TWI302592B - Ice maker for refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

1302592 IX. Description of the Invention: [Inventory] The present invention relates to an ice maker, and more particularly to one of five types of ice making for use in refrigerators and the like. Improved drive and control module for the device. I: Prior Art 3

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Ice making is used for glacial/cold; Eastern origin is conventionally known, for example, as shown in U.S. Patent No. 5,261,248, which includes molded parts that can freeze water to form cubes or other shapes of ice. A block, and a rotatable pusher, having a plurality of radial push arms. Providing a driving module for rotating a body of the ice pushing member, comprising a driving motor driving a circumference of a gear having an in-shaft sleeve detachable and driving-vertical cam body, the pushing ice The 15 turns of the rod of the piece can rotate the pusher piece during the pushing stroke, and the one of the water sensor can be pressed. ° During the launch stroke, ice cubes are sometimes placed between the pushers to block or interrupt the pusher. Twirling. When the problem is caused by the six apricots, the ice can be used with a larger torque. Since the motive motor and the pusher member's motor are used for the plastic portion, including the gear and the straight surface drive, the rotation of the pusher member body is interrupted by the blocked ice block: therefore, The drive motor can generate high torque on the gears and the power of the camshafts, which may cause the plastic drive components to break or between the skins. 130 1302592 Another problem with ice suppression is about ice makers. Water filling schedule. In order to (4) reinstall the operation of the New & the control module, an electrical water-filled contact secret week method can be used to contact the external-surface cam circuit of the # wheel, and (4) the moving ring. ^Optional front water loading time (cause, 5 ❿ _ _ _ _ _ water depth), the point is an adjustment • Lion can be radially clamped 'and (10) rotatable circuit track - angled concave The slot determines the starting position. % ▲The height of the fill is set, and the adjustment screw for the water joint is set up in the 4th place. This requires a repeated assembly inspection and water filling 10 inspection program. In addition, after the contact position has been properly determined, the ice making, the transport and operation of the device, and the subsequent installation in a refrigerator/cold; in the east, may change the radial placement of the joint. Water loading time is unnecessary. & change. In addition, since the contact adjustment screw may protrude from the device, this may hinder the armor; the ice machine may be broken or destroyed during operation. Therefore, although the position of the refilled water joint with respect to the gear joint track has been so far extinguished so as to be accurate in the filling height of the recording member, it actually causes non-discibility and loading. Water Stroke Problem I: SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION: SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to provide an ice maker that has a drive control and is more compact and more reliable in operation. Another object of the month is to provide an ice making 'stomach having the above characteristics, which has an ice pushing drive member which is not easily broken or broken due to blockage of ice during the pushing stroke. 6 1302592 A further object of the present invention is to provide an ice maker of the foregoing type having a control module that can be assembled with the ice maker to accurately control the water filling stroke without trials. It is still another object of the present invention to provide an ice maker of the above type, 5 having a control module in which the water filling stroke is substantially independent of a rotatable surface cam circuit of a water loading controller relative to the controller The change in the radial position of the trajectory is affected. A further object is to provide an ice maker wherein the control module has a water connection joint that is not susceptible to being transported and operated during the ice maker or during a refrigerator/freezer installation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be understood from the following detailed description and reference to the drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of an ice maker for a refrigerator according to the present invention; The figure shows the ice maker shown along the plane of the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Amplified partial vertical cross-sectional view, some of which are removed for clarity; FIG. 3 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of an embodiment of an ice pusher drive coupling according to the present invention; FIG. 3a is a gear as shown in FIG. The enlarged portion 20 of a driving sleeve is divided into a perspective view, and the fourth drawing is a sectional perspective view of the driving connection in the assembled state as shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is another driving connection of the ice pushing device according to the present invention. 1A is an enlarged perspective view of a drive sleeve of the gear as shown in Fig. 5; a side view of the control cam circuit of the 7F ice maker; 5 & "The control module of the ice maker in Figure 8 is also taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 1, the enlarged section of the plane is a vertical section and a side view, some of which are clearly shown Circuitry; f 9 Figure 放大 Figure 8 is an enlarged side view of the water-filled joint; and vertical, 1st (M3® is the water-filled joint and its enlarged view of the control mounted on the control' S They are the planes along the section, line 1〇-1〇, 11-11, 12-12 and 10 H13 of Figure 9. t & The invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed, but the invention is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. All changes, alternative constructions and equivalents in the scope. [Embodiment] A detailed description of the preferred embodiment is now shown in Fig. 1, which shows an exemplary ice maker according to the present invention. The basic construction and operation of the ice maker can be as described in the aforementioned U.S. Patent No. 5,261,248, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in And a molded piece 包含 for forming an ice block formed by transferring a water to the molding part n by a loading distributor 12, wherein the filling distributor 12 is fluidly connected by a water supply line 15 a solenoid valve 14. The solenoid valve 14 can be further connected to a suitable pressurized water supply portion. The 101302592 ice-making 10 advance includes a control module π disposed at the end of the molded part η and configured To act as _ ice pusher 2 〇, The ice pusher 2 can remove the ice piece from the molding part when the ice forming stroke of the water is completed in the molding piece. The pushing ice 20 has a plurality of radial pushing arm portions 21, which are rotatably connected And carrying 5 ice cubes to the outside of the molding 11, the ice cubes are scraped off by the scraper 22 and dropped into an adjacent collection box 24. - The pivotally mounted ice height sensing arm 25 extends downwardly Above the collection box 24 is used to detect the height of the ice cubes in the box 24. The molding 20 shown comprises a plurality of partition walls 28 extending transversely across the molding 2 to define a plurality of cavities for corresponding A plurality of ice cubes are formed therein. The partition walls 10 28 may be formed with suitable recesses 29 communicating between the mold cavities to allow water to flow from one cavity to another during the water filling stroke operation. . It will be appreciated that by heating the underside of the molding 11 to the ice, the ice pusher 2 can be freely ejected from the cavities to facilitate removal of the ice from the cavity. The control module 18 includes a motor 3A having an output pinion 15 31 for driving a circumference of a relatively large gear 32 mounted on a front side of the side plate 34 of the control module 18. The gear 32 then drives a vertical camshaft 35' which in turn drives a central shaft 36 of the ice pusher 2''. In this example, the vertical camshaft 35 has a D-shaped opening 3-7 that can accommodate the pusher shaft 36 for rotation therewith. The vertical camshaft 35 carries a cam 38, such as the conventional 20 vertical cam' having a cam surface for controlling the ice height sensing arm 25 in conjunction with rotation of the cam 38 in a conventional manner with a lever mechanism 39. s position. In this example, the lever mechanism 39 includes a lever arm 4〇 having a cam follower surface engageable with the cam 38 and pivoted by the rotation of the cam shaft 35 to pivot the actuator 41, The sensor arm 25 is fixed to the actuator 41 of 9 1302592. To reduce manufacturing costs, plastics can be molded into different portions of the ice maker control module 18, which include the gear 32, the vertical camshaft 35, the lever arm 40, and the actuator 41. As previously indicated, when the ice block is blocked between the pusher arm portions 21 and the scrapers 22 during the ice pushing process, the drive motor 30 imparts greater stress to the drive members. Upper, and may cause breakage or cracking of the plastic drive members, especially including the gear and/or camshaft. According to a feature of the invention, the drive gear and the vertical camshaft have a 10-bond joint that distributes the drive force more effectively and substantially reduces the risk of breakage or partial failure. In the illustrated embodiment, the gear 32 has a central rearwardly extending sleeve 45' formed with a larger diameter cylindrical counterbore portion 46 defining an annular seating projection 47 and communicating In the smaller straight bore 48, the small straight (four) bore stretches out the front side of the gear 32 15 . The vertical camshaft 35 has a front end including a cylindrical section that is positionable in a cylindrical counterbore portion 48 of the gear sleeve 45 and a plurality of projecting locking legs 51' that extend forwardly through the gear The center of the 32 has a smaller diameter bore 48. In this example, the locking legs have a tapered end face 52 for axially displacing the legs 51 and the plurality of directions during a strong insertion period through the gear bores 48. The outer extension is connected to the front side of the record 32. ^, in this case, the cylindrical counterbore portion 46 of the gear sleeve 45 and the cylindrical segment portion 5 of the vertical camshaft 35 are respectively formed with longitudinally extending and circumferential circumferentially-interacting keys 55J6, which can be Fits 1302592 that are coupled to each other with radial force transmission. In this example, the splines, such as 6 each have a complementary peak, a lion and a valley 59, which may be circular or square. _ is the :: The spline 55 of the camshaft 35, the ke is longitudinally positioned in a mutually assembled manner, with (10) accompanied by the pulsating motor _ actuation and the rotation of the gear 32 can be raised Transmission. More precisely, the keyed connection is interlocked via this drive, which allows a substantially larger torque transmission, above 3% or more, without causing failure of the plastic drive member. This principle of actuation is fully understood: % 丨 believes that increasing the surface area at the coupling splines 55, 56 reduces the amount of stress that can be transmitted between the gear and the camshaft during high torque to a minimum of 1〇. For example, when the ice block is temporarily blocked between the molding member and the ice pushing arm portion during the ice pushing period. It will be appreciated that although in the illustrated embodiment the gear 32 drives the wheel axle 35' which is mechanically coupled to the pusher shaft 36, the cam 2 may also be the pusher shaft. An integral part of the rod 36. For convenience of explanation, the slidable link to one of the shaft portions of the push-up shaft means a mechanical joint _ push-roll shaft or a body-shaped portion thereof. • The drive connection between the Μ wheel 32 and the vertical camshaft 35 is another

The selection is not based on the 5th < η , 歹 J and 6 diagrams for improving the torque transmission of the plastic drive member via the drive module 18, wherein elements similar to those described above are indicated by the same reference numerals. In the case of the yoke and the yoke, the vertical cam shaft 35 also has a locking leg portion 51. The eight-port two is positioned by a center hole of the hp gear 32 and is fixed to a front end side thereof. For interpreting 3 4 i , 1 to find the torque between the gear 32 and the vertical camshaft 35, the tooth is formed from the round drive sleeve 50 of the door example 2 at its end with a pair of diagonal lines. The opposite rearwardly extending drive ears 60 are positionable for condensation with the cams 35 11 1302592 diamine) and adipic acid polycondensation. In order to further increase the mechanical strength of the polyamide resin to manufacture the driving members, the polyamide resin may further comprise a reinforcing filler such as glass fiber. The polyamide resin may contain any amount of reinforcing filler. For example, when the reinforcing filler is a glass fiber, the polyamide resin preferably comprises from about 20 to about 30% by weight (e.g., about 25% by weight) of the glass fiber based on the total weight of the resin and the reinforcing filler. . Suitable commercially available resin/filler blends include, but are not limited to, the sale of nylon 6/6 resin under the trademark Zytel® by DuPont, such as K) Zytel® FR5 〇 HF NC010 nylon 6/6 resin, and S〇lmia sells Nylon 6/6 resin, such as vydyne® 909 nylon 6/6 resin, which is VYDYNE®. To control the electrical response function of the ice maker 10, a cam circuit 65 is mounted on the rear side of one of the gears 32 of the control module 18. If the surface of the cam circuit 65 is as shown in Fig. 7, a curved surface cam circuit of a plurality of conductive materials can be formed. The rotation of the gear 32 and the surface cam circuit in the counterclockwise direction from the starting position of 0 degrees will sequentially move the arcuate tracks and the radial position on the side plate 34 mounted on the module I8 corresponds to the surface cam circuit. The electrical contact of the individual contacts of the obstruction is used to activate the electric actuating power of the ice maker. The water filling stroke of the illustrated ice maker 10 (where the water is directed to the loading distributor 12 for filling the compartment of the molding n) is controlled by the trajectory of the face cam circuit. When the drive motor 3G is actuated and the gear 32 is rotated, the trajectory A is movable in contact with the water supply. In this example, the towel cam circuit 13 1302592 is shown to be the radially outermost surface cam circuit track, like the water fitting 66. Prior to this, as described above, the water-filled joints are to be factory installed to fill the mold cavities to a predetermined height without selectively adjusting the water-filling joints, and the water-filling stroke is used as a factory. The test is quite difficult. The setting state of the water-filling 5 joint may also be changed during subsequent transportation, operation, or assembly of the ice maker into a refrigerator/freezer, resulting in unnecessary changes in water filling height.

According to a further feature of the present invention, the face cam circuit trace A and the water fill joint 66 can be efficiently factory installed and assembled to build a predetermined water fill height in the molded part, and the water is filled. The height will not be affected by slight changes in the radial position of the water fill joint 66 during operation or transport of the ice maker 10. In this example, the water-filled joint 66 has a generally elongated configuration including a first elongated section 68 having a contact head 69 that is parallel to the face cam circuit. The circumferential direction 15 of the movement of the joint 66 extends laterally. In this example, the contact head 69 has a separate finger 70 that can be biased to engage the face cam circuit track A as the face cam circuit track A moves around the circumference of the contact. Alternatively, it will be appreciated that the contact 66 can be in the form of a brush that is also oriented parallel to the circumferential movement line of the face cam circuit. The water-filled joint 66 shown in this example has a second long-direction 20-segment portion 70 that laterally diverges from the first long-direction segment portion 68 such that one of the lateral leg portions 71 at one end is electrically used in a conventional manner. Connected to the control circuit of the ice maker. The water-filled joint 66 is mounted in a channel-like recess on the rear side of the module side panel 34 such that the contact head 69 extends through an opening 72 of the side panel 34 and extends adjacent to the rear of the gear 32. side. The first longitudinal direction 14 1302592 of the water-filled joint 66 can be mounted in a channel recess defined by the parallel wall portions 74, 75 and formed with side wings 76 for biasing against the side walls 74, 75 Engaged to connect the joint 66_ between the wall portions. The (four) 34 is formed with ribs 78 79 for the water-filled joint 66, for the opposite longitudinal end of the water-filled joint and thus the radial position of the contact head relative to the face cam circuit track A. The opposite long end abuts.

During the operation of the edge ice maker drive motor 3〇 and the rotation of the gear 32 and the surface cam circuit 65 from the twist start position shown in FIG. 7, the water supply contact portion 66 is initially set at the same time. The back surface phase of 32 is close to 10 gaps between the ground. The continuation cycle of the face cam circuit track A is advanced, and the slope 82 of the start section 84 of the face cam circuit track A is engaged with the water connection joint 66, so that the finger 7 of the contact head 69 is crawled. The ramp 82 is applied to the biasing portion 84 of the face cam circuit track A. Since the initial segment portion 84 of the face cam circuit trace A is not electrically connected to the ice maker command 15 control circuit in the illustrated embodiment, it is only provided to lift and bias the fingers of the contact head. 70 slidably engages the stalk. The continued circumferential advancement of the face cam circuit track A will result in a trailing edge 86 of the starting track segment 84 of the face cam circuit track A and another operating segment portion 89 of the face cam circuit track A. - a gap between the first edge 88 is set to be below the water-contacting head portion 66, so that the qualifiers, 彖86, 88 forming the slot 85 may be accumulated by π Contact foreign objects on the fingers. The face cam circuit performs the leading edge 88 of the operating section 89, and the connection of the water fitting 66 will close the circuit for supplying energy to open the electromagnetic water supply. The ring 15 1302592 of the operating section of the face cam circuit track a moves continuously through the water-filling joint 66, and a trailing edge 9 of the operating section 89 of the face cam circuit track A is circumferentially When the water connection 66 is passed, the electromagnetic valve 14 is closed due to no power supply. For the purpose of the present invention, the first and last thin portions of the operating section portion 89 5 of the surface cam circuit track A, 90 is the design material generated - the fixed weight of the water, and the water can be contacted by the water The longitudinal movement of the long-direction segments 68-70 may slightly change the radial position of the water-filling contact portion 69 relative to the face cam circuit track A, such as may be due to manufacturing tolerances of the contact-holding ribs. The joint may be subjected to 10 external forces during the transport/operation or assembly of the ice maker. For this purpose, the hundred and trailing edges of the operating section 89 of the face cam circuit track A are radially extended with respect to the axis of rotation of the gear and the face cam so that the radial direction of the head is contacted regardless of the water. Whether the position is slightly changed, the water filling time remains fixed and unaffected. Due to the first and last lag of the cam Μ, the _# is extended, which can form a tight and difficult ‘water-free 66 and the face cam can be effectively factory-fitted without causing lengthy and time-consuming assembly and testing. program. In addition, due to the water filling time and the height of the water level in the molded part, the setting positions of the first and trailing edges 88, 90 of the surface cam circuit A can be completely controlled, and thus can be used during each of the skirting strokes. The molded part is loaded to the same predetermined water level height regardless of the slight change in the radial position of the water supply joint during assembly or operation of the ice maker. As described above, it can be understood that an ice maker is provided with a drive (10) ^ module' which is simpler in design and more reliable in operation. The module has an ice pushing driving portion, which is not easy to cause cracking or failure caused by ice blockage during the ice pushing stroke, and the control module can be actuated to refill the ice maker molding to The same predetermined water level can be used to allow the position of the water transfer joint due to external forces to be changed due to manufacturing tolerances or during transport/operation or assembly of the ice maker. 5 [Simplified illustration of the drawings] Fig. 1 is a partial perspective view of an ice maker for a refrigerator according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the ice maker shown along a plane of the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 Partial vertical section view, some of which are removed for clarity;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a 10th exploded view of an embodiment of an ice pusher drive coupling according to the present invention; Figure 3a is an enlarged partial perspective view of a drive sleeve of the gear as shown in Figure 3; Figure 3 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the drive coupled to the assembled state, and Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of another embodiment of the pusher drive linkage according to the present invention; Figure 6 is a fifth view An enlarged partial perspective view of a drive sleeve of the gear is shown, and FIG. 7 is a side view of the control cam surface of the ice maker; 20 FIG. 8 is a control module of the ice maker shown, The enlarged portion of the plane taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 is a vertical cross-section and a side view, some of which are clearly visible in the circuit, and Figure 9 is the water-filled joint as shown in Fig. 8. An enlarged side view; and Figs. 10-13 are partial cross-sectional views of the water-filled joint and its enlarged 17 1302592 mounted on the control shown, which are respectively along the line ΚΜ0, 11-11, 12-12 of Figure 9. And the plane of 13-13. [Main component symbol description]

10...Ice maker ll···Molding member 12...Loading dispenser 14...Solenoid valve 15" Water supply line 18···Control module 20...Ice pusher 21...Ice arm unit 22...Scraper 24 ...collection box 25...height sensing arm 28...partition wall 29...recess 30...motor 31...output pinion 32...large gear 34...side plate 36...pushing center shaft 37-"D-shaped opening 38···Cam 39···Lever mechanism 40...Lever arm 41···Actuator 45...Sleeve 46··· Countersink section 47...Placement projection 48··· Small diameter borehole 50...Cylinder section 51· · Locking foot 52... Tip end face 54... Locking projection 55, 56··· Spline 58... Bee 59··· Valley 60... Ear 35···Vertical camshaft 18 1302592

61...axle 76...flank 65...face cam circuit 78,79··· rib 66...water supply joint 82...slope surface A···face cam circuit trace 84...starting section 68...first long direction Segment 85...slot 69...contact head 86...tail edge 70...second long segment portion 88...first edge 71...lateral leg portion 89...operation segment portion 72...opening 90...tail edge 74,75··· Parallel wall

19

Claims (1)

.1302592 Patent Application No. 94136891 Application for Patent Scope Amendment May 1996 μ曰 X. Application Patent Range: B 1. An ice maker comprising: a molded part, water supply frozen inside to form ice cubes; 10 a rotatable ice pusher' having a central push ice shaft and a plurality of radial arms for pushing ice from the molded part; a driver for rotatably driving the ice pusher, the drive comprising a drive motor and a gear that is rotatably driven by the (four) motor, a drive coupling between the gear and the push-up shaft, comprising a hole and a rod portion coaxial with the gear, the hole forming There are a plurality of inner spline-spaced longitudinal splines, and the rod segment portion is formed with a plurality of outer circumferentially spaced longitudinal splines to cooperate with the hole, and (4) the material of the rod and the segment portion a spline is positioned in the hole to transmit a rotational torque therebetween, 15 hunger money is formed in the hole of the sleeve, the counter hole is connected to the -cut hole, which extends the wearer gear in the center of the towel, and the The shank portion has a pair of locking feet extending through the small diameter hole to be fastened to the one side of the gear in a fastened manner. 2. The ice maker of claim 1, wherein the gear and the rod portion are made of plastic. 20 • The 1302592 has a pair of locking feet that extend from one end through the aperture to engage one side of the gear. 5. The ice maker of claim 1, comprising a storage container for storing ice cubes ejected from the molded part, a sensor arm having a free end for sensing the height of the ice in the storage container, The lever portion is a cam shaft separated from the push ice shaft, the cam shaft has a vertical cam to actuate the sensor arm, the cam shaft having the rod segments splined at the adjacent end, and The other end is mechanically coaxially coupled to the push-up shaft for transmitting torque therebetween. 10. The ice maker of claim 5, wherein the gear and the camshaft are made of plastic. 7. The ice maker of claim 2, wherein the keyhole is formed in a sleeve of the gear that extends outwardly from the side of the gear. The ice maker of claim 5, wherein the locking legs extend from an axial end of the cam shaft, and an opposite axial end of the cam shaft defines an opening for The end of the push ice shaft is placed and the driving torque is transmitted. 9. The ice maker of claim 2, wherein the drive motor has a 20 drive pinion for operatively engaging and driving an outer circumference of the gear, and the gear carries a curved electrical property The surface circuit is used to control the electrical response function of the ice maker. twenty one 1302592 10·—A type of ice maker comprising: a molded part, the water supply is frozen inside to form an ice cube; a rotatable ice pusher having a central push ice shaft and a plurality of radial arms 'for ice cubes From the molded part; 10 15 a driver for rotatably driving the ice pusher, the driver comprising a drive motor and a plastic gear rotatably driven by the drive motor; a drive coupling on the gear and the push shaft Interposed between a hole and a rod segment, the rod portion being positionally engageable in the hole and mechanically coupled thereto for transmitting torque between the gear when the gear is rotationally driven and the gear and the rod segment The portion has a tamper-proof container, which is composed of a polyamide resin; and the storage valley is for storing ice pieces pushed out from the molding member, and a sensor arm having a free end for sensing the inside of the storage container The height of the ice, and the segment is a camshaft that is separate from the pusher shaft, the camshaft has a - vertical cam to actuate the sensor arm, the camshaft having one end positionable within the bore' and another - The opposite end is mechanically coaxially coupled to the pusher shaft for transmitting torque therebetween. η. The ice making file of claim 1G, wherein the polyamide resin comprises nylon selected from the group consisting of nylon 6, nylon 6/6, nylon 2, copolymers thereof, and mixtures thereof. Group. 12. The material of claim 11 of the patent application, wherein the amine resin is composed of nylon 6/6. twenty two 1302592. The ice maker of claim 12, wherein the polyamide resin further comprises a reinforcing filler. 14. The ice maker of claim 13, wherein the reinforced filler is composed of glass fibers. 5 I5. The ice maker of claim 14, wherein the polyamide resin comprises from about 20 to about 30% by weight of the glass fibers based on the total weight of the resin and the reinforcing filler. 10 16. The ice maker of claim H, wherein the polyamide resin further comprises a reinforcing filler.如 For example, if you apply for a full-time enclosure, the 16th ice maker, where the reinforced filler is made of fiberglass. 18. The composite resin of claim 17, wherein the poly-resin comprises from about 2G to about 30% by weight of the glass fiber based on the total weight of the grease and the reinforcing filler. ^ __, small mouth sputum, with Ning the hole formed a number of inner-week intervals _ to the brain, and the turn section to find, = spline without holes, pro-she, (four) thief _ = from the hole and the rod section The flower (4) is located in the rotation torque between the miscellaneous transmissions.乂 迗 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 twenty three : 1302592 coupled for transmitting torque between the gear when it is rotationally driven, and a metal collar that is positioned in a tight fit on the sleeve for enhancing torque transmission by the drive coupling, Without damaging the sleeve and the rod section. 5. The ice maker of claim 21, wherein the sleeve is integrally formed on the gear. twenty four