JP4362124B2 - refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly to a refrigerator provided with an ice making device that obtains ice with high transparency.

  In a conventional refrigerator, as a means of generating highly transparent ice, an automatic ice making device such as a refrigerator has an ice making tray with an open bottom that is superposed on the inner surface of a water storage tank with a drain port provided on one side of a cooler, and The ice tray is equipped with a drive device for rotating and reversing, and the water storage tank and the drain outlet are surrounded by a heat insulating material, and a heater is closely attached to the outer wall, and the drain outlet and the drain pipe are connected to the drain outlet, In addition to this, there is a configuration in which a detachable water supply tank and a water supply pump are provided and the water supply pipe is guided to the water storage tank.

  With such a configuration, when a predetermined amount of water filled in the water supply tank is supplied to the water storage tank through the water supply pipe by the water supply pump, the ice tray that is superposed on the inner surface of the water storage tank has an opening on the bottom surface. It is immersed in water to a predetermined water level. And since the outer periphery of the water storage tank is surrounded by a heat insulating material and kept warm by a heater, a freezing action in one direction is performed downward from the surface of the water by the cold air in the cooling chamber, so that gaseous components and impurities in the water are Ice crystals are produced while discharging. Next, when the drainage device is activated when the ice reaches an appropriate thickness, unfrozen water with high concentrations of gaseous components and impurities is drained through the drainage device and drainage pipe, and the ice tray has high transparency and purity. Ice is left. The overlapping portion between the water storage tank and the ice tray is prevented from freezing by the heating action of the heater, and the ice tray is detached from the water storage tank by the rotation action of the driving device and inverted to perform ice removal.

  As another conventional example, there is an ice making tray whose bottom surface is not opened. As an example of this type of conventional ice tray, a separate shape that splits the ice particles up and down is provided in the shape of each ice tray, leaving the connection part, and the cloudy part is placed at the bottom of the ice tray by cooling from above. Clear ice is formed at the top, and the ice is removed after the ice making process is completed, and then the transparent ice is removed. The remaining cloudy ice is melted and mixed with water supplied to the ice tray. After that, the one that performs ice making again has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-245484 (Claim 1, FIG. 3)

  In the above-described two types of conventional automatic ice making devices for refrigerators, the ice detachment is performed by cutting the connecting portion of the transparent ice portion and the cloudy ice portion in any case regardless of the presence or absence of the opening on the bottom surface. As a means for cutting, the ice making drive device starts to rotate, and the ice making tray is turned by rotating and twisting. When the ice tray is deformed by twisting the ice tray, the transparent ice portion is separated from the ice tray while the cloudy ice portion is in close contact with the ice tray. As the torsional torque is applied, the transparent ice part receives the force from the ice tray and the transparent ice part and the cloudy ice part are divided. As described above, since the ice is divided only by twisting the ice tray, a large force is required to divide the ice. Therefore, a large noise is generated at the time of the division.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to obtain a refrigerator having a low noise level as well as ice having high transparency.

  The present invention relates to an ice making tray in which a plurality of ice making blocks are connected, an ice making chamber in which the ice making tray is arranged and to which cold air is supplied from above, and the ice making tray is twisted about the axis of the ice making tray. And a water supply means for supplying water to the ice tray placed in the ice making chamber, wherein the ice making block of the ice tray has a first ice generating portion whose upper portion is opened by a separating member having an opening. And a second ice generating unit having a closed bottom, and the longitudinal direction of the opening and the axis of the ice tray are a refrigerator having a predetermined angle.

  The present invention relates to an ice making tray in which a plurality of ice making blocks are connected, an ice making chamber in which the ice making tray is arranged and to which cold air is supplied from above, and the ice making tray is twisted about the axis of the ice making tray. And a water supply means for supplying water to the ice tray placed in the ice making chamber, wherein the ice making block of the ice tray has a first ice generating portion whose upper portion is opened by a separating member having an opening. And a second ice generating part having a closed bottom, and the longitudinal direction of the opening and the axis of the ice tray are a predetermined angle, so that highly transparent ice can be obtained and noise can be obtained. The level can be lowered.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
1 to 4 are diagrams showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a refrigerator, FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an ice making system, and FIGS.

  First, the whole structure of a refrigerator is demonstrated using FIG. In FIG. 1, the refrigerator body 1 includes a refrigerator compartment 100 arranged with an open / close door at the top, and a refrigerator temperature range (−18 ° C.) provided in the lower part of the refrigerator compartment 100 for refrigeration, vegetables, and chilled items. A switching chamber 400 having a drawer door that can be switched to any one of the temperature zones, an ice making chamber 500 having a drawer door in parallel with the switching chamber 400, and a freezing chamber 200 having a drawer door disposed at the bottom. The vegetable compartment 300 is provided with a drawer door between the freezer compartment 200, the switching compartment 400 and the ice making compartment 500.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 1, the cooler 3 which produces | generates the cool air for cooling the inside of the refrigerator main body 1 is installed in the position spanning the vegetable compartment 300 and the freezer compartment 200. As shown in FIG. A fan 2 for circulating the cold air generated by the cooler 3 is provided at the upper part of the cooler 3. Further, the cooler 3 is provided with a cool air blow duct 4 and a return duct 5 that connect the cooler 3, the refrigerator compartment 100, the switching chamber 400, the ice making chamber 500, and the freezer compartment 200. The cold air blowing duct 4 is a blower pipe for sending the cold air generated by the cooler 3 to the refrigerating room 100, the switching room 400, the ice making room 500, and the freezing room 200. Conversely, the return duct 5 is a blower pipe for returning the used cold air used for cooling in those places from the refrigerating room 100, the switching room 400, the ice making room 500, and the freezing room 200 to the cooler 3. .

  The cold air cooled by the cooler 3 is circulated in the refrigerator main body 1 by the fan 2 provided at the upper part of the cooler 3. The cooled cold air is sent from the cooler 3 to the refrigerator compartment 100, the switching chamber 400, the ice making chamber 500, and the freezer compartment 200 through the cold air blowing ducts 4 provided to cool the rooms. Later, the air is returned again to the cooler 3 by the return duct 5 from each room, heat is exchanged again, and cold air is circulated. Moreover, in the vegetable compartment 300, it is radiatively cooled by the return cold air of the refrigerator compartment 100. Moreover, the temperature control of each room is performed by controlling the air volume regulator 7 installed in each cold air duct 4 by the temperature sensor 6 installed in each room.

  Here, as an example, a layout in which the ice making chamber 500 is arranged in parallel with the switching chamber 400 between the refrigerator compartment 100 and the vegetable compartment 300 is shown, but the configuration is not limited thereto. For example, a layout in which the ice making chamber 500 is arranged in parallel with the switching chamber 400 between the vegetable chamber 300 and the freezing chamber 200, or the ice making chamber 500 may be a part of the freezing chamber 200. 1 will be described later.

  Next, the configuration of the ice making system will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the refrigerating chamber 100 is provided with a water supply tank 8 for supplying water to the ice tray 11 placed in the ice making chamber 500. In the water supply tank 8, a water supply pump 9 for pumping up water in the water supply tank 8 is provided. In addition, a water supply pipe 10 that connects the water supply tank 8 and the ice making chamber 500 is provided, and the pumped water is supplied to the ice tray 11 through the water supply pipe 10. As described above, the water supply tank 8, the water supply pump 9, and the water supply pipe 10 constitute water supply means for supplying water to the ice making tray 11 arranged in the ice making chamber 500. As shown in FIG. 2, an ice making drive device 12 (drive mechanism) for twisting the ice making plate 11 is provided around the rotation shaft 19 (see FIG. 3) of the ice making plate 11. Is fixed by a frame 13. As shown in FIG. 3, the rotary shaft 19 is provided so as to penetrate the central portion over substantially the entire length in the longitudinal direction of the ice tray 11, and one end portion is provided outside to engage with the ice making drive device 12. It protrudes. The ice tray 11 is rotated by the ice tray driving device 12 around the rotation shaft 19. At this time, one part of the ice tray 11 (for example, one part on the side where the rotation shaft 19 does not protrude) is fixed. Therefore, the ice tray 11 is twisted by the rotation. Further, an ice making thermistor 14 for determining completion of ice making is provided at the lower part of the ice making tray 11. Further, an ice detecting lever 15 for detecting the ice storage amount is incorporated in the ice making drive device 12.

  In the configuration shown in FIG. 2, water is pumped up from a water supply tank 8 installed in the refrigerating room 100 by a water supply pump 9 in the water supply tank 8 so that the refrigerating room 100 and the ice making room 500 communicate with each other. Water is supplied to the ice tray 11 that generates ice through the inside. The cold air that has passed through the cold air blowing duct 4 for the ice making chamber 500 is supplied to the ice making tray 11 and the frame body 13 that fixes the ice making driving device 12 that twists the ice making tray 11 to perform ice making.

  The determination of completion of ice making is determined to be ice making completion when the ice making thermistor 14 fixed to the lower part of the ice making tray 11 falls below a certain set temperature, and when it is determined that ice making is completed, it is incorporated into the ice making drive unit 12. The ice storage lever 15 for detecting the ice storage amount is operated to detect the ice storage amount. When the full ice amount set at a position lower than the rotation trajectory of the ice tray 11 has not been reached, the ice making drive device 12 rotates. The ice is released from the ice tray 11 by starting the operation and rotating and twisting the ice tray 11.

  An example of the structure of the ice tray 11 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 3A is a view as seen from the top of the ice tray 11, FIG. 3B is a view as seen from the side (vertical), and FIG. 3C is a view as seen from the side (horizontal). Yes, FIG. 3D is a view from below. The ice tray 11 is configured by connecting a plurality of ice making blocks (grain shape or pit). Each ice making block has a first ice generating part (hereinafter referred to as a transparent ice part 17) in which the upper part is opened by a separator member 16 (separating member) having an opening, and ice making is promoted by receiving cold air from the upper part. The bottom portion is closed, and the transparent ice portion 17 is divided into a second ice generating portion (hereinafter, cloudy ice portion 18) that is continuously made through the opening of the separator member 16. After the ice making is completed, only the ice with high transparency generated in the transparent ice part 17 is deiced, and then the cloudy ice below is melted through the opening of the separator member 16 with newly supplied water, Air components in the ice are degassed to produce transparent ice again. This realizes inexpensive transparent ice generation that does not require a drainage mechanism.

  Thus, in the ice making part of the ice tray 11, the separator member 16 (separator shape) is formed between the transparent ice part 17 and the cloudy ice part 18 for each grain shape. As shown in FIGS. 3B and 3C, the transparent ice portion 17 has a substantially rectangular cross section (or trapezoidal shape) and is slightly tapered toward the opening. The separator member 16 is a plate-like member, and is provided with a through hole that allows the transparent ice portion 17 and the cloudy ice portion 18 to communicate with each other. Thereby, water can be transferred between the transparent ice part 17 and the cloudy ice part 18. Moreover, the cloudy ice part 18 has an elliptical tubular shape, and the inside is hollow, but the bottom is closed. One or more cloudy ice portions 18 are provided below the transparent ice portion 17 (two in the example of FIG. 4).

  The ice formation mechanism freezes from the low temperature area around the water, so the gas components that cause white turbidity are chased by the unfrozen part in the center when water freezes from the outer shell, and it becomes cloudy . In the transparent ice making system of the present invention, the cloudy part is driven downward by cooling from the opening of the ice tray 11, that is, from above, to promote separation of the cloudy part and the transparent part in the ice.

  In order to perform cooling from above, the ratio of the amount of cold air to the opening area of the cold air blowing ducts at the top and bottom of the ice tray 11 in FIG. 2 is increased above the bottom of the ice tray 11 or the fan 2 for cooling air blow is rotated. The numerical control is performed, or the opening angle of the air volume adjuster 7 is adjusted to change the wind direction.

  Then, the ice cloudy ice part 18 and the transparent ice part 17 are separated by the separator member 16 provided in the ice tray 11. As described above, the separator member 16 has a through hole (opening) for connecting the transparent ice portion 17 and the cloudy ice portion 18. It is desirable to provide at least two through holes. The shape of the through hole may be a round hole shape, a square hole shape, or a slit shape, and is not limited to any one.

  Moreover, this separator member 16 should just be the dimension which has ensured the capacity | capacitance of 5-30% of the ice-particle volume in the depth dimension from the ice-making tray 11 bottom face. For example, the dimension is 2 to 10 mm. If it exceeds about 30% of the ice particle volume, the ice tray 11 will be enlarged when the necessary size is secured as the transparent portion, so 30% or less is preferable.

  Then, only the completed high-transparency ice in the transparent ice part 17 on the upper part of the separator member 16 is deiced, and then the water supplied to the ice tray 11 is newly supplied to the bottom surface through the through hole in the separator member 16. The cloudy ice in the cloudy ice part 18 is melted and the air component in the ice is degassed and used again to generate transparent ice. As a result, an inexpensive transparent ice can be produced without requiring a drainage mechanism.

  Here, the inventor paid attention to complete the present invention. The ice making tray and the ice are separated from the ice making tray in the conventional ice tray built in the refrigerator as the background of the present invention, and the transparent ice portion and the cloudy ice. The mechanism of cutting with the part will be described.

  In the automatic ice making device of the refrigerator, the ice making drive device 12 starts rotating and twists the ice making plate 11 to give the ice making force from the ice making plate 11. Specifically, because the rigidity of the ice part including the transparent part and the cloudy part is larger than that of the ice tray, when the torque is applied, the deformation of the ice tray cannot follow the deformation of the ice tray. Are separated. In particular, the transparent ice part located on the ice tray opening side and the ice tray are separated first.

  On the other hand, since it is necessary to take out only transparent ice at the time of deicing, the cloudy ice part is structured not to be separated from the ice tray. For example, measures such as reducing the draft taper angle or providing a triangular rib on the inner wall surface of the cloudy ice part are considered. In this way, when the transparent ice is deiced, the cloudy ice is not easily detached from the ice tray by being caught by a small draft taper angle or a triangular rib formed on the inner wall, and remains in close contact with the transparent ice. Only ice breaks away.

  In the transparent ice part where the ice tray and the ice are separated from each other, there is a deformation mismatch between the ice tray and the ice such that only the ice tray is greatly deformed, and the transparent ice part is pushed by the ice tray. On the other hand, since the cloudy ice part is in close contact with the ice tray, an excessive stress acts on the boundary between the transparent ice part and the cloudy ice part. As a result, the transparent ice part and the cloudy ice part are divided.

  In order to check the noise level at the time of division between general clear ice and cloudy ice, it is equipped with a normal ice tray that is not for clear ice and without cloudy ice, and a cloudy ice for clear ice The ice tray was similarly twisted to measure the noise level when the ice leaves the ice tray. As a result, the ice tray noise level for transparent ice was 10 dB or more higher than the noise level of a normal ice tray not for transparent ice. In addition, in the ice tray for transparent ice, the cloudy ice part was first manually folded and cut from the transparent ice part, but the noise level at the time of deicing is the same as the noise level of a normal ice tray for non-clear ice. It was a level. From this result, the noise generated when the transparent ice part and the cloudy ice part are divided by twisting the ice tray and tearing the transparent ice part from the cloudy ice part is the dominant factor in the noise at the time of deicing, I discovered the problem that the noise level was high to make clear ice.

  In order to investigate the reason why the noise level becomes high, the result of observing the ice tray after obtaining transparent ice by the above method will be described below. FIG. 10 shows the deformation of the ice tray and the movement of the ice when the transparent ice is taken out by twisting the ice tray and deforming the ice tray. From FIG. 10, when the transparent ice part 17 is considered as the upper part and the cloudy ice part 18 (see FIG. 11) is considered as the lower part, the transparent ice part 17 generates a force in an obliquely upward direction as shown in FIG. Try to leave. This force is the same for the cloudy ice part 18, but the cloudy ice part 18 is in contact with the ice tray 11 with a structure having a large friction, so that the cloudy ice part 18 remains in the ice tray 11 as a result. The transparent ice part 17 is detached from the cloudy ice part 18 in such a form that it is torn off. As a result, the state of ice remaining in the ice tray 11 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 11, after the ice making tray 11 is rotated and twisted, the cloudy ice portion 18 divides the transparent ice, and then the remaining ice 40 remains in the ice making tray 11. As shown in FIG. 11, the ice is not cut only at the boundary between the transparent ice part and the cloudy ice part, but the crack generated from the boundary corner between the transparent ice part and the cloudy ice part propagates through the transparent ice part. However, the transparent ice itself is also destroyed, and a part of it remains as residual ice 40 in the ice tray. In contrast, when only the cloudy ice part is loaded to destroy only the boundary between the transparent ice part and the cloudy ice part, and the transparent ice part and the cloudy ice part are divided, the ice tray is twisted to release the ice. It has been experimentally confirmed that the noise is smaller than that. Therefore, it can be seen that in the conventional structure in which the ice tray is twisted to release the ice, a large force is generated to destroy the transparent ice itself. It is considered that this large force is transmitted to the ice tray to generate a large noise.

  For this reason, in this invention, it becomes possible to implement | achieve transparent ice production | generation, without producing a big noise by setting it as the structure demonstrated below. Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

  FIG. 4 is an example of the ice tray structure according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The shape of the opening of the separator member 16 that separates the transparent ice part and the cloudy ice part of the ice tray 11 is an elongated shape. Further, the opening is arranged with a predetermined angle θ with respect to the rotation axis 19 of the ice tray. The basic configuration is the same as that shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, but in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. The difference is that they are arranged with a predetermined angle θ.

  The angle of the opening will be described. As described above, in the ice making machine of the present invention, the ice making driving device 12 starts rotating and twists the ice making tray 11 to release the ice from the ice making tray. At that time, the ice tends to deform or move along the direction in which the tensile stress generated in the ice tray and the ice is maximized, that is, the principal stress direction.

  Therefore, if a predetermined angle is provided between the main stress direction and the longitudinal direction of the opening, or if they are orthogonal to each other, a load is applied to the ice thin direction when the ice tray is twisted. Thus, the bending stress generated at the edge of the opening can be increased. As a result, the torque required for deicing is small, and it is possible to selectively break and cut only the boundary between transparent ice and cloudy ice, thus reducing the noise level generated during deicing. The effect that it can be obtained.

  The angle θ may not be a desired angle due to various constraints including the need to arrange a heater to produce transparent ice. Even in such a case, although the effect is reduced, the effect of reducing noise can be expected by arranging as close to the orthogonal direction as possible with an angle.

  Furthermore, the main stress direction is a direction of 45 ° with respect to the rotary shaft 19 when receiving only the torque as in the present. Therefore, it is most effective to arrange the opening in the direction in which the longitudinal direction of the opening is 45 ° with respect to the rotation axis direction of the ice tray.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, in each grain shape of the ice tray, the transparent ice portion 17 that receives cold air and promotes ice making, and the cloudy ice portion 18 that is continuously made through the opening, And the cloudy ice is moved to the cloudy ice part 18 at the lower part of the ice tray by cooling from above to produce transparent ice at the upper part, and the connection between the transparent ice and the cloudy ice in the deicing process after the ice making is completed In a refrigerator equipped with an ice making device for making ice again after melting the remaining ice cubes by removing the transparent ice and mixing the remaining cloudy ice with water newly fed to the ice tray, the transparent ice portion 17 and Since the cloudy ice part 18 is provided so that the longitudinal direction of the opening connecting the cloudy ice part 18 has a predetermined angle (for example, 45 °) with respect to the rotation axis direction of the ice tray, highly transparent ice can be obtained. The main stress direction (when twisting when the ice tray is twisted) Since a predetermined angle is provided between the pulling direction and the longitudinal direction of the opening, when the ice tray is twisted, a load is applied in the thin direction of the ice, and the edge of the opening is It is possible to increase the generated bending stress, and it is possible to selectively cut only the boundary portion between the transparent ice and the cloudy ice, thereby realizing low noise.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
Furthermore, a better noise reduction effect can be obtained by increasing the rigidity of the cloudy ice part of the ice tray. As an example, FIG. 5 shows an example in which a plurality of cloudy ice parts are connected by ribs 31 that are reinforcing members. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted here.

  According to this structure, when torque is applied to the ice tray at the time of deicing, the action of the rib 31 connecting the cloudy ice portions increases the rigidity of the cloudy ice portion, and the ice and ice tray in the cloudy ice portion are increased. Therefore, the stress concentration tends to occur at the boundary between the transparent ice part and the cloudy ice part. As a result, it becomes possible to cause breakage at a lower torque, and it becomes easier to selectively break the boundary between the transparent ice part and the cloudy ice part, suppressing crack propagation to the transparent ice part, and reducing noise. Can be realized.

  Alternatively, the same effect can be obtained by a method in which another reinforcing member is separately inserted and fixed instead of the rib 31. In this case, the reinforcing member is fixed by insert molding or adhesion.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the transparent ice portion 17 in which ice making is promoted by receiving cold air and the cloudy ice portion 18 in which ice making is continuously made through the opening are provided in each grain shape of the ice tray. And the cloudy ice is moved into the cloudy ice part 18 at the bottom of the ice tray by cooling from above to produce transparent ice at the top, and the connection part is cut and transparent in the deicing process after the ice making is completed. In a refrigerator equipped with an ice making device that melts and mixes the remaining cloudy ice with water newly supplied to the ice tray, and then mixes the remaining white ice in the refrigerator, the rib 31 is provided between the cloudy ice portions 18 of the ice tray. In addition to providing a highly transparent ice, a predetermined angle is provided between the main stress direction and the longitudinal direction of the opening, and ribs 31 are formed between the cloudy ice parts. Are connected to each other so that when the ice tray is twisted, Will be but is loaded, it is possible to increase the resulting bending stresses at the edge of the opening can only be selectively cut boundary portion between the transparent ice cloudy ice, can achieve low noise.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
6 and 7 are examples of the ice tray structure according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the ice tray 11 and FIG. 7 is a bottom view. The cloudy ice part 18 of the ice tray is provided below the ice tray from the transparent ice part 17 and has a structure in which a reinforcing member 32 is joined to the cloudy ice part 18 from the outside of the ice tray. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the reinforcing member 32 is a substantially rectangular elongated plate-like member, and is preferably made of the same material as the ice tray, but is more rigid than the ice tray. You may make it form from a high material. As shown in FIG. 7, the reinforcing member 32 is disposed between the cloudy ice parts 18 so as to be parallel to the longitudinal direction of the cloudy ice part 18. The reinforcing member 32 may be provided to be joined to the outer wall of the cloudy ice part 18 as shown in FIG. 6, or the transparent ice part 17 in the region between the cloudy ice parts 18 as shown in FIG. It may be provided so as to be joined to the outer wall of the bottom portion. In the present embodiment, an example in which the opening of the separator member 16 is arranged in parallel to the rotation axis direction of the ice tray is shown. You may make it arrange | position with an angle.

  According to this structure, when torque is applied to the ice tray at the time of deicing, the ice of the cloudy ice portion and the deformation of the ice tray are reduced by the function of the reinforcing member 32. Stress concentration is likely to occur at the boundary portion of. As a result, it is possible to break at a lower torque, and it becomes easier to selectively break the boundary between the transparent ice part and the cloudy ice part, suppressing the propagation of cracks to the transparent ice part, and reducing the Noise reduction can be realized.

  The reinforcing member 32 described above can be integrated with the ice tray by various methods. FIGS. 6 and 7 show a state in which a plurality of clouded ice portions 18 are inserted, but they can be integrated with an insert mold at the time of forming an ice tray, for example. Or it is also possible to install by bonding through a separate bonding step.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the transparent ice portion 17 in which ice making is promoted by receiving cold air and the cloudy ice portion 18 in which ice making is continuously made through the opening are provided in each grain shape of the ice tray. And the cloudy ice is moved into the cloudy ice part 18 at the bottom of the ice tray by cooling from above to produce transparent ice at the top, and the connection part is cut and transparent in the deicing process after the ice making is completed. In a refrigerator equipped with an ice making device for making ice again after thawing the ice and melting and mixing the remaining cloudy ice with water newly supplied to the ice tray, a reinforcing member is provided between the cloudy ice portions 18 of the ice tray. 32, it is possible to obtain ice with high transparency, and a predetermined angle is provided between the main stress direction and the longitudinal direction of the opening. A load is applied to the direction, which occurs at the edge of the opening. It can be the bending stress is increased and becomes only be selectively cut boundary portion between the transparent ice cloudy ice, can achieve low noise.

Embodiment 4 FIG.
FIG. 8 is an example of an ice making tray structure according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention, and is an enlarged view showing one piece of ice from the ice making tray 11. The ice tray in the present embodiment has a plurality of cloudy ice portions 18 for one piece of transparent ice, and these are located below the ice tray. When attention is paid to the position of the bottom surface of the transparent ice portion 17, the bottom surface of the transparent ice portion protrudes upward in a region sandwiched between a plurality of cloudy ice portions 18, and is shallower than the other regions. Other configurations may be the same as those in any one of the first to third embodiments, and thus description thereof is omitted here.

  The crack propagation path when this structure is applied will be described with reference to FIG. According to this structure, when the torque is applied to the ice tray at the time of deicing, the cloudy ice part 18 located on the outermost side is first cut. In this process, the ice is subjected to a load indicated by an arrow 35 from the ice tray, and the ice tray and the ice are first separated from each other in the region indicated by the broken line 34. As a result, a crack is generated and propagates starting from the boundary corner portion 33 between the transparent ice portion 17 and the cloudy ice portion 18, but this crack is caused by the shallow bottom surface of the transparent ice portion 17. Reach 18 walls and proceed through the interface. This progress path is indicated by an arrow 36. As a result, it is possible to prevent crack propagation to the inside of the transparent ice and reduce the noise level generated at the time of deicing.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the transparent ice portion 17 in which ice making is promoted by receiving cold air and the cloudy ice portion 18 in which ice making is continuously made through the opening are provided in each grain shape of the ice tray. And by cooling from above, the cloudy part is moved into the cloudy ice part 18 at the bottom of the ice tray to produce transparent ice at the top, and the connecting part is cut and transparent in the deicing process after ice making is completed. In a refrigerator equipped with an ice-making device that melts the remaining white ice and mixes the remaining white ice with water supplied to a new ice tray, and then makes ice again. The bottom of the head protrudes upwards, and the depth of the transparent ice part is made shallower than other parts, so that highly transparent ice can be obtained and only the boundary between transparent ice and cloudy ice is selected selectively Can be cut to a low noise level.

It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the refrigerator which concerns on Embodiment 1-4 of this invention. It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the ice making system in the refrigerator which concerns on Embodiment 1-4 of this invention. It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the ice tray in the refrigerator which concerns on Embodiment 1-4 of this invention. It is the top view which showed the structure of the ice tray in the refrigerator which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is the upper side figure and side view which showed the structure of the ice tray in the refrigerator which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is the side view which showed the structure of the ice tray in the refrigerator which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is the top view which showed the structure of the ice tray in the refrigerator which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is the side view which showed the structure of the ice tray in the refrigerator which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed the mode of the crack progress at the time of deicing of the ice tray in the refrigerator which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the relative motion of the ice tray and ice at the time of deicing. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the mode of the division of ice in the ice making apparatus of a conventional structure.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator main body, 2 fan, 3 cooler, 4 cold ventilation duct, 5 return duct, 6 temperature sensor, 7 air volume regulator, 8 water supply tank, 9 water supply pump, 10 water supply pipe, 11 ice tray, 12 ice making drive device, 13 Frame, 14 Ice making thermistor, 15 Ice detection lever, 16 Separator member, 17 Transparent ice part, 18 Cloudy ice part, 19 Rotating shaft, 22 Operation panel, 23 Control board, 24 Microcomputer, 25 LED, 31 Rib, 32 Reinforcement Member, 33 starting point, 34 broken line, 35, 36 arrow, 100 refrigerator, 200 freezer room, 300 vegetable room, 400 switching room, 500 ice making room.

Claims (2)

An ice tray made by connecting a plurality of ice making blocks;
An ice making chamber in which the ice tray is arranged and cold air is supplied from above;
A drive mechanism for twisting the ice tray around the axis of the ice tray;
Water supply means for supplying water to the ice tray disposed in the ice making chamber,
The ice making block of the ice tray is divided into a first ice generating portion having an open top and a second ice generating portion having a closed bottom by a separating member having an opening, and the longitudinal direction of the opening and the ice tray The refrigerator characterized in that the shaft has a predetermined angle. An ice tray made by connecting a plurality of ice making blocks;
An ice making chamber in which the ice tray is arranged and cold air is supplied from above;
A drive mechanism for twisting the ice tray around the axis of the ice tray;
Water supply means for supplying water to the ice tray disposed in the ice making chamber,
The ice making block of the ice tray is divided into a first ice generating part with an open top and a second ice generating part with a closed bottom by a separating member having an opening,
A plurality of second ice generation units are provided for one first ice generation unit, and a bottom surface of the first ice generation unit protrudes upward in a region between the second ice generation units, The refrigerator characterized by making the depth of the 1st ice production | generation part shallow with respect to another area | region only in the area | region.

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