Ice maker

Abstract

The application relates to the field of ice making technology and discloses an ice maker. The ice maker comprises an inner container assembly, an ice making assembly and a buffer assembly. The inner container assembly is provided with an ice falling area; the ice making assembly is arranged on the inner container assembly and is arranged above the ice falling area in a spaced-apart manner; and the buffer assembly is arranged on the ice falling area and is located below the ice making assembly, and the buffer assembly is used for buffering the kinetic energy of ice blocks falling from the ice making assembly. By arranging the buffer assembly on the ice falling area, the impact of the ice blocks can be effectively buffered, noise can be reduced, user experience can be improved, and the ice blocks can be effectively protected, so that the integrity of the ice blocks is enhanced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of ice-making technology, and in particular to an ice maker. Background Technology

[0002] An ice maker is a device that converts liquid water into solid ice through heat exchange. Its key components include an evaporator and a water tank. The water tank holds the liquid water, and the evaporator, located within the tank, turns the liquid water into solid ice. Below the evaporator is the ice-falling area. During the ice-falling process, the instantaneous impact of the ice cubes against the ice-falling area generates significant noise, affecting the user experience. Furthermore, the instantaneous impact can easily cause the ice cubes to break, affecting usability. Utility Model Content

[0003] This application provides an ice maker that, by setting a buffer component on the ice drop area, can effectively buffer the impact of ice blocks, reduce noise and improve user experience, and effectively protect the ice blocks and enhance their integrity.

[0004] This application provides an ice maker including an inner tank assembly, an ice-making assembly, and a buffer assembly. The inner tank assembly has an ice-falling area; the ice-making assembly is disposed in the inner tank assembly and is positioned above the ice-falling area; the buffer assembly is disposed in the ice-falling area and is located below the ice-making assembly, and the buffer assembly is used to buffer the kinetic energy of the ice blocks falling from the ice-making assembly.

[0005] In some embodiments, the ice-making assembly includes a driving component, a water container, and an evaporator. The driving component is disposed in the inner liner assembly and connected to the water container. The driving component is used to drive the water container to rotate. The water container has an ice-making chamber. The evaporator is fixedly disposed in the inner liner assembly and located in the ice-making chamber.

[0006] In some embodiments, the inner liner assembly includes a first housing and a second housing, the first housing being nested inside the second housing, the first housing defining the boundary of the ice-falling area; the first housing is provided with a first through hole, the buffer assembly includes a buffer plug, the buffer plug including a head and a limiting part connected to each other, the buffer plug passing through the first through hole from the side of the first housing near the second housing, the limiting part abutting against the first housing, and the head protruding out of the ice-falling area.

[0007] In some embodiments, the diameter of the head is slightly larger than the diameter of the first through hole, and the head is interference-fitted with the first through hole; and / or, a sealing rib is provided on the surface of the limiting part near the first housing, and the sealing rib abuts against the limiting part and the first housing respectively to seal the first through hole.

[0008] In some embodiments, the evaporator includes a plurality of cooling heads, the number of buffer plugs corresponding to the number of cooling heads, and one buffer plug is disposed below one cooling head.

[0009] In some embodiments, the buffer assembly further includes a sound insulation member disposed on the side of the first housing near the second housing, and the sound insulation member and the first housing together clamp the buffer plug.

[0010] In some embodiments, the sound insulation member is provided with a first receiving groove, and the limiting portion of the buffer plug is housed in the first receiving groove, so that the sound insulation member is in close contact with the first housing; and / or, the side of the first housing facing the second housing is provided with a second receiving groove, and the limiting portion of the buffer plug is housed in the second receiving groove, so that the sound insulation member is in close contact with the first housing.

[0011] In some embodiments, the sound insulation component is provided with a first fixing structure, and the first housing is provided with a second fixing structure. The first fixing structure is connected to the second fixing structure so that the sound insulation component is fixed to the first housing.

[0012] In some embodiments, the first housing is provided with a separation grid for separating ice and water in the ice-falling area; the ice-making assembly also includes an ice scraper, one end of which is connected to a water container to rotate with the water container, and the other end of which is provided with a notch to avoid the head of the buffer plug.

[0013] In some embodiments, the first housing and the second housing are spaced apart to have a cavity groove filled with a foam layer.

[0014] The beneficial effects of this application's embodiments are as follows: The ice maker of this application includes an inner liner assembly, an ice-making assembly, and a buffer assembly. The inner liner assembly has an ice-falling area; the ice-making assembly is rotatably disposed within the inner liner assembly and is positioned above the ice-falling area; the buffer assembly is disposed in the ice-falling area and located below the ice-making assembly, and is used to buffer the kinetic energy of the ice blocks falling from the ice-making assembly. By providing a buffer assembly on the ice-falling area, the impact of the ice blocks can be effectively buffered, noise can be reduced, user experience can be improved, and the ice blocks can be effectively protected and their integrity enhanced. Attached Figure Description

[0015] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the specific embodiments of this application, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the specific embodiments will be briefly introduced below. In all the drawings, similar elements or parts are generally identified by similar reference numerals. In the drawings, the elements or parts are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an ice maker according to an embodiment of this application;

[0017] Figure 2 The ice maker in this embodiment of the application is along Figure 1 Sectional view of AA;

[0018] Figure 3 yes Figure 2A magnified view of part B in the middle;

[0019] Figure 4 The ice maker in this embodiment of the application is along Figure 1 Exploded view of the section AA after cross-section;

[0020] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the buffer plug in the ice maker according to an embodiment of this application;

[0021] Figure 6 The ice maker in this embodiment of the application is along Figure 1 Sectional view of CC;

[0022] Figure 7 yes Figure 6 A magnified view of part D in the middle. Detailed Implementation

[0023] To facilitate understanding of this application, a more detailed description is provided below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be noted that when an element is described as "fixed to" another element, it can be directly on the other element, or one or more intermediate elements may exist between them. When an element is described as "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element, or one or more intermediate elements may exist between them. The terms "upper," "lower," "inner," "outer," "vertical," "horizontal," etc., used in this specification indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing this application 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 of this application. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," etc., are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0024] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used in this specification have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. The terminology used in this specification is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of the application. The term "and / or" as used in this specification includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0025] Furthermore, the technical features involved in the different embodiments of this application described below can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0026] An ice maker is a device that converts liquid water into solid ice through heat exchange. Its key components include an evaporator and a water tank. The water tank holds the liquid water, and the evaporator, located within the tank, turns the liquid water into solid ice. Below the evaporator is the ice-falling area. During the ice-falling process, the instantaneous impact of the ice cubes against the ice-falling area generates significant noise, affecting the user experience. Furthermore, the instantaneous impact can easily cause the ice cubes to break, affecting usability.

[0027] Based on the above problems, this application provides an ice maker 100, which can effectively buffer the impact of ice blocks by setting a buffer component 30 on the ice drop area 111, reduce noise and improve user experience, and effectively protect the ice blocks and enhance their integrity.

[0028] Please see Figures 1 to 4 The ice maker 100 of this application embodiment includes an inner tank assembly 10, an ice-making assembly 20, and a buffer assembly 30. The inner tank assembly 10 has an ice-falling area 111. The ice-making assembly 20 is disposed in the inner tank assembly 10 and is positioned above the ice-falling area 111 to facilitate ice-making and smooth ice falling. The buffer assembly 30 is disposed in the ice-falling area 111 and located below the ice-making assembly 20. The buffer assembly 30 is used to buffer the kinetic energy of the ice blocks falling from the ice-making assembly 20, preventing solid ice blocks from directly impacting the ice-falling area 111 of the inner tank assembly 10 and generating loud noise, and can also effectively ensure the integrity of the solid ice blocks.

[0029] In some embodiments, please refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4 The ice-making assembly 20 includes a drive component 21, a water container 22, and an evaporator 23. The drive component 21 is disposed in the inner liner assembly 10 and connected to the water container 22. The drive component 21 drives the water container 22 to rotate relative to the inner liner assembly 10. The water container 22 has an ice-making chamber 221 for holding liquid water to be made into ice. The evaporator 23 is fixedly disposed in the inner liner assembly 10 and located within the ice-making chamber 221.

[0030] As an example, the drive component 21 can be a drive motor, and the water container 22 is semi-cylindrical. The drive motor can drive the water container 22 to rotate about its central axis. The semi-cylindrical water container 22 defines a semi-cylindrical ice-making chamber 221, and the evaporator 23 is located inside the ice-making chamber 221. The evaporator 23 is connected to a compressor via a pipe. The compressor is electrically connected to an electronic control component, which controls the operation of the compressor, thereby enabling the evaporator 23 to cool the liquid water in the water container 22 to form solid ice.

[0031] When the electronic control unit controls the compressor to operate, causing the evaporator 23 to complete ice making, the drive component 21 drives the water container 22 to rotate relative to the inner liner assembly 10 to pour out the liquid water that has not yet formed solid ice. At this time, the solid ice is still fixed on the evaporator 23. The electronic control unit controls the compressor to perform the de-icing operation on the evaporator 23. As an example, the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant vapor discharged from the compressor is directly introduced into the evaporator (bypass evaporator), and the heat of the refrigerant is used to melt the ice, allowing the solid ice to fall off the evaporator 23 and fall into the ice-falling area 111. During the falling process, the solid ice first comes into contact with the buffer component 30. The buffer component 30 can absorb most of the kinetic energy of the ice, reducing the kinetic energy and speed of the solid ice, so that the solid ice falls into the ice-falling area 111 of the inner liner assembly 10 with less kinetic energy and speed, effectively reducing the generated noise and ensuring the shape of the solid ice. After the ice falls, the drive component 21 drives the water container 22 to reset and rotate for the next round of ice making.

[0032] In some embodiments, please refer to Figures 3 to 5 The inner liner assembly 10 includes a first housing 11 and a second housing 12. The first housing 11 is nested inside the second housing 12, defining the boundary of the ice-falling area 111. The first housing 11 has a first through hole 112. The buffer assembly 30 includes a buffer plug 31, which includes a head 311 and a limiting part 312 connected to each other. The buffer plug 31 passes through the first through hole 112 from the side of the first housing 11 near the second housing 12. The limiting part 312 abuts against the first housing 11 to restrict further movement of the buffer plug 31. The head 311 of the buffer plug 31 protrudes from the ice-falling area 111. With the above structure, on the one hand, its assembly structure is simple, which facilitates the quick and easy fixed connection between the buffer plug 31 and the first housing 11; on the other hand, the head 311 of the buffer plug 31 protrudes from the ice-falling area 111, which can effectively buffer solid ice blocks and achieve the purpose of buffering.

[0033] In some embodiments, the buffer plug 31 is made of food-grade safe silicone. On the one hand, it has good elasticity and toughness, which can extend the service life of the buffer plug 31. On the other hand, it meets the safety requirements of food grade, avoids contamination of solid ice, and ensures food safety.

[0034] In some embodiments, the diameter of the head 311 of the buffer plug 31 is slightly larger than the diameter of the first through hole 112, and the head 311 is press-fitted with the first through hole 112. This design allows the head 311 of the buffer plug 31 to completely fill the first through hole 112, thereby sealing the first through hole 112 and preventing water on the ice-falling area 111 from entering the interior of the inner liner assembly 10 through the first through hole 112. For some embodiments, please refer to... Figure 1The limiting part 312 is provided with a sealing rib 313 near the surface of the first housing 11, and the sealing element is arranged around and spaced around the head 311. When the buffer plug 31 is assembled with the first housing 11, the sealing rib 313 abuts against the limiting part 312 and the first housing 11 respectively to further seal the first through hole 112.

[0035] It is understandable that the sealing rib 313 can be a sealing ring independent of the limiting part 312, or it can be a food-grade safe silicone integrally molded with the limiting part 312. Furthermore, the buffer plug 31 can be formed by assembling two independent heads 311 and the limiting part 312, or it can be integrally molded from food-grade safe silicone.

[0036] In some embodiments, please refer to Figure 3 and Figure 7 The evaporator 23 includes multiple cooling heads 231, and the number of buffer plugs 31 corresponds to the number of cooling heads 231, with each buffer plug 31 positioned below a cooling head 231. During refrigeration, the evaporator 23 primarily generates low temperatures at the cooling heads 231, causing the liquid water near the cooling heads 231 to solidify into ice, thus forming a solid ice block on each cooling head 231. When the compressor, controlled by the electronic control unit, de-ices the evaporator 23, the solid ice blocks on each cooling head 231 fall directly. Therefore, a buffer plug 31 is positioned below each cooling head 231 to directly and accurately buffer the falling solid ice blocks, preventing them from directly impacting the ice-falling area 111 and causing impact noise.

[0037] Under the premise of effectively buffering the movement of solid ice blocks to reduce noise, the above structural design can reduce the volume of the buffer plug 31 to reduce production costs. On the other hand, by setting the buffer plug 31 only in a local area of ​​the ice-falling zone 111, the first shell 11 can remain a rigid structure in the rest of the ice-falling zone 111, without hindering the ice-shoveling movement of the ice-shoveling blade 24 described below.

[0038] In some embodiments, please refer to Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 7The buffer assembly 30 also includes a sound-insulating member 32, which is disposed on the side of the first housing 11 near the second housing 12. The sound-insulating member 32 and the first housing 11 together clamp the buffer plug 31. By providing the sound-insulating member 32 on the back side of the ice-falling area 111, the buffer plug 31 can be further fixed to the first housing 11, maintaining the stability of its connection. On the other hand, the sound-insulating member 32 can further absorb the vibration of the ice-falling area 111, thereby further reducing the noise during icefall. In some embodiments, the sound-insulating member 32 can be sound-insulating silicone, sound-insulating cotton, etc. In other embodiments, the sound-insulating member 32 can be a rigid high-density flat plate with a certain thickness, such as an aluminum plate, steel plate, copper plate, etc.

[0039] In some embodiments, please refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4 The sound insulation component 32 is provided with a first receiving groove 321, and the limiting part 312 of the buffer plug 31 is housed in the first receiving groove 321, so that the sound insulation component 32 can be fitted and connected to the first housing 11. The sound insulation component 32 and the first housing 11 in a fitted state can reduce the vibration transmission of the first housing 11 when ice falls, and change the sound quality of the collision between the first housing 11 and the ice, avoiding the sharp and piercing crisp sound quality produced by the collision with the hard material of the first housing 11, and can further reduce the noise of the ice hitting the ice falling area 111.

[0040] In other embodiments, the first housing 11 may have a second receiving groove on the side facing the second housing 12, and the limiting portion 312 of the buffer plug 31 may be housed in the second receiving groove, so that the sound insulation member 32 is in close contact with the first housing 11. It is understood that only one of the first receiving groove 321 and the second receiving groove may be provided, or both may be provided, as long as the sound insulation member 32 can be directly and closely connected with the first housing 11 as much as possible.

[0041] In some embodiments, please refer to Figure 7 The sound insulation component 32 is provided with a first fixing structure 322, and the first housing 11 is provided with a second fixing structure 113. The first fixing structure 322 and the second fixing structure 113 are connected to fix the sound insulation component 32 to the first housing 11, and at the same time, the buffer plug 31 can be clamped and fixed between the sound insulation component 32 and the first housing 11. As an example, the sound insulation component 32 is provided with a threaded post, and the first housing 11 is provided with a threaded groove. The threaded post and the threaded groove are directly screwed together or fixed by bolts. As another example, the sound insulation component 32 is provided with a first hook, and the first housing 11 is provided with a second hook. The first hook and the second hook are engaged and connected. In some embodiments, the sound insulation component 32 and the first housing 11 are detachably connected to facilitate the replacement of the buffer assembly 30 later.

[0042] In some embodiments, please refer to Figure 3The first housing 11 is provided with a separation grid 114, which is used to separate solid ice and liquid water in the ice-falling area 111. The ice-making assembly 20 also includes an ice scraper 24, one end of which is connected to the water container 22, and the other end of which is a free end, allowing the ice scraper 24 to move with the water container 22.

[0043] As an example, when the electronic control component controls the compressor to operate, causing the evaporator 23 to complete ice making, the drive component 21 drives the water container 22 and the ice scraper 24 to rotate relative to the inner liner assembly 10 to pour out the liquid water that has not yet formed solid ice. At this time, the solid ice is still fixed on the evaporator 23. The electronic control component controls the compressor to perform the de-icing operation on the evaporator 23. As an example, the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant vapor discharged from the compressor is directly introduced into the evaporator (bypass evaporator), and the refrigerant heat is used to melt the ice, allowing the solid ice to fall off the evaporator 23 and fall into the ice-falling area 111 under the buffering effect of the buffer assembly 30. The drive component 21 drives the water container 22 and the ice scraper 24 to rotate back to their original positions. During the rotation, the ice scraper 24 pushes the solid ice on the ice-falling area 111 to the separation grid 114, and the solid ice is scooped up and flipped over the separation grid 114, thus causing the solid ice to fall into the ice basket below the first housing 11.

[0044] In some embodiments, please refer to Figure 3 The other end of the ice scraper 24 has a notch 241, which is used to avoid the head 311 of the buffer plug 31, so that the other end of the ice scraper 24 is as close as possible to or abuts the surface of the first housing 11. During the ice scraping process, compared with the movement of solid ice on the soft buffer component 30, it is simpler and smoother for the ice scraper 24 to drive the solid ice on the hard surface of the first housing 11. Therefore, in this embodiment, only the protruding buffer plug 31 is provided below the cooling head 231, and the remaining area retains the smooth surface of the first housing 11 to facilitate ice scraping.

[0045] In some embodiments, please refer to Figure 3 The first shell 11 and the second shell 12 are spaced apart to have a cavity groove 13, which is filled with a foam layer. The foam layer is a porous, low-density material that can absorb sound and further reduce the ice-falling noise in the ice-falling area 111.

[0046] The ice maker 100 of this application embodiment includes an inner tank assembly 10, an ice-making assembly 20, and a buffer assembly 30. The inner tank assembly 10 has an ice-falling area 111; the ice-making assembly 20 is rotatably disposed on the inner tank assembly 10 and is disposed above the ice-falling area 111 with a gap; the buffer assembly 30 is disposed on the ice-falling area 111 and located below the ice-making assembly 20, and the buffer assembly 30 is used to buffer the kinetic energy of the ice blocks falling from the ice-making assembly 20. By providing the buffer assembly 30 on the ice-falling area 111, the impact of the ice blocks can be effectively buffered, noise can be reduced and the user experience can be improved, and the ice blocks can be effectively protected and their integrity enhanced.

[0047] The above description is merely an embodiment of this application and does not limit the patent scope of this application. Any equivalent structural or procedural transformations made using the content of this application's specification and drawings, or direct or indirect applications in other related technical fields, are similarly included within the patent protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. An ice maker characterized by, include: The inner liner assembly is equipped with an ice-fall zone; An ice-making component is disposed on the inner liner component, and the ice-making component is disposed above the ice-falling area in a distance; A buffer component is disposed in the ice-falling area and located below the ice-making component. The buffer component is used to buffer the kinetic energy of the ice blocks falling from the ice-making component.

2. The ice maker according to claim 1, characterized in that, The ice-making assembly includes a driving component, a water container, and an evaporator. The driving component is disposed in the inner liner assembly and connected to the water container. The driving component is used to drive the water container to rotate. The water container has an ice-making chamber. The evaporator is fixedly disposed in the inner liner assembly and located in the ice-making chamber.

3. The ice maker according to claim 2, characterized in that, The inner liner assembly includes a first shell and a second shell, the first shell being nested inside the second shell, and the first shell defining the boundary of the ice-falling area; The first housing has a first through hole, and the buffer assembly includes a buffer plug. The buffer plug includes a head and a limiting part connected to each other. The buffer plug passes through the first through hole from the side of the first housing near the second housing. The limiting part abuts against the first housing, and the head protrudes from the ice-falling area.

4. The ice maker according to claim 3, characterized in that, The diameter of the head is slightly larger than the diameter of the first through hole, and the head is interference-fitted with the first through hole; And / or, The limiting part is provided with a sealing rib on the surface near the first housing. The sealing rib abuts against the limiting part and the first housing respectively to seal the first through hole.

5. The ice maker according to claim 4, characterized in that, The evaporator includes multiple cooling heads, the number of buffer plugs corresponds to the number of cooling heads, and one buffer plug is disposed below one of the cooling heads.

6. The ice maker according to claim 5, characterized in that, The buffer assembly further includes a sound-insulating component, which is disposed on the side of the first housing near the second housing, and the sound-insulating component and the first housing together clamp the buffer plug.

7. The ice maker according to claim 6, characterized in that, The sound insulation component is provided with a first receiving groove, and the limiting portion of the buffer plug is housed within the first receiving groove, so that the sound insulation component is fitted and connected to the first housing; and / or, The first housing has a second receiving groove on the side facing the second housing, and the limiting part of the buffer plug is housed in the second receiving groove, so that the sound insulation component is in close contact with the first housing.

8. The ice maker according to claim 6, characterized in that, The sound insulation component is provided with a first fixing structure, and the first housing is provided with a second fixing structure. The first fixing structure is connected to the second fixing structure so that the sound insulation component is fixed to the first housing.

9. The ice maker according to claim 3, characterized in that, The first housing is provided with a separation grid for separating ice and water in the ice-falling area; the ice-making assembly also includes an ice scraper, one end of which is connected to the water container to rotate with the water container, and the other end of which is provided with a notch to avoid the head of the buffer plug.

10. The ice maker according to claim 3, characterized in that, The first housing and the second housing are spaced apart to have a cavity groove, the cavity groove being filled with a foam layer.

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