water supply pipe 45 or the ice tray 4 relatively according to the judgment of the built-in known microcomputer 85. Ice blocks can be obtained.

Next, the operation of the automatic ice making apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG. 9 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the flowchart, step 7 (S
Steps 7) to 9 (S9) are steps performed in conjunction with the present invention, and the operations from step 1 (S1) to step 6 (S6) will be described first with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The operation is substantially the same as that of the conventional automatic ice making device. First, in FIG. 10, a person using the ice making device for the start uses the ice making switch 80 to determine the size of the ice, in this example, large or small, in step 7 (S
Select in 7). This selection signal is determined by the microcomputer 85 in step 8 (S8), and in step 9 (S9), one of the ice tray moving adjusting device 30I and the water supply pipe moving adjusting device 30H is moved forward and backward. The water supply pipe 45 is positioned so that the tip of the water supply pipe 45 faces either the container group 4c or 4d.

After the step 9 (S9), the water supply operation in the steps 1 (S1) to 4 (S4) and the ice making tray by the temperature detection of the microcomputer 85 in the step 5 (S5) are performed according to the flowchart of FIG. In step 4 (S6), the determination of icing in step 4 and if icing has been completed (YES), twisting by the driving device 30 is applied to the ice tray 4 to perform icing.
Steps 2 (S2) to 6 (S6) are repeated until the ice storage box 101 becomes full of ice with a desired size and shape. It is needless to say that the embodiment of the present invention described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10 is used in combination with the other embodiments of the present invention described above.

Finally, in the present invention, as a water supply means, as shown in FIG. 11, a water supply pump 50 is operated from a water supply tank 60 to pass through the water supply passage 40 to make the ice trays 4A, 4B.
It is effective to provide water supply branching means such as a solenoid valve 16 when supplying water to the water supply. That is, FIG.
If the means for supplying water to all the ice trays at the same time is adopted as in (b), it takes a long time to supply water, and there is a possibility that the water supply passage 40 freezes on the way, so that the water supply pump 50 is more powerful than necessary. Although it has already been described that there is an inconvenience that a pump must be used, in this case, FIG.
By supplying water by providing a water supply branching means such as a solenoid valve as shown in FIG. 1, if the ice tray 4A has already finished ice removal and returned to the original position while the ice tray 4B is still making ice, It is possible to immediately supply water to prepare for the next ice making operation, so that not only the ice making efficiency is improved but also the water supply pump 50 needs to have a relatively small capacity, and the economy is excellent.

[0051]

As is apparent from the above embodiments, according to the present invention, the reverse drive of the drive motor is not required, and therefore, the detection means for the reverse rotation, the drive motor for the reverse rotation, or the deceleration means is required. Ice making apparatus provided with an inexpensive ice removing apparatus that does not require overload prevention measures, or by making it possible to separately supply and ice two ice trays. It is possible to provide an automatic ice making device that has high efficiency and therefore can increase the amount of ice making. Furthermore, by reducing the radius of rotation of the ice tray, the ineffective volume around the ice tray can be significantly reduced, thereby increasing the amount of ice stored in the limited space. This makes it possible to provide an automatic ice making device that can make a refrigerator or the like compact for the same ice storage amount. In addition, it is possible to supply ice blocks having different sizes and shapes according to a user's request. Furthermore, efficient water supply becomes possible by using a small capacity water supply pump.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view showing one embodiment of an ice releasing device used in an automatic ice making device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory view of a portion taken along line AA in FIG. 1 (a).

FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory view showing one embodiment of an ice releasing device used in an automatic ice making device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic explanatory view of a portion taken along line AA in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory view of a portion taken along line BB in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of an ice releasing device used in an automatic ice making device according to yet another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic explanatory view illustrating an ice releasing operation in the ice tray of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a schematic explanatory view showing a connecting means used in the driving device of the ice tray of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a partial schematic explanatory view of another embodiment of the automatic ice making device of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the device in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a schematic explanatory view showing one embodiment of a water supply means used in the automatic ice making device of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic explanatory view showing an example of an embodiment of an ice releasing device used in a conventional automatic ice making device.

13 is a perspective view showing an example of an embodiment of an ice releasing device used in the automatic ice making device of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a schematic explanatory view illustrating an ice-releasing operation in the ice tray of FIG.

FIG. 15 is a schematic explanatory view schematically showing a cross section of a conventional automatic ice making device.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the apparatus in FIG. 15;

[Explanation of symbols]

1,21 drive motor 2 reduction gear 3 pin cam 3a, 3aa, 102 pin 4,4a, 4b, 4A, 4B ice tray 5,7a, 7aA, 7aB, 12A, 12B, 15,2
0a, 20b, 30A, 30B, 30C Gear (Gear) 6Aa, 6Ab, 6Ac, 6Ba, 6Bb, 6Bc Connection Gear 7, 7A, 7B Geneva Gear 8, 8A, 8B Detection Switch (Sensor) 9, 9A, 9B Coil Spring 11, 11A, 11B Ice making frame 16 Solenoid valve 30 Driving device 30D Chain 30E Link 30F, 30G Rotating plate 30H Water supply pipe movement adjustment device 30I Ice tray movement adjustment device 40 Water supply passage 45 Water supply pipe 50 Water supply pump 60 Water supply tank 65 Water receiving cup 70 rotating shaft 80 ice making switch 85 microcomputer 90 groove 100 ice 101 ice storage box 103 hole

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-56-68772 (JP, A) JP-A 54-49657 (JP, U) JP-A 50-129946 (JP, U) JP-A 4-125173 (JP) , U) JP 50-8553 (JP, B1) JP 47-1518 (JP, B1) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) F25C 1/10

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. An automatic ice making device having an ice making device for automatically and continuously producing ice in an ice tray and rotating and de-icing, and an ice storage box for storing ice that has been de-fed, wherein A cam with a pin driven by a drive motor, a Geneva gear that engages with and drives the pin of the cam with a pin when the cam with a pin is driven, and transmits a driving force to an ice tray; An automatic ice making device, comprising: a detection sensor that detects a predetermined portion of the ice making device and drives the drive motor to stop at a predetermined position; and a return unit that returns the ice tray to a horizontal position. 2. An automatic ice making device having an ice releasing device for automatically and continuously producing ice in an ice tray and rotating and de-icing, and an ice storage box for storing ice de-iced, wherein the ice releasing device is One pin-equipped cam driven by a forward / reverse rotatable drive motor, and two ice-making trays driven by engaging the pins of the pin-equipped cam with the driving of the pins of the pin-equipped cam. And two Geneva gears provided corresponding to the respective ice trays for transmitting the driving force, and two for detecting a predetermined portion of the cam with a pin and driving the drive motor to stop at a predetermined position. Two ice-making trays, an ice-making tray having completed freezing, a control means for detecting the stop position of the cam with a pin, and determining either forward rotation or reverse rotation of the drive motor, and inversion of the two ice-making trays Transmit the driving force of the Geneva gear so that each direction is always one direction. Automatic ice making device, characterized in that it comprises a connecting means provided, and a return means for returning the ice tray in a horizontal position between the Geneva wheel and the ice tray to be. 3. An automatic ice making apparatus having an ice making device for automatically and continuously producing ice in an ice making tray for rotating and de-icing, and an ice storage box for storing ice that has been made out of ice, wherein the ice making tray is provided with a plurality of ice making trays. An automatic ice making device having a single row structure and a rotatable rotating shaft with a small radius provided for each ice tray. 4. An automatic ice making device having an ice releasing device for automatically and continuously producing ice in an ice making tray and rotating and deicing, and an ice storage box for storing ice defrosted, wherein the ice releasing device is provided. A cam with a pin driven by a drive motor, a Geneva gear that engages with and drives the pin of the cam with a pin when the cam with a pin is driven, and transmits a driving force to an ice tray; A detection sensor that detects a predetermined portion of the ice tray and drives the drive motor to stop at a predetermined position; and a return unit that returns the ice tray to a horizontal position. Further, the ice tray has a single-row structure of a plurality of rows. In addition, an automatic ice maker is provided with a rotating shaft that can rotate with a small radius for each ice tray. 5. An automatic ice making apparatus having an ice releasing device for automatically and continuously producing ice in an ice making tray and rotating and deicing, and an ice storage box for storing ice defrosted, wherein the ice releasing device is provided. A cam with a pin driven by a drive motor, a Geneva gear that engages with and drives the pin of the cam with a pin when the cam with a pin is driven, and transmits a driving force to an ice tray; A detection sensor for detecting a predetermined portion of the ice making tray and driving the driving motor to stop at a predetermined position; and a return means for returning the ice tray to a horizontal position. Further, the ice tray is divided into at least two types of large and small container groups. An automatic ice making device provided with a movement adjusting means for splitting and changing a relative position between a water supply pipe and the container group so as to be able to advance and retreat. 6. An automatic manufacturing apparatus having an ice releasing device for automatically and continuously producing ice in an ice tray and rotating and releasing ice, and an ice storage box for storing ice released from ice, wherein the ice releasing device is provided. A cam with a pin driven by a drive motor, a Geneva gear that engages with and drives the pin of the cam with a pin when the cam with a pin is driven, and transmits a driving force to an ice tray; A detection sensor that detects a predetermined portion of the ice tray and drives the drive motor to stop at a predetermined position; and a return unit that returns the ice tray to a horizontal position. Further, the ice tray has a single-row structure of a plurality of rows. Along with each of the ice trays, a rotatable rotation shaft with a small radius is provided, and the ice tray is divided into at least two types of large and small container groups, and a relative position between a water supply pipe and the container group is determined. Position adjustment to change freely An automatic ice making device comprising means. 7. An arbitrary connecting means is used so that at least two or more rows of a single row ice tray having a plurality of rows have a single drive source to provide a rotating motion.
The automatic ice making device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. 8. The automatic ice making apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a water supply branching means formed by a solenoid valve or the like in a water supply passage for supplying water to the ice making tray.