CN113091384B

CN113091384B - Ice storage box assembly of ice maker and refrigerator

Info

Publication number: CN113091384B
Application number: CN202010012959.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 崔船; 张延庆; 薛建军; 赵振雨
Original assignee: Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd
Current assignee: Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-01-07
Filing date: 2020-01-07
Publication date: 2022-10-28
Anticipated expiration: 2040-01-07
Also published as: CN113091384A

Abstract

The invention provides an ice making assembly and a refrigerator, wherein the ice making assembly is arranged on the inner side of a door body of the refrigerator, and comprises: the bracket is combined on the inner side of the door body; the ice bank is detachably connected with the bracket along the vertical direction; the driving device is arranged between the door body and the support and comprises a disc structure, and the disc structure penetrates through the support and extends towards the ice storage box; the ice crushing device is arranged in the ice storage box and comprises a U-shaped plate structure, and the U-shaped plate structure is opposite to the disc structure; when the ice storage box is assembled on the bracket, the open end of the U-shaped plate structure is lower than or flush with the edge of the disc structure.

Description

Ice storage box assembly of ice maker and refrigerator

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of refrigerators, in particular to an ice storage box assembly of an ice maker and a refrigerator.

Background

With the improvement of living standard of people, refrigerators have gone into thousands of households. The traditional refrigerator has freezing and cold storage functions, and some refrigerators are provided with an ice making system according to the requirements of users, but the ice making system is usually arranged in a refrigerator body, and the ice making system occupies too much effective volume of a freezing chamber, so that the freezing space is small, and frozen foods are few. Currently, an ice making system with an ice maker is fixed on a freezing door body, and the storage space of a freezing chamber is increased.

The ice bank in an ice-making system is typically removably coupled to a stand of the ice-making system. The ice blocks in the ice storage box in the ice making system drive an ice skate blade in the ice storage box to rotate through a driving mechanism, so that the function of ice distribution is realized. A connecting mechanism is arranged between the ice storage box and the driving mechanism and limited by the matching mode of the connecting mechanism, and the ice storage box and the bracket are usually dismounted by horizontally moving the ice storage box. However, since the ice bank and the bracket are generally provided with a limit structure in a horizontal direction, the ice bank is prevented from falling down when working. Therefore, the ice storage box is horizontally moved to be detached from the support, a complex rebounding mechanism needs to be arranged at the handle, the rebounding mechanism is squeezed by hands when the ice storage box is detached, the horizontal limit between the ice storage box and the support is removed, and the ice storage box is horizontally moved to be detached.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to enable an ice storage box in an ice making assembly to be disassembled and assembled along the vertical direction and a bracket on the door side, and solves the problem that a disc structure of a driving device and a U-shaped plate of the ice storage box interfere with each other when the ice storage box is disassembled and assembled along the vertical direction.

The invention provides an ice making assembly, which is arranged on the inner side of a door body of a refrigerator, and comprises: the bracket is combined on the inner side of the door body; the ice bank is detachably connected with the bracket along the vertical direction; the driving device is arranged between the door body and the support and comprises a disc structure, and the disc structure penetrates through the support and extends towards the ice storage box; the ice crushing device is arranged in the ice storage box and comprises a U-shaped plate structure, and the U-shaped plate structure is opposite to the disc structure; when the ice storage box is assembled on the bracket, the open end of the U-shaped plate structure is lower than or flush with the edge of the disc structure.

As an alternative solution, the disc structure comprises a housing, wherein the open end enters the housing.

As an optional technical solution, the disc structure includes a bottom plate, a side wall, and an extension arm, the bottom plate and the extension arm are respectively connected to two opposite ends of the side wall, and the bottom plate and the extension arm respectively extend toward two opposite sides of the side wall, wherein the open end is lower than or flush with a free end of the extension arm.

Alternatively, the space between the side wall and the bottom plate constitutes the accommodating portion.

As an alternative solution, the side wall is inclined towards the outer side of the bottom plate to guide the U-shaped plate to separate from the disc structure.

As an optional technical solution, the driving device includes a first rotating shaft, and the disc structure is disposed at one end of the first rotating shaft facing the ice bank.

As an optional technical solution, an elastic member is further disposed in the driving device, and the elastic member is sleeved on the first rotating shaft, wherein the elastic member elastically pushes against the disc structure.

As an optional technical scheme, the ice crushing device further comprises a second rotating shaft, and the bottom of the U-shaped plate structure is fixed to one end, facing the support, of the second rotating shaft.

As an optional technical solution, a first engaging member and a second engaging member are disposed on the support, and a third engaging member and a fourth engaging member are disposed on the ice bank, wherein when the ice bank is assembled to the support along a vertical direction, the third engaging member is vertically inserted into the first engaging member, and the fourth engaging member engages with the second engaging member.

The invention also provides a refrigerator comprising the ice making assembly.

Compared with the prior art, in the ice making assembly provided by the invention, the ice storage box can be vertically disassembled and assembled relative to the support, and meanwhile, the disc structure of the driving device protruding out of the support does not interfere with the U-shaped disc of the ice crushing device at the lower part of the ice storage box, so that the ice making assembly has the advantages of simple structure and convenience in disassembly and assembly.

The invention is described in detail below with reference to the drawings and specific examples, but the invention is not limited thereto.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is an exploded schematic view of an ice making assembly and a door body according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view of an ice bank in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view of the stent of fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a schematic view of the driving apparatus of fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a schematic view of the ice bank assembled with the cradle.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the ice bank assembled with the cradle.

Fig. 7 is another cross-sectional view illustrating the ice bank and the cradle assembled.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, the present invention is described in further detail below with reference to embodiments and accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention.

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of an ice making assembly and a door of the present invention; fig. 2 is a schematic view of an ice bank of fig. 1; FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the stent of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the drive apparatus of FIG. 1; fig. 5 is a schematic view of the ice bank assembled with the stand; fig. 6 is a schematic sectional view of an ice bank assembled with a stand; fig. 7 is another cross-sectional view illustrating the ice bank and the cradle assembled.

The vertical direction is defined as the standing direction of the refrigerator, and the horizontal direction is perpendicular to the vertical direction.

As shown in fig. 1, the ice making assembly is mounted inside a door 40 of refrigerator 100, and a door liner 50 is further disposed between the ice making assembly and door 40.

As shown in fig. 1 to 7, the ice making assembly includes an ice bank 10, a support 20, a driving device 30, and an ice crushing device 70, wherein the ice bank 10 is assembled on the support 20 in a vertical direction, the driving device 30 is located between an inner side of the door body 40 and the support 20, and the ice crushing device 70 is disposed in the ice bank 10.

In the present embodiment, the driving device 30 is, for example, a driving motor. The driving motor drives the ice blade in the ice crushing device 70 to rotate the crushed ice.

The driving device 30 includes a first rotating shaft 31, a disc structure 32 and an elastic member 33, the disc structure 32 is disposed at an end of the first rotating shaft 31, the first rotating shaft 31 penetrates through a lower portion of the driving device 30, the elastic member 33 is sleeved outside the first rotating shaft 31, the elastic member 33 is located between the lower portion of the driving device 30 and the disc structure 32, and the elastic member pushes against the disc structure 32.

In addition, the disk structure 32 of the driving device 30 passes through the hollow 213 of the body 21 of the stand 20, extends toward the ice bank 10, and cooperates with the U-shaped plate structure 71 of the ice crushing device 70 of the ice bank 10 to drive the U-shaped plate structure 71 to rotate, so that the ice blade of the ice crushing device 70 rotates to cut and dispense the ice cubes in the ice bank 10. When the driving device 30 drives the first rotating shaft 31 to rotate the disc structure 32, the U-shaped plate structure 71 is received in the receiving portion 322 of the disc structure 32.

As shown in fig. 4, the disc structure 32 includes a bottom plate 321, a sidewall 323 and an extension arm 324, wherein two ends of the sidewall 323 are respectively connected to the edge of the bottom plate 321 and the fixed end of the extension arm 324, and a space between the sidewall 323 and the bottom plate 321 forms an accommodating portion 322. The extension arm 324 is parallel to the base plate 321, and a free end of the extension arm 324 extends away from the accommodating portion 322. In other words, the base plate 321 and the extension arm 324 disposed at opposite ends of the sidewall 323 respectively extend toward opposite sides of the sidewall 323.

The number of the side walls 323 and the extension arms 32 is 2, and the side walls and the extension arms are symmetrically disposed on the edge of the bottom plate 321. The sidewall 323 covers a portion of the edge of the bottom 321. The base plate 321 is, for example, of circular configuration.

Preferably, the sidewall 323 is inclined relative to the bottom plate 321, and the included angle between the sidewall 323 and the bottom plate 321 is an obtuse angle, so that the accommodating portion 322 is a relatively expensive recess, which facilitates the U-shaped plate structure to be removed from the accommodating portion 322.

In addition, in the description, the disc structure needs to be disassembled into the bottom plate 321, the side wall 323 and the extension arm 324, and in the actual manufacturing process, the bottom plate 321, the side wall 323 and the extension arm 324 are integrally formed to form the disc structure.

As shown in fig. 2, the bottom of the U-shaped plate structure 72 is connected to an end of the second rotating shaft 71 of the ice crushing device 70, and an end of the second rotating shaft 71 is opposite to an end of the first rotating shaft 31. Wherein the bottom of the U-shaped plate structure 72 faces the open end 73 of the U-shaped plate structure. The end of the second shaft 71 is further provided with a nut 73 for preventing the U-shaped plate structure 72 from falling off.

In the present invention, the support 20 and the driving device 30 are pre-assembled on the door liner 50 inside the door body 40, and the ice bank 10 is assembled on the support 20 in the vertical direction, and at the same time, the ice bank 10 can be detached from the support 20 in the vertical direction. In order to avoid interference between the U-shaped plate structure 72 of the ice crushing device 70 and the disc structure 32 of the driving device 30 during the above assembling and disassembling process, the open end 73 of the U-shaped plate structure 72 is lower than or flush with the free end of the extension arm 324 of the disc structure 32. Preferably, the open end 73 is received in the receiving portion 322 of the disc structure 32.

In addition, when the ice bank 10 is assembled to the stand 20, the open end 73 of the U-shaped plate structure 72 can abut against the extension arm 324 of the disk structure 32, and the bottom plate 321 of the disk structure 32 compresses the elastic member 33 and is removed toward the door 40. When the driving device 30 drives the first shaft 31 to rotate the disk structure 32, the extending arm 324 rotates together, and at this time, the elastic member 33 extends to elastically push the bottom plate 321 to move toward the ice storage bin 10, and the open end 73 of the U-shaped plate structure 72 extends into the accommodating portion 322 of the disk structure 32.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the ice bank 10 includes an upper ice bank 11 and a lower ice bank 12 which are communicated with each other, an ice crushing device 70 is disposed in the lower ice bank 12, and the ice crushing device 70 passes through an opening 212 on a bottom 211 of the base 21 of the support 20 to cut ice in the ice bank 10 and then dispense the cut ice to an ice taking opening of the door 40.

The body 21 of the bracket 20 is provided with a first engaging member 23 and a second engaging member 22, the first engaging member 23 is located on the bottom 211, and the second engaging member 22 is located on the side of the body 21, preferably, the first engaging member 23 is, for example, an engaging hole, and the second engaging member 22 is, for example, an engaging protrusion.

A third engaging member 122 and a fourth engaging member 121 are disposed on the lower ice bank 12, preferably, the third engaging member 122 is a bolt, and the bolt is disposed at the bottom of the lower ice bank 12 and extends vertically; the fourth engaging member 121 is, for example, a hook, and the hook extends horizontally toward the bracket.

Along the vertical direction illustrated in fig. 1, the latch on the ice bank 10 is inserted into the engaging hole on the bottom 211 of the support 20, the engaging protrusion on the support 20 is embedded into the gap between the hook on the ice bank 10 and the ice bank 10 (or the hook is hooked on the engaging protrusion), the vertical direction of the ice bank 10 and the support 20 is limited through the latch and the engaging hole, and the horizontal direction of the ice bank 10 and the support 20 is limited through the hook and the engaging protrusion.

Preferably, the second engaging member 22 has an avoiding hole 221 at a periphery thereof, and the avoiding hole 221 can prevent the hook from hitting the body 21 of the bracket 20 when the hook is engaged with the engaging protrusion.

Wherein the open end 73 of the U-shaped plate structure 72 of the ice crusher 70 can be inserted into the receiving portion 322 of the disk structure of the driving device 30 or the open end 73 of the U-shaped plate structure 72 of the ice crusher 70 can be pushed against the extending arm 324 of the disk structure during the assembly of the ice bank 10 to the stand 20. The open end 73 of the U-shaped plate structure 72 is pushed against the extension arm 324 of the disc structure, and the open end 73 of the U-shaped plate structure 72 is reinserted into the accommodating portion 322 of the disc structure 32 under the action of the elastic member 33 along with the rotation of the disc structure 32.

In the process of detaching the ice bank 10 from the cradle 20, a vertical force is applied to the ice bank 10, the hooks of the ice bank 10 are removed from the engaging protrusions of the cradle 20, the bolts at the bottom of the ice bank 10 are pulled out from the engaging holes at the bottom of the cradle 20, and the limitations of the ice bank 10 and the cradle 20 in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction are removed. Wherein the open end 73 of the U-shaped plate structure 72 pushes against the side wall 323 of the disc structure 32, so that the disc structure 32 compresses the elastic member 33 and moves toward the door 30, and the U-shaped plate structure 72 and the disc structure 32 are detached. Wherein the side walls 323 are inclined towards the outside of the base plate 321, guiding the U-shaped plate structure 72 to slide out of the accommodation 322 in a vertical direction.

The invention also provides a refrigerator which comprises the ice making assembly.

In summary, in the ice making assembly provided by the invention, the ice storage box can be vertically disassembled and assembled relative to the bracket, and meanwhile, the disc structure of the driving device protruding out of the bracket does not interfere with the U-shaped disc of the ice crushing device at the lower part of the ice storage box, so that the ice making assembly has the advantages of simple structure and convenience in disassembly and assembly.

The present invention is capable of other embodiments, and various changes and modifications may be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. An ice making assembly, the ice making assembly is installed at the inner side of a door body of a refrigerator, and the ice making assembly comprises:

the bracket is combined on the inner side of the door body;

the ice bank is detachably connected with the bracket along the vertical direction;

the driving device is arranged between the door body and the support and comprises a disc structure, and the disc structure penetrates through the support and extends towards the ice storage box; and

the ice crushing device is arranged in the ice storage box and comprises a U-shaped plate structure, the U-shaped plate structure is opposite to the disc structure, the disc structure and the U-shaped plate structure are matched with each other, and the driving device drives the disc structure to rotate so as to drive the U-shaped plate structure to rotate;

the second clamping piece is arranged on the side edge of the bracket and is a clamping convex part;

the fourth clamping piece is a clamping hook which is arranged on the ice storage box and extends horizontally towards the support, and when the ice storage box is assembled on the support along the vertical direction, the clamping convex part is embedded into a gap between the clamping hook and the ice storage box, so that the horizontal direction limit of the ice storage box and the support is realized;

wherein, in the process that the ice storage box is assembled on the bracket in the vertical direction, the open end of the U-shaped plate structure is lower than or flush with the edge of the disc structure.

2. An icemaker assembly according to claim 1 wherein said disc structure includes a receptacle wherein said open end enters said receptacle.

3. An icemaker assembly according to claim 2 wherein said disc structure includes a base, a side wall and an extension arm, said base and said extension arm being connected to opposite ends of said side wall, respectively, and said base and said extension arm extending toward opposite sides of said side wall, respectively, wherein said open end is lower than or flush with a free end of said extension arm.

4. An icemaker assembly according to claim 3 wherein the space between said side wall and said floor constitutes said receptacle.

5. An icemaker assembly according to claim 3 wherein said side walls are sloped toward the outside of said floor to guide the separation of said U-shaped plate from said puck structure.

6. An icemaker assembly according to claim 1, wherein said driving means includes a first rotation shaft, and said disc structure is provided at an end of said first rotation shaft facing said ice bank.

7. An icemaker assembly according to claim 6 wherein said drive means further comprises a resilient member disposed about said first shaft, wherein said resilient member resiliently urges against said disc structure.

8. An icemaker assembly in accordance with claim 1, wherein said ice breakup device further comprises a second pivot, and wherein a bottom portion of said U-shaped plate structure is secured to an end of said second pivot facing said bracket.

9. An icemaker assembly according to claim 1, wherein a first engaging member is provided on said shelf, and a third engaging member is provided on said ice bank, wherein said third engaging member is vertically inserted into said first engaging member when said ice bank is vertically assembled to said shelf.

10. A refrigerator characterized in that it comprises an ice-making assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 9.