WO2021179650A1

WO2021179650A1 - Ice maker and refrigerator having same

Info

Publication number: WO2021179650A1
Application number: PCT/CN2020/127549
Authority: WO
Inventors: 姚南飞
Original assignee: 合肥华凌股份有限公司; 合肥美的电冰箱有限公司; 美的集团股份有限公司
Priority date: 2020-03-09
Filing date: 2020-11-09
Publication date: 2021-09-16
Also published as: CN111174488A

Abstract

An ice maker (100) and a refrigerator having same. The ice maker (100) comprises: an ice making support (1), the ice making support (1) being provided with an accommodation cavity (11), and the ice making support (1) being provided with first positioning holes (121) and second positioning holes (131); ice making grids (2), the ice making grids (2) being provided with first fitting shafts (21) and second fitting shafts (22), the first fitting shafts (21) being rotatable relative to the first positioning holes (121), and at least a part of the second fitting shafts (22) being rotatably provided in the second positioning holes (131); an ice removing handle (3), the ice removing handle (3) being in thread fit with the first fitting shaft (21), and when the ice removing handle (3) is subjected to a pulling force in a direction away from the ice making support (1), the ice making grids (2) rotating to remove ice.

Description

Ice maker and refrigerator with same

Cross-references to related applications

This application is based on a Chinese patent application with an application number of 202010158740.3 and an application date of March 9, 2020, and claims the priority of the Chinese patent application. The entire content of the Chinese patent application is hereby incorporated by reference into this application.

Technical field

This application relates to the technical field of household appliances, and in particular to an ice maker and a refrigerator with the same.

Background technique

In the ice maker in the related art, the user needs to apply a relatively large force when performing an ice removal operation, which affects the user's experience to a certain extent.

Summary of the invention

This application aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. For this reason, one purpose of the present application is to provide an ice maker, which can realize the rotation of the ice making tray to remove ice when the user pulls the ice removal handle. It makes users more labor-saving, more ergonomic, and enhances the user experience of using the ice machine.

The application also proposes a refrigerator, including the above-mentioned ice maker.

The ice maker according to the embodiment of the present application includes: an ice-making support, the ice-making support has a accommodating cavity with an open top and a bottom, a first positioning hole is provided on the first side wall of the ice-making support, and A second positioning hole is provided on the second side wall of the ice holder, and the first side wall is arranged opposite to the second side wall; an ice-making tray, the ice-making tray is rotatably arranged in the accommodating cavity , The opposite ends of the ice maker are respectively provided with a first matching shaft and a second matching shaft, a part of the first matching shaft extends out of the first positioning hole, and the first matching shaft is opposite to the first matching shaft. A positioning hole is rotatable, and at least a part of the second matching shaft is rotatably provided in the second positioning hole; an ice removal handle, the ice removal handle is located outside the ice making bracket and is connected to the first The matching shaft is threaded, and when the ice removing handle receives a pulling force in a direction away from the ice making bracket, the ice making tray rotates to remove ice.

According to the ice maker of the embodiment of the present application, the ice making handle is positioned outside the ice making holder and is threadedly engaged with the first mating shaft, and when the ice making handle is pulled in a direction away from the ice making holder, the ice making tray is rotated to Deicing. Therefore, when the user pulls the ice removing handle, the ice making tray can be rotated to remove the ice. The ice maker of the embodiment of the present application can convert the pulling force applied by the user into a driving force for driving the ice tray to rotate. Therefore, compared with the knob type ice removal in the prior art, it is beneficial to reduce the force applied by the user, make the user more labor-saving, more ergonomic, and improve the user's experience of using the ice maker.

According to some embodiments of the present application, the ice-making bracket is provided with a limiting hole and a matching hole that communicate with each other, the limiting hole is located inside the matching hole, and the inner diameter of the limiting hole is larger than the matching hole. The inner diameter of the hole, the limiting hole and the mating hole together define the first positioning hole, the ice maker further includes a mating bearing, the mating bearing is sleeved on the first mating shaft and located Inside the limit hole.

In some embodiments of the present application, the portion of the first mating shaft located in the containing cavity is provided with a first limiting protrusion, and the first limiting protrusion abuts against the mating bearing and/ Or on the first side wall.

According to some embodiments of the present application, a second limiting protrusion is provided on a portion of the first mating shaft located in the containing cavity, and the second limiting protrusion abuts against the first side wall superior.

According to some embodiments of the present application, a matching screw is provided on a side of the ice removal handle close to the ice-making bracket, and an internal thread is formed in the first matching shaft to cooperate with the thread of the matching screw.

In some embodiments of the present application, the rotation center axis of the mating screw is collinear with the rotation center axis of the first mating shaft.

According to some embodiments of the present application, the ice maker further includes an elastic member, one end of the elastic member is provided on the second matching shaft, and the other end is provided on the second side wall to constantly drive the The ice tray rotates to a horizontal position to make ice.

In some embodiments of the present application, the elastic member is a torsion spring.

According to some embodiments of the present application, there are multiple ice-making trays, the multiple ice-making trays are arranged in the accommodating cavity at intervals, and the first matching shaft on each ice-making tray is It is threadedly matched with the ice removal handle.

The refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present application includes the ice maker according to the above embodiment of the present application.

According to the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present application, the ice maker according to the above embodiment of the present application is provided, so that when the user pulls the ice removing handle, the ice making tray can be rotated to remove ice. The refrigerator of the embodiment of the present application can convert the pulling force applied by the user into a driving force for driving the ice tray to rotate. Therefore, compared with the knob-type ice removal in the prior art, it is beneficial to reduce the force applied by the user, make the user more labor-saving, more ergonomic, and improve the user's experience of using the refrigerator.

The additional aspects and advantages of the present application will be partly given in the following description, and part of them will become obvious from the following description, or be understood through the practice of the present application.

Description of the drawings

The above and/or additional aspects and advantages of the present application will become obvious and easy to understand from the description of the embodiments in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an ice maker according to some embodiments of the present application;

Figure 2 is an exploded view of an ice maker according to some embodiments of the present application;

Figure 3 is a partial exploded view of an ice maker according to some embodiments of the present application;

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an ice maker according to some embodiments of the present application;

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view in the direction of A-A in Figure 4;

Figure 6 is an enlarged view of part A in Figure 5;

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view in the direction of B-B in Fig. 4.

Reference signs:

100. Ice maker;

1. Ice making bracket;

11. The containing cavity;

12. The first side wall; 121, the first positioning hole; 1211, the limiting hole; 1212, the matching hole;

13. The second side wall; 131. The second positioning hole;

2. Ice tray; 21. The first matching shaft; 211. The first limiting protrusion; 22. The second matching shaft;

3. De-icing handle; 31. Cooperate with screw;

4. Matching bearings;

5. Elastic parts.

Detailed ways

The embodiments of the present application are described in detail below. Examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements with the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the drawings are exemplary, and are only used to explain the present application, and should not be construed as a limitation to the present application.

The following describes the ice maker 100 according to an embodiment of the present application with reference to FIGS.

Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the ice-making rack 1 has a accommodating cavity 11 with an open top and a bottom. The first side wall 12 of the ice-making rack 1 is provided with a first positioning hole 121, and the ice-making rack A second positioning hole 131 is provided on the second side wall 13 of 1, and the first side wall 12 and the second side wall 13 are disposed opposite to each other. The ice-making tray 2 is rotatably arranged in the accommodating cavity 11. The opposite ends of the ice-making tray 2 are respectively provided with a first matching shaft 21 and a second matching shaft 22, and a part of the first matching shaft 21 extends out of the first positioning hole 121. The first matching shaft 21 is rotatable relative to the first positioning hole 121, and at least a part of the second matching shaft 22 is rotatably provided in the second positioning hole 131.

It can be seen that the ice making tray 2 can be rotated relative to the ice making bracket 1 through the cooperation of the first matching shaft 21 and the first positioning hole 121 and the cooperation of the second matching shaft 22 and the second positioning hole 131. , The ice-making tray 2 is rotatable in the containing cavity 11, so that the ice-making tray 2 can be de-iced.

As shown in Figures 4-6, the ice removing handle 3 is located outside the ice making holder 1 and is threadedly engaged with the first mating shaft 21. When the ice removing handle 3 is pulled away from the ice making holder 1, the ice making tray 2 Turn to de-ice. It can be seen that when the user exerts a pulling force on the ice removing handle 3 in a direction away from the ice making holder 1, the part where the ice removing handle 3 and the thread of the first mating shaft 21 are engaged gradually decreases, that is, the effect of the ice removing handle 3 on the pulling force The lower part gradually moves in a direction away from the ice-making support 1, and the first matching shaft 21 gradually rotates in a direction deviating from the horizontal position under the action of the pulling force, so as to realize the ice removal process of the ice-making tray 2.

It can be seen that the ice maker 100 of the embodiment of the present application can realize the rotation of the ice maker 2 to remove the ice when the user pulls the ice removal handle 3, so that the ice maker 100 of the embodiment of the present application can apply The pulling force of is converted into the driving force for driving the rotation of the ice tray 2 (F in FIG. 4 is the pulling force, and Ft is the driving force). Therefore, compared with the knob-type ice removal in the prior art, it is beneficial to reduce the force applied by the user, make the user more labor-saving, more ergonomic, and improve the user's experience of using the ice maker 100.

It should be noted that the user can apply a pulling force along the central axis of rotation of the first mating shaft 21 or along a direction with a certain angle between the central axis of rotation of the first mating shaft 21. At the same time, it can be understood that when the user applies a pulling force in a direction away from the ice-making bracket 1 along the rotation center axis of the first mating shaft 21, the user can realize the rotation of the ice-making tray 2 with a relatively small force. Take ice off.

According to the ice maker 100 of the embodiment of the present application, the ice removing handle 3 is located outside the ice making holder 1 and is threadedly fitted with the first mating shaft 21, and when the ice removing handle 3 is pulled away from the ice making holder 1 , The ice maker 2 rotates to remove ice. Therefore, when the user pulls the ice removing handle 3, the ice making tray 2 can be rotated to remove the ice. The ice maker 100 of the embodiment of the present application can convert the pulling force applied by the user into a driving force for driving the ice tray 2 to rotate. Therefore, compared with the knob-type ice removal in the prior art, it is beneficial to reduce the force applied by the user, make the user more labor-saving, more ergonomic, and improve the user's experience of using the ice maker 100.

As shown in FIG. 6, according to some embodiments of the present application, the ice-making bracket 1 is provided with a limiting hole 1211 and a matching hole 1212 that communicate with each other. The limiting hole 1211 is located inside the matching hole 1212 and the inner diameter of the limiting hole 1211 Larger than the inner diameter of the matching hole 1212, the limiting hole 1211 and the matching hole 1212 jointly define the first positioning hole 121. The ice maker 100 further includes a matching bearing 4, which is sleeved on the first matching shaft 21 and located in the limiting position.孔1211内.

Therefore, it can be seen that along the rotation center axis of the first mating shaft 21, the inner diameter of the first positioning hole 121 becomes smaller in the direction away from the ice tray 2. After the matching bearing 4 is sleeved on the first matching shaft 21, it can be installed and positioned in the limiting hole 1211. The inner diameter of the limiting hole 1211 is larger than the inner diameter of the matching hole 1212. To a certain extent, the matching bearing 4 is limited in the axial direction, which can effectively prevent the matching bearing 4 from moving in a direction away from the ice making tray 2.

On the other hand, it is known that the user applies a pulling force to the ice removal handle 3, and the structure of the ice making machine 100 in which the ice removal handle 3 and the first mating shaft 21 are screwed together can decompose the pulling force into two perpendicular to each other. Force components, one of the force components (Ft in Figure 4) is used to drive the ice tray 2 to rotate to remove ice, and the other force component will increase the friction generated when the first matching shaft 21 rotates to a certain extent . Therefore, the arrangement of the matching bearing 4 can effectively alleviate the friction force, and convert the friction force into a driving force for driving the rotation of the first matching shaft 21, thereby making the rotation of the first matching shaft 21 smoother and facilitating the user to apply a smaller pulling force. , Make users more labor-saving, and further enhance the user experience.

As shown in Figures 2 and 6, in some embodiments of the present application, the portion of the first mating shaft 21 located in the accommodating cavity 11 is provided with a first limiting protrusion 211, and the first limiting protrusion 211 stops It abuts on the mating bearing 4 and/or the first side wall 12. It can be seen from this that in the specific embodiment of the present application, the first limiting protrusion 211 may only abut on the side of the mating bearing 4 close to the ice making tray 2, and the first limiting protrusion 211 may also only stop. Abutting on the inner side wall of the first side wall 12, the first limiting protrusion 211 may also be partially stopped on the side of the mating bearing 4 close to the ice making tray 2 and partially stopped on the inner side of the first side wall 12 On the wall. As a result, the position setting of the first limiting protrusion 211 is more flexible, which facilitates the production and manufacture of the first mating shaft 21. At the same time, it can be seen that the structure of the first limiting protrusion 211 can effectively limit the ice making tray 2 and the first matching shaft 21 in the axial direction, and can effectively prevent the first matching shaft 21 from moving toward the ice removal handle 3 Therefore, the efficiency of the user's deicing operation of the ice maker 100 can be improved, the sensitivity and effectiveness of the ice maker 100 for deicing can be improved, and the reliability of the ice maker 100 can be improved.

According to some embodiments of the present application, the portion of the first mating shaft 21 located in the containing cavity 11 is provided with a second limiting protrusion, and the second limiting protrusion abuts on the first side wall 12. Therefore, the ice making tray 2 and the first matching shaft 21 can be effectively axially limited, and the first matching shaft 21 can be effectively prevented from moving toward the ice removing handle 3, thereby improving the user's ability to remove ice from the ice maker 100. The operation efficiency of the ice maker 100 is improved, the sensitivity and effectiveness of ice removal of the ice maker 100 are improved, and the reliability of the ice maker 100 is improved.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 3 and 5 to 7, according to some embodiments of the present application, a matching screw 31 is provided on the side of the ice removal handle 3 close to the ice making bracket 1, and the first matching shaft 21 is formed There is an internal thread that is matched with the thread of the mating screw 31. Therefore, the reliability of the threaded fit between the ice removal handle 3 and the first mating shaft 21 can be ensured, and the area of the threaded engagement portion between the first mating shaft 21 and the ice removal handle 3 can be reliably changed, thereby ensuring the ice maker 100 The ice can be effectively removed and the reliability of the ice maker 100 can be improved. At the same time, it can be seen that the way of threading the ice removal handle 3 and the first matching shaft 21 is simple and reliable, which is convenient for the production and assembly of the ice maker 100. Of course, it can be understood that the threaded fitting manner of the ice removal handle 3 and the first mating shaft 21 is not limited to this, and an internal thread is formed in the ice removal handle 3, and the first mating shaft 21 faces the direction of the ice removal handle 3. One end is provided with a matching screw 31, and at this time, the threaded matching of the ice removal handle 3 and the first matching shaft 21 can still be realized.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, in some embodiments of the present application, the rotation center axis of the mating screw 31 and the rotation center axis of the first mating shaft 21 are collinear. Therefore, the user is more labor-saving, which is beneficial to improve the efficiency of de-icing of the ice maker 100, and the structure distribution of the ice maker 100 is more uniform and reliable.

As shown in Figures 2 to 5, according to some embodiments of the present application, the ice maker 100 further includes an elastic member 5. One end of the elastic member 5 is provided on the second mating shaft 22, and the other end is provided on the second side wall 13. The ice maker 2 is always driven to rotate to the horizontal position to make ice. Therefore, it can be understood that when the user does not apply force to the ice removal handle 3, the ice making tray 2 is in a horizontal position under the action of the elastic driving force of the elastic member 5 to make ice. When the user pulls the ice removal handle 3, the user needs to overcome the elastic driving force of the elastic member 5 on the ice making tray 2, and then deform the elastic member 5 to pull out a part of the ice removal handle 3 to realize the rotation of the ice making tray 2 , And then de-ice the ice maker 2. After the ice-making tray 2 is de-icing, the user does not need to reset the ice-making handle 3. As long as the user stops applying force to the ice-making handle 3, the elastic member 5 will gradually return to its original state and the ice-making tray 2 will automatically reset. Turn to the horizontal position to make ice. As a result, the ice maker 100 is more convenient to use, and the user experience can be improved. Of course, it is understandable that when the elastic member 5 is not provided on the ice maker 100, the user can manually push the ice removal handle 3 to reset it after the ice removal of the ice making tray 2 is completed.

In some embodiments of the present application, the elastic member 5 is a torsion spring. Therefore, the structure of the elastic member 5 is reliable, the cost is low, and the source is wide. Of course, it should be noted that the elastic member 5 can also be formed into other structural forms, as long as the reliability of the elastic member 5 is ensured, and the elastic member 5 can reliably drive the ice tray 2 to rotate to the horizontal position to make ice.

As shown in Figures 1 to 4, according to some embodiments of the present application, there are a plurality of ice-making trays 2, and the plurality of ice-making trays 2 are arranged in the accommodating cavity 11 at intervals. The mating shaft 21 is threadedly engaged with the ice removal handle 3. As a result, the ice making efficiency of the ice maker 100 can be improved, and the reliability of ice removal of each ice making tray 2 can be ensured at the same time. Optionally, the movement path of the ice removal handle 3 and the rotation center axis of the plurality of first matching shafts 21 are located in the same plane. Thereby, the ice removal efficiency of the ice maker 100 can be improved.

The refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present application includes the ice maker 100 according to the above embodiment of the present application.

According to the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present application, by providing the ice maker 100 according to the above embodiment of the present application, when the user pulls the ice removing handle 3, the ice making tray 2 can be rotated to remove ice. The refrigerator of the embodiment of the present application can convert the pulling force applied by the user into a driving force for driving the ice tray 2 to rotate. Therefore, compared with the knob-type ice removal in the prior art, it is beneficial to reduce the force applied by the user, make the user more labor-saving, more ergonomic, and improve the user's experience of using the refrigerator.

Specifically, the refrigerator includes a box body, a freezer compartment is arranged in the box body, and the ice maker 100 is located in the freezer compartment. Therefore, the ice maker 100 can make ice using the refrigeration cycle system in the freezer compartment to improve the refrigeration efficiency of the refrigerator. Of course, it should be noted that the ice maker 100 may also be located in other locations. For example, the ice maker 100 may be located in a refrigerating compartment inside the box; for another example, the ice maker 100 may also be located on the door of a refrigerator. As long as the reliability and ice making effect of the ice maker 100 are ensured.

Other configurations and operations of the refrigerator according to the embodiments of the present application are known to those of ordinary skill in the art, and will not be described in detail here.

In the description of this application, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", " Back", "Left", "Right", "Vertical", "Horizontal", "Top", "Bottom", "Inner", "Outer", "Clockwise", "Counterclockwise", "Axial" , "Radial", "Circumferential", etc. indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the application and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying the pointed device or The element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation of the present application. In addition, the features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of these features. In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more.

In the description of this application, it should be noted that the terms "installation", "connection", and "connection" should be understood in a broad sense, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited. For example, it can be a fixed connection or a detachable connection. Connected or integrally connected; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it can be the internal communication between two components. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood under specific circumstances.

In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "exemplary embodiments", "examples", "specific examples", or "some examples" etc. means to incorporate the implementation The specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described by the examples or examples are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present application. In this specification, the schematic representations of the above-mentioned terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the described specific features, structures, materials or characteristics can be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner.

Although the embodiments of the present application have been shown and described, those of ordinary skill in the art can understand that various changes, modifications, substitutions, and modifications can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principle and purpose of the present application. The scope of the application is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

An ice maker, which includes:

The ice-making support has a accommodating cavity with an open top and bottom, a first positioning hole is provided on the first side wall of the ice-making support, and a second side wall is provided on the second side wall of the ice-making support Positioning hole, the first side wall is opposite to the second side wall;

An ice-making tray, the ice-making tray is rotatably arranged in the accommodating cavity, opposite ends of the ice-making tray are respectively provided with a first matching shaft and a second matching shaft, a part of the first matching shaft Extending the first positioning hole, the first matching shaft is rotatable relative to the first positioning hole, and at least a part of the second matching shaft is rotatably provided in the second positioning hole;

The ice removing handle is located on the outside of the ice making bracket and is threadedly engaged with the first mating shaft. When the ice removing handle is pulled in a direction away from the ice making bracket, the ice making handle The grid rotates to remove the ice.
The ice maker according to claim 1, wherein the ice-making bracket is provided with a limiting hole and a matching hole that communicate with each other, the limiting hole is located inside the matching hole and the limiting hole is The inner diameter is larger than the inner diameter of the mating hole, the limiting hole and the mating hole jointly define the first positioning hole, the ice maker further includes a mating bearing, the mating bearing is sleeved on the first The mating shaft is located in the limiting hole.
The ice maker according to claim 2, wherein a portion of the first matching shaft located in the containing cavity is provided with a first limiting protrusion, and the first limiting protrusion abuts against the Fit the bearing and/or the upper side of the first side wall.
The ice maker according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a second limiting protrusion is provided on a portion of the first matching shaft located in the containing cavity, and the second limiting The protrusion abuts on the first side wall.
The ice maker according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a matching screw is provided on a side of the ice removal handle close to the ice making bracket, and a matching screw is formed in the first matching shaft. The inner screw thread is matched with the screw thread.
The ice maker according to claim 5, wherein the rotation center axis of the mating screw is collinear with the rotation center axis of the first mating shaft.
The ice maker according to any one of claims 1-6, further comprising an elastic member, one end of the elastic member is provided on the second mating shaft, and the other end is provided on the second side wall The upper side always drives the ice-making tray to rotate to a horizontal position to make ice.
The ice maker according to claim 7, wherein the elastic member is a torsion spring.
The ice maker according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein the ice making trays are multiple, and the multiple ice making trays are provided in the accommodating cavity at intervals, and each of the ice making trays The first matching shafts on the ice tray are all threadedly fitted with the ice removal handle.
A refrigerator, comprising the ice maker according to any one of claims 1-9.