Spherical ice maker with automatic demolding function

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of ice makers, and particularly discloses an automatic demolding spherical ice maker which comprises an ice maker body arranged in a refrigerator, a water receiving box responsible for water injection is arranged on the ice maker body, an upper mold part and a lower mold part are arranged on the ice maker body, the upper mold part comprises a plurality of upper mold cores, and the lower mold core comprises a plurality of lower mold cores. The lower die part comprises a plurality of lower die cores. According to the spherical ice maker with the automatic demolding function, by arranging the driving shaft, when the driving shaft rotates reversely, the upper mold core and the lower mold core are driven to be closed to form an ice making mold cavity, when the driving shaft rotates forwards at a first angle, the lower mold core rotates to leave a gap with the upper mold core, the upper ejector rod moves downwards to enable the spherical ice to be separated from the upper mold core, and finally when the driving shaft rotates forwards at a second angle, the ice making mold cavity is formed. According to the scheme, the ball ice is helped to fall off in a rotating mode, so that the occupied space of the whole ice maker body is small, the upper ejector rod and the lower ejector rod are matched with each other and alternately uniced, and the ice unloading efficiency is high.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of ice maker, in particular to an automatic demolding spherical ice maker. BACKGROUND

[0002] The ice maker is a device for producing ice cubes, commonly used in domestic, commercial or industrial environments. Its working principle is based on the freezing process of water, using a cooling system to reduce the water temperature below zero, thereby forming ice. The ice cubes on the market are mostly block-shaped, and spherical ice is not common. The technical difficulty of the existing spherical ice making equipment technology lies in the demolding technology.

[0003] The demolding technology refers to the technology of separating the spherical ice from the mold after forming. The existing demolding technology includes two technologies. One is normal heating, and the subsequent ejection mechanism is used to eject the ice. This method has the defect that the demolding is difficult, and the ejection mechanism needs to be matched. The second is to prolong the heating time or increase the heating temperature, so that the ice block forms a water film outside, making the demolding very smooth. This method has the defect that not only will there be some water during demolding, but the shape of the spherical ice will also be disturbed, thereby affecting the ice making effect. SUMMARY

[0004] The purpose of the present application is to provide an automatic demolding spherical ice maker to solve the above-mentioned deficiencies in the prior art.

[0005] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present application provides the following technical scheme:

[0006] An automatic demolding spherical ice maker, comprising an ice maker body arranged in the interior of a refrigerator, a water receiving box for water injection is arranged on the ice maker body, an upper mold component and a lower mold component are arranged on the ice maker body, the upper mold component comprises a plurality of upper film cores, and the lower mold component comprises a plurality of lower film cores;

[0007] A driving component is further arranged on the ice maker body, the driving component comprises a driving shaft for driving the rotation of the lower film core, an upper ejector rod is arranged on the upper film core, a plurality of lower ejector rods are arranged on the inner side of the ice maker body, and the driving shaft has three movement states;

[0008] When the driving shaft is reversed, the upper film core and the lower film core are driven to fold and form an ice making mold cavity;

[0009] When the driving shaft is positively rotated at a first angle, the lower film core rotates and leaves a gap with the upper film core, and the upper ejector rod moves downward to make the spherical ice separate from the upper film core;

[0010] When the driving shaft is positively rotated at a second angle, the lower film core rotates and separates from the upper film core first, and then the spherical ice is ejected by the lower ejector rod.

[0011] Further, the upper die component further comprises an upper die seat fixedly connected with the upper die core and a first heating wire embedded in the upper die core.

[0012] Further, the lower die component further comprises a lower die seat fixedly connected with the lower die core, a heat conduction sheet attached with the lower die core and a second heating wire attached with the heat conduction sheet.

[0013] Further, the driving component further comprises an upper pull rod, the upper pull rod is provided with a movable slot, the inside of the ice maker body is slidably connected with a reciprocating rod, the upper pull rod is fixedly connected with the reciprocating rod, the upper die core is made of hard material and is provided with a first die core opening corresponding to the reciprocating rod.

[0014] Further, the lower pull rod is arranged in the rotation track of the lower die core, the lower die core is made of elastic soft material, and the lower die seat is provided with a second die core opening.

[0015] Further, the ice maker body is further provided with a buffer component, the buffer component comprises a buffer spring, a guide rod and a guide bracket, the upper die seat is fixedly connected with the guide rod, the buffer spring is sleeved on the guide rod, one end of the buffer spring is fixedly connected with the upper die seat, and the other end is fixedly connected with the guide bracket, when the lower die seat rotates to be close to the upper die seat, the upper die seat moves adaptively to compensate the interface.

[0016] Optionally, the lower pull rod is provided with a recovery component, the recovery component comprises a pair of magnetic sheets, one of the magnetic sheets is fixedly connected with the end of the lower pull rod, and the other magnetic sheet is fixedly connected with the outer surface of the lower die core, the pair of magnetic sheets are close to each other and are responsible for helping the deformed lower die core to recover.

[0017] Further, the recovery component further comprises a support seat fixedly connected with the outer side of the lower pull rod, the top surface of the support seat is fixedly connected with an extension piece, the inside of the extension piece is provided with a touch switch, and the end of the extension piece is fixedly connected with a supporting sheet, the touch switch is responsible for helping the driving shaft to switch directions.

[0018] In the above technical solution, the automatic demolding spherical ice maker has the following beneficial effects:

[0019] Through setting the driving shaft, when reversing, the upper film core and the lower film core are driven to fold and form the ice making mold cavity, when rotating in the first angle, the lower film core rotates and leaves a gap with the upper film core, the upper ejector rod moves down to make the ball ice separate from the upper film core, and finally when rotating in the second angle, the lower film core rotates and separates from the upper film core first, and then the lower ejector rod ejects the ball ice, through the rotating mode, the ball ice is helped to fall off, so that the whole ice maker occupies a smaller space, the upper ejector rod and the lower ejector rod cooperate with each other to alternately separate the ice, the ice separation efficiency is high, the subsequent ball ice separates from the lower film core and automatically falls off under the gravity, the redundant steps are saved, and the working efficiency is high; Furthermore, through setting a pair of magnetic sheets, the ice separation probability of the lower film core can be improved after the lower ejector rod excessively extrudes the lower film core, and under the action of the magnetic sheets, the lower film core can be automatically reset.

[0020] It should be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are only exemplary and explanatory, and are not intended to limit the disclosure.

[0021] This application file provides an overview of various implementations or examples of the technology described in this disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of the full scope or all features of the disclosed technology. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0022] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the drawings needed in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments described in the present application, and other drawings can also be obtained by those skilled in the art according to these drawings.

[0023] Figure 1 The overall top view structural schematic diagram of embodiment 1 of the present application is provided;

[0024] Figure 2 The overall bottom view external structure schematic diagram of the lower film seat of embodiment 1 of the present application is provided;

[0025] Figure 3 The lower film seat structure schematic diagram of embodiment 1 of the present application is provided;

[0026] Figure 4 The driving component structure schematic diagram of embodiment 1 of the present application is provided;

[0027] Figure 5 The lower pull rod structure schematic diagram of embodiment 1 of the present application is provided;

[0028] Figure 6 The upper pull rod structure schematic diagram of embodiment 1 of the present application is provided;

[0029] Figure 7 The buffer component structure schematic diagram of embodiment 1 of the present application is provided;

[0030] Figure 8 The structure diagram of the upper ejector rod provided for the embodiment 1 of the present application is shown in the following figure;

[0031] Figure 9 The structure diagram of the upper ejector rod provided for the embodiment 1 of the present application is shown in the following figure;

[0032] Figure 10 The structure diagram of the upper ejector rod provided for the embodiment 1 of the present application is shown in the following figure;

[0033] Figure 11 The structure diagram of the upper ejector rod provided for the embodiment 1 of the present application is shown in the following figure;

[0034] Explanation of the reference signs:

[0035] 1, ice maker body; 2, water receiving box; 3, upper mold part; 31, upper film core; 32, upper mold base; 33, first top film port; 4, lower mold part; 41, lower film core; 42, lower mold base; 43, heat conduction sheet; 44, second heating wire; 45, second top film port; 5, driving part; 51, driving shaft; 52, upper ejector rod; 53, upper pull rod; 54, movable groove; 55, reciprocating rod; 56, lower pull rod; 57, return spring; 6, buffer part; 61, buffer spring; 62, guide rod; 63, guide bracket; 7, lower ejector rod; 8, recovery part; 81, supporting sheet; 82, telescopic part; 83, magnetic sheet; 84, supporting base. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] In order to make the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the embodiments of the present application more clear, the technical scheme of the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below in combination with the drawings of the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the described embodiments of the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without any creative effort belong to the protection scope of the present application.

[0037] Embodiment 1, please refer to Figures 1-8 An automatic demolding spherical ice maker, comprising an ice maker body 1 arranged in the interior of a refrigerator, the ice maker body 1 is provided with a water receiving box 2 responsible for water injection, the ice maker body 1 is provided with an upper mold part 3 and a lower mold part 4, the upper mold part 3 comprises a plurality of upper film cores 31, and the lower mold part 4 comprises a plurality of lower film cores 41;

[0038] The ice maker body 1 is further provided with a driving part 5, the driving part 5 comprises a driving shaft 51 driving the rotation of the lower film core 41, the upper film core 31 is provided with an upper ejector rod 52, the inner side of the ice maker body 1 is provided with a plurality of lower ejector rods 7, and the driving shaft 51 has three movement states;

[0039] Specifically, the ice maker body 1 is provided with a motor box, a speed reducer motor is arranged in the motor box, and the speed reducer motor is electrically connected with the controller.

[0040] When the driving shaft 51 reverses, the upper film core 31 and the lower film core 41 are driven to fold and form an ice making mold cavity; when the driving shaft 51 rotates at a first angle, the lower film core 41 rotates and leaves a gap with the upper film core 31, and the upper ejector rod 52 moves downward to make the ball ice separate from the upper film core 31; when the driving shaft 51 rotates at a second angle, the lower film core 41 rotates and separates from the upper film core 31 first, and then is pushed out by the lower ejector rod 7.

[0041] The ice making cavity is arranged inside the refrigerator, the number of the upper film core 31 and the lower film core 41 is three, and a communication pipe is arranged between the three pairs of upper film core 31 and lower film core 41, the pipe diameter of the communication pipe is 10 mm, and the length is 1-3 mm. When the upper ejector rod 52 moves downward, the connected ice blocks can be easily cut off at the waist. The ice making cavity is responsible for refrigeration and ice making according to the controller, the bottom of the water receiving box 2 is connected with a flow guide pipe, the end of the flow guide pipe extends to the top of the upper film core on the right side, the water inlet pipe has a small diameter, and the water inlet pipe is made of flexible material.

[0042] The inner cavities of the upper film core 31 and the lower film core 41 are semispherical, and are spherical when folded, which can be used to make spherical ice. The lower film core 41 extends a protruding sealing protection part at the periphery, which wraps the upper film core, so that the inner cavities of the upper film core 31 and the lower film core 41 are in a sealed contact state (the lower film core is made of flexible material, and has good sealing effect after extrusion), and once the water injection is completed, the water will not overflow, so that the spherical ice made by the case has a perfect spherical shape and size that meets the user's demand

[0043] When working, the water receiving box 2 is connected with a water pump, the water pump transports pure water into the water receiving box 2 through a pipeline, a flow meter is arranged in the pipeline, a set amount of water is dropped each time, then the ice making cavity performs ice making mode, and subsequently the lower film core 41 is rotated by the driving shaft 51, the lower film core 41 contacts the lower ejector rod 7, the ball ice falls to the inner bottom surface of the ice making cavity, and the ball ice is stored in the ice making cavity.

[0044] The case also has an exhaust component, the pipeline of the exhaust component extends to the top of the upper film core on the left side, and the exhaust process and the water inlet process are performed synchronously, a flow meter is also arranged in the exhaust pipe, and the water inlet flow meter and the exhaust flow meter are connected with the controller, so as to ensure smooth water inlet process.

[0045] The upper mold component 3 further includes an upper mold base 32 fixedly connected with the upper film core 31 and a first heating wire, the upper mold base 32 is slidingly connected with the ice maker body 1, and the first heating wire is embedded in the inner part of the upper film core.

[0046] The lower mold part 4 further comprises a lower mold base 42 fixedly connected with the lower mold core 41, a heat conducting sheet 43 in abutment connection with the lower mold core 41, and a second heating wire 44 in abutment connection with the heat conducting sheet 43. The lower mold base is fixedly connected with the driving shaft 51, and the upper part of the outer periphery of the lower mold core 41 is fixedly connected (for example, bonded) with the lower mold base.

[0047] The embodiment is further provided with a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the upper mold core 31 and the lower mold core 41. The first heating wire and the second heating wire 44 are responsible for heating the upper mold core 31 and the lower mold core 41 after the ice making is completed. The heating temperature is -1-2 degrees.

[0048] In actual situations, we can first heat to a suitable temperature, and the periphery of the ball ice begins to melt to the critical point of ice. At this time, the driving shaft is rotated to start the ice removal by using the pulling force. If the ice cannot be removed at this time, the ice can be removed again after a small amount of time for secondary heating, so as to reduce the water yield and make the water yield extremely small.

[0049] The driving part 5 further comprises an upper pull rod 53, the upper pull rod 53 is provided with a movable groove 54, the inside of the ice maker body 1 is slidably connected with a reciprocating rod 55, the upper top rod 52 is fixedly connected with the reciprocating rod 55, the upper mold core 31 is made of hard material, and a first top film port 33 corresponding to the reciprocating rod 55 is formed on the upper mold core 31.

[0050] The ice maker body 1 is further fixedly connected with a back-shaped rod, the back-shaped rod is provided with a guide groove, the reciprocating rod 55 moves in the guide groove, and one end of the upper pull rod 53 is fixedly connected with the lower mold base.

[0051] The lower mold base 42 is further fixedly connected with a lower pull rod 56, the lower pull rod 56 is sleeved on the driving shaft 51, the side end of the lower pull rod 56 is fixedly connected with the ice maker body 1, the lower pull rod 56 is hung with a reset spring 57, and one end of the reset spring 57 is connected to (i.e., hooked on) the lower mold base to help reset the lower mold base.

[0052] The lower mold base 42 is made of polypropylene and has a certain elastic recovery capacity. The lower mold base 42 can be in an inclined state under the rotation of the driving shaft 51 and the pulling of one of the reset springs 57, so that only one ice can be removed each time.

[0053] The lower top rod 7 is arranged in the rotation track of the lower mold core 41, the lower mold core 41 is made of elastic soft material, and the lower mold base is provided with a second top film port 45.

[0054] The controller starts the deceleration motor, and the deceleration motor is positively rotated at a first angle of 5-10 degrees after reaching the set temperature, the driving shaft 51 rotates with the lower film core 41 to leave a gap with the upper film core 31, at the same time, the upper pull rod 53 also presses the reciprocating rod 55 to move downward, the reciprocating rod 55 moves with the three upper top rods 52 to the first top film port 33, and the ball ice is pressed to move away from the upper film core 31, then the driving shaft 51 is positively rotated at a second angle, the lower film core 41 contacts with the lower top rod 7, the lower film core 41 is pressed by the lower top rod 7 by 1-3 cm, and the ball ice is automatically dropped under the action of gravity.

[0055] In further provided embodiments of the present application, the ice maker body 1 is further provided with a buffer component 6, the buffer component 6 includes a buffer spring 61, a guide rod 62 and a guide bracket 63, the upper film seat is fixedly connected with the guide rod 62, the buffer spring 61 is sleeved on the guide rod 62, one end of the buffer spring 61 is fixedly connected with the upper film seat, and the other end is fixedly connected with the guide bracket 63, when the lower film seat rotates to be close to the upper film seat, the upper film seat moves adaptively, and the transition part is moved and compensated.

[0056] When the lower film seat rotates to be close to the upper film seat, the upper film seat is forced to rise and press the buffer spring 61, the included angle between the lower film seat and the upper film seat gradually decreases, until the lower film seat and the upper film seat are completely folded, at this time, the upper film core 31 and the lower film core 41 are perfectly matched, and a perfect ice making mold cavity is formed.

[0057] Embodiment 2, please refer to Figures 9-11 The difference between embodiment 2 and embodiment 1 is that the following technical features are added: the lower top rod 7 is provided with a recovery component 8, the recovery component 8 includes a pair of magnetic sheets 83, one of the magnetic sheets 83 is fixedly connected to the end of the lower top rod 7, and the other magnetic sheet 83 is fixedly connected to the outer surface of the lower film core 41, the pair of magnetic sheets 83 are close to each other and are responsible for helping the deformed lower film core 41 to recover.

[0058] The recovery component 8 further includes a support seat 84 fixedly connected to the outer side of the lower top rod 7, the top surface of the support seat 84 is fixedly connected with a telescopic piece 82, the inside of the telescopic piece 82 is provided with a touch switch, the end of the telescopic piece 82 is fixedly connected with a supporting sheet 81, and the touch switch is responsible for helping the driving shaft 51 to switch direction.

[0059] After long-term use of embodiment 1, it is found that the ice removal efficiency is only 90-95%, because the inner recess of the lower film core 41 is adhered to the ball ice and is not easy to fall off, sometimes it needs to be heated again or the heating time is increased by 0.5-2 seconds, so that there is a small amount of water after demolding; if the rotation angle of the opening film is increased, the lower film core 41 cannot automatically recover, and an improved scheme is designed based on this.

[0060] Specifically, the magnetic sheet 83 on the surface of the lower membrane core 41 is covered by flexible cloth, and the magnetic particles are adhered to the inner surface of the flexible cloth, so that the magnetic sheet 83 is in a flexible state. When the magnetic sheet 83 of the lower membrane core 41 approaches the magnetic sheet 83 of the lower top rod 7, the end portion of the lower membrane core 41 protrudes outward under the slight elasticity of the material itself, effectively increasing the area of the portion separated from the ball ice. The subsequent lower membrane core 41 continues to extrude the lower top rod 7 to eject the ball ice. In this embodiment, the lower membrane core 41 can be excessively extruded and deformed. By excessive extrusion, the area of the ball ice finally contacting the lower membrane core 41 is reduced, thereby improving the ice removal effect and effectively avoiding the problem that the end portion of the lower membrane core 41 is bonded to the ball ice and is not easy to fall off.

[0061] In the present application, the telescopic member 82 comprises a movable rod and a fixed rod, the inside of the fixed rod is in sliding connection with the outside of the movable rod, the outside of the movable rod is sleeved with a compression spring, one end of the compression spring is fixedly connected with the fixed rod, and the other end is fixedly connected with the supporting piece. The touch switch is arranged at the inner bottom of the fixed rod, and the touch switch is in electrical signal connection with the controller. When the movable rod presses the touch switch, the controller controls the reverse rotation of the speed reducer motor. Since the rotation angle of the lower membrane core 41 in this embodiment is greater than that in embodiment 1, the reverse rotation of the motor is adjusted by the touch switch, and there is no need to additionally program. At the same time, when the lower membrane core 41 gradually moves away from the lower top rod 7, the two magnetic sheets 83 attract each other, and the excessively deformed lower membrane core 41 returns to its original state until the magnetic sheets 83 are separated.

[0062] The above only describes some exemplary embodiments of the present application by way of illustration. It is needless to say that those skilled in the art can modify the described embodiments in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Therefore, the above drawings and descriptions are illustrative in nature and should not be understood as limiting the scope of the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. An automatically demolding spherical ice maker, comprising an ice maker body installed inside a refrigerator, wherein the ice maker body is provided with a water receiving box for water injection, characterized in that: The ice maker body is provided with an upper mold component and a lower mold component. The upper mold component includes multiple upper film cores, and the lower mold component includes multiple lower film cores. The ice maker body is also provided with a drive component, which includes a drive shaft that drives the lower membrane core to rotate, an upper push rod on the upper membrane core, and multiple lower push rods on the inner side of the ice maker body. The drive shaft has three motion states. When the drive shaft reverses, it drives the upper and lower film cores to close together and form an ice-making mold cavity; When the drive shaft rotates at the first angle, the lower membrane core rotates and leaves a gap with the upper membrane core, and the upper push rod moves down to make the ice ball detach from the upper membrane core; When the drive shaft rotates at the second angle, the lower membrane core rotates and first separates from the upper membrane core, and then the lower push rod pushes the ice ball out.

2. The spherical ice maker with automatic demolding according to claim 1, characterized in that, The upper mold component also includes an upper mold base and a first heating wire that are fixedly connected to the upper mold core. The upper mold base is slidably connected to the ice maker body, and the first heating wire is embedded inside the upper mold core.

3. The spherical ice maker with automatic demolding according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lower mold component also includes a lower mold base fixedly connected to the lower mold core, a heat-conducting sheet bonded to the lower mold core, and a second heating wire bonded to the heat-conducting sheet. The lower mold base is fixedly connected to the drive shaft.

4. The spherical ice maker with automatic demolding according to claim 1, characterized in that, The driving component also includes an upper pull rod with a movable groove. A reciprocating rod is slidably connected inside the ice maker body. The upper push rod is fixedly connected to the reciprocating rod and has a first top membrane opening corresponding to the upper push rod.

5. The spherical ice maker with automatic demolding according to claim 4, characterized in that, The lower push rod is positioned in the rotation trajectory of the lower membrane core, the lower membrane core is made of elastic soft material, and the lower membrane seat has a second top membrane opening.

6. The spherical ice maker with automatic demolding according to claim 1, characterized in that, The ice maker body is also equipped with a buffer component, which includes a buffer spring, a guide rod and a guide bracket. The upper film seat is fixedly connected to the guide rod, and the buffer spring is sleeved on the guide rod. One end of the buffer spring is fixedly connected to the upper film seat and the other end is fixedly connected to the guide bracket. When the lower film seat rotates to approach the upper film seat, the upper film seat undergoes adaptive movement to compensate for the movement at the junction.

7. The spherical ice maker with automatic demolding according to claim 5, characterized in that, The lower push rod is provided with a restoration component, which includes a pair of magnetic pieces. One magnetic piece is fixedly connected to the end of the lower push rod, and the other magnetic piece is fixedly connected to the outer surface of the lower membrane core. The pair of magnetic pieces attract each other when close to each other, which helps the deformed lower membrane core to restore itself.

8. The spherical ice maker with automatic demolding according to claim 7, characterized in that, The recovery component also includes a support base fixedly connected to the outside of the lower push rod. A telescopic component is fixedly connected to the top surface of the support base. A touch switch is provided inside the telescopic component. A support plate is fixedly connected to the end of the telescopic component. The touch switch is responsible for assisting the drive shaft in steering switching.

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