An ice maker stirring mechanism

Abstract

The present application belongs to the technical field of ice making equipment, and particularly relates to a stirring mechanism of an ice maker, which comprises a driving gear arranged on the ice maker, at least one driven gear, and a first driving device for driving the driving gear to rotate, wherein the driving gear is engaged with the driven gear, and at least one driving magnetic element is arranged on the driven gear; a stirring part is arranged in an ice making cavity of the ice maker, and at least one driven magnetic element matched with the driving magnetic element is arranged on the stirring part; the stirring mechanism and the stirring part in the present application are designed in a split type, and a plurality of gears on the stirring mechanism can be combined into a plurality of gear sets, so that the stirring mechanism can adapt to stirring parts with different position distributions in different ice making molds, and synchronous replacement of the mold and the stirring mechanism is realized, which is convenient and fast.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of ice-making equipment technology, specifically relating to a stirring mechanism for an ice maker. Background Technology

[0002] An ice maker is a device that uses a hydraulic stirring device in an ice storage tank to produce ice using water as a carrier when electricity is applied. It is a refrigeration machine that cools water through an evaporator using a refrigerant in a refrigeration system to form ice. During the ice-making process, to ensure the transparency of the ice, the liquid needs to be stirred to expel any gases.

[0003] For example, Chinese invention patent CN101738042A discloses an ice maker, including a shell, a water tank, and an evaporator. The evaporator is mounted inside the shell and located above the water tank, with an ice-making rod extending into the water tank at the bottom. An air removal device is also included to remove air from the water in the tank. The air removal device includes a stirring motor located above the water tank and an impeller driven by the stirring motor, positioned below the ice-making rod. This design uses a motor to drive the impeller, thus removing air from the water. While simple in structure, this device requires a stirring device above the top-opening ice-making cavity. The stirring component of this device extends into the ice-making cavity via a shaft connected to the motor. This method requires separate stirring devices and motors for each device, resulting in a large overall size. Furthermore, the integrated design of the stirring device makes it inconvenient to replace, thus limiting the shape of the ice cubes. However, in real life, there is a demand for ice cubes of different sizes and shapes.

[0004] For example, Chinese utility model patent CN220750461U discloses a waterproof ice-making cavity stirring base, including a base body with an open top and comprising a square column-shaped straight section and a square cone-shaped constricted section; a water inlet pipe is provided on the constricted section; it also includes a motor stator and a motor rotor, the motor stator being installed at the bottom of the base body and sealing the bottom of the base body; the motor stator is sealed by a housing, and a groove is provided in the middle of the housing; the motor rotor is disposed in the groove, and stirring blades are installed on the motor rotor; this solution installs the motor stator at the bottom of the ice-making cavity base, while the rotor, which is inherently waterproof, is used to install the stirring blades, thus solving the water leakage problem. However, this solution also has the problem of requiring a separate stirring motor to be installed for each stirring device.

[0005] To address this issue, Chinese invention patent CN117847878A discloses an ice maker. The housing includes a moving mold and a stationary mold, and a separation mechanism. One end of the separation mechanism is connected to the stationary mold, driving it to rise and fall to close with the moving mold for ice making or to separate from it. The other end is connected to the moving mold, driving it to flip and release ice. This design employs an exhaust device 701 to drive a motor and a water-stirring component. The water-stirring component extends into the ice-making chamber, rotating the ice-making water to expel gas. Multiple water-stirring components are connected to the same drive motor via connecting rods, solving the problem of needing separate motors for each component, which leads to a large size.

[0006] However, the above solution uses an integrated fixed connection between the stirring component and the motor, which makes disassembly and assembly inconvenient. Furthermore, for situations where ice cubes of different sizes and shapes need to be prepared, the fixed position and size of the stirring component often cannot meet the different stirring requirements.

[0007] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a stirring mechanism that can be easily replaced and is compatible with different molds in ice makers. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The purpose of this invention is to provide a stirring mechanism for an ice maker to partially alleviate or solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0009] To solve the aforementioned technical problems, the present invention specifically adopts the following technical solution: a stirring mechanism for an ice maker, comprising a driving gear and at least one driven gear disposed on the ice maker, and a first driving device for driving the driving gear to rotate, wherein the driving gear meshes with the driven gear, and at least one driving magnetic element is disposed on the driven gear;

[0010] The ice maker is equipped with a stirring component inside the ice-making chamber, and the stirring component is equipped with at least one driven magnetic element that cooperates with the driving magnetic element.

[0011] When the ice maker is in the refrigeration state, the drive motor drives the drive gear to rotate, which in turn drives the driven gear to rotate. The drive magnetic element rotates together with the driven gear and drives the driven magnetic element to rotate under the action of magnetic attraction, thereby causing the stirring component to rotate and stir the liquid in the ice-making chamber.

[0012] As an improvement, the driven gear includes at least one first gear and at least two second gears, wherein the first gear meshes with the second gears and the driving gear, respectively.

[0013] As an improvement, the first gear is provided in two parts and is symmetrical about the driving gear, and the second gear is provided in four parts and is evenly distributed on both sides of the driving gear.

[0014] As an improvement, an auxiliary gear is provided between the first gear and the driving gear, and the auxiliary gear meshes with the first gear and the driving gear respectively.

[0015] As an improvement, the driven gear further includes two third gears symmetrically arranged on both sides of the driving gear, and the two third gears mesh with the driving gear respectively.

[0016] As an improvement, the first line connecting the center points of the drive gear and the two first gears is parallel to the length direction of the lifting plate. Correspondingly, the second line connecting the center points of the third gear and the two second gears, which are located on the same side of the first line, is parallel to the first line.

[0017] As an improvement, three driving magnetic elements are provided and evenly distributed on the driven gear, and correspondingly, three driven magnetic elements are also provided and evenly distributed on the stirring component.

[0018] As an improvement, the ice maker includes a lifting plate and a mold detachably mounted on the lifting plate; when the mold is mounted on the lifting plate, the upper surface of the mold abuts against the bottom of the lifting plate; the mold includes a mold body and at least one ice-making cavity disposed inside the mold body, the driving gear, the driven gear and the first driving device are all disposed on the lifting plate, and the stirring component is disposed on the top of the ice-making cavity.

[0019] As an improvement, the top of the mold body is provided with a drainage channel communicating with the ice-making cavity, and a support frame parallel to the upper surface of the mold body is provided on the drainage channel, and the stirring component is provided on the support frame.

[0020] As an improvement, the support frame is a cross-shaped support frame.

[0021] The principle and beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: Traditional ice makers adopt an integrated design, and their stirring equipment is also fixed on the refrigeration unit, which is inconvenient to replace. This makes it impossible to replace the ice maker's mold, thus making it impossible to make ice cubes of different shapes and sizes.

[0022] In this invention, the stirring mechanism and the stirring component are designed separately. Specifically, the stirring mechanism is fixed on the lifting plate, and the stirring component is placed inside the mold. Compared with the existing method of installing the stirring component on the motor output shaft, the stirring component and the stirring mechanism in this solution are non-contact, and the two can be operated together by installing the mold on the mounting plate.

[0023] Furthermore, the stirring mechanism consists of a driving gear driven by a motor and multiple driven gears. The multiple gears work together to cooperate with different molds, so that the same stirring mechanism can adapt to various types of molds. Moreover, only one motor is needed to drive multiple stirring components inside the mold, making the whole device simpler, lighter, smaller, and easier to replace.

[0024] In other words, the multiple gears on the stirring mechanism can be combined into multiple gear sets to adapt to the stirring components with different positions in different ice-making molds, so as to realize the synchronous replacement of the mold and the stirring mechanism, which is convenient and quick. Attached Figure Description

[0025] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. In all the drawings, similar elements or parts are generally identified by similar reference numerals. The elements or parts in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without any creative effort.

[0026] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an ice maker in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 2 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of an ice maker in ice-making mode in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 3 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the ice maker in the de-icing state in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 4 This is a cross-sectional view of an ice maker in ice-making mode in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 5 This is a cross-sectional view of the ice maker in the de-icing state in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 6 This is a partial structural diagram of an ice maker in ice-making mode in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 7 This is a cross-sectional view of the lifting plate of an ice maker in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 8 This is a top view of the lifting plate of an ice maker in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 9a This is a schematic diagram of the mold and the lifting plate in a cooperative state in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 9b This is a schematic diagram of a mold in a replacement state in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 10 This is a cross-sectional view of the mold in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 11 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the mold in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 12 This is a top view of a large ice mold in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 13 This is a top view of a small ice mold in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 14 This is a top view of the ice hockey mold in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0041] Reference numerals: 1. Refrigeration mechanism; 11. Cooling surface upper shell; 12. Cooling surface lower shell; 13. Cooling surface heating film; 14. Sealing cover; 15. Sealing ring; 16. Refrigeration plate; 2. Lifting plate; 21. Lead screw nut; 22. Spring; 23. Exhaust port; 3. Lifting mechanism; 31. Synchronous belt; 32. Drive synchronous pulley; 33. Second drive device; 34. Optical shaft; 35. Lead screw; 4. Stirring component; 41. Driven magnetic element; 42. Stirring blade; 5. Mold; 51. Upper mold; 52. Lower mold; 53. Upper cavity; 54. Lower cavity; 55. Upper heating film; 56. Lower heating film; 57. Conductive spring contact; 58. Sealing strip; 59. Sealing strip mounting groove; 61. Drive gear; 62. First gear; 63. Second gear; 64. Third gear; 65. Auxiliary gear; 66. First drive device; 67. Drive magnetic element. Detailed Implementation

[0042] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0043] In this document, suffixes such as "module," "part," or "unit" used to denote elements are used only for the purpose of illustrative purposes and have no specific meaning in themselves. Therefore, "module," "part," or "unit" may be used interchangeably.

[0044] In this document, the terms "upper," "lower," "inner," "outer," "front," "rear," "one end," and "the other end," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are used only for the convenience of describing the present invention and for simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on the present invention. Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0045] In this document, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installed," "equipped with," "connected," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, "connection" can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection, a direct connection, or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; it can be a connection within two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0046] In this document, "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed related items.

[0047] In this article, "multiple" means two or more, that is, it includes two, three, four, five, etc.

[0048] Example 1

[0049] This invention provides a stirring mechanism for an ice maker, such as... Figures 7-9b As shown, the ice maker includes a drive gear and at least one driven gear disposed on the ice maker, and a first drive device for driving the drive gear to rotate. The drive gear meshes with the driven gear, and the driven gear is provided with at least one drive magnetic element. The ice maker's ice-making chamber is provided with a stirring component, and the stirring component is provided with at least one driven magnetic element that cooperates with the drive magnetic element.

[0050] When the ice maker is in the refrigeration state, the drive motor drives the drive gear to rotate, which in turn drives the driven gear to rotate. The drive magnetic element rotates together with the driven gear and drives the driven magnetic element to rotate under the action of magnetic attraction, thereby causing the stirring component to rotate and stir the liquid in the ice-making chamber.

[0051] In some embodiments, the driven gear includes at least one first gear and at least two second gears, wherein the first gear meshes with the second gears and the driving gear, respectively. When the driving gear rotates, it drives the first gear to rotate, which in turn drives the second gears to rotate synchronously, thereby matching the stirring mechanisms at different positions within ice-making cavities of different sizes in the ice maker.

[0052] In some embodiments, there are two first gears that are symmetrical about the drive gear, and four second gears that are evenly distributed on both sides of the drive gear.

[0053] In some embodiments, considering the arrangement of the gears, an auxiliary gear is provided between the first gear and the driving gear in this solution. The auxiliary gear meshes with the first gear and the driving gear respectively. By using the auxiliary gear as a transition, the positional arrangement between the driving gear and the driven gear can be made more reasonable.

[0054] In some embodiments, the driven gear further includes two third gears symmetrically arranged on both sides of the driving gear, and the two third gears respectively mesh with the driving gear.

[0055] In some embodiments, the first line connecting the center points of the drive gear and the two first gears is parallel to the length direction of the lifting plate, and correspondingly, the second line connecting the center points of the third gear and the two second gears located on the same side of the first line is parallel to the first line.

[0056] In some embodiments, three driving magnetic elements are provided and evenly distributed on the driven gear, and correspondingly, three driven magnetic elements are also provided and evenly distributed on the stirring component.

[0057] In some embodiments, the stirring component is a stirring paddle with three blades, and three driven magnetic elements are respectively disposed on the three blades.

[0058] In some embodiments, such as Figure 8As shown, the drive gear 61 is located at the center of the lifting plate, two first gears 32 are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the drive gear 61 along the length of the lifting plate, two third gears 64 are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the drive gear 61 along the width of the lifting plate, and four second gears 63 are arranged in pairs on both sides of the third gears 64 along the length of the lifting plate. The second and third gears have the same diameter, and their center points are connected sequentially to form a rectangular shape.

[0059] By setting gears of different sizes at different positions on the lifting plate, multiple gear sets are formed (for example, two first gears form the first gear set, four second gears and two third gears form the second gear set), which can adapt to molds with different numbers and sizes of ice-making cavities. This allows for easy and quick operation by simply changing the mold to achieve the coordination between the stirring mechanism and the stirring components.

[0060] Example 2

[0061] This invention provides an ice-making mold for an ice-making cavity, such as... Figure 10 As shown, the mold includes a mold body and at least one ice-making cavity disposed within the mold body. The mold body is provided with at least one slider that cooperates with the first slide rail of the ice maker. The slider extends along the width direction of the mold. The top of the ice-making cavity is provided with at least one drainage channel and a stirring component 4. The stirring component 4 is provided with a driven magnetic element. Sealing strips are provided at both the top and bottom of the mold.

[0062] In some embodiments, the ice-making cavity includes an upper cavity near the lifting plate and a lower cavity near the cooling panel, wherein the thermal conductivity of the upper cavity is lower than that of the lower cavity. Ice growth requires a low-temperature freezing environment. To quickly lower the ice cavity temperature, ice makers typically use copper or stainless steel with extremely high thermal conductivity as the ice cavity material. However, using a single metal material makes it difficult for the ice to grow evenly. This is because the ice crystallizes first on the surface in contact with the cavity wall, and then gradually grows towards the center. Due to the significant difference in thermal conductivity between the metal ice cavity wall and the ice, the ice on the wall easily grows beyond the wall surface before the central ice pit has solidified, resulting in uneven ice shapes and longer ice-making times. This solution effectively solves this problem by using different materials for the upper and lower cavities, giving them different thermal conductivity.

[0063] In some embodiments, the upper cavity is made of plastic and the lower cavity is made of metal.

[0064] In some embodiments, the mold includes an upper mold fixed to the upper cavity and a lower mold fixed to the lower cavity, and the slider is disposed on the upper mold;

[0065] When the ice maker is in ice-making mode, the upper mold and the lower mold are combined to form the mold assembly, and the upper cavity and the lower cavity cooperate to form the ice-making cavity;

[0066] When the ice maker is in the de-icing state, the upper mold rises synchronously with the lifting plate, and the upper mold and the lower mold separate.

[0067] The mold with the above structure allows the ice to be removed from inside the mold by separating the upper mold from the lower mold.

[0068] In other embodiments, the upper cavity and the lower cavity are integrally formed; the bottom of the ice-making cavity is provided with a through hole, and the bottom of the refrigeration panel is provided with a water inlet corresponding to the through hole. At the same time, in order to ensure sealing, sealing strips are provided at the top and bottom of the mold body.

[0069] When the ice maker is in ice-making mode, the top and bottom of the mold abut against the lifting plate and the refrigeration panel, respectively.

[0070] When the ice maker is in the de-icing state, the top of the mold rests against the lifting plate, and the bottom is suspended, allowing the ice block to detach from the ice-making cavity through the through hole.

[0071] With this type of mold structure, the ice blocks can automatically fall off from the bottom of the mold and be de-iced as the mold rises with the lifting plate.

[0072] In some embodiments, a support frame parallel to the upper surface of the mold body is provided on the drainage channel, and the stirring component is disposed on the support frame; the support frame is a cross support frame, so that the drainage channel is in the shape of a grid.

[0073] In some embodiments, the slider is rectangular in shape with rounded ends, which makes it easier for the user to snap the slider into the first slide rail.

[0074] In some embodiments, the first slide rail is formed by extending sequentially from the bottom of the ice maker towards the height and length directions of the ice maker.

[0075] In some embodiments, a limiting block for limiting the slider is provided at the first end of the first slide rail. When the first end of the slider contacts the limiting block, the stirring component on the mold corresponds exactly to the stirring mechanism of the ice maker.

[0076] In some embodiments, two ice-making chambers are provided, and correspondingly, two stirring components and two drainage channels are also provided.

[0077] In some embodiments, such as Figure 12 As shown, the mold is a large ice mold. Both ice-making cavities of this mold are square, and the bottom of each ice-making cavity has a through hole, allowing ice blocks to be directly ejected from the through hole. In other embodiments, such as... Figure 14 As shown, the mold is a spherical ice mold. Both ice-making cavities of the magnetic mold are spherical. The mold adopts a split design of upper cavity and lower cavity, which makes it easy to open the mold and take out the ice.

[0078] In some embodiments, such as Figure 13 As shown, the mold is a small ice mold, and the ice-making cavity of this mold is provided with six and evenly distributed in the mold body. Correspondingly, the stirring component is also provided with six.

[0079] Example 3

[0080] This embodiment is basically as follows: Figures 1-14 As shown:

[0081] like Figure 1 As shown, the present invention provides an ice maker with interchangeable molds, comprising:

[0082] The refrigeration mechanism includes a refrigeration unit and a refrigeration panel disposed on the refrigeration unit (since the refrigeration mechanism is existing technology, it will not be described in detail here);

[0083] A lifting plate, and a lifting mechanism for driving the lifting plate to move between an ice-making position and an ice-removing position, wherein a mold is detachably mounted on the lifting plate, the mold including a mold body and at least one ice-making cavity disposed inside the mold body, the top of the ice-making cavity being provided with a stirring component and a drainage channel, wherein the specific structure of the mold can be referred to the mold in Embodiment 2;

[0084] The lifting plate is provided with at least one first slide rail, and the mold body is provided with at least one slider that cooperates with the first slide rail. The lifting plate and the mold are detachably connected through the first slide rail and the slider.

[0085] Stirring mechanism, such as Figure 7 and Figure 8 As shown, the stirring mechanism includes a driving gear 61 and at least one driven gear disposed on the lifting plate, and a first driving device for driving the driving gear 61 to rotate. The driving gear 61 meshes with the driven gear. At least one driving magnetic element 67 is disposed on the driven gear. At least one driven magnetic element that cooperates with the driving magnetic element 67 is disposed on the stirring component.

[0086] When the ice maker is in ice-making mode, the bottom of the mold is in contact with the refrigeration panel for heat exchange. The drive motor drives the drive gear to rotate, which in turn drives the driven gear to rotate. The drive magnetic element rotates together with the driven gear and drives the driven magnetic element to rotate under the action of magnetic attraction, thereby causing the stirring component to rotate to stir the liquid in the ice-making chamber.

[0087] When changing the mold, such as Figure 9a and 9b As shown, the mold 5 is pulled along the extension direction of the first slide rail, causing the mold 5 to disengage from the lifting plate 2.

[0088] The detachable design of the mold, combined with the lifting plate, allows for easy installation and replacement of the mold, thus meeting different ice-making needs of users by providing molds with ice-making chambers of different sizes.

[0089] It should be noted that the stirring mechanism in this embodiment can also refer to the stirring mechanism described in Embodiment 1.

[0090] In some embodiments, the driving magnetic element and the driven magnetic element may be magnets that attract each other.

[0091] In some embodiments, the lifting mechanism includes a lifting body, a second slide rail, and a second driving device. The second slide rail is arranged vertically and its two ends are respectively connected to the lifting body and the refrigeration body. The lifting plate is slidably disposed on the second slide rail, and the driving device is used to drive the lifting plate to reciprocate on the second slide rail.

[0092] In some embodiments, such as Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the second slide rail includes a lead screw 35 fixed at one end to the main body of the elevator and arranged vertically, and an optical shaft 34 parallel to the lead screw 35 and located on both sides thereon for support; correspondingly, the lifting plate 2 is provided with a through hole for the optical shaft to pass through, and a threaded hole that mates with the lead screw 35; one end of the optical shaft 34 is fixed to the main body of the elevator, and the other end passes through the lifting plate 2 and is fixed to the main body of the refrigerator, and the free end of the lead screw 35 also passes through the lifting plate 2; the second driving device 33 is a drive motor, and the main body of the elevator is provided with a synchronous belt 31 and a drive synchronous pulley 32. When the drive motor rotates, it drives the synchronous belt 31 and the drive synchronous pulley 32 to rotate, thereby causing the lead screw 35 to rotate, driving the lifting plate 2 to move up and down reciprocally.

[0093] In some embodiments, a baffle plate is provided at the bottom of the lifting plate to separate the driving gear, the driven gear, the motor, and the liquid inside the mold. The baffle plate is recessed in the vertical direction, so that the first surface of the baffle plate forms a plurality of first grooves for accommodating the driving gear and the driven gear. When the mold is installed on the lifting plate, the second surface of the baffle plate and the upper surface of the mold form a drainage chamber. The drainage chamber is connected to a drainage pipe. In addition, the lifting plate is also provided with an exhaust port communicating with the drainage chamber. The gas discharged from the liquid in the mold after stirring can be discharged sequentially through the drainage channel, the drainage chamber, and the drainage pipe.

[0094] In some embodiments, the stirring component is disposed at the drainage channel. Specifically, the drainage channel is provided with a support frame parallel to the upper surface of the mold body, and the stirring component is disposed on the support frame.

[0095] In some embodiments, the support frame is a cross-shaped support frame.

[0096] In this article, the ice-making position refers to the position of the lifting plate when the bottom of the mold is in contact with the refrigeration panel for refrigeration; the ice-removing position refers to the position of the lifting plate when the mold rises with the lifting plate and detaches from the refrigeration panel, allowing the ice in the mold to be removed from the mold; in some embodiments, the ice-removing position may also specifically refer to the position when the lifting plate rises to its maximum extent.

[0097] In some embodiments, the first driving device may be a drive motor.

[0098] In summary, this solution provides an ice maker with a replaceable mold by combining a mold with a stirring mechanism with a mold designed separately from the stirring components. This makes the entire refrigeration unit lighter, smaller, and easier to replace.

[0099] It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Unless otherwise specified, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes that element.

[0100] The embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. The specific embodiments described above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can make many other forms under the guidance of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims. All of these forms are within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A stirring mechanism for an ice maker, characterized in that: The device includes a drive gear and at least one driven gear mounted on the ice maker, and a first drive device for driving the drive gear to rotate. The drive gear meshes with the driven gear, and the driven gear is provided with at least one driving magnetic element. A stirring component is provided inside the ice-making chamber of the ice maker, and the stirring component is provided with at least one driven magnetic element that cooperates with the driving magnetic element. When the ice maker is in a cooling state, the drive motor drives the drive gear to rotate, which in turn drives the driven gear to rotate. The driving magnetic element rotates along with the driven gear and, under the action of magnetic attraction, drives the driven magnetic element to rotate, thereby causing the stirring component to rotate and stir the liquid inside the ice-making chamber. The ice maker includes a lifting plate and a mold detachably mounted on the lifting plate; when the mold is mounted on the lifting plate, the upper surface of the mold abuts against the bottom of the lifting plate; the mold includes a mold body and at least one ice-making cavity disposed inside the mold body, the driving gear, the driven gear and the first driving device are all disposed on the lifting plate, and the stirring component is disposed on the top of the ice-making cavity.

2. The stirring mechanism of an ice maker according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driven gear includes at least one first gear and at least two second gears, wherein the first gear meshes with the second gears and the driving gear, respectively.

3. The stirring mechanism of an ice maker according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first gear has two parts and is symmetrical about the driving gear, while the second gear has four parts and is evenly distributed on both sides of the driving gear.

4. The stirring mechanism of an ice maker according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: An auxiliary gear is provided between the first gear and the driving gear, and the auxiliary gear meshes with the first gear and the driving gear respectively.

5. The stirring mechanism of an ice maker according to claim 3, characterized in that: The driven gear also includes two third gears symmetrically arranged on both sides of the driving gear, and the two third gears respectively mesh with the driving gear.

6. The stirring mechanism of an ice maker according to claim 5, characterized in that: The first line connecting the center points of the drive gear and the two first gears is parallel to the length direction of the lifting plate. Correspondingly, the second line connecting the center points of the third gear and the two second gears, which are located on the same side of the first line, is parallel to the first line.

7. The stirring mechanism of an ice maker according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving magnetic element is provided in three parts and is evenly distributed on the driven gear. Correspondingly, the driven magnetic element is also provided in three parts and is evenly distributed on the stirring component.

8. The stirring mechanism of an ice maker according to claim 1, characterized in that: The top of the mold body is provided with a drainage channel communicating with the ice-making cavity. A support frame parallel to the upper surface of the mold body is provided on the drainage channel, and the stirring component is provided on the support frame.

9. The stirring mechanism of an ice maker according to claim 8, characterized in that: The support frame is a cross-shaped support frame.

Images