JP2002031444A - Dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate a cleaning operation of an ice storage. SOLUTION: The ice storage 30 is separable from a refrigeration easing 20 of an ice making unit 13 and supported tiltably frontward by horizontal shafts 69 provided at two places on the right and the left on the front side of the bottom. In the case of cleaning the inside of the ice storage 30, an upper front panel 53 is opened and locking by a lock means 77 is canceled. By gripping a handle 87 in the front thereafter, the ice storage 30 is tilted frontward around the horizontal shafts 69. Then, a movable cover 33 is removed by gripping a handle 34 and the inside of the storage is washed with water by means of a hose or the like. The drainage after the washing is discharged from a discharge port 49 and it flows down along a middle front panel 94 from a recess 95 and is drained to a drain panel. The drainage from the bottom on the deep side of the ice storage 30 and from a drain pipe 90 provided for a discharge tube 48 is received by a drain pan 91 and drained from a drain hose 92.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a dispenser provided with a refrigerating device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an example of an auger type ice dispenser, one described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-145212 is known. In this ice making, a cooling pipe constituting a part of a refrigerating apparatus is wound around an outer peripheral surface of a vertically long cylindrical freezing casing, and an auger having a spiral blade is rotatably housed inside. An ice storage provided with a discharge port is stacked and connected above the unit. That is, when the ice making water supplied into the freezing casing freezes on its inner peripheral surface, the ice making water is conveyed upward while being scraped off by the spiral blade of the rotating auger, compressed into a column shape through the compression part, and then further shaped like a flake. The ice pieces are sent into the interior from the bottom of the ice storage, are stored while being prevented from being combined by the agitator, and are appropriately taken out by opening the discharge port. .

[0003]

However, it is necessary to properly clean the inside of the ice storage in consideration of hygiene, in which case the lid plate is removed and the inside of the ice storage is washed from above. Is high (for example, higher than the shoulder of a person), the cleaning work itself is difficult,
There was a problem that it was difficult to clean every corner because the inside of the ice storage was not clearly visible. The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to make it easier to perform a cleaning operation of a storage.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a dispenser main body, which is provided above a manufacturing section including a refrigerating apparatus, along with the driving of the refrigerating apparatus. A dispenser provided with a storage for storing products manufactured by the above-mentioned method is characterized in that the storage is supported so as to be separable from the ice making unit and to be tiltable forward. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the storage device according to the first aspect, the storage is supported at two positions on the left and right sides on the near side of the bottom so as to be tiltable with respect to the dispenser main body via a hinge. At the bottom of the storage, a lock rod having a distal end divided into two branches is provided movably in the front-rear direction, and the dispenser body is located at a position corresponding to two left and right locations on the back side of the bottom of the storage in the dispenser main body. It is characterized in that a pair of left and right lock holes into which the tip of the fork of the lock rod is inserted / removed is provided.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the production unit is an ice making unit for producing ice pieces, and the storage is configured to remove the ice pieces pushed up from the ice making unit. In an ice storage for storing ice, a drainage port of molten water of ice pieces is opened on the bottom of the ice storage, and a drain pan located below the bottom of the ice storage is provided in the dispenser main body. And
It is characterized in that a drain hose is connected to this drain pan. The invention according to claim 4 is the ice making unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the production unit is an ice making unit that manufactures ice pieces, and the storage unit is configured to remove the ice pieces pushed up from the ice making unit. In the case of an ice storage for storing, in the case where the ice storage is provided with a discharge port for ice pieces at a bottom portion on the front side of the ice storage, and the ice storage in a panel stretched on the front surface of the dispenser main body is tilted forward. A characteristic feature is that a concave portion is formed at a position corresponding to the discharge port so as to be recessed to the rear side in order to prevent the discharge port from facing the inside of the panel.

[0006]

<Operation and effect of the present invention><Invention of claim 1> Since the storage can be separated from the manufacturing section and tilted forward, the upper opening of the storage is brought to a lower position, so that the cleaning operation is facilitated. The inside can be fully seen and the corners can be cleaned neatly. <Invention of Claim 2> When the lock rod is pushed in and the ends of the forks are inserted into the corresponding lock holes, the four corners at the bottom of the storage are fixed, and the storage is stably supported. When the lock bar is pulled and the tip of the fork is pulled out of the lock hole, the lock is released, and the storage can be tilted forward from the front hinge. The storage can be stably supported at the time of locking, and the operation of locking and unlocking can be performed with one touch from the near side.

<Invention of Claim 3> If the drainage hose is directly connected to the drainage outlet at the bottom of the ice storage, the ice storage has a structure inclined forward, so that the hose needs to be lengthened accordingly. Then, when the ice storage unit takes a straight posture, there is a concern that the hose is bent in a strap shape and cannot be drained smoothly. In this regard, in the present invention, since the drain pan is arranged on the lower surface side of the ice storage and the drain hose is connected to this drain pan, the drain hose is substantially straight at a predetermined length regardless of the inclination of the ice storage. Piping can be performed, and drainage can be performed smoothly. <Invention of Claim 4> When the ice storage is tilted forward and washed, washing water or the like flows out from the discharge port. However, since the tip of the discharge port faces the front of the concave portion provided in the panel, the flow of the water is prevented. It is prevented from entering the back side of the panel, that is, into the dispenser body.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an ice dispenser will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 10 denotes a dispenser main body, which is formed as a vertically long box as a whole by assembling a plurality of frames and disposing panels on a peripheral surface, and disposed at four corners of a bottom surface. It is supported by the legs 11. This dispenser body 10 is, as shown in FIG.
Up and down 3 due to the difference in the amount of overhang to the near side (left side in the figure)
Divided into stages. Broadly, the ice making unit 13 is accommodated in the lower section 10C having the largest overhang and the middle section 10B having the smallest overhang, and the ice storage 30 is accommodated in the upper section having a slightly smaller overhang than the lower section 10C. It has become.

The ice making unit 13 is configured by mounting a refrigerating device 15 and a refrigerating casing 20 on a substrate 14. The refrigerating device 15 includes a condenser 16, a condenser fan 17, a compressor 18, and the like, and is placed on the substrate 14 sequentially from the near side. In addition, on the upper surface of the condenser 16,
An electrical box 19 storing various control devices and the like is arranged. The refrigeration casing 20 is disposed vertically, and its outer peripheral surface has a cooling pipe 2 circulatingly connected to the refrigeration apparatus 15.
1 is wound, and the periphery thereof is covered with a heat insulating layer 22, and an auger 23 having a spiral blade 24 is rotatably accommodated therein. A speed reducer 27 connected to a motor 26 is provided at a lower end side of the freezing casing 20, and is connected to a lower end of the auger 23, and these are set up on a mounting frame 28 provided on the substrate 14. Also,
A water supply tank 29 for storing ice making water and supplying water to the inside of the freezing casing 20 at a predetermined water level is provided at the back side of the freezing casing 20.
Is arranged.

The ice storage 30 is formed in a cylindrical shape with a bottom by a heat insulating material, and a lid 31 having the same heat insulating property is attached to an upper surface opening thereof. The lid 31 is divided into a fixed lid 32 that covers a region slightly more than half the depth including the center of the upper surface opening, and a movable lid 33 that covers the remaining front region. The fixed lid 32 is screwed. In addition to being fixed, the movable lid 33 is mounted by fitting, and can be detached by holding the handle 34 on the upper surface. At the center of the outer bottom surface of the ice storage 30, there is provided an upper compression member 36 in which a plurality of pillar-shaped forming holes 35 are arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction. Similarly, a lower compression member 37 in which a plurality of columnar forming holes 35 are arranged along the circumferential direction.
Is provided. As shown in FIG.
6, a flange 38 is formed on the lower surface of the lower compression member 37, and a flange 39 with a peripheral wall is formed on the upper surface of the lower compression member 37 to fit the flange 38 of the upper compression member 36 inside. , 39 are in contact with each other, whereby the freezing casing 20 and the ice storage 30 are connected.

A rotating shaft 41 is disposed at the center of the ice storage 30 over the entire height, and is supported by bearings 42 and 43 provided on the fixed lid 32 and the upper compression member 36 so as to be freely rotatable around the longitudinal axis. The lower protruding end of the rotating shaft 41 is connected to the upper end of the auger 23 so as to be integrally rotatable. An agitator 45 for preventing ice fragments from being attached is attached to the rotating shaft 41.
It is formed in a sparsely wound spiral shape whose diameter gradually decreases toward the upper end. On the bottom surface of the ice storage 30, an elongated discharge groove 47 is opened from just before the installation position of the upper compression member 36 to near the front wall, and a discharge cylinder 48 is formed on the lower surface side. A downward discharge port 49 is opened at the front end side of the discharge cylinder 48, and a discharge screw 51 that is rotationally driven by a drive unit 50 is provided in the discharge cylinder 48.

The upper part 10A of the ice storage 30 is stored.
An upper front panel 53 is attached to the front of the front panel so as to swing open and close around a left edge viewed from the front. An operation unit 54 is provided at the lower end of the front of the upper front panel 53, and an ice discharge switch 55 and the like are arranged. A cover 57 is detachably attached to the lower edge of the upper front panel 53 so as to cover a portion of the bottom surface of the upper portion 10A protruding from the front surface of the middle portion 10B. Is formed, and when the upper front panel 53 is closed,
The discharge path 58 of the cover 57 is connected to the discharge port 49 of the ice storage 30.
It is adapted to match. A drain panel 60 having a deep dish shape is provided on a portion of the upper surface of the lower step portion 10C that protrudes from the front surface of the middle step portion 10B, and a saw-like shape for placing a container such as a cup on the upper surface of the drain panel 60 is provided. The so-called cup stage 62 is configured by fitting the mounting plate 61.

When the ice making unit 13 is operated, that is, when the refrigerating device 15 and the auger 23 are driven, the ice making water supplied into the freezing casing 20 freezes on the inner peripheral surface thereof, and the rotating auger 23 is rotated. Is conveyed upward while being scraped off by the spiral blade 24 of the upper and lower compression members 3.
6 and 37, it is compressed into a column shape and enters the ice storage 30 through the forming holes 35, and is crushed into pieces by a crushing rod 59 protruding from the outer periphery of the lower end of the rotating shaft 41. Ice pieces are sequentially stored in the ice storage 30 from the bottom side while the rotation of the rotating agitator 45 prevents the ice pieces from being combined with each other. When the ice pieces become full in the ice storage 30, the detection plate 63, which can be moved up and down on the lower surface of the fixed lid 32, is pushed up to turn on the detection switch 64, thereby stopping the operation of the ice making unit 13. . To release the ice, after the glass is placed on the mounting plate 61 and the discharge switch 55 is operated, the shutter (not shown) provided at the discharge port 49 is opened and the delivery screw 51 is driven. The ice pieces that have fallen into the discharge cylinder 48 are sent forward, and are discharged from the discharge port 49 through the discharge path 58 of the cover 57 into the cup.

Further, the support structure of the ice storage 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. A mounting member 65 extending in the front-rear direction is fixed to the left and right sides of the bottom surface of the ice storage 30 as viewed from the front, and a bearing body 66 is provided on the lower surface of the front end of both mounting members 65, The bearings 66 are supported by a bracket 68 erected on a main body frame 67 constituting the dispenser main body 10 so as to be tiltable forward by a horizontal shaft 69. A damper 7 for cushioning is provided between the two bearings 66 and the support portion 71 projecting from the main body frame 67.
2, and the ice storage 30 can be tilted forward by about 45 degrees toward the near side. On the other hand, an angle member 74 in the left-right direction is inserted between the rear ends of the mounting members 65, and the angle member 74 is received by a receiving frame 75 provided between the body frames 67 in the left-right direction. Thus, the ice storage 30 is supported in a vertically straight posture.

A lock member 77 for holding the ice storage 30 in the above-described straight posture is provided. As shown in FIG. 4, the lock member 77 is provided with a hook-shaped branch bar 79 extending to the left near the front end of the straight bar 78, so that the front end
A is divided into two forks at a predetermined interval, and an operating portion 80 is provided at the base end of the straight rod 78. On the outer surface of the right bearing member 66 of the two bearing members 66 described above,
A support plate 81 having an insertion hole 82 is provided. The base end of a straight rod 78 of the lock member 77 is inserted into the insertion hole 82. Both ends 77A of the fork are suspended by the angle member 74 on the back side. Each of the right and left insertion holes 83 opened in the plate is inserted (see FIG. 5), that is, the lock member 77 is slidably supported in the front-rear direction. Further, in a receiving frame 75 for receiving the angle member 74, a lock plate 85 is erected on the back side of a position where the hanging plate of the angle member 74 comes down, and the lock plate 85 has an insertion hole 8 for the angle member 74.
A pair of right and left lock holes 86 is opened at a position corresponding to 3. In addition, a handle 87 for performing a tilting operation of the ice storage 30 is provided at an upper position in front of the ice storage 30. The ceiling panel 88 of the dispenser body 10 is
The ice storage 30 is extended upward so as not to interfere with the tilting of the ice storage 30.

Drain pipes 90 for discharging the melted water of the ice pieces project downward from a position on the back side of the bottom surface of the ice storage 30 and a position on the back side of the bottom surface of the discharge tube 48, respectively. . On the other hand, a drain pan 91 is provided below the ice storage 30. The drain pan 91 has a shallow dish shape, and a mounting hole opened at a substantially central portion is fitted and fixed to a stepped portion at an upper end of the freezing casing 20. In particular, the ice storage 30 is placed in the straight posture described above. In both cases, the drain pipes 90 are formed to have a sufficient size to cover the lower surfaces of the drain pipes 90. A drain hose 92 (see FIG. 5) is connected to the drain pan 91.

The middle part 10 of the dispenser body 10
A middle front panel 94 functioning as an apron is provided on the front surface of B. Since the front of the middle front panel 94 constitutes the cup stage 62 as described above, the lower end of the middle front panel 94 has the above-described drain. Water droplets and the like adhering to the middle front panel 94 face the rear edge of the panel 60 and flow down as they are and are discharged to the drain panel 60. The middle front panel 94 is stretched immediately behind the discharge port 49 of the ice storage 30. However, when the ice storage 30 takes a forward tilting posture as described above, the discharge port 49 is slightly It swings and goes around the back side of the middle front panel 94. For this reason, the upper end side of the middle front panel 94, especially the discharge port 4
In the position where the wrap 9 comes in, the concave 9
5 is formed, and when the ice storage 30 takes a forward leaning posture,
The discharge port 49 is set to stay in front of the concave portion 95.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. During operation, the lock member 77 provided at the bottom of the ice storage 30 is provided.
Is pushed in as shown by the solid line in FIG.
By fitting the 7A into the corresponding lock hole 86, the four corners of the bottom of the ice storage 30 including the horizontal shaft 69 are fixed, and the ice storage 30 is stably supported in the straight posture.
Then, as described above, the ice pieces manufactured on the ice making unit 13 side are stored in the ice storage 30 and when the discharge switch 55 is operated, the discharge piece 49 passes through the discharge path 58 of the cover 57 from the discharge port 49 of the discharge cylinder 48, It is discharged into the cup placed on the placing plate 61. During this time, the molten water of the ice pieces is discharged to the drain pipe 90 on the back side of the bottom of the ice storage 30 or the drain pipe 9 of the discharge cylinder 48.
From 0, it is dropped on the drain pan 91 and discharged through the drain hose 92.

On the other hand, when cleaning the inside of the ice storage 30,
First, the upper front panel 53 is opened, the operation unit 54 is pinched, and the lock member 77 is pulled forward as shown by a chain line in FIG. 4, and the fork end 77A is pulled out from the lock hole 86 to unlock the ice storage 30. . Next, ice storage 3
The user grips the handle 87 on the front of 0 and tilts the ice storage 30 toward the center with the horizontal axis 69 as the center. Since the damper 72 is interposed between the ice storage 30 and the fixed support 71, the ice storage 30 is smoothly brought to the forward inclined position shown in FIG.

Then, the user grips the handle 34 to move the movable lid 33.
And wash the inside with a hose. Waste water after being subjected to washing is mainly discharged from the discharge port 49,
The outlet 49 is provided in the recess 9 of the middle front panel 94.
5, it is discharged toward the concave portion 95, flows down along the middle front panel 94, flows to the drain panel 60, and is discharged by the drain hose provided there. Further, a part of the drainage used for washing is discharged from the bottom surface on the back side of the ice storage 30 and the drainage pipe 90 provided in the discharge cylinder 48.
And drained from the drain hose 92. After the cleaning is completed, the ice storage 30 is raised to a straight posture after the movable lid 33 is fitted, and the lock member 77 is pushed in to lock the ice storage in the straight posture. Lastly, when the upper front panel 53 is closed, it can be restarted.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
Since the ice storage unit 30 is separated from the ice making unit 13 and can be tilted forward, the upper opening of the ice storage unit 30 is brought to a lower position, so that the washing operation is facilitated. It can be thoroughly cleaned.
When the locking member 77 is pushed in and the forked ends 77A are inserted into the corresponding locking holes 86, the four corners at the bottom of the ice storage 30 are fixed together with the tilting pivot support portion on the front side, and can be stably supported. . Locking and unlocking of the ice storage 30 can be easily performed with one touch only by pushing and pulling the lock member 77 from the near side.

A drain pan 91 large enough to cover the lower surfaces of both drain pipes 90 is provided regardless of whether the ice storage 30 takes a straight position or a forward tilt position. Since the drain hose 92 is connected, the drain hose 92 can be piped almost straight at a predetermined length, and drainage can be performed smoothly. When the ice storage 30 is tilted forward for washing, washing water or the like flows out of the discharge port 49. However, since the tip of the discharge port 49 faces the front of the concave portion 95 provided in the middle front panel 94, the runoff water is The water flows down to the drain panel 60 along the middle front panel 94, and the outflow water is prevented from entering the back side of the middle front panel 94, that is, into the dispenser body 10.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) In the above embodiment, the forward tilt of the ice storage is manually performed, but may be electrically driven. (2) The present invention is not limited to the ice dispenser exemplified in the above embodiment. For example, a chilled water tank provided with a cooling pipe circulatingly connected to the refrigeration unit is provided above the refrigeration unit, and the chilled water tank is driven by driving the refrigeration unit. The present invention can be similarly applied to a cold water dispenser in which cold water is generated and stored therein, and cold water is appropriately supplied from a cold water tank. In this chilled water dispenser, if the cooling pipe drawn from the refrigeration unit is extended with a margin, or is connected with an easily removable coupling, only the chilled water tank can be tilted forward for cleaning. can do.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing an internal structure.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a support structure of the ice storage;

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway plan view thereof.

FIG. 5 is a partial side sectional view of the ice storage device in a state where the ice storage device is tilted forward;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Dispenser main body 13 ... Ice making unit 20 ... Refrigeration casing 30 ... Ice storage 33 ... Movable lid 34 ... Handle 48 ... Discharge cylinder 49 ... Discharge port 53 ... Upper front panel 69 ... Horizontal shaft 77 ... Lock member 77A ... (Lock member 77 Bifurcation) tip 86 ... lock hole 87 ... handle 90 ... drain pipe 91 ... drain pan 92 ... drain hose 94 ... middle front panel 95 ... recess

Claims (4)

[Claims] In a dispenser, a dispenser is provided in a dispenser main body, the dispenser being provided above a production section including a refrigerating device, for storing a product produced by driving the refrigerating device. A dispenser characterized in that the dispenser is supported so as to be separable from the ice making unit and tilt forward. 2. The storage device has two bottom left and right sides which are supported by a hinge via a hinge so as to be tiltable with respect to the dispenser main body. A bifurcated lock bar is provided so as to be movable in the front-rear direction, and at positions corresponding to two left and right locations on the back side of the bottom of the storage in the dispenser body,
The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein a pair of left and right lock holes through which a fork end of the lock bar is inserted and removed is provided. 3. An ice making unit for manufacturing ice pieces, wherein the storage is an ice storage for storing ice pieces pushed up from the ice making unit, wherein the ice pieces are provided on a bottom surface of the ice storage. And a drain pan located below the bottom of the ice storage is provided in the dispenser main body, and a drain hose is connected to the drain pan. The dispenser according to claim 1 or 2. 4. An ice making unit for manufacturing ice pieces, wherein the storage is an ice storage for storing ice pieces pushed up from the ice making unit. Has an outlet for ice chips,
At a position corresponding to the discharge port when the ice storage is tilted forward in a panel stretched on the front surface of the dispenser main body, the discharge port is retracted to the rear side to avoid facing the inside of the panel. The dispenser according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a concave portion is formed.