JPH01123967A - ice maker - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To obtain stick ice both ends of which have semispherical shapes by providing straight circular cylindrical holes vertically passing through a cooling block and opening and closing by a spring force two ice making covers with quarter spherical surfaces formed by equally dividing a lower semispherical surface with the same diameter as that of the hole. CONSTITUTION: A plurality of straight circular cylindrical holes 15 are formed which pass through vertically the upper and lower surfaces of the cooling block 14 of an ice making part. Ice making covers 17 are formed with a metal plate or a synthetic resin plate on quarter sperical spherical surfaces obtained by equally dividing a lower semispherical surface with the same diameter as that of the hole 15. Two covers impairs are pivotally attached to the lower surface of the cooling block 14 so as to freely swing through a hinge 23 at positions corresponding to the outlet of the lower end of the hole 15. A spring 22 is attached to the hinge 23 and the resilient force is applied to the ice making covers 17 so as to maintain a closed state during an ice making operation. When the ice stick of a prescribed shape is separated from the cooling block 14 and a water feeding member 16, the weight thereof is applied to the ice making covers 17 to expand the ice making covers against the resilient force, so that the stick ice is separated and dropped.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an ice making machine capable of making round ice cubes having hemispherical ends.

(Conventional technology) In places such as restaurants, cafeterias, coffee shops, and bars that consume large amounts of ice blocks for use in cold drinks, it is extremely inefficient to make so-called "cut ice" by crushing large pieces of ice. Recently, there has been a tendency for ice makers to be used because of their efficiency, and for example, there is a known ice making machine as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 17767/1983.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) By the way, all known conventional ice cubes produce rectangular parallelepiped ice cubes, and they have become popular because the ice used seems uniform. Although there are limits to the production of rectangular ice cubes, it is unavoidable to produce ice cubes in the form of ice cubes due to the convenience of ice removal. The reality is that it has not yet been proposed due to some difficulties.

In order to cope with this fact, the present invention has been made by repeatedly improving the equipment so as to be able to easily and efficiently mass-produce round bar ice (state ice), which was considered impossible or difficult in the prior art. The purpose of this product is to arouse the excitement of customers with its innovative yet fashionable shape, and to improve the image of the store.

(Means for Solving the Problems) Therefore, as is clear from the examples, the present invention provides a cooling block αa having good thermal conductivity and being cooled to a low temperature. o! 9, and on the upper surface of the cooling block Q4, there is a water supply member α0 having an upper hemisphere space αB+ having the same diameter as the 60 holes and concentrically connected to the 60 holes, and a water supply passage αω communicating with the space am. At the same time, the hole a is attached to the lower surface of the cooling block α.
Two ice-making covers αη, αη forming an A-spherical surface formed by equally dividing the lower hemisphere of the same diameter as ω are opened by closing and separating them forming a lower hemisphere formed concentrically with the two holes α. The ice making machine is configured such that the ice making cover 〇η, αη is pivotally supported so as to be swingable so that it can be opened and closed in an expanded state, and further, a spring force is applied to the ice making cover 〇η, αη to maintain the closed state during ice making. It is characterized by

(Function) A hemispherical shape is formed at the upper end by the upper hemisphere space α of the water supply member (14), and a hemispherical shape is formed at the lower end by the two ice making covers 〇 and 07), so that the water supply passage By using zero odor and pouring raw water from the top, ice grows first from the lower ice-making cover αη, a7) side, where ice tends to thicken from the downstream side of the water flow, and closes the waterway. Ice sticks with a hemispherical shape can be easily and stably obtained.

At this time, since the stick ice is in close contact with the 60ω wall, the weight of ice is not added to the ice making cover 〇η, αη, so the ice making cover 〇η, 07) maintains the hemispherical closed state. are doing.

When stick ice of a predetermined shape is generated, the ice removal mode is switched to ice removal, but this ice removal causes the stick ice to separate from the cooling block 00 and the water supply member (+61), so its weight is added to the ice making covers 0η and aη. , In this way, ice making cover 0 overcomes the spring force applied to ice making cover 〇η and αη, and in order to expand αD, the stick ice detaches and falls.

After the stick ice falls, the ice making cover a'0. αη is restored to the closed state by the spring force.

(Example) Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figures 1 to 5 show the structure of main parts according to one embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 6 shows an outline of the overall structure, including a compressor (1), an air-cooled condenser (2), and a compressor (1), an air-cooled condenser (2), , an expansion valve (3), a cooler (4) acting as an evaporator, an accumulator (5)
), refrigerant piping that connects these devices cyclically, and a solenoid valve (7) for ice removal, which is connected in parallel to the series circuit of the condenser (2) and expansion valve (3). A refrigeration system consisting of an ice removal bypass circuit (6), a water tank (8),
A water pump (9) that sucks up and pressure-feeds the raw water stored in the water tank (8), and sends the raw water sucked up by the water pump (9) to the water supply member α of the ice making section to be described later. A raw water supply device for ice consisting of a raw water pipe α0), a water supply pipe αB, a water supply solenoid valve (12) interposed in the middle of the water supply pipe aυ, and a water supply solenoid valve (12) connected to the feeding end side of the water supply pipe αυ. The ice making machine is constituted by the above-mentioned ice making section and the ice-making section and a ice-making water supply device consisting of a nozzle α hot water that sprays water onto the ice-making cover 07) and Qη of the ice-making section, as shown in Fig. 6. It is.

The ice making section is a section that simultaneously generates a plurality of ice sticks, and includes a plurality of cooling blocks αa, αa.
and a plurality of six αSt provided in each cooling block Q4),
(15+, the water supply member αe also attached to the cooling block (14), the same ice making cover (17), (Lη
, the raw water pipe Cl0I, a cooling pipe (4), and a nozzle α□□□, Q3).

The cooling block Q41 is a fired body made of a metal with good thermal conductivity such as aluminum, and has, for example, a hexagonal vertical cross-sectional shape in which vertical rectangles and inverted trapezoids of equal width are connected vertically, and the top surface and The lower surface is formed as a horizontal flat surface, and a plurality of right cylindrical holes (for example, four holes 151) are bored through the upper and lower surfaces in the vertical direction.

The cooling block Q4) is further provided with an appropriate number of holes for passing the cooling pipes vertically through both sides of the central part where the two holes are provided, and the cooling pipes (4) are inserted through these holes. The entire cooling block αa can be cooled to a low temperature by the cooling pipe (4).

The cooling block α is located above the water tank (8).

In addition, when the cooling block (14) is manufactured by extrusion molding of aluminum, the above-mentioned individual holes and cooling tube insertion holes can be integrally molded at the same time, which is convenient.

Next, the water supply member α0 is connected to the hole C15 of the cooling block Q4).
), the member is made of metal or synthetic resin and is attached in close contact with the center of the upper surface provided with the hole a, and has an upper hemispherical space α which has the same diameter as the hole a and connects concentrically to the liquid hole α. , a water supply passage communicating with the top of this space Qll, and a water receiving pan C that receives raw water for water! It has a bowl-shaped opening at the bottom of the water supply member Q6) so that it can be located concentrically with the upper hemisphere space C1 just above the old hole (15),
On the other hand, the water receiving pan (2IO) is provided with a wide opening upward at the top of the water supply member Q[fl, and extends between the bottom of this water receiving pan (20) and the top of each six α5). The water supply passages (19) are provided so as to penetrate through each of the water supply passages (19).

The water supply member aO having the above-mentioned structure has a cooling block (
10, which is fixed integrally with screws or other means, and the water receiving pan is 0! When raw water for water is sent to ω, this raw water is sent down through the water supply passage (15) to the upper hemisphere space side and the hole (15).

Note that (21) is an overflow provided on the side of the water receiving pan QΦ. Further, (24) shows two examples of mounting a thermistor for detecting the temperature of the cooling block Q4).

On the other hand, the ice making cover 〇η is formed into a balloon surface by equally dividing the lower hemisphere of the same diameter as the hole 0ω from a metal plate such as aluminum or stainless steel or a synthetic resin plate G.
The cooling block Q is made into a set and is swingable via a hinge (23) at a position corresponding to the lower end outlet of the hole (15).
4) They are pivoted on the lower surface, but in this case, the pair of ice-making covers αη, aη form a lower hemisphere surface by abutting each other, and are concentric and connected with respect to each person θ. Cooling block Q4)
be supported by

The ice-making covers αη can be individually supported as independent members on the cooling block a4J, or as shown in the example, the ice-making covers αD and aη on the same side can be connected and integrated by connecting pieces and attached to the cooling block aa. You may also do so.

The above ice making cover 〇η is further provided with a small hole for water drainage in the center part, which is the lowest part of the vertical semicircular end edges that are abutted against each other, so that the circular small hole is the lowest in the closed state when they are butted together. It may also be formed at the bottom (see Figure 5) to ensure smooth circulation of raw water during the ice-making process, and to ensure that the stick ice is filled with no voids inside. This is a preferable means in that it enables the formation of ice blocks.

The ice-making covers αη, aη configured in this manner further have a spring (22), for example, a coil spring, attached to the hinge (23), so that the spring force is applied to the ice-making cover so that the closed state is maintained throughout the ice-making operation. It is attached to the cover 〇η, 07).

The spring force of the spring (22) has a predetermined value as will be clarified in the explanation of the function described later.

Next, the nozzle α hot water is for spraying water on the outer surface of the ice making cover aη when ice is removed, and the nozzle tip is directed to the center of the outer surface of the ice making cover 07 in the closed state. ) are respectively arranged diagonally below.

The mode of operation of the ice maker having the ridge configuration will now be described.

The refrigeration system is operated by driving the fan for the compressor (1) and the condenser (2), and the raw water supply system for water is also operated by driving the water pump (9) to start ice-making operation.

The cooling block αa is cooled to a low temperature at which ice can be made by the cooling pipe (4), while raw water flows out from the water raw water pipe 00) and fills the water receiving pan (20) with raw water.

This raw water flows down from the water supply passage aω through the upper hemisphere space side, along the inner wall surface of the hole a, and then flows down to the ice making covers αη, α
The water further falls along the η and is collected in the water tank (8), and the water whose temperature has decreased is used again to the water pump (9) and the raw water pipe (1).
01 and is fed into the water receiving pan (20) of the water supply member αe.

In this way, the raw water for water freezes from the downstream side of the hole αω, that is, from the wall surface near the ice making covers αη, αη, so ice grows first at the bottom (see Figure 7), and as a result, the ice making cover The voids at 〇η, αη gradually close up and the waterway closes, so that the excess raw water flows out from the overflow roller (21) and is collected in the water tank (8). The raw water in αω is turned into ice and filled from below, and finally the upper hemisphere space rm is also filled with ice, and as a result, stick ice with hemispherical ends is generated.

Completion of this stick ice is detected by an appropriate detection means, and this detection signal is used to stop the condenser (2) fan and water pump (9), and the ice removal solenoid valve (7) and water supply solenoid valve (robot) are stopped. ) to open the valve.

In this way, the hot gas leaving the compressor (1) passes through the ice-removing bypass circuit (6) and flows into the cooling pipe (4), increasing the temperature of the cooling block (+41), while passing from nozzle α3 to the ice-making cover 〇η, Room temperature water is sprayed towards αη.

As a result, ice cream sticks have been used as water supply parts (+6
1. The ice that was stuck to the cooling block 01 and the ice making cover αη, o7) will be removed by melting on the stuck surface.

As a result of this ice removal, the weight of the stick ice is distributed to the pair of ice making covers 07) and Q7), resulting in splashes (22).
) The stick ice cream overcomes the spring force and begins to fall (see Figure 8), and the ice-making cover 〇η.

As αη expands, the ice stick is moved to the cooling block a, the water supply member α6) and the ice making cover aη.

After completely separating from aη and falling, the water tank (not shown)
accumulate within.

By the way, it is necessary to set the spring force of the spring (22) to such a strength that the ice making cover αη, aη can be opened by the weight of the stick ice when fully grown and released. Needless to say, there is.

On the other hand, as for the ice-making cover αη, either a synthetic resin molded material or a metal drawn material such as aluminum may be used, but if it is made of synthetic resin, the ice-making efficiency in the lower hemisphere part of the cover is poor and the ice-making time will be longer. Although there is a problem that the ice removal using water by the nozzle (2) is inefficient in a low water temperature range, it has the advantage that a perfect sphere can be easily obtained.

On the other hand, when made of metal, the operating efficiency for ice making and ice removal is excellent.

As described above, it is possible to easily make ice by supplying water from above and take out ice from below according to its own weight, making it possible to make rational ice.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention, water supply for ice making and removal during ice removal can be performed naturally and rationally without going against gravity, so round bar-shaped ice can be easily and stably produced.

Moreover, it is possible to produce round ice cubes with hemispherical ends.
It is possible to provide new and fashionable ice, and it is very interesting, and it is extremely effective in promoting the spread of ice.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are a partially sectional side view and a partially cutaway perspective view showing an ice making section of an ice making machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are water supply in the ice making section. FIG. 5 is a bottom perspective view of the ice making section; FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the ice making machine; FIG.
8 and 8 are explanatory diagrams showing the ice making and ice removal process of the present invention. αω...Cooling block, αω...Hole, α6)...
・Water supply components, αη...Ice making cover, Ota...Upper hemisphere space, αω...Water supply passage. Station −

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Cooling block that has good thermal conductivity and is cooled to a low temperature (
14) A right cylindrical hole (15) passed through vertically in the vertical direction
is provided in the upper surface of the cooling block (14), and the hole (
an upper hemispherical space (18) having the same diameter as the hole (15) and concentrically connected to the hole (15); and a water supply passageway (
A water supply member (16) having a hole (19) is attached to the bottom surface of the cooling block (14).
A closed state in which two ice making covers (17), (17) each forming a quarter spherical surface formed by equally dividing a lower hemisphere of the same diameter as the hole (15) form a lower hemisphere surface concentrically with the hole (15). and pivotably supported to be able to close and open to an expanded state opened by separation,
Furthermore, the ice making machine is characterized in that spring force is applied to the ice making covers (17), (17) to maintain the closed state during ice making.