Inverted ice-making and ice-discharging device, refrigerator

Abstract

The present invention provides a flip - type ice - making and ice - discharging device and a refrigerator. The flip - type ice - making and ice - discharging device includes a flip - driving component, an ice - making box, and an ice - discharging component. The flip - driving component is drivingly connected to the ice - making box so that the ice - making box has a first position adapted for ice - making and a second position adapted for ice - discharging. The ice - discharging component is arranged on one side of the bottom wall of the ice - making box. The ice - making box has a plurality of ice - making grids. When the ice - making box is in the second position, the ice - discharging component can apply a force to the bottom of the ice - making grid to force the ice cubes in the ice - making grid corresponding to the ice - discharging component in the ice - making box to come out. According to the present invention, the structure is simple, compact, novel, and saves space inside the refrigerator.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of refrigerator manufacturing, and in particular relates to a flip-type ice making and dispensing device and a refrigerator. Background Art

[0002] The prior art refrigerator ice maker (i.e., ice making and dispensing device) mainly includes an ice tray. The ice tray has a planar structure. When ice making is completed and ice needs to be discharged, a rotating blade in the ice tray separates the ice cubes in the ice tray from the ice tray. On the one hand, this structure requires the rotating blade to occupy the position of the ice tray and also causes the appearance of the ice cubes to be defective. On the other hand, the cantilevered rotating blade requires greater strength when rotating to separate the ice cubes from the ice tray and is very prone to damage such as breakage. In addition, the structure is relatively complex and the equipment occupies a large space. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Therefore, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a flip-type ice making and dispensing device and a refrigerator with a simple, compact and novel structure, which saves space in the refrigerator.

[0004] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a flip-type ice-making and dispensing device, comprising a flip-type driving component, an ice-making box, and an ice-dispensing component. The flip-type driving component is drivably connected to the ice-making box so that the ice-making box has a first position adapted for making ice and a second position adapted for dispensing ice. The ice-dispensing component is arranged on one side of the bottom wall of the ice-making box. The ice-making box has a plurality of ice-making grids. When the ice-making box is in the second position, the ice-dispensing component can apply force to the bottom of the ice-making grid to force the ice cubes in the ice-making grid corresponding to the ice-dispensing component to fall out.

[0005] Preferably, a rotating shaft is constructed on the box body of the ice making box, and the flip driving component includes a first rotary motor, and a power output shaft of the first rotary motor is drivingly connected to the rotating shaft.

[0006] Preferably, the bottom wall of the box is provided with a plurality of vertical ribs interwoven in a longitudinal and transverse direction, and the plurality of vertical ribs interwoven in a longitudinal and transverse direction form a plurality of ice-making grids, and the bottom wall of each ice-making grid is made of elastic material.

[0007] Preferably, the vertical ribs are made of hard material.

[0008] Preferably, a communicating hole is provided at the bottom of the vertical rib corresponding to each ice making tray to connect the accommodating cavities of two adjacent ice making trays.

[0009] Preferably, a water receiving tray is provided on the outer peripheral side of the ice making box.

[0010] Preferably, a drain outlet is configured on the water receiving tray.

[0011] Preferably, the ice-discharging component includes a roller, and a plurality of pushing protrusions adapted to the bottom of the ice-making tray are provided on the outer peripheral wall of the roller. When the pushing protrusions contact the bottom of the ice-making tray, the ice cubes in the adapted ice-making tray can be pushed out.

[0012] Preferably, the roller is connected to a second rotary motor for driving the roller to rotate; and / or, the bottom wall of the box has a translation drive structure for the roller to drive the roller to generate linear reciprocating motion.

[0013] Preferably, the translation drive structure includes a roller mounting bracket, the roller and the second rotary motor are mounted on the roller mounting bracket, and a slide rail is provided on the bottom wall of the box, the roller mounting bracket is slidingly connected to the slide rail, and also includes a third rotary motor, which can drive the roller mounting bracket to move back and forth in a straight line along the guide direction of the slide rail.

[0014] Preferably, the flip-type ice-making and dispensing device further comprises an ice storage box, and the ice storage box is located below the ice-making box to receive ice cubes that escape from the ice-making box when the ice-making box is in the second position.

[0015] Preferably, the ice storage box is provided with a partition plate to separate the ice storage box into a first chamber and a second chamber which are independent of each other, and an ice crusher is provided in the first chamber.

[0016] Preferably, an ice guide plate is provided on the top of the partition plate, and the ice guide plate can guide the ice cubes escaped from the ice making box into the first cavity or the second cavity.

[0017] The present invention also provides a refrigerator comprising the above-mentioned flip-type ice-making and ice-dispensing device.

[0018] The present invention provides a flip-type ice making and dispensing device and a refrigerator, wherein the ice making box is in an ice making position when in a first position and in an ice dispensing position when in a second position. When the ice making box has finished making ice and needs to dispense ice, the ice making box is controlled to flip from the first position to the second position, and the ice dispensing component is synchronously controlled to operate, thereby applying force to the bottom of the ice making grid. Under the force applied by the ice dispensing component and the weight of the ice cubes, the ice cubes escape from the ice making grid and enter the ice storage box below, thereby realizing ice making and dispensing. The structure is simple, compact, and novel, and can save space in the refrigerator. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of a flip-type ice making and dispensing device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the ice making box;

[0021] Figure 3 Side view of Figure 2 ;

[0022] Figure 4 Internal structure schematic diagram of Figure 2 ;

[0023] Reference numerals in the drawings are shown as:

[0024] 1. Ice storage box; 11. Partition board; 12. First chamber; 13. Second chamber; 14. Ice crusher; 15. Ice guide plate; 2. Ice making box; 21. Bottom wall of the box; 22. Ice making grid; 23. Rotating shaft; 24. Vertical rib; 241. Communication hole; 25. Water receiving tray; 251. Drainage port; 3. Ice discharging component; 31. Roller. Specific embodiments

[0025] Referring to Figures 1 to 4 shown, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a flip - type ice making and ice discharging device is provided, including a flip driving component (not shown in the figure), an ice making box 2, and an ice discharging component 3. The flip driving component is drivingly connected to the ice making box 2 to enable the ice making box 2 to have a first position adapted for ice making and a second position adapted for ice discharging. Specifically, for example, the first position is that the opening of the ice making box 2 faces upward, and the second position is that the opening of the ice making box 2 faces downward. The ice discharging component 3 is arranged on one side of the bottom wall 21 of the ice making box 2. The ice making box 2 is provided with a plurality of ice making grids 22. When the ice making box 2 is in the second position, the ice discharging component 3 can apply a force to the bottom of the ice making grid 22 to force the ice cubes in the ice making grid 22 corresponding to the ice discharging component 3 in the ice making box 2 to come out. In this technical solution, when the ice making box 2 is in the first position, it is in the ice making position, and when it is in the second position, it is in the ice discharging position. When the ice making in the ice making box 2 is completed and ice discharging is required, the ice making box 2 is controlled to flip from the first position to the second position, and the ice discharging component 3 is synchronously controlled to operate, and then a force is applied to the bottom of the ice making grid 22. Under the action of the force applied by the ice discharging component 3 and the self - weight of the ice cubes, the ice cubes come out of the ice making grid 22 and enter the lower ice storage box 1, thereby realizing ice making and ice discharging. The structure is simple, compact, and novel, and can save space in the refrigerator.

[0026] In some embodiments, a rotating shaft 23 is constructed on the box body of the ice making box 2. The flip driving component includes a first rotary motor (not shown in the figure). The power output shaft of the first rotary motor is drivingly connected to the rotating shaft 23. When the first rotary motor operates, it drives the ice making box 2 to rotate through the rotating shaft 23, thereby enabling the ice making box 2 to switch between the first position and the second position. It can be understood that the first rotary motor is preferably a stepping motor to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the position switching.

[0027] As a specific implementation of the ice-making box 2, preferably, there are multiple vertically arranged ribs 24 intersecting horizontally and vertically on the bottom wall 21 of the box. The multiple vertically arranged ribs 24 intersecting horizontally and vertically form multiple ice-making cells 22. The bottom wall of each ice-making cell 22 is made of an elastic material. Making the bottom wall of the ice-making cell 22 of an elastic material can, on the one hand, ensure the exertion of the pushing effect of the ice discharging component 3 on the ice cubes in the ice-making cell 22, and on the other hand, can restore its original shape after the pushing force is removed, thereby ensuring the integrity of the appearance of the ice body.

[0028] Preferably, the ribs 24 are made of a hard material, such as hard rubber, so as to be able to better shape the ice body.

[0029] Preferably, a communication hole 241 is provided at the bottom position of the ribs 24 corresponding to each ice-making cell 22 to communicate the accommodation cavities of two adjacent ice-making cells 22. This way can ensure that the water levels in each ice-making cell 22 are consistent when filling the ice-making box 2 with water, and further ensure the dimensional consistency of the formed ice cubes.

[0030] In some embodiments, a water receiving tray 25 is provided on the outer peripheral side of the ice-making box 2 for receiving the overflowing water body when the ice-making box 2 is filled with water. Further, a drain port 251 is formed on the water receiving tray 25, which can form a circulating connection with the water supply component to improve the utilization rate of the water body.

[0031] As a specific implementation of the ice discharging component 3, preferably, the ice discharging component 3 includes a roller 31. A plurality of pushing protrusions (not shown in the figure) adapted to the bottom of the ice-making cell 22 are provided on the outer peripheral wall of the roller 31. When the pushing protrusion contacts the bottom of the ice-making cell 22, it can push out the ice cubes in the corresponding ice-making cell 22.

[0032] More specifically, the roller 31 is connected to a second rotary motor (not shown in the figure) for driving its rotation; and / or, a translation driving structure (not shown in the figure) of the roller 31 is provided on the bottom wall 21 of the box to drive the roller 31 to perform a linear reciprocating motion. Further, the translation driving structure includes a roller mounting bracket (not shown in the figure). The roller 31 and the second rotary motor are mounted on the roller mounting bracket. And a slide rail (not shown in the figure) is provided on the bottom wall 21 of the box. The roller mounting bracket is slidably connected to the slide rail. It further includes a third rotary motor (not shown in the figure), and the third rotary motor can drive the roller mounting bracket to perform a reciprocating linear motion along the guiding direction of the slide rail.

[0033] In some specific embodiments, the flip - type ice - making and ice - discharging device further includes an ice storage box 1, and the ice storage box 1 is located below the ice - making box 2 to receive the ice cubes discharged from the ice - making box 2 when it is in the second position.

[0034] Preferably, the ice storage box 1 is provided with a partition plate 11 inside to divide the ice storage box 1 into an independent first cavity 12 and a second cavity 13. A crushing knife 14 is provided in the first cavity 12, and the crushing knife 14 is also arranged inside the second cavity 13, so as to meet the personalized needs of users for ice cubes and ice sand. At this time, a guiding ice plate 15 is provided at the top of the partition plate 11, and the guiding ice plate 15 can guide the ice cubes discharged from the ice - making box 2 into the first cavity 12 or the second cavity 13.

[0035] According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is also provided a refrigerator including the above - mentioned flip - type ice - making and ice - discharging device.

[0036] Those skilled in the art can easily understand that, on the premise of no conflict, the above - mentioned advantageous ways can be freely combined and superimposed.

[0037] The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, and improvements made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention. The above is only the preferred implementation manner of the present invention. It should be noted that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the technical principle of the present invention, several improvements and modifications can be made, and these improvements and modifications should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A flip - type ice - making and ice - discharging device, characterized in that, It includes a flipping drive component, an ice-making box (2), and an ice-discharging component (3). The flipping drive component is drivingly connected to the ice-making box (2) so that the ice-making box (2) has a first position adapted for ice-making and a second position adapted for ice-discharging. The ice-discharging component (3) is arranged on one side of the bottom wall (21) of the ice-making box (2). The ice-making box (2) has a plurality of ice-making grids (22). When the ice-making box (2) is in the second position, the ice-discharging component (3) can apply a force to the bottom of the ice-making grid (22) to force the ice cubes in the ice-making grid (22) corresponding to the ice-discharging component (3) in the ice-making box (2) to come out. There are a plurality of vertically and horizontally interwoven vertical ribs (24) on the bottom wall (21). The plurality of vertically and horizontally interwoven vertical ribs (24) form a plurality of the ice-making grids (22). The bottom wall of each ice-making grid (22) is made of an elastic material. Adjacent two ice-making grids (22) share one vertical rib (24). The vertical rib (24) is made of a hard material. A communication hole (241) is provided at the bottom position of the vertical rib (24) corresponding to each ice-making grid (22) to communicate the accommodation cavities of adjacent two ice-making grids (22).

2. The flip-type ice-making and ice-discharging device according to claim 1, wherein A rotating shaft (23) is constructed on the box body of the ice-making box (2). The flipping drive component includes a first rotary motor, and the power output shaft of the first rotary motor is drivingly connected to the rotating shaft (23).

3. The flip-type ice making and ice discharging device according to claim 1, characterized in that, A water receiving tray (25) is provided on the outer peripheral side of the ice-making box (2).

4. The turnover type ice making and ice discharging device according to claim 3, characterized in that, A drain port (251) is constructed on the water receiving tray (25).

5. The ice turning and discharging device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The ice-discharging component (3) includes a roller (31). A plurality of pushing protrusions adapted to the bottom of the ice-making grid (22) are provided on the outer peripheral wall of the roller (31). When the pushing protrusion contacts the bottom of the ice-making grid (22), it can push out the ice cubes in the ice-making grid (22) adapted to it.

6. The ice-making and ice-discharging device with a turnover type according to claim 5, wherein, The roller (31) is connected to a second rotary motor for driving its rotation; and / or, a linear translation drive structure for the roller (31) is provided on the bottom wall (21) of the box to drive the roller (31) to perform a linear reciprocating motion.

7. The turnover type ice making and ice discharging device according to claim 6, characterized in that, The linear translation drive structure includes a roller mounting bracket. The roller (31) and the second rotary motor are mounted on the roller mounting bracket. And there is a slide rail on the bottom wall (21) of the box. The roller mounting bracket is slidably connected to the slide rail. It also includes a third rotary motor, and the third rotary motor can drive the roller mounting bracket to perform a reciprocating linear motion along the guiding direction of the slide rail.

8. The turnover type ice making and ice discharging device according to claim 1, wherein, It further includes an ice storage box (1). The ice storage box (1) is located below the ice-making box (2) to receive the ice cubes discharged from the ice-making box (2) when it is in the second position.

9. The flip-type ice making and ice discharging device according to claim 8, wherein, A partition plate (11) is provided in the ice storage box (1) to divide the ice storage box (1) into an independent first chamber (12) and a second chamber (13). A ice crushing knife (14) is provided in the first chamber (12).

10. The flip - type ice - making and ice - discharging device according to claim 9, wherein, A ice guide plate (15) is provided at the top of the partition plate (11), and the ice guide plate (15) can guide the ice cubes discharged from the ice making box (2) into the first chamber (12) or the second chamber (13).

11. A refrigerator, comprising an ice-making and ice-dispensing device, characterized in that, The ice making and discharging device is the flip-type ice making and discharging device described in any one of claims 1 to 10.

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