An ice maker capable of storing ice cubes for a long time
By designing the inner liner and ice storage basket in the ice maker, the ice and water are separated, solving the problem of ice storage difficulties in existing ice makers and achieving the effect of long-term ice storage.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- FOSHAN YANGTAI ELECTRICAL TECH CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2025-06-30
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-31
AI Technical Summary
Existing ice makers cannot effectively store ice, and it is difficult to separate ice from melted water, which leads to faster ice melting.
An ice maker was designed, comprising a housing, an inner liner, an ice storage basket, and an ice-making mold. The special structural design of the inner liner enables the separation of ice and water. The ice is stored in the ice storage basket, while the water flows into the water storage box, reducing the melting rate.
It achieves effective separation of ice and water, reduces the melting rate of ice, and enables long-term storage of ice.
Smart Images
Figure CN224580499U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This application relates to the field of ice maker technology, and more particularly to an ice maker that can store ice for a long time. Background Technology
[0002] An ice maker is a refrigeration machine that produces ice by cooling water through an evaporator with a refrigerant in a refrigeration system. It is a common and indispensable device in people's lives. In existing technology, ice-making equipment such as compressors, condensers, and evaporators are installed in the lower space of the ice maker's casing, while ice-making molds are installed in the upper space. To produce ice, water is first added to the ice-making molds. The compressor, condenser, and evaporator then turn the water inside the ice-making molds into ice blocks. Finally, the ice blocks are pushed upwards from below the ice-making molds to obtain ice.
[0003] However, existing ice makers cannot store ice cubes, so the ice cubes need to be removed from the ice mold promptly after making. Storing ice cubes in the mold prevents the separation of melted water from the ice, thus accelerating melting. While an ice storage basket can be installed inside the ice maker to transfer ice cubes from the mold, the melting water is also transferred to the basket when the ice is removed, further accelerating melting.
[0004] Therefore, how to store ice produced by ice makers and reduce the melting rate of ice so that it can be stored for a long time is a technical problem that urgently needs to be solved by those skilled in the art. Utility Model Content
[0005] This application provides an ice maker that can store ice for a long time, thereby storing the ice produced by the ice maker and reducing the melting rate of the ice, thus enabling the ice to be stored for an extended period of time.
[0006] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, this application provides the following technical solution: An ice maker capable of storing ice for extended periods includes: a housing, a lid, ice-making molds, an ice-making device, an inner liner, an inner liner reinforcing plate, and an ice storage basket. The ice-making device, inner liner, and inner liner reinforcing plate are installed inside the housing, with the ice-making device located on the left side of the lower space within the housing. The lower part of the inner liner extends to the right side of the lower space within the housing, and the upper part of the inner liner covers the entire upper space within the housing. The left side of the inner liner reinforcing plate faces the ice-making device, and the right side of the inner liner reinforcing plate faces the inner liner. The lower edge of the inner liner reinforcing plate... The edge is fixed to the bottom plate of the cabinet, and the upper edge of the inner liner reinforcement plate supports the left side of the upper part of the inner liner; the ice mold and ice storage basket are installed inside the inner liner. The ice mold is located on the left side of the upper space inside the inner liner and can rotate counterclockwise. The ice storage basket is located in the lower space inside the inner liner. There is a certain gap between the bottom of the ice storage basket and the bottom of the lower part of the inner liner, and there is a certain gap between the left side of the ice storage basket and the left side of the lower part of the inner liner; the lid is placed on the upper edge of the cabinet to close the cabinet.
[0007] In the ice maker described above that can store ice for a long time, preferably, the inner surface of the ice mold has a plurality of vertically arranged and extending from left to right separation wings near its left edge, with equal spacing between adjacent separation wings.
[0008] In the ice maker described above that can store ice for a long time, preferably, there are deceleration fins arranged vertically between adjacent separating fins and intersecting with the separating fins.
[0009] In the ice maker described above that can store ice for a long time, preferably, the bottom surface of the upper part of the inner liner has a plurality of vertically arranged support wings extending from left to right, with equal spacing between adjacent support wings.
[0010] In the ice maker described above that can store ice for a long time, it is preferable that the support wing is located on the bottom surface of the upper part of the inner liner near the right side, and the left starting point of the support wing is located to the left of the point where the ice and water fall.
[0011] In the ice maker described above that can store ice for a long time, it is preferable that there are vertically arranged blocking fins between adjacent support fins that intersect with the support fins.
[0012] In the ice maker described above that can store ice for a long time, it is preferable that the shape of the blocking fins is wavy.
[0013] The ice maker described above, which can store ice for a long time, preferably includes an inner liner comprising a left inner liner and a right inner liner; the lower right edge of the left inner liner is bent downward to form a first insertion wall, which is inserted into the upper left edge of the right inner liner; the right edge of the left inner liner is inserted into / joined with the left edge of the right inner liner.
[0014] In the ice maker described above that can store ice for a long time, preferably, the upper edge of the left inner liner extends outward and bends downward to form a left inner liner hanging groove, which is attached to the left side of the upper edge of the housing; the upper edge of the right inner liner extends outward and bends downward to form a right inner liner hanging groove, which is attached to the right side of the upper edge of the housing.
[0015] In the ice maker described above that can store ice for a long time, preferably, the inner liner reinforcing plate has a reinforcing plate insertion groove extending to the left near its upper edge, the right edge of the inner liner secondary reinforcing plate is inserted into the reinforcing plate insertion groove, and the left edge of the inner liner secondary reinforcing plate is supported to the left side of the upper part of the inner liner near its left edge.
[0016] Compared to the aforementioned background technology, when using the ice maker of this application to make ice, the ice mold rotates counterclockwise, and the ice and water generated during the ice removal process are removed from the ice mold and fall onto the bottom surface of the upper part of the inner liner, near the left side. Then, the ice falls into the ice storage basket, and the water flows into the water storage basin along with the inner liner. The water from the melting ice stored in the ice storage basket also flows into the water storage box located below the ice storage basket. Therefore, this application achieves the separation of ice and water during both the ice removal and ice storage processes. Thus, the ice maker of this application achieves the storage of ice and reduces the melting rate of ice, thereby enabling long-term storage of ice. Attached Figure Description
[0017] 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 some embodiments recorded in this utility model. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings.
[0018] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of an ice maker capable of storing ice for an extended period of time, as provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 2 This is a front view of an ice maker capable of storing ice for an extended period of time, as provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the ice storage basket, inner liner, and ice-making mold of an ice maker that can store ice for a long time, as provided in the embodiments of this application. Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the inner liner of an ice maker that can store ice for a long time, as provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation
[0019] The embodiments of this utility model are described in detail below. Examples of these embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. Furthermore, spatial relationship terms such as "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," and "right" are used for convenience in explaining the positional relationship between two components. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain this utility model, and should not be construed as limiting this utility model.
[0020] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, this application provides an ice maker that can store ice for a long time, including: a housing 10, a housing cover 20, an inner liner 30, an inner liner reinforcing plate 40, an ice storage basket 50, an ice-making mold 60, and an ice-making device 70.
[0021] The ice-making device 70 is installed inside the housing 10, specifically on the left side of the lower space within the housing 10. This allows the right side of the lower space within the housing 10 to be left empty, providing installation space for the lower part of the inner liner 30, which serves as a water storage box. The ice-making device 70 here refers to any device that can turn water in the ice mold 60 into ice cubes, such as a compressor, condenser, or evaporator.
[0022] The inner liner 30 is installed inside the cabinet 10; and its lower part extends to the right side of the lower space inside the cabinet 10, serving as a water storage box to hold water for making ice and to receive water falling from the ice storage basket 50 and water poured out from the ice-making mold 60 during de-icing; its upper part covers the entire upper space inside the cabinet 10, and is used to install the ice-making mold 60 and the ice storage basket 50.
[0023] The ice mold 60 is installed inside the inner liner 30 and is located on the left side of the upper space inside the inner liner 30, so that the ice mold 60 is directly above the ice-making device 70, which facilitates the ice-making device 70 to cool and make ice from the water in the ice mold 60. The ice mold 60 can rotate counterclockwise, so that the ice and water produced during the ice removal process are poured out to the bottom of the upper part of the inner liner 30 near the left side. This allows the ice and water to fall on the bottom of the upper part of the inner liner 30 away from the ice storage basket 50, so that the water and ice have enough time to separate on the bottom of the upper part of the inner liner 30. This allows only the ice to fall into the ice storage basket 50, while the separated water flows into the water storage box, thereby reducing the melting rate of the ice.
[0024] Optionally, the inner surface of the ice mold 60 has multiple vertically arranged separating fins 61 extending from left to right near its left edge, to support ice blocks that are about to fall from the ice mold 60 and to separate the ice blocks from the water. Here, "vertical" means perpendicular to the direction perpendicular to the inner surface of the ice mold 60 where the separating fins 61 are located. Optionally, the spacing between two adjacent separating fins 61 is equal. Further optionally, there are vertically arranged deceleration fins 62 between adjacent separating fins 61, intersecting the separating fins 61. Before the water and ice blocks fall from the ice mold 60, the deceleration fins 62 intersecting the separating fins 61 can initially decelerate the water, thus reducing the speed of the falling water.
[0025] The ice storage basket 50 is installed inside the inner liner 30, located in the lower space within the inner liner 30. There is a certain gap between the bottom of the ice storage basket 50 and the bottom of the lower part of the inner liner 30, allowing the ice storage basket 50 to be positioned directly above the water storage box. This allows water from the melting ice in the ice storage basket 20 to fall into the water storage box, slowing down the melting rate of the ice and ensuring the water storage box has a certain water capacity. Furthermore, the location of the ice storage basket 50 in the lower space within the inner liner 30 facilitates the falling of ice blocks that have detached from the ice mold 60 into the ice storage basket 50 after landing on the bottom surface of the upper part of the inner liner 30, thus storing the ice. Additionally, there is a certain gap between the left side of the ice storage basket 50 and the left side of the lower part of the inner liner 30. Figure 3 The area indicated by the middle arrow A allows water falling onto the bottom surface of the upper part of the inner liner 30 to flow smoothly into the water storage box through the gap between the inner liner 30 and the ice storage basket 50, while preventing water from flowing into the ice storage basket 50 and coming into contact with the ice cubes inside. Optionally, the bottom and / or sides of the ice storage basket 50 have drainage holes to allow water from the melting ice cubes in the ice storage basket 50 to flow into the water storage box below.
[0026] like Figure 3As shown, to ensure effective separation of water and ice, the bottom surface of the upper part of the inner liner 30 has multiple vertically arranged support wings 33 extending from left to right. These wings support the ice blocks that have been removed from the ice-making mold 60 and facilitate the separation of the removed ice blocks from the water. Here, "vertical" means the direction is perpendicular to the bottom surface of the upper part of the inner liner 30 where the support wings 33 are located. Optionally, the spacing between adjacent support wings 33 is equal. Alternatively, the support wings 33 are located on the bottom surface of the upper part of the inner liner 30 near the right side, and the left starting point of the support wings 33 is located to the left of the point where the ice and water fall, thus ensuring that the point where the ice and water fall is within the area covered by the support wings 33, allowing the ice blocks to separate from the water generated during the removal of ice. Alternatively, vertically arranged and intersecting baffle fins 34 are provided between adjacent support fins 33. After water falls into the space between two adjacent support fins 33, the baffle fins 34 intersecting the support fins 33 slow down the water, allowing the flowing water to flow along the left side of the lower part of the inner liner 30 into the water storage box at the bottom, thus preventing high-speed water from flowing into the ice storage basket 50. Again, optionally, the baffle fins 34 are wavy in shape.
[0027] Based on the above, such as Figure 4 As shown, the inner liner 30 includes a left inner liner 31 and a right inner liner 32; the lower right edge of the left inner liner 31 is bent downward to form a first insertion wall 311, which is inserted into the upper left edge of the right inner liner 32; the right edge of the left inner liner 31 is inserted into / joined with the left edge of the right inner liner 32. Optionally, the insertion point of the first insertion wall 311 of the left inner liner 31 and the upper left edge of the right inner liner 32 can also be ultrasonically welded, and the insertion / joining point of the right edge of the left inner liner 31 and the left edge of the right inner liner 32 can also be ultrasonically welded.
[0028] By dividing the inner liner 30 into a left inner liner 31 and a right inner liner 32, the left inner liner 31 and the right inner liner 32 can be processed separately. This not only reduces the size and complexity of the mold for processing the inner liner, thus lowering the cost of manufacturing the inner liner mold, but also allows the same part (right inner liner 32) of different types of inner liners to be produced using the same mold, further reducing the cost of manufacturing the inner liner mold. In addition, by placing the joint between the left inner liner 31 and the right inner liner 32 in the vertical direction, moisture inside the inner liner 30 can be prevented from seeping to the outside of the inner liner 30, thereby providing a dry working environment for the ice-making equipment 70.
[0029] The lower end of the first insertion wall 311 of the left inner liner 31 has an upwardly concave first insertion groove, and the upper left edge of the right inner liner 32 is inserted into the first insertion groove. After insertion, the inner surface of the first insertion wall 311 of the left inner liner 31 is flush with the inner surface of the corresponding upper left edge of the right inner liner 32, thereby further preventing moisture from seeping from the insertion point of the left inner liner 31 and the right inner liner 32 to the outside of the inner liner 30.
[0030] Based on the above, the upper edge of the left inner liner 31 extends outward and bends downward to form a left inner liner mounting groove 312, which is attached to the left side of the upper edge of the housing 10. The upper edge of the right inner liner 32 extends outward and bends downward to form a right inner liner mounting groove 321, which is attached to the right side of the upper edge of the housing 10. The attachment of the left and right inner liners 31 and 32 to the housing 10 makes the connection between the inner liner 30 and the housing 10 more stable, preventing the inner liner 30 from shaking inside the housing 10, thereby preventing water from sloshing in the water storage box.
[0031] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the inner liner reinforcing plate 40 is installed inside the housing 10, with its left side facing the ice-making device 70 and its right side facing the inner liner 30. Its lower edge is fixed to the bottom plate of the housing 10, and its upper edge is supported to the left side of the upper part of the inner liner 30 (i.e., the left inner liner 31), thereby providing reinforcement for the inner liner 30.
[0032] Optionally, the inner liner reinforcing plate 40 has a reinforcing plate insertion groove extending to the left near its upper edge. When installing the inner liner secondary reinforcing plate 80, the right edge of the inner liner secondary reinforcing plate 80 is inserted into the reinforcing plate insertion groove, and the left edge of the inner liner secondary reinforcing plate 80 supports the left side of the upper part of the inner liner 30 (i.e., the left inner liner 31) near its left edge. The inner liner reinforcing plate 40 and the inner liner secondary reinforcing plate 80 support and reinforce the inner liner 30, thereby ensuring that the inner liner 30 has a certain strength. Alternatively, the left inner liner 31 has a second insertion wall 313 extending downward near its left edge, and the left edge of the inner liner secondary reinforcing plate 80 bends upward and inserts into the second insertion wall 313. Optionally, the lower end of the second insertion wall 313 of the left inner liner 31 has an upwardly recessed second insertion groove, and the left edge of the inner liner secondary reinforcing plate 80 is inserted into the second insertion groove.
[0033] The lid 20 covers the upper edge of the box body 10, thereby sealing the box body 10 and enabling ice making to be carried out in a relatively enclosed environment, providing and maintaining a low temperature environment for ice making.
[0034] In addition, such as Figure 1 or Figure 2As shown, the bottom surface of the left inner liner 31 extends horizontally from left to right, then bends downward and extends vertically, then bends to the right and extends downward at an angle, then bends downward and extends vertically, and finally bends to the right and extends downward at an angle; the ice mold 60 is located above the two downwardly extending bottom surfaces; the upper surface of the downwardly extending bottom surface on the right side has a support wing 33 and a blocking wing 34.
[0035] When making ice using the ice maker of this application, the ice mold 60 rotates counterclockwise. The ice and water generated during the ice removal process are released from the ice mold 60 and fall onto the bottom surface of the upper part of the inner liner 30, near the left side. The ice then falls into the ice storage basket 50, while the water flows into the water storage basin along with the inner liner 30. Water from the melting ice stored in the ice storage basket 50 also flows into the water storage box located below the ice storage basket. Therefore, this application achieves the separation of ice and water during both the ice removal and ice storage processes. Thus, the ice maker of this application enables the storage of ice and reduces the melting rate of the ice, thereby allowing for long-term ice storage.
[0036] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that this invention is not limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above, and that it can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of this invention. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered illustrative and non-limiting in all respects, and the scope of this invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description. Thus, it is intended that all variations falling within the meaning and scope of equivalents of the claims be included within this invention. No reference numerals in the claims should be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.
[0037] Furthermore, it should be understood that although this specification describes embodiments, not every embodiment contains only one independent technical solution. This narrative style is merely for clarity. Those skilled in the art should consider the specification as a whole, and the technical solutions in each embodiment can also be appropriately combined to form other embodiments that can be understood by those skilled in the art.
Claims
1. An ice maker capable of long-term storage of ice cubes, comprising: The box body, box lid, ice-making mold and ice-making equipment are characterized in that they also include: an inner liner, an inner liner reinforcing plate and an ice storage basket; The ice maker, inner liner, and inner liner reinforcing plate are installed inside the box. The ice maker is located on the left side of the lower space inside the box. The lower part of the inner liner extends to the right side of the lower space inside the box. The upper part of the inner liner covers the entire upper space inside the box. The left side of the inner liner reinforcing plate faces the ice maker, and the right side of the inner liner reinforcing plate faces the inner liner. The lower edge of the inner liner reinforcing plate is fixed to the bottom plate of the box, and the upper edge of the inner liner reinforcing plate supports the left side of the upper part of the inner liner. The ice mold and ice storage basket are installed inside the inner liner. The ice mold is located on the left side of the upper space inside the inner liner and can rotate counterclockwise. The ice storage basket is located in the lower space inside the inner liner. There is a certain gap between the bottom of the ice storage basket and the bottom of the lower part of the inner liner, and there is a certain gap between the left side of the ice storage basket and the left side of the lower part of the inner liner. Cover the box to the top edge of the box to seal it.
2. The ice maker capable of storing ice pieces for a long time according to claim 1, wherein, The inner surface of the ice mold has multiple vertically arranged separation wings extending from left to right near its left edge, with equal spacing between adjacent separation wings.
3. The long-term ice bank ice maker according to claim 2, wherein, There are vertically arranged deceleration fins between adjacent separation fins that intersect with the separation fins.
4. The long-term ice bank ice maker according to claim 1, wherein The bottom surface of the upper part of the inner liner has multiple vertically arranged support wings that extend from left to right, with equal spacing between adjacent support wings.
5. The long-term ice bank ice maker according to claim 4, wherein The support wing is located on the bottom surface of the upper part of the inner liner, near the right side, and the left starting point of the support wing is located to the left of the point where the ice and water fall.
6. The long-term ice bank ice maker according to claim 4, wherein There are vertically arranged blocking wings between adjacent support wings that intersect with the support wings.
7. The long-term ice bank ice maker according to claim 6, wherein The shape of the blocking wing is wavy.
8. The long-term ice bank ice maker according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The inner liner includes: Left inner liner and right inner liner; the lower right edge of the left inner liner is bent downward to form a first insertion wall, which is inserted into the upper left edge of the right inner liner; the right edge of the left inner liner is inserted into / joined with the left edge of the right inner liner.
9. The long-term ice bank ice maker according to claim 8, wherein The upper edge of the left inner liner extends outward and bends downward to form a left inner liner hanging groove, which is attached to the left side of the upper edge of the box body; the upper edge of the right inner liner extends outward and bends downward to form a right inner liner hanging groove, which is attached to the right side of the upper edge of the box body.
10. The long-term ice-storage ice maker of claim 8, wherein, The inner liner reinforcing plate has a reinforcing plate insertion groove extending to the left near its upper edge. The right edge of the inner liner secondary reinforcing plate is inserted into the reinforcing plate insertion groove, and the left edge of the inner liner secondary reinforcing plate supports the left side of the upper part of the inner liner near its left edge.