WO2024099329A1 - Extrusion cylinder, ice making device, and refrigeration apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

An extrusion cylinder (100), an ice making device, and a refrigeration apparatus. The extrusion cylinder (100) comprises an extrusion section (110); the inner wall of the extrusion section (110) defines an extrusion cavity (111); the extrusion section (110) is provided with an ice inlet (112) and an ice outlet (113) which are communicated with the extrusion cavity (111); the ice inlet (112) is used for allowing slush ice to enter; the ice outlet (113) is used for allowing ice cubes to be extruded out; and the cross-sectional area of the extrusion cavity (111) gradually decreases from the ice inlet (112) to the ice outlet (113). When slush ice continuously enters the extrusion cavity (111) from the ice inlet (112), as the cross-sectional area of the extrusion cavity (111) gradually decreases from the ice inlet (112) to the ice outlet (113), the slush ice is gradually compacted in the process that the slush ice is pushed forwards and conveyed by the push force of the slush ice behind in the extrusion cavity (111); and the inner wall of the extrusion section (110) defines the extrusion cavity (111), so that the slush ice in the extrusion cavity (111) is uniformly stressed in all directions, the slush ice can form ice cubes having high hardness under the action of uniform stress, and the ice cubes are extruded out from the ice outlet (113). The inner wall of the extrusion section (110) defines the extrusion cavity (111), so that the slush ice can be gradually compacted when passing through the extrusion cavity (111), and the formed ice cubes have high hardness and a high forming speed.

Description

Extrusion cylinder, ice making device and refrigeration equipment

This application claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 2022113868888, filed on November 7, 2022, with invention name “Extrusion cylinder, ice-making device and refrigeration equipment”, and claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 2022229640063, filed on November 7, 2022, with utility model name “Extrusion cylinder, ice-making device and refrigeration equipment”, all of which are incorporated into this application by reference.

[Technical field]

The present application belongs to the technical field of refrigeration equipment, and specifically relates to an extrusion cylinder, an ice-making device and a refrigeration equipment.

【Background technique】

As cold drinks become popular, ice-making devices are widely used. The main components of some existing ice-making devices are the heat exchange inner tube and the ice-making screw provided inside. During the ice-making process, the ice-making screw rotates, and the water in the heat exchange inner tube exchanges heat with the refrigerant outside the heat exchange inner tube, and the water freezes. The ice-making screw scrapes off the ice on the inner wall of the heat exchange inner tube and finally compacts it to make ice cubes. However, the ice cubes compacted by the existing ice-making devices have a low hardness.

[Summary of the invention]

The present application provides an extrusion cylinder, an ice-making device and a refrigeration equipment to solve the technical problem of low hardness of ice cubes obtained by ice making.

In order to solve the above technical problems, a technical solution adopted in the present application is: an extrusion cylinder, comprising: an extrusion section, the inner wall of the extrusion section surrounds an extrusion cavity, the extrusion section has an ice inlet and an ice outlet connected to the extrusion cavity, the ice inlet is used for allowing smoothies to enter, and the ice outlet is used for allowing ice cubes to be squeezed out, and the cross-sectional area of the extrusion cavity gradually decreases from the ice inlet to the ice outlet.

According to one embodiment of the present application, the length of the extrusion section is 90-100 mm.

According to one embodiment of the present application, the cross-section of the ice inlet is circular, and the diameter of the cross-section of the ice inlet is 25-30 mm; the cross-section of the ice outlet is square, and the side length of the cross-section of the ice outlet is 15-20 mm.

According to one embodiment of the present application, the extrusion cylinder also includes: a solidification section, connected to one side of the ice outlet of the extrusion section, a solidification cavity is formed inside the solidification section, the solidification cavity is connected to the extrusion cavity so that the ice cubes in the extrusion cavity can be output, and the cross-section of the solidification cavity is the same as the cross-section of the ice outlet.

According to one embodiment of the present application, the extrusion cylinder also includes: a connecting section, connected to one side of the ice inlet of the extrusion section, a connecting cavity is formed inside the connecting section, the connecting cavity is communicated with the extrusion cavity, and the connecting section is used to connect with the ice-making assembly so that the smoothie of the ice-making assembly is transported to the extrusion cavity.

To solve the above technical problems, another technical solution adopted in the present application is: an ice-making device, comprising an ice-making component, a heat exchange component and the extrusion cylinder mentioned above, wherein the heat exchange component is thermally connected to the ice-making component, and the output end of the ice-making component is connected to the ice inlet of the extrusion section.

According to one embodiment of the present application, the ice-making assembly includes: an ice-making cylinder, an ice-making cavity is formed inside the ice-making cylinder for accommodating liquid to be ice-made and for condensing the liquid to be ice-made into an ice film, the ice-making cylinder is formed with an output end connected to the ice-making cavity, and the output end is connected to the ice inlet; an ice-making screw is rotatably arranged in the ice-making cavity; and a driving member is connected to the ice-making screw to drive the ice-making screw to rotate.

According to an embodiment of the present application, a thread groove is provided on the inner wall of the ice-making cylinder, and the thread rotation direction of the thread groove is the same as the thread rotation direction of the ice-making screw.

According to one embodiment of the present application, the depth of the thread groove is 0.3-0.5 mm; and/or the pitch of the thread groove is Twice the thread pitch of the ice-making screw.

According to an embodiment of the present application, the angle between the axial direction of the ice-making cylinder and the horizontal direction is greater than 0° and less than or equal to 5°, and the lowest point of the output end is higher than the lowest point of the end of the ice-making cylinder away from the output end.

According to an embodiment of the present application, the ice-making device includes: a water level detection component, which is arranged in the extrusion section, and the water level detection component is used to output a signal when the water level reaches the lowest point of the ice outlet.

According to one embodiment of the present application, the heat exchange component includes: a heat exchange cylinder, which is surrounded and arranged on the outside of the ice-making cylinder, and the heat exchange cylinder and the ice-making cylinder form a heat exchange cavity for the heat exchange medium to pass through, and the heat exchange cylinder is provided with a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet connected to the heat exchange cavity; a partition plate, which is arranged in the heat exchange cavity at intervals along the direction from the liquid inlet to the liquid outlet to divide the heat exchange cavity into a plurality of sub-heat exchange cavities, and the partition plate is provided with flow holes, and the volumes of the plurality of sub-heat exchange cavities gradually increase from the liquid inlet to the liquid outlet.

According to one embodiment of the present application, the ice-making device includes an ice cutting assembly, which includes: a cutter movably arranged at the ice outlet along an axial direction perpendicular to the extrusion cylinder; and a power member connected to the cutter to drive the cutter to move.

In order to solve the above technical problems, another technical solution adopted in the present application is: a refrigeration device, comprising: a main body; an ice-making device as described above, wherein the ice-making device is arranged in the main body.

The beneficial effects of the present application are as follows: when the smoothie continuously enters the extrusion chamber from the ice inlet, the cross-sectional area of the extrusion chamber gradually decreases from the ice inlet to the ice outlet, and the smoothie is gradually compacted in the process of being pushed forward by the thrust of the ice behind in the extrusion chamber; and because the inner wall of the extrusion section surrounds the extrusion chamber to form the extrusion chamber, the smoothie in the extrusion chamber is subjected to uniform force in all directions, and the smoothie can form ice cubes with higher hardness under the action of uniform force, and the ice cubes are squeezed out from the ice outlet. The inner wall of the extrusion section surrounds the extrusion chamber to form the extrusion chamber, and the smoothie can be gradually compacted when passing through the extrusion chamber, and the formed ice cubes have high hardness and fast forming speed.

【Brief Description of the Drawings】

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments are briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work, among which:

FIG1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment of an extrusion cylinder of the present application;

FIG2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the extrusion cylinder of the present application;

FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an ice-making device according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an ice-making device according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an ice-making assembly and a heat exchange assembly of an embodiment of an ice-making device of the present application, for illustrating the thread groove;

FIG6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an ice-making assembly and a heat exchange assembly of an embodiment of an ice-making device of the present application, which is used to illustrate the cooperation between an ice-making screw and an ice-making cylinder;

FIG7 is an enlarged view of portion A in FIG6 ;

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of an ice-making screw of an ice-making device according to an embodiment of the present application.

【Detailed ways】

The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

Reference to "embodiments" herein means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in conjunction with the embodiments may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of the phrase in various locations in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It is explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , which is a schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment of an extrusion cylinder of the present application.

An embodiment of the present application discloses an extrusion cylinder 100. The extrusion cylinder 100 includes an extrusion section 110. The inner wall of the extrusion section 110 surrounds an extrusion cavity 111. The extrusion section 110 has an ice inlet 112 and an ice outlet 113 connected to the extrusion cavity 111. The ice inlet 112 is used for ice smoothies to enter, and the ice outlet 113 is used for ice cubes to be squeezed out. The cross-sectional area of the extrusion cavity 111 gradually decreases from the ice inlet 112 to the ice outlet 113. When the ice smoothie continuously enters the extrusion chamber 111 from the ice inlet 112, the cross-sectional area of the extrusion chamber 111 gradually decreases from the ice inlet 112 to the ice outlet 113. The ice smoothie is gradually compacted in the process of being pushed forward and transported in the extrusion chamber 111 by the thrust of the ice smoothie behind. Moreover, since the inner wall of the extrusion section 110 surrounds the extrusion chamber 111, the ice smoothie in the extrusion chamber 111 is subjected to uniform force in all directions. The ice smoothie can form ice cubes with higher hardness under the uniform force, and the ice cubes are squeezed out from the ice outlet 113. The inner wall of the extrusion section 110 surrounds the extrusion chamber 111 to form the extrusion chamber 111, and the ice smoothie can be gradually compacted when passing through the extrusion chamber 111, so that the formed ice cubes have high hardness and are formed at a fast speed.

It should be noted that, during the process of the smoothie being pushed into the extrusion chamber 111, the smoothie and the surrounding wall of the extrusion chamber 111 have friction. In some embodiments, the inner wall of the extrusion section 110 surrounds and forms an extrusion chamber 111. The thrust required for the smoothie to be pushed forward is small. Under the condition of a constant driving force, the ice cube forming speed of the extrusion cylinder 100 of the present application is fast; under the condition of a constant amount of smoothie entering, the ice cube extruded and formed by the extrusion cylinder 100 of the present application has a high hardness. Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a cross-sectional structural schematic diagram of another embodiment of the extrusion cylinder of the present application. In other embodiments, a partition 114 can also be provided inside the extrusion chamber 111. The partition 114 is provided in the direction from the ice inlet 112 to the ice outlet 113, and the extrusion chamber 111 is divided into a plurality of sub-extrusion chambers 1111. The thrust required for the smoothie to be pushed forward in the plurality of sub-extrusion chambers 1111 also needs to be increased accordingly. The amount of smoothie in each sub-extrusion chamber 1111 is reduced, and the hardness and speed of ice cube forming will be affected to a certain extent. The partition 114 can be provided according to actual conditions.

In some embodiments, the length of the extrusion section 110 is 90-100 mm. Specifically, the length of the extrusion section 110 is 90 mm, 93 mm, 95 mm, 97 mm or 100 mm, etc. The length of the extrusion section 110 cannot be too short to ensure that the smoothie is extruded into ice cubes with sufficient hardness. The length of the extrusion section 110 cannot be too long to avoid excessive thrust required to push the smoothie to move in the extrusion chamber 111, and to avoid the extrusion tube 100 being too long and occupying too much space. The length of the extrusion section 110 within the above range can ensure that the length of the extrusion tube 100 is reasonable, and the ice cubes can be extruded into ice cubes with sufficient hardness after passing through the extrusion tube 100, and the ice cube forming speed is fast.

In some embodiments, the cross section of the ice inlet 112 is circular. The ice inlet 112 is used for the entry of smoothies, so the ice inlet 112 is used to communicate with the ice-making assembly 210 (see FIG. 3 ). The ice-making assembly 210 usually uses an ice-making screw 212 to make ice. The circular ice inlet 112 facilitates communication with the ice-making assembly 210, making it easy for smoothies to enter the ice-making assembly 210 through the ice inlet 112. The diameter of the cross section of the ice inlet 112 is 25-30 mm. Specifically, the diameter of the cross section of the ice inlet 112 is 25 mm, 26 mm, 27 mm, 28 mm, 29 mm or 30 mm.

Furthermore, the cross section of the ice outlet 113 is a square. The side length of the cross section of the ice outlet 113 is 15-20 mm. The cross-sectional area of the ice outlet 113 is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the ice inlet 112. The extrusion cavity 111 with a gradually decreasing cross-sectional area can extrude the passing smoothie into ice cubes. In this embodiment, the cross section of the ice outlet 113 is a square. The cross section of the extrusion cylinder 100 gradually transitions from a circle to the positive direction, and the cross-sectional area gradually decreases. Square ice cubes are in line with the daily usage habits of users. In other embodiments, the cross section of the ice outlet 113 can also be various shapes such as a circle, a triangle, a rectangle, etc. Specifically, The side length of the cross section of the square ice outlet 113 is 15 mm, 16 mm, 17 mm, 18 mm, 19 mm or 20 mm, etc. When designing the sizes of the ice inlet 112 and the ice outlet 113, the square diagonal of the cross section of the ice outlet 113 can be made smaller than the diameter of the cross section of the ice inlet 112, so that when the ice is pushed forward from the ice inlet 112 to the ice outlet 113 in the extrusion chamber 111, the ice is squeezed by the inner wall of the extrusion chamber 111, and the ice can be quickly formed into ice cubes with higher hardness.

In some embodiments, the extrusion cylinder 100 further includes a solidifying section 120. The solidifying section 120 is connected to one side of the ice outlet 113 of the extrusion section 110. A solidifying chamber 121 is formed inside the solidifying section 120, and the solidifying section 120 is hollow. The solidifying chamber 121 is connected to the extrusion chamber 111 so that the ice cubes in the extrusion chamber 111 can be output. The cross-section of the solidifying chamber 121 is the same as the cross-section of the ice outlet 113. By arranging the solidifying section 120 at the ice outlet 113, and the cross-section of the solidifying chamber 121 inside the solidifying section 120 is the same as the cross-section of the ice outlet 113, the formed ice cubes are supported and constrained in the solidifying chamber 121, and further solidified, so as to prevent the ice cubes from losing constraints and breaking after being directly extruded from the ice outlet 113. In addition, the ice outlet 113 of the extrusion cylinder 100 is usually provided with an ice cutting assembly 230 (see FIG. 2 ) for breaking the ice cubes into small ice cubes. By providing a solidifying section 120, the formed ice cubes are received and supported by the solidifying cavity 121, thereby preventing the ice cubes at the ice outlet 113 from breaking from the ice outlet 113 when the ice cutting assembly 230 cuts off the ice cubes.

The length of the curing section 120 is 8-15 mm. Specifically, the length of the curing section 120 can be 8 mm, 10 mm, 11 mm or 15 mm.

The solidification section 120 may be interconnected with the extrusion section 110 or formed integrally therewith.

In order to facilitate the smoothie to stably enter the extrusion chamber 111 from the ice inlet 112, the extrusion cylinder 100 also includes a connecting section 130. The connecting section 130 is connected to one side of the ice inlet 112 of the extrusion section 110. A connecting cavity 131 is formed inside the connecting section 130, and the connecting section 130 is hollow. The connecting cavity 131 is connected to the extrusion chamber 111. The connecting section 130 is used to connect with the ice-making assembly 210 so that the smoothie of the ice-making assembly 210 is transported to the extrusion chamber 111. By connecting the connecting section 130 with the ice-making assembly 210, the extrusion cylinder 100 can maintain a stable connection with the ice-making assembly 210, the ice inlet 112 can be stably connected with the ice-making assembly 210, and the smoothie prepared by the ice-making assembly 210 can continuously enter the extrusion chamber 111 from the ice inlet 112.

The length of the connecting section 130 is 15-20 mm. Specifically, the length of the connecting section 130 can be 15 mm, 17.5 mm or 20 mm.

The connecting section 130 can be connected to or integrally formed with the extruding section 110 .

Specifically, the connecting section 130 may be threadedly connected to the ice-making assembly 210. The extrusion cylinder 100 may be made of aluminum alloy or other metal materials.

After ice making is finished, residual ice may exist in the extrusion cylinder 100 and block the ice outlet 113 of the extrusion cylinder 100, thereby affecting the next ice making. In some embodiments, the extrusion cylinder 100 further includes a heating wire. The heating wire can heat the extrusion cylinder 100, thereby melting the residual ice in the extrusion cylinder 100 and preventing the residual ice from blocking the outlet of the extrusion cylinder 100.

Please continue to refer to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 . FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an ice-making device according to an embodiment of the present application; and FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of an ice-making device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Another embodiment of the present application provides an ice-making device 200. The ice-making device 200 includes an ice-making assembly 210, a heat exchange assembly 220, and an extrusion cylinder 100. The output end of the ice-making assembly 210 is connected to the ice inlet 112 of the extrusion section 110. The heat exchange assembly 220 is thermally connected to the ice-making assembly 210, so that the heat exchange assembly 220 can exchange heat with the ice-making assembly 210 to provide the ice-making assembly 210 with the required cooling capacity for ice making.

The ice-making assembly 210 includes an ice-making cylinder 211, an ice-making screw 212, and a driving member 215. An ice-making chamber 216 is formed inside the ice-making cylinder 211. The ice-making chamber 216 is used to contain the liquid to be ice-made and to condense the liquid to be ice-made into an ice film. The ice-making cylinder 211 is formed with an output end connected to the ice-making chamber 216, and the output end is connected to the ice inlet 112. The ice can enter the extrusion cylinder 100 from the ice-making cylinder 211 through the output end and the ice inlet 112. The ice-making screw 212 is rotatably disposed in the ice-making chamber 216. The driving member 215 is connected to the ice-making chamber 216. The ice screw 212 is connected, and the driving member 215 drives the ice screw 212 to rotate. The ice screw 212 rotating in the ice making chamber 216 can collect the ice smoothie in the ice making chamber 216 and store it in the screw groove. During the rotation process, as more and more ice smoothie is collected, more and more ice smoothie is stored in the screw groove. During the rotation of the ice screw 212, the ice smoothie is gradually compacted, which can prepare for the next step of forming solid ice cubes. The ice screw 212 can rotate to collect the ice smoothie in the ice chamber, and rotate and propel it in the direction of the output end to propel the ice smoothie formed in the ice chamber 216 into the extrusion chamber 111 of the extrusion cylinder 100, and squeeze it into ice cubes with high hardness through the extrusion cylinder 100. The extrusion cylinder 100 adopts the extrusion cylinder 100 in any of the above embodiments. The ice making device 200 of the present application has a high ice making speed, far exceeding the industry level, and can achieve continuous ice output.

The ice making cylinder 211 is also provided with a water inlet 213, which is provided at one end of the ice making cylinder 211 away from the output end. The ice making cylinder 211 is fed with the liquid to be refrigerated through the water inlet 213, and the liquid to be refrigerated is cooled in the ice making cylinder 211 and condenses into ice.

Specifically, the length of the working area where the ice-making cylinder 211 and the ice-making screw 212 cooperate is 92 mm.

Please continue to refer to Figure 5, which is a cross-sectional structural diagram of an ice-making assembly and a heat exchange assembly of an embodiment of an ice-making device of the present application, for showing the thread groove. In some embodiments, the heat exchange assembly 220 is sleeved on the outside of the ice-making cylinder 211 to fully contact the ice-making cylinder 211 and provide the coldness required for the ice-making cylinder 211 to make ice. Since the heat exchange assembly 220 is sleeved on the outside of the ice-making cylinder 211, the water in the ice-making cylinder 211 contacts the inner wall of the ice-making cylinder 211, and an ice film is formed on the inner wall of the ice-making cylinder 211. The ice film is located between the ice-making screw 212 and the ice-making cylinder 211, and the driving member 215 drives the ice-making screw 212 to rotate, and the ice-making screw 212 scrapes off the ice film on the inner wall of the ice-making cylinder 211, stores it in the screw groove, and rotates in the direction of the output end to promote and transport it, so as to promote and transport the ice slush formed in the ice-making chamber 216 to the extrusion cylinder 100.

In some embodiments, the heat exchange assembly 220 includes a heat exchange cylinder 221 and a partition plate 222. The heat exchange cylinder 221 is arranged to surround the outer side of the ice-making cylinder 211. A heat exchange cavity for the heat exchange medium to pass through is formed between the heat exchange cylinder 221 and the ice-making cylinder 211. The heat exchange cylinder 221 is provided with a liquid inlet 224 and a liquid outlet 225 connected to the heat exchange cavity. The liquid inlet 224 and the liquid outlet 225 are usually located at two opposite ends of the heat exchange cavity. The partition plate 222 is arranged in the heat exchange cavity at intervals along the direction from the liquid inlet 224 to the liquid outlet 225. The partition plate 222 divides the heat exchange cavity into a plurality of sub-heat exchange cavities 223. The partition plate 222 is provided with a flow hole, and adjacent sub-heat exchange cavities 223 flow through the flow hole. The heat exchange medium flows into the heat exchange chamber from the liquid inlet 224, and flows through each sub-heat exchange chamber 223 in sequence through the circulation hole, and finally flows out through the liquid outlet 225. By setting the partition plate 222, the heat exchange medium can only flow out through the sub-circulation hole, which increases the flow path of the heat exchange medium in the heat exchange chamber. The heat exchange chamber can fully exchange heat with the ice making cylinder 211, thereby improving the heat exchange efficiency. Specifically, the sub-circulation holes of adjacent partition plates 222 are staggered, which can further increase the flow path of the heat exchange medium and fully improve the heat exchange efficiency. Furthermore, the volume of multiple sub-heat exchange chambers 223 gradually increases from the liquid inlet 224 to the liquid outlet 225, which is conducive to the rapid flow of the heat exchange medium in the heat exchange chamber and improves the heat exchange efficiency.

The length of the heat exchange tube 221 in the length direction of the ice making tube 211 is 42-45.4 mm. Specifically, the length of the heat exchange tube 221 is 42 mm, 43 mm, 45 mm or 45.4 mm, etc. The heat exchange tube 221 has an appropriate length range and can provide a suitable cooling capacity and refrigeration range for the ice making tube 211.

After ice making is completed, there may be residual ice in the ice making cylinder 211 and the extrusion cylinder 100, which will affect the next ice making. In some embodiments, the heat exchange component 220 can switch the flow direction of the refrigerant so that the heat exchange medium with a higher temperature flows into the heat exchange cavity, so that the entire refrigeration device is heated, and the heat is transferred to the ice making cylinder 211 and the extrusion cylinder 100, so that the residual ice in the ice making cylinder 211 and the extrusion cylinder 100 melts, thereby avoiding residual ice blockage and affecting the next ice making.

Specifically, the ice-making device 200 includes a mounting seat 201 , and the driving member 215 is mounted on the mounting seat 201 .

In some embodiments, when the ice-making device 200 is in use, the angle β between the axis direction of the ice-making cylinder 211 and the horizontal direction is greater than 0° and less than or equal to 5°, and the lowest point of the output end is higher than the lowest point of the end of the ice-making cylinder 211 away from the output end. Specifically, the angle β between the axis direction of the ice-making cylinder 211 and the horizontal direction is 2°, 4° or 5°. The horizontal placement can save the longitudinal space of the ice-making device 200 and is suitable for more application scenarios. For example, when the ice-making device 200 is set in a refrigeration device such as a refrigerator, the horizontal placement of the ice-making device 200 is more suitable for the internal structure of the refrigerator. In other embodiments, when the refrigeration device is in use, the axial direction of the ice-making cylinder 211 is located in the vertical direction or in a direction with a predetermined inclination angle to the vertical direction, and the refrigeration device is arranged vertically as a whole.

Furthermore, the ice-making device 200 further includes a water level detection member 240, which is disposed in the extrusion section 110. When the angle β between the axial direction of the ice-making cylinder 211 and the horizontal direction is greater than 0° and less than or equal to 5°, the water level detection member 240 is used to output a signal when the water level reaches the lowest point of the ice outlet 113 of the extrusion section 110. The indicator line X in FIG4 is the position of the highest water level line. When the water level in the ice-making device 200 reaches the position of the highest water level line X, that is, when the water level reaches the lowest point of the ice outlet 113, the amount of liquid to be refrigerated contained in the ice-making cylinder 211 reaches the maximum amount, which is conducive to condensing more ice film on the inner wall of the ice-making cylinder 211, and at this time, the liquid to be refrigerated is not easy to leak directly from the ice outlet 113. When the axial direction of the ice making cylinder 211 is in the vertical direction, the water level detection member 240 can be used to send a signal when the water level reaches the first position in the ice making cylinder 211. The first position is the position of the inner wall of the ice making cylinder 211 corresponding to the highest point of the heat exchange cylinder 221. The heat exchange efficiency of the liquid to be refrigerated below the first position in the heat exchange assembly 220 is high.

Please continue to refer to Figures 6 and 7. Figure 6 is a cross-sectional structural diagram of an ice-making assembly and a heat exchange assembly of an embodiment of an ice-making device of the present application, which is used to show the cooperation between the ice-making screw and the ice-making cylinder; Figure 7 is an enlarged view of part A in Figure 6. In some embodiments, the gap between the screw thread of the ice-making screw 212 and the inner wall of the ice-making cylinder 211 is 0.2-0.4 mm. Specifically, the gap between the screw thread of the ice-making screw 212 and the inner wall of the ice-making cylinder 211 is 0.2 mm, 0.27 mm, 0.32 mm, 0.4 mm, etc. If the gap between the screw thread of the ice-making screw 212 and the inner wall of the ice-making cylinder 211 is too small, the screw thread is easy to wear the inner wall of the ice-making cylinder 211; if the gap between the screw thread of the ice-making screw 212 and the inner wall of the ice-making cylinder 211 is too large, the ice film condensed between the screw thread and the ice-making cylinder 211 is too thick, the ice film and the inner wall of the ice-making cylinder 211 are too tightly condensed, the screw thread and the ice film are easy to slip, and the screw thread is not easy to push and break the ice film. The gap between the screw thread and the inner wall of the ice-making cylinder 211 is more suitable within the above range, the ice-making screw 212 is not easy to wear the ice-making cylinder 211, and the ice film is easy to break and collect, thereby improving the ice-making efficiency.

In order to properly increase the friction between the ice film and the inner wall of the ice making cylinder 211 and the ice making screw 212, in some embodiments, the inner wall of the ice making cylinder 211 is provided with a thread groove 214. The thread groove 214 increases the adhesion between the ice film and the ice making cylinder 211, and prevents the ice film from slipping with the inner wall of the ice making cylinder 211 when the ice making screw 212 rotates, and the ice making screw 212 is not easy to break the ice film into ice smoothie. By providing the thread groove 214, the friction between the ice film and the inner wall of the ice making cylinder 211 and the ice making screw 212 can be properly increased, so that the ice film can be effectively converted into ice smoothie during movement and stored in the screw groove of the ice making screw 212, thereby improving the ice making efficiency of the ice making assembly 210.

It should be noted that the thread rotation direction of the inner wall thread groove 214 of the ice-making cylinder 211 needs to be the same as the thread rotation direction of the ice-making screw 212. In this case, the thread groove 214 can play a good role in increasing the friction between the ice film and the inner wall of the ice-making cylinder 211 and the ice-making screw 212. For example, if the thread of the thread groove 214 is in the right-hand direction, the thread of the ice-making screw 212 is also in the right-hand direction. If the thread of the thread groove 214 is in the left-hand direction, the thread of the ice-making screw 212 is also in the left-hand direction.

Please continue to refer to Figure 8, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of the ice-making screw of an embodiment of the ice-making device of the present application. Among them, the depth of the thread groove 214 is 0.3-0.5mm. Specifically, the depth of the thread groove 214 is 0.3mm, 0.4mm or 0.5mm, etc. If the thread groove 214 is too shallow, the ice film and the inner wall of the ice-making cylinder 211 are easy to slip, and it will not be able to increase the friction between the ice film and the inner wall of the ice-making cylinder 211 and the ice-making screw 212; if the thread groove 214 is too deep, the friction between the ice film and the ice-making cylinder 211 is too large, and it is difficult for the ice-making screw 212 to break the ice film into ice smoothies. The depth of the thread groove 214 is within the above range, which can play a better role in increasing friction and improve the ice-making efficiency of the ice-making assembly 210.

The pitch of the thread groove 214 is twice the pitch of the thread of the ice-making screw 212. If the pitch of the thread groove 214 is too large, it will have a limited effect on increasing the friction between the ice film and the inner wall of the ice-making cylinder 211 and the ice-making screw 212; If the pitch is too small, the friction between the ice film and the ice-making cylinder 211 will be too large, and it will be difficult for the ice-making screw 212 to break the ice film into ice smoothies.

Among them, the screw groove depth a of the ice-making screw 212 is 5-6.4mm. Specifically, the screw groove depth a of the ice-making screw 212 is 5mm, 5.4mm, 5.9mm, 6.2mm or 6.4mm, etc. If the screw groove depth a is too shallow, less ice smoothie can be collected, and the ice smoothie is not compacted enough during the rotation and pushing process of the ice-making screw 212, so a longer extrusion cylinder 100 is required to extrude the ice smoothie into ice cubes; if the screw groove depth a is too deep, too much ice smoothie can be collected, and the ice smoothie is squeezed more solid during the rotation and pushing process of the ice-making screw 212. After entering the extrusion cylinder 100, the hardness of the ice smoothie and the formed ice cubes is too large, and the friction between the ice smoothie and the extrusion cylinder 100 is large, and a driving member 215 with a higher output power is required to drive the ice-making screw 212 to rotate and push. The screw groove depth a of the ice-making screw 212 is more suitable within the above range, and the ice-making device 200 has high ice-making efficiency and high ice cube hardness.

Among them, the pitch b of the ice-making screw 212 is 10-11mm. Specifically, if the pitch b of the ice-making screw 212 is too large, more ice slush can be accommodated between adjacent screw teeth, the friction is large, and a driving member 215 with a higher output power is required to drive the ice-making screw 212 to rotate and push; if the pitch b of the ice-making screw 212 is too small, the ice slush can be accommodated between adjacent screw teeth is small, and the degree of compaction of the ice slush during the rotation and pushing of the ice-making screw 212 is not enough, so a longer extrusion cylinder 100 is required to extrude the ice slush into ice cubes. The pitch b of the ice-making screw 212 is more suitable within the above range, and the ice-making device 200 has high ice-making efficiency and high ice cube hardness.

Among them, the working length c of the ice-making screw 212 (the length of the screw thread part along the axis direction of the ice-making screw 212) is 75-81mm. Specifically, the working length c of the ice-making screw 212 is 75mm, 77mm, 79mm, 81mm, etc. If the working length c of the ice-making screw 212 is too long, the ice slush stays in the ice-making screw 212 for too long, and the hardness is high, which is not conducive to the ice cubes being squeezed out of the extrusion cylinder 100. If the working length c of the ice-making screw 212 is too short, the ice-making screw 212 can collect less ice slush, which is not conducive to the extrusion of the ice slush in the extrusion cylinder 100. The working length c of the ice-making screw 212 is more suitable within the above range, and the ice-making efficiency of the ice-making device 200 is high and the ice cubes have high hardness.

The thread lead angle d of the ice-making screw 212 is 16°. If the thread lead angle d is too large, the ice-making screw 212 and the ice film on the inner wall of the ice-making cylinder 211 are prone to slippage, which is not conducive to the collection of ice smoothies; if the thread lead angle d is too small, the ice-making screw 212 cannot rotate and push the ice smoothies toward the extrusion cylinder 100. The thread lead angle d of the ice-making screw 212 is 16°, which is more reasonable and is conducive to the collection and pushing of ice smoothies.

Among them, the main rod diameter e of the ice-making screw 212 is 15mm. The thread diameter f is 25.2-25.4mm, such as 25.2mm, 25.1mm, 25.2mm, etc. The length g of the ice-making screw 212 is 135-141mm, such as 135mm, 137mm, 139mm or 141mm, etc. The various parameters of the ice-making screw 212 cooperate with each other and can be adjusted in conjunction with the parameters of the extrusion cylinder 100 to produce ice cubes of a desired size. Through the coordination of various parameters, the ice-making device 200 has high ice-making efficiency, fast ice-making speed, and high hardness of the produced ice cubes.

In some embodiments, the driving member 215 includes a motor and a gear transmission. The output end of the motor is coaxially fixed with the ice-making screw 212. Since the ice-making screw 212 rotates, the ice and the inner wall of the ice-making cylinder 211, the ice cubes and the inner wall of the extrusion cylinder 100 have a large friction force, and the driving member 215 needs sufficient torque output. Specifically, the rotation of the ice-making screw 212 requires a torque of 30-40 Nm, such as 30 Nm, 32 Nm, 35 Nm, 38 Nm or 40 Nm. Correspondingly, the maximum output of the driving member 215 needs to be greater than 40 Nm of torque. In addition, in addition to the torque coordination, the rotation speed coordination of the driving member 215 is also required, and the rotation speed of the ice-making screw 212 is 20-30r/min. Specifically, the rotation speed of the ice-making screw 212 is 20r/min, 23r/min, 26r/min or 30r/min. The rotation speed of the ice-making screw 212 can ensure the stable output of ice cubes within the above range and meet the target of ice-making speed.

In some embodiments, the extrusion cylinder 100 includes an extrusion section 110. The inner wall of the extrusion section 110 surrounds an extrusion chamber 111. The extrusion section 110 has an ice inlet 112 and an ice outlet 113 connected to the extrusion chamber 111. The ice inlet 112 is used for ice smoothies to enter, and the ice outlet 113 is used for ice cubes to be squeezed out. The cross-sectional area of the extrusion chamber 111 gradually decreases from the ice inlet 112 to the ice outlet 113. When the ice smoothies continue to enter the extrusion chamber 111 from the ice inlet 112, the cross-sectional area of the extrusion chamber 111 decreases from the ice inlet 112 to the ice outlet 113. The ice outlet 113 gradually decreases from the opening 112 to the ice outlet 113. The ice smoothie is gradually compacted in the process of being pushed forward by the thrust of the ice smoothie behind in the extrusion chamber 111. Moreover, since the inner wall of the extrusion section 110 surrounds the extrusion chamber 111, the ice smoothie in the extrusion chamber 111 is evenly stressed in all directions. The ice smoothie can be formed into ice cubes with high hardness under the action of the even stress, and the ice cubes are squeezed out from the ice outlet 113. The inner wall of the extrusion section 110 surrounds the extrusion chamber 111 to form the extrusion chamber 111. The ice smoothie can be gradually compacted when passing through the extrusion chamber 111, and the formed ice cubes have high hardness and fast forming speed.

In some embodiments, the extrusion cylinder 100 further includes a solidification section 120. The solidification section 120 is connected to one side of the ice outlet 113 of the extrusion section 110. A solidification chamber 121 is formed inside the solidification section 120, and the solidification section 120 is hollow. The solidification chamber 121 is connected to the extrusion chamber 111 so that the ice cubes in the extrusion chamber 111 can be output. The cross-section of the solidification chamber 121 is the same as the cross-section of the ice outlet 113. By arranging the solidification section 120 at the ice outlet 113, and the cross-section of the solidification chamber 121 inside the solidification section 120 is the same as the cross-section of the ice outlet 113, the formed ice cubes are supported and constrained in the solidification chamber 121, and further solidified, so as to prevent the ice cubes from losing constraints and breaking after being directly extruded from the ice outlet 113. In addition, the ice outlet 113 of the extrusion cylinder 100 is usually provided with an ice cutting assembly 230 for breaking the ice cubes into small ice cubes. By providing the solidification section 120, the formed ice cubes are received and supported by the solidification cavity 121, thereby preventing the ice cubes from breaking from the ice outlet 113 when the ice cutting assembly 230 cuts off the ice cubes at the ice outlet 113.

In order to facilitate the smoothie to stably enter the extrusion chamber 111 from the ice inlet 112, the extrusion cylinder 100 also includes a connecting section 130, which is hollow. The connecting section 130 is connected to one side of the ice inlet 112 of the extrusion section 110. A connecting cavity 131 is formed inside the connecting section 130. The connecting cavity 131 is connected to the extrusion chamber 111. The connecting section 130 is used to connect with the ice making assembly 210 so that the smoothie of the ice making assembly 210 is transported to the extrusion chamber 111. By connecting with the ice making assembly 210 through the connecting section 130, the extrusion cylinder 100 can maintain a stable connection with the ice making assembly 210, the ice inlet 112 can be stably connected with the ice making assembly 210, and the smoothie prepared by the ice making assembly 210 can continuously enter the extrusion chamber 111 from the ice inlet 112.

Specifically, the connecting section 130 can be threadedly connected to the ice making cylinder 211. The material of the ice making cylinder 211 can be high aluminum alloy or other metal materials.

In some embodiments, the ice making device 200 further includes an ice cutting assembly 230. The ice cutting assembly 230 includes a cutter 231 and a power member. The cutter 231 is movably arranged at the ice outlet 113 along an axial direction perpendicular to the extrusion cylinder 100. The power member is connected to the cutter 231, and the power member drives the cutter 231 to move. When the ice column extends a certain length behind the ice making cylinder 211, the power member drives the cutter 231 to punch and break the ice column into ice cubes. The ice cubes can fall into the ice storage box.

The action of the power member driving the cutter 231 to cut the icicle can be controlled by a sensor. Specifically, the photoelectric sensor or the distance sensor can detect that the icicle extends out of the extrusion cylinder 100 to a predetermined length, and the power member drives the cutter 231 to punch and break the icicle into ice cubes. In other embodiments, the power member can also be set to drive the cutter 231 to perform an action every predetermined time interval, and the length of the icicle extending out of the extrusion cylinder 100 every predetermined time is approximately the length of a piece of ice.

Another embodiment of the present application provides a refrigeration device. The refrigeration device includes a body and an ice-making device 200. The ice-making device 200 can adopt the refrigeration device in any of the above embodiments. The refrigeration device is arranged in the body. The ice-making device 200 includes an ice-making component 210, a heat exchange component 220 and an extrusion cylinder 100. The heat exchange component 220 is thermally connected to the ice-making component 210, so that the heat exchange component 220 can exchange heat with the ice-making component 210 to provide the ice-making component 210 with the required cold capacity for ice making. The ice-making component 210 includes an ice-making cylinder 211, an ice-making screw 212 and a driving member 215. An ice-making chamber 216 is formed inside the ice-making cylinder 211. The ice-making chamber 216 is used to accommodate the liquid to be ice-made and to condense the liquid to be ice-made into ice. The ice-making cylinder 211 is formed with an output end connected to the ice-making chamber 216, and the output end is connected to the ice inlet 112. The ice slush can enter the extrusion cylinder 100 from the ice making cylinder 211 through the output end and the ice inlet 112. The ice making screw 212 is rotatably arranged in the ice making chamber 216. The driving member 215 drives the ice making screw 212 to rotate. The ice making screw 212 rotating in the ice making chamber 216 can collect the ice slush in the ice making chamber 216 and store it in the screw groove. During the rotation process, as more and more ice slush is collected, more and more ice slush is stored in the screw groove. During the rotation process of the ice making screw 212, the ice slush is gradually The ice-making screw 212 can rotate to collect the ice in the ice chamber, and rotate to the output end to push and transport the ice formed in the ice chamber 216 to the extrusion chamber 111 of the extrusion cylinder 100, and squeeze it into ice cubes with high hardness through the extrusion cylinder 100.

The refrigeration equipment may be a refrigerator, a freezer, an ice maker or other refrigeration equipment that needs to make ice cubes.

The terms "first", "second", "third" in this application are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating the number of indicated technical features. Thus, the features defined as "first", "second", "third" can expressly or implicitly include at least one of these features. In the embodiments of the present application, all directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back ...) are only used to explain the relative positional relationship, motion conditions, etc. between the components under a certain specific posture (as shown in the accompanying drawings). If the specific posture changes, the directional indication also changes accordingly. In addition, the terms "include" and "have" and any of their variations are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. The process, method, system, product or equipment such as including a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but optionally also includes steps or units that are not listed, or optionally also includes other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products or equipment.

The above are merely embodiments of the present application and are not intended to limit the patent scope of the present application. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made using the contents of the present application specification and drawings, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present application.

Claims (14)

1. An extrusion cylinder, characterized in that it comprises:

   The extrusion section has an inner wall surrounding an extrusion cavity, and the extrusion section has an ice inlet and an ice outlet connected to the extrusion cavity, the ice inlet is used for ice smoothies to enter, and the ice outlet is used for ice cubes to be squeezed out, and the cross-sectional area of the extrusion cavity gradually decreases from the ice inlet to the ice outlet.
2. The extrusion cylinder according to claim 1 is characterized in that the length of the extrusion section is 90-100 mm.
3. The extrusion cylinder according to claim 1 or 2 is characterized in that the cross-section of the ice inlet is circular, and the diameter of the cross-section of the ice inlet is 25-30 mm; the cross-section of the ice outlet is square, and the side length of the cross-section of the ice outlet is 15-20 mm.
4. The extrusion cylinder according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the extrusion cylinder further comprises:

   A solidifying section is connected to one side of the ice outlet of the extrusion section, a solidifying cavity is formed inside the solidifying section, the solidifying cavity is communicated with the extrusion cavity so that the ice cubes in the extrusion cavity can be output, and the cross-section of the solidifying cavity is the same as the cross-section of the ice outlet.
5. The extrusion barrel according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the extrusion barrel further comprises:

   A connecting section is connected to one side of the ice inlet of the extrusion section, a connecting cavity is formed inside the connecting section, the connecting cavity is communicated with the extrusion cavity, and the connecting section is used to connect with the ice making assembly so that the ice cream of the ice making assembly is transported to the extrusion cavity.
6. An ice-making device, characterized in that it comprises an ice-making component, a heat exchange component and an extrusion cylinder as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the heat exchange component is thermally connected to the ice-making component, and the output end of the ice-making component is connected to the ice inlet of the extrusion section.
7. The ice-making device according to claim 6, characterized in that the ice-making assembly comprises:

   An ice-making cylinder, wherein an ice-making cavity is formed inside the ice-making cylinder for accommodating liquid to be ice-made and for condensing the liquid to be ice-made into an ice film, and the ice-making cylinder is formed with an output end communicating with the ice-making cavity, and the output end is communicated with the ice inlet;

   An ice-making screw, rotatably disposed in the ice-making chamber;

   A driving member is connected to the ice-making screw to drive the ice-making screw to rotate.
8. The ice-making device according to claim 7 is characterized in that a thread groove is provided on the inner wall of the ice-making cylinder, and the thread rotation direction of the thread groove is the same as the thread rotation direction of the ice-making screw.
9. The ice-making device according to claim 8 is characterized in that the depth of the thread groove is 0.3-0.5 mm; and/or the pitch of the thread groove is twice the pitch of the ice-making screw.
10. The ice-making device according to any one of claims 7 to 9 is characterized in that the angle between the axial direction of the ice-making cylinder and the horizontal direction is greater than 0° and less than or equal to 5°, and the lowest point of the output end is higher than the lowest point of the end of the ice-making cylinder away from the output end.
11. The ice-making device according to claim 10, characterized in that the ice-making device comprises:

    A water level detection component is arranged in the extrusion section, and is used for outputting a signal when the water level reaches the lowest point of the ice outlet.
12. The ice-making device according to any one of claims 7 to 11, characterized in that the heat exchange component comprises:

    A heat exchange cylinder is disposed around the outside of the ice-making cylinder, and a heat exchange cavity is formed between the heat exchange cylinder and the ice-making cylinder for the heat exchange medium to pass through. The heat exchange cylinder is provided with a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet communicated with the heat exchange cavity;

    A partition plate is arranged in the heat exchange chamber at intervals along the direction from the liquid inlet to the liquid outlet to divide the heat exchange chamber into a plurality of sub-heat exchange chambers. The partition plate is provided with a flow hole. The volumes of the plurality of sub-heat exchange chambers are divided by the liquid inlet. The direction to the liquid outlet gradually increases.
13. The ice-making device according to any one of claims 7 to 12, characterized in that the ice-making device comprises an ice cutting assembly, and the ice cutting assembly comprises:

    A cutter, movably arranged at the ice outlet along an axial direction perpendicular to the extrusion cylinder;

    A power piece is connected to the cutter to drive the cutter to move.
14. A refrigeration device, characterized in that it comprises:

    ontology;

    The ice-making device according to any one of claims 6 to 13, wherein the ice-making device is disposed in the body.