Waterway system of ice maker and ice maker

Abstract

The utility model discloses a waterway system of an ice maker and the ice maker. The waterway system comprises an upper water tank, an ice making bucket, an electromagnetic valve and a water pipe which are communicated in sequence, a water inlet is formed above the lowest water level on one side of the inner cavity of the ice-making bucket and is communicated with the bottom of the upper water tank; a water outlet is formed in the lowest position of the other side of the inner cavity of the ice-making bucket and connected with a water pipe through an electromagnetic valve, and a water outlet is formed in the tail end of the water pipe; and an ice scraping rod is arranged in the inner cavity of the ice-making bucket. The utility model provides a waterway system of an ice maker and the ice maker, which can realize internal cleaning and quick ice melting.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of ice-making technology, and more specifically to a water circuit system and an ice maker. Background Technology

[0002] An ice maker is a refrigeration machine that uses a refrigeration system to cool water through an evaporator to produce ice. It employs a refrigeration system with water as the carrier, and produces ice when powered on. However, currently available extrusion-type granule ice makers only allow water to enter through the inlet and exit through the extrusion hole at the top for internal cleaning. This results in a large accumulation of scale inside the ice maker after prolonged operation, which traditional cleaning methods cannot effectively remove. Furthermore, the traditional method of preventing ice freezing involves adding water through the inlet to melt the ice, but the water in the ice maker is static at this point, requiring a long time to melt the ice, resulting in low defrosting efficiency.

[0003] To improve cleaning and defrosting, Chinese Patent No. CN111550957A discloses an ice maker and its control method. The ice maker includes an upper water tank, an ice-making assembly, and a water pump assembly. The upper water tank is connected to an inlet pipe and a drain pipe. The ice-making assembly includes an ice-making bucket with an open top, which is connected to the upper water tank via a connecting pipe. Water entering the ice-making assembly through the connecting pipe is thawed into ice blocks and then discharged from the open end. The upper water tank wall has an overflow channel connecting to the open end of the ice-making bucket, so that when cleaning the ice maker or melting ice inside the ice maker, water in the upper water tank flows into the ice-making bucket through the overflow channel and the open end. While this prior art can improve cleaning and defrosting efficiency to some extent, its overflow channel is located at the open end of the ice-making bucket, and water flows down from above. Since there are no channels at the top and bottom, during defrosting and melting, water can only melt slowly from above the ice blocks until the ice blocks melt out of the channels to achieve a rapid melting effect, resulting in relatively low melting efficiency. Utility Model Content

[0004] In order to overcome the above-mentioned shortcomings of the prior art, the present invention provides a water circuit system and ice maker for an ice maker, which can realize internal cleaning and rapid ice melting.

[0005] The technical solution adopted by this utility model to solve its technical problem is: a water circuit system for an ice maker, including an upper water tank, an ice bucket, a solenoid valve, and a water pipe connected in sequence; an inlet is provided above the lowest water level on one side of the ice bucket cavity, and the inlet is connected to the bottom of the upper water tank; an outlet is provided at the lowest position on the other side of the ice bucket cavity, and the outlet is connected to the water pipe through the solenoid valve, and a drain outlet is provided at the end of the water pipe; an ice scraper is provided in the ice bucket cavity.

[0006] This technical solution provides a water system for an ice maker. By adding an outlet below the inlet of the ice bucket, water flows in and out from the bottom of the ice bucket. This allows for both internal cleaning of the ice bucket and rapid removal of cold energy from the ice, thus achieving rapid ice melting. It enables internal cleaning and improves defrosting efficiency.

[0007] In a preferred embodiment, the water system further includes a wastewater tank, with the drain outlet of the water pipe extending into the upper part of the inner cavity of the wastewater tank to discharge wastewater into the wastewater tank.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment, the bottom of the wastewater tank is provided with a wastewater outlet, which can be used to discharge wastewater to the outside of the ice maker.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment, an evaporator tube connected to a refrigeration device is wound around the outer wall of the ice-making bucket; a motor is located at the bottom of the ice-making bucket, and the motor is connected to the ice scraper shaft. In this technology, the ice-making bucket achieves ice making through evaporator tube refrigeration, and the motor drives the ice scraper to rotate inside the ice-making bucket, squeezing out ice cubes and the mixed water used for cleaning.

[0010] An ice maker, comprising the water system of an ice maker as described in any of the above technical solutions.

[0011] The ice maker in this technology uses the aforementioned water system. By adding an outlet below the inlet of the ice bucket, water flows in and out from the bottom of the ice bucket. This allows for both internal cleaning of the ice bucket and rapid removal of cold energy from the ice, thus achieving internal cleaning and improving defrosting efficiency.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment, the ice maker includes a housing, with the upper water tank, ice bucket, solenoid valve, and water pipe all housed within the housing. This design is simple and easy to move.

[0013] As can be seen from the above technical solution, compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of this utility model are: the water system of the ice maker provided by this utility model, by adding an outlet below the water inlet of the ice bucket, allows water to flow in and out from below the ice bucket, thereby achieving internal cleaning and improving ice melting efficiency; an ice maker using the above water system can achieve internal cleaning and rapid ice melting.

[0014] In addition, other advantages of this invention will be set forth in the description which follows, in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of this invention. Attached Figure Description

[0015] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this utility model or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only embodiments of this utility model. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on the provided drawings without creative effort.

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the water system of the ice maker of this utility model;

[0017] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the principle of the water system of this utility model in the state of clean drainage or ice melting;

[0018] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the principle of the water system of this utility model in the ice-making water intake state;

[0019] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0020] 1. Water tank; 2. Ice maker; 21. Water inlet; 22. Water outlet; 23. Evaporator; 24. Ice scraper; 25. Motor; 3. Solenoid valve; 4. Water pipe; 40. Drain; 5. Wastewater tank. Detailed Implementation

[0021] The technical solutions of the present utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present utility model, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present utility model, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the protection scope of the present utility model.

[0022] In the description of this utility model, it should be understood that the terms "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicating the orientation or positional relationship, are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings and are only for the convenience of describing this utility model and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation on this utility model. Furthermore, in the description of this utility model, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0023] Reference Figure 1-3This invention describes a water system and an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention. The water system can be used in various ice makers having an upper water tank 1 and an ice bucket 2. The ice maker can be, but is not limited to, an extrusion-type granular ice maker, a spray-type spherical ice maker, etc.

[0024] In one embodiment, such as Figure 1-3 As shown, a water system for an ice maker includes an upper water tank 1, an ice bucket 2, a solenoid valve 3, and a water pipe 4 connected in sequence.

[0025] An inlet 21 is provided above the lowest water level on one side of the inner cavity of the ice bucket 2, and the inlet 21 is connected to the bottom of the upper water tank 1.

[0026] The lowest position on the other side of the inner cavity of the ice bucket 2 is provided with a water outlet 22, which is connected to a water pipe 4 through a solenoid valve 3. The end of the water pipe 4 is provided with a drain outlet 40; the inner cavity of the ice bucket 2 is provided with an ice scraper 24.

[0027] The upper water tank 1 is used to provide ice-making water to the ice-making bucket 2; the ice-making bucket 2 is used to freeze the ice-making water into ice blocks; the water inlet 21 is used to supply ice-making water or cleaning water into the ice-making bucket 2; the water outlet 22 is located at the lowest position inside the ice-making bucket 2, which can drain all the water in the ice-making bucket 2; the ice scraper 24 can rotate in the inner cavity of the ice-making bucket 2 to squeeze out the made ice blocks and the mixed water during cleaning; the solenoid valve 3 is used to control the opening and closing time of the ice-making bucket 2 to drain water; the water pipe 4 forms a channel to restrict the water flow; and the wastewater tank 5 is used to receive the wastewater discharged from cleaning.

[0028] In specific implementation, such as Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, water enters through the upper water tank 1 via the inlet 21, and the outlet 22 is connected to the solenoid valve 3, which in turn connects to the water pipe 4. The drain outlet 40 of the water pipe 4 can lead to the outside of the ice maker or into the wastewater tank 5 for wastewater discharge. The arrows in the pipe between the upper water tank 1 and the ice bucket 2 indicate the direction of water inflow, and the arrows in the water pipe 4 indicate the direction of water outflow.

[0029] In this embodiment, the water system of the ice maker also includes a wastewater tank 5, and the drain outlet 40 of the water pipe 4 extends into the upper part of the inner cavity of the wastewater tank 5 to discharge wastewater into the wastewater tank 5.

[0030] Furthermore, the bottom of the wastewater tank 5 is equipped with a wastewater discharge port, which can be used to discharge wastewater to the outside of the ice maker.

[0031] In this embodiment, an evaporator tube 23 connected to a refrigeration device is wound around the outer wall of the ice bucket 2; a motor 25 is provided at the bottom of the ice bucket 2, and the motor 25 is connected to the ice scraper rod 24 shaft.

[0032] In practice, the ice scraper 24 rotates under the drive of the motor 25, which can squeeze out ice and mixed water; the water inlet 21 is located above the lowest water level in the inner cavity of the ice bucket 2, away from the evaporation pipe 23.

[0033] Based on the above embodiments, the working process of the water system of the ice maker is as follows:

[0034] When making ice, the solenoid valve 3 is normally closed, and the water inlet 21 is used to replenish the water level required for ice making in the ice bucket 2. When the water in the ice bucket 2 forms ice, the ice is pushed out by the ice scraper 24. At this time, the water level in the ice bucket 2 drops. Since the ice bucket 2 and the upper water tank 1 form a communicating vessel structure, the water level in the ice bucket 2 will be quickly replenished.

[0035] During internal cleaning, water enters through inlet 21, and the ice bucket 2 stores water first. When the water reaches the ice-making water level, the ice maker will stand still for a period of time. During this time, the ice scraper 24 will thoroughly mix the water with the inside of the ice bucket. By controlling the opening and closing time of the solenoid valve 3, the water will repeatedly rinse the inside of the ice bucket 2. Finally, the dirt inside the ice bucket 2 will be discharged into the wastewater tank 5 along with the water. Because the outlet 22 is located at the lowest position of the ice bucket 2, which is lower than the inlet 21, all the water inside the ice bucket 2 can be drained to achieve a thorough cleaning effect.

[0036] When the machine freezes, the torque of motor 25 is insufficient to rotate the ice cubes. At this time, all the water in the ice bucket 2 is frozen to the inner wall of the ice bucket 2. While adding new water at the inlet 21, water is discharged at the outlet 22 on the other side. The flowing water quickly removes the coldness of the ice cubes, thereby achieving a rapid thawing effect.

[0037] In another embodiment, the present invention provides an ice maker, which includes a water system as described in any of the above embodiments. Further, the ice maker includes a housing, with an upper water tank 1, an ice bucket 2, a solenoid valve 3, and a water pipe 4 all disposed within the housing.

[0038] In practice, multiple ventilation holes can be evenly opened on the back of the casing, and a cooling fan can be installed to ensure the heat dissipation of the ice maker.

[0039] The water system, other components, and operation of the ice maker according to the embodiments of this utility model are known to those skilled in the art and will not be described in detail here.

[0040] In the description of this utility model, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "joining" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this utility model based on the specific circumstances.

[0041] In the description of this specification, references to the terms "embodiment," "specific embodiment," "example," etc., refer to a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example that is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention.

[0042] In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the terms used do not necessarily refer to the same embodiments or examples. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined with each other in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples without interference or contradiction.

Claims

1. A water system for an ice maker, characterized in that: It includes an upper water tank (1), an ice bucket (2), a solenoid valve (3), and a water pipe (4) connected in sequence; The ice bucket (2) has a water inlet (21) above the lowest water level on one side of its inner cavity, and the water inlet (21) is connected to the bottom of the upper water tank (1). The ice bucket (2) has a water outlet (22) at the lowest position on the other side of the inner cavity. The water outlet (22) is connected to the water pipe (4) through the solenoid valve (3). The end of the water pipe (4) has a drain outlet (40). The ice bucket (2) has an ice scraper (24) in its inner cavity.

2. The water system of an ice maker according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a wastewater tank (5), and the drain outlet (40) of the water pipe (4) extends into the upper part of the inner cavity of the wastewater tank (5).

3. The water system of an ice maker according to claim 2, characterized in that: The bottom of the wastewater tank (5) is provided with a wastewater discharge port.

4. The water system of an ice maker according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: An evaporator tube (23) connected to a refrigeration device is wound around the outer wall of the ice bucket (2); a motor (25) is provided at the bottom of the ice bucket (2), and the motor (25) is connected to the ice scraper (24) shaft.

5. An ice maker, characterized in that: Includes the water system of an ice maker as described in any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. An ice maker according to claim 5, characterized in that: The ice maker includes a housing, and the upper water tank (1), the ice bucket (2), the solenoid valve (3) and the water pipe (4) are all located inside the housing.

Images