JP3412711B2 - Water supply device for automatic ice maker - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a water supply device for an automatic ice making machine of a refrigerator in which a freezing room is provided at the bottom of a refrigerating room.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Some refrigerators are provided with a freezing room below a refrigerating room. In this type of refrigerator, water is supplied to the automatic ice maker in the freezing room from the water supply device provided in the upper refrigerating room. FIG. 3 shows an example thereof, in which the water supply device 21 is provided with a water supply tank 24 provided with a measuring cup 22 for accumulating water for one ice making operation and a water stopcock 23, and the water stopcock 23 according to a command from a control unit (not shown). An ice making container from a solenoid valve 25 that is pushed up based on water, and water that flows down from the measuring cup 22 when the water stopcock 23 is pushed up, and that water is supplied from a water supply pipe 27 connected to a water discharge port 26 at the bottom.
A water receiver 29 adapted to supply water to the water receiver 28. At the upper opening of the water discharge port 26 of the water receiver 29, a float 30 that floats with the water that has flowed down from the measuring cup 22 and a cylinder that houses this float 30. The float-shaped fixture 31 is provided, and the upper opening of the water discharge port 26 is closed by the float 30 except when water is supplied to the ice making container 28, so that the cold air on the freezing room 32 side leaks to the refrigerating room 33 side. It is designed to prevent it. An elastic waterproof cover 34 for preventing water leakage to the solenoid valve 25 side is attached to the opening of the water receiver 29 above the solenoid valve 25.

[0003]

However, in the configuration using the float 30, the float fixture 31, the waterproof cover 34, etc. as described above, it takes time to assemble, which is not only disadvantageous in terms of cost, but also Since the solenoid valve 25 is arranged below the water receiver 29, the shape of the water receiver 29 becomes complicated, and a space for accommodating the solenoid valve 25 is required, so that the entire water supply device 21 becomes large in the vertical direction. It is also a factor that deteriorates the usability of the refrigerating room 33 side. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a water supply device for an automatic ice maker that does not require the above parts.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and a refrigerating chamber is provided in an upper part and a freezing chamber is provided in a lower part, and an automatic ice making machine is provided in the freezing chamber. In a refrigerator provided with a water supply device for supplying water to the automatic ice maker, the water supply device includes a water supply tank equipped with a measuring cup and a water stopcock, and when the water stopcock is pushed up, the measurement is performed. A water receiver that receives water flowing down from the cup and supplies it to the ice making container in the freezing chamber through a water supply pipe provided at the bottom, a head that pushes up the water stopcock to one side, and an inlet of the water supply pipe. It has an opening / closing body that opens and closes the side, and is constituted by an arm pivotally supported on the side of the water receiver and an electromagnetic valve that gives power to the other side of the arm.

[0005]

With the above construction, when the solenoid valve is not energized, the inlet of the water supply pipe at the bottom of the water receiver is closed by the opening / closing body provided on the arm, so that the cooling air from the freezer compartment to the refrigerating compartment is closed. Leakage can be eliminated, and when the solenoid valve is energized, the arm is rotated by the power transmitted from the solenoid valve, the opening and closing body opens the inlet of the water supply pipe, and it is installed at the tip of the arm. The head thus pushed pushes up the water stopcock, so that the water in the measuring cup on the side of the water supply tank can be made to flow down to the water receiver to supply water to the ice making container.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a water supply device of an automatic ice maker, 1 is a refrigerating room, 2 is a freezing room,
3 is a heat insulating partition provided between the refrigerator compartment 1 and the freezer compartment 4
Is a water supply device of the automatic ice making machine, and 5 is an ice making container of the automatic ice making machine. The water supply device 4 is provided with a water supply tank 8 having a measuring cup 6 for storing one-time ice making water and a water stopcock 7, and water flowing down from the measuring cup 6 when the water stopcock 7 is pushed up and provided at the bottom. A water receiver 10 adapted to supply water to the ice making container 5 via a pipe 9 and a head 11 for pushing up the water stopper 7 to one side.
And an arm 13 that has an opening / closing body 12 that opens and closes the inlet side of the water supply pipe 9, and is rotatably supported by the side of the water receiver 10, and an electromagnetic force that gives power to the other side of this arm 13. The valve 14 and a water supply tank 8 (measuring cup 6) are provided at the bottom thereof with a spiral spring body 15 that pushes down the water stopcock 7.

The operation of the water supply device 4 will be described below. FIG. 1 shows that the water supply device 4 is in a stopped state during ice making, and FIG. 2 shows that the water supply device 4 is in a water supply state with the completion of ice making. During ice making, the solenoid valve 14 is de-energized by a command from a control unit (not shown), so that the arm 13 is maintained in a substantially horizontal state by its own weight as shown in FIG. It is closed by the opening / closing body 12 provided in the. Further, the head 11 of the arm 13 is slightly separated from the rod 16 of the water stopcock 7. In this state, since the rod 16 is pushed down by the spring body 15, the lower portion of the water blocking plug 7 is in close contact with the lower opening of the measuring cup 6, and there is no water leakage from the measuring cup 6. Further, since the inlet side of the water supply pipe 9 is closed by the opening / closing body 12, cold air leakage from the freezer compartment 2 to the refrigerating compartment 1 is blocked.

When the ice making container 5 is emptied with the completion of the ice making operation, the solenoid valve 14 is energized by a command from a control unit (not shown), so that the arm 13 is powered by the solenoid valve 14. To rotate to the position shown in FIG. Along with this, the inlet of the water supply pipe 9 is opened, and the head having the rod 16 at the tip of the arm 13 is provided.
The water in the measuring cup 6 flows down to the water receiver 5 because it is pushed up by 11 and the water stopper 7 moves to the upper portion. At that time, the upper portion of the water stopper 7 has an upper opening 17 of the measuring cup 6. Since there is no water flow from the water supply tank 8 to the measuring cup 6, a predetermined amount of water will flow down to the ice making container 5. The illustrated opening / closing body 12 is fixed to the arm 13 side,
And, although it is substantially flat shape, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the opening / closing body 12 may be rotatably provided on the arm 13 side, or the lower portion of the opening / closing body 12 may be formed in a spherical shape. Good.

[0009]

According to the water supply device as described above, the electromagnetic valve is arranged on the side of the water receiver, and the operation of supplying water to the automatic ice maker by one arm driven by the electromagnetic valve. Since the opening and closing work of the inlet side of the water supply pipe related to the prevention of leakage of cold air from the freezer side to the refrigerating room side can be performed, the float and waterproof cover etc. used in the conventional water supply device are not needed, and the assembly is not required. Easy and at the bottom of the water receiver
There is no need to provide a solenoid valve storage space in the
The storage space can be made smaller vertically, which improves the usability of the refrigerator room.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a water supply device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing an operating state of the water supply device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of a conventional water supply device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 refrigerating room 2 Freezer 3 Insulation partition 4 Water supply device 5 ice making containers 6 measuring cups 7 Stopcock 8 water tank 9 water pipe 10 water receptor 11 head 12 openable body 13 arms 14 Solenoid valve 15 Spring body 16 rod 17 Upper opening

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A refrigerating compartment is provided in an upper part, a freezing compartment is provided in a lower part, an automatic ice maker is provided in the freezing compartment, and a water supply device for supplying water to the automatic ice maker is provided in the refrigerating compartment. The water supply device receives a water flowing down from the measuring cup when the water supply tank having a measuring cup and a water stopper and the water stopper is pushed up, and receives the water flowing down from the measuring cup, and through the water supply pipe provided at the bottom, the freezing chamber. Same as the water receiver that supplies water to the ice making container of
Is rotatably supported by the side of the water receptacle having an opening and closing body for opening and closing the inlet side of the head and the water supply pipe for pushing up the stop cock to one side, the solenoid valve is disposed on the other side water supply device of an automatic ice maker, characterized in that it consists of an arm that is. 2. The water supply device for an automatic ice maker according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing body is rotatably provided on the arm. 3. The water supply device for an automatic ice maker according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing body is formed in a spherical shape.