JP2009052862A - Reverse cell type ice maker - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a reverse cell type ice maker for reducing the amount of consumed water while avoiding the precipitation of scales in ice-making remaining water to be reused without using a drain solenoid valve. <P>SOLUTION: The so-called reverse cell type ice maker IM comprises a cooler 1 having a number of downward ice making chambers 2, a water tray 4 arranged at a horizontally closed position in a reciprocally tilting manner to close the cooler upward, and having water spray holes 6 at positions opposite to the ice making chambers, respectively, a water tank 8, a circulating pump 10, and a water spray 13. The water tank is constructed so that water resides therein at a tiltingly opening position. The upper part of a siphon 28 in the water tank is higher than a water level where a water supply process is finished, when at a horizontally closed position. The siphon opens at its suction side 28C to the bottom of the water tank and opens at its release side 28B to the outside of the water tank so that a water level rises in the water tank to communicate liquid on the suction side with that on the release side and drain water from the water tank. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooler having a plurality of ice making chambers opened downward, and a water dish provided with a fountain hole at a position facing each ice making chamber. And a reverse cell type ice making machine that performs ice making by fountaining into each ice making chamber from a fountain hole.

  Conventionally, this type of ice making machine 100 includes a cooler 1 having a large number of ice making chambers 2 opened downward as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, and the cooler 1 below the horizontal closing position (state of FIG. 10). A water tray 4 provided with a fountain hole at a position facing each ice making chamber 2 and being integrally provided with the water tray 4. A water tank 101 that receives and stores water, a circulation pump 10 that sucks up the water in the water tank 101 and ejects it from a fountain hole, and a water level sensor 25 that includes a float switch that detects a full water level in a water supply process; It is comprised with the water sprinkler 13 etc. which sprinkle on the surface of the water tray 4. FIG.

  And the said reverse cell type ice making machine repeats an ice making process and an ice removal process alternately, and performs ice making. That is, in the ice making process, first, water is supplied from the sprinkler 13 into the water tank 101, and when the water level sensor 25 detects that the water level in the water tank 101 is full, the circulation pump 10 is driven. Then, the water in the water tank 101 is ejected from the fountain hole into each ice making chamber 2 by the circulation pump 10. At the same time, the cooling device is driven to evaporate the refrigerant in the evaporation pipe 3 constituting the cooler 1. Each ice making chamber 2 is cooled by the cooling action by the heat absorption of the refrigerant. Thereby, ice is generated in each ice making chamber 2. At this time, of the water ejected from the fountain hole, the remaining water that does not become ice is collected in the water tank 101.

  When ice is generated in the ice making chamber by the ice making process described above, the process proceeds to the ice removing process. In the ice making step, the water tray 4 that has closed the ice making chamber 2 at the horizontal closing position is tilted downward (state shown in FIG. 11). At this time, the water remaining in the water tank 101 flows from the drain outlet 102 onto the drain pan 26 via the drain guide plate 103. In addition, the ice sprayed on the surface of the water tray 4 from the water sprinkler 13 is washed away. The washing water also flows down into the water tank 101 and then flows from the drain outlet 102 onto the drain pan 26. The water pan tilted downward is stopped at the tilt opening position.

  On the other hand, when the process moves to the deicing process, hot gas (high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant gas) flows directly from the compressor of the cooling device to the evaporation pipe 3 of the cooler 1. As a result, the ice is detached from the ice making chamber 2, and the detached ice falls and is stored in an ice storage section provided below.

  When the ice removal is completed, the water tray 4 is moved back upward and stopped when it reaches the horizontal closing position. In this state, the process proceeds to the ice making process again, and the above ice making process is repeated. In addition, there exists patent document 1 as a conventional literature relevant to such a reverse cell type ice making machine.

  In such a configuration, all of the remaining ice making water remaining in the water tank 101 after the completion of ice making and the washing water of the water tray 4 thereafter are drained, and the amount of drainage in the ice making machine 100 is more than half of the supplied water. Met. For this reason, it was eagerly desired to save water by reducing the amount of drainage. However, impurities such as chlorine and minerals contained in tap water remain after the ice making residual water, and similarly, the impurities other than ice scum that removes ice remain in the washing water of the water dish 4. Therefore, if reuse is continued without draining, the concentration of impurities contained in the water increases, exceeding the saturation concentration, causing the inconvenience of precipitation of scale. When the scale is deposited in this manner, for example, the scale is deposited between the ice making chamber 2 and the water tray 4, and the water tray 4 cannot close the ice making chamber 2, and ice making is performed in a state where these are slightly separated from each other. Will be. That is, the water sprayed into the ice making chambers 2 from the fountain holes also flows into the gaps between the water tray 4 and the ice making chamber 2, and ice is generated in the gaps. The adhesion force becomes strong, and when the water pan is tilted in the ice removing process, the water pan 4 is difficult to separate from the ice, and an excessive load is applied to the water pan 4 and the driving device 15 that moves the water pan.

  Furthermore, the scale causes the fountain hole of the water tray 4 to be blocked, preventing water from being ejected into the ice making chamber 2 and causing various problems such as hindering the operation of the circulation pump 10.

  Therefore, a reverse cell type ice making machine 105 as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 has been developed. The ice making machine 105 includes a water tank 106 having a structure in which water remains in the inclined open position (state of FIG. 13) in which the water tank 4 opens the ice making chamber 2 of the cooler 1. It is configured. Specifically, the water tank 106 is on the opposite side of the bottom surface 106A that is substantially horizontal at the inclined open position and the pivot support side (the side that is pivotally supported by the rotation shaft 14) of the drive device 15. The front end portion of the bottom surface 106A is provided with a standing portion 106B that rises in a vertical direction from the bottom surface 106A, and a drain port 23 is formed at the upper edge of the standing portion 106B. Thereby, in the inclined open position where the water tray 4 opens the ice making chamber 2 of the cooler 1, the water at the bottom in the water tank 106 is blocked by the upright portion 106 </ b> B and does not flow out from the drain outlet 23. It is comprised so that it may remain in.

  Further, a drain pipe 107 for discharging the water in the water tank 106 is connected to the bottom face 106 </ b> A of the water tank 106 through a drain electromagnetic valve 108. The other end of the drain pipe 107 is opened in the drain pan 26. A drain pipe is connected to the inner bottom portion of the drain pan 26, and all of the water flowing down into the drain pan 26 is discharged from the drain pipe 36 to the outside.

  With such a configuration, when the water tray 4 that has been in the horizontally closed position is tilted when the transition from the ice making process to the deicing process is performed in the same manner as described above, water remains in the water tank 106 even when the water dish 106 is in the tilt open position. Since all the water in the water tank 106 does not go out from the drain outlet 23, at least a part of the water in the water tank 106 is dammed by the standing portion 106B formed at least in the water tank 106. Stopped and remains inside. Similarly, the washing water of the water dish 4 remains in the water tank 106.

Impurities such as chalk and mineral components contained in tap water remain after the ice making residual water and the washing water for the water tray 4 are concentrated, and scale precipitation occurs when the impurity concentration exceeds the saturation concentration. When the operation was repeated, the drain electromagnetic valve 108 was opened, and control was performed to drain all residual water in the water tank 106.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-50231

  However, in the reverse cell type ice making machine 106 as described above, it is necessary to provide a drain electromagnetic valve 108 as an electrical component outside the water tank 106. Moreover, since the drainage electromagnetic valve 108 has a problem of causing malfunction due to dew condensation or the like, a waterproof mechanism such as a cover is required, which causes an increase in the number of parts and an associated increase in cost. Further, the drain electromagnetic valve 108 including these covers is generally attached in the vicinity of the water tank 106, but a space for special attachment must be secured in the apparatus main body.

  However, since the ice making machine is installed in a limited space, a space-saving ice making machine may not be able to secure a space for mounting the drain electromagnetic valve 108 outside the water tank 106. In this case, there is a problem that it is not possible to employ a configuration for preventing scale precipitation of the ice making residual water while reusing the water in the water tank 106 after the ice making process.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the conventional technical problems, and in the reverse cell type ice making machine, the ice making residual water and the water dish washing water remaining in the water tank which has been discharged conventionally are effectively used. The purpose of this is to reduce the amount of water consumed and to avoid scale precipitation of ice making residual water that is reused without using a drain electromagnetic valve.

  The reverse cell type ice making machine according to the first aspect of the present invention is provided with a cooler having a large number of ice making chambers opened downward and tiltable so as to close the cooler from below at a horizontal closing position. A water tray provided with a fountain hole at a position facing the chamber, a water tank provided integrally with the water tray and receiving and storing water from the upper surface of the water tray, and sucking up the water in the water tank A circulation pump for spraying from a fountain hole and a water sprinkler for spraying water on the upper surface of the water tray and supplying the water tank, the water tank is inclined so that the water tray opens the ice making chamber of the cooler A water tank that has a structure in which water remains in the open position and includes a siphon provided in the water tank, and an upper portion of the siphon is a water tank in which a water supply process is finished when the water dish is in a horizontal closed position. The water level is higher than the highest water level of the Opening at the bottom inside, opening the discharge side outside the water tank, and raising the water level in the water tank to make the suction side and discharge side of the siphon in liquid communication, thereby It is characterized by discharging.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the reverse cell type ice making machine according to the above-mentioned invention, wherein the reverse cell is formed at the bottom of the water tank and has a lowest portion protruding downward, and the suction side of the siphon is disposed within the lowest portion. It is characterized by.

  The reverse cell type ice making machine of the invention of claim 3 is characterized in that, in each of the above inventions, the water level in the water tank is raised when the water pan is in the horizontal closed position.

  A reverse cell type ice making machine according to a fourth aspect of the present invention includes, in each of the above-described inventions, a water level sensor that detects the maximum water level in the water tank in the water supply process, and the water level sensor detects the maximum water level for a predetermined period of time. The water level in the water tank is raised by supplying water with a sprinkler.

  The reverse cell type ice making machine of the invention of claim 5 is characterized in that, in each of the above inventions, when the ice making process is executed a predetermined number of times, the water level in the water tank is raised.

  The reverse cell type ice making machine of the invention of claim 6 is the above invention, wherein a water quality sensor is provided in the water tank, and the impurity concentration of water in the water tank detected by the water quality sensor reaches a predetermined upper limit value. The water level in the water tank is raised.

  According to the present invention, a cooler having a large number of ice-making chambers opened downward, and a reversible arrangement so as to close the cooler from below at a horizontally closed position, and a fountain at a position facing each ice-making chamber. A water tray provided with a hole, a water tank that is provided integrally with the water dish and receives and stores water from the top surface of the water dish, and a circulation pump that sucks up the water in the water tank and ejects it from the fountain hole And a reverse cell type ice making machine having a water sprinkler for sprinkling water on the upper surface of the water tray and supplying water to the water tank, wherein the water tank is disposed at an inclined open position where the water tray opens the ice making chamber of the cooler. And a siphon provided in the water tank, and the upper part of the siphon is higher than the highest water level of the water tank where the water supply process is finished when the water pan is in the horizontal closed position. It is in a high position, the suction side is the bottom in the water tank The discharge side opens outside the water tank, and the water level in the water tank is raised so that the suction side and the discharge side of the siphon are in fluid communication with each other, so that the water in the water tank is discharged. If the water level in the water tank is such that the suction side and the discharge side of the siphon are not in fluid communication, the water can remain in the water tank and reused at the next ice making. As a result, the amount of water consumed can be reduced, and the running cost can be reduced.

  On the other hand, when draining the water in the water tank, the water level in the water tank is raised to a position corresponding to the upper part of the siphon that is higher than the highest water level of the water tank where the water supply process is completed. The discharge side communicates with the liquid, and the water in the water tank can be discharged using the principle of siphon.

  In this case, water in the water tank can be discharged without using a drain valve such as a solenoid valve. Therefore, a waterproof mechanism such as a cover that is necessary when the solenoid valve is used is also unnecessary. In addition, it is possible to reduce the number of equipment provided outside the water tank, and easily discharge the water in the water tank by using the present invention even in a limited space in the apparatus. It becomes possible to do. In addition, since the number of electrical components can be reduced, it is possible to suppress an increase in cost.

  Further, according to the invention of claim 2, in addition to the above-mentioned invention, the water tank is provided with a lowest part protruding downward and the suction side of the siphon is disposed in the lowest part. Therefore, more water in the water tank can be sucked up from the suction side of the siphon and discharged to the outside, and residual water in the water tank can be reduced.

  According to the invention of claim 3, in addition to each of the above inventions, when the water pan is in the horizontally closed position, the water level in the water tank is raised and the water tank is drained. As compared with the case where the water in the water tank is discharged, it is possible to shift to the water supply step immediately after the draining step by omitting the tilting movement of the water tray.

  According to the invention of claim 4, in addition to each of the above-mentioned inventions, a water level sensor for detecting the maximum water level in the water tank in the water supply process is provided, and the water level sensor detects the maximum water level, and then the sprinkler for a predetermined period. By raising the water level in the water tank by supplying water, the existing water level sensor is used to increase the water level to a predetermined water level, that is, the water level that enables drainage using the siphon principle provided in the water tank. Can be raised. This makes it possible to discharge water from the water tank according to the principle of siphon without using special detection means and supplying water more than necessary, resulting in higher production costs and higher running costs. Can be reduced.

  According to the invention of claim 5, in addition to each of the above inventions, when the ice making process is executed a predetermined number of times, the water level in the water tank is raised so that the chlorine contained in the water remaining in the water tank Since the residual water can be discharged before the concentration of impurities such as minerals reaches the saturated concentration, the inconvenience of scale deposition can be solved.

  Further, as in the invention of claim 6, when a water quality sensor is provided in the water tank and the impurity concentration of the water in the water tank detected by the water quality sensor reaches a predetermined upper limit value, the water level in the water tank is raised. By doing so, it is possible to accurately grasp the impurity concentration in the water tank, and to perform accurate drainage according to the degree of contamination of the water. Thereby, it becomes possible to suppress water consumption as much as possible.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view (horizontal closing position) of a reverse cell type ice making machine IM showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view (inclination opening position) of the reverse cell type ice making machine IM of this embodiment. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing water circulation to the ice making chamber 2, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the water tank 8, and FIG. 5 is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view of the bottom 8A of the water tank 8.

  The ice making machine IM of the present embodiment shown in each figure includes an ice making unit IP having a cooler 1 having a plurality of ice making chambers 2 opened downward and a water tray 4 for closing each ice making chamber 2 from below. At a predetermined horizontal closing position (state of FIG. 1) where the water tray 4 closes the ice making chamber 2 from below, water is sprayed from the water tray 4 to each ice making chamber 2 to perform an ice making process. The ice making machine is a so-called reverse cell type that performs the deicing process of heating the cooler 1 at a predetermined inclined opening position (a state shown in FIG. 2).

  The ice making unit IP includes each ice making chamber 2, the cooler 1 provided with the evaporation pipe 3 of the cooling device on the outer wall of the ice making chamber 2, a water dish 4, a water tank 8, a circulation pump 10, and a driving device 15. It consists of a sprinkler 13 and the like. The water tray 4 closes each ice making chamber 2 from below at a predetermined horizontal closing position with a margin, and a fountain hole 6 and a return hole 7 (see FIG. 3) are formed at positions facing each ice making chamber 2. Yes. The water tank 8 is provided integrally with the water tray 4 and communicates with the return hole 7. The circulation pump 10 sucks up the water in the water tank 8 and ejects it from the fountain hole 6 through the water guide pipe 11 and the distribution pipe 5 and circulates it in each ice making chamber 2. The drive device 15 includes a reduction motor 16 having a high-speed gear ratio capable of forward and reverse rotation that tilts and returns the water tray 4. The water sprinkler 13 sprinkles water on the upper surface of the water tray 4 when the water supply electromagnetic valve 12 is opened. In the figure, reference numeral 21 denotes a cooler temperature sensor 21 provided on the side surface of the cooler 1.

  The reduction motor 16 is supported by a mounting plate 22A fixed to the support beam 22. The output shaft of the reduction motor 16 has a first arm 17 extending in the opposite direction of the radial direction of the output shaft. And a drive cam having a second arm 18 is mounted. One end of a coil spring 19 is attached to the end of the first arm 17 of the drive cam, and the other end of the coil spring 19 is connected to the side surface of the other end of the water dish 4. As a result, the other end of the water dish 4 is connected to the end of the first arm 17 via the coil spring 19. Further, one end of the water dish 4 is pivotally supported by the support beam 22 via the rotating shaft 14.

  The water tray 4 is disposed so as to be tiltable so as to close each ice making chamber 2 from below at the horizontal closing position. Specifically, the tilting motion of the water pan 4 is caused by the reduction motor 16, the first arm 17 attached to the output shaft thereof, the end of the first arm 17, and the water pan 4. This is done by a driving device 15 comprising the coil spring 19 connected between the ends.

  The position of the water dish 4 is detected by a contact-type water dish position detection switch 20 (only FIG. 1 is shown) fixed to the support beam 22. The water pan position detection switch 20 detects the horizontal closing position and the tilt opening position of the water tray 4 based on the open / close state of the contact of the switching lever. The water pan position detection switch 20 is provided on the support beam 22, and the switching lever of the water pan position detection switch 20 is arranged at a position where the first and second arms 17 and 18 of the drive cam come into contact with each other. ing. When the drive cam rotates counterclockwise from the state shown in FIG. 1 due to normal rotation of the reduction motor 16, the water pan 4 tilts, and when the tilt opening position is reached, the second arm 18 contacts the switching lever. As a result, the contact point of the water pan position detection switch is closed and switched to the reverse side (the state shown in FIG. 2). That is, when the second arm 18 abuts from the front side of the switching lever of the water pan position detection switch 20 and is pushed rearward, the switching lever is switched, the contact is closed, and switching is reversed to the backward movement side.

  Further, when the drive cam rotates clockwise from the state of FIG. 2 due to the reverse rotation of the speed reduction motor 16, the first arm 17 comes into contact with the switching lever when the water pan 4 reaches the horizontal closed position, thereby the water pan position. The contact of the detection switch 20 is opened and switched to the tilt side. That is, when the first arm 17 comes in contact from the rear side (left side in FIG. 1) of the switching lever of the water pan position detection switch 20 and is pushed forward (right side in FIG. 1), the switching lever is switched and contacts are made. Is opened and switched to the tilt side.

  On the other hand, the water tank 8 has a container shape in which the water tray 4 is integrally provided at the upper surface opening. The details of the water tank 8 will be described later when the water tray 4 is in the horizontally closed position. A water level sensor (float switch) 25 for detecting the maximum water level L1 (see FIG. 1) and a water temperature sensor 37 (FIG. 6) for detecting the temperature of water in the water tank 8 are provided.

  Here, the water tank 8 is formed with a plurality of side surfaces 8B and a bottom surface 8C which is horizontal at the inclined open position at a predetermined inclination angle as shown in FIG. 4, and is stored at the horizontal closed position. The shape is such that water can be guided to the bottom portion 8A formed at the lowest. Further, the side surface 8D has a shape that bypasses these in order to arrange the circulation pump 10 and the like disposed around the water tank 8, and the side surface 8D facing the bottom portion 8A has water on the circulation pump 10. A suction hole 24 for feeding is formed.

  And the drainage hole 27 for a maintenance is formed in the place where this water tray 4 is formed in the lowest position of this bottom part 8A in a horizontal obstruction | occlusion position, The said drainage hole 27 is always shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. In addition, by arbitrarily opening the drain plug 30, the water in the water tank 8 can be easily discharged, and the maintenance work is facilitated.

  Further, a siphon 28 having a substantially U-shaped cross section is erected on the bottom 8A. The siphon 28 is at a position L2 (see FIG. 1) in which the upper part 28A is higher by a predetermined dimension than the highest water level L1 detected by the water level sensor 25 as described above in a state where the water dish 4 is in the horizontally closed position. .

  The bottom 8A of the water tank 8 is formed with a lead-out hole 29 for leading the end of the discharge side 28B of the siphon 28 to the outside, and from the lead-out hole 29 (in this embodiment, directly below the water tank 8). The end of the discharge side 28 </ b> B led out to the drain pan 26 side) is open at a position lower than the bottom 8 </ b> A of the water tank 8. On the other hand, the end portion of the suction side 28C of the siphon 28 has a small margin between the bottom 8A in the water tank 8 where the water dish 4 is formed at the lowest horizontal closed position, that is, the bottom upper surface constituting the bottom 8A. Open with a gap.

  Further, the water tank 8 has a structure in which water remains inside at an inclined open position where the water tray 4 opens the ice making chamber 2 of the cooler 1. That is, in the water tank 8 of the present embodiment, the bottom surface 8C that is horizontal at the inclined open position and the tip of the bottom surface 8C that is opposite to the side pivotally supported by the rotary shaft 14 are perpendicular to the bottom surface 8C. A standing portion 8E that rises in a direction with a predetermined height is provided, and a drain port 23 is formed in the upper portion of the standing portion 8E. Thereby, in the inclined open position where the water tray 4 opens the ice making chamber 2 of the cooler 1, the water in the bottom portion 8 </ b> A in the water tank 8 is blocked by the upright portion 8 </ b> E and does not flow out from the drain outlet 23. It is configured to remain inside.

  Further, the outer periphery of the drain port 23, that is, the front side opposite to the water tank 8 is a drain guide plate 9 for guiding water in the water tank 8 discharged from the drain port 23 to the lower rear side. Covered. The drainage guide plate 9 allows all the water discharged from the water tank 8 to flow in a drain pan 26 located directly below the water tank 8 without flowing from a drain outlet 23 to an ice storage section (not shown) provided on the lower front side. Flowing into.

  A drain pipe 36 is connected to the inner bottom portion of the drain pan 26, and the water flowing down into the drain pan 26 is discharged from the drain pipe 36 to the outside.

  In addition, on the side surface 8B of the water tank 8, the water tray 4 is higher than the upper part 28A of the siphon 28 in the horizontal closed position where the water tray 4 closes the ice making chamber 2 of the cooler 1, and the water tray 4 is cooled. An overflow hole 31 is formed at a position higher than the lower edge of the drain port 23 formed in the upright portion 28E at the inclined open position for opening the ice making chamber 2 of the vessel 1.

  Next, the control device C in the present embodiment will be described with reference to the electric block diagram of FIG. The control device C in the present embodiment is constituted by a general-purpose microcomputer and incorporates a timer 33 as a time limit means. A control panel 34, a water pan position detection switch 20, a cooler temperature sensor 21, a water level sensor 25, a water temperature sensor 37, and the like are connected to the input side of the control device C, and the circulation pump 10 is connected to the output side. The speed reduction motor 16, the water supply electromagnetic valve 12, the compressor 35 of the cooling device, the hot gas electromagnetic valve 38, and the like are connected. Thereby, control of opening / closing operation | movement of the water tray 4, operation | movement of a cooling device, opening / closing of each valve apparatus, etc. is performed.

  Next, operation | movement of the reverse cell type ice making machine IM of a present Example is demonstrated. First, when power is turned on (ON) by the control panel 34, the control device C initially sets the water tray 4 to the horizontal closed position and executes the water supply process.

(Water supply process)
In this water supply process, the control device C opens the water supply electromagnetic valve 12 and supplies water from the sprinkler 13 into the water tank 8. Based on detection by the water level sensor 25 that the water level in the water tank 8 has reached the maximum water level L1, the control device C closes the water supply electromagnetic valve 12 and stops water supply to the water tank 8. Thereby, a water supply process is complete | finished.

(Ice making process)
Thereafter, the control device C shifts from the water supply step to the ice making step, and the operation of the circulation pump 10 and the compressor 36 of the cooling device is started. By starting the operation of the circulation pump 10, the water in the water tank 8 is circulated from the fountain hole 6 into each ice making chamber 2 through the suction hole 24, the water guide pipe 11, and the distribution pipe 5. Further, when the compressor 35 of the cooling device is activated, the refrigerant flows into the evaporation pipe 3 and absorbs heat from the cooler 1. Thereby, the water supplied to each ice making chamber 2 of the cooler 1 is cooled, and ice is gradually generated.

  On the other hand, of the water ejected from the fountain hole 6, the remaining water that does not become ice is collected from the return hole 7 into the water tank 8.

  And the production | generation of the ice in each ice-making room 2 can be judged by detecting the water temperature of the water tank 8, for example. Specifically, the water temperature in the water tank 8 detected by the water temperature sensor 37 provided in the water tank 8 is lowered to a predetermined temperature (for example, + 3 ° C.) or lower, and the temperature is kept below that temperature for a predetermined time. In this case, it is determined by the control device C that ice has been generated in each ice making chamber 2.

(Ice removal process)
As described above, when it is determined that ice is generated in each ice making chamber 2, the process proceeds to the ice removing step. In the deicing process, the control device C causes the reduction motor 16 to rotate normally. Thereby, the 1st arm 17 rotates counterclockwise, and the water tray 4 tilts gradually downward. When the water pan 4 reaches the tilt opening position, the second arm 18 extending in the opposite direction to the first arm 17 contacts the water pan position detection switch 20, the contact of the switching lever is switched, and the contact is It is closed and reversed to the return side. Thereby, the control device C stops the rotation of the reduction motor 16 and stops the water tray 4.

  Further, the control device C opens the water supply electromagnetic valve 12 when a predetermined time before the water tray 4 reaches the tilt opening position, for example, 15 seconds before. Thereby, the water sprinkled from the water sprinkler 13 onto the upper surface of the water tray 4 and the ice adhering to the upper surface of the water tray 4 is washed away. Then, the washing water that has washed away the water dish 4 falls into the water tank 8. A part of the water in the water tank 8 is discharged from the drain port 23 when the water tray 4 is opened. That is, it flows on the drain pan 26 from the drain outlet 23 through the drain guide plate 9.

  Since the water tank 8 of the present invention has a structure in which water remains in the inclined open position where the water tray 4 opens the ice making chamber 2 of the cooler 1 as described above, the water tray 4 is inclined open. Even when the position reaches the position, all the water in the water tank 8 does not go out from the drain port 23, and at least a part of the water remains in the water tank 8. Specifically, in the water tank 8 of the present embodiment, at least part of the water in the water tank 8 is blocked by the upright portion 8E formed at the tip of the bottom surface 8C, and does not flow out from the drain port 23. In addition, it remains inside (FIG. 2).

  On the other hand, when the process proceeds to the above-described ice removal step, the control device C opens the hot gas solenoid valve 38 of the cooling device, and causes the hot gas (high-temperature high-pressure refrigerant gas) to flow directly into the evaporation pipe 3 from the compressor 35. As a result, the surface of the ice is heated and falls from the ice making chamber 2 onto the water tray 4, and further falls from the front of the water tray 4 to the ice storage section and is stored in the ice storage section.

  At this time, whether or not the deicing is completed is determined based on whether or not the temperature detected by the cooler temperature sensor 21 provided on the side surface of the cooler 1 exceeds a preset deicing temperature. When the deicing is completed, the control device C closes the hot gas solenoid valve 38 and reverses the speed reduction motor 16. As a result, the first arm 17 rotates clockwise, and the water tray 4 gradually moves upward. When the water pan 4 reaches the horizontal closing position, the first arm 17 comes into contact with the water pan position detection switch 20, the switching lever is switched, the contact is opened, and the switching is reversed to the tilting side. C stops the rotation of the reduction motor 16. Thereby, the water tray 4 stops.

(Subsequent ice making operation)
In this state, the process proceeds to the water supply process again. That is, the control device C opens the water supply electromagnetic valve 12 and supplies water from the sprinkler 13 into the water tank 8. At this time, since the water used in the previous ice making process and deicing process that has not been discharged as described above remains in the water tank 8 (for example, the water level at L3 in FIG. 1), Therefore, the amount of water supplied into the water tank 8 can be reduced.

  Here, in this embodiment, the water tray 4 has a structure in which water remains in the inclined open position where the ice making chamber 2 of the cooler 1 is opened, so that the amount of drainage can be reduced. This is advantageous because the ice making water cooled to near 0 ° C. in the ice making process is reused in the next ice making process. However, the water remaining in the water tank 8 is the aforementioned ice making residual water or washing water for the water dish 4, and the ice making residual water is concentrated after impurities such as chlor and minerals contained in tap water remain. In addition, the above-mentioned impurities are likely to remain in the washing water of the water dish 4 in addition to the ice scum for detaching the ice. Therefore, if the water is reused without draining as it is, the concentration of impurities contained in the water exceeds the saturation concentration. Inconvenience that the scale is deposited occurs.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, when it is determined that the ice making process is repeated a predetermined number of times, the control device C shifts to the draining process after the previous ice removing process is completed.

(Drainage process)
In this drainage process, the water tray 4 is in a horizontally closed position for closing the ice making chamber 2 of the cooler 1 as in the water supply process. In this state, the control device C first opens the water supply electromagnetic valve 12 and supplies water from the sprinkler 13 into the water tank 8. Then, after the water level sensor 25 detects that the water level in the water tank 8 has reached the maximum water level L1, the control device C continuously supplies water from the sprinkler 13 into the water tank 8 for a predetermined time. The water level in the water tank 8 is raised to a level higher than the maximum water level L1. The continuous opening time is assumed to be a time during which at least water can be supplied to enable liquid communication between the suction side 28C and the discharge side 28B of the siphon 28 provided in the water tank 8.

  Thereby, the suction side 28C and the discharge side 28B of the siphon 28 provided in the water tank 8 are in fluid communication, and the water tank is opened from the end of the suction side 28C that opens at the bottom 8A of the water tank 8 according to the principle of the siphon. The water in the tank 8 is sucked up and discharged from the end of the discharge side 28B that opens outside the water tank 8 and at a position lower than the bottom 8A. In the drainage process, all of the ice making residual water and the washing water in the water tank 8 are discharged to the outside through the drain pan 26. In addition, the drainage in the water tank 8 by the siphon 28 does not occur unless the water level in the water tank 8 reaches a predetermined water level higher than the highest water level L1 when the water tray 4 is in the horizontally closed position. In other conditions, drainage by the siphon 28 is not performed.

  In this way, the water tank 8 has a structure in which water remains in the inclined open position where the water tray 4 opens the ice making chamber 2 of the cooler 1, and the remaining water is kept until the ice making process is executed a predetermined number of times. It is reused to make ice. When the ice making process reaches the predetermined number of times as described above, the water level in the water tank 8 is raised to a water level at which the suction side 28C and the discharge side 28B of the siphon 28 can communicate with each other. By discharging all the water in the water tank 8, the residual water can be discharged before the concentration of impurities such as chlor and mineral contained in the water remaining in the water tank 8 reaches the saturation concentration. This makes it possible to significantly reduce the amount of water consumed while effectively eliminating the inconvenience of scale deposition from water. Therefore, the running cost of the ice making machine IM can be effectively reduced.

  In addition, since the impurity concentration contained in ice making residual water etc. changes also with the density | concentration etc. of the chlorinated and mineral content contained in the tap water to be used, until the said drainage process is performed by the control panel 34 etc. as mentioned above. The number of ice making operations can be set arbitrarily.

  Further, in the present invention, since water in the water tank 8 can be discharged without using a drain valve such as a solenoid valve, waterproofing of a cover or the like required when the solenoid valve is used. A mechanism is not necessary, and the number of devices provided outside the water tank 8 can be reduced, and the water in the water tank 8 can be easily discharged even in a limited space in the device IM. It becomes possible to do. In addition, since the number of electrical components can be reduced, it is possible to suppress an increase in cost.

  Furthermore, in the method for discharging water from the water tank 8 using the siphon 28, the water pan 4 is drained by raising the water level in the water tank 8 when the water pan 4 is in the horizontal closed position. Compared with the case where the water in the water tank 8 is discharged by tilting, it is possible to shift to the water supply process immediately after the draining process by omitting the tilting movement of the water tray 4.

  In the present embodiment, the water level sensor 25 mounted in the conventional ice making machine in the drainage process, that is, the water level sensor 25 for detecting the maximum water level L1 in the water tank 8 in the water supply process is used. After the water level sensor 25 detects the maximum water level L1, water is supplied by the sprinkler 13 for a predetermined period of time, and the water level in the water tank 8 is raised to enable drainage using the siphon principle. This makes it possible to discharge the water in the water tank 8 according to the siphon principle without using any special detection means and without supplying water more than necessary. It is possible to reduce soaring.

  It should be noted that the water level sensor is not limited to this embodiment, and can detect drainage using the principle of siphon more reliably and reduce the amount of water supply more than necessary to detect the water level that enables the drainage. Thus, drainage control may be executed.

  In the above embodiment, when the ice making operation is repeated a predetermined number of times set in advance, the water level in the water tank 8 is raised and all the water in the water tank 8 is discharged using the siphon principle. 7, a water quality sensor 39 is provided in the water tank 8, and when the impurity concentration in the water tank 8 detected by the water quality sensor 39 reaches a predetermined upper limit value, the water level in the water tank 8 is raised. The drainage process may be performed. 7 is the same as or similar to the first embodiment except that the water quality sensor 39 described above is provided and the drainage process is executed based on the impurity concentration in the water tank 8 detected by the water quality sensor 39. Therefore, detailed description of the structure and operation is omitted.

  Also in this embodiment, it is possible to remarkably reduce the amount of water consumed while effectively eliminating the inconvenience of depositing scale in the water as in the first embodiment. Thereby, the running cost of ice machine IM can also be reduced effectively. Further, in this embodiment, the water quality sensor 39 can accurately grasp the impurity concentration in the water tank 8, and the drainage process can be accurately performed according to the degree of contamination of the water to perform drainage. Thereby, it becomes possible to suppress the amount of water consumption as much as possible, and a more efficient ice making operation can be realized.

  Next, another embodiment of the reverse cell type ice making machine of the present invention will be described. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view (horizontal closing position) of the inverted cell type ice making machine of this embodiment, and FIG. 9 is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view of the bottom 41A of the water tank 41. The reverse cell type ice making machine of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 8 is common to the above-described first embodiment in many respects, so that the same or similar operation as the reverse cell ice making machine of the first embodiment, or Detailed description of the configuration that provides the effect is omitted.

  The water tank 41 in this embodiment has substantially the same configuration as the water tank 8 as shown in the first embodiment, but the bottom 41A of the water tank 41 in this embodiment has a lowest position protruding further downward. A portion 41B is formed. The lowest-order part 41B is a protruding part having a predetermined area formed lower than the bottom part 41A.

  In the lowest position portion 41B, the end portion on the suction side 28C of the siphon 28 is disposed as in the first embodiment. Specifically, the water tray 4 is in the lowest position portion 41B in the water tank 8 that is formed at the lowest position in the horizontal closed position, and between the upper surface of the bottom portion that constitutes the lowest position portion 41B. It arrange | positions so that the edge part of the suction side 28C of the siphon 28 may be located with a clearance gap.

  By adopting such a configuration, in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment, in the draining process, the water level in the water tank 41 is raised so that the suction side 28C and the discharge side 28B of the siphon 28 are in fluid communication with each other. The water in the water tank 41 can be sucked up more efficiently from the end of the suction side 28C of the 28, and discharged outside from the end of the discharge side 28B. Therefore, the remaining water in the water tank 41 can be reduced.

  Note that a maintenance drain hole 42 is formed in the lowest part 41B, and the drain hole 42 is normally closed by a drain plug 43 as shown in FIG. By arbitrarily opening the drain plug 43, water in the water tank 41 can be easily discharged arbitrarily, and maintenance work is facilitated.

It is sectional drawing (horizontal obstruction | occlusion position) of the reverse cell type ice making machine of one Example of this invention. It is sectional drawing (inclination open position) of the reverse cell type ice making machine of one Example of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the water circulation to an ice making chamber. It is a top view of a water tank. It is a partial expanded sectional view of the bottom part of a water tank. It is an electrical block diagram of a present Example. It is sectional drawing of the reverse cell type ice making machine of the other Example of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the reverse cell type ice making machine of another another Example. It is a partial expanded sectional view of the bottom part of the water tank of the Example of FIG. It is sectional drawing (horizontal obstruction | occlusion position) of the conventional reverse cell type ice making machine. It is sectional drawing (inclination open position) of the conventional reverse cell type ice making machine. It is sectional drawing (horizontal obstruction | occlusion position) of another conventional reverse cell type ice making machine. It is sectional drawing (inclination open position) of another conventional reverse cell type ice making machine.

Explanation of symbols

IM reverse cell type ice making machine IP ice making part 1 cooler 2 ice making room 3 evaporating pipe 4 water dish 5 minute piping 6 fountain hole 7 return hole 8, 41 water tank 8A, 41A bottom part 8B, 8D side face 8C bottom face 8E standing part 9 drainage Guide plate 10 Circulation pump 11 Conduit pipe 12 Water supply solenoid valve 13 Sprinkler 14 Rotating shaft 15 Drive device 23 Drain port 25 Water level sensor (float switch)
26 Drain pan 28 Siphon 28A Upper part 28B Release side 28C Inhalation side 41B Lowest position

Claims (6)

A cooler having a large number of ice making chambers opened downward, and disposed so as to be tiltable so as to close the cooler from below at a horizontal closing position, and provided with a fountain hole at a position facing each ice making chamber. A water tank, a water tank that is provided integrally with the water dish and receives and stores water from the upper surface of the water dish, a circulation pump that sucks up the water in the water tank and ejects it from the fountain hole; A reverse cell type ice making machine comprising a sprinkler for sprinkling water on the upper surface of a water tray and supplying water to the water tank;
The water tank has a structure in which water remains in an inclined open position where the water dish opens the ice making chamber of the cooler,
A siphon provided in the water tank, wherein the upper part of the siphon is at a position higher than the highest water level of the water tank at which the water supply process ends when the water pan is in the horizontal closed position; The side opens at the bottom in the water tank, the discharge side opens outside the water tank,
A reverse cell type ice making machine characterized in that the water in the water tank is discharged by raising the water level in the water tank and bringing the suction side and discharge side of the siphon into liquid communication.   2. The reverse cell type ice making according to claim 1, further comprising a lowest portion formed at a bottom portion of the water tank and protruding downward, wherein a suction side of the siphon is disposed in the lowest portion. Machine.   The reverse cell type ice making machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the water level in the water tank is raised when the water pan is in the horizontal closed position.   A water level sensor that detects the maximum water level of the water in the water tank in the water supply step, and after the water level sensor detects the maximum water level, the water level is supplied by the sprinkler for a predetermined period of time, thereby the water level in the water tank The reverse cell type ice making machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the reverse cell type ice making machine is raised.   The reverse cell type ice making machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the water level in the water tank is raised when the ice making process is executed a predetermined number of times.   A water quality sensor is provided in the water tank, and when the impurity concentration of water in the water tank detected by the water quality sensor reaches a predetermined upper limit value, the water level in the water tank is raised. The reverse cell type ice making machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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