An ice maker

Abstract

The utility model discloses an ice maker: including casing, ice making mould, apron subassembly and drive motor, ice making mould fixedly connected in the casing above ice receiving basket, be equipped with a plurality of ice making cavity that the opening sets down in ice making mould, and the outside wall of ice making cavity is connected with evaporimeter, apron subassembly cover sets up in the opening place and is rotatedly connected with ice making mould through the pivot, be connected with the water flow channel that water tank is linked together on apron subassembly, and the water flow channel has the water outlet, is used for when ice removal to give the opening outside of ice making cavity water, drive motor is transmission connection with the pivot, is used for driving pivot rotation, to make apron subassembly rotate to open or close the opening. The ice maker is applicable to preparation larger volume's ice, and ice removal speed is fast, and ice making efficiency is high.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] An ice maker is a refrigeration device that cools water through an evaporator to produce ice. The ice cubes produced are stored inside the ice maker for users to use, and it is widely used in beverage shops, cafes, and ordinary households. The structure of an ice maker typically includes a casing, a compressor connected within the casing, a condenser, an evaporator, a water tank, an ice-making tray, and a water pump that draws water from the water tank to the ice-making tray. The evaporator uses a bullet-shaped design. After ice is produced by the evaporator, it is defrosted by electric heating. The defrosted ice cubes are collected in an ice collection basket. During or after the ice-making process, the water in the ice-making tray or the water from the defrosted ice flows back to the water tank. The water in the water tank is then pumped back to the ice-making tray to make ice again, and this cycle repeats.

[0003] The ice maker using the technology to make large ice blocks employs an openable mold. Its ice-making assembly includes a mold with a built-in evaporator, a cover assembly with a water injection system, and a drive motor. The mold has multiple downward-facing ice-making cavities. The evaporator is located inside the mold and fits against the outer wall of the ice-making cavity. The cover assembly is rotatably connected to one side of the mold via a shaft and can close or open the bottom opening of the ice-making cavity. The cover assembly has spray nozzles corresponding to the ice-making cavities, which are connected to a water tank. When the cover assembly closes the bottom opening of the mold, the spray nozzles spray water into the ice-making cavity. The evaporator absorbs heat, turning the water in the ice-making cavity into ice. After ice making is complete, the cover assembly opens, and the evaporator heats the ice-making cavity, causing the ice blocks to fall out.

[0004] The ice maker for making large ice blocks in this related technology has some drawbacks in use: during ice making, the cover plate assembly covers the opening of the ice-making cavity, and when the ice is removed after ice making, the ice melts slowly because the opening of the ice-making cavity is far from the evaporator, resulting in a slow removal speed and thus low ice making efficiency. Utility Model Content

[0005] The technical problem to be solved by this application is to overcome the defects of the above-mentioned related technologies and provide an ice maker that is suitable for preparing large volumes of ice, has a fast de-icing speed, and high ice-making efficiency.

[0006] The technical solution of this application is to provide an ice maker having the following structure: including... The shell contains a water tank and an ice-receiving basket. An ice-making mold is fixedly connected to a housing above an ice-receiving basket. The ice-making mold has multiple ice-making cavities with downward-facing openings, and an evaporator is connected to the outer wall of each ice-making cavity. A cover plate assembly is provided on the opening and rotatably connected to the ice-making mold via a pivot; the cover plate assembly is provided with a water injection pipe connected to the water tank, and the water injection pipe has multiple water injection ports that penetrate the top of the cover plate assembly and correspond to the opening position of the ice-making cavity; the cover plate assembly is connected to a water flow channel connected to the water tank, and the water flow channel has a water outlet for supplying water to the outside of the opening of the ice-making cavity during de-icing; A drive motor is connected inside the housing and is driven by the rotating shaft to drive the rotating shaft to rotate, thereby causing the cover assembly to rotate to open or close the opening.

[0007] In some embodiments, the cover assembly includes a hollow box and a cover body connected to the top of the box. The top of the cover body has an upper surface that seals against the opening of the ice-making cavity, and the water outlet is located on one side of the cover body and extends above the upper surface.

[0008] In some embodiments, a guide plate is connected to one side of the cover body along the length direction, and the guide plate and the cover body form the water flow channel. The guide plate is provided with a plurality of water outlets along the length direction.

[0009] In some embodiments, the rotating shaft is fixedly connected to one side of the box body, the cover plate body is rotatably connected to the rotating shaft, and an elastic element is connected between the cover plate body and the box body to provide an elastic gap between the cover plate body and the box body. When the cover plate assembly closes the opening, the elastic force applied by the elastic element to the cover plate body causes the cover plate body to press the opening tightly.

[0010] In some embodiments, two fixed posts are connected along the length of the box body, and elastic elements are respectively installed on the two fixed posts. The upper ends of the two elastic elements abut against the bottom of the cover plate body.

[0011] In some embodiments, the bottom of the ice-making mold is connected to a rotating shaft seat, the rotating shaft is rotatably connected to the rotating shaft seat, and a rotating seat is connected to one side of the cover plate body, the rotating seat being rotatably connected to the rotating shaft.

[0012] In some embodiments, the cover plate body is provided with a drainage hole communicating with the inside of the box, and the box is connected to a water pump communicating with the inside of the box and the water tank.

[0013] In some embodiments, at least one side of the cover body has a water-leaking gap with the inner wall of the box body.

[0014] In some embodiments, the cover plate body is provided with a plurality of through holes that communicate with the interior of the box and correspond to the opening position of the ice-making cavity. The water injection pipe is connected to the box body and is provided with a plurality of water injection heads that are correspondingly inserted into the through holes. The upper end of each water injection head is provided with the water injection port. There is a water flow gap between each water injection head and the inner wall of the through hole.

[0015] In some embodiments, the drainage holes are in two sets, with the two sets of drainage holes located outside the opening of the ice-making cavity when the cover assembly closes the opening.

[0016] In some embodiments, the ice-making mold is connected to a first limit switch and a second limit switch. The first limit switch and the second limit switch are electrically connected to the control circuit of the drive motor. When the cover plate assembly closes the opening, the cover plate assembly abuts against the first limit switch, and when the cover plate assembly fully opens the opening, the cover plate assembly abuts against the second limit switch.

[0017] In some embodiments, an ice guide bracket is connected to one side of the ice-making mold, the ice guide bracket extends downward to the bottom of the cover plate assembly, and the side of the ice guide bracket near the cover plate assembly is configured as a concave arc-shaped surface.

[0018] In summary, the ice maker of this application has the following advantages compared with related technologies: During ice making, the drive motor drives the cover plate assembly to rotate and close the opening of the ice-making cavity. Under the action of the water pump, the water inlet of the water inlet pipe sprays water into the ice-making cavity. The evaporator on the outside of the ice-making cavity absorbs heat, causing the water in the ice-making cavity to gradually cool into ice. When ice making ends and the de-icing stage begins, while the evaporator heats the ice-making cavity to de-ic, the water outlet of the water flow channel supplies water to the outside of the opening of the ice-making cavity, thereby enabling the ice at the opening of the ice-making cavity to quickly separate from the ice-making cavity. Therefore, under the dual action of evaporator heating and water flow from the water outlet of the water flow channel, the ice maker enables larger volumes of ice in the ice-making cavity to quickly detach, thereby improving ice-making efficiency. Therefore, this ice maker is suitable for preparing larger volumes of ice, and has a fast de-icing speed and high ice-making efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1 This is a structural schematic diagram of an ice maker according to some embodiments of this application.

[0020] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the door panel of an ice maker in an open state according to some embodiments of this application.

[0021] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional structural schematic diagram of an ice maker according to some embodiments of this application.

[0022] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of an ice maker according to some embodiments of this application.

[0023] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the ice-making component of an ice maker according to some embodiments of this application.

[0024] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the ice-making component of an ice maker according to some embodiments of this application from another angle.

[0025] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the ice-making component of an ice maker in the open state according to some embodiments of this application.

[0026] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the ice-making cavity of an ice maker according to some embodiments of this application.

[0027] Figure 9 This is a partial cross-sectional structural diagram of an ice maker in ice-making mode according to some embodiments of this application.

[0028] Figure 10 This is a structural schematic diagram of a cover plate assembly for an ice maker according to some embodiments of this application.

[0029] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the assembly structure of a cover plate assembly for an ice maker according to some embodiments of this application.

[0030] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of the ice-making component of an ice maker according to some other embodiments of this application.

[0031] Figure 13 This is a cross-sectional structural schematic diagram of the ice-making component of an ice maker according to some other embodiments of this application.

[0032] Figure 14 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the ice-making component of an ice maker according to some other embodiments of this application.

[0033] Figure 15 This is a schematic diagram of the assembly structure of the ice-making component of an ice maker according to some other embodiments of this application.

[0034] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures: 1. Shell, 100. Door panel, 101. Water tank, 102. Ice basket, 103. Control panel, 104. Compressor, 105. Condenser, 106. First water pump, 2. Ice mold, 200. Ice cavity, 201. Opening, 202. Shaft seat, 3. Cover assembly, 300. Box body, 301. Cover body, 302. Shaft, 303. Leakage gap, 304. Upper surface, 305. Through hole, 30 6. Water flow channel; 307. Water outlet; 308. Leakage hole; 309. Guide plate; 310. Support base; 311. Water pump; 312. Rotating seat; 313. Elastic element; 314. Fixed column; 4. Water injection pipe; 400. Water injection port; 401. Water injection head; 5. Evaporator; 6. Drive motor; 600. Coupling; 7. Ice guide bracket; 700. Arc-shaped surface; 8. First limit switch; 800. Second limit switch. Detailed Implementation

[0035] First, those skilled in the art should understand that these embodiments are merely used to explain the technical principles of the embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the embodiments of this application. Those skilled in the art can make adjustments as needed to adapt to specific application scenarios.

[0036] In the description of the embodiments of this application, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "connected" and "linked" 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. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in the embodiments of this application based on the specific circumstances.

[0037] In the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, "above" or "below" the second feature can mean that the first feature is in direct contact with the second feature, or that the first feature is in indirect contact with the second feature through an intermediate medium. Furthermore, "above," "on top of," and "over" the second feature can mean that the first feature is directly above or diagonally above the second feature, or simply that the first feature is at a higher horizontal level than the second feature. "Below," "below," and "under" the second feature can mean that the first feature is directly below or diagonally below the second feature, or simply that the first feature is at a lower horizontal level than the second feature.

[0038] The present application will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0039] See Figures 1 to 11As shown in the figure, this application discloses an ice maker, specifically an ice maker for making large cube ice. Its structure includes a housing 1, an ice-making component, a water pump, an ice-receiving basket 102, a water tank 101, and a control module connected to the housing 1. The control module includes a control circuit board and an operation panel 103, and the control module is a prior art control module in the ice maker. The water tank 101 is installed at the bottom inside the housing 1, and the ice-receiving basket 102 is located above the water tank 101. The ice cubes prepared by the ice-making component fall into the ice-receiving basket 102, and the water in the ice-receiving basket 102 can flow through the water tank 101 below for storage.

[0040] See Figure 2 As shown, in order to facilitate users to take ice, an insertion port for inserting or removing the ice basket 102 is provided on the front side of the housing 1. A door panel 100 is installed at the insertion port. Opening the door panel 100 can pull the ice basket 102 outward for users to take ice.

[0041] It is understood that the ice maker's housing 1 has an equipment mounting cavity, where the ice-making components, including the compressor 104, condenser 105, dryer filter, capillary tube, and solenoid control valve, are all installed. In this embodiment, see... Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the ice-making assembly also includes an ice-making mold 2, a cover plate assembly 3, and a drive motor 6. The ice-making mold 2 is fixedly connected to the upper part of the housing 1 by fasteners. The ice-making mold 2 has multiple ice-making cavities 200 with downward-facing openings 201 inside, and an evaporator 5 connected to the condenser 105 inside the ice-making mold 2. The evaporator 5 is connected to the outer wall of the ice-making cavity 200. When the ice-making assembly makes ice, the control module controls the compressor 104, condenser 105, etc. to deliver the cold medium into the evaporator 5 for evaporation. At the same time as evaporation, the water in the ice-making cavity 200 is frozen into ice. When ice making is finished, the control module controls the delivery of a high-temperature medium into the evaporator 5, so that the ice blocks frozen on the evaporator 5 melt and detach when heated. In this embodiment, the cover plate assembly 3 covers the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200, and the cover plate assembly 3 is rotatably connected to the ice-making mold 2 via the rotating shaft 302. The cover plate assembly 3 rotates relative to the ice-making mold 2, which can open or close the opening 201 at the bottom of the ice-making cavity 200. The cover plate assembly 3 is provided with a water injection pipe 4 connected to the water tank 101, and the water injection pipe 4 is provided with a plurality of water injection ports 400 that penetrate the top of the cover plate assembly 3 and correspond to the position of the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200. The drive motor 6 is connected to the housing 1, and the drive motor 6 is drivenly connected to the rotating shaft 302 to drive the rotating shaft 302 to rotate, so that the cover plate assembly 3 rotates to open or close the opening 201.

[0042] For example, see Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 6 , Figure 7 and Figure 8 As shown, the ice-making mold 2 has an outer shell and a mold body connected inside the outer shell. The mold body has three ice-making cavities 200 with downward-facing openings 201, and the three ice-making cavities 200 are arranged sequentially along the length of the ice-making mold 2. An evaporator 5 is wound around the outer peripheral wall of the ice-making cavity 200, and the heat of the evaporator 5 can be transferred to the ice-making cavity 200. The cover assembly 3 includes a hollow box 300 and a cover body 301 connected to the top of the box 300. The top of the cover body 301 has a connection with the ice-making cavity 201. The upper surface 304 of the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200 is sealed and fitted. Specifically, a recess is provided at the top of the cover body 301, and the bottom wall of the recess forms an upper surface 304 that is sealed and fitted with the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200. A water injection pipe 4 is provided in the cover assembly 3 along the length direction. The inlet of the water injection pipe 4 is connected to the water tank 101 through a pipe, and a first water pump 106 is provided on the pipe connecting the water injection pipe 4 and the water tank 101. The water injection port 400 of the water injection pipe 4 is positioned corresponding to the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200.

[0043] During ice making, the drive motor 6 drives the cover plate assembly 3 to rotate, thereby causing the cover plate body 301 of the cover plate assembly 3 to close the bottom opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200 from bottom to top, and the upper surface 304 of the cover plate body 301 to seal and fit against the opening 201. At this time, the water inlets 400 on the water inlet pipe 4 are respectively opposite to the openings 201 of the ice-making cavity 200. The first water pump 106 delivers water from the water tank 101 to the water inlet pipe 4 and sprays it into each ice-making cavity 200 through the water inlet 400 on the water inlet pipe 4. The evaporator 5, which is wrapped around the outside of the ice-making cavity 200, causes the water inside the ice-making cavity 200 to gradually freeze into ice. After ice making is completed, the control module controls the supply of a high-temperature medium to the evaporator 5, thereby raising the temperature inside the ice-making cavity 200. The ice that has frozen on the inner wall of the ice-making cavity 200 melts and detaches when heated. When the drive motor 6 drives the cover plate assembly 3 to rotate and open the opening 201 at the bottom of the ice-making cavity 200, the ice inside the ice-making cavity 200 detaches from the ice-making cavity 200 under its own gravity.

[0044] Understandably, during the ice removal process after ice making, the control module controls the compressor 104, condenser 105, etc. to deliver a high-temperature gas medium into the evaporator 5, causing the temperature of the evaporator 5 to rise. This causes the ice solidified on the inner wall of the ice-making cavity 200 to melt and be removed by the heat. However, since the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200 is far from the evaporator 5, the melting speed of the ice is relatively slow, resulting in a slow removal speed and low ice-making efficiency. Therefore, in this embodiment, a water flow channel 306 connected to the water tank 101 is provided on the cover plate assembly 3. The inlet of the water flow channel 306 is connected to the water in the water tank 101 through a pipe and a second water pump (not shown in the figure). The water flow channel 306 has an outlet 307 for supplying water to the outside of the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200 during de-icing. During the ice-making process or when de-icing begins, the upper surface 304 of the cover plate body 301 of the cover plate assembly 3 is sealed to the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200. The second water pump draws water from the water tank 101 into the water flow channel 306 and flows through the outlet 307 to the outside of the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200. That is, the water flowing out through the outlet 307 flows around the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200, so that the ice solidified at the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200 can melt quickly, shorten the de-icing time, and improve the ice-making efficiency.

[0045] In this embodiment, after the ice maker finishes making ice and enters the de-icing stage, while the evaporator 5 heats the ice-making cavity 200 to de-ice, the outlet 307 of the water flow channel 306 supplies water to the outside of the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200, so that the ice at the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200 can quickly separate from the ice-making cavity 200. Therefore, under the dual action of heating by the evaporator 5 and water flow from the outlet 307 of the water flow channel 306, the ice in the ice-making cavity 200 can be quickly removed, thereby improving the ice-making efficiency.

[0046] Further in this embodiment, see Figure 10 and Figure 11 As shown, a water flow channel 306 is provided on the side of the cover plate body 301 near the rotating shaft 302. The water flow channel 306 includes a pipe joint provided on the cover plate body 301 and a guide plate 309 connected to the cover plate body 301 and extending along the length direction of the cover plate body 301. The guide plate 309 and the cover plate body 301 form a water flow channel 306. The pipe joint is connected to the inlet of the water flow channel 306. The guide plate 309 is provided with multiple water outlets 307 along the length direction. The second water pump draws water from the water tank 101 into the water flow channel 306 and then flows out through the water outlets 307. When the water flows out, it flows along the circumference of the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200.

[0047] In order to enable the water flowing out of the outlet 307 to flow quickly through the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200, the height of the outlet 307 is set to be higher than the upper surface 304 of the cover plate body 301.

[0048] In this embodiment, the water flow channel 306 is located on one side of the cover plate body 301, and the outlet 307 of the water flow channel 306 is configured such that when the upper surface 304 of the cover plate body 301 seals the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200, the outlet 307 faces the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200. When the ice-making process ends and the de-icing stage begins, the water flowing out of the outlet 307 is precisely aligned with the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200. After encountering the obstruction at the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200, the water flows circumferentially along the opening 201, thereby melting the ice around the opening 201.

[0049] Further in this embodiment, see Figure 3 and Figure 7 As shown, the cover body 301 is provided with a drainage hole 308 that communicates with the inside of the box 300. At least one side of the cover body 301 has a drainage gap 303 with the inner wall of the box 300. In this embodiment, the box 300 below the cover body 301 serves to collect water. Water flowing out from the outlet 307 of the water flow channel 306 can flow back into the box 300 for temporary storage through the drainage hole 308 or the drainage gap 303. A water pump 311 is connected to the box 300 and communicates with the inside of the box 300 and the water tank 101. The water pump 311 can promptly pump water from the box 300 into the water tank 101, preventing water from flowing directly downwards into the ice basket 102 and melting the ice in the ice basket 102.

[0050] In some preferred embodiments, the drain holes 308 on the cover body 301 are configured in two sets. When the cover assembly 3 closes the opening 201, the two sets of drain holes 308 are located on the outside of the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200. With this configuration, when the water flowing out of the outlet 307 of the water flow channel 306 encounters the outer wall of the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200, it can quickly flow into the box 300, accelerate the heat exchange speed, and facilitate the rapid melting of the ice solidified at the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200.

[0051] In some embodiments, see Figure 9 and Figure 10As shown, the cover plate body 301 has multiple through holes 305 that communicate with the interior of the box body 300 and correspond to the positions of the openings 201 of the ice-making cavity 200. A water injection pipe 4 is connected inside the box body 300, and the water injection pipe 4 has multiple water injection heads 401 that are correspondingly inserted into the through holes 305. Each water injection head 401 has a water inlet 400 at its upper end. There is a water flow gap between each water injection head 401 and the inner wall of the through hole 305. During ice making, water is sprayed into the ice-making cavity 200 through the water inlet 400. Unfrozen water can flow back into the box body 300 through the water flow gap between the water injection head 401 and the inner wall of the through hole 305.

[0052] In this embodiment, see Figure 5 As shown, a rotating shaft 302 is connected to one side of the cover assembly 3 along its length. Specifically, multiple support seats 310 are provided on one side of the cover assembly 3, each support seat 310 having a polygonal hole. The rotating shaft 302 is a polygonal rod, and it is inserted into the polygonal hole of the support seat 310 on one side of the cover assembly 3, thereby limiting the rotating shaft 302 circumferentially relative to the cover assembly 3. A rotating shaft seat 202 is connected to the bottom of the ice-making mold 2, and the rotating shaft 302 is rotatably connected to the rotating shaft seat 202. The drive shaft of the drive motor 6 is connected to the rotating shaft 302 through a coupling 600. When the drive motor 6 drives the rotating shaft 302 to rotate, it can drive the cover assembly 3 to rotate synchronously.

[0053] Understandably, during the ice-making process, the upper surface 304 of the cover body 301 of the cover assembly 3 needs to be sealed and fitted tightly with the opening 201 to ensure the integrity of the ice surface inside the ice-making cavity 200. The drive motor 6 of the ice maker rotates the drive shaft 302, thereby causing the cover assembly 3 to rotate to close the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200. When closing the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200, the upper surface 304 of the cover body 301 of the cover assembly 3 will inevitably... To ensure the opening 201 is tightly closed, the stopping time of the drive motor 6 must be controlled. If the stopping time is too early, the opening 201 will not close properly; if the stopping time is too late, the cover body 301 will be crushed and damaged, potentially even damaging the drive motor 6. Even if the stopping time of the drive motor 6 is well controlled, repeated compression between the cover body 301 and the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200 can still damage the drive shaft of the drive motor 6, resulting in the opening 201 not closing properly. Therefore, in some embodiments, see... Figure 12 , Figure 13 , Figure 14 and Figure 15As shown, the rotating shaft 302 is fixedly connected to one side of the box body 300, and one side of the cover plate body 301 is rotatably connected to the rotating shaft 302, so that the cover plate body 301 can rotate relative to the box body 300. When the drive motor 6 drives the rotating shaft 302 to rotate and the box body 300 to rotate, the cover plate body 301 rotates synchronously. An elastic element 313 is connected between the cover plate body 301 and the box body 300. The elastic element 313 makes the cover plate body 301 have a rotational elastic gap relative to the box body 300. Therefore, when the cover plate assembly 3 closes the opening 201, the elastic force applied by the elastic element 313 to the cover plate body 301 makes the cover plate body 301 press the opening 201 tightly.

[0054] Because the cover body 301 has a rotational elastic gap relative to the box body 300, when the drive motor 6 drives the cover body 301 to rotate so that its upper surface 304 presses against the end face of the opening 201, the squeezing force between the cover body 301 and the end face of the opening 201 causes the cover body 301 to rotate around the rotating shaft 302 to compress the elastic element 313. This not only makes the cover body 301 fit more tightly with the end face of the opening 201, ensuring the integrity of the ice block in the ice-making cavity 200, but also avoids the torque being transmitted to the rotating shaft of the drive motor 6, preventing damage to the drive motor 6.

[0055] For example, see Figure 12 , Figure 13 , Figure 14 and Figure 15 As shown, two support seats 310 are connected to one side of the box body 300. Each support seat 310 has two coaxial polygonal holes. A polygonal rotating shaft 302 is inserted into the polygonal holes of the two support seats 310 on one side of the cover assembly 3, thereby limiting the rotating shaft 302 circumferentially relative to the box body 300. A plurality of rotating seats 312 distributed along the length direction are connected to one side of the cover body 301. Each rotating seat 312 has a rotating hole, which rotatably engages with the rotating shaft 302, allowing the cover body 301 to rotate around the rotating shaft 302 relative to the box body. Further, two fixing posts 314 are provided along the length direction on the inner wall of the box body 300. Elastic members 313 are respectively installed on the two fixing posts 314, with the upper ends of the two elastic members 313 abutting against the bottom of the cover body 301 to support the cover body 301. In this embodiment, the elastic member 313 is a cylindrical helical spring.

[0056] In some embodiments, to avoid excessive rotation of the cover plate assembly 3 by the drive motor 6, see [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 6As shown, a first limit switch 8 and a second limit switch 800 are connected to the ice-making mold 2. The first limit switch 8 and the second limit switch 800 are electrically connected to the control circuit of the drive motor 6. In this embodiment, both the first limit switch 8 and the second limit switch 800 are proximity switches. When the drive motor 6 drives the cover plate assembly 3 to rotate and close the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200, the cover plate assembly 3 abuts against the first limit switch 8, thereby triggering the first limit switch 8 and stopping the drive motor 6 to avoid damage from pressure between the cover plate assembly 3 and the end face of the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200. When the drive motor 6 drives the cover plate assembly 3 to rotate and fully open the opening 201 of the ice-making cavity 200, the cover plate assembly 3 abuts against the second limit switch 800, thereby triggering the second limit switch 800 and stopping the drive motor 6. The design of the first limit switch 8 and the second limit switch 800 improves the safety of ice making and protects the drive motor 6, the ice-making mold 2, and the cover plate assembly 3 from damage.

[0057] It is understandable that during the ice-making and de-icing process, the ice blocks inside the ice-making cavity 200 fall into the ice-receiving basket 102 under the influence of gravity. Since there is a certain height difference between the ice-making cavity 200 and the ice-receiving basket 102, the ice blocks may break upon impact during their fall. Therefore, in this embodiment, see... Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, an ice guide bracket 7 is connected to one side of the ice mold 2. The ice guide bracket 7 is located on the side of the ice mold 2 opposite to the rotating shaft 302. The ice guide bracket 7 extends downward to the bottom of the cover plate assembly 3, and the side of the ice guide bracket 7 near the cover plate assembly 3 is set as a concave arc-shaped surface 700. Ice blocks falling from the ice-making cavity 200 first contact the ice guide bracket 7 and then fall into the ice receiving box. The ice guide bracket 7 acts as a buffer for the falling ice blocks, preventing the ice blocks from being damaged by impact.

[0058] In some embodiments, the upper end of the ice guide bracket 7 is rotatably connected to the ice-making mold 2 via pins. Specifically, the upper end of the ice guide bracket 7 has two coaxial and protruding pins on both sides, which are rotatably connected to pin holes on the ice-making mold 2. The height of the ice blocks in the ice-receiving basket 102 can be adjusted by changing the rotation angle of the ice guide bracket 7, thus avoiding the defect of excessive ice block accumulation on one side of the ice-receiving basket 102.

[0059] In the description of the embodiments of this application, it should be noted that the terms "inner" and "outer" and other terms indicating direction or positional relationship are based on the direction or positional relationship shown in the drawings. This is only for the convenience of description and does not indicate or imply that the device or component must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, it should not be construed as a limitation of this application.

[0060] In the description of this application, the references to terms such as "an embodiment," "some embodiments," "in this embodiment," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., refer to specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in connection with that embodiment or example, which are included in at least one embodiment or example of this application. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in a suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples. Moreover, without contradiction, those skilled in the art can combine and integrate the different embodiments or examples described in this specification, as well as the features of different embodiments or examples.

[0061] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. An ice maker, characterized in that: include The shell contains a water tank and an ice-receiving basket. An ice-making mold is fixedly connected to a housing above an ice-receiving basket. The ice-making mold has multiple ice-making cavities with downward-facing openings, and an evaporator is connected to the outer wall of each ice-making cavity. A cover plate assembly is provided on the opening and rotatably connected to the ice-making mold via a pivot; the cover plate assembly is provided with a water injection pipe connected to the water tank, and the water injection pipe has multiple water injection ports that penetrate the top of the cover plate assembly and correspond to the opening position of the ice-making cavity; the cover plate assembly is connected to a water flow channel connected to the water tank, and the water flow channel has a water outlet for supplying water to the outside of the opening of the ice-making cavity during de-icing; A drive motor is connected inside the housing and is driven by the rotating shaft to drive the rotating shaft to rotate, thereby causing the cover assembly to rotate to open or close the opening.

2. The ice maker according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cover assembly includes a hollow box and a cover body connected to the top of the box. The top of the cover body has an upper surface that seals and fits in place with the opening of the ice-making cavity. The water outlet is located on one side of the cover body and extends above the upper surface.

3. The ice maker according to claim 2, characterized in that: A guide plate is connected to one side of the cover plate body along the length direction, and a water flow channel is formed between the guide plate and the cover plate body. The guide plate is provided with a plurality of water outlets along the length direction.

4. The ice maker according to claim 2, characterized in that: The rotating shaft is fixedly connected to one side of the box body, the cover plate body is rotatably connected to the rotating shaft, and an elastic element is connected between the cover plate body and the box body to make the cover plate body have an elastic gap relative to the box body. When the cover plate assembly closes the opening, the elastic force applied by the elastic element to the cover plate body makes the cover plate body press the opening tightly.

5. The ice maker according to claim 4, characterized in that: The box body has two fixed posts connected along its length. The elastic element is installed on each of the two fixed posts, and the upper ends of the two elastic elements abut against the bottom of the cover plate body.

6. The ice maker according to claim 4, characterized in that: The bottom of the ice-making mold is connected to a rotating shaft seat, the rotating shaft is rotatably connected to the rotating shaft seat, and a rotating seat is connected to one side of the cover plate body, the rotating seat is rotatably connected to the rotating shaft.

7. The ice maker according to claim 2, characterized in that: The cover plate body is provided with a drainage hole that communicates with the inside of the box, and the box is connected to a water pump that communicates with the inside of the box and the water tank.

8. The ice maker according to claim 2, characterized in that: The cover plate body is provided with a plurality of through holes that are connected to the inside of the box and correspond to the opening position of the ice-making cavity. The water injection pipe is connected to the box body and is provided with a plurality of water injection heads that are inserted into the through holes. Each water injection head is provided with a water injection port at its upper end. There is a water flow gap between each water injection head and the inner wall of the through hole.

9. The ice maker according to claim 1, characterized in that: The ice-making mold is connected to a first limit switch and a second limit switch. The first limit switch and the second limit switch are electrically connected to the control circuit of the drive motor. When the cover plate assembly closes the opening, the cover plate assembly abuts against the first limit switch, and when the cover plate assembly fully opens the opening, the cover plate assembly abuts against the second limit switch.

10. The ice maker according to claim 1, characterized in that: An ice guide bracket is connected to one side of the ice-making mold. The ice guide bracket extends downward to the bottom of the cover plate assembly, and the side of the ice guide bracket near the cover plate assembly is set as a concave arc surface.

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