CN219572366U - Ice making module and refrigerator with ice making function - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model belongs to the technical field of ice making, and particularly provides an ice making module and a refrigerator with an ice making function. The utility model aims to solve the problem that the transparency of the prepared ice cubes is poor in the existing ice making module carried on a refrigerator. The ice making module comprises a base body, a water storage box, an ice making module and a driving device, wherein the water storage box is fixedly connected with the base body; the ice making mould is positioned above the water storage box and is communicated with the water storage box; the driving device is fixedly connected with the ice making mould, and is also in driving connection with the ice making mould so as to drive the ice making mould to overturn, thereby the ice making mould can pour out ice cubes in the ice making mould. The ice making module can effectively reduce the content of gas in ice cubes, further can effectively improve the transparency of the ice cubes, and overcomes the technical problems.

Description

Ice making module and refrigerator with ice making function

Technical Field

The utility model belongs to the technical field of ice making, and particularly provides an ice making module and a refrigerator with an ice making function.

Background

Some refrigerators are currently configured with an ice making module to make ice by the ice making module, thereby satisfying the ice use demands of users. The existing ice making modules carried on the refrigerator adopt a static water ice making principle, namely, water is filled into the ice making module, and then the ice making module is placed in a freezing chamber to freeze the ice making module, so that the water in the ice making module is frozen. However, this ice making method can prevent the air (such as air) in the ice blocks from being discharged, resulting in poor transparency of the ice blocks and poor user experience.

Disclosure of Invention

The utility model aims to solve the problem that the transparency of ice cubes prepared by the existing ice making module mounted on a refrigerator is poor.

It is a further object of the present utility model to prevent water in the water storage box from spilling out when the ice-making mold is pouring ice cubes.

To achieve the above object, the present utility model provides in a first aspect an ice making module comprising:

a base;

the water storage box is fixedly connected with the seat body;

an ice making mold located above the water storage box and communicated with the water storage box;

the driving device is fixedly connected with the ice making mould and is in driving connection with the ice making mould so as to drive the ice making mould to turn over, and therefore ice cubes in the ice making mould are poured out by the ice making mould.

Optionally, the driving device is a motor; the ice making module further comprises a driving arm which is arranged in a Z-shaped structure, so that the driving arm is provided with a first driving shaft and a second driving shaft which are different in shaft, the first driving shaft is fixedly connected with the output shaft of the motor in a coaxial manner, and the second driving shaft is in driving connection with the ice making module.

Optionally, the second driving shaft is fixedly connected with the ice making mould so that the ice making mould synchronously rotates along with the second driving shaft.

Optionally, the second driving shaft is rotatably connected with the ice making mould; the ice making module further comprises at least one guide rod fixedly connected with the ice making die, at least one of the driving device and the seat body is provided with a guide groove corresponding to the guide rod, and one end, far away from the ice making die, of the guide rod is embedded into the guide groove; the guide rod slides in the guide groove in the process of rotating the driving arm so as to ensure that the ice making mould can be overturned to a dumping position, and therefore the ice making mould can pour ice cubes in the ice making mould.

Optionally, the ice making module further comprises a driven arm, wherein the driven arm is arranged in a Z-shaped structure, so that the driving arm is provided with a first driven shaft and a second driven shaft which are different in axis, and the first driven shaft is coaxial with the first driving shaft and is connected with the base in a rotating way; the second driven shaft is coaxial with the second driving shaft and is rotationally connected with the ice making mould.

Optionally, the bottom of the ice making mould is provided with at least one water permeable column extending downwards, the water permeable column is provided with water permeable holes, the top of the water storage box is provided with avoidance holes with the same number as the water permeable columns, and the water permeable column is inserted through the avoidance holes, so that the ice making mould is communicated with the water storage box.

Optionally, the water storage box is provided with a pressure equalizing hole, one end of the pressure equalizing hole is communicated with the inner cavity of the water storage box, and the other end of the pressure equalizing hole is communicated with the external environment; the top end of the pressure equalizing hole is not lower than the highest water level in the ice making mould; and the water discharge of all the water permeable columns is larger than the volume of the pressure equalizing holes.

Optionally, the ice making module further comprises a first heat preservation member and a second heat preservation member, wherein the first heat preservation member is arranged in a shape like a Chinese character 'hui', and the first heat preservation member is sleeved outside the ice making module; the second heat-insulating member includes a side wall and a bottom wall such that the second heat-insulating member forms a housing having a top opening, and the second heat-insulating member abuts with the side and bottom surfaces of the water storage box through the inner surface thereof.

The present utility model provides in a second aspect a refrigerator having an ice making function, comprising a refrigerator body and the ice making module of any one of the first aspects.

Optionally, the case defines a first storage area and a second storage area, the first storage area having a lower refrigeration temperature than the second storage area; the ice making module is disposed in the first storage area, and the refrigerator further includes a water storage tank disposed in the second storage area, the water storage tank being for supplying water to the ice making module.

Based on the foregoing description, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that in the foregoing technical solution of the present utility model, by providing a water storage box communicating with the ice making mold below the ice making mold, when the ice making mold is frozen from top to bottom, water in the ice making mold can be frozen from top to bottom, and thus gas (e.g., air) in the water is separated from top to bottom and is driven into the water storage box. Therefore, the ice making module can effectively reduce the content of gas in the ice cubes, and further improve the transparency of the ice cubes.

Further, the first heat-preserving member in the shape of a Chinese character 'hui' is sleeved on the outer side of the ice making die, and the second heat-preserving member wraps the side face and the bottom face of the water storage box, so that the temperature of water in the ice making die is ensured to be reduced from top to bottom, the water in the ice making die is ensured to be capable of separating gas from top to bottom, and the gas is finally driven into the water storage box.

Further, the water discharge amount of all the permeable columns is larger than the volume of the pressure equalizing holes, so that the water storage box cannot overflow from the permeable holes due to water falling back from the pressure equalizing holes when the ice cubes are poured by the ice making mould.

Other advantages of the present utility model will be described in detail hereinafter with reference to the drawings so that those skilled in the art can more clearly understand the improvements object, features and advantages of the present utility model.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the present utility model, some embodiments of the present utility model will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that components or portions thereof identified in different drawings by the same reference numerals are identical or similar; the drawings of the utility model are not necessarily to scale relative to each other. In the accompanying drawings:

fig. 1 is a schematic view showing the effect of a refrigerator according to some embodiments of the present utility model;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the distribution of ice making systems within a bin according to some embodiments of the utility model;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an ice making system in accordance with some embodiments of the utility model

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of an ice making module in some embodiments of the utility model;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the ice-making module of FIG. 4 taken along the direction A-A;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the ice-making module of FIG. 4 taken along the direction B-B;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the effect of the driving structure of the ice making mold according to some embodiments of the present utility model;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the matching effect of an ice making mold and a water storage box according to some embodiments of the present utility model;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the ice-making module of FIG. 8 taken along the direction C-C;

fig. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view of the ice-making module of fig. 8 along the direction D-D.

Detailed Description

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described below are only some embodiments of the present utility model, but not all embodiments of the present utility model, and the some embodiments are intended to explain the technical principles of the present utility model and are not intended to limit the scope of the present utility model. All other embodiments, which can be obtained by a person skilled in the art without any inventive effort, based on the embodiments provided by the present utility model, shall still fall within the scope of protection of the present utility model.

It should be noted that, in the description of the present utility model, terms such as "center", "upper", "lower", "top", "bottom", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", and the like indicate directions or positional relationships, which are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the drawings, are merely for convenience of description, and do not indicate or imply that the apparatus or elements must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus should not be construed as limiting the present utility model. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

Further, it should also be noted that, in the description of the present utility model, unless explicitly specified and limited otherwise, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly, and may be, for example, fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally connected; can be mechanically or electrically connected; can be directly connected, can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and can also be communicated with the inside of two elements. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present utility model can be understood by those skilled in the art according to the specific circumstances.

In addition, it should be noted that, in the description of the present utility model, the terms "cooling capacity" and "heating capacity" are two descriptions of the same physical state. That is, the higher the "cooling capacity" of a certain object (for example, evaporator, air, condenser, etc.), the lower the "heat" of the object, and the lower the "cooling capacity" of the object, the higher the "heat" of the object. Some object absorbs the cold and releases the heat, and the object releases the cold and absorbs the heat. A target maintains "cold" or "heat" to maintain the target at a current temperature. "refrigeration" and "heat absorption" are two descriptions of the same physical phenomenon, i.e., a target (e.g., an evaporator) absorbs heat while it is refrigerating.

The ice making module of the present utility model will be described in detail with reference to a refrigerator.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, in some embodiments of the present utility model, a refrigerator includes a cabinet 100 and a door 200, the door 200 being mounted on the cabinet 100. Specifically, the door body 200 of the refrigerator may be provided as a single door or a double door as required by those skilled in the art.

As shown in fig. 2, in some embodiments of the present utility model, the case 100 defines a first storage area 101 and a second storage area 102, and the cooling temperature of the first storage area 101 is lower than the cooling temperature of the second storage area 102. Preferably, the first storage area 101 is a freezer compartment formed on the cabinet 100, the second storage area 102 is a refrigerator compartment or a variable temperature compartment formed on the cabinet 100, and the second storage area 102 is located above the first storage area 101.

As shown in fig. 2, in some embodiments of the present utility model, the refrigerator further includes an ice making module 300, a water storage tank 400, and an optional ice bank 500. Wherein the ice making module 300 is disposed in the first storage area 101 for making ice cubes. A water storage tank 400 is disposed in the second storage area 102 for supplying water to the ice making module 300. The ice bank 500 is disposed in the first storage area 101, and the ice bank 500 serves to receive ice cubes falling from the ice making module 300 and to store the ice cubes.

As shown in fig. 3, in some embodiments of the present utility model, the water storage tank 400, the ice making module 300, and the ice bank 500 are sequentially distributed from top to bottom such that water in the water storage tank 400 flows to the ice making module 300 under the effect of self gravity and ice cubes in the ice making module 300 fall into the ice bank 500 under the effect of self gravity.

With continued reference to fig. 3, in some embodiments of the present utility model, the refrigerator further includes a water injection pipe 600, the water inlet end of which is in communication with the water storage tank 400, and the water outlet end of which is disposed above the ice making mold 320 (shown in fig. 3 and 4) of the ice making module 300, such that the water injection pipe 600 guides water in the water storage tank 400 into the ice making mold 320. Further, the water injection pipe 600 penetrates the bottom wall of the second storage area 102.

With continued reference to fig. 3, in some embodiments of the utility model, the refrigerator further includes a water injection valve 700, the water injection valve 700 being used to control whether water in the water reservoir 400 flows to the ice making mold 320 via the water injection pipe 600. Further, the water injection valve 700 is provided at the water inlet end or the water outlet end of the water injection pipe 600, and the water injection valve 700 is provided as an electrically controlled shut-off valve.

Alternatively, the water injection valve 700 is closed each time it is opened for a period of time (e.g., 10S, 25S, 45S, etc.) to ensure that the ice making module 300 receives sufficient water without overflowing.

As shown in fig. 4 to 6, in some embodiments of the present utility model, the ice making module 300 includes a housing 310, an ice making mold 320, a water storage case 330, and a motor 340 as a driving means. Wherein, the base 310 is fixedly connected with the case 100; the ice making mold 320 is disposed above the water storage box 330; the water storage box 330 is fixedly connected with the seat body 310; the motor 340 is fixedly connected with the base 310, and the motor 340 is also in driving connection with the ice making mould 320 so as to drive the ice making mould 320 to turn over, thereby the ice making mould 320 can pour out ice cubes therein.

As shown in fig. 4 to 7, in some embodiments of the present utility model, the ice making module 300 further includes a driving arm 350, a driven arm 360, and at least one guide bar 370. Wherein, the driving arm 350 is used for connecting the ice making mold 320 with the motor 340, the driven arm 360 is used for connecting the ice making mold 320 with the base 310, and the guide rod 370 is fixedly connected with the ice making mold 320 and slidably connected with the base 310 and/or the motor 340. The ice making mold 320 can be turned to the dumping position by the motor 340 under the action of the driving arm 350, the driven arm 360 and the guide bar 370, so that the ice cubes are smoothly separated from the ice making mold 320.

As shown in fig. 6, 8 and 9, the ice making mold 320 is provided with a plurality of water permeable columns 321 extending downward, and each water permeable column 321 is formed with a water permeable hole 3211, and the ice making mold 320 communicates with the water storage box 330 through the water permeable holes 3211.

With continued reference to fig. 6, 8 and 9, the water storage cartridge 330 includes a cartridge body 331 and a pressure equalizing column 333 disposed above the cartridge body 331. The top of the box 331 is provided with a plurality of avoidance holes 3311, and the number of the avoidance holes 3311 is equal to that of the water permeable columns 321 and corresponds to that of the water permeable columns one by one.

As shown in fig. 9, in the assembled state, the water permeable post 321 is inserted into the escape hole 3311, and thus the ice making mold 320 is communicated with the water storage case 330. Further, the ice making mold 320 and the water storage box 330 are abutted together in a sealed manner to prevent water within the water storage box 330 from leaking from the escape hole 3311 between the ice making mold 320 and the water storage box 330.

In addition, in other embodiments of the present utility model, the water permeable column 321 may be provided in any other possible structure, such as a block with water permeable holes 3211 formed, as required by those skilled in the art. Alternatively, the person skilled in the art may omit the water penetration column 321 as required, and form the water penetration holes 3211 on the bottom wall of the ice making mold 320.

As shown in fig. 6, 8 and 10, the pressure equalizing column 333 has pressure equalizing holes 3331 formed therein, and the height of the top ends of the pressure equalizing holes 3331 is not lower than the highest water level in the ice making mold 320 to ensure that enough water can be provided in the ice making mold 320 to make ice cubes.

Preferably, the water discharge amount of all the water permeable columns 321 is larger than the volume of the pressure equalizing holes 3331 to ensure that the water storage box 330 does not overflow from the water permeable holes 3211 due to water falling back from the pressure equalizing holes 3331 when the ice cubes are poured from the ice making mold 320.

As shown in fig. 5 and 7, in some embodiments of the present utility model, the driving arm 350 is configured in a Z-shaped structure such that the driving arm 350 has a first driving shaft (not shown) and a second driving shaft (not shown), which are not coaxial, the first driving shaft being fixedly connected coaxially with the output shaft of the motor 340, and the second driving shaft being drivingly connected with the ice making mold 320. Preferably, the second driving shaft is rotatably coupled with the ice making mold 320.

Further, the driven arm 360 is the same or similar in structure to the drive arm 350. Specifically, the driven arm 360 is also provided in a Z-shaped structure so that the driving arm 360 has a first driven shaft 361 and a second driven shaft 362 that are not coaxial. The first driven shaft 361 is coaxial with the first driving shaft and is rotatably connected with the base 310; the second driven shaft 362 is coaxial with the second driving shaft and is rotatably connected to the ice making mold 320.

With continued reference to fig. 5 and 7, two opposing guide bars 370 are provided on the ice making mold 320. The base 310 and the motor 340 are respectively provided with a guide groove 301 matched with the guide rod 370, and one end of the guide rod 370 far away from the ice making mold 320 is embedded into the guide groove 301. As can be seen from fig. 5 and 7, the guide groove 301 is an arc-shaped groove.

During the overturning of the ice making mold 320 driven by the motor 340, the guide bar 370 slides in the guide groove 301 to ensure that the ice making mold 320 can be overturned to the dumping position, thereby smoothly separating the ice cubes from the ice making mold 320.

In addition, in the premise of ensuring that the motor 340 can drive the ice making mold 320 to turn to the dumping position, a person skilled in the art can also fixedly connect the second driving shaft of the driving arm 350 with the ice making mold 320 as required, so that the ice making mold 320 rotates synchronously with the second driving shaft. Accordingly, the person skilled in the art may omit the guide rod 370 as required.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that if the driving arm 350 is capable of supporting the ice making mold 320 alone, those skilled in the art may omit the provision of the driven arm 360 as desired.

Further, although not shown in the drawings, in some embodiments of the utility model, the ice making module 300 further includes a first heat preservation member and a second heat preservation member. Wherein the first heat-retaining member is provided in a zigzag shape, and the first heat-retaining member is sleeved outside the ice making mold 320. The second heat insulating member includes side walls and a bottom wall such that the second heat insulating member forms a housing having a top opening, and the second heat insulating member abuts with the side and bottom surfaces of the water storage box 330 through its inner surface.

In other words, the first and second heat-preserving members can heat-preserve the ice-making mold 320 and the water storage box 330, so that the ice-making mold 320 and the water storage box 330 receive cooling from the top side of the ice-making mold 320, and thus the water in the ice-making mold 320 is frozen from top to bottom.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that, since the dissolved gas in the water decreases with the decrease of the temperature, the gas is separated from the water from top to bottom during the freezing process of the water in the ice making mold 320, and is further driven into the water storage box 330, thereby effectively reducing the gas content in the ice cubes and improving the transparency of the ice cubes.

Preferably, the refrigerator of the present utility model is an air-cooled refrigerator, and the cool air outlet on the side wall (rear side wall, left side plate or right side wall) of the first storage area 101 is located above the ice making mold 320 to ensure that water in the ice making mold 320 is frozen from top to bottom.

The operation of the ice making module 300 according to some embodiments of the present utility model will be described in detail.

When ice making is required, the water injection valve 700 is opened so that the water injection pipe 600 guides water in the water reservoir 400 into the ice making mold 320. In this process, water in the ice making mold 320 enters the water storage box 330 through the water permeable holes 3211, and air in the water storage box 330 is discharged from the pressure equalizing holes 3331 to equalize air pressures at both inner and outer sides of the water storage box 330, so that water in the ice making mold 320 smoothly flows into the water storage box 330. After the water injection is completed, the water in the ice making mold 320 is frozen from top to bottom by the cooling capacity in the first storage area 101, and thus the gas in the ice making mold 320 is driven into the water storage box 330. When the ice making is finished, the motor 340 drives the ice making mold 320 to rotate to the dumping position, so that the ice cubes within the ice making mold 320 fall down into the ice bank 500.

Based on the foregoing description, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the refrigerator and ice making module 300 of some embodiments of the present utility model can freeze water in the ice making mold 320 from top to bottom, thereby freezing water in the ice making mold 320 from top to bottom, and thus separating gas in the water from top to bottom, and driving it into the water storage box 330. Therefore, the refrigerator and the ice making module 300 according to some embodiments of the present utility model can effectively reduce the gas content in the ice cubes, thereby improving the transparency of the ice cubes.

In addition, the ice making module 300 described in any of the foregoing embodiments may be provided on the door body 200 of the refrigerator, and the water storage tank 400 and/or the ice bank 500 may be optionally provided on the door body 200 of the refrigerator, as desired by those skilled in the art.

Thus far, the technical solution of the present utility model has been described in connection with the foregoing embodiments, but it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that the scope of the present utility model is not limited to only these specific embodiments. The technical solutions in the above embodiments can be split and combined by those skilled in the art without departing from the technical principles of the present utility model, and equivalent changes or substitutions can be made to related technical features, so any changes, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the technical principles and/or technical concepts of the present utility model will fall within the protection scope of the present utility model.

Claims (10)

1. An ice-making module, comprising:

a base;

the water storage box is fixedly connected with the seat body;

an ice making mold located above the water storage box and communicated with the water storage box;

the driving device is fixedly connected with the ice making mould and is in driving connection with the ice making mould so as to drive the ice making mould to turn over, and therefore ice cubes in the ice making mould are poured out by the ice making mould.

2. An ice-making module according to claim 1, wherein,

the driving device is a motor;

the ice making module further comprises a driving arm which is arranged in a Z-shaped structure, so that the driving arm is provided with a first driving shaft and a second driving shaft which are different in shaft, the first driving shaft is fixedly connected with the output shaft of the motor in a coaxial manner, and the second driving shaft is in driving connection with the ice making module.

3. An ice-making module according to claim 2, wherein,

the second driving shaft is fixedly connected with the ice making mould so that the ice making mould synchronously rotates along with the second driving shaft.

4. An ice-making module according to claim 2, wherein,

the second driving shaft is rotationally connected with the ice making mould;

the ice making module further comprises at least one guide rod fixedly connected with the ice making die, at least one of the driving device and the seat body is provided with a guide groove corresponding to the guide rod, and one end, far away from the ice making die, of the guide rod is embedded into the guide groove;

the guide rod slides in the guide groove in the process of rotating the driving arm so as to ensure that the ice making mould can be overturned to a dumping position, and therefore the ice making mould can pour ice cubes in the ice making mould.

5. An ice-making module according to any one of claims 2 to 4,

the ice making module further includes a driven arm provided in a Z-shaped structure such that the driving arm has a first driven shaft and a second driven shaft which are not coaxial,

the first driven shaft is coaxial with the first driving shaft and is rotationally connected with the seat body;

the second driven shaft is coaxial with the second driving shaft and is rotationally connected with the ice making mould.

6. An ice-making module according to claim 1, wherein,

at least one water permeable column extending downwards is arranged at the bottom of the ice making mould, water permeable holes are arranged on the water permeable column,

the top of the water storage box is provided with avoidance holes with the same number as the water permeable columns,

the water permeable column is inserted into the avoiding hole, and thus the ice making mould is communicated with the water storage box.

7. An ice-making module according to claim 6, wherein,

the water storage box is provided with a pressure equalizing hole, one end of the pressure equalizing hole is communicated with the inner cavity of the water storage box, and the other end of the pressure equalizing hole is communicated with the external environment;

the top end of the pressure equalizing hole is not lower than the highest water level in the ice making mould;

and the water discharge of all the water permeable columns is larger than the volume of the pressure equalizing holes.

8. An ice-making module according to claim 1, wherein,

the ice making module further includes a first heat preservation member and a second heat preservation member,

the first heat-preserving member is arranged in a shape like a Chinese character 'hui', and is sleeved outside the ice making mould;

the second heat-insulating member includes a side wall and a bottom wall such that the second heat-insulating member forms a housing having a top opening, and the second heat-insulating member abuts with the side and bottom surfaces of the water storage box through the inner surface thereof.

9. A refrigerator having an ice making function, comprising a case and the ice making module of any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. The refrigerator with an ice making function according to claim 9, wherein,

the box body is limited with a first storage area and a second storage area, and the refrigerating temperature of the first storage area is lower than that of the second storage area;

the ice making module is disposed in the first storage area,

the refrigerator further includes a water storage tank disposed in the second storage area, the water storage tank being for supplying water to the ice making mold.