HK1061709B - Automatic ice making machine - Google Patents

Description

Automatic ice maker

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an ice making mechanism unit of an automatic ice maker, and more particularly, to an improvement of a partition plate provided with an opening for discharging ice cubes in an ice making unit box.

Background

In this type of automatic ice maker, as disclosed in japanese patent laid-open No. 60-89659, for example, an ice making mechanism unit is provided at the upper portion of an ice maker main body 8, ice making water sprayed from a water sprayer 16 below is received and frozen in an ice making cup 4 cooled by a cooling pipe 5 during an ice making operation, the ice making operation is stopped after freezing is completed, hot air is supplied to the cooling pipe 5 to drop ice cubes generated in the ice making cup 4 along an inclined chute 13, and the ice cubes fall into an ice bank 10 at the lower side through an opening at the front side of the ice making mechanism unit. A water shielding plate 21 formed by a soft sheet and the like which can be hung by gravity is arranged at an opening at the front side of the ice making mechanism part, ice blocks sliding along the slide channel 13 are pressed to open the water shielding plate 21 and fall into the ice storage 10, and ice making water sprayed from the water sprayer 16 in the ice making operation is shielded by the water shielding plate 21 and cannot enter the ice storage 10, so that the ice blocks in the ice storage 10 are not melted or the ice making water is insufficient in the ice making operation.

The water shielding plate 21 of the prior art is made of a flexible sheet, and in jp 60-86876 a, the upper portions of a plurality of curtains 4 in the form of short bars are supported by a support shaft 4a so as to be able to tilt.

The problem of the prior art 1 is that the water shielding plate 21 is integrally formed, and when only a few ice cubes remain on the slide 13, the water shielding plate 21 cannot be pressed to open by its weight and remains on the slide, and the ice making water sprayed from the water sprayer 16 is melted, and thus the ice making water is consumed uselessly or the ice making water is prevented from being sprayed. In the prior art 2, the water shielding plate is divided into a plurality of curtains 4, the upper portion of each curtain 4 is independently supported to be freely inclined, and 1 ice block can be pressed to open one curtain 4 and fall into the ice bank 10, thereby solving the above-mentioned problems. However, in the ice making mechanism portion, in order to inspect a water sprayer (water spray nozzle) and a chute (ice chute) and the like provided therein, it is necessary to take out a water shielding plate (partition plate) provided at an opening on the front side of the ice making mechanism portion.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator which can be easily opened with a small amount of ice pieces by dividing each of partitions into a plurality of partitions which can be freely attached and detached, and which does not cause a problem of erroneous attachment of each of the partitions.

To this end, the automatic ice maker of the present invention comprises an ice making mechanism part which is formed with a box-shaped ice making part housing with an opening formed on the lower side of the front wall; a water spray nozzle installed at a lower portion in the ice making unit case and having a spray port for spraying ice making water upward; an ice making chamber installed at an upper portion of the ice making unit housing and opened downward, the ice making chamber having a plurality of ice making cells, the ice making cells being cooled by a cooling pipe while receiving ice making water ejected upward from the ejection port; an ice slider that is attached to the ice making unit case so as to be inclined at a longitudinal middle portion thereof, receives ice falling from the ice tray, slides the ice downward in an inclined manner, and discharges the ice from the ice making unit case through the opening; and the clapboard can be freely and rotatably hung in the ice making part shell and can freely close the opening, and the ice making part shell is characterized in that the clapboard is divided into a plurality of clapboards, and the upper parts of the divided clapboards are detachably clamped on the ice making part shell.

In the above-described invention, it is preferable that a horizontally extending round bar-shaped shaft support rod is integrally connected to a lower edge of the front wall, and each of the plurality of partition plates is constituted by a flat plate portion and a connecting portion which is formed integrally with an upper edge thereof, has a C-shaped cross-sectional shape having an arc-shaped inner surface which is turnably engaged with the shaft support rod, and extends in the horizontal direction, and each of the partition plates is turnably suspended by engaging the connecting portion with the shaft support rod.

In the above-described present invention, it is preferable that the width of the opening between both ends of the arc-shaped inner surface of each of the connecting portions is smaller than the outer diameter of the shaft support rod, and the connecting portions are elastically deformed to expand the width of the opening, thereby being rotatably engaged with the shaft support rod.

In the above-described invention, it is preferable that the connecting portions are engaged with the shaft support rod in a state where the partitions are naturally suspended and the opening portions face the outside of the ice making unit case.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the ice making unit casing has a front wall and a rear wall, the front wall having a front wall surface and a rear wall surface, the front wall surface having a front wall surface, and the rear wall surface having a front wall surface and a rear wall surface, the front wall surface and the rear wall surface being opposed to each other, and the front wall surface and the rear wall surface being opposed to each other.

In the present invention, it is preferable that at least 1 convex portion is provided in at least one of the side edges of the flat plate portions of the separators adjacent to each other.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the thickness of the front edge of at least one of the side edges of the flat plate portions of the separators adjacent to each other is reduced.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is an overall front view showing a partial cross-section of an ice making mechanism part of an embodiment of an automatic ice maker according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a right side view showing the vicinity of the right bracket of fig. 1 removed.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged front view showing a part of the separator and its vicinity of the embodiment shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 5-5 of fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a left side view showing fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a side sectional view showing the entire configuration of an automatic ice maker including an ice making mechanism section.

Fig. 8 is a side sectional view showing a state where the separator of the embodiment shown in fig. 1 is installed.

Fig. 9 is a side sectional view showing the partition of the embodiment shown in fig. 1 in an opened state.

Fig. 10 is a side sectional view showing a state where the separator is attached with the open portion thereof being inside.

Fig. 11 is a side sectional view showing a state where the diaphragm is erroneously mounted.

In the figure, 10L, 10R-bracket, 17-front wall, 18-shaft support rod, 19-groove, 19 a-concave part, 25-clapboard, 25 a-flat part, 25B-connecting part, 25C-open part, 26-fan-shaped convex part, 27-side edge, 29a, 29B-convex part, 40-water spray nozzle, 43-spray port, 50-ice making chamber, 52-ice making grid, 53-cooling pipe, 60-ice block slide plate, A-ice making mechanism part, B-ice making part shell, Ba-opening and C-ice block.

Detailed Description

The invention is illustrated below by means of the embodiments shown in fig. 1-9. As shown in fig. 7, the automatic ice maker according to this embodiment includes an automatic ice maker main body 70 and an ice making mechanism a provided in an upper portion of the automatic ice maker main body. The automatic ice maker body 70 includes a machine room 71 composed of a front side plate 71a, a rear side plate 71b, left and right side plates 71c, and a floor 71d, an ice bank 72 composed of a heat-insulating thick peripheral wall and having an upper surface and an upper front half opened, the ice bank being supported by the upper side of the machine room 71, a heat-insulating top plate 73 and an upper front half 75 covering the upper surface and the upper front half of the ice bank 72, respectively, a lower front plate 74 covering the front surface of the machine room 71 and the lower front surface of the ice bank 72, and a heat-insulating door 76 having a lower edge portion attached to an upper edge of the lower front plate 74 by a hinge 76a and opening and closing an opening formed between the lower front plate 74 and the upper front plate 75; a handle 76b and an interior 76c are attached to the upper edge and the outer edge of the inner surface of the door 76, respectively. A refrigerator (not shown) including a compressor, a condenser, and a cooling fan for supplying a cooled refrigerant to the ice making mechanism portion a is provided in the machine chamber 71, and a drain pipe (not shown) connected to a drain port 72a provided at the bottom of the ice bank 72 is also led to the outside through the machine chamber 71.

The ice making unit case B of the ice making mechanism unit a has left and right brackets 10L, 10R, and projecting portions 10a projecting from lower portions of the brackets 10L, 10R to left and right sides project rearward, and projecting portions of the projecting portions 10a are placed on a support member 77 fixed to a slightly upper portion of an inner surface of a rear wall of the ice bank 72, and the left and right brackets 10L, 10R are fixed to the top plate 73 by screws, whereby the ice making mechanism unit a is fixed to an upper portion in the ice bank 72. A gap is provided between the rear surface of the ice making mechanism portion a above the extension portion 10a and the rear wall of the ice bank 72, and an accumulator 78, a pipe for supplying water and refrigerant, an electric wire, and the like are provided therein.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the ice making mechanism a includes an ice making unit case B, an ice making water tank 30 provided at a lower end portion thereof, water spray nozzles 40 provided at a lower portion, an upper portion, and an intermediate portion of the ice making unit case B, an ice making chamber 50, and an ice slider 60. The ice making section case B has a box shape as a whole, and is mainly composed of left and right 1 pairs of brackets 10L, 10R, and a front wall 17 and a rear wall 20 connected to front and rear edges thereof. Since the front wall 17 is much smaller in vertical width than the rear wall 20, an opening Ba is formed in the lower half portion of the front side of the ice making unit case B, and the opening Ba is closed by a partition 25 which can be opened and closed as described later.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the left and right brackets 10L, 10R are formed in an inverted L-shape with the upper portion thereof bent outward as a whole when viewed from the front, and a plurality of reinforcing ribs 14a, 14b, 14c extending in the vertical direction are formed on each outer side. The lower portion of each of the brackets 10L and 10R is formed with an extending portion 10a extending horizontally in the front-rear direction to project outward and having an コ -shaped cross section inward, and the lower flange 13a and the support protrusion 13b extending inward are formed on the lower edge and the upper edge of the extending portion 10 a.

The projecting portion 10a projects rearward from the rear wall 20, and the tank support groove 11 formed between the lower flange 13a and the support projection 13b also extends rearward from the rear wall 20. The upper face of the supporting projection 13b is inclined so that the rear portion rises, and a gap is formed with the upper face, and the nozzle supporting groove 12 formed between the projecting plates 13c extending in parallel to project the respective holders 10L, 10R inwardly is extended to be close to the rear wall 20. The circular supporting convex portions 14e formed on the front and rear inner surfaces of the brackets 10L and 10R above the projecting plate 13c are formed to be lower in the front side than in the rear side. A drain tank 37 and an extension portion 16 of a water spray pump 45, which will be described later, are integrally mounted on the lower portion of the left bracket 10L, and an insertion hole 15 through which a water supply pipe 47 for supplying ice making water to the water spray nozzle 40 passes is formed in the middle portion between the 2 reinforcing ribs 14a (see fig. 6).

The front wall 17 is a rectangular synthetic resin plate having a width substantially smaller than the vertical width of the brackets 10L, 10R, and the upper edge and the front side of the lower part are reinforced by ribs 17a, 17b extending in the lateral direction. Further, a shaft support rod 18 of a round bar shape extending in the lateral direction is integrally formed on the lower edge of the front wall 17, and as shown in detail in fig. 3 and 4, a groove 19 is formed on the lower edge at a position corresponding to each partition plate 25 described later. A connecting portion 25b of the partition plate 25 is inserted into the groove 19, and a recess 19a into which the fan-shaped projection 26 can be inserted is formed at a position corresponding to the fan-shaped projection 26 forming the connecting portion 25 b.

The opening Ba formed in the front lower half of the ice making unit case B is closed by 6 openable and closable partitions 25 which are divided in the same number as the rows of the ejection ports 43 of the water jetting nozzles 40 and the ice making cells 52 of the ice making chamber 50, which will be described later. As shown mainly in fig. 3 and 4, each separator 25 is composed of a vertically long rectangular flat plate portion 25a, and a connecting portion 25b having a C-shaped cross section and having one side edge on the base end side integrally connected to the upper edge of the flat plate portion 25a and extending in the lateral direction. The inner surface of the connecting portion 25b is formed in an arc shape that is rotatable on the shaft support rod 18, the lateral width of the portion excluding the portion connected to the base end side of the flat plate portion 25a is smaller than the lateral width of the flat plate portion 25a and slightly shorter than the length of the groove 19, and the width of the opening 25c between both ends of the arc-shaped inner surface of the connecting portion 25b is smaller than the outer diameter of the shaft support rod 18. On the outer peripheral surface of the connecting portion 25b, fan-shaped protrusions 26 extending in the circumferential direction in a range of about 90 degrees are formed on the unit from the leading end of the connecting portion 25b outward in the lateral direction.

To attach the partition plate 25 to the front wall 17, as shown in fig. 8, the connecting portion 25B is inserted into the ice making unit case B from the outside, the opening 25c thereof is brought into contact with the shaft support rod 18 from the lower side, and the flat plate portion 25a on the outside of the ice making unit case B is gripped with fingers and pulled in the direction indicated by the arrow P. As a result, the connecting portion 25B is elastically deformed, the opening portion 25c is temporarily opened, the tip end side of the connecting portion 25B and the fan-shaped projection 26 enter the groove 19 and the recess 19a, the arc-shaped inner surface of the connecting portion 25B is rotatably connected to the outer peripheral surface of the shaft support rod 18, and the opening portion 25c of each partition plate 25 is hung rotatably on the shaft support rod 18 toward the outside of the ice making section case B, and the front side of the ice making section case B is closed by hanging by gravity. As described above, the partition plate 25 cannot be attached to the front wall 17 in the opposite direction to the above direction (see fig. 10 and 11) because the fan-shaped projections 26 of the connecting portion 25b are formed at positions outward from the center in the lateral direction. The flat plate portion 25a of each partition 25 is opened to a nearly horizontal position, and the front end portion of the connecting portion 25b is pressed backward, whereby each partition 25 can be removed from the front wall 17.

The rear wall 20 is a rectangular synthetic resin plate having a vertical width capable of closing the rear side of the ice making unit case B, and has an upper edge reinforced by a rib 20a extending in a lateral direction, and a cover 21 extending rearward at a lower edge and covering most of the upper side of the rear portion of the ice making water tank 30 described later is integrally formed. A cut (not shown) through which a water supply pipe for supplying ice making water to the ice making water tank 30 passes is formed in the cover 21.

Each of the brackets 10L, 10R, the front wall 17, and the rear wall 20 is integrally molded with a synthetic resin. In this embodiment, in the left and right brackets 10L, 10R, both ends of the chute support tube 24 are inserted into the support convex portions 14e, and both ends of the front wall 17 and the rear wall 20 are inserted into the grooves formed in the front and rear edges.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the ice making water tank 30 is a box body having a substantially triangular shape with a center portion recessed downward in a left side thereof as viewed from the front and an upper side thereof opened, and shallow support portions 30a opened to the left and right sides are detachably inserted from the front side into the water tank support grooves 11 of the ice making unit case B. A deeper portion of the ice making water tank 30 is located at the left bracket 10L side, and a water supply port 33 protruding from the left bracket 10L is formed on a front portion of the portion. In addition, an overflow hole 34 is formed at a middle portion in the front-rear direction (see fig. 6) on the bottom surface of the shallow portion of the support portion 30a near the left bracket 10L side. The standing wall 30b formed at the front of the ice making water tank 30 extends upward to a position close to the lower edge of each partition 25, and the left and right side walls 30c have a height that can be inserted into the tank supporting groove 11 (see fig. 6) except for the front at the same height as the standing wall 30 b.

As shown in fig. 1, 2, and 6, a drain tank 37 is provided below the left bracket 10L, behind the middle portion in the front-rear direction and on the left side of the portion where the water supply port 33 of the ice making water tank 30 is provided. The drain chamber 37 is fixed to a projection 16a (see fig. 1) formed on the lower side of the extension 16 of the lower portion of the left bracket 10L by screws, and a drain pipe 39 is connected to a drain port 38 provided on the bottom of the drain chamber 37. The leading end of the drain pipe 39 is guided to a drain port 72a provided at the bottom of the ice bank 72.

As shown in fig. 1 and 6, a water jet pump 45 screwed to the lower surface of the extension portion 16 of the left bracket 10L is positioned inside the drain tank 37, a suction port 45b of a pump portion 45a of the water jet pump 45 projects forward from the drain tank 37 and is connected to a suction pipe 46, and the other end of the suction pipe 46 is connected to the water supply port 33 of the ice making water tank 30 via a pipe joint 46a that is easily detachable. A water supply pipe 47 having one end connected to the discharge port 45c of the pump section 45a enters the ice making section case B through the insertion hole 15 and between the 2 reinforcing ribs 14a formed in the left bracket 10L, and the other end is connected to a water spray nozzle 40 described later. The overflow hole 34 of the ice making water tank 30 is located at a position above a passage 37a formed in a vertical direction in a part of the drain tank 37.

The water jet nozzle 40 is formed in a flat shape by a pair of upper and lower synthetic resin molded products, is connected hermetically by ultrasonic bonding, has a cross-tubular passage communicating with each other inside, and has 24 jet ports 43 formed thereon in 4 rows and 6 columns. The water jet nozzle 40 has 2 openings formed on one side thereof for cleaning the respective tubular passages in the lateral direction, and the respective openings are sealed with plugs 42 made of silicone rubber. The water spray nozzle 40 is inserted into the nozzle support groove 12 of the ice making unit case B from the front side and is mounted, and the other end of the water supply pipe 47 is connected to the water supply port formed at the upper side of the center portion thereof.

As shown in fig. 2, the ice making chamber 50 located at the upper portion in the ice making unit housing B is formed by 24 short cylindrical ice making cells 52 having lower openings fixed to the ice making substrate 51 supported at both ends by the upper portions of the left and right holders 10L, 10R so as to correspond to the respective discharge ports 43 of the water jet nozzle 40. The ice making cells 52 and the ice making substrate 5 are made of copper or aluminum metal having high thermal conductivity, the cooling pipe 53 is bent and fixed in a serpentine manner on the upper side of the ice making substrate 51 and passes through the center of each ice making cell 52, and the cooling pipe 53 circulates a refrigerant from a refrigerator in the machine room 71 to cool the ice making cells 52.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the ice skate sliding plate 60 has front and rear ends and intermediate portions of a plurality of elongated chute members 61 arranged in the vertical direction connected by connecting portions 62a, 62b, and 62c, and lower surfaces of the front and rear portions are connected by 1 pair of lateral support leg pieces 63 to form a spring-like shape, and the whole is integrally formed of a synthetic resin. The ice-making slider 60 is elastically connected to the outer peripheral surface of 2 slider support cylinders 24 by 1 pair of support leg pieces 63, and is disposed in the ice-making unit case B so as to be inclined downward from the upper side adjacent to the water spray nozzle 40, and the discharge ports 43 of the water spray nozzle 40 are arranged in the gap between the slide members 61, so that the ice-making water discharged from the discharge ports 43 is not disturbed by the ice-making slider 60.

In the ice making operation, the refrigerator is operated to cool the ice making cells 52, and the ice making water in the ice making water tank 30 filled in advance to the overflow hole 34 is sucked by the water spray pump 45, supplied to the water spray nozzle 40 through the water supply pipe 47, and discharged upward from the discharge ports 43 toward the ice making cells 52. The discharged ice making water is discharged into the ice making cells 52 through the slide members 61 of the ice slider 60, a part of the ice making water is frozen on the inner surface thereof, the rest of the ice making water is returned to the ice making water tank 30 by gravity, and the water is supplied to the water spray nozzles 40 by the water spray pump 45, and the ice is repeatedly sprayed onto the inner surface of the ice making cells 52, so that the ice formation in the ice making cells 52 is increased with the passage of time, and the ice making water in the ice making water tank 30 is also decreased. When the ice making cells 52 are substantially filled with ice, the ice making operation is stopped, and if hot air is introduced into the cooling duct 53 to heat the ice making compartment 50, the boundary portion between each ice making cell 52 and the ice made therein starts to be melted, and the ice in each ice making cell 52 becomes short cylindrical ice C which falls onto the ice cube sliding plate 60 and slides down obliquely below the partition plate 25. The partition plate 25 which is naturally suspended and closed by gravity is automatically pressed and opened, and falls from the ice making unit case B into the ice bank 72.

Then, a predetermined amount of ice making water is supplied into the ice making water tank 30 through a water supply pipe (not shown), the refrigerator is started again, the ice making chamber 50 is cooled, and the ice making operation is repeated. When ice making water is supplied, if the ice making water in the ice making water tank 30 exceeds the overflow hole 34, the excess ice making water is discharged from the overflow hole 34 into the drain tank 37 and discharged to the outside through the drain pipe 39. Further, during the ice making operation, the respective partition plates 25 naturally hang down by gravity to close the opening Ba of the ice making unit case B, and the ice making water scattered in the ice making unit case B does not enter the ice bank 72, so that the ice cubes C stored in the ice bank 72 are not melted, the ice cubes C are connected by refreezing, or the ice making water is insufficient during the ice making operation.

According to this embodiment, since the plurality of divided partitions 25 are detachably hung on the shaft support bar 18 at the lower edge of the front wall 17 by the connection portion 25B at the upper portion thereof, the partitions 25 can be easily taken out from the ice making unit case B and can be easily attached. Therefore, the water spray nozzle 40, the ice slide 60, and the like provided in the ice making unit case B can be easily inspected and maintained.

In addition, it is not always necessary to remove all of the partition plates 25 in order to perform maintenance and repair of the water spray nozzle 40, the ice skate 60, and the like. That is, only 1 partition plate 25 needs to be removed, and as shown in fig. 9, the other partition plates 25 are moved laterally toward the removed partition plate 25 by withdrawing the fan-shaped projection 26 from the recess 19a and raising it to an angle in a range where the front wall 17 between the grooves 19 enters the opening 25c of the connecting portion 25b, and the other partition plates 25 are moved laterally so that the front end of the connecting portion 25b is brought into contact with the front wall 17, and the partition plates 25 are allowed to maintain the angle against gravity. In this way, each partition 25 is in a wide open state, and inspection and maintenance can be performed on the inside of the ice making mechanism portion a in a state where the water spray nozzle 40 sprays water, cleaning of the ice cube sliding plate 60 and others, and the like, even if not removed.

In this embodiment, the partition plates 25 are divided into 6 pieces as many as the number of rows of the ice making cells 52 of the ice making substrate 51, and the coupling portions 25b of the respective partition plates 25 are supported by the shaft support rods 18 having a round bar shape, so that the rotation thereof is light, and only 1 ice piece is required to be surely opened without leaving any ice piece on the ice slide 60. Therefore, the ice making water discharged from the water spray nozzle 40 during the ice making operation is not wasted by melting the ice cubes C remaining on the ice cube slide 60, or the ice making operation is not hindered by the discharge of the ice making water being disturbed by the ice cubes C.

Further, since the width of the opening 25c of the connecting portion 25b of each partition plate 25 is smaller than the outer diameter of the shaft support rod 18 in the shape of a round bar, and the opening 25c is opened when each connecting portion 25b is elastically deformed, the arc-shaped inner surface of the connecting portion 25b is rotatably engaged with the outer peripheral surface of the shaft support rod 18, and therefore, the partition plate 25 does not fall off from the shaft support rod 18 unless a force of an extent capable of elastically deforming is applied again to each connecting portion 25 b. In this way, since the partition plates 25 suspended from the shaft support rod 18 are less likely to fall off from the shaft support rod 18, the reliability of the operation of the partition plates 25 can be improved.

If the fan-shaped protrusion 26 and the insertable recess 19a are not provided as in the above-described embodiment, the connecting portion 1a can be attached to the inside of the ice making unit case B in the opposite direction to the above-described embodiment, i.e., the opening 2B of the connecting portion 1a, as in the partition plate 1 shown in fig. 10 and 11. Thus, the impact force in the direction of arrow F1 exerted on the partition board 1 by the ice cubes C sliding on the chute member 61 in the direction of arrow E1 opens the partition board 1 in the direction of arrow E2, and the impact force indicated by arrow F3 is applied to the connecting portion 1 a. The impact force F3 acts in a direction to open the opening 2b and to cause the connecting portion 1a to fall off the shaft support rod 18, and the ice C sliding off the chute member 61 may cause the partition plate 1 to fall off the shaft support rod 18. In addition, there is a possibility that the partition plate 1 is removed in an erroneous manner as shown in fig. 11, and at this time, the ice cubes C sliding down from the chute member 61 run onto the partition plate 1 and do not fall into the ice bank 72 through the opening Ba, and the partition plate 1 must be removed and reattached.

However, in the above embodiment, the partitions 25 are not attached to the front wall 17 in the opposite direction as shown in fig. 10 and 11, but are rotatably hung on the shaft support rod 18 with the opening 25c facing the outside of the ice making section case B as shown in fig. 4. In this state, the impact force in the direction of arrow F1 exerted on the partition plate 25 by the ice cubes C sliding on the chute member 61 in the direction of arrow E1 opens the partition plate 25 in the direction of arrow E2, and the connecting portion 25b receives the impact force indicated by arrow F2. Since the impact force F2 acts on the side opposite to the opening 25C of the C-shaped cross-sectional connecting portion 25b, the impact force does not open the opening 25C and cause the separator 25 to fall off the shaft support rod 18. Therefore, the reliability of the operation of each separator 25 can be improved.

In the above embodiment, the gap between the side edges 27 of the flat plate portions 25a of the respective separators 25 adjacent to each other is, as shown by the solid lines in fig. 3 and 5, a constant narrow width in both the longitudinal direction and the thickness direction. In such a partition plate 25, the adjacent partition plates 25 are adhered to each other by the surface tension of the ice making water entering the gap between the side edges 27, and the operation of each partition plate 25 is increased, and a small number of ice cubes may remain on the ice cube sliding plate 60.

In order to solve such a problem, as shown by a 2-dot dashed line in fig. 3, a small number (2 in the example in the figure) of convex portions 29a and 29b are provided on at least one of the mutually adjacent side edges 27 of the flat plate portions 25a of the mutually adjacent separators 25, and notches 28a, 28b, and 28c of a constant width M are provided on portions other than the convex portions 29a and 29b, thereby increasing the gap between the adjacent side edges 27. As shown by a 2-dot dashed line 27a in fig. 5, a slope is provided on at least one of the side edges 27 adjacent to each other, thereby reducing the thickness of the front end of the side edge. Alternatively, a small number of projections 29a, 29b are provided on at least one of the side edges 27 adjacent to each other to reduce the thickness of the tip end portion.

If the convex portions 29a and 29b are provided on the side edges 27 of the flat plate portion 25a, the ice making water entering due to the surface tension between the adjacent side edges 27 reduces the portions of the convex portions 29a and 29b, thereby reducing the adhesive force between the adjacent partitions 25 due to the surface tension of the entering ice making water, and the operation of each partition 25 is not excessively increased, and each partition 25 can be opened with only 1 ice piece C. Therefore, ice does not remain on the ice skate 60. The lengths N1 and N2 of the projections 29a and 29b, and the lengths L1, L2, and L3 and the width M of the notches 28a, 28b, and 28c may be set in consideration of the adhesion of the partitions 25 due to surface tension, and the increased leakage of ice making water into the ice bank 72 due to the provision of the notches 28a, 28b, and 28 c.

Further, since the slope 27a is provided on the side edge 27 of the flat plate portion 25a to reduce the thickness of the front end of the side edge 27, and the amount of ice making water entering between the adjacent side edges 27 due to surface tension is reduced as the thickness of the front end is reduced, the adhesive force between the adjacent partitions 25 due to surface tension is reduced, and therefore, the operation of each partition 25 is not excessively increased, and ice does not remain on the ice cube sliding plate 60.

In fig. 3, the convex portions 29a, 29b and the inclined surface 27a, although marked with 2-dot broken lines only in 1 group of adjacent side edges 27 of the flat plate portion 25a of the adjacent separator 25, should be provided on all the mutually adjacent side edges 27.

According to the present invention, the plurality of divided partitions are detachably attached to the ice making unit casing, and the partitions are easily detached from and attached to the ice making unit casing. Therefore, the inspection and maintenance of the ice making unit case provided with the water spray nozzle, the ice cube slide plate, or the like are facilitated.

In addition, a round bar-shaped shaft supporting rod is integrally connected with the lower edge of the front wall, a groove is formed, and a plurality of partition plates are freely and rotatably hung through a connecting part with an arc-shaped inner surface, so that the connecting part of the partition plates can be easily rotated due to the support of the round bar-shaped shaft supporting rod.

In addition, the width of the opening between the two ends of the circular arc inner surface of each connecting part is smaller than the outer diameter of the round rod-shaped shaft supporting rod, and the width of the opening is increased after the elastic deformation of each connecting part, so that the connecting parts can be freely and rotatably connected to the shaft supporting rod, and the partition plates hung on the shaft supporting rod are not easy to slide off from the shaft supporting rod, so that the reliability of the action of each partition plate can be improved.

In addition, each connecting part is connected to the shaft supporting rod with the opening part C facing to the outer side of the ice making part shell in the natural hanging state of each clapboard, so that the impact force when the ice sliding on the ice sliding plate impacts the inner side of the clapboard acts on the opposite side of the opening part of the connecting part with the C-shaped cross section shape to press the shaft supporting rod, and the impact force can not open the opening part to lead the clapboard to fall off from the shaft supporting rod. Therefore, the reliability of the operation of each separator can be further improved.

In addition, the partition plates are provided with fan-shaped convex parts on the outer peripheral surfaces from the center to the outer side in the transverse direction of the connecting part, and concave parts capable of being inserted into the fan-shaped convex parts are formed on the positions corresponding to the fan-shaped convex parts on the grooves inserted into the connecting part, so that the connecting part of the partition plate is not mistakenly hung on the shaft supporting rod in the opposite direction, and the opening part is installed on the shaft supporting rod towards the inner side of the ice making part shell, and the effects can be more obviously achieved.

In addition, at least 1 convex part is arranged on at least one of the adjacent side edges of the flat plate parts of the adjacent clapboards, thus the part except the convex part increases the gap between the adjacent flat plate parts and reduces the amount of ice making water entering due to the surface tension between the adjacent side edges. Thus, the adhesive force between the adjacent partitions caused by the surface tension of the entering ice making water is reduced, the movement of each partition is not excessively increased, and the ice cubes are not left on the ice cube sliding plate.

Further, by reducing the thickness of the tip of at least one of the adjacent side edges of the flat plate portions of the separators adjacent to each other, the amount of ice making water entering due to surface tension between the adjacent side edges corresponding to the side edge thickness reduction portion can be reduced. Therefore, the adhesive force between the adjacent partitions caused by the surface tension of the entering ice making water is reduced, the movement of each partition is not excessively increased, and the ice cubes are not left on the ice cube sliding plate.

Claims (7)

1. An automatic ice maker has an ice making mechanism part which is formed with a box-shaped ice making part housing with an opening formed on the lower side of a front wall; a water spray nozzle installed at a lower portion in the ice making unit case and having a spray port for spraying ice making water upward; an ice making chamber installed at an upper portion of the ice making unit housing and opened downward, the ice making chamber having a plurality of ice making cells, the ice making cells being cooled by a cooling pipe while receiving ice making water ejected upward from the ejection port; an ice slider that is attached to the ice making unit case so as to be inclined at a longitudinal middle portion thereof, receives ice falling from the ice tray, slides the ice downward in an inclined manner, and discharges the ice from the ice making unit case through the opening; and the clapboard can be freely and rotatably hung in the ice making part shell and can freely close the opening, and the ice making part shell is characterized in that the clapboard is divided into a plurality of clapboards, and the upper parts of the divided clapboards are detachably clamped on the ice making part shell.

2. The automatic ice maker as claimed in claim 1, wherein a horizontally extending round bar-shaped shaft support rod is integrally connected to a lower edge of the front wall, and each of the plurality of partition plates is formed of a flat plate portion and a laterally extending connecting portion integrally formed with an upper edge thereof and having a C-shaped cross-sectional shape with a circular arc-shaped inner surface rotatably engaged with the shaft support rod, and the connecting portion is engaged with the shaft support rod to rotatably suspend the partition plate.

3. The automatic ice maker as claimed in claim 2, wherein the width of the opening between both ends of the circular arc inner surface of each connecting portion is smaller than the outer diameter of the shaft support rod, and the connecting portions are elastically deformed to expand the width of the opening, thereby being rotatably engaged with the shaft support rod.

4. The automatic ice maker as claimed in claim 3, wherein the connecting portions are engaged with the shaft support rod by making the opening portion face the outside of the ice making unit housing in a state where the partitions are naturally suspended.

5. The automatic ice maker as claimed in claim 4, wherein a groove into which the connecting portion is inserted is formed at a position corresponding to each of the partitions at a lower edge of the front wall of the ice making unit housing, a fan-shaped protrusion extending in a circumferential direction of a range of 90 degrees is formed from a front end of the connecting portion in a lateral direction on an outer circumferential surface of the connecting portion, and a recess into which the fan-shaped protrusion is inserted is formed at a position corresponding to the fan-shaped protrusion in the groove.

6. The automatic ice maker as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein at least 1 convex portion is provided in at least one of side edges of each flat plate portion of said partitions adjacent to each other.

7. The automatic ice maker as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the thickness of the front end of at least one of the side edges of the flat plate portions of the partitions adjacent to each other is reduced.