Rotating Ice Bucket Gearbox Layout to Prevent Ice Loss and Contamination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ice crushing devices in refrigerators face issues such as ice cubes falling out due to shaking, contamination from iron chips, and clogging due to piled crushed ice, which affect the reliability and safety of the device.
Innovation Solution
The design includes a housing assembly with a rotating ice bucket, a gear box mounted independently on the housing, and an ice-discharging plate with a slope to prevent ice cubes from falling, along with a gear mechanism that prevents iron chips from entering the ice bucket, and an ice agitating rod to prevent ice cubes from freezing together.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the ice bucket is made rotatable to facilitate ice discharge, then the ease of operation is improved, but the reliability deteriorates due to ice cubes falling out during door opening/closing
Solution Approach 1:
The ice bucket is designed to be rotatable rather than fixed, allowing it to dynamically adjust its position. The bucket can rotate to a discharge position for easy ice removal and return to a stable position during normal operation, preventing ice cubes from falling out when the door is opened or closed.
2Productivity
If gears are used in the driving mechanism to enable rotation, then the productivity is improved, but the object-generated harmful factors worsen due to iron chips contaminating ice cubes
Solution Approach 1:
The gear driving mechanism is extracted from the ice bucket interior and relocated to the exterior housing. This separation removes the source of iron chip contamination from the ice cube environment while preserving the rotational driving function needed for ice discharge and crushing operations.
3Productivity
If the ice crushing mechanism processes large amounts of ice at once, then the productivity is improved, but the reliability deteriorates due to mechanism sticking and reduced crushing rate
Solution Approach 1:
The ice crushing mechanism is designed to process ice in controlled partial amounts rather than attempting to crush all ice at once. The rotatable ice bucket allows for staged processing where ice is gradually fed into the crushing mechanism, preventing overload and sticking while maintaining efficient overall productivity through continuous operation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enhances the safety and reliability of the ice crushing device by preventing ice cubes from falling and contamination, ensuring edible safety and improving the ice crushing rate by preventing clogging and sticking issues.
Implementation Method 1
the driver comprises a motor, a gear assembly driven by the motor
Implementation Method 2
a cylindrical gear meshes with the external teeth to drive the ice bucket to rotate
Data Source
AI summary
An ice crushing device and a refrigerator are provided, the ice crushing device includes a housing assembly having a housing and an ice bucket supported in the housing; a driver for driving the ice bucket to rotate; an ice crusher disposed in the ice bucket; the housing assembly further includes an ice-discharging plate provided at a bottom of the ice bucket, the ice-discharging plate is provided with an ice-discharging port communicated with the ice bucket, wherein the driver includes a motor, a gear assembly driven by the motor, and a gear box accommodating the gear assembly, the gear box has an input end connected with the motor and an output end, wherein the gear box is mounted on the housing, and an axis of the output end is disposed in parallel with a rotation axis of the ice bucket.