Ice maker and refrigerator

Abstract

The present invention proposes an ice maker and a refrigerator, the ice maker comprising: a wiring terminal and a shell; wherein the wiring terminal comprises a main body and a limiting portion formed by extending outward from both sides of the main body, an electrical terminal is arranged in the main body, and an electrical connection end connected to the electrical terminal is formed at one end, and the limiting portions on both sides have different shapes. An opening is provided on the shell, and a terminal fixing cavity for accommodating the wiring terminal is provided inside the shell and is connected to the opening, so that the electrical connection end of the main body installed in the terminal fixing cavity is exposed in the opening; wherein the terminal fixing cavity is formed with limiting cavities respectively adapted to the two limiting portions. Based on the scheme proposed by the present invention, the terminal fixing cavity has limiting cavities respectively adapted to the two limiting portions with different shapes of the wiring terminal, so that the error prevention reliability is high, and the situation that the ice maker fails due to the reverse installation of the wiring terminal is avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of household electrical appliances, in particular to an ice maker and a refrigerator. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous development of science and technology and the continuous improvement of people's living standards, in order to meet people's increasingly higher requirements for quality of life, the functions of household appliances are also constantly increasing. For example, an ice maker is added to a refrigerator to realize the ice-making function of the refrigerator.

[0003] Currently, there is no anti-reverse installation structure inside the terminal accommodating cavity on the shell of the ice maker for placing the ice maker's wiring terminals, which makes it very easy to install the ice maker's wiring terminals upside down during the assembly process. Reverse installation of the wiring terminals may cause the ice maker to fail, leading to user complaints and machine returns, and small problems may lead to big losses. Summary of the invention

[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide an ice maker which can prevent the connection terminals from being installed reversely.

[0005] A further object of the present invention is to prevent the connecting terminal from sliding in the terminal fixing cavity and to fix the connecting terminal in the terminal fixing cavity.

[0006] In particular, the present invention provides an ice making machine comprising:

[0007] The wiring terminal comprises a main body and a limiting portion formed by extending outward from two sides of the main body, wherein an electrical terminal is arranged in the main body and an electrical connection end connected to the electrical terminal is formed at one end, and the limiting portions on both sides have different shapes;

[0008] A housing having an opening thereon, and a terminal fixing cavity for accommodating the connection terminal and communicating with the opening, so that the electrical connection end of the main body installed in the terminal fixing cavity is exposed in the opening; wherein,

[0009] The terminal fixing cavity is formed with limiting cavities respectively matched with the two limiting parts.

[0010] Optionally, the two limiting portions include a first limiting portion, and at least one notch is formed on a side of the first limiting portion away from the main body portion;

[0011] The limiting cavity comprises a first limiting cavity matched with the first limiting portion, and the first limiting cavity has a protrusion matched with the shape of the notch.

[0012] Optionally, the notch is triangular, and the raised portion is a triangular rib formed in the first limiting cavity and corresponding to the position of the notch.

[0013] Optionally, at least one of the notches is two, and the number of the triangular ribs is two.

[0014] Optionally, a limiting member is formed on the side wall of the limiting cavity, and a limiting space is formed between the limiting member and the end wall of the limiting cavity parallel to the opening direction, so as to limit the limiting portion within the limiting space.

[0015] Optionally, the limiting member is an elastic limiting member, and its extension direction is the same as or opposite to the opening direction. When the limiting portion moves toward the limiting space, the limiting member is compressed by the limiting portion and is in a non-limiting state close to the side wall.

[0016] When the limiting portion reaches the limiting space, the limiting member rebounds to be in a limiting state away from the side wall.

[0017] Optionally, on one side of the terminal accommodating cavity, the shell further has an ice-making cavity inside, the ice-making cavity is used to place an ice-making assembly, and the electrical terminal is led out from the ice-making assembly.

[0018] According to another aspect of the present invention, a refrigerator is provided, comprising the ice maker as described above.

[0019] The terminal fixing cavity in the present invention has limiting cavities respectively adapted to the two limiting parts of the connecting terminal with different shapes, and has high error prevention reliability, thereby avoiding the situation where the ice maker fails due to reverse installation of the connecting terminal.

[0020] Furthermore, a limiting member is provided on the side wall of the limiting cavity of the present invention, and a limiting space is formed between the limiting member and the end wall of the limiting cavity parallel to the opening direction, so that the limiting part can be confined in the limiting space to prevent it from sliding in the limiting cavity.

[0021] Based on the following detailed description of specific embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art will become more aware of the above and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Hereinafter, some specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail in an exemplary and non-limiting manner with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals in the accompanying drawings indicate the same or similar components or parts. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that these drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the accompanying drawings:

[0023] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the overall structure of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0024] Figure 2 Shows Figure 1An enlarged schematic diagram of area B of the middle refrigerator;

[0025] Figure 3 A first overall structural schematic diagram of an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0026] Figure 4 A second overall structural schematic diagram of an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0027] Figure 5 Shows Figure 4 A cross-sectional view of the middle ice machine along line AA;

[0028] Figure 6 A schematic diagram showing a first state of a connection terminal of an ice maker in a terminal fixing cavity according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0029] Figure 7 A schematic diagram showing a second state of a connection terminal of an ice maker in a terminal fixing cavity according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure can be implemented in various forms and should not be limited by the embodiments set forth herein. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided in order to enable a more thorough understanding of the present disclosure and to fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art.

[0031] It should be noted that the technical features in the embodiment and optional embodiments of the present invention can be combined with each other under the premise of no conflict.

[0032] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an ice maker and a refrigerator. Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the overall structure of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Figure 2 Shows Figure 1 An enlarged schematic diagram of the B area of ​​the refrigerator. Figure 1-2 As shown, the ice maker 200 may be disposed in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator 100 , and mainly makes ice cubes by utilizing the cold energy of the refrigerator 100 . Figure 3 A first overall structural schematic diagram of an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Figure 4 A second overall structural schematic diagram of an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Figure 5 Shows Figure 4 A cross-sectional view of the ice machine along line AA. Figure 3-5As shown, the ice maker 200 includes a terminal 210 and a housing 220. The terminal 210 includes a main body 211 and a first limiting portion 212 and a second limiting portion 213 with different shapes formed by extending outward from both sides of the main body 211. An electrical terminal is arranged in the main body 211, and one end of the main body 211 forms an electrical connection end 2111 connected to the electrical terminal. An opening 221 is provided on the housing 220, and a terminal fixing cavity 222 for accommodating the terminal 210 is provided inside the housing 220 and is communicated with the opening 221, so that the electrical connection end 2111 of the main body 211 installed in the terminal fixing cavity 222 is exposed in the opening 221. The terminal fixing cavity 222 is formed with a first limiting cavity 223 and a second limiting cavity 226 respectively adapted to the first limiting portion 212 and the second limiting portion 213.

[0033] In this embodiment, the first limiting portion 212 and the second limiting portion 213 have different shapes, and the terminal fixing cavity 222 is formed with a first limiting cavity 223 and a second limiting cavity 226 which are respectively adapted to the first limiting portion 212 and the second limiting portion 213, so that the error prevention reliability is high and the failure of the ice maker 200 due to the reverse installation of the terminal 210 is avoided.

[0034] The electrical terminals in the main body 211 are specifically led out from the ice-making assembly of the ice-maker 200. In an optional embodiment, an ice-making cavity 230 is further provided inside the housing on one side of the terminal fixing cavity 222, and the ice-making assembly can be provided in the ice-making cavity 230. The electrical connection end 2111 of the main body 211 connected to the electrical terminal can be connected to the main control board of the refrigerator 100, and can be used for signal transmission between the refrigerator 100 and the ice-maker 200, and can also transmit electrical energy.

[0035] In an alternative embodiment, if Figure 5 As shown, a notch 2121 and a notch 2122 are formed on the first limiting portion 212 on one side away from the main body 211, and the notch 2121 and the notch 2122 are preferably triangular notches. A protrusion 224 and a protrusion 225 are provided in the first limiting cavity 223, and the protrusion 224 and the protrusion 225 are triangular convex ribs adapted to the position and shape of the notch 2121 and the notch 2122, respectively. When the protrusion 224 cooperates with the notch 2121 and the protrusion 225 cooperates with the notch 2122, the first limiting portion 212 can be smoothly pushed into the first limiting cavity 223. Since the first limiting portion 212 and the second limiting portion 213 have different shapes, when the connection terminal 210 is reversely assembled, the second limiting portion 213 will be stuck by the protrusion 224 and the protrusion 225 and cannot be transferred in, which effectively prevents the connection terminal 210 from being installed in reverse.

[0036] It should be noted that the present invention does not specifically limit the shape and number of the notches and protrusions.

[0037] also, Figure 6 A schematic diagram showing a first state of a connection terminal of an ice maker in a terminal fixing cavity according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Figure 7 FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a second state of the connection terminal of an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention in the terminal fixing cavity. Figure 6-7 As shown, in an optional embodiment of the present invention, a limiting member 227 and a limiting member 228 can be formed on the side walls of the first limiting cavity 223 and the second limiting cavity 226, respectively, and a limiting space (not shown in the figure) is formed between the limiting member 227 and the end wall of the first limiting cavity 223 along a direction parallel to the opening 221, and a limiting space 229 is formed between the limiting member 228 and the end wall of the second limiting cavity 226 along a direction parallel to the opening 221, so as to limit the first limiting portion 212 and the second limiting portion 213 within their respective limiting spaces.

[0038] Specifically, the limiting member 227 and the limiting member 228 may be elastic limiting members, and the extending direction of the limiting member 227 and the limiting member 228 is the same as or opposite to the direction of the opening 221. When the first limiting portion 212 and the second limiting portion 213 move toward their respective limiting spaces, the limiting member 227 and the limiting member 228 are respectively compressed by the first limiting portion 212 and the second limiting portion 213 to be in a non-limiting state close to their respective side walls; when the first limiting portion 212 and the second limiting portion 213 reach their respective limiting spaces, the limiting member 227 and the limiting member 228 both rebound to restore their original state and are in a limiting state away from their respective side walls, so that the first limiting portion 212 and the second limiting portion 213 can be respectively limited in their respective limiting spaces, preventing the first limiting portion 212 and the second limiting portion 213 from sliding in a direction away from their respective limiting spaces.

[0039] It should be noted that Figure 6-7 The figure shows that the limiting member and the rear end wall of the limiting cavity form a limiting space. In actual application, the limiting member can also form a limiting space with the front end wall of the limiting cavity.

[0040] The present invention provides an ice maker 200 and a refrigerator 100, wherein the terminal fixing cavity 222 has a first limiting cavity 223 and a second limiting cavity 226 respectively adapted to the first limiting portion 212 and the second limiting portion 213 of the two different shapes of the connecting terminal 210, so that the error prevention reliability is high and the failure of the ice maker 200 caused by the reverse installation of the connecting terminal 210 is avoided; in addition, a limiting member 227 and a limiting member 228 are respectively arranged on the side walls of the first limiting cavity 223 and the second limiting cavity 226, and a limiting space is formed between the limiting member 227 and the end wall of the first limiting cavity 223 parallel to the direction of the opening 221, and a limiting space 229 is formed between the limiting member 228 and the end wall of the second limiting cavity 226 parallel to the direction of the opening 221, so that the first limiting portion 212 and the second limiting portion 213 can be respectively limited in their respective limiting spaces to prevent them from sliding in the first limiting cavity 223 and the second limiting cavity 226.

[0041] At this point, those skilled in the art should recognize that, although multiple exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described in detail herein, many other variations or modifications that conform to the principles of the present invention can still be directly determined or derived based on the content disclosed in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be understood and recognized as covering all these other variations or modifications.

Claims

1. An ice making machine, characterized in that: include: The wiring terminal comprises a main body and a limiting portion formed by extending outward from two sides of the main body, wherein an electrical terminal is arranged in the main body and an electrical connection end connected to the electrical terminal is formed at one end, and the limiting portions on both sides have different shapes; A housing having an opening thereon, and a terminal fixing cavity for accommodating the connection terminal and communicating with the opening, so that the electrical connection end of the main body installed in the terminal fixing cavity is exposed in the opening; wherein, The terminal fixing cavity is formed with limiting cavities respectively adapted to the two limiting parts; The two limiting portions are respectively a first limiting portion and a second limiting portion, at least one notch is formed on a side of the first limiting portion away from the main body portion, and the second limiting portion is rectangular; and The two limiting cavities are respectively a first limiting cavity adapted to the first limiting portion and a second limiting cavity adapted to the second limiting portion, wherein the first limiting cavity has a protrusion adapted to the shape of the notch, and the second limiting cavity is a rectangular limiting cavity; Wherein, any of the limiting portions is adapted to the corresponding limiting cavity in size.

2. The ice making machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The notch is in the shape of a triangle, and the raised portion is a triangular convex rib formed in the first limiting cavity and corresponding to the position of the notch.

3. The ice making machine according to claim 2, characterized in that: At least one of the notches is two, and the number of the triangular ribs is two.

4. The ice making machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: A limiting member is formed on the side wall of the limiting cavity, and a limiting space is formed between the limiting member and the end wall of the limiting cavity parallel to the opening direction, so as to limit the limiting portion within the limiting space.

5. The ice making machine according to claim 4, characterized in that: The limiting member is an elastic limiting member, and its extension direction is the same as or opposite to the opening direction. When the limiting portion moves toward the limiting space, the limiting member is compressed by the limiting portion and is in a non-limiting state close to the side wall; When the limiting portion reaches the limiting space, the limiting member rebounds to be in a limiting state away from the side wall.

6. The ice making machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: On one side of the terminal accommodating cavity, the shell is further provided with an ice-making cavity, the ice-making cavity is used for placing an ice-making assembly, and the electrical terminal is led out from the ice-making assembly.

7. A refrigerator, characterized in that: The invention comprises an ice making machine as described in any one of claims 1 to 6.

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