JP2000314578A - Ice-making device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To pour water with easy operation by forming a water-supply port in the lid body of a water-supply tank, and providing a slide cap to be opened and closed by a slide in the water-supply port in a device for allowing water in the water-supply tank to flow to an ice-making tray. SOLUTION: The edge of a water-supply port 32 of a lid body 31 fitted watertightly to a water-supply tank 30 is formed in the depth direction being inclined of the water-supply tank 30, and a slide cap 33 is slidably mounted along the inclination of the edge of the water-supply port 32. Then, water is poured into the water-supply tank 30 from the water-supply port 32 while the slide cap 33 is slid, and the water-supply port 32 is opened. After the water is poured, a projection edge 35 at the lower part of the slide cap 33 is slid along a groove 36 of the edge of the water-supply port 32, and the water-supply port 32 is blocked by the slide cap 33, thus preventing water in the tank body 34 from being overflowed from the water-supply port 32, and hence easily supplying water.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ice making device incorporated in a refrigerator or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an ice making device is often used in a refrigerator. As this type of ice making device, for example, a configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-77371 is known. The ice making device will be described below with reference to FIGS.

In FIGS. 6, 7, and 8, when water is supplied to the water supply tank 1, the cap 2 is removed and water is injected into the water supply tank 1 through the hole 3.

If the inside of the water supply tank 1 is dirty, the engaging hook of the lock is removed from the flange 5 of the tank body 4 and the entire lid 6 is removed from the tank body 4 to clean the tank body 4. After water is put into the water supply tank 1, the water supply tank 1 is attached to the frame. When the water supply tank 1 is mounted, the water supply tank 1 is held horizontally, and the water supply tank 1 is pushed between the bottom plate of the water supply tank mounting portion of the frame and the bottom plate 7 of the refrigerator as shown in FIG. It is performed by inserting as follows.

When the water supply tank 1 is installed, when the water supply tank 1 is pushed in, the top surface 9 of the discharge pipe 8 pushes up the engagement claw 10 as shown by a dotted line in FIG. Then, a nozzle-shaped pipe joint member (A) 1 provided at the distal end of the discharge pipe 8
1 is inserted into the fitting (B) 12.

The pipe joint member (A) 11 is a pipe joint member (B)
When completely inserted into the inside 12, the engaging claw 10 is lowered by the force of the spring 13 and engages with the side surface of the discharge pipe 8.
As a result, the pipe joint member (A) 11 becomes the pipe joint member (B) 1
2 so as not to fall out.

The annular projection 14 of the pipe joint member (A) 11 contacts the inner wall of the pipe joint member (B) 12 to improve watertightness.

The pump 15 of the ice making device has a self-priming property,
Water is drawn directly from the water supply tank 1 by the rotation of the motor. That is, water enters the pump 15 from the suction pipe section 16 inserted into the water supply tank 1 via the pipe joint member (A) 11 and the pipe joint member (B) 12. And pump 1
Water is discharged from the nozzle 5 through the pipe (A) 17 toward the ice tray 19 from the nozzle 5. As shown in FIG. 7, a filter case 20 and a filter 21 are provided inside the water supply tank 1.
Is arranged. The filter case 20 is composed of a funnel-shaped member 22 and a storage part 23, and is attached to a seat of the discharge pipe 8. 24 is a pipe (B),
Reference numeral 25 denotes a reversing device, 26 denotes an ice storage container, and 27 denotes a pressing lever. The pressing lever 27 is attached to a frame by a shaft 28 and can swing about the shaft 28. The tip of the pressing lever 27 projects downward from an opening provided in the bottom plate of the frame, and the pressing lever 27 is pressed by the coil spring 29 in a direction away from the pump 15.

[0009]

In the above-mentioned prior art, after water is poured into a water supply tank 1, a cap 2 is screwed and set at a predetermined position in a refrigerator. If the screwing of the cap 2 is insufficient,
Water overflows from the hole 3 of the water supply tank 1 and water drops enter the refrigerator, which is not preferable. That is, screwing of the cap 2 was inconvenient.

When water is supplied to the water supply tank 1 from a water tap or a discharge port of a medicine can, the hole 3 is opened in a lid 6 attached to the tank body 4, and the hole 3 is formed in the lid 6. The lower end of the hole 3 protruding upward from the surface in the tank body 4 is also located at a position aligned with the lower surface of the lid 6.

Therefore, when the water is completely injected to the upper surface of the tank body 4, the water may overflow from the hole 3, or may leak from the sealing portion at the joint surface between the lid 6 and the tank body 4. Was inconvenient.

The filter 21 is formed in a tubular shape and stored in the storage portion 23 of the filter case 20, and water in the water supply tank 1 is sucked through the suction pipe portion 16 from below the funnel-shaped member 22 of the filter case 20. Is what is done. Therefore, when the filter 21 is replaced, it is troublesome to remove and attach the filter 21 and it is inconvenient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and to improve a cap for opening and closing a hole provided in a water supply tank so that water can be injected by a simple operation. Things.

Further, the water supply port of the lid fitted to the tank body is improved so that water can be injected so as not to overflow.

[0015]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ice tray disposed in a refrigerator, a tank body detachably provided with an open upper surface, and an opening in the tank body. A water supply tank comprising a lid covering the portion, and a pump for supplying water in the water supply tank to the ice tray, wherein a water supply port is formed in the lid of the water supply tank, and the water supply port is provided with a water supply port. Is provided with a slide cap that can be opened and closed by sliding, and the opening and closing of the water supply port can be performed with one touch by sliding, and the operation is simple.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a water supply comprising an ice tray disposed in a refrigerator, a tank body detachably provided with an open upper surface, and a lid covering the opening of the tank body. A water supply tank provided with a pump for supplying water in the water supply tank to the ice tray, wherein a water supply port that is openable and closable is provided in a lid of the water supply tank, and the cylindrical water supply is provided. The lower edge of the mouth is located at a position protruding into the tank body beyond the joint surface between the tank body and the lid of the water tank.When water is injected into the water tank, the water tank is filled with water. The user can visually observe the situation without overflowing.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (Embodiment 1) In FIGS. 1 and 2, the rim of a water supply port 32 of a lid 31 which is fitted to a water supply tank 30 in a watertight manner is located in the depth direction of the water supply tank 30, that is, in FIG. It is formed in a direction inclining rightward. A slide cap 33 is slidably attached to the water supply port 32 along the slope of the edge thereof.
In FIG. 1, the slide cap 33 opens the water supply port 32 and slides rightward in the figure.

Therefore, with the water supply port 32 opened,
Water can be injected into the tank body 34 of the water supply tank 30 from the water supply port 32. After injecting an arbitrary amount of water into the tank body 34, the lower projecting edge 35 of the slide cap 33 is slid along the groove 36 on the edge of the water supply port 32, and the slide cap 33 is used as shown in FIG. Close.

Therefore, the water in the tank body 34 is
There is no more overflow. The opening and closing of the water supply port 32 by the sliding of the slide cap 33 can be performed by a so-called one-touch operation, and there is no need to rotate like a conventional screwing cap, and the operation is simple.

Then, if the user uses the slide cap 3
The slide cap 33 automatically closes the water supply port 32 when the water supply tank 30 is set at a predetermined position of the refrigerator even if the water supply port 32 is not closed by the slide 3.

That is, when the water supply tank 30 is set at a predetermined position as shown in FIG. 2, the pipe joint member (A) 37 provided integrally with the lid 31 is connected to the pipe joint member provided on the frame 38. The pipe fitting member (A) 37 and the pipe fitting member (B) 39 are fitted into the member (B) 39, and the water in the tank body 34 is sucked by the drive of the pump 40. The two pipe joint members (A) 37 and the pipe joint member (B)
When the pipe fitting member (A) 37 is completely fitted into the pipe fitting member (B) when the tip portion 41 of the slide cap 33 hits the front surface of the pipe fitting member (B) 39 when
The slide cap 33 retreats and closes the water supply port 32. The distal end portion 41 of the slide cap 33 is located above the pipe joint member (A) when the slide cap 33 is slid rightward to open the water supply port 32, so that the automatic slide at the time of setting is easily performed. Has become.

The slide cap 33 automatically closes the water supply port 32 by the above-described setting operation of the water supply tank 30, so that even if the user forgets to close the water supply port 32, there is no water leakage naturally. Slide cap 33
The water supply port 32 is closed by this.

Compared with the conventional screw cap, the slide cap 33 of the present invention is adapted to the operation of the push-in setting of the water supply tank 30, so that its use is simple and reliable.

Reference numeral 42 denotes an engaging claw, which is a recess 4 of the lid 31.
3 to lock the water supply tank 30 at a predetermined position. Although not shown in the figure, the engaging claw is rotated by a spring, and the water supply tank 30 is pushed out of a predetermined position, that is, leftward in the figure by a coil spring (not shown).

Therefore, the water supply tank 30 is set at a fixed position by the engagement claws 42. If the engagement claws 42 are disengaged, the water supply tank 30 is pushed forward by a coil spring so as to be easily taken out from a predetermined position of the refrigerator. It is a thing.

(Embodiment 2) In FIG.
The same parts as those described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

Reference numeral 44 denotes a lower edge of the water supply port 32 protruding into the tank body 34. The lower edge 44 extends near a reference line 45 provided on the side wall of the tank body 34. That is, the water supply port 32 is cylindrical and the tank body 34
A lower edge 44 extends below a watertight fitting portion between the cover 31 and the cover 31.

Therefore, when water is injected from the water supply port 32 through a tap such as a water tap or a medicine can, even if the water injection is continued without stopping at the reference line 45 provided on the side wall of the tank body 34, first, the water supply is performed. If the water level of the port 32 rises and the water injection is stopped by the easily visible water level, the water in the water supply port 32 spreads above the lower surface of the lid 31 of the tank body 34.

Therefore, the water surface of the water supply port 32 immediately drops downward. The small hole 46 on the top surface of the lid 31 serves to discharge air existing on the water surface in the water supply tank 30, and the water surface of the water supply port 32 is immediately lowered by the small hole 46.

As described above, it is possible to prevent the water from leaking from the water-tight fitting portion between the lid 31 and the tank body 34 to the place where the water leaks.

The conventional water supply port is provided so as to protrude upward from the lid and does not protrude into the tank body in the water supply tank. Compared with the fact that the possibility of leakage from the fitting portion between the lid and the tank body is large, the present invention has an effect of easily preventing over-water injection and is easy to use.

(Embodiment 3) In FIG.
The same reference numerals are given to the same portions as 2 and 3, and the description thereof is omitted.

A filter case 47 has a cylindrical shape, and a bayonet 48 is provided at an upper portion thereof for engaging with a projection provided on the back side of the lid 31, and a lower end extends to a position close to the bottom of the tank body 34. A filter mounting portion 49 is formed. 50 is a filter holding activated carbon,
One of the side walls of the crosspiece 51 supporting the filter 50 is provided with a projection 52 on the upper side and one tongue piece 53 on the lower side thereof, and two protruding pieces 54 on the opposite side wall.

A hole 55 into which the projection 52 of the crosspiece 51 is fitted and two long holes 56 into which the projecting pieces 54 are fitted are provided at both ends of the side wall of the filter mounting portion 49.

Accordingly, the filter 50 is supported by the bar 51, and the protrusion 52 on the side wall of the bar 51 is
9, and the two projecting pieces 54 provided on the opposing side walls of the projections 52 are inserted into the holes 55 of the filter mounting portion 49.
The bar 51 is attached to the filter attaching portion 49 by fitting into a long hole 56 provided on the side wall opposite to the side wall provided with.

Then, the hole 55 and the long holes 56 at both ends thereof are formed.
Are provided in parallel on two opposite side walls of the filter mounting portion 49. Accordingly, the operation of fitting the crosspiece 51 into the perforated side wall of the filter mounting portion 49 can be performed by the tongue piece 53 without particularly considering the directionality of the filter mounting portion 49, and the mounting and removing of the filter 50 can be easily performed. It can be carried out.

The filter case 47 removes the lid 31 from the tank body 34 by removing the lock member 57, and exposes the filter case 47 provided with the filter 50 in the tank body 34 by removing the bayonet 48.

Then, the hole of the hollow short cylinder 58 above the filter case 47 is extended from the lid 31 into the hollow long cylinder 5.
9 and the filter case 47 is taken out.
Can be removed to replace the filter 50 with a new one.

As described above, the work of replacing the filter 50 can be performed extremely easily, and the filter 50 is also flat and easy to manufacture as compared with a conventional cylindrical filter. Reference numeral 60 denotes a packing which is placed on the upper edge 61 of the tank main body 34 to achieve a watertight structure between the lid 31 and the tank main body 34.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the pump 40 is driven, the water in the water supply tank 30 is sucked from the substantially bottom surface of the tank body 34 and deodorized and the dispersion is removed by the filter 50 below the filter case 47. Hollow long cylinder 59
Pipe joint member (A) 37, pipe joint member (B) 39
, And then poured into an ice tray 63 via a pipe 62, and then cooled to ice. Here, 64 indicates an ice storage container.

The pipe 62 is replaced with a plastic pipe instead of a conventional aluminum pipe, and a heater 65 is wound around the pipe 62 to solve the conventional problem that dew adheres to the pipe 62.

(Embodiment 4) The structure of the pump 40 shown in FIG. 2 can be changed to the structure shown in FIG. That is, the pump unit 40 is used as a gear pump, and the gear unit 66 is set up, and the motor unit 67 that rotates the gear unit 66 is set down. Then, a plastic foam material is attached to the lower periphery of the motor portion 67, and a plastic annular interference wall 6 fixed to the pump attachment portion 68 as shown by an arrow in FIG.
9, the motor part 67 is inserted and fixed. Therefore,
The driving noise of the motor unit 67 is reduced by the interference wall 69, and the driving vibration noise of the pump 40 is small, so that a quiet water supply device can be set in the refrigerator.

[0043]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the water supply port provided in the lid covering the opening of the water supply tank having the upper surface opened is provided with the slide cap which is opened and closed by sliding. Unlike the conventional example having a cap to be screwed together, the water supply port can be opened and closed with a so-called one-touch operation by a slide operation, and the usability at the time of water injection is good.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the water supply port is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the lower end edge of the cylindrical water supply port extends into the tank body beyond the joint surface between the tank body and the lid of the water supply tank. Since it is located at the protruding position, when water is filled into the water supply tank at the time of water injection, it can be visually observed that the water surface of the cylindrical water supply port rises first, so water injection until overflowing naturally Can detect and stop.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a water supply tank according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part of the ice making device provided with the water supply tank.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a water supply tank according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of a filter device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of a gear pump according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view of an essential part showing a conventional ice making device.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the water supply tank.

FIG. 8 is a sectional side view showing a state where the water supply tank is set at a predetermined position in the refrigerator.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 30 water supply tank 31 lid 32 water supply port 33 slide cap 34 tank body 37 pipe joint member (A) 39 pipe joint member (B) 40 pump 41 tip end 44 lower end edge 45 reference line 46 small hole 47 filter case 49 filter attachment portion Reference Signs List 50 Filter 51 Crosspiece 52 Projection 53 Tongue piece 54 Projection piece 55 Hole 56 Long hole 59 Hollow long cylinder 66 Gear unit 67 Motor unit 68 Pump mounting unit 69 Interference wall

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Takashi Aoki 4-5-2-5 Takaida Hondori, Higashi-Osaka City, Osaka Inside Matsushita Refrigerating Machinery Co., Ltd. (72) Akihiko Manabe 4-chome Takaida Hondori, Higashi-Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture No. 2 Matsushita Refrigerator Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Toshifumi Nakamura 4-2-5 Takaida Hondori, Higashi Osaka City, Osaka Pref.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A water supply tank comprising: an ice tray disposed in a refrigerator; a tank body detachably provided with an open upper surface; and a lid covering an opening of the tank body. A water supply port formed in a lid of the water supply tank, and a slide cap that is opened and closed by a slide is provided in the water supply port. apparatus. 2. A water supply tank comprising: an ice tray disposed in a refrigerator; a tank body detachably provided with an open upper surface; and a lid covering an opening of the tank body. And a pump for supplying water to the ice tray, wherein a water-supplying port formed in a tubular shape is provided on a lid of the water-supply tank, and a lower end edge of the cylindrical water-supply port is provided with a water-supply tank. An ice making device, wherein the ice making device is disposed at a position protruding into the tank main body beyond the joint surface between the tank main body and the lid.