JPH11325682A - Automatic ice machine - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To enable a user to select ice size and ice making time according to the purpose and purpose of ice. SOLUTION: A first water supply device 12 having a small water supply amount and a second water supply device 13 having a large water supply amount are provided, and the water supply amount to the ice tray 32 can be changed by a combination of these.
The amount of water supply can be selected by the user by operating the ice size selection switch. In particular, when the ice size is reduced, the ice making time can be reduced without blowing cool air onto the ice tray 32 by the blower 35, that is, without lowering the ice quality.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic ice maker, for example, mounted on a refrigerator.

[0002]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 4-26
As described in Japanese Patent No. 0773, there is known an automatic ice maker mounted on a refrigerator or the like. This type of automatic ice maker supplies water to an ice tray from a water supply means such as a water tank, and when completion of ice making is detected by a temperature sensor or the like, the ice tray is rotated, and the ice tray is rotated from the ice tray. The ice is released into the inside, and the above process is performed automatically. In a conventional automatic ice making machine of this type, a constant amount of water is always supplied from an water supply means to an ice tray. Therefore, there were the following problems.

First, ice of the same size is always made, and the size of the ice to be made cannot be changed. This is inconvenient when smaller ice or larger ice is desired. In addition, even when ice is required quickly, almost constant ice making time is required because the ice is always the same size. On the other hand, there has been an automatic ice making machine that blows cold air to an ice tray by a blower so that ice making time can be shortened when ice is desired quickly.However, when ice is made by blowing cold air, ice is made. The ice becomes white and the quality of the ice deteriorates.

An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic ice making machine capable of making ice of different sizes. It is another object of the present invention to provide an automatic ice maker that allows a user to select ice size, ice quality, and ice making time.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, an automatic ice making machine according to the present invention has a divided ice tray, water supply means for supplying water to the ice tray, and after completion of ice making. The ice tray is provided with ice releasing means for rotating the ice tray to separate ice, and water supply variable means for changing the amount of water supplied from the water supply means to the ice tray.

During ice making, the water supply means supplies water to the ice tray, and after the ice making is completed, the ice releasing means rotates the ice tray to release ice from the ice tray. At the time of the water supply, the water supply variable means appropriately changes the water supply from the water supply means to the ice tray, whereby ice of different sizes is made.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the automatic ice making machine according to the first aspect of the present invention, a water supply amount selection switch is provided, and the water supply amount changing means changes the water supply amount in accordance with an operation state of the water supply amount selection switch. It is to let.

Accordingly, the user can select the size of the ice to be made by operating the water supply amount selection switch according to the purpose and taste of the ice.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the automatic ice making machine according to the first aspect of the present invention, the automatic ice maker is provided with an automatic detection means, and the water supply amount variable means changes the water supply amount according to a detection state of the automatic detection means. It is.

The automatic detecting means detects, for example, the amount of ice used by the user and the outside air temperature. Then, the water supply amount variable means, according to the detected use amount of ice and the outside temperature,
Change the water supply. For example, when a large amount of ice is used or when the outside air temperature is high and the ice making time is long, the amount of water supply is reduced to shorten the ice making time.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the automatic ice maker of the first or second aspect of the present invention, further comprising a cool air duct having a cool air passage formed at an end thereof and a blower provided at an end of the cool air passage. The cool air is poured, and cool air is uniformly blown from the cool air passage to the opening surface of the ice tray.

By driving the blower to blow cool air to the ice tray, freezing of water in the ice tray is promoted, and ice can be made quickly and efficiently.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a divided ice tray, water supply means for supplying water to the ice tray, and rotating the ice tray after the ice making is completed, the ice is removed. Ice separation means, a water supply amount variable means for changing the water supply amount from the water supply means to the ice tray, a water supply amount selection switch, a blower for blowing cool air to the ice tray, and a blower control means for controlling the blower , A blower operation switch, wherein the water supply amount changing means changes the water supply amount according to an operation state of the water supply amount selection switch, and the blower control means, the blower operation switch according to an operation state of the blower operation switch. Is operated or stopped.

When making ice, the water supply means supplies water to the ice tray, and after the ice making is completed, the ice releasing means rotates the ice tray to release ice from the ice tray. At the time of the water supply, the water supply amount changing means appropriately changes the water supply amount from the water supply means to the ice tray according to the operation state of the water supply amount selection switch, whereby the user can select the size of the ice to be made. In addition, if the blower is driven to blow cool air into the ice tray, ice can be made quickly and efficiently.However, in this case, since the air is confined inside the ice, the ice made can show bubbles or become white. The appearance becomes poorer. However, the user can select the operation or stop of the blower with the blower operation switch, and can select to obtain ice quickly even if the quality is poor, and to increase the quality of the ice even if the ice making time is long. As described above, the water supply amount selection switch and the blower operation switch allow the user to select a desired ice type according to the purpose and purpose of the ice.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the automatic ice maker of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The automatic ice maker of the present embodiment is mounted on a refrigerator, and FIG.
The appearance of the refrigerator from the front is shown. On the front surface of the refrigerator body 1, there are doors that can be opened and closed or can be taken in and out or front surfaces of storage boxes 2, 3, 4, and 5, one of which is the front surface of the outer ice box 6. The inside of the external ice storage box 6 forms an ice making room. An ice size selection switch 7 serving as a water supply amount selection switch and an ice making time selection switch 8 serving as a blower operation switch are provided on the front surface of the refrigerator body 1 above the outer ice storage box 6.

Next, the configuration of an automatic ice maker provided in the ice making chamber will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, a water supply means 11 is provided in an upper part of the ice making chamber, which has a heat insulating wall (not shown) of a refrigerator. The water supply means 11 includes a first water supply device 12 having a relatively small amount of water supply and a second water supply device 13 having a relatively large amount of water supply, and can change the amount of water supply. These water supply devices 12 and 13 have fixed quantity chambers 14 and 15 in which water is supplied from a water supply tank (not shown) and a fixed amount of water is stored, respectively. Pumps 18 and 19 for sending water to 17 are provided. That is, both water supply devices 12 and 13 can perform a water supply operation independently of each other. However, the outflow sides of the water supply pipes 16 and 17 from both the water supply devices 12 and 13 are integrated into a single water supply port 20 which hangs downward. And the second water supply device 13
The fixed quantity chamber 15 of the first water supply device 12 is larger than the fixed quantity chamber 14, and the pumps 18 and 19 are operated by timers for a time corresponding to the capacity of the fixed quantity chambers 14 and 15,
The second water supply device 13 supplies a larger amount of water than the first water supply device 12. The pump 18,1
Instead of 9, water supply from the metering chambers 14 and 15 may be controlled by a valve device such as an electromagnetic valve. In this case, there is no need to adjust the operating time of the valve device.

Reference numeral 21 denotes an inner ice storage box for storing ice A (A1, A2, A3) which has been made, and the inner ice storage box 21 is housed in the lower part of the ice making chamber so as to be freely taken in and out. Reference numeral 22 denotes an ice shovel attached to the inner ice storage box 21.

Next, the configuration of the main body 31 of the automatic ice maker will be described. The main body 31 includes an ice tray 32, a cool air duct 33 rotatably supporting the ice tray 32, and a cold air duct 33.
A drive unit 34 as an ice removing means incorporated at the front end of the
A blower 35 is provided at the rear end of the cool air duct 33.

The ice tray 32 is formed by partitioning a plurality of mold sections 42 each having a concave portion having an upper surface opened by a partition wall 41. The water supply port 20 of the water supply means 11 for supplying water to the ice tray 32 is located above one mold section 42 with respect to the upper surface opening of the ice tray 32, but water is equally supplied to all mold sections 42. A groove 43 is formed in the upper part of the partition wall 41 that partitions the mold section 42 so that the adjacent mold sections 42 communicate with each other. A long shaft-shaped drive shaft fitting hole 44 is formed at one longitudinal end of the ice tray 32, and a column-shaped support shaft 45 is formed at the other longitudinal end of the ice tray 32 so as to project therefrom. ing. Further, a temperature sensor 46 for detecting a temperature rise due to the water supply and a temperature fall due to the completion of ice making is attached to the outside of the lower portion of the ice tray 32.

The cool air duct 33 is integrally formed of a synthetic resin or the like, and is formed in a substantially rectangular frame shape surrounding the ice tray 32. Then, a flat-shaped first projecting from a driving unit 34 assembled to the front end of the cold air duct 33 is provided.
The drive shaft 50 of the ice tray 32 is fitted in the drive shaft fitting hole 44 of the ice tray 32, and a cylindrical bearing hole 51 formed inside the other end of the cold air duct 33 has a support shaft portion of the ice tray 32. 45 is rotatably fitted. As a result, the ice tray 32 is
The cold air duct 33 is rotatably supported about a horizontal rotation axis connecting the shaft 44 and the support shaft 45. And ice tray 32
Rotates integrally with the first drive shaft 50 of the drive unit 34, and rotates 90 ° or more from the horizontal state shown in the figure.

At the front end of the cool air duct 33, a driving part mounting part 52 is formed. The driving section mounting section 52 is
53 and left and right side walls 54, and a substantially rectangular parallelepiped casing 55 of the drive unit 34 is fitted inside the upper wall 53 and the side walls 54. Receiving holes 56 are formed on both lower sides of the upper wall 53 so as to open forward. On the other hand, on both upper sides of the housing 55 of the drive section 34, locking pieces 57 respectively engaging with the two receiving holes 56 from the front are formed. In the center of the upper wall 53, an elastic piece 58 is formed which presses against the upper surface of the housing 55 of the drive unit 34. 55
A holding piece 59 for holding the front surface of the first member is formed so as to protrude downward. The receiving hole 56, the locking piece 57, and the elastic piece 58
The housing 55 of the drive unit 34 is cooled by the cool air duct
33, and is locked and fixed to the drive unit mounting portion 52.

After the ice making is completed, the driving unit 34
It serves as ice releasing means for rotating 32 to release ice, and has a built-in motor (not shown) for driving the first drive shaft 50 to rotate forward and backward by a predetermined angle. On the side surface of the drive unit 34, a horizontal second drive shaft 60 that is driven to rotate forward and backward by a predetermined angle by a motor (not shown) protrudes. Is fixed, and the ice detecting lever 61 is moved up and down. The ice detecting lever 61 descends into the inner ice storage box 21 located below the ice tray 32 as shown by a chain line in FIG. 1, and determines whether a predetermined amount of ice is stored in the inner ice storage box 21. It is to detect.

The blower 35 includes an axial fan 71 and a motor 72 for rotating the axial fan 71 in a fan frame 73. On the other hand, a rectangular cylindrical cold air introduction portion 76 is formed on one side of the rear end portion of the cold air duct 33, and the fan frame 73 is fitted to the rear end portion inside the cold air introduction portion 76, and a blower is provided. 35 is attached to the cool air duct 33.

A duct cover 79 that forms a cool air passage 78 in the cool air duct 33 is attached to a duct cover fitting portion 77 formed on the upper side of the cool air duct 33. The duct cover 79 has an engaging claw 80 formed in the duct cover 79 and a receiving hole 81 formed in the cold air duct 33.
Are fixed to the cool air duct 33. In the cool air passage 78, cool air flows into the inside by the blower of the blower 35, and guides the cool air to form the ice tray.
32 is uniformly sprayed on the opening surface of each mold section 42. Many guide surfaces are formed on the inner wall of the cool air passage 78 for guiding the cool air sent from the blower 35. The main components thereof are, as generally described from the rear side to the front side, a guide surface 82 for allowing cool air to flow to the outside of the ice tray 32 at the ice tray 32 side, that is, an inner position at the lower portion of the cool air introduction portion 76, and the guide surface 82. A guide surface 83 that is continuous with the front side of the cooling air and guides the cool air inside and above the opening surface of the ice tray 32, a guide surface 84 that guides the cool air downward and inward at an outer position above the cool air inlet 76, and a duct cover. A guide surface 85 formed in 79 to guide the cool air inward, a guide surface 86 formed in the cool air duct 33 to guide the cool air inward and forward, and formed inside the upper surface of the duct cover 79 so as to diffuse the cool air, and There are a guide surface 87 that guides forward and a guide surface 88 that is formed in the cool air duct 33 and guides cool air inside and forward. further,
On the rear surface of the cool air duct 33, a cool air introduction hole 89 is formed at a position facing above the ice tray 32.

Next, an outline of the control system will be described with reference to FIG. Microcomputer 91 as control means
Inputs signals from the ice size selection switch 7, the ice making time selection switch 8, the temperature sensor 46, and the water supply tank switch 92 for detecting the presence or absence of the water supply tank. Then, based on the input signal and the like, the microcomputer 91 sets the first water supply device 12, the second water supply device 13,
The blower 35, the motor 93 of the drive unit 34, and the function status display lamp 94 composed of an LED are controlled and driven. The drive unit
34 is provided with a detection switch 95 for detecting the rising and falling state of the ice detecting lever 61. The microcomputer 91 sends the ice tray 32 from the water supply means 11 according to the operation state of the ice size selection switch 7 on the software.
It has a function as a water supply amount varying means for changing the water supply amount to the air blower and a function as a blower control means for operating or stopping the blower 35 in accordance with the operation state of the ice making time selection switch 8.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. In making ice, the ice tray 32 is first supplied with water from one or both of the first water supply device 12 and the second water supply device 13 with the ice tray 32 being horizontal. Which of the water supply devices 12 and 13 to supply water is determined based on the operation state of the ice size selection switch 7, which will be described later in detail. Thereafter, when the temperature sensor 46 detects that water is supplied, the blower 35 is operated as necessary based on the operation state of the ice making time selection switch 8. Next, when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 46 falls below a certain value, the operation of the blower 35 is stopped assuming that the water in the ice tray 32 is almost iced. Thereafter, when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 46 reaches the ice making completion temperature and the set time determined according to the operation state of the ice size selection switch 7 has elapsed from the water supply,
By operating the drive unit 34 and lowering the ice detecting lever 61, the amount of ice stored in the inner ice storage box 21 is detected. Then, when the ice detecting lever 61 is lowered to a predetermined position, that is, when it is detected that the ice storage amount is equal to or less than a certain amount, the ice tray 32 is rotated by the driving unit 34, and further, the ice tray 32 is twisted. In addition, the ice A is released from the ice tray 32 into the inner ice storage box 21 and dropped. Thereafter, the ice tray 32 is reversed to return to the original horizontal position, and water is supplied again. The above operation is repeated to make ice. When detecting with the ice detection lever 61, the inner ice storage box
If it is detected that the amount of ice stored in 21 is equal to or more than a certain amount, the operation waits without performing the ice releasing operation.

In particular, during the operation of the blower 35, as shown by arrows B and C in FIG. 2, the blast of the blower 35 causes the cool air in the ice making chamber of the refrigerator to flow into the cool air passage 78 of the cool air duct 33, and the cool air passage 78 , 88, and are uniformly sprayed on the upper opening of each mold section 42 of the ice tray 32. Thereby, the freezing of water in the ice tray 32 is promoted. Note that even when the blower 35 is stopped, a certain amount of cool air is blown to the ice tray 32 from the cool air outlet side of the refrigerator while the compressor of the refrigerator is operating. Also, part of the cool air does not pass through the blower 35,
It is supplied to the ice tray 32 through 89 and the like.

As described above, the amount of water supplied from the water supply means 11 to the ice tray 32 changes according to the operation state of the ice size selection switch 7. The operation status of the ice size selection switch 7, the operation status of the ice making time selection switch 8, and the water supply devices 12,1
3. The relationship between the blower 35, the size of ice to be made, the quality of the ice, and the ice making time is as shown in Table 1 below. The ice size is "large" by the ice size selection switch 7,
You can choose from three options: "medium" and "small".
Is selected, the first water supply device 12 having a small water supply amount is selected.
In the case where “medium” is selected, water is supplied by the second water supply device 13 having a larger water supply amount,
When “large” is selected, water is supplied by both water supply devices 12 and 13. The ice making time can be selected from either "fast" or "slow" by the ice making time selection switch 8, but if "fast" is selected, the blower 35 operates,
When “slow” is selected, the blower 35 stops.

[0029]

[Table 1]

As shown in Table 1 above, the user selects a desired one from a total of six types of ice A by a combination of the operation state of the ice size selection switch 7 and the operation state of the ice making time selection switch 8. it can. FIG. 10 is a graph showing the results of experiments on ice making time. In the experiment, the amount of water supply per type 1 section 42 of the ice tray 32 was 5.25 cc, 10.5 cc, when the blower 35 was operated and when it was stopped.
The test was performed for each case of 15.75cc. In addition,
Cold air temperature is -20 ° C. As shown in the figure, the smaller the ice size, the shorter the ice making time.
Is operated, the ice making time is shorter than when stopped. FIG. 11 shows the dimensions of the ices A1, A2, A3 made in this experiment. The ices A1, A2, and A3 have a substantially truncated pyramid shape, but have a common lower surface dimension of 17.4 mm × 14.1 mm. The height of the small size ice A1 is 9 mm, the size of the medium size ice A2 is 20 mm, and the size of the large size ice A3 is 25 mm. The size of the upper surface of the large-sized ice A3 is 32.1 mm × 35.1 mm.

As described above, according to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, the user can select a desired one from the six types of ice A according to the purpose and purpose of using ice. For example, depending on the use of ice, there are times when small ice is desired and times when large ice is desired, and such a request can be met.

Further, even when the operation of the compressor of the refrigerator is stopped, the cool air in the ice making chamber is blown by the blower 35 to make the ice tray.
It can be sprayed on 32 openings, and ice can be made efficiently in a short time. In addition, the air from the blower 35 provided at the end of the cool air duct 33 is supplied to the guide surface 8 of the cool air passage 78 in the cool air duct 33.
Since the air is guided uniformly through the top surface of the ice tray 32 by being guided by 2,..., 88, the cooling efficiency is good, and the ice can be uniformly made in a shorter time. At the same time, since the cooling efficiency is good, a small blower 35 is sufficient, and space can be saved.

As described above, the cool air is supplied from the blower 35 to the ice tray 32.
When ice is blown onto the ice A, air is confined inside the ice A, so that bubbles may be seen in the ice A or the ice A may appear white. However, even if the quality of ice A is lacking,
Sometimes you want ice quickly, so you can meet this need.

By reducing the amount of water supply, ice A can be obtained quickly, although the ice size is reduced. Even when the blower 35 is stopped, if the amount of water supply is reduced, the ice making time is shortened, so that high-quality ice A can be obtained in a short time. In addition, while reducing the amount of water supply,
If you drive 35, you can get ice A more quickly.

Next, a second embodiment of the automatic ice maker according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Parts corresponding to those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. In the automatic ice making machine of the second embodiment, a microcomputer 91 as a water supply variable means automatically adjusts a water supply amount in accordance with a detection state of an outside air temperature sensor 96 as an automatic detection means for detecting an outside air temperature outside the refrigerator. Is changed. If the outside air temperature is higher than the first set value, water is supplied only from the first water supply device 12, and if the outside air temperature is equal to or less than the first set value, the water is supplied from the second set value (<first set value). If the outside air temperature is equal to or lower than the second set value, the water is supplied only from the second water supply device 13.
The water is supplied from both the water supply device 13 and the water supply device 13. That is, the higher the outside air temperature, the smaller the amount of water supply and the smaller the size of ice to be made.

When the outside air temperature is high, the ice making time is longer than before and the demand for ice is high in summer or the like. Therefore, in such a case, it is appropriate to reduce the amount of water supply to shorten the ice making time.

FIG. 13 shows a third embodiment of the automatic ice maker according to the present invention. In the third embodiment, the microcomputer 91 itself is used as a use frequency detecting means which is an automatic detecting means. Automatically detects the amount of ice used by the user based on operation frequency. That is, when the automatic ice maker is continuously operated, it is determined that the amount of ice used is large. The microcomputer 91 as the water supply variable means determines the amount of ice used in three stages. If the amount of ice used is large, only the first water supply device 12 supplies water, and the amount of ice used is Is medium, water is supplied only to the second water supply device 13, and when the amount of ice used is small, water is supplied from both the first water supply device 12 and the second water supply device 13. That is, the larger the amount of ice used, the smaller the amount of water supply, and the smaller the size of ice to be made.

When the amount of ice used is large, it is when the user desires to obtain ice promptly. In this case, it is reasonable to reduce the amount of water supply and shorten the ice making time. That is.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example,
In the above embodiment, the water supply amount is changed by combining the first water supply device 12 with a small water supply amount and the second water supply device 13 with a large water supply amount, but only one water supply device with a small water supply amount is provided. The amount of water supply may be changed by controlling the number of times of water supply. In the above-described embodiment, the blower 35 is incorporated in the rear end of the cool air duct 33. However, instead of the blower 35, the blower provided in the evaporator (cooler) of the refrigerator is used to supply cool air to the opening surface of the ice tray 32. Each mold section 42 may be sprayed uniformly.

[0040]

According to the automatic ice making machine of the first aspect of the present invention,
The provision of the water supply amount variable means for changing the water supply amount from the water supply means to the ice tray makes it possible to make ice of different sizes. Therefore, by reducing the size of the ice to be made, it is also possible to shorten the ice making time without deteriorating the quality of the ice.

According to the automatic ice making machine of the second aspect of the present invention, the water supply amount selecting switch is provided, and the water supply amount changing means changes the water supply amount according to the operation state of the water supply amount selection switch. The user can select the size of ice to be iced and the ice making time according to his / her preference.

According to the automatic ice making machine of the third aspect of the present invention, the automatic ice maker is provided with the automatic detecting means, and the water supply variable means changes the water supply according to the detection state of the automatic detecting means. The size of ice to be iced can be made appropriate according to the amount and the outside temperature.

According to the automatic ice making machine of the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first or second aspect of the present invention, the automatic ice making machine further comprises a cold air duct having a cool air passage and a blower provided at an end.
Since the cool air is blown into the cool air passage by the blower, and the cool air is uniformly blown from the cool air passage to the opening surface of the ice tray, ice can be quickly and efficiently made. In addition, by providing a blower particularly at the end of the cool air duct and guiding the air blown by the blower through the cool air passage in the cool air duct, the cooling efficiency can be improved. As a result, a small blower can be used and space can be saved.

According to the automatic ice making machine of the fifth aspect, the water supply amount changing means for changing the water supply amount from the water supply means to the ice tray, the water supply amount selection switch, and the blower for blowing cool air to the ice tray are controlled. A water supply amount changing means for changing a water supply amount in accordance with an operation state of a water supply amount selection switch, and a blower control means for controlling a blower in accordance with an operation state of the blower operation switch. Is operated or stopped, so that the user can select the size, quality, and ice making time of the ice to be made according to the use and preference of the ice.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a first embodiment of an automatic ice making machine according to the present invention in a partially sectioned view (a view as seen from an arrow I in FIG. 2).

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the same (viewed in the direction of arrow III in FIG. 2).

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a cross section of a part of the cold air duct.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the vicinity of the cool air introduction unit with the blower of the same cool air duct removed.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the driving unit.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the blower.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the refrigerator equipped with the automatic ice machine.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the same.

FIG. 10 is a graph showing the relationship between the water supply amount and the ice making time.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an example of ice to be iced.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the automatic ice maker of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a third embodiment of the automatic ice maker of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

7 Ice size selection switch (water supply amount selection switch) 8 Ice making time selection switch (blower operation switch) 11 Water supply means 32 Ice tray 33 Cold air duct 34 Drive unit (ice release means) 35 Blower 78 Cold air passage 91 Microcomputer (variable water supply amount) Means, blower control means, automatic detection means) 96 Outside temperature sensor (automatic detection means)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An ice tray having a compartment, water supply means for supplying water to the ice tray, ice releasing means for rotating the ice tray after ice making is completed, and ice separating means, and supplying water from the water supply means to the ice tray. An automatic ice making machine comprising: a water supply variable means for changing a water supply. 2. The automatic ice making machine according to claim 1, further comprising a water supply amount selection switch, wherein said water supply amount changing means changes the water supply amount according to an operation state of said water supply amount selection switch. 3. The automatic ice making machine according to claim 1, further comprising an automatic detection unit, wherein the water supply amount changing unit changes a water supply amount according to a detection state of the automatic detection unit. 4. A cool air duct having a cool air passage formed at an end thereof and a blower provided at an end portion, wherein cool air is flowed into the cool air passage by the blower, and cool air is uniformly blown from the cool air passage to an opening surface of the ice tray. The automatic ice making machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: 5. A partitioned ice tray, water supply means for supplying water to the ice tray, ice releasing means for rotating the ice tray after the ice making is completed, and ice separating means, and supplying water from the water supply means to the ice tray. A water supply amount varying means for changing a water supply amount, a water supply amount selection switch, a blower for blowing cool air to the ice tray, a blower control means for controlling the blower, and a blower operation switch, wherein the water supply amount variable means An automatic ice maker, wherein the water supply amount is changed according to an operation state of the water supply amount selection switch, and the blower control means operates or stops the blower according to an operation state of the blower operation switch. .