WO2017071072A1

WO2017071072A1 - Ice making apparatus and refrigerator

Info

Publication number: WO2017071072A1
Application number: PCT/CN2015/099371
Authority: WO
Inventors: 王海娟; 李鹏; 贾振飞
Original assignee: 青岛海尔电冰箱有限公司
Priority date: 2015-10-29
Filing date: 2015-12-29
Publication date: 2017-05-04
Also published as: CN105258421B; CN105258421A

Abstract

Provided are an ice making apparatus (100) and a refrigerator (1) provided with said ice making apparatus (100). The ice making apparatus (100) comprises: a main body frame; an ice making box (10) rotatably mounted in the main body frame, the ice making box (10) being internally divided into at least one ice making grid (11) having an upward opening, used for accommodating water to make ice cubes; a temperature changing apparatus (40) positioned above the main body frame and comprising a semiconductor cooling plate (43); and a lifting and lowering mechanism (30) connected to the temperature changing apparatus (40), and used for lowering the temperature changing apparatus (40) during the ice making process into a position wherein part of same extends into the ice making box (10), such that the cold produced by the semiconductor cooling plate (43) is conveyed to the water in the ice making box (10) to form ice cubes. Directly introducing the cold produced by the semiconductor cooling plate (43) into the water in the ice making box (10) during a cooling process causes the water in the ice making box (10) to rapidly freeze, achieving the objective of instant freezing.

Description

Ice making device and refrigerator

The present application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application Serial No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No

Technical field

The invention relates to the field of ice making technology, in particular to an ice making device and a refrigerator.

Background technique

At present, household twisting ice making machines generally use a frost-free refrigeration system for cooling. Usually, the ice making machine is directly installed in the freezing compartment of the refrigerator or in the closed compartment of the refrigerating compartment, and the cold wind is directly blown onto the ice making box by the fan. To make the water in the ice box into ice. After the ice cubes are completely formed, the ice maker is twisted by the ice machine motor to cause the ice cubes to fall off under the force of gravity. Generally, the ice making method has low ice making efficiency, and the water icing in the ice making box is generally from the outside to the inside, and bubbles are easily generated inside the ice cube, which causes the ice to be opaque. With the improvement of human living standards, people are demanding the quality of ice and the speed of ice making, which makes such twisting ice machines increasingly unable to meet people's needs.

Summary of the invention

An object of the first aspect of the present invention is to provide an ice making apparatus having high ice making efficiency in view of one of the above-mentioned drawbacks existing in the prior art.

A further object of the first aspect of the invention is to make the ice cubes produced by the ice making device transparent.

An object of the second aspect of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator having the above-described ice making device.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an ice making apparatus is provided, comprising:

Main body bracket

An ice making box rotatably mounted in the main body bracket, wherein the ice making box is separated to form at least one ice making compartment with an opening upward to accommodate water to make ice cubes;

a temperature change device above the body support, comprising a semiconductor refrigeration sheet;

a lifting mechanism connected to the temperature change device for reducing the temperature changing device to a position partially extending into the ice making box during ice making to transfer the cooling amount generated by the semiconductor refrigeration sheet To the water in the ice making box to form ice cubes.

Optionally, the temperature changing device further includes:

a first temperature changing portion having an upper surface in thermal contact with a lower temperature changing surface of the semiconductor refrigeration sheet; and

a second temperature changing portion, wherein a lower surface thereof is in thermal contact with an upper temperature changing surface of the semiconductor refrigeration sheet,

The semiconductor refrigeration sheet is configured to transfer the amount of cold generated by the semiconductor refrigeration sheet to the first temperature change portion during ice making;

The lifting mechanism is configured to reduce the temperature changing device to a position where a lower portion of the first temperature changing portion projects into the ice making box during ice making.

Optionally, the first temperature changing portion includes: a first heat conducting plate extending in a horizontal direction, the first heat conducting plate surface is in thermal contact with a lower temperature changing surface of the semiconductor refrigeration sheet, from the first heat conducting plate The lower surface of the lower surface protrudes downwardly from the at least one cooling rod, wherein each of the cooling rods corresponds to one of the ice making grids;

The second temperature changing portion includes: a second heat conducting plate extending in a horizontal direction, and a lower surface of the second heat conducting plate is in thermal contact with an upper temperature changing surface of the semiconductor cooling sheet, along an upper surface of the second heat conducting plate a plurality of spaced fins extending upward in the vertical direction, and

The lifting mechanism is further configured to reduce the temperature changing device to a position in which each of the cooling bars of the first temperature changing portion projects into the corresponding ice making compartment during the ice making process.

Optionally, the semiconductor refrigerating sheet is further configured to: transfer heat generated by the heat-generating portion to the first temperature-changing portion after the ice-making is completed, so that the ice in the ice-making grid absorbs heat from the cooling rod Be separated from it; and

The lifting mechanism is further configured to raise the temperature changing device to a higher position than the preset position of the ice making box after the heat absorbed by the ice in the ice making compartment is separated from the cooling rod.

Optionally, the lifting mechanism comprises:

a gear fixedly disposed above the main body bracket;

a rack engaged with the gear, disposed vertically in the vertical direction above the main body bracket and movable up and down in a vertical direction, the temperature change device being mounted at a bottom end of the rack;

a driving mechanism for driving the gear to rotate, so that the temperature changing device is lifted to a different vertical position with the rack.

Optionally, wherein the drive mechanism comprises a drive motor and a gear transmission structure, the drive motor driving the gear to rotate by the gear transmission structure.

Optionally, the ice making box is made of plastic;

The ice making device further includes a drive assembly for driving the ice making box to rotate to cause ice cubes in the ice making compartment to fall out therefrom.

Optionally, the ice making device further includes:

The refrigerant cycle type refrigeration system is configured to controlly blow cold air to the second temperature change portion to dissipate heat during the ice making process.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a refrigerator is provided, comprising:

Storage room; and

An ice making device according to any of the preceding claims, which is disposed in the storage compartment.

Optionally, a separate ice making chamber is disposed in the storage compartment, the ice making device is disposed in the ice making chamber, and a top portion of the ice making chamber forms an air inlet for the inflow of the cooling airflow;

The refrigerator further includes:

An evaporator that cools air flowing therethrough to supply at least cold air to the storage compartment;

a supply air path for feeding at least a portion of the air cooled by the evaporator into the ice making chamber during ice making, thereby dissipating heat from the second temperature changing portion.

Optionally, the refrigerator further includes:

a damper disposed in the air supply air passage, configured to conduct the air supply air passage during ice making to blow cold air to the second temperature changing portion; and disconnect the sending after the ice making ends Wind and wind road.

Optionally, a lower portion of the ice making chamber forms a return air outlet for the airflow to flow out,

The refrigerator further includes a return air path for conveying an airflow flowing from the return air vent to the evaporator for cooling.

The ice making device of the invention can directly freeze the water in the ice making box by directly introducing the cold amount generated by the semiconductor refrigeration sheet into the water in the ice making box, so as to achieve the purpose of instantaneous freezing. Since the water in the ice making box is instantaneously frozen from the inside to the outside, the formed ice has no air bubbles, so the present invention can produce ice with higher transparency.

Specifically, the present invention passes the temperature-changing surface of the semiconductor refrigerating sheet in thermal contact with the first temperature-changing portion into a refrigerating surface (ie, a cold end) during the ice making process to transfer the cooling amount generated by the semiconductor refrigerating sheet to the first variable temperature portion. And further, by inserting the first temperature changing portion into the ice making grid, the cold amount released from the cold end of the semiconductor refrigeration sheet is directly introduced into the water in the ice making box, so that the ice making can be performed. The water in the box freezes quickly to achieve instant icing.

Further, after the ice cubes are formed, the polarity of the current of the semiconductor refrigerating sheet is exchanged, that is, the heating surface (ie, the hot end) of the semiconductor refrigerating sheet is reversed with the refrigerating surface, thereby causing the temperature to be in thermal contact with the first variable temperature portion. The surface becomes a heating surface, and the first temperature changing portion can be detached from the ice in an instant. Then, the ice making box of the ice making device is rotated to cause the ice cubes to fall off into the ice storage box or other containers under the action of gravity to complete the ice making and deicing.

Further, the ice making device and the refrigerator of the present invention dissipate heat to the heating surface of the semiconductor refrigerating sheet by blowing cold air to the second variable temperature portion by the refrigerant circulation type refrigerating system, so that the temperature of the refrigerating surface of the semiconductor refrigerating sheet can be made lower. It produces more cold, which further increases the ice making speed and can be made into highly transparent ice cubes.

The above as well as other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the <

DRAWINGS

Some specific embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below by way of example, and not limitation. The same reference numbers in the drawings identify the same or similar parts. Those skilled in the art should understand that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the figure:

1 is a schematic structural view of an ice making device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a schematic structural view of the ice making device shown in Figure 1 when making ice;

Figure 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the temperature change device of the ice making device shown in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a schematic structural view of the ice making device shown in Figure 1 when it is detached;

Figure 5 is a schematic perspective view of a refrigerator in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

detailed description

1 is a schematic structural view of an ice making device 100 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Fig. 1, ice making device 100 can generally include a body bracket (not shown) and an ice making box 10 rotatably mounted within the body bracket. The ice making box 10 is open to the upper surface, and water can be injected into the ice making box 10 by a water injection device (not shown). The ice making box 10 is partitioned to form at least one ice tray 11 having an opening upward to accommodate water to make ice cubes. Generally, a plurality of ice making compartments 11 can be formed in the ice making box 10, for example, six, eight, and the like. The ice making box 10 can be made of plastic. The ice making device 100 further includes a driving assembly for driving the ice making box 10 to rotate so that the ice cubes in the ice making tray 11 are detached therefrom. The drive assembly generally includes a drive motor 22 mounted at one end of the main body bracket and a rotating shaft 24 mounted on the main body bracket and disposed at the bottom of the ice making box 10, which is coupled to the drive motor 22 to drive the ice making box 10 to rotate.

The side cross section of the ice tray 11 is an inverted trapezoid to separate ice cubes therefrom. The ice making box 10 can also be twisted in the lateral direction while rotating, that is, a twisted ice making box, so that the ice cubes in the ice making tray 11 are quickly detached therefrom. An ice storage box (not shown) may be disposed under the ice making box 10, and the ice pieces separated by the rotation of the ice making box 10 are stored in the ice storage box.

In particular, the ice making apparatus 100 further includes a temperature changing device 40 above the main body bracket and an elevating mechanism 30 connected to the temperature changing device 40. The temperature change device 40 may include a semiconductor refrigeration sheet 43 (see FIG. 3). As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the semiconductor refrigerating sheet 43 has two opposite temperature-changing surfaces. When the semiconductor refrigerating sheet 43 is energized, one of the temperature-changing surface temperatures is lowered to form a refrigerating surface (ie, a cold end); and another variable-temperature surface temperature Raise to form a heating surface (ie heat end). The ice making device 100 of the embodiment of the present invention uses the amount of cold generated by the semiconductor refrigerating sheet 43 (cold end) to make ice.

The lifting mechanism 30 is used to drive the temperature changing device 40 to the different vertical positions. In some embodiments, the lift mechanism 30 can include a gear 31, a rack 32, and a drive mechanism. The gear 31 is fixedly disposed above the main body bracket. The rack 32 meshes with the gear 31, which is disposed in the vertical direction above the main body bracket, and is movable up and down in the vertical direction by the engagement with the gear 31. The temperature change device 40 is mounted at the bottom end of the rack 32 so as to move up and down with the rack 32 in the vertical direction. The drive mechanism is used to drive the rotation of the gear 31 such that the temperature change device 40 is raised and lowered with the rack 32 to different vertical positions. The drive mechanism may include a drive motor 33 and a gear transmission structure, and the drive motor 33 is rotated by the gear transmission structure drive gear 31. Specifically, the gear transmission structure may include a first gear 34 that meshes with an output shaft of the drive motor 33, and a second gear 35 that meshes with the first gear 34. Both the first gear 34 and the second gear 35 rotate in a vertical plane. Wherein the second gear 35 is coupled to the gear 31 by a drive shaft 36 extending in the horizontal direction, so that the drive motor 33 can drive the gear 31 to rotate in a vertical plane. The driving motor 33 can be fixedly disposed above the main body bracket; the driving shaft 36 can be fixedly disposed above the main body bracket through a sleeve (not shown). In the illustrated embodiment, the second gear 35 is sleeved in the middle of the transmission shaft 36, and the two gears 31 are respectively sleeved on both ends of the transmission shaft 36, and each gear 31 is respectively meshed with a rack 32 to change temperature. Both ends of the device 40 are mounted at the bottom ends of the two racks 32, respectively.

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural view of the ice making device 100 shown in Fig. 1 when it is made into ice. Referring to Fig. 2, the lifting mechanism 30 can be configured to reduce the temperature changing device 40 to partially extend into the ice making box 10 during the ice making process (i.e., the process in which the water in the ice tray 11 absorbs the cold to solidify into ice). The position is to transfer the amount of cooling generated by the semiconductor refrigerating sheet 43 to the water in the ice making grid 11 to form ice cubes. Since the temperature changing device 40 directly transfers the cooling amount to the water by extending into the ice making compartment 11, the water in the ice making compartment 11 freezes from the inside to the outside, so that the formed ice cubes are relatively transparent.

3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a temperature change device 40 of the ice making device 100 of FIG. In some embodiments, the temperature change device 40 may include a semiconductor refrigerating sheet 43, a first temperature changing portion 41, and a second temperature changing portion 42. The upper surface of the first temperature changing portion 41 is in thermal contact with the lower temperature changing surface of the semiconductor refrigerating sheet 43, and the lower surface of the second temperature changing portion 42 is in thermal contact with the upper temperature changing surface of the semiconductor refrigerating sheet 43. The semiconductor refrigerating sheet 43 is configured to transmit the cooling amount generated by the semiconductor refrigerating sheet 43 to the first temperature changing portion 41 during the ice making process; that is, the lower temperature changing surface that causes the semiconductor refrigerating sheet 43 to be in thermal contact with the first temperature changing portion 41 during the ice making process is The refrigerating surface, the upper temperature changing surface in thermal contact with the second temperature changing portion 42, is a heating surface. The lifting mechanism 30 is configured to reduce the temperature changing device 40 to a position where the lower portion of the first temperature changing portion 41 projects into the ice making box 10 during the ice making process, so that the water entering the ice making tray 11 is from the first temperature changing portion. 41 draws cold to form ice cubes.

Referring to FIG. 3, in a preferred embodiment, the first temperature changing portion 41 may include a first heat conducting plate extending in a horizontal direction, the first heat conducting plate surface being in thermal contact with a temperature changing surface of the semiconductor cooling fin 43. At least one cooling rod 411 is protruded downward from the lower surface of the first heat conducting plate, wherein each of the cooling bars 411 corresponds to one ice making grid 11. The second temperature changing portion 42 includes a second heat conducting plate extending in the horizontal direction, and the lower surface of the second heat conducting plate is in thermal contact with the other temperature changing surface of the semiconductor refrigerating sheet 43. A plurality of spaced-apart heat dissipating fins 421 extend upward from the upper surface of the second heat conducting plate in the vertical direction. By providing the heat dissipating fins 421 on the upper surface of the second heat conducting plate, the heat exchange area of the second temperature changing portion 42 and the air is increased, thereby improving the heat dissipating efficiency.

Accordingly, the lifting mechanism 30 is configured to reduce the temperature changing device 40 to a position in which each of the cooling bars 411 of the first temperature changing portion 41 projects into the corresponding ice making grid 11 during the ice making process.

The materials of the first temperature changing portion 41 and the second temperature changing portion 42 may be copper, copper alloy, aluminum, aluminum alloy, stainless steel or other materials having better thermal conductivity. In order to facilitate the mounting, the upper surface of the first heat conducting plate may be recessed downward to form a recess, and the semiconductor refrigerating sheet 43 is embedded in the recess. The temperature change device 40 may be provided with a semiconductor refrigerating sheet 43; a plurality of semiconductor refrigerating sheets 43 may be disposed, and the plurality of semiconductor refrigerating sheets 43 are arranged in the horizontal direction, and are all embedded in the grooves of the first heat conducting plate. The upper surface of the first heat conducting plate and the lower surface of the second heat conducting plate may not be disposed in contact with each other to prevent direct transfer of heat between the first heat conducting plate and the second heat conducting plate.

Further, the semiconductor refrigerating sheet 43 is further configured to transfer the heat generated by the semiconductor refrigerating sheet 43 to the first temperature changing portion 41 after the end of the ice making (that is, after the ice cube is formed), so that the ice cubes in the ice making tray 11 are sucked from the cooling rod 411. The heat is separated from it. That is, after the completion of the ice making, the temperature-changing surface in which the semiconductor cooling fin 43 is in thermal contact with the first temperature-changing portion 41 serves as a heating surface, and the temperature-changing surface in thermal contact with the second temperature-changing portion 42 becomes a cooling surface, thereby the semiconductor cooling sheet 43. The heat generated by the heating surface is transmitted to the cooling rod 411 of the first temperature changing portion 41. The lifting mechanism 30 is further configured to raise the temperature changing device 40 to a position higher than the preset position of the ice making box 10 after the heat absorbed by the ice in the ice making tray 11 is separated from the cooling rod 411. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the preset position above the ice making box 10 should at least ensure that the temperature changing device 40 does not interfere with the ice making box 10 when the ice making box 10 is turned over, see FIG.

According to the present invention, the cooling rod 411 is taken out from the cold end of the semiconductor refrigerating sheet 43, and the cooling rod 411 is projected into the ice making box 10, and the water released from the cold end of the semiconductor refrigerating sheet 43 is used to instantaneously freeze the water in the ice making box 10. After the ice cubes are formed, the hot and cold ends of the semiconductor refrigerating sheet 43 are reversed by exchanging the polarity of the current of the semiconductor refrigerating sheet 43, and the heat of the hot end is transferred to the ice block through the cooling rod 411, so that the ice making rod 411 can be instantaneously made. Disengaged from the ice cubes, and then rotated by the twisting ice making box 10, the ice cubes in the ice making box 10 are detached into the ice storage box and other containers by gravity to complete the ice making and deicing.

The inventors of the present application found that although the ice making apparatus 100 having the above structure has a relatively fast ice making efficiency and can prepare relatively transparent ice pieces, the transparency of the obtained ice pieces still has room for improvement. In the field of existing ice making devices, only one of a semiconductor refrigerating sheet and a refrigerant cycle type refrigerating system (also referred to as a compression refrigerating system or an evaporator refrigerating system) is generally used to provide a cooling capacity for the ice making box. In the field of ice making devices utilizing semiconductor refrigeration, those skilled in the art have not realized that it is necessary to use a refrigerant cycle type refrigeration system to dissipate heat from the heating surface of the semiconductor refrigerating sheet to obtain transparent ice. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the second temperature changing portion 42 of the temperature change device 40 can be dissipated by a refrigerant cycle type refrigeration system to obtain transparent ice cubes.

Thus, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the ice making apparatus 100 may further include a refrigerant cycle type refrigeration system (not shown) configured to be controlled to blow to the second temperature changing portion 42 during the ice making process. Cool the wind to dissipate it. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, a refrigerant cycle type refrigeration system generally includes an evaporator, a compressor, a condenser, a throttling element (expansion valve or capillary), and the evaporator is connected to a compressor, a condenser, a section via a refrigerant pipe The flow elements are connected to form a refrigeration cycle that cools when the compressor is started to cool the air flowing through the evaporator. In such an embodiment, the ice making apparatus 100 may further be provided with a casing (not shown) in which the refrigerant cycle type refrigeration system is disposed. Also in the outer shell The fan, the air supply duct and the return air duct may be disposed, and the fan blows the air cooled by the evaporator to the second temperature changing portion 42 via the air supply duct; the heat radiated by the second temperature changing portion 42 is sent by the return air duct To the evaporator, the evaporator circulates its heat to the compressor.

Next, the operation of the ice making apparatus 100 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs.

First, water is injected into the ice making box 10, and the elevating mechanism 30 lowers the temperature changing device 40 to a position where the cooling rod 411 is projected into the corresponding ice making tray 11 (see Fig. 2). The semiconductor refrigerating sheet 43 is turned on to start operation, and the refrigerant circulation type refrigerating system operates. The cold air cooled by the evaporator flows to the second temperature changing portion 42 of the temperature change device 40 via the air supply duct to the hot end of the semiconductor refrigerating sheet 43. Cool down. The lower temperature-changing surface of the semiconductor cooling fin 43 in thermal contact with the first temperature-changing portion 41 serves as a cold end, and the cooling amount is instantaneously released to rapidly lower the temperature of the cooling rod 411. At this time, the water in contact with the cooling rod 411 in the ice tray 11 is instantaneously frozen. When the ice cube is completely formed (i.e., after the end of the ice making process), the refrigerant cycle type refrigeration system is shut down, and the cooling air is stopped from being supplied to the second temperature changing portion 42 of the temperature change device 40. The polarity switch of the current of the semiconductor refrigerating sheet 43 is activated to reverse the cold end and the hot end of the semiconductor refrigerating sheet 43, so that the ice cube is instantaneously separated from the ice making rod. At the same time, the driving motor 33 is activated to drive the gear 31 to rotate, thereby driving the rack 32 and the temperature changing device 40 to move upward, that is, to drive the cooling rod 411 to separate from the ice in the ice making box 10 (see FIG. 1). At this time, the driving motor 22 is started, and the ice making box 10 is twisted to cause the ice cube to fall off into the ice storage box by gravity (see FIG. 4), and the ice making and deicing process is completed.

In an alternative embodiment, the ice making device 100 may not separately provide a refrigerant cycle type refrigeration system, but may use the refrigerant cycle type refrigeration system of the refrigerator to dissipate heat from the second temperature changing portion 42 of the ice making device 100.

The present invention may also provide a refrigerator based on the ice making device 100 of any of the foregoing embodiments. Fig. 5 is a schematic structural view of a refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The refrigerator 1 includes a storage compartment and the ice making apparatus 100 in any of the foregoing embodiments, and the ice making apparatus 100 is disposed in the storage compartment 200. In some embodiments, the storage compartment 200 can include a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment. The storage compartment 200 in which the ice making apparatus 100 is disposed is preferably a refrigerating compartment.

The refrigerator 1 may further include a refrigerant circulation type refrigeration system for supplying at least the cold storage of the storage compartment 200. In the embodiment in which the refrigerant-making apparatus 100 is not provided with the refrigerant circulation type refrigeration system alone, a separate ice making chamber 300 may be provided in the storage compartment 200, and the ice making apparatus 100 is disposed in the ice making compartment 300. The top of the ice making compartment 300 forms an air inlet for the inflow of the cooling airflow. The refrigerator 1 may include a supply air path 410 for feeding at least part of the air cooled by the evaporator 400 in the refrigerant cycle type refrigeration system into the ice making chamber 300 during the ice making process, thereby performing the second temperature changing portion 42 Cooling. The lower portion of the rear wall of the ice making chamber 300 forms a return air outlet through which the airflow flows. The refrigerator 1 further includes a return air path 420 for conveying the airflow flowing out of the air return port of the ice making chamber 300 to the evaporator 400 for cooling.

In a further embodiment, the refrigerator 1 further includes a damper 411 disposed in the air supply duct 410 and configured to conduct the air supply duct 410 during the ice making process to blow cool air to the second temperature changing unit 42 for heat dissipation. The damper 411 is closed after the end of the ice making to disconnect the air supply duct 410.

Specifically, when the ice making device 100 starts to make ice, if the compressor of the refrigerant circulation type refrigeration system is in the activated state, the damper 411 is opened to turn on the supply air path 410, and the cold air can flow into the ice making chamber 300. The two temperature changing portions 42 perform heat dissipation. When the ice making is completed, the damper 411 is closed to disconnect the air supply duct 410. When the ice making device 100 starts to make ice, if the compressor When it is in the shutdown state, the compressor is started and the damper 411 is opened. When the ice making is finished, the damper 411 is closed. If the storage compartments such as the refrigerating compartment and the freezer compartment do not require refrigeration after the end of ice making, the compressor can be shut down.

In this regard, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the <RTIgt;the</RTI> <RTIgt; </ RTI> <RTIgt; </ RTI> <RTIgt; </ RTI> <RTIgt; The content directly determines or derives many other variations or modifications consistent with the principles of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention should be understood and construed as covering all such other modifications or modifications.

Claims

An ice making device comprising:

Main body bracket

An ice making box rotatably mounted in the main body bracket, wherein the ice making box is separated to form at least one ice making compartment with an opening upward to accommodate water to make ice cubes;

a temperature change device above the body support, comprising a semiconductor refrigeration sheet;

a lifting mechanism connected to the temperature change device for reducing the temperature changing device to a position partially extending into the ice making box during ice making to transfer the cooling amount generated by the semiconductor refrigeration sheet To the water in the ice making box to form ice cubes.
The ice making device according to claim 1, wherein

The temperature change device further includes:

a first temperature changing portion having an upper surface in thermal contact with a lower temperature changing surface of the semiconductor refrigeration sheet; and

a second temperature changing portion, wherein a lower surface thereof is in thermal contact with an upper temperature changing surface of the semiconductor refrigeration sheet,

The semiconductor refrigeration sheet is configured to transfer the amount of cold generated by the semiconductor refrigeration sheet to the first temperature change portion during ice making;

The lifting mechanism is configured to reduce the temperature changing device to a position where a lower portion of the first temperature changing portion projects into the ice making box during ice making.
The ice making device according to claim 2, wherein

The first temperature changing portion includes: a first heat conducting plate extending in a horizontal direction, the first heat conducting plate surface is in thermal contact with a lower temperature changing surface of the semiconductor cooling sheet, facing from a lower surface of the first heat conducting plate At least one cooling rod is protruded downward, wherein each of the cooling rods corresponds to one of the ice making grids;

The second temperature changing portion includes: a second heat conducting plate extending in a horizontal direction, and a lower surface of the second heat conducting plate is in thermal contact with an upper temperature changing surface of the semiconductor cooling sheet, along an upper surface of the second heat conducting plate a plurality of spaced fins extending upward in the vertical direction, and

The lifting mechanism is further configured to reduce the temperature changing device to a position in which each of the cooling bars of the first temperature changing portion projects into the corresponding ice making compartment during the ice making process.
The ice making device according to claim 3, wherein

The semiconductor refrigerating sheet is further configured to: transfer heat generated by the heat-generating portion to the first temperature-changing portion after the ice-making is completed, so that the ice in the ice-making grid absorbs heat from the cooling rod and is detached therefrom; And

The lifting mechanism is further configured to raise the temperature changing device to a higher position than the preset position of the ice making box after the heat absorbed by the ice in the ice making compartment is separated from the cooling rod.
The ice making device according to claim 1, wherein said lifting mechanism comprises:

a gear fixedly disposed above the main body bracket;

a rack engaged with the gear, which is disposed in a vertical direction above the main body bracket and can be vertically moved up and down Moving, the temperature change device is mounted at the bottom end of the rack;

a driving mechanism for driving the gear to rotate, so that the temperature changing device is lifted to a different vertical position with the rack.
The ice making device according to claim 5, wherein said drive mechanism comprises a drive motor and a gear transmission structure, said drive motor driving said gear to rotate by said gear transmission structure.
The ice making device according to claim 1, wherein

The ice making box is made of plastic;

The ice making device further includes a drive assembly for driving the ice making box to rotate to cause ice cubes in the ice making compartment to fall out therefrom.
The ice making device according to claim 2, further comprising:

The refrigerant cycle type refrigeration system is configured to controlly blow cold air to the second temperature change portion to dissipate heat during the ice making process.
A refrigerator comprising:

Storage room; and

The ice making device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, which is disposed in the storage compartment.
A refrigerator according to claim 9, wherein

a separate ice making chamber is disposed in the storage compartment, the ice making device is disposed in the ice making chamber, and a top portion of the ice making chamber forms an air inlet for the inflow of the cooling airflow;

The refrigerator further includes:

An evaporator that cools air flowing therethrough to supply at least cold air to the storage compartment;

a supply air path for feeding at least a portion of the air cooled by the evaporator into the ice making chamber during ice making, thereby dissipating heat from the second temperature changing portion.
The refrigerator according to claim 10, further comprising:

a damper disposed in the air supply air passage, configured to conduct the air supply air passage during ice making to blow cold air to the second temperature changing portion; and disconnect the sending after the ice making ends Wind and wind road.
A refrigerator according to claim 10, wherein

The lower part of the ice making chamber forms a return air outlet for the airflow to flow out,

The refrigerator further includes a return air path for conveying an airflow flowing from the return air vent to the evaporator for cooling.