Ice making device

Abstract

The ice-making device comprises an ice-making barrel, a screw rod, a cold supply mechanism and a barrel cover, and the ice-making barrel is provided with an ice-making cavity and a mounting opening; the screw comprises a rod body and a spiral scraper which are connected with each other, the rod body is mounted at the mounting port, and the spiral scraper spirally extends along the central axis of the rod body and is positioned in the ice making cavity; the cold supply mechanism is connected to the outer wall surface of the ice-making barrel and is used for transferring cold energy to the ice-making barrel; the barrel cover is connected to the ice making barrel, covers the ice making cavity and is provided with an ice outlet hole, the ice outlet hole comprises an ice squeezing channel, a first port and a second port, and the first port is close to the ice making cavity relative to the second port. In the direction from the barrel cover to the ice making barrel, the geometric center of the second port rotates around the central axis of the screw by a preset angle relative to the geometric center of the first port, and the caliber of the first port is larger than that of the second port. And compared with the form of vertically-arranged ice outlet holes, the horizontal tangential force of the screw on the ice blocks can be reduced, the risk of ice breaking during ice block conveying is reduced, and continuous ice outlet is achieved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The embodiment of the present application relates to the field of ice making, in particular to an ice making device. BACKGROUND

[0002] Ice is a common item in life, and its application range is very wide, for example, it is used to add to beverages or wine to increase taste, or used for cold storage and transportation. In order to quickly obtain ice of a required shape or specification, people have designed ice machines.

[0003] The ice outlet mode of the ice machine on the market is that liquid and refrigerant for transferring cold are introduced into the ice making device inside the machine, the liquid in the ice making device is condensed into ice after the action of the refrigerant, and becomes crushed ice under the scraping of the scraper of the screw inside the ice making device, and is formed into the required ice to be sent outside through extrusion during ice outlet.

[0004] However, the ice blocks are easily broken at the ice outlet during ice outlet, which affects the ice outlet result. SUMMARY

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the embodiment of the present application provides an ice making device which can improve the problem of ice block breaking during ice outlet.

[0006] The technical problem of the embodiment of the present application is solved by adopting the following technical scheme: An ice making device, comprising an ice making cylinder, a screw, a cold supply mechanism and a cylinder cover, the ice making cylinder is provided with an ice making cavity and a mounting port; the screw comprises a shaft body and a spiral scraper connected with each other, the shaft body is mounted in the mounting port, the spiral scraper extends spirally along the central axis of the shaft body and is located in the ice making cavity, and the spiral scraper is used for scraping the ice generated in the ice making cavity; the cold supply mechanism is connected to the outer wall surface of the ice making cylinder, and is used for transferring cold to the ice making cylinder; the cylinder cover is connected to the ice making cylinder and covers the ice making cavity, the cylinder cover is provided with an ice outlet hole, the ice outlet hole comprises an ice extrusion channel, a first port and a second port, the first port and the second port are located at two ends of the ice extrusion channel respectively, the first port is closer to the ice making cavity relative to the second port, and the connection line between the geometric center of the first port and the geometric center of the second port is defined as an inclined line. Wherein, along the direction of the cylinder cover towards the ice making cylinder, the geometric center of the second port is arranged to rotate a preset angle around the central axis of the screw relative to the geometric center of the first port, and the caliber of the first port is greater than the caliber of the second port.

[0007] In some embodiments, the spiral scraper comprises a spiral surface, which is the surface closest to the first port, a straight line perpendicular to the spiral surface is defined as a normal line, an angle between the normal line and the inclined line is α, and 0°≤α≤20° is satisfied.

[0008] In some embodiments, the spiral scraper comprises a spiral surface, which is the surface closest to the first port, a straight line perpendicular to the spiral surface is defined as a normal line, an angle between the central axis of the rod and the inclined line is A, and an angle between the normal line and the central axis of the rod is B, and 0≤A≤2B is satisfied.

[0009] In some embodiments, the ice outlet holes are arranged in multiple numbers, and the multiple ice outlet holes are arranged at intervals, the barrel cover is provided with a through limiting hole, the limiting hole is located at the center of the multiple ice outlet holes, and the limiting hole is connected with the rod.

[0010] In some embodiments, the rod is provided with a drainage channel and at least one drainage hole, the drainage channel is arranged along the central axis of the rod from the end of the rod close to the barrel cover, and the at least one drainage hole is in communication with the drainage channel.

[0011] In some embodiments, the shape of the first port comprises a circle or a square, and / or the shape of the second port comprises a circle or a square.

[0012] In some embodiments, the ice making barrel is provided with a flow guide structure and at least one liquid inlet, the liquid inlet is in communication with the ice making cavity, the liquid inlet is located at one end of the ice making barrel away from the barrel cover, the flow guide structure is arranged on the inner wall surface of the ice making barrel, and the flow guide structure is used for guiding the liquid entering from the liquid inlet to flow along a preset path.

[0013] In some embodiments, the flow guide structure comprises a flow guide groove, the flow guide groove is in communication with the liquid inlet, and the flow guide groove is arranged in an extending manner along the direction of the central axis of the rod towards the barrel cover.

[0014] In some embodiments, the inner wall surface of the ice making barrel is provided with a spiral groove, the spiral groove extends spirally along the central axis of the rod, and the spiral direction of the spiral groove is opposite to the spiral direction of the spiral scraper.

[0015] In some embodiments, the cold supply mechanism is an evaporator, the evaporator is sleeved on the outer wall surface of the ice making barrel, and the inner wall surface of the evaporator forms a spiral channel, the spiral channel is used for restricting the movement of the cooling medium along a preset path; and along the direction perpendicular to the central axis of the ice making barrel, the projection of the spiral groove is located in the spiral channel.

[0016] The ice making device provided by the embodiment of the present application is formed by rotating the geometric center of the second port of the ice outlet hole relative to the geometric center of the first port around the central axis of the screw by a preset angle, compared with the form of the vertically arranged ice outlet hole, the inclined ice outlet hole can reduce the horizontal tangential force of the screw on the ice block, thereby reducing the risk of breaking the ice during the conveying process of the ice block, and facilitating the realization of continuous ice outlet. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0017] One or more embodiments are illustrated by way of example in the figures that form a part of this patent document, these example are not intended to limit the embodiments, elements having the same reference numbers in the figures indicate like elements, unless otherwise specifically indicated, the figures in the drawings do not constitute a proportional limitation.

[0018] Figure 1 is a schematic view of the ice making device of one embodiment of the present application; Figure 2 is a sectional view of Figure 1 ; Figure 3 is a sectional view of the ice making cylinder in Figure 1 ; Figure 4 is a schematic view of the evaporator of one embodiment; Figure 5 is a sectional view of the ice making device of another embodiment of the present application; Figure 6 is a sectional view of the evaporator in Figure 5 ; Figure 7 is a sectional view of the ice making device of yet another embodiment of the present application; Figure 8a is a schematic view of the cylinder cover in Figure 7 ; Figure 8b is a top view of Figure 8a ; Figure 8c is a schematic view of another perspective of Figure 8a ; Figure 9 is a sectional view of the ice making device of still another embodiment of the present application; In the figure: 100, ice making device; 10, ice making cylinder; 20, screw; 30, evaporator; 40, cylinder cover; 50, liquid inlet tank; 101, ice making cavity; 102, mounting port; 10a, top end; 10b, bottom end; 103, liquid inlet; 104, flow guide structure; 105, spiral groove; 10c, first cylinder part; 10d, second cylinder part; 10e, limiting cylinder shoulder; 1041, transverse guide groove; 1042, guide groove; 14011, first guide groove; 14012, second guide groove; 21, rod body; 22, spiral scraper; 211, discharge channel; 212, discharge hole; 221, spiral surface; 301, spiral channel; 302, refrigeration cavity; 303, refrigerant inlet; 304, refrigerant outlet; 31, barrel; 32, spiral block; 311, sleeve part; 312, bottom wall part; 41, ice outlet hole; 42, limiting hole; 411, ice extruding channel; 412, first port; 413, second port; 51, liquid storage cavity; 52, liquid inlet pipe. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] For the purpose of facilitating the understanding of the present application, the present application will be described in more detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be noted that when an element is described as being "fixed to" another element, it can be directly on the other element or one or more intervening elements can be present therebetween. When an element is described as being "connected to" another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or one or more intervening elements can be present therebetween. The terms "upper", "lower", "inner", "outer", "vertical", "horizontal", and the like as used in the present specification indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are merely for the purpose of facilitating the description of the present application and simplifying the description, and are not intended to indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present application. In addition, the terms "first", "second", and the like are merely for the purpose of description and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0020] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used in the present specification have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present application belongs. The terms used in the specification of the present application are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present application. The term "and / or" used in the present specification includes any and all combinations of one or more of the related listed items.

[0021] In addition, the technical features involved in the different embodiments of the present application described below can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0022] As Figures 1-3As shown, the ice-making device 100 provided by one of the embodiments of the present application comprises an ice-making cylinder 10, a screw rod 20, and an evaporator 30. The ice-making cylinder 10 is provided with an ice-making cavity 101 and a mounting port 102 in communication. The screw rod 20 comprises a rod body 21 and a spiral scraper 22 connected to each other. The spiral scraper 22 spirally extends along the central axis L1 of the rod body 21 and is located in the ice-making cavity 101. The rod body 21 is mounted in the mounting port 102. The spiral scraper 22 is used to scrape off the ice generated from the spiral groove 105 towards the ice-making cavity 101. The evaporator 30 is sleeved on the ice-making cylinder 10. The evaporator 30 is used to contain a cooling medium for transferring cold energy to the ice-making cavity 101.

[0023] The ice-making cylinder 10 is provided with a top end 10a and a bottom end 10b arranged oppositely. The ice-making cylinder 10 is provided with a liquid inlet 103 and a flow guide structure 104. The liquid inlet 103 is located at the top end 10a of the ice-making cylinder 10 and is in communication with the ice-making cavity 101. The flow guide structure 104 is located on the inner wall surface of the ice-making cylinder 10. The flow guide structure 104 is used to guide the liquid flowing from the liquid inlet 103 to flow along a preset path and increase the contact area with the inner wall surface of the ice-making cylinder 10.

[0024] In this way, by setting the position of the liquid inlet 103 at the top end 10a of the ice-making cylinder 10, the liquid flowing from the liquid inlet 103 into the ice-making cavity 101 is beneficial to flow along the inner wall surface of the ice-making cylinder 10 under the action of the Coanda effect to form a liquid film with a predetermined thickness, and the ice film with a preset thickness is formed by the freezing of the cooling medium flowing in the evaporator 30. This facilitates the spiral scraper 22 of the screw rod 20 to scrape ice in time, and avoids the immersion of the screw rod 20 in the liquid to be frozen, thereby reducing the risk of abnormal operation of the screw rod 20. At the same time, by using the flow guide structure 104 arranged in the ice-making cylinder 10, the liquid flowing from the liquid inlet 103 can be guided to flow along a preset path and increase the contact area with the inner wall surface of the ice-making cylinder 10, so as to facilitate the liquid to be frozen to absorb the cold energy transferred by the cooling medium in the evaporator 30, thereby improving the ice-making efficiency.

[0025] It should be understood that the Coanda effect (also known as the Coanda effect) refers to the tendency of a fluid to flow along the surface of a convex object instead of flowing in the original direction. When there is surface friction between the fluid and the surface of the object through which the fluid flows, the fluid will flow along the surface of the object. In other words, when the liquid to be frozen flows from the liquid inlet 103 to the ice-making cavity 101, the liquid will flow along the inner wall surface of the ice-making cylinder 10 when flowing out of the liquid inlet 103.

[0026] In use, the liquid to be frozen is introduced into the inlet 103, and when the liquid to be frozen flows into the ice making cavity 101, the liquid to be frozen will flow along the inner wall of the ice making cylinder 10 due to the Coanda effect, and the contact area with the ice making cylinder 10 is increased under the action of the flow guide structure 104, and flows to the ice outlet end of the ice making cylinder 10. When the liquid to be frozen flows to the area where the evaporator 30 is arranged around the ice making cylinder 10, it will absorb the cold energy transferred by the cooling medium to freeze ice, thereby forming an ice film with a predetermined thickness. The screw 20 is driven to rotate by an external force, and the spiral scraper 22 scrapes the ice film. The broken ice scraped off the ice film is gradually transported to the ice outlet end of the ice making cylinder 10 under the action of gravity and the pushing of the spiral scraper 22. Since the liquid to be frozen flows along the inner wall of the ice making cylinder 10, the rod body 21 of the screw 20 is not immersed in the liquid to be frozen, thereby avoiding the constraint of the frozen ice on the rod body 21 of the screw 20.

[0027] It should be noted that the central axis L1 of the rod body 21 is the central axis of the screw 20, and the shape of the inlet 103 is a predetermined shape, as long as it can realize communication with the ice making cavity 101 and can supply liquid into the ice making cavity 101. For example, the shape of the inlet 103 is a circular hole, an oval shape or a square hole. At the same time, in order to reduce the frictional resistance when the rod body 21 rotates relative to the ice making cylinder 10, a bearing can be installed at the mounting hole 102. The outer ring of the bearing is fixed to the mounting hole 102, and the inner ring of the bearing is connected with the rod body 21.

[0028] The above-mentioned evaporator 30 is only one of the implementation manners of the cooling mechanism for transferring cold energy to the ice making cylinder 10. It can also be other structures, as long as it can transfer cold energy to the ice making cylinder 10 when the cooling medium is introduced.

[0029] In some embodiments, the diameter of the end of the inlet 103 away from the ice making cavity 101 is smaller than the diameter of the end of the inlet 103 close to the ice making cavity 101, that is, the diameter of the inlet 103 gradually increases towards the ice making cavity 101. This is beneficial to reduce the speed of the liquid to be frozen flowing into the ice making cavity 101, and is more beneficial to the liquid flowing along the inner wall of the ice making cylinder 10 under the action of the Coanda effect.

[0030] In some embodiments, as Figure 3As shown, the flow guide structure 104 comprises a transverse guide groove 1041 which is in communication with the liquid inlet 103, the transverse guide groove 1041 is arranged along the circumference of the ice making cylinder 10, and along the circumference of the ice making cylinder 10, the width of the transverse guide groove 1041 is greater than the caliber size of the liquid inlet 103. In this way, the flow range of the liquid to be frozen can be increased when the liquid to be frozen flows from the liquid inlet 103 to the transverse guide groove 1041, thereby indirectly increasing the contact area of the liquid to be frozen with the inner wall surface of the ice making cavity 101, so as to facilitate the formation of a larger area of ice under the action of the cooling capacity transmitted by the cooling medium in the evaporator 30, thereby improving the ice making efficiency.

[0031] It should be noted that the shape of the transverse guide groove 1041 is not limited, and can be set as needed, as long as it can increase the contact area of the liquid to be frozen introduced from the liquid inlet 103 with the inner wall surface of the ice making cavity 101. For example, the shape of the transverse guide groove 1041 is in the shape of a straight line or a circular arc.

[0032] In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 3 As shown, the flow guide structure 104 further comprises a flow guide groove 1042 which is arranged along the central axis L2 of the ice making cylinder 10, one end of the flow guide groove 1042 is in communication with the liquid inlet 103, and the other end of the flow guide groove 1042 is in communication with the transverse guide groove 1041, and along the circumference of the ice making cylinder 10, the width of the flow guide groove 1042 is less than the width size of the transverse guide groove 1041. In this way, under the guidance of the flow guide groove 1042, the liquid to be frozen introduced from the liquid inlet 103 can be guided to flow to the transverse guide groove 1041, and the liquid to be frozen flowing along the circumference of the ice making cylinder 10 can be reduced to deviate from the set flow path. In this embodiment, the shape of the flow guide groove 1042 is in the shape of a V, and the V-shaped flow guide groove 1042 is beneficial to generate capillary force to guide the uniform flow of the liquid to be frozen, which helps to improve the uniformity of the liquid flow, thereby ensuring that the liquid uniformly flows to the area surrounded by the evaporator 30 to achieve uniform ice making.

[0033] It should be noted that the shape of the flow guide groove 1042 is not limited to the shape of a V, and can be other shapes, as long as it can guide the liquid to be frozen to flow to the transverse guide groove 1041. For example, the shape of the flow guide groove 1042 is in the shape of a C, and for another example, the shape of the flow guide groove 1042 is in the shape of a sawtooth.

[0034] In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 3As shown, the transverse guide groove 1041 includes a first guide groove 14011 and a second guide groove 14012 which are connected in communication, and the first guide groove 14011 and the second guide groove 14012 are respectively located on both sides of the same end of the guide flow groove 1042 and are in communication with the guide flow groove 1042. That is, the guide flow groove 1042 is located between the first guide groove 14011 and the second guide groove 14012. In this way, when the guide flow groove 1042 guides the flow of the liquid to be frozen, the first guide groove 14011 and the second guide groove 14012 can play a role in shunting the liquid to increase the contact area of the liquid with the inner wall surface of the ice making cylinder 10.

[0035] In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 3 As shown, the number of the liquid inlet 103, the guide flow groove 1042 and the transverse guide groove 1041 is multiple, and the multiple guide flow grooves 1042 and the multiple transverse guide grooves 1041 are respectively spaced along the circumference of the ice making cavity 101, and one liquid inlet 103 is in communication with one guide flow groove 1042, and one guide flow groove 1042 is in communication with one transverse guide groove 1041. This is more conducive to the liquid to be frozen being introduced from multiple liquid inlets 103, and indirectly increasing the contact area with the inner wall surface of the ice making cylinder 10 through the corresponding guide flow groove 1042 and the transverse guide groove 1041, and more conducive to improving the ice making efficiency.

[0036] In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 3 As shown, the inner wall surface of the ice making cylinder 10 is provided with at least one spiral groove 105, each spiral groove 105 extends along the central axis L1 of the rod body 21, and the spiral direction of each spiral groove 105 is opposite to the spiral direction of the spiral scraper 22. In this way, the path of the liquid to be frozen can be extended under the action of the spiral groove 105, avoiding the liquid flowing directly along the inner wall surface of the ice making cylinder 10 to the ice outlet end, and the area provided with the spiral groove 105 is relatively small in distance from the evaporator 30, which is more conducive to the cooling medium in the evaporator 30 transferring cold energy, so that the liquid to be frozen flowing into the spiral groove 105 can receive the cold energy transferred by the cooling medium more quickly, thereby more quickly freezing ice at the spiral groove 105 to facilitate the spiral scraper 22 scraping the ice in the spiral groove 105.

[0037] It can be understood that the number of spiral grooves 105 can be set as needed, as long as adjacent spiral grooves do not intersect each other. And in the plane where the central axis L2 of the ice making cylinder 10 is located, the cross-sectional shape of the spiral groove 105 can be set as needed. For example, the cross-sectional shape of the spiral groove 105 is triangular or circular arc.

[0038] In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 2 And Figure 3As shown, the ice making cylinder 10 comprises a first cylinder portion 10c and a second cylinder portion 10d connected together, the first cylinder portion 10c is arranged protruding relative to the surface of the second cylinder portion 10d to form a limiting cylinder shoulder 10e, one end of the evaporator 30 abuts against the limiting cylinder shoulder 10e, and the other end of the evaporator 30 abuts against other parts of the ice making device 100. In this way, by using the evaporator 30 to abut against the limiting cylinder shoulder 10e, the ice making cylinder 10 can be supported, so as to avoid the ice making cylinder 10 being displaced due to the axial force applied to the ice making cylinder 10 along the axial direction of the screw rod 20 when the screw rod 20 rotates to scrape the ice, and the stability of the ice making cylinder 10 is improved.

[0039] In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 2 As shown, the rod body 21 is provided with a drainage channel 211 and at least one drainage hole 212, the drainage channel 211 is arranged extending along the central axis L1 of the rod body 21 from the bottom end 10b of the ice making cylinder 10, the drainage hole 212 is spaced apart from the bottom end 10b of the ice making cylinder 10 by a preset distance, and the drainage hole 212 is respectively in communication with the drainage channel 211 and the ice making cavity 101. In this way, when the ice is not discharged in time in the ice making cylinder 10, causing the liquid to be frozen that is introduced from the liquid inlet 103 to accumulate too much, the liquid to be frozen can flow into the drainage channel 211 through the drainage hole 212 and then be discharged out of the ice making cylinder 10, so as to avoid the screw rod 20 being frozen due to the ice formed by the high liquid level in the ice making cylinder 10.

[0040] It can be understood that the preset distance between the drainage hole 212 and the bottom end 10b of the ice making cylinder 10 can be set as needed. For example, the hole position of the drainage hole 212 is arranged at a position greater than 15 mm above the bottom end 10b of the ice making cylinder 10, or at a position above the second section of the spiral scraper 22 relative to the bottom end 10b.

[0041] It should be noted that the position of the drainage hole 212 on the rod body 21 needs to avoid affecting the spiral scraper 22, that is, the drainage hole 212 can only be arranged in the area of the rod body 21 that is not connected with the spiral scraper 22, so as to avoid affecting the delivery of crushed ice by arranging the drainage hole 212 on the spiral scraper 22.

[0042] In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 2 As shown, the evaporator 30 is sleeved on the outer wall surface of the ice making cylinder 10 and forms a spiral channel 301, the spiral channel 301 is used to constrain the cooling medium to move along a preset path, so as to prolong the time of the cooling medium in the evaporator 30, so as to achieve the purpose of fully transferring cold energy to the ice making cylinder 10. In some embodiments, as shown in Figures 5-6 Figure 5 ​A sectional view of the ice making device 100 in another embodiment is shown, wherein the evaporator 30 of the ice making device 100 comprises a cylinder 31 and a spiral block 32. The cylinder 31 is connected to the outer wall surface of the ice making cylinder 10, and is provided with a refrigeration cavity 302, a refrigerant inlet 303 and a refrigerant outlet 304, both of which are in communication with the refrigeration cavity 302, and the refrigerant inlet 303 is spaced apart from the refrigerant outlet 304. The spiral block 32 is located in the refrigeration cavity 302 and is connected to the cylinder 31 to form a spiral channel 301, and the spiral block 32 spirally extends along the central axis of the cylinder 31. As shown in Figure 5 the direction from the refrigerant inlet 303 to the refrigerant outlet 304, the pitch of the spiral channel 301 gradually decreases, which helps to increase the liquid level of the cooling medium, thereby increasing the contact area with the outer wall surface of the ice making cylinder 10, thereby improving the refrigeration efficiency.

[0043] It should be noted that the spiral block 32 of the evaporator 30 and the ice making cylinder 10 can abut each other, so that the two adjacent spaces of the spiral channel 301 are isolated from each other to ensure that the cooling medium in the two adjacent spaces is independently separated. Of course, there can be a gap between the spiral block 32 of the evaporator 30 and the ice making cylinder 10, so that the cooling medium in the two adjacent spaces can flow along the outer wall surface of the ice making cylinder through the gap, which also increases the contact area of the cooling medium with the ice making cylinder. At this time, the refrigerant inlet 303 continuously supplies cooling medium into the refrigeration cavity 302 for filling, so it will not affect the transportation of the cooling medium along the spiral channel 301.

[0044] In order to facilitate the understanding that the pitch of the spiral channel 301 of the evaporator 30 gradually decreases, three pitches are shown as examples in Figure 6 the first pitch d1, the second pitch d2 and the third pitch d3, wherein the size of the first pitch d1 is greater than the size of the second pitch d2, and the size of the second pitch d2 is greater than the size of the third pitch d3.

[0045] The refrigerant inlet 303 refers to the opening position of the cooling medium into the cylinder 31, and the refrigerant outlet 304 refers to the opening position of the cooling medium flowing out of the cylinder 31 after absorbing heat.

[0046] It can be understood that when the cooling medium contacts the outer wall surface of the ice making cylinder 10 to transfer cold energy, part of the cooling medium will be gasified after absorbing heat, so that the cooling medium flowing to the refrigerant outlet 304 gradually decreases. If the pitch of the spiral channel 301 remains the same in the direction from the refrigerant inlet 303 to the refrigerant outlet 304, the liquid level of the cooling medium will decrease more, thereby reducing the contact area with the ice making cylinder 10 and affecting the refrigeration effect.

[0047] In some embodiments, as Figure 5As shown, the projection of the at least one spiral groove 105 in the direction perpendicular to the central axis L2 of the ice making cylinder 10 is located within the spiral channel 301. Since the cooling medium is transported along the spiral channel 301, the spiral groove 105 adjacent to the spiral channel 301 will more easily receive the coldness transferred by the cooling medium when the cooling medium transfers coldness to the ice making cylinder 10, so that the liquid to be frozen in the spiral groove 105 will be preferentially frozen, thereby realizing controllable ice freezing path.

[0048] In some embodiments, the cross-sectional shape of the spiral block 32 in the plane where the central axis of the cylinder body 31 is located is non-rectangular, which can further increase the space between the spiral channel 301 and the ice making cylinder 10 to accommodate more cooling medium, thereby facilitating the increase of the contact area between the cooling medium and the ice making cylinder 10, and thus improving the refrigeration efficiency. In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 6 The cross-sectional shape of the spiral block 32 is fan-shaped. In other embodiments, as shown in Figure 4 The cross-sectional shape of the spiral block 32 is triangular.

[0049] In some embodiments, the cylinder body 31 and the spiral block 32 can be manufactured by integral molding, or can be connected by welding, gluing or other means, which can be set as needed.

[0050] It should be noted that the evaporator 30 can be any evaporator 30 with existing structure, in addition to the above structure, as long as it can accommodate the cooling medium and transfer coldness to the ice making cylinder 10.

[0051] In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 7 and Figure 8a as shown, Figure 7 Another embodiment of the ice making device 100 is shown in the cross-sectional view, which further comprises a cylinder cover 40 detachably connected to the ice making cylinder 10 and covering the ice making cavity 101. The cylinder cover 40 is provided with an ice outlet hole 41, which comprises an ice extruding channel 411, a first port 412 and a second port 413, the first port 412 and the second port 413 are respectively located at both ends of the ice extruding channel 411, the first port 412 is closer to the ice making cavity 101 relative to the second port 413, and the caliber of the first port 412 is larger than that of the second port 413. In this way, under the action of the ice outlet hole 41, the crushed ice transported by the screw 20 can be extruded through the ice extruding channel 411 to form ice blocks with desired shapes, which are then pushed out of the ice making cavity 101 by the continuous pushing of the screw 20. Moreover, the caliber of the first port 412 is larger than that of the second port 413, which can further extrude the ice blocks entering the ice outlet hole 41, thereby helping to improve the strength of the ice blocks.

[0052] The shapes of the first port 412 and the second port 413 can be various, and are set according to the shape of the ice cubes to be delivered outward, for example, the shape of the first port 412 includes a circular shape or a square shape, and the shape of the second port 413 includes a circular shape or a square shape.

[0053] It is to be noted that the detachable connection between the lid 40 and the ice-making cylinder 10 can be through threads, that is, the lid 40 is provided with internal threads, and the outer wall surface of the ice-making cylinder 10 is provided with external threads for thread connection with the internal threads, and the internal threads and the external threads are thread-connected to realize the connection between the lid 40 and the ice-making cylinder 10. The detachable connection between the lid 40 and the ice-making cylinder 10 can also be through bolts. In addition, the detachable connection between the lid 40 and the ice-making cylinder 10 can also be through other ways. For example, the detachable connection between the lid 40 and the ice-making cylinder 10 can be through buckles.

[0054] In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 7 , the spiral scraper 22 includes a spiral surface 221, which is the surface closest to the first port 412 of the spiral scraper 22, a straight line perpendicular to the spiral surface 221 is defined as a normal line M, and a line connecting the geometric center of the first port 412 and the geometric center of the second port 413 is defined as an inclined line N.

[0055] In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 7 , Figure 8a and Figure 8b , along the direction of the lid 40 towards the ice-making cylinder 10, the geometric center of the second port 413 is arranged to rotate a preset angle θ around the central axis L1 of the screw 20 relative to the geometric center of the first port 412, as shown in Figure 8b , at this time, the ice outlet hole 41 is arranged to be twisted relative to the screw 20. The preset angle θ can be set in advance according to requirements, as long as the direction of rotation of the geometric center of the second port 413 around the central axis L1 of the screw 20 relative to the geometric center of the first port 412 is the same as the direction of rotation of the spiral scraper 22 of the screw 20. For example, along the direction of the lid 40 towards the ice-making cylinder 10, the direction of rotation of the spiral scraper 22 of the screw 20 is clockwise, at this time, the direction of rotation of the geometric center of the first port 412 around the central axis L1 of the screw 20 relative to the geometric center of the second port 413 should also be counterclockwise.

[0056] Compared to the vertically set ice outlet 41, the inclined ice outlet 41 can reduce the horizontal tangential force on the screw 20 and the ice block, thereby reducing the risk of ice breakage during the ice block conveying process. This is because the angle between the normal line M of the spiral surface 221 of the screw 20 and the inclined line N is smaller than the angle between the normal line M of the spiral surface 221 of the screw 20 and the central axis of the ice outlet 41 in the vertical ice outlet method. This reduces the horizontal tangential force applied to the broken ice by the spiral surface 221 of the spiral scraper 22, making it less likely to cause ice breakage and promoting continuous ice outlet.

[0057] It is understandable that the perpendicular distance between the geometric center of the first port 412 and the central axis L1 of the screw 20 is defined as r1, and the perpendicular distance between the geometric center of the second port 413 and the central axis L1 of the screw 20 is defined as r2.

[0058] In some embodiments, r1 = r2, and the inclined lines N of the plurality of ice outlet holes 41 can be rotated clockwise or counterclockwise relative to the central axis L1 of the screw 20, which can be determined according to the rotation direction of the spiral scraper 22 of the screw 20, as long as the inclination direction of the inclined lines N of the plurality of ice outlet holes 41 is approximately the same as the inclination direction of the normal line M relative to the central axis of the screw 20.

[0059] In some embodiments, r1≠ r2, and the inclined lines N of the plurality of ice outlet holes 41 can be twisted clockwise or counterclockwise relative to the central axis L1 of the screw 20. Specifically, it can be determined according to the rotation direction of the spiral scraper 22 of the screw 20, as long as the inclination direction of the inclined lines N of the plurality of ice outlet holes 41 is approximately the same as the inclination direction of the normal line M relative to the central axis of the screw 20.

[0060] For example, such as Figure 7 As shown, along the direction of the cap 40 toward the ice-making cylinder 10, the spiral scraper 22 of the screw 20 rotates clockwise, at which point... Figure 8c As shown, the inclined line N of the multiple ice outlet holes 41 on the cylinder cover 40 is inclined relative to the central axis L1 of the screw 20 and is arranged in a counterclockwise twist.

[0061] In some embodiments, such as Figure 7 As shown, the angle between the central axis L1 of rod 21 and the inclined line N is A, and the angle between the central axis L1 of rod 21 and the normal line M is B, satisfying 0°≤A≤2B. That is, the angle of inclination of the ice outlet 41 relative to the screw 20 cannot exceed twice the angle between the normal line M of the helical surface 221 and the screw 20. Within this angle range, it can be ensured that the force exerted by the helical surface 221 of the screw 20 on the ice will not be too large, which would cause ice breakage when discharging ice.

[0062] In some embodiments, such asFigure 7 As shown, the angle between the inclined line N and the normal line M of the ice outlet 41 is α, satisfying 0°≤α≤20°. When this relationship is satisfied, the inclination angle of the ice outlet 41 relative to the helical surface 221 of the screw 20 is more suitable, which helps to reduce the horizontal tangential force, allowing more screws to exert more force on the ice pusher, and facilitating the smooth delivery of ice out of the ice-making chamber 101 along the ice outlet 41. In some embodiments, the angle α is 0°, in which case the inclined line N of the ice outlet 41 is parallel to the normal line M.

[0063] In some embodiments, there are multiple ice outlet holes 41, which are spaced apart and distributed in a preset pattern. The multiple ice outlet holes 41 can be arranged in a circle, a straight line, or other patterns, depending on the specific needs. In this embodiment, the multiple ice outlet holes 41 are spaced apart and arranged in a circle.

[0064] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG8, the cylinder cover 40 further includes a limiting hole 42, which is located at the center of a plurality of ice outlet holes 41, that is, the plurality of ice outlet holes 41 are arranged around the limiting hole 42. The limiting hole 42 is connected to the rod body 21 of the screw 20 to constrain the rod body 21 to rotate within the limiting hole 42. In this embodiment, in order to reduce the friction between the screw 20 and the limiting hole 42, a bearing is embedded in the limiting hole 42. The outer ring of the bearing is fixed to the limiting hole 42, and the inner ring of the bearing is connected to the screw 20.

[0065] In some embodiments, the cap 40 may be omitted. In this case, the bottom end 10b of the ice maker 10 is provided with a structure similar to that of the cap 40, that is, the bottom end 10b of the ice maker 10 is closed and is provided with an ice outlet 41 and a limiting hole 42 for installing the screw 20.

[0066] In some embodiments, such as Figure 2 or Figure 5 As shown, the ice-making device 100 also includes a liquid inlet tank 50, which is disposed on the outer wall of the ice-making cylinder 10. The liquid inlet tank 50 has a liquid storage chamber 51 for storing liquid, and the liquid storage chamber 51 is connected to the liquid inlet 103 of the ice-making cylinder 10. The liquid inlet tank 50 is provided with a liquid inlet pipe 52 that communicates with the liquid storage tank. The distance between the central axis of the liquid inlet pipe 52 and its bottom end 10b is less than the distance between the central axis of the liquid inlet 103 and its bottom end 10b. Thus, when liquid to be frozen is introduced through the liquid inlet pipe 52, as the liquid level rises, the air in the liquid inlet tank 50 is forced towards the liquid inlet 103, causing the air in the liquid inlet tank 50 to be discharged into the ice-making chamber 101, preventing the air in the liquid inlet tank 50 from affecting the liquid being introduced into the liquid inlet 103.

[0067] In some embodiments, such as Figure 9 As shown, Figure 9A sectional view of the ice making device 100 in another embodiment is shown, wherein the evaporator 30 of the ice making device 100 comprises a cylinder 31 connected to the outer wall surface of the ice making cylinder 10 and a spiral block 32 arranged in the cylinder 31 and connected to the inner wall surface of the cylinder 31 and configured to form a spiral channel 301. The cylinder 31 comprises a sleeve part 311 and a bottom wall part 312, the sleeve part 311 is provided with a refrigeration cavity 302, one end of the sleeve part 311 is connected to the bottom wall part 312, and the other end of the sleeve part 311 abuts against the liquid inlet tank 50 to cover the refrigeration cavity 302. At this time, the outer wall surface of the liquid inlet tank 50 serves as a structure covering the other end of the sleeve part 311, so that the cooling medium flowing into the evaporator 30 transfers cold energy to the liquid to be frozen in the liquid inlet tank 50 through the outer wall surface of the liquid inlet tank 50, so as to reduce the temperature of the liquid to be frozen in the liquid inlet tank 50, play a pre-cooling role, and be conducive to reducing the time required for the liquid to be frozen to freeze when entering the ice making cavity 101, and be conducive to improving the ice making efficiency.

[0068] The ice making device 100 provided by the embodiment has the following advantages. Firstly, the liquid inlet 103 is arranged at the top end 10a of the ice making cylinder 10, which is beneficial to the liquid flowing into the ice making cavity 101 from the liquid inlet 103. The liquid flows along the inner wall of the ice making cylinder 10 under the effect of the wall attachment effect to form a liquid film with a predetermined thickness. The cooling medium flowing into the evaporator 30 is frozen into an ice film with a predetermined thickness under the freezing of the cooling medium. The spiral scraper 22 of the screw 20 can timely scrape the ice, and the screw 20 is prevented from being soaked in the liquid to be frozen, thereby reducing the risk of abnormal operation of the screw 20. Secondly, the flow guide structure 104 arranged in the ice making cylinder 10 can guide the liquid flowing into the ice making cylinder 10 from the liquid inlet 103 to flow along a predetermined path and increase the contact area with the inner wall of the ice making cylinder 10, so as to absorb the cold energy transferred by the cooling medium in the evaporator 30, thereby improving the ice making efficiency. Thirdly, the pitch of the spiral channel 301 in the evaporator 30 gradually decreases, which can indirectly reduce the space for accommodating the cooling medium and indirectly increase the liquid level height of the cooling medium transported at the rear, thereby increasing the contact area between the cooling medium and the ice making cylinder 10 to improve the ice making efficiency. Fourthly, the geometric center of the second port 413 of the ice outlet hole 41 of the cylinder cover 40 of the ice making device 100 is arranged to rotate a predetermined angle around the central axis L1 of the screw 20 relative to the geometric center of the first port 412. At this time, the ice outlet hole 41 is arranged in a twisted state relative to the screw 20. Compared with the mode in which the ice outlet hole 41 vertically penetrates the cylinder cover 40 (i.e., the central axis of the ice outlet hole 41 is parallel to the central axis of the screw 20), the horizontal tangential force of the spiral blade surface of the screw 20 on the ice block can be reduced, thereby reducing the risk of the ice block being broken at the ice outlet hole 41 to block the ice outlet hole 41, and facilitating continuous ice discharge.

[0069] The above description is only an embodiment of the present application, and does not limit the patent scope of the present application. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation, or direct or indirect application in other related technical fields, which is based on the content of the specification and drawings of the present application, is also included in the patent protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. An ice-making device, characterized in that, include: An ice maker, equipped with an ice-making chamber and an installation port; A screw includes a connected rod body and a spiral scraper. The rod body is installed in the mounting port, and the spiral scraper extends spirally along the central axis of the rod body and is located inside the ice-making chamber. The spiral scraper is used to scrape the ice generated inside the ice-making chamber. A cooling mechanism is connected to the outer wall of the ice-making cylinder, and the cooling mechanism is used to transfer cold energy to the ice-making cylinder; A cylinder cover is connected to the ice-making cylinder and covers the ice-making cavity. The cylinder cover has an ice outlet hole, which includes an ice squeezing channel, a first port, and a second port. The first port and the second port are located at opposite ends of the ice squeezing channel, and the first port is closer to the ice-making cavity than the second port. In this configuration, along the direction from the cap toward the ice-making cylinder, the geometric center of the second port is rotated by a preset angle relative to the geometric center of the first port around the central axis of the screw, and the diameter of the first port is larger than the diameter of the second port.

2. The ice-making apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The spiral scraper includes a spiral surface, which is the surface of the spiral scraper closest to the first port. A straight line perpendicular to the spiral surface is defined as a normal line, and the line connecting the geometric center of the first port and the geometric center of the second port is defined as an inclined line. The angle between the normal line and the inclined line is α, which satisfies 0°≤α≤20°.

3. The ice-making apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The spiral scraper includes a spiral surface, which is the surface of the spiral scraper closest to the first port. A straight line perpendicular to the spiral surface is defined as a normal line, and the line connecting the geometric center of the first port and the geometric center of the second port is defined as an inclined line. The angle between the central axis of the rod and the inclined line is A, and the angle between the normal line and the central axis of the rod is B, satisfying 0≤A≤2B.

4. The ice-making apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, There are multiple ice outlet holes, which are spaced apart. The cylinder cover has a through-hole, which is located at the center of the multiple ice outlet holes and is connected to the rod body.

5. The ice-making apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that, The rod body is provided with a discharge channel and at least one discharge hole. The discharge channel extends from the end of the rod body near the cylinder cover along the central axis of the rod body, and at least one discharge hole communicates with the discharge channel.

6. The ice-making apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The shape of the first port may be circular or square, and / or the shape of the second port may be circular or square.

7. The ice-making apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The ice-making cylinder is provided with a flow guiding structure and at least one liquid inlet. The liquid inlet is connected to the ice-making chamber and is located at the end of the ice-making cylinder away from the cylinder cover. The flow guiding structure is provided on the inner wall surface of the ice-making cylinder and is used to guide the liquid entering from the liquid inlet to flow along a preset path.

8. The ice-making apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that, The flow guiding structure includes a flow guiding groove, which is connected to the liquid inlet and extends along the central axis of the rod towards the cylinder cover.

9. The ice-making apparatus according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, The inner wall of the ice-making cylinder is provided with a spiral groove, which extends spirally along the central axis of the rod, and the spiral direction of the spiral groove is opposite to the spiral direction of the spiral scraper.

10. The ice-making apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that, The cooling mechanism is an evaporator, which is sleeved on the outer wall of the ice-making cylinder and has a spiral channel built inside the evaporator. The spiral channel is used to constrain the cooling medium to move along a preset path. The projection of the spiral groove is located within the spiral channel along a direction perpendicular to the central axis of the ice-making cylinder.

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