Spherical ice maker

Abstract

Disclosed in the present invention is a spherical ice maker, comprising a spherical mold, a refrigeration device, and a water supply apparatus, wherein the water supply apparatus supplies water to a spherical space in the middle of the spherical mold, and the refrigeration device freezes the water in the spherical mold into ice; the spherical mold comprises a first mold and a second mold, each having a hemispherical structure; the first mold and the second mold fit together to form a spherical space; the refrigeration device comprises a compressor, a condenser, a dry filter, a capillary tube and an evaporator that are connected in a loop by means of pipes; a heat exchange network of the evaporator is embedded in a spherical surface of the first mold, and two ends of the heat exchange network extend out of an outer spherical surface on the first mold to form an evaporator inlet and an evaporator outlet, which are respectively connected to the capillary tube and a compressor suction line. In the present invention, the evaporator of the refrigeration device is embedded into the spherical mold, reducing the number of heat transfer stages and increasing device compactness.

Description

A spherical ice maker TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to a spherical ice maker. BACKGROUND

[0002] The spherical ice maker is a kind of ice making equipment specially designed for cold beverage industry, which can make ice into spherical shape to slow down the melting speed of ice and avoid the rapid dilution of beverage to reduce the taste of food. The spherical ice maker usually has the characteristics of simple and compact structure, high refrigeration efficiency and fast refrigeration speed.

[0003] Patent publication No. CN 117628766 A discloses a kind of spherical ice maker, including a refrigeration assembly and a spherical mold, the spherical mold includes upper die, and the lower die is arranged below the upper die, also includes a opening and closing mold assembly for driving the rotation of lower die;The refrigeration assembly includes a Stirling refrigerator, the upper die is provided with a gradually inclined hole from top to bottom, and the top end of the inclined hole of the upper die is communicated with the cold end output of the Stirling refrigerator through the gradually inclined gravity heat pipe from top to bottom. This kind of spherical ice maker has the characteristics of simple and compact structure, high refrigeration efficiency and fast refrigeration speed.

[0004] In this ice maker, the Stirling refrigerator is arranged outside the case, the gradually inclined gravity heat pipe and inclined hole from top to bottom can ensure the normal work of the gravity heat pipe;The gravity heat pipe can be provided with one or more, the number of inclined holes is equal to the number of gravity heat pipes, and they are communicated respectively, the bottom end of the inclined hole can be closed, or when multiple gravity heat pipes and inclined holes are arranged, the bottom end of the corresponding two inclined holes can be communicated through U-shaped pipe, so that when multiple gravity heat pipes and inclined holes are applied, the bottom end of the inclined hole can be flexibly set as closed or U-shaped pipe communication according to needs. It is equivalent to arranging a cylindrical cap on the upper die of the spherical mold, using the gravity heat pipe to take away the heat outside the spherical mold, reducing the temperature inside the spherical mold, and the water in the spherical mold is frozen into spherical ice. However, this kind of spherical ice maker needs to use multiple gravity heat pipes and multiple inclined holes to cooperate, which has great installation difficulty and cannot meet the needs of users. TECHNICAL PROBLEM

[0005] The present application is aimed at the above-mentioned shortcomings of the existing spherical ice maker, and provides a kind of spherical ice maker, which embeds the evaporator of refrigeration equipment into the spherical mold, and only uses two interface pipes to connect to the ice maker circulating system. TECHNICAL SOLUTION

[0006] The technical scheme adopted by the present application to achieve its technical purpose is: a kind of spherical ice maker, including spherical mold, refrigeration equipment, water supply device, the water supply device supplies water to the spherical space in the middle of the spherical mold, and the refrigeration equipment freezes the water in the spherical mold into ice;

[0007] The spherical mold comprises a first mold and a second mold with a hemispherical structure, and the first mold and the second mold are buckled to form a spherical space.

[0008] The refrigeration device comprises a compressor, a condenser, a drying filter, a capillary tube and an evaporator connected in a pipeline circulation.

[0009] The heat exchange net of the evaporator is implanted in the spherical surface of the first mold, and the two ends of the heat exchange net are extended out of the spherical surface of the first mold to form an evaporator inlet and an evaporator outlet, which are connected with the capillary tube and the compressor return pipe respectively.

[0010] Further, the heat exchange net of the evaporator is a hollow space in the spherical surface of the first mold (110).

[0011] Further, in the spherical ice maker, the first air duct and the second air duct are two spiral structure air ducts arranged in the spherical surface of the first mold and opposite to each other, and the two spiral air ducts are communicated at the center to become an integrated evaporator.

[0012] Further, in the spherical ice maker, at least one nozzle connected with the water supply device is arranged on the hemispherical inner wall of the second mold.

[0013] Further, in the spherical ice maker, at least one drainage groove with both ends reaching the edge of the hemispherical inner wall of the second mold is further arranged on the hemispherical inner wall of the second mold.

[0014] Further, in the spherical ice maker, a cover plate is arranged at the drainage groove, and a water inflow gap is arranged between the cover plate and the drainage groove.

[0015] Further, in the spherical ice maker, the nozzle is arranged in the drainage groove, and a small hole for spraying water mist is arranged in front of the nozzle on the cover plate.

[0016] Further, in the spherical ice maker, a detachable and replaceable LOGO module for making convex-concave LOGO shape is further arranged on the hemispherical inner wall of the second mold, avoiding the drainage groove.

[0017] Further, in the spherical ice maker, a heating mechanism for making the spherical ice quickly separate is further arranged outside the first mold and the second mold.

[0018] Further, in the spherical ice maker, the water supply device comprises a water storage tray and a water pump. Advantages

[0019] The evaporator of the refrigeration device is implanted into the spherical mold, which reduces the heat propagation link and makes the device more compact. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0020] The application will be further described below in conjunction with the drawings and specific embodiments

[0021] Fig. 1 is a sectional view of the first mold in embodiment 1 of the application (I);

[0022] Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the first mold in embodiment 1 of the application (II);

[0023] Fig. 3 is a distribution diagram of the air ducts in the first mold in embodiment 1 of the application;

[0024] Fig. 4 is an elevation view of the second mold in embodiment 1 of the application;

[0025] Fig. 5 is a structure diagram of the ice maker in embodiment 1 of the application (the first and second molds are in the state of being covered with each other);

[0026] Fig. 6 is a structure diagram of the ice maker in embodiment 1 of the application (the second mold is in the state of being turned up from the first mold). Best mode for carrying out the application

[0027] In embodiment 1, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the spherical ice ice maker of the embodiment is composed of a spherical mold 100, a refrigeration device 200, a water supply device 300 and the like, wherein: the water supply device 300 supplies water into the spherical space in the middle of the spherical mold 100, and the refrigeration device 200 freezes the water in the spherical mold 100 into ice to form spherical ice.

[0028] As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the refrigeration device 200 includes a compressor 210, a condenser 220, a drying filter 230, a capillary tube 240 and an evaporator which are connected in a circulation by pipelines, and these compressor 210, condenser 220, drying filter 230, capillary tube 240 and evaporator are communicated with each other through a refrigeration system pipeline 250, and a phase change material as a refrigeration medium flows in these pipelines and compressor 210, condenser 220, drying filter 230, capillary tube 240 and evaporator, and through compression expansion and the like, the phase change material releases a large amount of heat energy in the condenser to change from a gas phase to a liquid phase, enters the evaporator through the refrigeration system pipeline 250, and absorbs a large amount of heat in the evaporator to change from a liquid phase to a gas phase, so that the temperature around the evaporator is greatly reduced to refrigerate.

[0029] The water supply device 300 mainly includes a water storage container water receiving plate 310 and a water pump 320, the water pump 320 is installed in the water receiving plate 310, and the clean water (that is, the water used for ice making, which is often purified water or mineral water and the like) stored in the water receiving plate 310 is pumped into the spherical mold 100 by a water pipeline 350.

[0030] In this embodiment, the spherical mold 100 includes a first mold 110 and a second mold 120, which are buckled to form a spherical space. When in use, pure water or mineral water will be frozen into ice balls in the spherical space. The ice balls can be taken out by separating the first mold 110 and the second mold 120.

[0031] In this embodiment, the heat exchange network of the evaporator in the refrigeration device 200 is implanted into the first mold 110, i.e. the spherical surface of the first mold 110, to directly refrigerate the spherical space. The first mold 110 is shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. The first mold 110 has a first air passage 111 and a second air passage 112, which are connected to each other in the spherical surface of the first mold 110. The first air passage 111 extends out of the outer spherical surface to form an evaporator inlet 113, which is connected to a capillary tube 240. The second air passage 112 extends out of the outer spherical surface to form an evaporator outlet 114, which is connected to a return air tube of a compressor 210. In practice, the first air passage 111 and the second air passage 112 are two spiral air passages, which are arranged in opposite directions in the spherical surface of the first mold 110. The two spiral air passages are connected at the center to form an integrated evaporator.

[0032] When the water supply device 300 supplies water into the spherical space in the middle of the spherical mold 100, at least one nozzle 121 is arranged on the inner wall of the second mold 120, which is connected to the water supply device 300, as shown in Fig. 4. In addition, at least one drainage groove 122 is arranged on the inner wall of the second mold 120, which reaches the edge of the inner wall of the second mold 120 at both ends. In practice, a cover plate is arranged at the mouth of the drainage groove 122. A gap for water inflow is arranged between the cover plate and the drainage groove 122. In addition, a group of drainage holes can be used, which can drain the excess water in the spherical space. In this way, ribs will not be formed on the ice balls when the ice balls are formed, and the remaining water can also flow away. The nozzle 121 is arranged in the drainage groove 122. A small hole for spraying water mist is arranged in front of the nozzle 121 on the cover plate.

[0033] A detachable and replaceable LOGO module 123, which can be used to make convex-concave LOGO shapes, is arranged on the inner wall of the second mold 120, avoiding the drainage groove 122. A heating mechanism is arranged outside the first mold 110 and the second mold 120 to quickly separate the spherical ice.

[0034] The spherical ice maker of this embodiment is shown in Figs. 5 and 6, which mainly consists of the following components:

[0035] The first mold 110 is a hollow hemispherical structure. Two spiral gas channels are arranged in the hollow sphere, which are opposite to each other and communicate at the center to form one gas channel. The gas (liquid) can enter the gas channel from one end of the sphere and flow out from the other end. The inlet of the gas channel is connected with the capillary tube of the refrigeration system, and the outlet is connected with the return gas pipe of the compressor of the refrigeration system, so that the first mold becomes an evaporator of the refrigeration system. As shown in FIG. 1, the heat exchange network of the evaporator can also be the hollow space in the sphere of the first mold (110).

[0036] The second mold 120 is a hemispherical structure. One or more nozzles are arranged on the sphere. A drain groove is arranged on the inner surface of the sphere from the top end to the bottom end. A detachable and replaceable LOGO module is also arranged on the inner surface of the sphere, and the LOGO module can be made into a convex-concave LOGO shape. A heating device is also arranged on the outer surface of the sphere.

[0037] The first mold 110 and the second mold 120 can be opened and closed. When the first mold 110 and the second mold 120 are closed, a spherical hollow structure is formed.

[0038] The refrigeration device 200 is composed of a compressor 210, a condenser 220, a drying filter 230, a capillary tube 240, an evaporator, an electromagnetic valve 260 and the like, and is connected by a refrigeration system pipeline 250. The evaporator is the first mold 110 described above. The electromagnetic valve 260 is controlled by the ice maker control system to control the refrigeration process. In some embodiments, the electromagnetic valve 260 can not be arranged on the circulation pipeline.

[0039] The water supply system 300, also called a waterway system, is composed of a water pump 320, a nozzle 121, a drain groove 122, a water receiving tray 310 and the like, and is connected by a waterway pipeline 350.

[0040] In addition, there is a system for recycling ice balls, such as a mechanical device (opening and closing mechanism) for opening and closing the spherical mold 100. After opening, the device for taking out the ice balls in the first and second molds is used. When the ice balls fall, they can slide down a slide plate 410 into an ice ball blue 400, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

[0041] The refrigeration process of the ice ball ice maker using the embodiment includes two stages of ice ball making and ice ball removing.

[0042] When the ice ball is made, the compressor of the refrigeration device is running, and the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant (phase change material medium) is output into the condenser to dissipate heat outward, and then passes through the drying filter, and then passes through the capillary tube, and the refrigerant enters the first mold (evaporator) air duct to reduce pressure and expand to absorb heat, and the first mold (evaporator) is cooled down. At the same time, the first mold (evaporator) and the second mold are in a closed state, and the water pump is running, and the nozzle sprays water mist to the inner spherical surface of the first mold (evaporator) and the second mold. The water film on the inner spherical surface of the first mold (evaporator) is frozen layer by layer due to the temperature being reduced to below 0°C, and the unfrozen water flows to the water pan through the drain groove on the inner spherical surface of the second mold, and is circulated by the water pump. After a period of time, a complete ice ball is formed in the spherical space.

[0043] When the ice ball is made, the compressor of the refrigeration device is running, and the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant (phase change material medium) is output into the condenser to dissipate heat outward, and then passes through the drying filter, and then passes through the capillary tube, and the refrigerant enters the first mold (evaporator) air duct to reduce pressure and expand to absorb heat, and the first mold (evaporator) is cooled down. At the same time, the first mold (evaporator) and the second mold are in a closed state, and the water pump is running, and the nozzle sprays water mist to the inner spherical surface of the first mold (evaporator) and the second mold. The water film on the inner spherical surface of the first mold (evaporator) is frozen layer by layer due to the temperature being reduced to below 0°C, and the unfrozen water flows to the water pan through the drain groove on the inner spherical surface of the second mold, and is circulated by the water pump. After a period of time, a complete ice ball is formed in the spherical space.

Claims

1. A spherical ice maker, comprising a spherical mold (100), a refrigeration device (200), and a water supply device (300) for supplying water into a spherical space in the middle of the spherical mold (100), and the refrigeration device (200) freezes the water in the spherical mold (100) into ice. The spherical mold (100) comprises a first mold (110) and a second mold (120) in a hemispherical structure, and the first mold (110) and the second mold (120) are buckled to form a spherical space. The refrigeration device (200) comprises a compressor (210), a condenser (220), a drying filter (230), a capillary tube (240), and an evaporator connected in a pipeline circulation; characterized in that: The heat exchange net of the evaporator is implanted into the spherical surface of the first mold (110), and the two ends of the heat exchange net extend out of the spherical surface of the first mold (110) to form an evaporator inlet (113) and an evaporator outlet (114), which are respectively connected with the capillary tube (240) and the compressor (210) return pipe.

2. The spherical ice maker according to claim 1, characterized by: The heat exchange net of the evaporator is a hollow space in the spherical surface of the first mold (110).

3. The spherical ice maker according to claim 1, characterized by: The heat exchange net comprises a first air duct (111) and a second air duct (112); the first air duct (111) and the second air duct (112) are two spiral structure air ducts arranged in the spherical surface of the first mold (110) and opposite to each other, and the two spiral air ducts are communicated at the center to become an integrated evaporator.

4. The spherical ice maker according to claim 1, characterized by: At least one nozzle (121) connected with the water supply device (300) is arranged on the inner wall of the hemispherical surface of the second mold (120).

5. The spherical ice maker according to claim 4, characterized by: At least one drainage groove (122) with both ends reaching the edge of the hemispherical inner wall of the second mold (120) is arranged on the inner wall of the hemispherical surface of the second mold (120).

6. The spherical ice maker according to claim 4, characterized by: A drainage hole is arranged on the inner wall of the hemispherical surface of the second mold (120).

7. The spherical ice maker according to claim 5, characterized by: A cover plate is arranged at the mouth of the drainage groove (122), a water inflow gap is arranged between the cover plate and the drainage groove (122), the nozzle (121) is arranged in the drainage groove (122), and a small hole for spraying water mist is arranged in front of the nozzle (121) on the cover plate.

8. The spherical ice maker as claimed in claim 7, characterized by: A detachable and replaceable LOGO module (123) for making convex-concave LOGO shapes is arranged on the inner wall of the hemispherical surface of the second mold (120) away from the drainage groove (122).

9. The spherical ice maker according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized by: A heating mechanism for quickly separating the spherical ice is further arranged outside the first mold (110) and the second mold (120).

10. The spherical ice maker according to claim 9, characterized by: The water supply device (300) comprises a water storage and receiving disc (310) and a water pump (320).

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