JP7320754B2 - ice machine - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to ice makers.

Conventionally, an ice-making unit that manufactures a large number of small pieces of ice (hereinafter simply referred to as ice) and an ice storage that stores the ice manufactured by the ice-making unit are housed in a housing, and the supply of ice is required. There is known an ice maker that opens an ice storage opening and discharges ice to the outside through a drop guide connected to the ice release opening and a chute provided directly below the drop guide. (See Patent Document 1, for example).

JP-A-9-145212

By the way, in this type of ice-making machine, there is a demand that when the ice is released from the ice storage, the ice is properly thrown into the container placed on the container-mounting table of the ice-making machine. be.

In particular, in recent years, in order to supply ice to containers of various heights, such as short glasses and beer mugs, designs to increase the distance between the container mounting table and the shooter of the ice making machine have been studied. In such a configuration, the ice released from the ice storage via the chute to the outside is more likely to scatter outside the container.

The present disclosure has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide an ice making machine capable of suppressing scattering of ice released to the outside.

The main disclosure that solves the above-mentioned problems is
An ice-making unit for making ice and an ice storage for storing the ice made by the ice-making unit are accommodated in the housing, and when ice is requested to be supplied, the ice outlet of the ice storage is opened to An ice making machine that releases ice to the outside through a drop guide connected to an ice release port and a shooter arranged directly below the drop guide,
The drop guide forms a guide groove with a U-shaped cross section extending obliquely downward forward from the ice outlet,
The horizontal width of the guide groove in a plan view decreases from top to bottom,
An ice machine.

According to the ice making machine according to the present disclosure, it is possible to suppress scattering of ice released to the outside.

A diagram showing the configuration of an ice maker according to one embodiment. Side cross-sectional view showing the configuration of an ice maker according to one embodiment 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an ice maker according to one embodiment; 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a shooter according to one embodiment; FIG. 1 is a front view showing the configuration of a shooter according to an embodiment; FIG. 1 is a side view showing the configuration of a shooter according to an embodiment; FIG. FIG. 2 is a front view showing a chute mounting structure formed in the housing of the ice maker according to one embodiment; FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a chute mounting structure formed in the housing of the ice maker according to one embodiment; FIG. 2 is a front view showing a state in which the shooter is attached to the housing in the ice making machine according to one embodiment; FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view showing a state in which a shooter is attached to a housing in an ice making machine according to one embodiment; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the difference between the ice release mode when using the drop guide according to the embodiment and the ice release mode when using the conventional drop guide; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the difference between the ice release mode when using the drop guide according to the embodiment and the ice release mode when using the conventional drop guide;

Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present specification and drawings, constituent elements having substantially the same functions are denoted by the same reference numerals, thereby omitting redundant description.

Each drawing shows a common orthogonal coordinate system (X, Y, Z) to clarify the positional relationship of each component. Hereinafter, the positive direction of the X-axis represents the front direction of the ice machine (hereinafter also referred to as "forward direction"), and the positive direction of the Y-axis represents the lateral right direction of the ice machine (hereinafter also referred to as "right direction"). , and the positive direction of the Z-axis represents the upward direction of the ice making machine (hereinafter abbreviated as "upward direction").

[Overall Configuration of Ice Machine]
An overall configuration of an ice maker according to an embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an ice making machine 1 according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing the configuration of the ice making machine 1 according to this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the ice making machine 1 according to this embodiment.

The ice making machine 1 includes an ice making section 10, a cooling device 20, a water storage tank 30, an ice storage 40, a drain pan 50, a controller 60, and the like. These are housed in the housing 1M of the ice making machine 1. As shown in FIG. A shooter 100 is detachably attached to the housing 1M of the ice making machine 1 (described later with reference to FIG. 8, etc.).

The ice making unit 10 has a cooling cylinder 11 made of stainless steel, an auger (that is, a rotary blade) 12 rotatably arranged in the cooling cylinder 11, a motor 13 for driving the auger 12, and the like. An evaporator 21 of a cooling device 20 is wrapped around the outer wall of the cooling cylinder 11 in a pipe shape so that the water inside the cooling cylinder 11 can be cooled. Water for making ice is delivered from a water storage tank 30 into the cooling cylinder 11 . That is, the ice making unit 10 cools the water sent from the water storage tank 30 into the cooling cylinder 11 in the cooling cylinder 11 to produce ice. The ice produced in the cooling cylinder 11 is cut into small pieces by the auger 12 and then moved into the ice storage 40 connected to the top of the cooling cylinder 11 .

The cooling device 20 has an evaporator 21, an expansion valve 22, a condenser 23, and a compressor 24, and constitutes a refrigeration cycle. An evaporator 21 led out from the cooling device 20 is piped to the cooling cylinder 11 of the ice making section 10, and the cooling device 20 is configured to cool the cooling cylinder 11 by circulating and supplying refrigerant to the evaporator 21. be done.

The water storage tank 30 supplies ice making water to the ice making section 10 . A water pipe Lc is connected to the water storage tank 30, and ice-making water stored in the water storage tank 30 is introduced into the ice making section 10 via the water pipe Lc. Further, the water storage tank 30 is connected to a water inlet Lb extending from the water pipe La, and the water storage tank 30 is appropriately supplied with water from the water pipe La.

The ice storage 40 stores ice produced by the ice making section 10 . The ice storage 40 is connected to the cooling cylinder 11 , and ice produced by the cooling cylinder 11 is supplied to the ice storage 40 through a communication hole formed in the bottom surface of the ice storage 40 .

The ice storage 40 includes an ice discharge port 40a formed in the lower front portion of the ice storage 40, a shutter 40b for opening and closing the ice discharge port 40a, a drop guide 40c connected to the ice discharge port 40a, and a It has an agitator 40d disposed thereon.

The ice release port 40a is an opening for releasing ice accumulated in the ice storage 40 to the outside. The ice outlet 40a is opened and closed by operating the shutter 40b.

The shutter 40b is a door that opens and closes the ice outlet 40a. The shutter 40b is controlled by, for example, a solenoid, and switches from a state in which the ice ejection port 40a is closed to a state in which the ice ejection port 40a is opened when an ice ejection command is received from the user.

The drop guide 40c has an upper end 40ca connected to the ice outlet 40a and a lower end 40cb disposed directly above the shooter 100 or within the through hole 100a of the shooter 100 (described later with reference to FIG. 7). The drop guide 40c forms a guide groove extending obliquely downward forward from the ice discharge port 40a and guides the ice discharged from the ice discharge port 40a into the shooter 100. As shown in FIG. The guide groove formed by the drop guide 40c has, for example, a U-shaped (or U-shaped) cut surface perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. In other words, the guide groove formed by the drop guide 40c is formed in the shape of a slide.

The agitator 40d agitates the ice blocks accumulated in the ice storage 40 to prevent the ice from solidifying with each other, and moves the ice accumulated in the ice storage 40 toward the ice outlet 40a. Let The agitator 40 d is rotatably arranged in the ice storage 40 near the center of the bottom of the ice storage 40 .

The drain pan 50 functions as a destination for discharging water stored in the ice making section 10 and the water storage tank 30 when the ice making section 10 and the water storage tank 30 are washed. The drain pan 50 is disposed directly below the container mounting base 1Mb (see FIG. 3) of the housing 1M, and collects water overflowing from the container mounted on the container mounting base 1Mb.

The controller 60 communicates with each part of the ice making machine 1 to control them and receive data from them.

The controller 60, for example, is configured to receive a user's operation via an operation unit (for example, operation buttons) 1Ma (see FIG. 3) arranged on the front surface of the housing 1M.

The housing 1M includes, on the front side, an operation unit 1Ma for receiving user operations, a container mounting base 1Mb for mounting a container to be provided with ice, and a recess 1MR for disposing the shooter 100. (see Figure 3). The recessed portion 1MR is formed directly above the container mounting base 1Mb, and the ice released from the chute 100 mounted in the recessed portion 1MR is thrown into the container mounted on the container mounting base 1Mb. It is configured.

The user operates the operation unit 1Ma with his/her own container placed on the container mounting table 1Mb to operate the shutter 40b of the ice storage 40 to release the ice from the ice storage 40, thereby It is possible to put ice inside. At this time, when the user selects "ice only" and presses the release button on the operation unit 1Ma, the controller 60 opens the shutter 40b to release the ice in the ice storage 40 to the outside. Further, when the user selects "ice/water" and presses the release button on the operation unit 1Ma, the controller 60 opens the shutter 40b to release the ice in the ice storage 40 to the outside and releases the shooter. Water is discharged from the water pipe Ld supported by 100 (see FIG. 1).

[Mounting structure of shooter]
The attachment structure of the chute 100 of the ice making machine 1 according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4 to 10. FIG. The shooter 100 is detachably attached to the housing 1M within the recess 1MR of the housing 1M.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the shooter 100 according to this embodiment. FIG. 5 is a front view showing the configuration of the shooter 100 according to this embodiment. FIG. 6 is a side view showing the configuration of the shooter 100 according to this embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing the mounting structure of the chute 100 formed in the housing 1M of the ice making machine 1 according to this embodiment. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a mounting structure of the chute 100 formed on the housing 1M of the ice making machine 1 according to this embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a front view showing a state in which the chute 100 is attached to the housing 1M in the ice making machine 1 according to this embodiment. FIG. 10 is a side cross-sectional view showing a state in which the chute 100 is attached to the housing 1M in the ice making machine 1 according to this embodiment.

The shooter 100 has a cylindrical shape and guides the ice discharged from the ice discharge port 40a of the ice storage 40 so that the ice falls into the container placed on the container mounting base 1Mb of the ice making machine 1. . That is, the chute 100 forms a path for the ice discharged from the ice discharge port 40a of the ice storage 40, and regulates the discharge direction of the ice. The shooter 100 is arranged below the ice outlet 40a of the ice storage 40, more specifically, directly below the drop guide 40c.

The shooter 100 has a through hole 100a formed along the vertical direction, flanges 100b formed on both left and right sides of the upper portion of the shooter 100, protrusions 100c formed on the rear surface of the shooter 100, and a projection 100c formed on the front surface of the shooter 100. and a water pipe support portion 100d (see FIGS. 4 to 6).

The through hole 100a is a guide hole for passing the ice released from the ice release port 40a of the ice storage 40. As shown in FIG. Although the shape of the through-hole 100a is arbitrary, the through-hole 100a has, for example, an elliptical shape.

A notch 100aa forming a window communicating with the through hole 100a is provided on the upper side of the wall forming the through hole 100a of the shooter 100. As shown in FIG. The notch portion 100aa is a window through which the drop guide 40c is inserted. It is arranged in the hole 100a (see FIG. 10). With this configuration, the through hole 100a of the shooter 100 communicates with the guide groove of the drop guide 40c, so that the ice falling from the drop guide 40c is reliably thrown into the through hole 100a of the shooter 100.

The collar portion 100b is formed to engage with the slide guide portion 1Ms provided on the housing 1M. The flanges 100b are formed on both left and right sides of the upper portion of the shooter 100. As shown in FIG.

The projecting portion 100c has a shape that fits with the fitting portion 1Mt of the housing 1M. In this embodiment, the projecting portion 100c has a cylindrical projecting shape. A fitting receiving portion 100ca having an uneven structure (here, a concave shape) is formed on the outer surface of the protrusion 100c.

The water pipe support portion 100d supports the water pipe Ld extending from the water pipe La. With such a configuration, the ice making machine 1 can provide water in addition to ice from the position of the chute 100 .

The housing 1M has a recess 1MR formed on the front surface of the housing 1M, a pair of slide guides 1Ms formed in the recess 1MR on the left and right sides, and below the slide guides 1Ms in the recess 1MR. and a fitting portion 1Mt provided.

The recess 1MR is formed, for example, above the container mounting table 1Mb of the housing 1M and on the front surface of the housing 1M so as to communicate with the ice release port 40a.

The slide guide portion 1Ms is formed to be engageable with the collar portion 100b of the shooter 100, and guides the shooter 100 from the position on the front surface of the housing 1M to the position directly below the drop guide 40c. The slide guide portions 1Ms are, for example, slide guide grooves arranged in pairs on the left and right so as to extend from the front surface of the housing 1M to a position directly below the drop guide 40c in the recessed portion 1MR. The slide guide portion 1Ms is arranged so that when the shooter 100 is locked, the shooter 100 is positioned directly below the drop guide 40c.

The fitting portion 1Mt is formed below the slide guide portion 1Ms and at a position facing the projecting portion 100c of the shooter 100 when the shooter 100 is attached to the housing 1M. The fitting portion 1Mt has an uneven structure and fits with the projecting portion 100c of the shooter 100 to position the shooter 100. As shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the fitting portion 1Mt has a cylindrical groove structure that fits with the cylindrical protrusion 100c.

Further, the fitting portion 1Mt has a second fitting portion 1Mta that fits with the fitting receiving portion 100ca of the shooter 100 on the inner side surface of the groove. The second fitting portion 1Mta has, for example, a convex shape. Fits with 100ca. Here, the fitting between the second fitting portion 1Mta and the fitting receiving portion 100ca functions to stabilize the fixed state of the shooter 100. As shown in FIG.

In the ice making machine 1 according to this embodiment, the operation of attaching the chute 100 to the housing 1M is as follows.

When attaching the shooter 100 to the housing 1M, the user first engages the collar portion 100b of the shooter 100 with the slide guide portion 1Ms of the housing 1M. Then, the user moves the shooter 100 backward, and pushes the collar 100b of the shooter 100 into the slide guide 1Ms of the housing 1M. Also, at this time, the user adjusts the posture of the shooter 100 so that the protrusion 100c of the shooter 100 is fitted into the fitting portion 1Mt of the housing 1M.

In this state, the user further pushes the projecting portion 100c of the shooter 100 toward the fitting portion 1Mt side of the housing 1M. As a result, the fitting receiving portion 100ca of the projecting portion 100c of the shooter 100 fits into the second fitting portion 1Mta formed in the fitting portion 1Mt of the housing 1M, and the shooter 100 is fixed to the housing 1M. state.

[Configuration of drop guide]
The configuration of the drop guide 40c of the ice making machine 1 according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 7, 11, and 12. FIG.

The drop guide 40c is arranged such that the upper end 40ca is connected to the ice discharge port 40a and the lower end 40cb is positioned within the through hole 100a of the shooter 100, as shown in FIG. The drop guide 40 c regulates the discharge direction of the ice discharged from the ice discharge port 40 a of the ice storage 40 together with the chute 100 . That is, the ice discharged from the ice discharge opening 40a of the ice storage 40 slides down along the drop guide 40c, passes through the chute 100, and falls toward the container mounting table 1Mb.

Here, the drop guide 40c constitutes a guide groove 40cc that extends obliquely downward forward from the ice outlet 40a. The guide groove 40cc formed by the drop guide 40c has, for example, a U-shaped (or U-shaped) cut surface perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. In other words, the guide groove 40cc formed by the drop guide 40c is shaped like a slide. The horizontal width (that is, groove width) of the guide groove 40cc in plan view decreases from the top to the bottom.

Further, the lower end portion 40cb of the drop guide 40c has a shape in which the center region is recessed rearward (more specifically, rearward and upward) from the left and right end regions in plan view. Here, the lower end portion 40cb of the drop guide 40c has an arc-shaped notch toward the rear side. As a result, the distance (ta in FIG. 7) from the ice discharge port 40a to the central region of the lower end 40cb of the drop guide 40c is the distance from the ice discharge port 40a to the left and right regions of the lower end 40cb of the drop guide 40c. is smaller than the distance between them (tb in FIG. 7).

The shape of the drop guide 40c is set to more precisely control the direction of ice release. Specifically, by decreasing the horizontal width of the guide groove 40cc in a plan view from the top to the bottom, it is possible to prevent the ice falling from the drop guide 40c from scattering in the horizontal direction from the direction directly below the drop guide 40c. Suppress. In addition, the lower end portion 40cb of the drop guide 40c has a shape in which the center region is recessed more rearward than the left and right end regions in a plan view, so that the ice falling from the drop guide 40c is directed directly below the drop guide 40c. Suppresses the vigorous forward scattering from the

11 and 12 are diagrams showing the difference between the ice release mode when the drop guide 40c according to the present embodiment is used and the ice release mode when the conventional drop guide 40c' is used. be.

FIG. 11A is a front view of how ice is released when a conventional drop guide 40c' is used, and FIG. 11B is a front view of ice release when a drop guide 40c according to the present embodiment is used. It is the figure which looked at the aspect from the front. Also, FIG. 12A is a side view of the ice discharge mode when the drop guide 40c' according to the conventional technology is used, and FIG. It is the figure which looked at the discharge|release aspect of ice from the side. Each figure shows an example of a container P1 mounted on the container mounting table 1Mb.

Here, the drop guide 40c' according to the related art has the same lateral width (that is, the lateral width of the guide groove 40cc') in plan view at each position from the top to the bottom. In addition, the lower end portion 40cb' of the drop guide 40c' according to the related art does not have a shape in which the central region is recessed rearward from the left and right end regions.

Usually, the ice discharged from the ice discharge port 40a of the ice storage 40 is discharged so as to be pushed out by the agitator 40b that rotates within the ice storage 40. As shown in FIG. Therefore, when the ice is discharged from the ice discharge opening 40a, the ice is tilted left and right from the direction directly below the drop guide 40c' (that is, the extending direction of the drop guide 40c') (typically The rotation direction of the agitator 40b) (the right direction in FIG. 11A). Therefore, when the drop guide 40c' according to the prior art is used, even when the ice falls downward from the drop guide 40c', the ice falls in the extending direction of the drop guide 40c' (that is, in the direction directly below the drop guide 40c'). direction) to the left and right. Then, when the ice falls downward from the shooter 100, it scatters in the horizontal direction from the direction directly below the shooter 100 due to its own inertia or collision with the wall of the shooter 100 (see FIG. 11A). .

Also, since the ice discharged from the ice discharge port 40a of the ice storage 40 is discharged so as to be pushed out to the agitator 40b, a portion of the ice is vigorously pushed forward by the pushing force from the agitator 40b. Therefore, when the drop guide 40c′ according to the conventional technology is used, even when the ice falls downward from the drop guide 40c′, the ice moves forward vigorously, and when the ice falls downward from the shooter 100, , due to its own inertia or collision with the wall of the shooter 100, it scatters in the front-back direction from the direction immediately below the shooter 100 (see FIG. 12A).

In this regard, when the drop guide 40c according to the present embodiment is used, when the ice released from the ice release port 40a falls downward from the drop guide 40c, the release direction is changed by the drop guide 40c. (see FIG. 11B). In addition, when the drop guide 40c according to the present embodiment is used, the ice released from the ice ejection port 40a is placed in the center region of the lower end of the drop guide 40c behind (more specifically, behind) the regions on the left and right ends. and upward), compared to the case of using the drop guide 40c' according to the prior art, it falls from the drop guide 40c at an early stage and heads in the direction directly below the drop guide 40c. (see FIG. 12B).

For this reason, when the drop guide 40c according to the present embodiment is used, the ice released from the ice ejection port 40a falls from the drop guide 40c, passes through the shooter 100, and is ejected downward. The release direction is restricted compared to the case of using the drop guide 40c' according to the conventional technology, and most of the ice is released in the direction directly below the shooter 100. FIG.

[effect]
As described above, according to the ice making machine 1 of the present embodiment, the ice discharged from the chute 100 protrudes outside the container placed on the container mounting base 1Mb of the ice making machine 1 and scatters to the outside. can be suppressed.

Note that the difference between the degree of ice scattering when the drop guide 40c according to the present embodiment is used and the degree of ice scattering when the conventional drop guide 40c′ is used depends particularly on the length of the shooter 100 ( The length in the longitudinal direction of the shooter 100 (the same applies hereinafter) is shortened. In other words, by using the drop guide 40c according to the present embodiment, the scattering of ice can be suppressed, so the distance from the container mounting table 1Mb of the ice making machine 1 to the shooter 100 can be increased. This allows the ice maker 1 to be applied to containers of various heights (for example, short glasses and beer mugs).

Although specific examples of the present invention have been described in detail above, these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and changes of the specific examples illustrated above.

According to the ice making machine according to the present disclosure, it is possible to suppress the scattering of ice released from the ice storage to the outside through the chute.

Reference Signs List 1 ice making machine 10 ice making unit 20 cooling device 30 water storage tank 40 ice storage 40a ice outlet 40b shutter 40c drop guide 40ca upper end 40cb lower end 40cc guide groove 40d agitator
50 drain pan 60 controller 100 shooter
100a through hole 100b flange 100c protrusion 100d water pipe support 1M housing 1MR recess 1Ms slide guide 1Mt fitting 1Mta second fitting La water pipe Lb water intake Lc water pipe Ld water pipe

Claims (3)

An ice-making unit for making ice and an ice storage for storing the ice made by the ice-making unit are accommodated in the housing, and when ice is requested to be supplied, the ice outlet of the ice storage is opened to An ice making machine that releases ice to the outside through a drop guide connected to an ice release port and a shooter arranged directly below the drop guide,
The drop guide forms a guide groove with a U-shaped cross section extending obliquely downward forward from the ice outlet,
The horizontal width of the guide groove in a plan view decreases from the top to the bottom,
ice machine. In a plan view, the lower end of the drop guide has a shape in which the center region is recessed rearward from the left and right end regions,
The ice making machine according to claim 1. The drop guide is arranged such that its lower end is positioned within the through hole of the shooter,
The ice making machine according to claim 1 or 2.

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