Ice maker

Abstract

The utility model provides an ice maker which comprises a machine shell, an ice making assembly and a cold supply assembly, the ice making assembly and the cold supply assembly are connected with the machine shell, the machine shell is provided with an ice making cavity and a cold supply cavity which are separated from each other, the cold supply assembly is located in the cold supply cavity, and the ice maker further comprises a water injection structure and an ice outlet structure which are connected with the machine shell. The ice making cavity is provided with an ice making space for containing the ice making assembly, a water injection space for containing the water injection structure and an ice outlet space for containing the ice outlet structure, the ice making cavity and the cold supply cavity are oppositely arranged in the first direction, and the water injection space, the ice making space and the ice outlet space are arranged in the second direction; a certain angle is formed between the first direction and the second direction; the water injection space, the ice making space and the ice outlet space are sequentially arranged in the second direction, the distance between the ice making assembly and the ice outlet structure is reduced, ice blocks made by the ice making assembly can be conveniently and directly discharged from the ice outlet structure, an additional ice outlet mechanism does not need to be arranged, and the manufacturing cost of the ice maker is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the field of refrigeration devices, in particular to an ice maker. Background Art

[0002] An ice maker is a refrigeration mechanical device that generates ice by cooling water through an evaporator with the refrigerant of a refrigeration system. It uses a refrigeration system and a water carrier to produce ice after passing through a certain device under power-on. In order to facilitate users to perform water injection and ice removal operations, existing ice makers have a water injection structure and an ice discharging structure on one side of the casing, and an ice making assembly on the other side of the casing. This increases the distance between the ice making assembly and the ice discharging structure, making it impossible for ice cubes made by the ice making assembly to be directly discharged from the ice discharging structure. An additional ice discharging mechanism needs to be provided, which increases the manufacturing cost of the ice maker. Summary of the invention

[0003] The utility model aims to provide an ice maker with reduced manufacturing cost.

[0004] To achieve one of the above-mentioned purposes of the utility model, one embodiment of the utility model provides an ice maker, including a casing and an ice-making assembly and a cooling assembly connected to the casing, the casing having an ice-making chamber and a cooling supply chamber separated from each other, the cooling supply assembly being located in the cooling supply chamber, the ice maker also including a water injection structure and an ice-discharging structure connected to the casing, the ice-making chamber having an ice-making space for accommodating the ice-making assembly, a water injection space for accommodating the water injection structure, and an ice-discharging space for accommodating the ice-discharging structure, the ice-making chamber and the cooling supply chamber being arranged opposite to each other along a first direction, the water injection space, the ice-making space and the ice-discharging space being arranged along a second direction, and the first direction and the second direction forming a certain angle.

[0005] As a further improvement of one embodiment of the utility model, the casing has a first shell forming an ice-making chamber, the first shell has an ice-taking port docked with the ice outlet of the ice-discharging structure, and the ice-making machine also includes an ice basket connected to the first shell, and the top opening of the ice basket docks with the ice-taking port.

[0006] As a further improvement of an embodiment of the utility model, the casing also has a second shell forming a cooling chamber and connected to the first shell, the ice-making chamber also has a drainage space at least partially located at the bottom of the ice-making space, the first shell has a drainage port connected to the drainage space, and the second shell, the drainage port and the ice basket are arranged along the second direction.

[0007] As a further improvement of an embodiment of the utility model, the ice maker also includes a partition connected to the first shell and a drain plug arranged in the drain outlet, the ice making space and the drainage space are arranged on both sides of the partition relatively along the first direction, a drainage hole is provided at the lowest horizontal height of the partition, and at least a portion of the drain plug extends into the drainage hole.

[0008] As a further improvement of one embodiment of the utility model, a connecting port is further provided at the lowest horizontal height of the partition, and the ice maker also includes a water storage member connected to the water injection structure, a water pump arranged in the drainage space, a water inlet pipe connected to the water inlet end of the water pump, and a water outlet pipe connected to the water outlet end of the water pump, the water inlet pipe is connected to the connecting port, and the water outlet pipe is connected to the water storage member or the water injection structure.

[0009] As a further improvement of an embodiment of the utility model, the water injection space and the drainage space are arranged on both sides of the partition relatively along the first direction, and the horizontal height of the partition gradually decreases from the water injection space toward the ice making space.

[0010] As a further improvement of an embodiment of the utility model, the ice-making assembly includes an ice-making box, and the ice-making machine also includes a water injection pipe connected to the water injection structure and a water stop valve arranged on the water injection pipe, and the water outlet of the water injection pipe is located above the ice-making box.

[0011] As a further improvement of an embodiment of the utility model, the water injection structure has a water injection cavity, and the first shell also has a water injection port exposed toward the water injection cavity, and the inner diameter of the water injection port is configured to be 30±2 mm.

[0012] As a further improvement of an embodiment of the utility model, the first shell also has a positioning groove matched with the water storage component and a water injection port connected to the water injection structure, and the water injection port is arranged on the bottom surface of the positioning groove.

[0013] As a further improvement of an embodiment of the utility model, the water storage component has a mounting portion matching the positioning groove and a feeding portion connected to the mounting portion, a water storage cavity is formed in the mounting portion, and at least part of the feeding portion is exposed in the water storage cavity.

[0014] As a further improvement of an embodiment of the utility model, the ice outlet structure has an ice inlet opposite to the ice outlet and an ice channel connecting the ice inlet and the ice outlet, and the inner diameter of the ice channel gradually decreases from top to bottom.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, in the embodiment of the utility model, the water injection space, the ice making space and the ice discharging space are arranged in sequence along the second direction, and the distance between the ice making assembly and the ice discharging structure is reduced, which facilitates the ice cubes made by the ice making assembly to be directly discharged from the ice discharging structure. There is no need to set up an additional ice discharging mechanism, and the manufacturing cost of the ice maker is reduced. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of an ice maker in a preferred embodiment of the utility model;

[0017] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A perspective schematic diagram of a cross-sectional view of an ice making machine;

[0018] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 A schematic plan view of a cross-sectional view of an ice making machine;

[0019] Figure 4 yes Figure 1 Exploded diagram of the ice machine. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with the specific embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. However, these embodiments do not limit the present invention, and any structural, methodological, or functional changes made by a person skilled in the art based on these embodiments are all within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0021] It should be understood that the terms such as “having”, “including” and “comprising” used herein do not exclude the existence or addition of one or more other elements or combinations thereof.

[0022] It should be understood that the terms used herein, such as "upper", "lower", "outer", "inner", etc., indicating spatial relative positions are used for the purpose of convenience to describe the relationship of one unit or feature relative to another unit or feature as shown in the drawings. The spatial relative position terms may be intended to include different orientations of the device in use or operation other than the orientation shown in the drawings.

[0023] The device may be oriented in other ways (rotated 90 degrees or in other orientations), and the spatially related descriptive terms used herein shall be interpreted accordingly. For example, in the present invention, for the convenience of description, when the ice maker is in normal use, the direction toward the ground is downward, and the direction away from the ground is upward; the direction parallel to the ground is horizontal, and the direction perpendicular to the ground is vertical; the side close to the user is the front side, and the side away from the user is the rear side.

[0024] Furthermore, it should be understood that although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements or structures, these described objects should not be limited by the above terms. The above terms are only used to distinguish these described objects from each other. For example, a first direction may be referred to as a second direction, and similarly, a second direction may also be referred to as a first direction, which does not deviate from the scope of protection of the application.

[0025] refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, an ice maker includes a housing 10 and an ice-making assembly 20 and a cooling assembly (not shown) connected to the housing 10. In this embodiment, the ice-making assembly 20 is preferably used to make bullet ice. The cooling assembly provides refrigerant to the ice-making assembly 20 through a refrigeration circuit, thereby obtaining the cooling required for ice making. The cooling assembly includes a compressor, a condenser, a capillary tube, etc., which form a refrigeration circuit together through pipelines.

[0026] Mate Reference Figure 3 As shown, specifically, the housing 10 has an ice-making chamber 11 and a cooling chamber 12 separated from each other, and the cooling assembly is located in the cooling chamber 12. In this embodiment, the ice-making chamber 11 and the cooling chamber 12 are insulated by a partition plate (not shown in the figure) to prevent the heat generated by the cooling assembly in the cooling chamber 12 from flowing into the ice-making chamber 11.

[0027] Furthermore, the ice maker further comprises a water injection structure 30 and an ice discharging structure 40 connected to the housing 10. In this embodiment, the water injection structure 30 can introduce water required for ice making into the housing 10, and the ice discharging structure 40 can lead the made ice cubes out of the housing 10.

[0028] Specifically, the ice making chamber 11 has an ice making space 111 for accommodating the ice making assembly 20, a water injection space 112 for accommodating the water injection structure 30, and an ice discharging space 113 for accommodating the ice discharging structure 40. In this embodiment, the ice making space 111 and the water injection space 112 are interconnected, and the ice making space 111 and the ice discharging space 113 are interconnected.

[0029] Furthermore, the ice-making chamber 11 and the cooling chamber 12 are arranged relative to each other along a first direction, and the water injection space 112, the ice-making space 111 and the ice-discharging space 113 are arranged along a second direction, and the first direction and the second direction form a certain angle. In this embodiment, the first direction and the second direction are preferably perpendicular to each other. Figure 3 For example, the ice-making chamber 11 and the cooling chamber 12 are arranged opposite to each other in the up-down direction, and the water injection space 112, the ice-making space 111 and the ice-discharging space 113 are arranged in the front-to-back direction. The ice-making chamber 11 is located at the top of the entire ice-making machine, which is convenient for users to add water and take ice. The water injection space 112 is arranged adjacent to the ice-making space 111, which saves the water path between the water injection structure 30 and the ice-making assembly 20. The ice-making space 111 is arranged adjacent to the ice-discharging space 113, which makes it convenient for the ice cubes made by the ice-making assembly 20 to fall directly to the ice-discharging structure 40, and the ice cubes are output through the ice-discharging structure 40.

[0030] The water injection space 112, the ice making space 111 and the ice discharging space 113 are arranged in sequence along the second direction, and the distance between the ice making assembly 20 and the ice discharging structure 40 is reduced, so that the ice cubes made by the ice making assembly 20 can be directly discharged from the ice discharging structure 40 without setting an additional ice discharging mechanism, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost of the ice maker.

[0031] Specifically, the housing 10 has a first shell 101 forming an ice making chamber 11, and the first shell 101 has an ice taking port 1011 docking with the ice cube outlet 401 of the ice discharging structure 40. In this embodiment, the ice discharging structure 40 is located at the bottom of the ice discharging space 113, and the ice taking port 1011 is located at the bottom of the ice discharging structure 40. After the ice making assembly 20 completes ice making, the ice cubes are discharged sequentially through the ice cube outlet 401 and the ice taking port 1011. After the ice maker completes ice making, the user takes ice from the ice taking port 1011.

[0032] Furthermore, the ice maker further includes an ice basket 50 connected to the first shell 101, and the top opening of the ice basket 50 is connected to the ice taking port 1011. In this embodiment, the ice basket 50 is detachably connected to the first shell 101. The ice cubes discharged from the ice taking port 1011 directly fall into the ice basket 50, and the user removes the ice basket 50 to take the ice cubes. The ice basket 50 is placed outside the shell 10, so that it is convenient for the user to take and place the ice basket 50, and then it is convenient for the user to take the ice cubes in the ice basket 50.

[0033] Moreover, the ice maker does not need to be provided with an additional ice storage box in the casing 10, which saves the space occupied by the ice maker and reduces the energy consumption of the ice maker.

[0034] In some embodiments not shown, the ice basket 50 may be eliminated, and other containers may be used to receive ice from the ice taking port 1011 to meet different user needs.

[0035] Specifically, the housing 10 further comprises a second housing 102 which forms a cooling chamber 12 and is connected to the first housing 101. In this embodiment, the first housing 101 is located above the second housing 102. Figure 1 After the first shell 101 and the second shell 102 are connected, the entire housing 10 is in an inverted "L" shape.

[0036] Furthermore, the ice making chamber 11 also has a drainage space 114 at least partially located at the bottom of the ice making space 111. In this embodiment, after the ice maker completes ice making, excess water in the ice making space 111 can flow smoothly into the drainage space 114 at the bottom by its own gravity.

[0037] Specifically, the first shell 101 has a drain port 1012 connected to the drain space 114. In this embodiment, the drain port 1012 is located at the bottom of the first shell 101, that is, the bottom of the drain space 114, and the water in the drain space 114 can be discharged from the shell 10 through the drain port 1012 by its own gravity, so that the excess water can be smoothly discharged after the ice maker completes ice making.

[0038] Furthermore, the second shell 102, the drain port 1012 and the ice basket 50 are arranged along the second direction. Figure 2 For example, the second shell 102, the drain port 1012 and the ice basket 50 are arranged in a front-to-back direction. The drain port 1012 is located at the front side of the second shell 102, which is convenient for the user to drain water from the front side of the second shell 102. The drain port 1012 is located at the rear side of the ice basket 50, which is convenient for the user to take ice from the front of the first shell 101, while avoiding affecting the aesthetics of the front of the first shell 101.

[0039] Furthermore, the ice maker further comprises a partition 103 connected to the first shell 101 and a drain plug 60 disposed in the drain port 1012. In this embodiment, the partition 103 is located in the ice making chamber 11. The drain plug 60 is interference fit with the drain port 1012. After the drain plug 60 is inserted into the drain port 1012, water in the drain space 114 can be prevented from flowing out of the housing 10. After the drain plug 60 is pulled out of the drain port 1012, water in the drain space 114 can be discharged from the housing 10.

[0040] Specifically, the ice-making space 111 and the drainage space 114 are arranged along the first direction on both sides of the partition 103. In this embodiment, the ice-making space 111 and part of the drainage space 114 are arranged along the up-down direction on both sides of the partition 103, that is, the ice-making space 111 is located above the partition 103, and the drainage space 114 is located below the partition 103.

[0041] Furthermore, a drainage hole 1031 is provided at the lowest level of the partition 103. In this embodiment, the drainage hole 1031 connects the ice making space 111 with the drainage space 114. Water on the partition 103 is attracted by its own gravity and gathers at the drainage hole 1031, and can flow into the drainage space 114 from the drainage hole 1031.

[0042] Specifically, at least a portion of the drain plug 60 extends into the drain hole 1031. In this embodiment, the drain plug 60 and the drain hole 1031 are interference fit, and after the drain plug 60 extends into the drain hole 1031, it can prevent the water on the partition 103 from flowing into the drain space 114; after the drain plug 60 is pulled out of the drain hole 1031, it can make the water on the partition 103 flow into the drain space 114; after the drain plug 60 is pulled out of the drain hole 1031 and the drain port 1012 at the same time, the water on the partition 103 and in the drain space 114 can be discharged at the same time.

[0043] Furthermore, a communication port 1032 is provided at the lowest level of the partition 103. In this embodiment, water on the partition 103 is gathered at the communication port 1032 under its own gravity.

[0044] Furthermore, the ice maker further includes a water storage member 70 docked with the water injection structure 30, a water pump 80 disposed in the drainage space 114, a water inlet pipe 90 connected to the water inlet end of the water pump 80, and a water outlet pipe 100 connected to the water outlet end of the water pump 80. In this embodiment, the ice maker uses the water storage member 70 to supply water, and the ice maker continuously makes ice by replenishing the water storage member 70 with water.

[0045] Specifically, the water inlet pipe 90 is connected to the communication port 1032, and the water outlet pipe 100 is connected to the water storage member 70 or the water injection structure 30. In this embodiment, after the water on the partition 103 is gathered at the communication port 1032, it flows into the water inlet pipe 90 through the communication port 1032, and the water pump 80 draws the water in the water inlet pipe 90 into the water outlet pipe 100. The water in the water outlet pipe 100 can flow into the water storage member 70 or the water injection structure 30, and then continue to flow into the ice-making assembly 20 for ice making, realizing circulating water ice making and avoiding water waste.

[0046] Specifically, the water injection space 112 and the drainage space 114 are arranged on both sides of the partition 103 in a first direction. In this embodiment, the water injection space 112 and part of the drainage space 114 are arranged on both sides of the partition 103 in a vertical direction. The water injection space 112 and the ice making space 111 are located above the partition 103, and the drainage space 114 is located below the partition 103. The drainage space 114 is extended to the bottom of the water injection space 112, and the front-to-back depth of the drainage space 114 is increased, providing sufficient installation space for the water pump 80, the water inlet pipe 90 and the water outlet pipe 100.

[0047] Furthermore, the height of the partition 103 gradually decreases from the water injection space 112 toward the ice making space 111. Figure 3, the partition 103 is arranged in a way that the front is low and the back is high. When the horizontal height of the front end of the partition 103 is low, the water falling on the partition 103 will be gathered on the front side of the partition 103 due to its own gravity, that is, gathered at the drainage hole 1031 and the connecting port 1032, which is convenient for drainage and water circulation. When the horizontal height of the front end of the partition 103 is high, the water pump 80 can be set on the front side of the drainage space 114, and the internal space of the drainage space 114 can be reasonably arranged.

[0048] Specifically, the ice-making assembly 20 includes an ice-making box 21. In this embodiment, the ice-making assembly 20 also includes an ice-making column at least partially extending into the ice-making box 21. After the refrigerant in the refrigeration circuit flows into the ice-making column, the ice-making column can be cooled. After the ice-making column extends into the ice-making box 21, bullet ice can be formed on the ice-making column.

[0049] Furthermore, the ice maker further comprises a water injection pipe connected to the water injection structure 30 and a water stop valve arranged on the water injection pipe, and the water outlet 110 of the water injection pipe is located above the ice making box 21. In this embodiment, the water in the water storage member 70 flows into the water injection structure 30 by its own gravity, flows into the water injection pipe, and flows into the ice making box 21 through the water outlet 110 of the water injection pipe. When the amount of water in the ice making box 21 reaches the ice making requirement, the water injection is stopped through the water stop valve to avoid affecting the ice making of the ice making assembly 20.

[0050] The utility model provides a preferred implementation of a water storage member 70. The water storage member 70 can be common bottled water, so that the ice maker is suitable for more scenarios.

[0051] Specifically, the water injection structure 30 has a water injection cavity 31, and the first shell 101 also has a water injection port 1013 exposed toward the water injection cavity 31, and the inner diameter of the water injection port 1013 is configured to be 30±2 mm. In this embodiment, the inner diameter of the water injection port 1013 is preferably 30 mm, which can be suitable for common bottled water on the market, such as a 1.5L mineral water bottle. After the bottled water is matched and docked with the water injection port 1013, the water in the bottled water flows smoothly into the water injection structure 30.

[0052] refer to Figure 4 As shown, the utility model provides another preferred implementation of the water storage member 70 , where the water storage member 70 is positioned and matched with the housing 10 , so as to facilitate the assembly of the water storage member 70 and the housing 10 .

[0053] Specifically, the first shell 101 also has a positioning groove 1014 matched with the water storage member 70 and a water injection port 1013 connected to the water injection structure 30, and the water injection port 1013 is arranged on the bottom surface of the positioning groove 1014. Figure 4The bottom of the water storage member 70 is gap-matched with the positioning groove 1014, and the water injection port 1013 is arranged at the center of the positioning groove 1014. After the water storage member 70 is docked with the water injection port 1013, the water in the water storage member 70 flows smoothly into the water injection structure 30.

[0054] Specifically, the water storage member 70 has a mounting portion 71 matched with the positioning groove 1014 and a feeding portion 72 connected to the mounting portion 71, a water storage cavity 73 is formed in the mounting portion 71, and at least a portion of the feeding portion 72 is exposed in the water storage cavity 73. In this embodiment, by adding ingredients, such as bubble bombs, in the feeding portion 72, after the ingredients in the feeding portion 72 come into contact with the water in the water storage cavity 73, drinks with different flavors can be formed, thereby enriching the types of ice made by the ice maker.

[0055] Specifically, the ice outlet structure 40 has an ice inlet 402 opposite to the ice outlet 401 and an ice channel 403 connecting the ice inlet 402 and the ice outlet 401, and the inner diameter of the ice channel 403 gradually decreases from top to bottom. Figure 3 The ice cube channel 403 in the ice outlet structure 40 is funnel-shaped, which facilitates the ice cubes to slide down and reduces the impact force generated when the ice cubes fall, thereby reducing the noise generated when receiving ice.

[0056] It should be understood that although this specification is described according to implementation modes, not every implementation mode contains only one independent technical solution. This description of the specification is only for the sake of clarity. Those skilled in the art should regard the specification as a whole. The technical solutions in each implementation mode may also be appropriately combined to form other implementation modes that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

[0057] The series of detailed descriptions listed above are only specific descriptions of feasible implementation methods of the utility model. They are not intended to limit the protection scope of the utility model. Any equivalent implementation methods or changes that do not deviate from the technical spirit of the utility model should be included in the protection scope of the utility model.

Claims

1. An ice maker, comprising a casing and an ice making assembly and a cooling assembly connected to the casing, wherein the casing has an ice making chamber and a cooling chamber separated from each other, and the cooling assembly is located in the cooling chamber, characterized in that: The ice maker also includes a water injection structure and an ice discharging structure connected to the casing, the ice making chamber includes an ice making space for accommodating an ice making assembly, a water injection space for accommodating the water injection structure, and an ice discharging space for accommodating the ice discharging structure, the ice making chamber and the cooling chamber are arranged opposite to each other along a first direction, the water injection space, the ice making space, and the ice discharging space are arranged in a second direction, and the first direction forms a certain angle with the second direction.

2. The ice making machine according to claim 1, characterized in that The casing has a first shell forming an ice making chamber, the first shell has an ice taking port docking with the ice cube outlet of the ice discharging structure, and the ice maker also includes an ice basket connected to the first shell, and the top opening of the ice basket docks with the ice taking port.

3. The ice making machine according to claim 2, characterized in that The casing also has a second shell that forms a cooling chamber and is connected to the first shell. The ice-making chamber also has a drainage space that is at least partially located at the bottom of the ice-making space. The first shell has a drainage port connected to the drainage space. The second shell, the drainage port and the ice basket are arranged along a second direction.

4. The ice making machine according to claim 3, characterized in that: The ice maker also includes a partition connected to the first shell and a drain plug arranged in the drain port, the ice making space and the drain space are arranged on both sides of the partition relatively along the first direction, a drain hole is arranged at the lowest horizontal height of the partition, and at least a part of the drain plug extends into the drain hole.

5. The ice making machine according to claim 4, characterized in that A connecting port is also provided at the lowest horizontal position of the partition. The ice maker also includes a water storage member connected to the water injection structure, a water pump provided in the drainage space, a water inlet pipe connected to the water inlet end of the water pump, and a water outlet pipe connected to the water outlet end of the water pump. The water inlet pipe is connected to the connecting port, and the water outlet pipe is connected to the water storage member or the water injection structure.

6. The ice making machine according to claim 4, characterized in that The water injection space and the drainage space are arranged opposite to each other on two sides of the partition along a first direction, and the horizontal height of the partition gradually decreases from the water injection space toward the ice making space.

7. The ice making machine according to claim 1, characterized in that The ice-making assembly comprises an ice-making box, and the ice-making machine further comprises a water injection pipe connected to the water injection structure and a water stop valve arranged on the water injection pipe, and the water outlet of the water injection pipe is located above the ice-making box.

8. The ice making machine according to claim 5, characterized in that The water injection structure has a water injection cavity, and the first shell also has a water injection port exposed toward the water injection cavity, and the inner diameter of the water injection port is configured to be 30±2 mm.

9. The ice making machine according to claim 5, characterized in that: The first shell also has a positioning groove matched with the water storage component and a water injection port connected with the water injection structure, and the water injection port is arranged on the bottom surface of the positioning groove.

10. The ice making machine according to claim 9, characterized in that The water storage component comprises a mounting portion matching the positioning groove and a feeding portion connected to the mounting portion, a water storage cavity is formed in the mounting portion, and at least a part of the feeding portion is exposed in the water storage cavity.

11. The ice making machine according to claim 2, characterized in that: The ice outlet structure comprises an ice inlet opposite to the ice outlet and an ice channel connecting the ice inlet and the ice outlet, and the inner diameter of the ice channel gradually decreases from top to bottom.

Images