PURPOSE: To retain a reserving chamber, reserving ice pieces, in air-tight and transfer the ice pieces efficiently while preventing the melting of the ice pieces.

CONSTITUTION: Ice pieces, manufactured by an ice making machine 8 mounted on the upper part of a reserving chamber 10, are dropped and released into the upper space 18 of the reserving chamber 10, then, are dropped into a lower space 12 through a communicating port 39 by a conveyer 20 and are reserved therein. When a transfer signal is received from an ice reserving chamber 54, compressed air evergizes a pushing means 33 through an air sending tube 30 by the starting of a fan blower 26 and a damper 40 is closed to retain the inside of the lower space 12 in air-tight. The ice pieces, transferred to a transferring unit 46 by the conveyers 14, 16, are transferred into the ice reserving chamber 54 by cooling compressed air, sent into the transferring unit 46 through an air sending tube 28. The compressed air, employed for the transfer of the ice pieces, is recovered into the fan blower 26 through a suction tube 32 and is employed again for the transfer of the ice pieces.