Ice making device and refrigerator

Abstract

The invention provides an ice making device and a refrigerator. The ice-making device comprises: a housing having an ice-making cavity located therein; the container is arranged in the ice making cavity and is used for storing liquid; the air duct is arranged in the shell and is communicated with the ice making cavity through the air outlet so as to guide cold air to flow to the container and cool the liquid in the container into ice; the switching mechanism is movably arranged at the air outlet so as to be switched between a first state and a second state, and when the switching mechanism is in the first state, the switching mechanism opens a first part and a second part of the air outlet from top to bottom, so that cold air flows to the container through the first part and the second part of the air outlet, and a rapid ice making mode is achieved; and in the second state, the switching mechanism closes and opens the first part and the second part of the air outlet respectively, so that cold air flows to the container only through the second part of the air outlet, and a pure ice making mode is realized. Therefore, different ice using requirements can be flexibly met.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of ice making, and particularly relates to an ice making device and a refrigerator. BACKGROUND

[0002] The ice making device is used for ice making to meet the demand of people for ice cubes. The commonly used ice making device generally adopts one of a pure ice making mode and a fast ice making mode to carry out ice making. However, in this case, it is difficult to flexibly meet different ice using demands, which affects user experience and product competitiveness.

[0003] The above statements are only used to provide background technical information related to the present application, and do not necessarily constitute the prior art. SUMMARY

[0004] The present application aims to provide an ice making device and a refrigerator to flexibly meet different ice using demands, improve user experience and product competitiveness.

[0005] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the ice making device provided by the present application comprises:

[0006] A shell having an ice making cavity in the interior;

[0007] A container arranged in the ice making cavity and used for storing liquid;

[0008] An air duct arranged in the shell and communicated with the ice making cavity through an air outlet to guide cold air to flow to the container to cool the liquid in the container into ice; and

[0009] A switching mechanism movably arranged at the air outlet to switch between a first state and a second state. When in the first state, the switching mechanism opens both a first part and a second part of the air outlet from top to bottom, so that the cold air flows to the container through the first part and the second part of the air outlet to realize a fast ice making mode. When in the second state, the switching mechanism closes the first part and opens the second part of the air outlet, so that the cold air only flows to the container through the second part of the air outlet to realize a pure ice making mode.

[0010] In some embodiments, the switching mechanism switches between the first state and the second state by rotating and / or moving; and / or the ice making device further comprises a driving mechanism drivingly connected with the switching mechanism and driving the switching mechanism to switch between the first state and the second state.

[0011] In some embodiments, the switching mechanism comprises a switching piece which is rotatably and / or movably arranged and located above a bottom wall of the shell to switch between the first state and the second state by rotating and / or moving; and / or the driving mechanism comprises a power mechanism and a gear mechanism, and the power mechanism is drivingly connected with the switching mechanism through the gear mechanism.

[0012] In some embodiments, the switching mechanism comprises two switching pieces.

[0013] In some embodiments, the ice-making cavity comprises two chambers, the two chambers are located at opposite sides of the container, the air outlet comprises two communication ports, the two communication ports correspond to the two chambers one by one, and respectively communicate the corresponding chamber with the air duct, and the two switching pieces are respectively arranged at the two communication ports; and / or, the two switching pieces move reversely to realize the switching of the switching mechanism between the first state and the second state.

[0014] In some embodiments, the two switching pieces reversely rotate under the driving of a gear mechanism, the gear mechanism comprises a driving gear, a first driven gear and a second driven gear, the driving gear is engaged with the first driven gear, the first driven gear is engaged with the second driven gear, and the first driven gear and the second driven gear are respectively drivingly connected with the two switching pieces to drive the two switching pieces to reversely rotate.

[0015] In some embodiments, the ice-making device further comprises a flow guide piece, the flow guide piece is arranged in the ice-making cavity and guides the cold air to flow obliquely to the container; and / or, the ice-making device further comprises a limiting piece, the limiting piece limits the switching mechanism when the switching mechanism switches to the first state.

[0016] In some embodiments, the windward surface of the flow guide piece gradually approaches the container along the direction from the air duct to the ice-making cavity to guide the cold air to flow obliquely to the container.

[0017] In some embodiments, the opposite sides of the container are respectively provided with a flow guide piece; and / or, a plurality of flow guide pieces are arranged at intervals along the direction in which the cold air flows to the container.

[0018] In some embodiments, among the plurality of flow guide pieces arranged at intervals along the direction in which the cold air flows to the container, the area of the windward surface of the flow guide piece located at the downstream is greater than the area of the windward surface of the flow guide piece located at the upstream.

[0019] In addition, the refrigerator provided by the present application comprises the ice-making device of any one of the embodiments.

[0020] By arranging the switching mechanism, the air outlet of the air duct that controls the cold air to the container storing the liquid to be made into ice is switched between the two states of full opening and lower opening, so that the ice-making device can be flexibly switched between the fast ice-making mode and the pure ice-making mode, different ice-making needs can be flexibly met, and the user experience and product competitiveness are improved.

[0021] Other features and advantages of the present application will become apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments thereof, which description should be taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0022] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the application and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiments of the application and together with the description serve to explain the application. In the drawings:

[0023] Figure 1 An exploded view of the ice making device in the embodiment of the present application.

[0024] Figure 2 An exploded view of the ice making device in the embodiment of the present application after omitting part of the structure.

[0025] Figure 3 A schematic view of the ice making device in the embodiment of the present application in the fast ice making mode.

[0026] Figure 4 A schematic view of the ice making device in the embodiment of the present application in the pure ice making mode.

[0027] Legend of reference signs:

[0028] 10, ice making device;

[0029] 1, shell; 11, housing; 12, end cover; 13, connecting piece;

[0030] 2, container;

[0031] 41, air inlet cavity; 42, air inlet; 43, ice making cavity; 44, cavity;

[0032] 5, air duct; 51, air outlet; 52, communication port; 53, first part; 54, second part; 55, partition; 56, flow dividing plate;

[0033] 6, switching mechanism; 61, switching piece; 62, connecting shaft; 63, mounting block; 64, mounting hole; 65, limiting piece; 66, limiting part;

[0034] 7, driving mechanism; 71, power mechanism; 72, gear mechanism; 73, driving gear; 74, first driven gear; 75, second driven gear; 76, motor;

[0035] 8, flow guide piece; 81, windward face. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. The described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present application, not all the embodiments. The description of the at least one example embodiment is actually only illustrative, and does not constitute any limitation on the present application and its application or use.

[0037] In the description of the present application, the words "first", "second", etc. are used to limit parts, only to facilitate the corresponding parts to be distinguished, and the above words have no special meaning if there is no further declaration, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the protection scope of the present application.

[0038] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the orientation words such as "front, back, up, down, left, right", "transverse, vertical, perpendicular, horizontal" and "top, bottom" and the like indicate the orientation or positional relationship. The orientation or positional relationship shown is only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and in the absence of the opposite description, these orientation words do not indicate and imply that the indicated device or element must have a particular orientation or be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the protection scope of the present application; the orientation words "inner, outer" refer to the inner and outer of the contour of each component itself. Figure 1

[0039] In addition, the technical features involved in different embodiments of the application described below can be combined with each other as long as there is no conflict between them.

[0040] The pure ice making mode and the fast ice making mode are two common ice making modes. Among them, the pure ice making mode reduces the bubbles in the ice by prolonging the ice making period and freezing layer by layer, thereby improving the transparency of the ice block, but the ice making efficiency is low, and the instant ice making scene cannot be met. The fast ice making mode realizes fast freezing by increasing the refrigeration intensity and shortening the freezing time, but it is easy to cause the ice block to wrap air and impurities inside, and the transparency is poor, which is easy to break and affects the use experience.

[0041] It can be seen that the pure ice making mode can make ice with good transparency, but the ice making speed is slow and the ice making efficiency is low, while the fast ice making mode has fast ice making speed and high ice making efficiency, but the ice made has poor transparency. Therefore, the pure ice making mode and the fast ice making mode each have advantages and disadvantages, and it is difficult to balance the ice quality and the ice making speed.

[0042] The current ice making device can usually only realize a single ice making mode, which either adopts the pure ice making mode or the fast ice making mode, and has single function and poor flexibility, which affects the user experience and product competitiveness.

[0043] In view of the above situation, the present application provides an ice making device and a refrigerator to flexibly meet different ice making needs and improve user experience and product competitiveness.

[0044] Figures 1-4 The ice making device of the present application is exemplarily shown.

[0045] Referring to Figures 1-4 ​In the present application, the ice making device 10 comprises a shell 1, a container 2, an air duct 5 and a switching mechanism 6. Among them, the shell 1 has an ice making cavity 43 inside. The container 2 is arranged in the ice making cavity 43 for storing liquid. The air duct 5 is arranged in the shell 1 and communicates with the ice making cavity 43 through the air outlet 51 to guide the cold air to flow to the container 2 to cool the liquid in the container 2 into ice. The switching mechanism 6 is movably arranged at the air outlet 51 to switch between a first state and a second state. When in the first state, the switching mechanism 6 opens the first part 53 and the second part 54 of the air outlet 51 from top to bottom, so that the cold air flows to the container 2 through the first part 53 and the second part 54 of the air outlet 51, realizing the fast ice making mode. When in the second state, the switching mechanism 6 closes and opens the first part 53 and the second part 54 of the air outlet 51 respectively, so that the cold air only flows to the container 2 through the second part 54 of the air outlet 51, realizing the pure ice making mode.

[0046] The switching mechanism 6 arranged can control the opening state of the air outlet 51 of the air duct 5 that supplies cold air to the container 2 storing the liquid to be made into ice, and switch the air outlet 51 between the two states of full opening and upper closing lower opening, so that the ice making device 10 can switch between the fast ice making mode and the pure ice making mode, and flexibly meet different ice using needs.

[0047] When the switching mechanism 6 is in the first state and controls the first part 53 and the second part 54 of the air outlet 51 from top to bottom to be opened, that is, in the full opening state, the air outlet 51 can blow air at full height and cool the container 2 at the whole height to quickly make ice, realizing the fast ice making mode, improving the ice making efficiency and meeting the instant ice using needs. When the switching mechanism 6 is in the second state and controls only the second part 54 of the lower part of the air outlet 51 to be opened, that is, in the upper closing lower opening state, the air outlet 51 blows air from the bottom to preferentially cool the lower part of the container 2, so that the lower part and the upper part of the container 2 appear temperature difference, the water bubbles in the container 2 overflow upwards, the bubbles in the ice are reduced, the transparency of the ice block is improved, the ice quality is improved, the pure ice making mode is realized, and the ice using needs of higher ice quality are met.

[0048] It can be seen that by arranging the switching mechanism 6 to switch the air outlet 51 of the air duct 5 that supplies cold air to the container 2 storing the liquid to be made into ice between the two states of full opening and upper closing lower opening, the traditional structure form of fixed air duct can be changed, so that the ice making device 10 can realize both the fast ice making mode and the pure ice making mode, that is, become a dual-mode ice making device. The ice making device 10 can switch between the fast ice making mode and the pure ice making mode to effectively solve the contradiction between the ice making speed and the ice quality, flexibly meet different ice using needs, and improve the user experience and product competitiveness.

[0049] And, the dual-mode switching is realized based on the switching mechanism 6, which is realized by dynamically switching the air outlet of the air duct, in this case, the two modes share a set of refrigeration modules including an evaporator, without the need for additional refrigeration modules, the structure is relatively simple, the volume is relatively small, and the cost is relatively low.

[0050] It can be seen that by setting the switching mechanism 6 at the air outlet 51 of the air duct 5 for blowing cold air to the container 2 storing the liquid to be made into ice, the traditional structure of the fixed air duct is changed, so that the air outlet 51 of the air duct can be switched between the fully open and closed upper and lower open two states, and the switching between the fast ice making mode and the pure ice making mode can be realized based on a relatively simple structure, a relatively low cost and a relatively small volume, and different ice use requirements can be flexibly met, and user experience and product competitiveness can be improved.

[0051] In the present application, the movement form of the switching mechanism 6 is not limited, and can be moving and / or rotating, that is, the switching mechanism 6 can be switched between the first state and the second state by rotating and / or moving. In this way, the switching mechanism 6 can be conveniently controlled to switch between the first state and the second state by controlling the rotation and / or movement of the switching mechanism 6, and the air outlet 51 can be conveniently controlled to switch between the fully open and closed upper and lower open two states, and the flexible switching between the fast ice making mode and the pure ice making mode can be realized. Especially when the switching mechanism 6 rotates, the structure is simpler, occupies less space, and is more convenient to realize the flexible switching between the fast ice making mode and the pure ice making mode.

[0052] Specifically, referring to Figures 1-4 In some embodiments, the switching mechanism 6 includes a switching piece 61, which is rotatably and / or movably arranged above the bottom wall of the shell 1, so as to realize the switching of the switching mechanism 6 between the first state and the second state by rotating and / or moving. In this way, the switching mechanism 6 can be conveniently controlled to switch between the first state and the second state by controlling the rotation and / or movement of the switching piece 61 between the first position and the second position, and the air outlet 51 can be conveniently controlled to switch between the fully open and closed upper and lower open two states, and the flexible switching between the fast ice making mode and the pure ice making mode can be realized. Since the switching piece 61 is located above the bottom wall of the shell 1, there is a height difference between the switching piece 61 and the bottom wall of the shell 1, so when the switching piece 61 rotates and / or moves to the second position corresponding to the second state, the switching piece 61 only closes the first part 53 located at the upper part of the air outlet 51, but does not close the second part 54 located at the lower part of the air outlet 51, so the second part 54 can be opened for bottom air blowing, the lower part of the container 2 is preferentially cooled, the water bubbles gradually overflow upwards, the ice bubbles are reduced, the ice transparency is improved, and the pure ice making mode is realized.

[0053] The number of switching pieces 61 is not limited and can be one or more (i.e., at least two). For example, see Figures 1-4 In some embodiments, the switching mechanism 6 includes two switching pieces 61. In this way, the switching mechanism 6 can be conveniently switched between the first state and the second state by controlling the movement of the two switching pieces 61, and the air outlet 51 can be conveniently switched between the two states of full opening and partial opening by controlling the two switching pieces 61, thereby achieving flexible switching between the fast ice-making mode and the pure ice-making mode.

[0054] As an example of the switching mechanism 6 including two switching pieces 61, see Figures 1-4 The ice-making cavity 43 includes two chambers 44 located on opposite sides of the container 2, the air outlet 51 includes two communication openings 52 corresponding to the two chambers 44, and the two communication openings 52 respectively communicate the corresponding chambers 44 with the air duct 5, and the two switching pieces 61 are respectively arranged at the two communication openings 52. In this way, the two switching pieces 61 control the opening state of the two communication openings 52 of the air outlet 51 corresponding to the two chambers 44 of the ice-making cavity 43 located on opposite sides of the container 2, and control the opening and closing of the first part 53 and the second part 54 of the corresponding communication opening 52 to conveniently control the opening and closing of the first part 53 and the second part 54 of the entire air outlet 51, so that the air outlet 51 can be switched between the two states of full opening and partial opening, and the fast ice-making mode and the pure ice-making mode can be flexibly switched. In this case, since cold air can be blown from opposite sides of the container 2 to the container 2 in both the fast ice-making mode and the pure ice-making mode, the cold air can be more fully contacted with the container 2, thereby improving the cooling effect, reducing energy consumption, and improving energy efficiency.

[0055] In the case where the switching mechanism 6 includes two switching pieces 61, the two switching pieces 61 can be switched between the first state and the second state by moving in the same direction or in opposite directions. When the two switching pieces 61 move in opposite directions, especially when the two switching pieces 61 rotate in opposite directions, the switching mechanism 6 can be switched between the first state and the second state based on a simpler structure and less space occupation.

[0056] In order to facilitate the switching mechanism 6 to switch between the first state and the second state, see Figures 1-4In some embodiments, the ice making device 10 not only comprises the switching mechanism 6, but also comprises a driving mechanism 7, which is drivingly connected with the switching mechanism 6 and drives the switching mechanism 6 to switch between the first state and the second state. In this way, the switching mechanism 6 can be switched between the first state and the second state by only controlling the driving mechanism 7 to act, and driving the switching mechanism 6 to move between the first position corresponding to the first state and the second position corresponding to the second state, which is simple and convenient, and can more conveniently and efficiently realize flexible switching between the fast ice making mode and the pure ice making mode.

[0057] Specifically, referring to Figures 1-4 In some embodiments, the driving mechanism 7 comprises a power mechanism 71 and a gear mechanism 72, and the power mechanism 71 is drivingly connected with the switching mechanism 6 through the gear mechanism 72. In this way, the driving mechanism 7 is an automatic driving mechanism, which can automatically drive the switching mechanism 6 to move between the first position and the second position, and can more conveniently and efficiently realize flexible switching between the fast ice making mode and the pure ice making mode. Moreover, the gear mechanism 72 is adopted as the transmission mechanism between the power mechanism 71 and the switching mechanism 6, rather than other mechanisms, which is more simple and compact in structure, and is more conducive to reducing the volume of the ice making device 10, and the transmission precision is higher, which is more conducive to accurately and efficiently driving the switching mechanism 6 to move between the first position and the second position, realizing seamless switching between the fast ice making mode and the pure ice making mode, and in the case that the switching mechanism 6 comprises two switching pieces 61, it is also convenient to drive the two switching pieces 61 to move reversely to realize switching of the switching mechanism 6 between the first state and the second state.

[0058] For example, referring to Figures 1-4 In some embodiments, the gear mechanism 72 comprises a driving gear 73, a first driven gear 74 and a second driven gear 75, the driving gear 73 is engaged with the first driven gear 74, the first driven gear 74 is engaged with the second driven gear 75, and the first driven gear 74 and the second driven gear 75 are respectively drivingly connected with the two switching pieces 61 to drive the two switching pieces 61 to rotate reversely. In this way, the reverse rotation between the two switching pieces 61 can be conveniently realized by utilizing the feature that the first driven gear 74 and the second driven gear 75 are externally engaged and rotate in opposite directions, so that the switching mechanism 6 can realize switching between the first state and the second state by the reverse rotation of the two switching pieces 61, and further realize switching of the ice making device 10 between the fast ice making mode and the pure ice making mode. Moreover, the two switching pieces 61 reversely rotate under the driving of the gear mechanism 72, which is good in synchronization, and only one power mechanism 71 is needed, so the structure is simple, and therefore, the double-mode switching can be realized efficiently and accurately based on a relatively simple structure.

[0059] As a further improvement of the foregoing embodiments, referring to Figures 2-4The ice making device 10 further comprises a flow guide 8 arranged in the ice making cavity 43 and guiding the cold air to flow obliquely to the container 2. In this way, the contact area between the cold air and the container 2 is increased, the coverage of the cold air is improved, the ice making efficiency is improved, the waste of the cold air is reduced, the energy consumption of ice making is reduced, and the energy efficiency is improved.

[0060] Specifically, referring to Figure 3 and Figure 4 In some embodiments, the windward surface 81 of the flow guide 8 gradually approaches the container 2 along the direction from the air duct 5 to the ice making cavity 43 to guide the cold air to flow obliquely to the container 2. At this time, the windward surface 81 of the flow guide 8 is arranged obliquely, and the distance between the windward surface 81 of the flow guide 8 and the container 2 gradually decreases along the direction from the air duct 5 to the ice making cavity 43. In this way, the cold air can be guided to cool the liquid in the container 2 more quickly and sufficiently, the ice making efficiency is improved, the energy consumption of ice making is reduced, and the energy efficiency is improved.

[0061] The number of flow guides 8 is not limited and can be one or more. For example, in some embodiments, the opposite sides of the container 2 are each provided with a flow guide 8. In this case, the ice making device 10 comprises a plurality of flow guides 8, which can make the cold air fully contact the opposite sides of the container 2, thereby realizing a more efficient and low-consumption ice making process. For another example, in some embodiments, a plurality of flow guides 8 are arranged at intervals along the direction in which the cold air flows to the container 2 (i.e., the direction from the air duct 5 to the ice making cavity 43). In this case, the ice making device 10 comprises a plurality of flow guides 8, which can make different parts of the container 2 in the direction of cold air flow fully contact the cold air, thereby realizing a more efficient and low-consumption ice making process.

[0062] In the case where a plurality of flow guides 8 are arranged at intervals along the direction in which the cold air flows to the container 2, referring to Figures 3-4 In some embodiments, among the plurality of flow guides 8 arranged at intervals along the direction in which the cold air flows to the container 2, the area of the windward surface 81 of the flow guide 8 located downstream is greater than the area of the windward surface 81 of the flow guide 8 located upstream. In this way, the flow guide 8 located downstream along the direction of cold air flow can guide more cold air to flow to the container 2, so that in the direction of cold air flow, although the cold air intensity is weakened, more cold air can be blown to the container 2 under the guidance of the flow guide 8, thereby making the cold energy acting on the container 2 in the direction of cold air flow more uniform, and realizing a more uniform freezing effect in the direction of cold air flow.

[0063] In addition, referring to Figures 2-4 In some embodiments, the ice making device 10 further comprises a limiting piece 65 for limiting the switching mechanism 6 when the switching mechanism 6 is switched to the first state. In this way, it is more convenient for the switching mechanism 6 to accurately and reliably reach and stay at the first position corresponding to the first state, thereby realizing the fast ice making mode.

[0064] Next, further embodiments are introduced. Figures 1-4 The embodiments are shown.

[0065] As Figures 1-4 shown in this embodiment, the ice making device 10 includes a housing 1, a container 2, a switching mechanism 6, a driving mechanism 7 and a flow guide 8.

[0066] The housing 1 is used to provide a mounting base for other structural components of the ice making device 10 and a place for ice making. As Figure 1 and Figure 2 shown in this embodiment, the housing 1 includes a shell 11 and an end cover 12. The top of the shell 11 is provided with an opening. The end cover 12 is arranged at the top opening of the shell 11 and is connected to the shell 11 by a connecting member 13 such as a screw, etc. to close the corresponding opening and prevent air leakage.

[0067] An air inlet cavity 41 is arranged in a side wall of the shell 11, and an air inlet 42 is arranged on the corresponding side wall. The air inlet cavity 41 is in communication with the outside of the housing 1 and the inside of the housing 1 through the air inlet 42 to introduce cold air into the inside of the housing 1.

[0068] The inside of the housing 1 is divided into an air duct 5 and an ice making cavity 43 by a partition 55. The air duct 5 and the ice making cavity 43 separated by the partition 55 are arranged side by side along the length direction (also referred to as the front-rear direction) of the housing 1. The air duct 5 is in communication with the air inlet 42 and the ice making cavity 43 through an air outlet 51. In this way, the air duct 5 and the ice making cavity 43 are arranged in sequence along the cold air flow direction, i.e. the air duct 5 is located upstream of the ice making cavity 43 along the cold air flow direction, and the ice making cavity 43 is located downstream of the air duct 5 along the cold air flow direction. As Figure 3 and Figure 4 shown, the cold air entering the air inlet cavity 41 will enter the air duct 5 through the air inlet 42, and then flow from the air duct 5 to the ice making cavity 43 through the air outlet 51.

[0069] The container 2 is arranged in the ice making cavity 43 and is used to hold the liquid used for ice making. In this way, the cold air entering the ice making cavity 43 can cool the liquid in the container 2, causing the corresponding liquid to cool into ice, thereby achieving the purpose of ice making. As Figure 2 shown in this embodiment, the container 2 is provided with a plurality of compartments, so that multiple ice blocks can be prepared at the same time. And as Figure 2 shown in this embodiment, the container 2 is arranged at the middle of the width direction (also referred to as the left-right direction) of the ice making cavity 43, so that the ice making cavity 43 is divided into two chambers 44 located on the left and right sides of the container 2. The two chambers 44 are in communication with the air duct 5 through the air outlet 51 at the head end, and are in communication with each other at the tail end, so that the cold air entering the air duct 5 can enter the ice making cavity 43 from the left and right sides through the air outlet 51 and blow to the left and right sides of the container 2.

[0070] Corresponding to the two chambers 44, the air outlet 51 is divided into two communication openings 52 in this embodiment. Specifically, as shown in Figure 2 the shell 1 is provided with a shunt plate 56. The shunt plate 56 is located at the air outlet 51 and divides the air outlet 51 into two communication openings 52. The two communication openings 52 correspond to the two chambers 44 and are in communication with the two chambers 44, so that the cold air in the air duct 5 can be divided into two streams by the shunt plate 56 when flowing to the ice making chamber 43, and then flow into the two chambers 44 through the two communication openings 52, respectively, to cool the container 2 from both sides.

[0071] The switching mechanism 6 is arranged in the shell 1 and is used to control the air outlet 51 to switch between the two states of being fully opened upward and being opened upward and closed downward, so as to realize the dual-mode switching function. As shown in Figures 1-4 the embodiment, the switching mechanism 6 includes two switching pieces 61, which are arranged at the two communication openings 52, respectively, and can rotate between the first position and the second position to switch between the first state and the second state, thereby controlling the air outlet 51 to switch between the two states of being fully opened upward and being opened upward and closed downward.

[0072] Specifically, as Figures 1-4 can be seen, in this embodiment, the two switching pieces 61 are both plate-shaped and are rotatably arranged on the mounting block 63. The mounting block 63 is located on the side of the shunt plate 56 close to the container 2, and the mounting block 63 is provided with two mounting holes 64. Two connecting shafts 62 are inserted into the two mounting holes 64, respectively. The two switching pieces 61 are connected to the two connecting shafts 62, respectively, so that the two switching pieces 61 are rotatably arranged on the mounting block 63 and can rotate between the first position and the second position, and the two switching pieces 61 are located above the bottom wall of the shell 1 and have a height difference with the bottom wall of the shell 1.

[0073] Figure 3 and Figure 4 respectively show the states of the two switching pieces 61 in the first position and the second position.

[0074] As shown in Figure 3 when the two switching pieces 61 are in the first position, the two switching pieces 61 are away from the side wall of the air duct 5 and do not block the air outlet 51, so that the air outlet 51 is fully opened and is in the state of being opened upward and downward, so that the cold air can flow into the ice making chamber 43 through the entire air outlet 51 and flow to the container 2, so as to quickly make ice and realize the fast ice making mode.

[0075] And as Figure 4As shown, when the two switching pieces 61 are in the second position, both of the switching pieces 61 are in abutment with the side wall (e.g. the partition 55) of the air duct 5, closing the upper first part 53 of the two communication ports 52 of the air outlet 51 and opening the lower second part 54 (between the switching piece 61 and the bottom wall of the shell 1) of the two communication ports 52 of the air outlet 51, so that the air outlet 51 is only open at the lower part, in an upper closed and lower open state, and the cold air only flows into the ice making cavity 43 through the lower part of the air outlet 51, preferentially cooling the lower part of the container 2, reducing air bubbles in the ice and improving ice transparency, achieving a pure ice making mode.

[0076] The limiting piece 65 is arranged in the shell 1 and is used for limiting the two switching pieces 61 when they are rotated to the first position, preventing the two switching pieces 61 from continuing to rotate. Specifically, as shown in the figure, Figure 2 In this embodiment, the limiting piece 65 is arranged on the mounting block 63 and includes two limiting parts 66. The two limiting parts 66 are arranged on the left and right sides of the mounting block 63 and respectively protrude outward from the mounting block 63 in the left and right directions, so that the two limiting parts 66 can respectively stop and limit the two switching pieces 61 when they are rotated to the first position.

[0077] The driving mechanism 7 is drivingly connected with the switching mechanism 6 and is used for driving the switching mechanism 6 to rotate between the first position and the second position, so as to control the switching of the switching mechanism 6 between the first state and the second state and achieve a double-mode switching function. As shown in the figure, Figures 1-4 In this embodiment, the driving mechanism 7 includes a motor 76 as a power mechanism 71 and a gear mechanism 72 as a transmission mechanism. The motor 76 is mounted on the end cover 12 by a connecting piece 13 such as a screw and is used to provide power. The gear mechanism 72 includes a driving gear 73, a first driven gear 74 and a second driven gear 75. The driving gear 73 is connected with the output shaft of the motor 76 by a connecting piece 13 such as a screw to achieve driving connection with the motor 76. The first driven gear 74 and the second driven gear 75 are both externally meshed with the driving gear 73, and the first driven gear 74 and the second driven gear 75 are respectively sleeved on the two connecting shafts 62 to drive the two switching pieces 61 of the switching mechanism 6. In this way, the motor 76 can drive the first driven gear 74 and the second driven gear 75 to rotate in opposite directions through the driving gear 73, and then drive the two switching pieces 61 to synchronously rotate in opposite directions, so that the two switching pieces 61 can synchronously reach the first position and the second position by synchronous reverse rotation, achieving the switching of the switching mechanism 6 between the first state and the second state.

[0078] The flow guide 8 is arranged in the ice making cavity 43 and is used for guiding the cold air to flow obliquely to the container 2, expanding the coverage of the cold air and improving energy efficiency. As shown in the figure, Figures 2-4As shown, in this embodiment, each of the two chambers 44 of the ice-making cavity 43 is provided with multiple guide elements 8, and the multiple guide elements 8 in each chamber 44 are spaced apart along the direction from the air duct 5 to the ice-making cavity 43. Each guide element 8 is block-shaped and is disposed on the side wall of the outer shell 1, and has an inclined windward surface 81, which gradually approaches the container 2 along the direction from the air duct 5 to the ice-making cavity 43. In this way, the cold air entering the two chambers 44 can be guided by the multiple guide elements 8 to flow obliquely towards the container 2, increasing the contact area between the cold air and the container 2, reducing cold energy waste, and improving energy efficiency.

[0079] And, as Figures 3-4 As shown, in this embodiment, the height dimension (i.e., the dimension along the vertical direction, i.e., the dimension of the relative arrangement direction of the shell 11 and the end cap 12 of the outer shell 1) of the multiple guide members 8 along the cold air flow direction in each chamber 44 is the same, while the length dimension (i.e., the dimension of the windward surface 81 in the direction perpendicular to the height dimension, i.e., the dimension of the windward surface 81 in the direction away from the side wall of the outer shell) increases sequentially. This makes the windward area (i.e., the area of ​​the windward surface 81) of each guide member 8 arranged sequentially along the cold air flow direction gradually increase. That is, the windward area of ​​the guide member 8 located downstream is greater than the windward area of ​​the guide member 8 located upstream. In this way, the freezing uniformity can be improved and the ice-making effect can be improved.

[0080] During operation, in rapid ice-making mode, such as Figure 3 As shown, the two switching components 61 of the switching mechanism 6 rotate to the first position under the drive of the driving mechanism 7, and are stopped by the two limiting parts 66, fully opening the two connecting ports 52 of the air outlet 51. This allows the cold air flowing out of the air duct 5 and split in two by the diverter 56 to enter the two chambers 44 on both sides through the fully opened connecting ports 52, and under the guidance of the guide 8, flow obliquely towards the container 2 to quickly make ice and meet the immediate ice demand; while in the pure ice-making mode, such as Figure 4 As shown, the two switching components 61 of the switching mechanism 6 rotate in opposite directions to the second position under the drive of the driving mechanism 7, closing the upper part of the two connecting ports 52, so that the cold air can only pass through the lower part of the two connecting ports 52, and under the guidance of the guide component 8, it flows obliquely to the lower part of the container 2, so that a temperature difference appears between the lower and upper parts of the container 2, and the bubbles in the water gradually overflow upward, reducing the bubbles in the ice, improving the transparency of the ice, improving the ice quality, realizing the pure ice-making mode, and meeting the ice-using demand for higher ice quality.

[0081] It can be seen that the ice making device 10 of the embodiment can dynamically adjust whether the air outlet 51 is only opened at the lower part through the mechanical switching mechanism 6 to achieve flexible switching between the fast ice making mode and the pure ice making mode, effectively meet different requirements between ice making speed and ice quality without increasing the refrigeration module, and has a larger cold air coverage range and higher energy efficiency. It is an ice making device that can efficiently utilize refrigeration resources and support multi-mode ice making.

[0082] The ice making device 10 of each of the foregoing embodiments can be applied to a refrigerator to effectively improve the performance of the refrigerator and improve the product competitiveness of the refrigerator. Therefore, the application also provides a refrigerator including the ice making device 10 of any of the embodiments.

[0083] Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the application rather than limit them; although the application has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that the specific embodiments of the application can be modified or some technical features can be replaced by equivalents, which should be covered in the technical solution range claimed by the application.

Claims

1. An ice making device (10) characterized by, The ice-making device (10) comprises: a housing (1) having an ice-making cavity (43) inside; a container (2) arranged in the ice-making cavity (43) for storing liquid; an air duct (5) arranged in the housing (1) and communicating with the ice-making cavity (43) through an air outlet (51) to guide cold air to flow to the container (2) to cool the liquid in the container (2) into ice; and a switching mechanism (6) movably arranged at the air outlet (51) to switch between a first state and a second state, in the first state, the switching mechanism (6) opens both a first part (53) and a second part (54) of the air outlet (51) from top to bottom, so that the cold air flows to the container (2) through the first part (53) and the second part (54) of the air outlet (51), realizing a fast ice-making mode, in the second state, the switching mechanism (6) closes and opens the first part (53) and the second part (54) of the air outlet (51) respectively, so that the cold air only flows to the container (2) through the second part (54) of the air outlet (51), realizing a pure ice-making mode. The switching mechanism (6) is switched between the first state and the second state by rotation and / or movement; and / or the ice-making device (10) further comprises a driving mechanism (7) drivingly connected with the switching mechanism (6) and driving the switching mechanism (6) to switch between the first state and the second state.

2. The ice making device (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that The switching mechanism (6) comprises a switching piece (61) rotatably and / or movably arranged above a bottom wall of the housing (1) to realize the switching of the switching mechanism (6) between the first state and the second state by rotation and / or movement; and / or the driving mechanism (7) comprises a power mechanism (71) and a gear mechanism (72), the power mechanism (71) being drivingly connected with the switching mechanism (6) through the gear mechanism (72).

3. The ice-making device (10) according to claim 2, characterized in that The switching mechanism (6) comprises two switching pieces (61).

4. The ice-making device (10) according to claim 3, characterized in that The ice-making cavity (43) comprises two cavities (44) located at opposite sides of the container (2), the air outlet (51) comprises two communication openings (52) corresponding to the two cavities (44) and respectively communicating the corresponding cavities (44) with the air duct (5), and the two switching pieces (61) are arranged at the two communication openings (52) respectively; and / or the two switching pieces (61) move reversely to realize the switching of the switching mechanism (6) between the first state and the second state.

5. The ice-making device (10) according to claim 4, characterized in that ​ 6. The ice-making device (10) according to claim 5, characterized in that The two switching pieces (61) are reversely rotated under the drive of a gear mechanism (72), the gear mechanism (72) comprises a driving gear (73), a first driven gear (74) and a second driven gear (75), the driving gear (73) is engaged with the first driven gear (74), the first driven gear (74) is engaged with the second driven gear (75), and the first driven gear (74) and the second driven gear (75) are respectively in driving connection with the two switching pieces (61) to drive the two switching pieces (61) to reversely rotate.

7. The ice-making device (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The ice making device (10) further comprises a flow guide piece (8) arranged in the ice making cavity (43) and guiding the cold air to flow obliquely to the container (2); and / or the ice making device (10) further comprises a limiting piece (65) limiting the switching mechanism (6) when the switching mechanism (6) is switched to the first state.

8. The ice-making device (10) according to claim 7, characterized in that The windward surface (81) of the flow guide piece (8) gradually approaches the container (2) along the direction from the air duct (5) to the ice making cavity (43) to guide the cold air to flow obliquely to the container (2).

9. The ice making device (10) according to claim 7, characterized in that The container (2) is provided with the flow guide piece (8) on opposite sides; and / or a plurality of flow guide pieces (8) are arranged at intervals along the direction of the cold air flowing to the container (2).

10. The ice-making device (10) according to claim 9, characterized in that Among the plurality of flow guide pieces (8) arranged at intervals along the direction of the cold air flowing to the container (2), the area of the windward surface (81) of the flow guide piece (8) located downstream is greater than that of the flow guide piece (8) located upstream.

11. A refrigerator characterized by comprising: An ice making device (10) as claimed in any one of claims 1-10. An ice making device (10) as claimed in any one of claims 1-10.

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