CN111895697A

CN111895697A - Ice maker and refrigerator

Info

Publication number: CN111895697A
Application number: CN201910370443.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 杜启海; 张延庆; 薛建军; 赵振雨; 崔船; 朱小兵
Original assignee: Qingdao Haier Co Ltd; Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co Ltd
Current assignee: Qingdao Haier Co Ltd; Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-05-06
Filing date: 2019-05-06
Publication date: 2020-11-06
Also published as: EP3967954A4; AU2019444370A1; AU2019444370A8; AU2019444370B2; EP3967954A1; WO2020224188A1

Abstract

The invention discloses an ice maker and a refrigerator, wherein the ice maker comprises an ice storage box for containing ice cubes and an ice twisting structure which is rotatably arranged on the ice storage box, the ice twisting structure comprises a bracket which is rotatably arranged on the ice storage box through a rotating shaft and an ice making box which is arranged on the bracket, the bracket can be operated to drive the ice making box to rotate relative to the ice storage box so as to open or close the ice storage box, the ice making box can be driven to rotate between an ice making position and an ice turning position relative to the bracket, and the ice making box defines a plurality of ice making grids. The ice maker and the refrigerator have the advantages that ice can be conveniently taken, and the pollution to an ice making and twisting structure is avoided.

Description

Ice maker and refrigerator

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of household appliances, in particular to an ice maker and a refrigerator.

Background

The existing manual ice maker comprises a door manual ice maker, a box rack manual ice maker and a box drawer manual ice maker. The first two ice machines are both provided with fixed installation positions, so that the ice machines are not easily polluted by the external environment; the drawer-type manual ice maker of the box body is generally freely placed in the box body, and when ice is taken out, the ice making and twisting structure at the upper part of the ice storage box needs to be taken away, so that the ice making and twisting structure needs to find a clean position to finish the ice taking; meanwhile, the probability of pollution of the twist ice making structure is greatly increased.

In addition, the existing ice shovel can only be used for shoveling ice, cannot be used as a water injection cup, and needs to be additionally provided with the water injection cup for water injection, so that the ice shovel has limited functions, the ice shovel and the water injection cup need to be arranged, and the use cost is increased.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide an ice maker and a refrigerator, which are convenient for taking ice and avoid the pollution of a twist ice making structure.

In order to achieve one of the above objects, an embodiment of the present invention provides an ice making machine, which includes an ice storage box for storing ice pieces, and an ice twisting structure rotatably disposed on the ice storage box, wherein the ice twisting structure includes a bracket rotatably disposed on the ice storage box through a rotating shaft, and an ice making box disposed on the bracket, the bracket is operable to drive the ice making box to rotate relative to the ice storage box to open or close the ice storage box, the ice making box is drivable to rotate between an ice making position and an ice turning position relative to the bracket, and the ice making box defines a plurality of ice making cells.

As a further improvement of the embodiment of the invention, the ice-twisting structure has a first state and a second state relative to the ice bank, in the first state, the bracket drives the ice-making box to rotate relative to the ice bank, and in the second state, the bracket together with the ice-making box can be taken down from the ice bank.

As a further improvement of the embodiment of the present invention, the ice bank is provided with a mating hole, the rotating shaft is mated with the mating hole, the rotating shaft has a flat square portion, the mating hole has an opening portion, the opening width of the opening portion is smaller than the diameter of the rotating shaft, and the opening width of the opening portion is larger than the width of the flat square portion.

As a further improvement of the embodiment of the invention, when the ice-making and twisting structure is completely covered on the ice bank, the flat square part corresponds to the position of the opening part, and at this time, the bracket together with the ice-making box can be removed from the ice bank.

As a further improvement of the embodiment of the invention, the rotation axis of the holder is perpendicular to the rotation axis of the ice making housing.

As a further improvement of the embodiment of the present invention, the holder is provided with a knob and a motion conversion mechanism provided between the knob and the ice-making housing, the knob is operable to urge the motion conversion mechanism to drive the ice-making housing to rotate, and the knob and the rotating shaft are provided at opposite ends of the holder.

As a further improvement of the embodiment of the invention, the ice-twisting structure further comprises an ice-making upper cover movably arranged on the bracket, and the ice-making upper cover can be operatively moved relative to the bracket to completely open the ice-making box or at least partially cover the ice-making box.

As a further improvement of the embodiment of the present invention, the ice making upper cover is slidably provided to the bracket, and the ice making upper cover is provided with an opening for water injection.

As a further improvement of the embodiment of the invention, a support part is arranged in the ice bank, when the ice bank is closed by the bracket and the ice making box, the bracket is supported on the support part, and a shock pad is arranged between the bracket and the support part.

As a further improvement of the embodiment of the present invention, the ice maker further includes an ice scoop, and the ice storage box is provided with an ice scoop positioning structure to position the ice scoop within the ice storage box.

In order to solve one of the above objects, another embodiment of the present invention further provides a refrigerator, including a box body defining a storage space, and a door body connected to the box body to open or close at least a part of the storage space, wherein the refrigerator further includes an ice maker, and the ice maker is configured as the ice maker according to any one of the above technical solutions.

Compared with the prior art, the invention has the beneficial effects that: according to the technical scheme provided by the invention, as the bracket is rotatably arranged on the ice storage box through the rotating shaft, the bracket can be operated to drive the ice making box to rotate relative to the ice storage box so as to open or close the ice storage box. When ice needs to be taken, the bracket drives the ice making box to rotate relative to the ice storage box, so that the inner cavity of the ice storage box is exposed, the ice can be taken, and the ice making and twisting structure does not need to be placed by additionally finding a place, so that the ice is not only conveniently taken, but also the pollution of the ice making and twisting structure is avoided.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an ice-making machine in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the ice-making machine of FIG. 1 with the ice-making cover and ice scoop removed;

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the ice-making machine of FIG. 1, with the ice-twisting structure rotated at an angle relative to the ice bank and the ice scoop removed;

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a twist ice making structure of the ice maker of FIG. 3;

fig. 5 is a schematic perspective view of an ice bank in the ice maker of fig. 3;

fig. 6 is another direction perspective view of the ice bank of fig. 5;

FIG. 7 is another perspective view of the ice-making machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of an ice scoop in the ice maker of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view of the ice scoop of FIG. 8 in another orientation;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the ice scoop of FIG. 8 in still another orientation;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the ice scoop of FIG. 8 in a further orientation.

Detailed Description

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments shown in the drawings. These embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention, and structural, methodological, or functional changes made by those skilled in the art according to these embodiments are included in the scope of the present invention.

In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "bottom", "inner" and "outer" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are generally referred to in a normal use state of the refrigerator, and do not indicate that the indicated positions or elements must have specific orientations.

Moreover, it will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements or structures, these described elements should not be limited by the above terms. The above terms are only used to distinguish these descriptive objects from each other. For example, the first side may be referred to as the second side, and likewise, the second side may also be referred to as the first side, without departing from the scope of protection of this application.

The refrigerator comprises a refrigerator body and a door body connected to the refrigerator body, wherein the refrigerator body defines a storage space, and the door body can be operated to open or close at least part of the storage space. The storage space can comprise a plurality of storage compartments, and the number and the structural form of the storage compartments can be configured according to different requirements. The storage compartment typically includes a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment.

The refrigerator also comprises an ice maker which is an independent ice maker and is arranged in the storage chamber, and specifically, the ice maker is placed in the drawer in the storage chamber. In the preferred embodiment, the ice maker is a manual ice maker, and of course, the ice maker may be an electric ice maker.

As shown in fig. 1 to 7, the ice maker includes an ice bank 10 for housing ice cubes, and an ice twisting structure 11 rotatably provided to the ice bank 10. The ice twisting structure 11 comprises a bracket 12 arranged on the ice storage box 10 and an ice making box 14 arranged on the bracket 12. In the preferred embodiment, the bracket 12 is rotatably disposed at the ice bank 10 by a rotation shaft 16, and the bracket 12 is operable to drive the ice-making box 14 to rotate relative to the ice bank 10 to open or close the ice bank 10. In addition, the ice-making housing 14 is drivingly rotatable relative to the housing 12 between an ice-making position and an ice-turning position, the ice-making housing 14 defining a plurality of ice-making compartments. The ice making cells can be filled with water to make ice.

In the preferred embodiment, since the bracket 12 is rotatably disposed at the ice bank 10 by the rotation shaft 16, the bracket 12 can be operated to drive the ice-making bank 14 to rotate with respect to the ice bank 10 to open or close the ice bank 10. When ice needs to be taken out, the bracket 12 drives the ice making box 14 to rotate relative to the ice storage box 10, so that the inner cavity of the ice storage box 10 is exposed, the ice can be taken out, and the twisting ice making structure 11 does not need to be placed by additionally finding a place, so that the ice is conveniently taken out, and the twisting ice making structure 11 is prevented from being polluted.

Further, the ice twisting structure 11 has a first state and a second state relative to the ice bank 10, in the first state, the bracket 12 drives the ice making box 14 to rotate relative to the ice bank 10, and in the second state, the bracket 12 and the ice making box 14 can be taken down from the ice bank 10. So set up, not only facilitate the installation of making and turning round ice structure 11, but also can be according to specific need, make and turn round ice structure 11 and take off from ice-storing box 10 entirely.

The ice bank 10 is provided with a mating hole 18, the rotation shaft 16 is mated with the mating hole 18, the rotation shaft 16 has a flat square portion, the mating hole 18 has an opening portion 20, the opening width of the opening portion 20 is smaller than the diameter of the rotation shaft 16, and the opening width of the opening portion 20 is larger than the width of the flat square portion. Thus, when the flat square part corresponds to the position of the opening 20, the ice-twisting structure 11 can be removed from the ice bank 10. Specifically, when the ice-twisting structure 11 is completely covered on the ice bank 10, the flat portion corresponds to the position of the opening 20, and the bracket 12 together with the ice-making box 14 can be removed from the ice bank 10. So set up, convenient discernment and operation, after making and turning round ice structure 11 and rotate for ice storage box 10 from the state that covers completely, make and turn round ice structure 11 and can not take off from ice storage box 10 for the structure is more reliable, the operation is more convenient.

Further, the rotation axis of the holder 12 is perpendicular to the rotation axis of the ice making housing 14. The structure of the ice maker is more compact. In the preferred embodiment, the ice maker is a manual ice maker. Specifically, the bracket 12 is provided with a knob 22 for manual operation and a motion conversion mechanism (not shown) disposed between the knob 22 and the ice-making housing 14, and the knob 22 can be operated to cause the motion conversion mechanism to drive the ice-making housing 14 to rotate, so that the ice-making housing 14 can be switched between the ice-making position and the ice-turning position. When the ice making position is in the ice making position, the opening of the ice making grid faces upwards, and water can be injected to make ice. In the ice-turning position, the opening of the ice cube tray faces downward, i.e., toward the inside of the ice bank 10, thereby dropping ice cubes into the ice bank 10. In addition, the knob 22 and the shaft 16 are disposed at opposite ends of the bracket 12.

The ice twisting structure 11 further comprises an ice making upper cover 24 movably arranged on the bracket 12, and the ice making upper cover 24 can be operated to move relative to the bracket 12 so as to completely open the ice making box 14 or at least partially cover the ice making box 14. The ice making upper cover 24 is provided with an opening 26 for filling water, of course, the ice making upper cover 24 may not be provided with an opening 26 for filling water, and when water is required to be filled, the ice making upper cover 24 is moved relative to the bracket 12 to open the ice making box 14 for filling water.

In the preferred embodiment, the ice making cover 24 is slidably provided to the stand 12. Of course, the ice making cover 24 may be rotatably coupled to the stand 12, or may be coupled to the stand 12 using a snap-fit connection or the like.

With further reference to fig. 8-11, the ice maker further comprises an ice scoop 28. Specifically, the ice scoop 28 is disposed at the ice bank 10, the ice scoop 28 has a receiving cavity 29 for receiving water, an ice scooping portion 30 is provided on at least one side portion constituting the receiving cavity 29, and the ice scooping portion 30 protrudes from the other side portions constituting the receiving cavity for scooping ice. In the preferred embodiment, ice scoop 28 can be used both to scoop ice and as a container for water injection. Thereby expanding the function of the ice shovel 28 and reducing the cost.

In addition, an ice scoop positioning structure 32 is provided on the ice bank 10 to position the ice scoop 28 within the ice bank 10. Thereby preventing the ice scoop 28 from slipping off when the twist ice making structure 11 is rotated with respect to the ice bank 10. Specifically, the ice scoop positioning structure 32 includes a stop rib 34 disposed in the ice bank 10, and the ice scoop portion 30 abuts against the stop rib 34. Further, the ice scoop 28 further includes a holding portion 36, the ice scoop positioning structure 32 further includes a recess 38 disposed on one side wall of the ice storage box 10, and the holding portion 36 is adapted to the recess 38 and is received in the recess 38. In addition, the stopper rib 34 is parallel to the side wall provided with the groove 38.

The ice bank 10 includes a bottom wall 40 facing the ice making housing 14, and first, second, third, and

fourth sidewalls

42, 44, 46, and 48 extending from the bottom wall 40 to the same side of the bottom wall 40, and the first, second, third, and

fourth sidewalls

42, 44, 46, and 48 are sequentially connected. The groove 38 is disposed on the first sidewall 42, the second sidewall 44 and the fourth sidewall 48 are both disposed with the mating hole 18, and the mating hole 18 is disposed adjacent to the third sidewall 46.

A support 58 is disposed in the ice bank 10, and when the ice bank 10 is closed by the bracket 12 and the ice-making box 14, the bracket 12 is supported by the support 58, and a shock absorbing pad (not shown) is disposed between the bracket 12 and the support 58. After the ice is taken out, when the bracket 12 drives the ice making box 14 to rotate relative to the ice storage box 10 to close the ice storage box 10, the arrangement of the shock absorption pad can greatly reduce the generated closing noise.

Specifically, the second and

fourth sidewalls

44 and 48 each have a support portion 58 extending toward the inside of the ice bank 10, and shock absorbing pads are disposed between both sides of the support 12 and the two support portions 58. The shock pad sets up on support 12, and the shock pad sets up to the silica gel shock pad. Preferably, the silicone cushion is adhered to the bracket 12.

In addition, when the ice scoop 28 is placed on the ice bank 10, the opening of the receiving cavity 29 faces the bottom wall 40. The back of the grip portion 36 is provided with a hollow 50, which not only reduces the manufacturing cost, but also facilitates removal when the ice scoop 28 is needed.

The ice scoop 28 is provided with a drainage portion 52 for facilitating water injection. The drainage portion 52 is used to control the flow of water and prevent water from splashing elsewhere. Specifically, ice scoop 28 includes a first side 54 and a second side 56 adjacent first side 54, ice scoop 30 is disposed on first side 54, and drain 52 is disposed at the intersection of first side 54 and second side 56.

It should be understood that although the present description refers to embodiments, not every embodiment contains only a single technical solution, and such description is for clarity only, and those skilled in the art should make the description as a whole, and the technical solutions in the embodiments can also be combined appropriately to form other embodiments understood by those skilled in the art.

The above-listed detailed description is only a specific description of a possible embodiment of the present invention, and they are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and equivalent embodiments or modifications made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention should be included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An ice maker is characterized by comprising an ice storage box for containing ice cubes, and an ice twisting structure rotatably arranged on the ice storage box, wherein the ice twisting structure comprises a bracket rotatably arranged on the ice storage box through a rotating shaft, and an ice making box arranged on the bracket, the bracket can be operated to drive the ice making box to rotate relative to the ice storage box so as to open or close the ice storage box, the ice making box can be driven to rotate between an ice making position and an ice turning position relative to the bracket, and the ice making box defines a plurality of ice making cells.

2. The ice maker as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ice twisting structure has a first state and a second state relative to the ice bank, the first state being that the bracket drives the ice making box to rotate relative to the ice bank, and the second state being that the bracket together with the ice making box can be removed from the ice bank.

3. The ice maker as claimed in claim 2, wherein the ice bank has a mating hole, the shaft is mated with the mating hole, the shaft has a flat square portion, the mating hole has an opening portion, the opening width of the opening portion is smaller than the diameter of the shaft, and the opening width of the opening portion is larger than the width of the flat square portion.

4. The ice maker as claimed in claim 3, wherein when the ice-twisting structure is completely covered on the ice bank, the flat square part corresponds to the opening part, and the bracket together with the ice-making box can be removed from the ice bank.

5. The ice-making machine of claim 1, wherein the rotational axis of the bracket is perpendicular to the rotational axis of the ice-making housing.

6. The ice-making machine of claim 1, wherein said housing has a knob and a motion conversion mechanism disposed between said knob and said ice-making housing, said knob being operable to cause said motion conversion mechanism to drive said ice-making housing to rotate, said knob and said shaft being disposed at opposite ends of said housing.

7. The ice-making machine of claim 1, wherein said twist ice making structure further comprises an ice-making cover movably disposed on said housing, said ice-making cover being operable to move relative to said housing to fully open said ice-making housing or at least partially close said ice-making housing.

8. The ice-making machine of claim 7, wherein said ice-making cover is slidably disposed on said bracket, said ice-making cover having an opening therein for filling with water.

9. The ice maker of claim 1, wherein a support is disposed in the ice bank, the support is supported by the support when the ice bank is closed by the support and the ice making box, and a shock absorbing pad is disposed between the support and the support.

10. The ice-making machine of claim 1, further comprising an ice scoop, wherein an ice scoop positioning structure is provided on the ice bank to position the ice scoop within the ice bank.

11. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet defining a storage space, and a door connected to the cabinet to open or close at least a part of the storage space, characterized in that the refrigerator further comprises an ice maker provided as the ice maker according to any one of claims 1 to 10.