Ice maker

Abstract

The utility model relates to an ice maker, include: body, ice making spare, ice making spare is located in the body and is provided with at least one ice making bin, water storage tank is connected in the body water storage tank is used for collecting the ice making medium that ice making spare discharged, spray subassembly, the spray subassembly includes: spray pipeline, shower nozzle and booster, the shower nozzle and the booster are connected in the spray pipeline, the shower nozzle is used for spraying the ice making medium in the ice making bin, the booster is connected in the spray pipeline and is used for pumping the ice making medium in the water storage tank to the shower nozzle. The ice maker can reduce resource waste.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of ice making, specifically to an ice maker. Background Technology

[0002] A spray-type ice maker is a refrigeration machine that continuously and evenly sprays water in the form of a water curtain onto the low-temperature surface of an ice mold, causing the water to gradually freeze into ice. The design goal of an ice maker is to produce ice cubes, with the ice water primarily coming from the natural melting of the formed ice cubes. However, current spray-type ice makers often produce a large amount of residual water after the ice cubes are demolded. While some of this water is recycled in a small water tank, the excess is directly discharged, resulting in significant resource waste. Utility Model Content

[0003] Therefore, this utility model provides an ice maker. The ice maker can reduce resource waste.

[0004] This utility model provides the following technical solution: An ice maker, comprising: Organism; An ice-making component, which is located inside the machine body and is provided with at least one ice-making chamber; A water storage tank is connected to the machine body. The water storage tank is used to collect the ice-making medium discharged from the ice-making component. A spray assembly, comprising: a spray pipe, a nozzle, and a pressurizing component, wherein the nozzle and the pressurizing component are connected to the spray pipe, the nozzle is used to spray ice-making medium into the ice-making chamber, and the pressurizing component is connected to the spray pipe and is used to pump the ice-making medium in the water storage tank to the nozzle.

[0005] Furthermore, it also includes: draining components; The draining component is located below the ice-making component and between the ice-making component and the water storage tank. The draining component has multiple hollow sections, which are used to separate ice blocks from the ice-making medium.

[0006] Furthermore, it also includes: heating elements; The spray pipe or the spray head is equipped with a heating element.

[0007] Furthermore, it also includes: hot water pipes; The spray pipe is equipped with a diverter, which is located between the heating element and the spray head. One end of the hot water pipe is connected to the diverter, and the other end of the hot water pipe is used to connect to the water-using equipment.

[0008] Furthermore, it also includes: refrigeration components; The refrigeration component includes: a cold end, a hot end, and a cooling pipe; the cooling pipe is connected to the cold end and is thermally connected to the ice-making component.

[0009] Furthermore, the refrigeration component is a semiconductor refrigerator or a compressor refrigeration component.

[0010] Furthermore, it also includes: heat exchange piping; The heat exchange pipeline is thermally connected to the hot end, and the heat exchange pipeline is connected to the spray pipeline. The heat exchange pipeline is equipped with a control valve.

[0011] Furthermore, it also includes: a temperature detector; The temperature detector is installed on the heat exchange pipeline and is used to detect the temperature of the heat exchange pipeline.

[0012] Furthermore, it also includes: ice storage tanks; The water tank is located below the ice-making component, and the ice storage compartment is located below the draining component. The ice storage compartment is located inside the water tank, and the inner wall of the ice storage compartment is inclined from one end to the other to facilitate the flow of the ice-making medium into the water tank.

[0013] Furthermore, the ice-making component includes: an upper cover and a lower cover; The upper cover and the lower cover are hinged together. Both the upper cover and the lower cover are hemispherical. The lower cover has an opening for the spray assembly to spray in the ice-making medium. Or the ice-making component may include: a top cover; The top cover is rectangular and has an opening for spraying ice-making medium into the spray assembly.

[0014] The ice maker of this invention includes a body containing an ice-making component and a water tank. The ice-making component contains at least one ice-making chamber, and the water tank collects the ice-making medium discharged from the ice-making component. The spray assembly includes a spray pipe, nozzles, and a pressurizing component. The nozzles and pressurizing component are connected via the spray pipe, allowing the pressurizing component to transport the ice-making medium from the water tank to the nozzles through the spray pipes. The nozzles then pump the ice-making medium into the ice-making chamber, where it solidifies layer by layer under low temperature to form ice blocks. After demolding, the unsolidified ice-making medium separates from the ice blocks and flows into the water tank for temporary storage by gravity. The pressurizing component then pumps this portion of ice-making medium back into the ice-making chamber for re-ice making, thus reducing the waste of ice-making medium. Attached Figure Description

[0015] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this utility model, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of this utility model. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained from these drawings without creative effort.

[0016] Figure 1 This is one of the structural schematic diagrams of an ice maker provided in an embodiment of the present utility model; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the draining component provided in an embodiment of the present utility model; Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the waterway structure provided for an embodiment of this utility model; Figure 4 One of the structural schematic diagrams of the ice-making chamber and spray assembly provided in the embodiments of this utility model; Figure 5 An exploded view of an ice maker provided for an embodiment of this utility model; Figure 6 A second schematic diagram of the structure of the ice-making chamber and spray assembly provided in this embodiment of the utility model; Figure 7 This is the second structural schematic diagram of the ice maker provided in the embodiment of this utility model.

[0017] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures: 100-Ice maker; 10-Ice making component; 11-Ice storage compartment; 12-Upper cover; 13-Lower cover; 20-Water storage tank; 21-Opening; 30-Spray assembly; 31-Spray nozzle; 32-Pressure booster; 33-Spray pipe; 40-Draining component; 41-Perforated section; 50-Main body; 60-Heating component; 70-Refrigeration assembly; 80-Heat exchange pipeline; 90-Ice storage compartment; 110-Temperature sensor; 120-Diverter; 140-Hot water pipe. Detailed Implementation

[0018] The technical solutions of the present utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present utility model, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present utility model, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the protection scope of the present utility model.

[0019] The terms "first," "second," etc., in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this utility model are used to distinguish different objects, not to describe a specific order. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may optionally include steps or units not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products, or apparatuses.

[0020] In this document, references to "embodiment" or "implementation" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment or implementation may be included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. The appearance of this phrase in various places throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it a separate or alternative embodiment mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It will be explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

[0021] Therefore, this embodiment provides an ice maker. The ice maker can reduce resource waste.

[0022] Please see Figure 1 An ice maker 100, comprising: Body 50; An ice-making component 10 is located inside the body 50 and is provided with at least one ice-making chamber 11. A water storage tank 20 is connected to the body 50. The water storage tank 20 is used to collect the ice-making medium discharged from the ice-making component 10. The spray assembly 30 includes a spray pipe 33, a nozzle 31, and a pressurizing component 32. The nozzle 31 and the pressurizing component 32 are connected to the spray pipe 33. The nozzle 31 is used to spray ice-making medium into the ice-making chamber 11. The pressurizing component 32 is connected to the spray pipe 33 and is used to pump the ice-making medium in the water storage tank 20 to the nozzle 31.

[0023] The ice maker 100 of this invention includes a body 50, within which an ice-making component 10 and a water storage tank 20 are disposed. The ice-making component 10 contains at least one ice-making chamber 11. The water storage tank 20 is used to collect the ice-making medium discharged from the ice-making component 10. The spray assembly 30 includes a spray pipe 33, a nozzle 31, and a pressurizing component 32. The nozzle 31 and the pressurizing component 32 are connected through the spray pipe 33, allowing the pressurizing component 32 to transport the ice-making medium from the water storage tank 20 to the nozzle 31 via the spray pipe 33. The nozzle 31 then pumps the ice-making medium into the ice-making chamber 11, where it solidifies layer by layer under low temperature to form ice blocks. After demolding, the unsolidified ice-making medium separates from the ice blocks, and this portion of the ice-making medium flows into the water storage tank 20 for temporary storage by gravity. After the pressurization unit 32, the ice-making medium in this part is pumped into the ice-making chamber 11 to make ice again, which can reduce the waste of ice-making medium.

[0024] Understandably, the ice-making medium mentioned above can be water, aqueous solution, such as aqueous solution with various food additives, or other ice-making media.

[0025] Please see Figure 1 and Figure 2 In some embodiments, the ice maker 100 further includes a draining component 40; The draining component 40 is disposed below the ice-making component 10 and between the ice-making component 10 and the water storage tank 20. The draining component 40 is provided with a plurality of hollow parts 41, which are used to separate ice blocks from ice-making medium.

[0026] Understandably, the draining component 40 is used to separate ice cubes and ice-making medium. The draining component 40 has a perforated structure to allow the ice-making medium and ice cubes to separate. Alternatively, the draining component 40 can be a metal mesh or a plastic grid. Its perforated portion 41 allows liquid ice-making medium to pass through but blocks ice cubes from falling. After the ice-making component 10 finishes making ice, the ice cubes and the unfrozen liquid ice-making medium fall together into the draining component 40. The liquid medium flows into the water tank 20 below through the perforated portion 41, while the ice cubes are blocked by the perforated portion 41 and temporarily remain on the surface of the draining component 40. This achieves the separation of ice cubes and ice-making medium. Simultaneously, the recovered liquid medium can be directly used in subsequent ice-making cycles, reducing the operating cost of the ice maker 100.

[0027] Please see Figure 3 In some embodiments, the ice maker 100 further includes a heating element 60; the heating element 60 is provided on the spray pipe 33 or the nozzle 31.

[0028] Understandably, the heating element 60 is used to heat the liquid medium flowing through the spray pipe 33, and the heating element 60 is installed on the spray pipe 33; when the ice-making equipment stops making ice and is in sterilization mode, the hot water supply component can provide hot water to the spray mechanism, and the hot water is sprayed into the water storage tank 20 to achieve sterilization, and then it is collected in the water storage tank 20 to achieve sterilization and disinfection of the water flow in the water storage tank by the hot water.

[0029] Please see Figure 3 In some embodiments, it also includes: a hot water pipe 130; The spray pipe 33 is provided with a diverter 120, which is located between the heating element 60 and the nozzle 31. One end of the hot water pipe 130 is connected to the diverter 120, and the other end of the hot water pipe 130 is used to connect to the water-using equipment.

[0030] Understandably, this also includes: a hot water pipe 130, and a diverter 120 installed on the spray pipe 33. The diverter 120 is located between the heating element 60 and the shower head 31. One end of the hot water pipe 130 is connected to the diverter 120, and the other end is connected to the water-using equipment. This allows the heated water flow to be divided into two paths: one path supplies water to the shower head 31 for sterilization, and the other path can be delivered to the user for use, such as connecting to the hot water supply system of a kitchen sink or bathroom. The diverter 120 can be a three-way valve.

[0031] Understandably, the aforementioned water-using equipment refers to terminal devices that require hot water, such as water dispensers, dishwashers, or cleaning equipment, which can reuse hot water by connecting to the hot water pipe 130.

[0032] Please see Figure 3 and Figure 7 In some embodiments, it also includes: a cooling component 70; The refrigeration component 70 includes a cold end, a hot end, and a cooling pipe; the cooling pipe is connected to the cold end and is thermally connected to the ice-making component 10.

[0033] Understandably, the refrigeration component 70 is used to refrigerate the ice-making chamber 11. The cold end refers to the part of the refrigeration component 70 that generates low temperature. It can be the cold side of a semiconductor refrigeration chip or the evaporator of a compressor refrigeration system. The refrigeration component 70 continuously generates low temperature through the cold end. The cold pipe directly transfers the cold energy to the surface of the ice-making component 10, so that the medium in the ice-making chamber 11 is rapidly cooled and forms ice, thereby realizing ice making.

[0034] Understandably, the refrigeration assembly 70 includes an evaporator, a compressor, a condenser, and a capillary tube. The evaporator, compressor, condenser, and capillary tube are connected in series via refrigerant piping. The evaporator is located at the cold end and connected to the ice-making component 10 for cooling the ice box. The compressor and / or condenser is located at the hot end, and the heat exchange piping 80 passes through the compressor and / or condenser to dissipate heat from them. In specific applications, the heat exchange piping 80 can be wound or wrapped around the compressor and / or condenser to dissipate heat from them.

[0035] In some embodiments, the cooling component 70 is a semiconductor cooler or a compressor cooling component.

[0036] Understandably, the refrigeration component 70 can be either a semiconductor refrigerator or a compressor refrigeration component. Specifically, a semiconductor refrigerator achieves cooling or heating by controlling the direction of the current between the cold and hot ends, generating a large amount of heat during cooling. The compressor refrigeration component 70 is a mechanical compression cycle refrigeration system, comprising a combination of a compressor, condenser, expansion valve, and evaporator. It absorbs heat from the ice-making component 10 through a refrigerant phase change cycle to achieve cooling. The two refrigeration methods can be selected according to ice-making needs. For example, a semiconductor refrigerator can be used for small-scale ice-making scenarios to reduce energy consumption, while a compressor refrigeration component 70 can be used for large-scale ice-making scenarios to improve efficiency.

[0037] Please see Figure 3 In some implementations, it also includes: heat exchange piping 80; The heat exchange pipeline 80 is thermally connected to the hot end, and the heat exchange pipeline 80 is connected to the spray pipeline 33. The heat exchange pipeline 80 is equipped with a control valve.

[0038] Understandably, the heat exchange pipe 80 is connected to the spray pipe 33 and is thermally connected to the hot end. In this way, the heat generated by the heat exchange pipe 80 can heat the heat exchange pipe 80. The water flow in the heat exchange pipe 80 can cool the hot end of the refrigeration component 70. On the other hand, the ice-making medium in the heat exchange pipe 80, after being heated, can be used to disinfect the ice-making chamber 11 or delivered to the user for use. This enables the heat exchange medium to be reused multiple times, thereby reducing resource waste.

[0039] When the water storage tank 20 contains excess ice-making water and / or meltwater from melting ice during the ice-making process, this water can also be heated by the heating element 60 for sterilization. This reduces the probability of microbial growth in the water storage tank 20 due to prolonged storage. Furthermore, whether it's the high-temperature water generated during sterilization, excess ice-making water, or meltwater from melting ice, it can be sterilized by the heating element 60 and then fed into the water storage tank for ice-making, thus improving the water utilization rate of the ice maker 100. If the water storage tank 20 only contains excess ice-making water and / or meltwater from melting ice during the ice-making process, and the storage time is not too long, and because this water is at a lower temperature and microbial growth is slower, this water can still meet the ice-making water requirements. When flowing through the heating element 60, it may even be possible to directly feed the water into the nozzle for ice making without activating the heating element 60 for high-temperature sterilization.

[0040] Please see Figure 3 In some implementations, it also includes: a temperature detector; The temperature detector is installed on the heat exchange pipeline 80 and is used to detect the temperature of the heat exchange pipeline 80.

[0041] Understandably, a temperature sensor 110 is also installed on the heat exchange pipeline 80. The temperature sensor 110 is used to detect the temperature of the heat exchange medium after it has been heated at the hot end of the heated component. When the detected temperature exceeds the preset range, the flow divider 120 can automatically adjust the opening of the flow divider 120. For example, it can increase the valve opening to accelerate heat dissipation when the temperature is too high, or decrease the opening to reduce heat loss when the temperature is too low. This achieves dynamic balance in the heat exchange process, so that the heat exchange temperature of the heat exchange pipeline 80 meets the expectations.

[0042] Please see Figure 5 In some implementations, it also includes: an ice storage compartment 90; The water storage tank 20 is located below the ice-making component 10, and the ice storage chamber 90 is located below the draining component 40. The ice storage chamber 90 is located in the water storage tank 20, and the inner wall of the ice storage chamber 90 is inclined from one end to the other to facilitate the flow of ice-making medium into the water storage tank 20.

[0043] Understandably, this also includes an ice storage chamber 90, which is located below the ice-making component 10 and also below the draining component 40. After the ice is demolded, the residual ice-making medium is separated by the draining component 40 and then falls into the ice storage chamber 90 for temporary storage. The inclined inner wall of the ice storage chamber 90 allows the residual ice-making medium to flow along the wall into the water storage tank 20, thus achieving the recycling of the ice-making medium, avoiding water waste, reducing water consumption during the ice-making process, and preventing secondary freezing caused by contact between the ice and liquid.

[0044] Please see Figure 4 and Figure 6 In some embodiments, the ice-making component 10 includes: an upper cover 12 and a lower cover 13; The upper cover 12 and the lower cover 13 are hinged together. Both the upper cover 12 and the lower cover 13 are hemispherical. The lower cover 13 is provided with an opening 21, which is used to allow the spray assembly 30 to spray in the ice-making medium. Alternatively, the ice-making component 10 may include: an upper cover 12; The upper cover 12 is rectangular and has an opening 21 for spraying ice-making medium into the spray assembly 30.

[0045] Understandably, the ice-making component 10 can produce spherical ice or cube ice. When making spherical ice, the ice-making component 10 includes an upper cover 12 and a lower cover 13. The upper cover 12 and the lower cover 13 can be hinged by a metal hinge or a plastic pivot structure so that the upper cover 12 and the lower cover 13 can open and close relative to each other to complete the demolding operation. When making spherical ice, the upper cover 12 and the lower cover 13 form a complete spherical ice-making chamber 11 when they are closed. The nozzle 31 sprays ice-making medium into the chamber through the opening 21 of the lower cover 13. After the ice is formed, the lower cover 13 is flipped over by the hinge structure to achieve demolding.

[0046] Understandably, when making cube ice, the ice-making component 10 includes an upper cover 12, which is rectangular. During ice making, the nozzle 31 sprays the ice-making medium into the upper cover 12 through the opening 21, thus enabling the making of cube ice.

[0047] In this utility model, the terms "embodiment" and "implementation" mean that a specific feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of this utility model. The appearance of these phrases in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor are they independent or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive with other embodiments. Those skilled in the art will understand, explicitly and implicitly, that the embodiments described in this utility model can be combined with other embodiments. Furthermore, it should be understood that the features, structures, or characteristics described in the various embodiments of this utility model can be arbitrarily combined to form another embodiment that does not depart from the spirit and scope of the technical solution of this utility model, provided there is no contradiction between them.

[0048] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of this utility model and are not intended to limit it. Although this utility model has been described in detail with reference to the above preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications or equivalent substitutions to the technical solution of this utility model should not depart from the spirit and scope of the technical solution of this utility model.

Claims

1. An ice maker, characterized in that, include: Organism; An ice-making component, which is located inside the machine body and is provided with at least one ice-making chamber; A water storage tank is connected to the machine body. The water storage tank is used to collect the ice-making medium discharged from the ice-making component. A spray assembly, comprising: a spray pipe, a nozzle, and a pressurizing component, wherein the nozzle and the pressurizing component are connected to the spray pipe, the nozzle is used to spray ice-making medium into the ice-making chamber, and the pressurizing component is connected to the spray pipe and is used to pump the ice-making medium in the water storage tank to the nozzle.

2. The ice maker according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: Draining parts; The draining component is located below the ice-making component and between the ice-making component and the water storage tank. The draining component has multiple hollow sections, which are used to separate ice blocks from the ice-making medium.

3. The ice maker according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: Heating element; The heating element is provided on the spray pipe or the spray head.

4. The ice maker according to claim 3, characterized in that, Also includes: Hot water pipe; The spray pipe is equipped with a diverter, which is located between the heating element and the spray head. One end of the hot water pipe is connected to the diverter, and the other end of the hot water pipe is used to connect to the water-using equipment.

5. The ice maker according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, Also includes: Refrigeration components; The refrigeration assembly includes: a cold end, a hot end, and a cooling pipe; The cooling pipe is connected to the cold end, and the cooling pipe is thermally connected to the ice-making component.

6. The ice maker according to claim 5, characterized in that, The refrigeration component is a semiconductor refrigerator or a compressor refrigeration component.

7. The ice maker according to claim 5, characterized in that, Also includes: Heat exchange piping; The heat exchange pipeline is thermally connected to the hot end, and the heat exchange pipeline is connected to the spray pipeline. The heat exchange pipeline is equipped with a control valve.

8. The ice maker according to claim 7, characterized in that, Also includes: Temperature detector; The temperature detector is installed on the heat exchange pipeline and is used to detect the temperature of the heat exchange pipeline.

9. The ice maker according to claim 2, characterized in that, Also includes: Ice storage; The water tank is located below the ice-making component, and the ice storage compartment is located below the draining component. The ice storage compartment is located inside the water tank, and the inner wall of the ice storage compartment is inclined from one end to the other to facilitate the flow of the ice-making medium into the water tank.

10. The ice maker according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The ice-making component includes: an upper cover and a lower cover; The upper cover and the lower cover are hinged together. Both the upper cover and the lower cover are provided with a hemispherical ice-making groove. The lower cover is provided with an opening for the spray assembly to spray in the ice-making medium. Or the ice-making component may include: a top cover; The upper cover is provided with a rectangular ice-making trough, which has an opening for the spraying assembly to spray in the ice-making medium.

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