CN113237285B

CN113237285B - Refrigerator with a refrigerator body

Info

Publication number: CN113237285B
Application number: CN202110599421.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 姚惠民; 龙晓芬; 许锦潮; 杨春华; 郭玉华
Original assignee: Hisense Ronshen Guangdong Refrigerator Co Ltd
Current assignee: Hisense Ronshen Guangdong Refrigerator Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-05-28
Filing date: 2021-05-28
Publication date: 2024-07-23
Anticipated expiration: 2041-05-28
Also published as: WO2022247083A1; US20230349613A1; CN113237285A

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of refrigeration equipment, and discloses a refrigerator, which comprises a refrigerator body and an ice maker; the ice maker comprises a mould shell and a driving mechanism; the mould shell comprises a first mould shell and a second mould shell which are arranged left and right, can be opened and closed and form a mould cavity when being closed; the first mould shell comprises a first shell part and a first mould part arranged in the first shell part, a first ejector rod is arranged on the back side of the first shell part, a first through hole is formed in the back of the first shell part, and a heating mechanism is arranged on the second mould shell; the driving mechanism is used for driving the first mould shell to move so as to form opening and closing with the second mould shell which is fixed; in the moving process of the first mould shell, the first ejector rod passes through the first through hole to eject the ice cubes to the first mould part. The application is suitable for manufacturing special ice cubes which can be formed only by matching the die, and has the advantages of simple demoulding structure, reliable demoulding effect and small whole occupied space of the ice maker.

Description

Refrigerator with a refrigerator body

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of refrigeration equipment, in particular to a refrigerator.

Background

As consumers' demands for functions of refrigerators increase, refrigerators with ice making functions are becoming more popular with consumers.

The main structure of the refrigerator for realizing the ice making function is an ice maker, which is generally provided in an ice making chamber isolated from a refrigerating chamber or a freezing chamber. The basic principle of ice making is as follows: injecting water into the ice making grid in the ice making machine, providing cold energy into the ice making room to make the water in the ice making grid form ice blocks, and demolding the ice blocks from the ice making grid to the ice storage box for a user to take.

The existing ice maker cannot prepare special ice cubes which can be formed only by matching the ice cubes, such as spherical ice cubes or polyhedral ice cubes, due to the limitation of an ice making grid and an ice turning structure, and the ice cubes are difficult to demould.

Thus, improvements are needed in the art.

Disclosure of Invention

The purpose of the invention is that: the refrigerator solves the technical problems that ice blocks with special shapes which can be formed only by matching of mold closing and difficult demolding of the ice blocks cannot be manufactured due to the limitations of ice making grids and ice turning structures in the refrigerator in the prior art.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a refrigerator including:

A case defining an ice making chamber therein;

An ice maker disposed within the ice making chamber;

wherein the ice maker comprises a mould shell and a driving mechanism;

The mould shell comprises a first mould shell and a second mould shell which are arranged left and right, can be opened and closed and enclose a mould cavity when being closed;

The first mould shell comprises a first shell part and a first mould part arranged in the first shell part, and the first mould part moves along with the first shell part;

the mould shell is provided with a water inlet communicated with the mould cavity;

A first ejector rod is arranged at a preset distance on the back side of the first shell part, and a first through hole is formed in the back of the first shell part; a heating mechanism is arranged on the second mould shell;

the driving mechanism is used for driving the first mould shell to move so as to open and close with the second mould shell which is fixed;

and in the process of moving the first shell part, the first ejector rod passes through the first through hole to eject towards the first die part.

In some embodiments of the application, the drive mechanism comprises a motor and a shaft; the first shell part is connected with the rotating shaft, and the motor is connected with the rotating shaft, so that the first shell part can rotate along a preset direction.

In some embodiments of the present application, the driving mechanism includes a main motor, a main shaft, a gear set, a rack, and a slide bar;

The rack is arranged on the first shell part, and the sliding rod penetrates through the first shell part;

the main motor is connected with the main rotating shaft, and the rack is meshed and connected with the main rotating shaft through the gear set, so that the first shell part can translate along the sliding rod.

In some embodiments of the application, the rack is disposed on front and rear sides of the top of the first housing portion.

In some embodiments of the present application, the sliding rod is provided with four sliding rods, and the sliding rods are respectively arranged at four corner positions of the first shell part in a penetrating manner.

In some embodiments of the present application, the end surface of the first ejector pin matches the contour surface of the first mold part.

In some embodiments of the application, the mold shell includes a housing and a mold body;

The shell comprises a first shell part and a second shell part which are arranged left and right, can be opened and closed and enclose an inner cavity when being folded;

The die body is arranged in the inner cavity and comprises a first die part arranged in the first shell part and a second die part arranged in the second shell part, and the first die part and the second die part enclose the die cavity when being folded;

The water inlet is arranged on the die body, and the shell is provided with an avoidance opening which is enclosed at the periphery of the water inlet

In some embodiments of the application, the die body is provided with a plurality of die cavities, and each die cavity is provided with one water inlet;

A water tank is arranged above the shell, and is provided with water diversion openings corresponding to the water inlets.

In some embodiments of the present application, water holes are arranged between the mold cavities to communicate with each other.

In some embodiments of the application, the water inlet is annular and is arranged on the first die part or the second die part.

In some embodiments of the present application, a first engaging portion is provided at a concave cavity edge of the first mold portion, and a second engaging portion adapted to the first engaging portion is provided at a concave cavity edge of the second mold portion; one of the first combining part and the second combining part is a convex rib, and the other is a groove.

Compared with the prior art, the refrigerator has the beneficial effects that:

the ice-making grid of the ice-making machine arranged in the refrigerator provided by the embodiment of the invention comprises two mold shells which can be opened and closed, and is suitable for manufacturing special-shaped ice cubes which can be formed only by matching the mold dies. And one mould shell is fixed and provided with a heating mechanism, the other mould shell can move, and the back side of the other mould shell is provided with a push rod. When the mould is released, the heating mechanism is started to adhere ice cubes into another mould shell, and then when the mould shell moves to a preset position, the ejector rod ejects the ice cubes. The invention has simple demoulding structure and reliable demoulding effect. In addition, the driving part required by the mode of fixing the one-side mould shell and moving the one-side mould shell is simpler, and the whole occupied space of the ice machine is smaller.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings that are needed in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and that other drawings can be obtained according to these drawings without inventive effort for a person skilled in the art.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an ice maker according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the ice maker of FIG. 1 in a closed position;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the ice maker of FIG. 1 in a separated state;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a housing and a mold body of the ice maker of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the drive mechanism and housing of the ice-making machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of an ice maker according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the ice maker of FIG. 6 in a closed position;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of the structure of the ice maker of FIG. 6 in a separated state;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the drive mechanism and housing of the ice-making machine of FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of the water trough and mold body of the ice making machine of FIG. 1 or FIG. 6;

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of an exploded construction of a mold body of the ice-making machine of FIG. 1 or FIG. 6;

100, a base; 101. an upper side plate; 102. a left side plate; 103. a right side plate; 104. a front side plate;

200. A housing; 210. a first shell portion; 211. a first slot; 212. a first through hole; 220. a second shell portion; 221. a second slot;

300. A die body; 301. a water inlet; 302. a water through hole; 310. a first mold section; 320. a second mold section; 322. a second combining part;

410. A first ejector rod; 420. a heating mechanism;

500. A driving mechanism; 510. a main motor; 520. a main rotating shaft; 530. a gear set; 540. a rack; 550. a slide bar; 501. a motor; 502. a rotating shaft; 503. a fixed shaft;

600. a water tank; 601. and a water diversion port.

Detailed Description

The following description of the embodiments of the present application will be made clearly and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which it is apparent that the embodiments described are only some embodiments of the present application, but not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the application without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the application.

In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the terms "center," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the drawings, merely to facilitate describing the present application and simplify the description, and do not indicate or imply that the devices or elements referred to must have a specific orientation, be configured and operated in a specific orientation, and thus should not be construed as limiting the present application.

In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the terms "first," "second," and the like are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying a relative importance or number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defining "a first" or "a second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more such feature. In the description of the present application, unless otherwise indicated, the meaning of "a plurality" is two or more.

In the description of the present application, it should be noted that, unless explicitly specified and limited otherwise, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly, and may be either fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally connected, for example; can be mechanically or electrically connected; can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and can be communication between two elements. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present application can be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art according to the specific circumstances.

The refrigerator of the preferred embodiment of the invention mainly comprises a refrigerator body and an ice maker.

Wherein the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment may be defined therein. When the ice maker is actually arranged, the ice maker can be directly arranged in the freezing chamber, and the freezing chamber is the ice making chamber. Alternatively, an independent ice making chamber may be defined within the refrigerating or freezing compartment by a thermally insulating sheet material, and the ice maker may be disposed within the ice making chamber.

Referring to fig. 1, the ice maker includes a base 100, a mold shell (a housing 200 and a mold body 300), and a driving mechanism 500.

Referring to fig. 1, a base 100 is for connection with an ice making chamber, and specifically includes an upper side plate 101, a left side plate 102, a right side plate 103, a front side plate 104, and a rear side plate. The front, rear, left and right directions mentioned in the present application are defined for the sake of clarity of description of the structure, and in practice, are not limited to being provided in the ice making chamber in the front-rear direction shown in fig. 1.

The mould shell comprises a first mould shell and a second mould shell, wherein the first mould shell and the second mould shell can be opened and closed to form a mould cavity when being closed, the shape of the mould cavity is the shape of ice cubes, and the mould cavity can be designed according to the requirements of users and can be designed into a sphere, a diamond surface sphere or a polyhedron and the like. Specifically, the mold shell is comprised of a housing 200 and a mold body 300.

Referring to fig. 4, the housing 200 includes a first housing portion 210 and a second housing portion 220 disposed right and left. The inner wall of the first shell portion 210 is provided with a first inner cavity, the inner wall of the second shell portion 220 is provided with a second inner cavity, and the first shell portion 210 and the second shell portion 220 can be opened and closed and enclose an inner cavity when being closed.

Referring to fig. 4, a mold body 300 is disposed within the cavity, the mold body 300 including a first mold portion 310 and a second mold portion 320. The first mold portion 310 is attached to the first inner cavity of the first shell portion 210, has a first cavity, and can move along with the first shell portion 210. The second mold portion 320 is attached to the second cavity of the second shell portion 220, has a second cavity, and is fixed along with the second shell portion 220. The first mold portion 310 and the second mold portion 320, when closed, enclose a mold cavity. And, the first mold part 310 and the second mold part 320 are both made of food grade silicone materials which can be deformed by external force.

Referring to fig. 4, the mold body 300 has a water inlet 301 in communication with the mold cavity. The upper side plate 101 is provided with an opening at a position corresponding to the water inlet 301, and an external water pipe is used for injecting water into the die cavity through the water inlet 301.

Referring to fig. 4, the first shell portion 210 is provided with a first pocket 211, and the second shell portion 220 is provided with a second pocket 221, and the first pocket 211 and the second pocket 221 form a relief opening surrounding the outer circumference of the water inlet 301 when being closed.

Referring to fig. 1 to 4, a first push rod 410 is provided at a predetermined distance from the rear side of the first shell portion 210, the first push rod 410 may be fixed to the right side plate 103, and the rear of the first shell portion 210 is provided with a first through hole 212. The second shell portion 220 is provided with a heating mechanism 420, and the heating mechanism 420 may be a U-shaped heating tube.

The driving mechanism 500 is used for driving the first shell portion 210 to move, and opening and closing with the second shell portion 220 that is fixed, the first mold portion 310 moves along with the first shell portion 210, and the second mold portion 320 is fixed along with the second shell portion 220, and fig. 2 and 3 are schematic structural views of the first shell portion 210 and the second shell portion 220 in a folded state and a separated state, respectively.

When the ice is released, the heating mechanism 420 is started first to melt the outer wall of the ice, so that the ice is released and adhered into the first mold portion 310, and then the driving mechanism 500 drives the first shell portion 210 to move to a preset position, the first ejector rod 410 passes through the first through hole 212 to eject the first mold portion 310, so that the first mold portion 310 is deformed under force, and the ice in the first mold portion 310 is ejected and falls into the ice storage box for a user to take.

The application provides a refrigerator, wherein an ice making grid of an ice maker arranged in the refrigerator comprises a first mould shell and a second mould shell which can be opened and closed, and the ice making grid is suitable for manufacturing special ice cubes which can be formed by matching a mould, such as spherical ice cubes or polyhedral ice cubes. And the first mould shell can move, the back side of the first mould shell is provided with a push rod, and the second mould shell is fixed and provided with a heating mechanism. When the first mould shell moves to a preset position, the ejector rod ejects the ice cubes. The application has simple demoulding structure and reliable demoulding effect. In addition, the driving part required by the mode of fixing the one-side mould shell and moving the one-side mould shell is simpler, and the whole occupied space of the ice machine is smaller.

In some embodiments of the present application, the second mold shell may be simply a shell capable of forming a mold cavity with the first mold part 310 without providing a mold part, since the mold release on the second mold shell side relies mainly on the heating mechanism 420 to melt the outer wall of the ice cubes without deforming the mold part of the second mold shell for mold release.

In some embodiments of the present application, the opening and closing movement of the first housing portion 210 and the second housing portion 220 may include at least a translational movement or a rotational movement, and the present application provides a preferred mating driving mechanism 500 for both of these ways, respectively.

Referring to fig. 1-5, when the first housing portion 210 adopts a translational opening and closing motion, the driving mechanism 500 may include a main motor 510, a main rotation shaft 520, a gear set 530, a rack 540, and a slide bar 550.

Referring to fig. 5, the rack 540 is provided in two pieces and is provided at both front and rear sides of the top of the first case portion 210, respectively. The sliding rod 570 is provided with four sliding rods and is respectively arranged at four corner positions of the first shell 210 and the second shell 220 in a penetrating way. The main motor 510 is coupled to the main shaft 520 and the rack 540 is coupled to the main shaft 520 by a gear set 530 such that the first housing portion 210 can translate along the slide bar 550.

Referring to fig. 6-9, when the first housing portion 210 adopts a rotary opening and closing motion, the driving mechanism 500 may include a motor 501 and a rotation shaft 502. The first housing part 210 is connected to the rotation shaft 502, and the motor 501 is connected to the rotation shaft 502 such that the first housing part 210 can rotate in a predetermined direction. The second housing portion 220 may be coupled to a fixed shaft 503 or directly and fixedly coupled to the base 100.

In some embodiments of the present application, referring to fig. 2 and 7, the end surface of the first ejector pin 410 is matched with the profile surface of the first mold part 310, so that the ejector pin is more closely propped against the mold part, and the mold part is effectively deformed, thereby demolding the ice cubes in the mold part.

In some embodiments of the application, referring to fig. 10, the mold body may have a plurality of mold cavities, as illustrated by the example of three mold cavities, each mold cavity having a water inlet 301. A water tank 600 is arranged above the shell, the water tank 600 is provided with water diversion openings 601 corresponding to the water inlets 301, and water diversion pipes which are communicated with the water inlets 301 can be arranged at the water diversion openings 601 in an extending mode. Referring to fig. 1, the water tub 600 may be fixed to the base 100, and an opening is provided at a position of the upper side plate 101 corresponding to the water tub 600. The provision of multiple mold cavities increases the single ice making amount of the ice maker, and the provision of the water tank 600 with the water diversion port 601 can help to improve the water injection efficiency, thereby effectively improving the ice making efficiency.

In some embodiments of the present application, referring to fig. 11, water through holes 302 are provided between the plurality of mold cavities to allow water injected into the mold cavities to circulate in the mold cavities, so that the water amount in each mold cavity tends to be uniform, and the weight difference of the prepared ice cubes is small.

In some embodiments of the application, referring to fig. 11, the water inlet 301 is annular, preferably funnel-shaped, and is formed on the first mold part 310 or the second mold part 320. According to the application, the water inlet 301 is formed on one of the mold parts independently from the mode of half mold closing, so that water can be prevented from leaking out of the mold cavity from the mold closing line of the water injection port 301 during water injection, the leaked water is frozen to cause adhesion of the mold, difficulty is caused in separating the first mold part 310 from the second mold part 320 during subsequent demolding, and the demolding process is not smooth. And, because the single water injection rate is invariable when making ice, if water leaks when the water injection, the water yield that gets into the die cavity reduces, and the ice-cube that makes is smaller than predetermineeing, and the ice-cube integrality reduces. By adopting the annular water inlet 301, water leakage can be avoided, so that the integrity of ice cubes can be better ensured.

In some embodiments of the present application, referring to fig. 11, a first engaging portion (not shown) is provided at a cavity (first cavity) edge of the first mold portion 310, and a second engaging portion 322 adapted to the first engaging portion is provided at a cavity (second cavity) edge of the second mold portion 320. One of the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion 322 is a rib, and the other is a groove. The above arrangement can improve the die assembly fit degree of the first die part 310 and the second die part 320, and effectively avoid the occurrence of flanges on the die assembly line of ice cubes, which results in irregular appearance and influences the aesthetic degree of the appearance of the ice cubes.

The foregoing is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and it should be noted that modifications and substitutions can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the technical principles of the present invention, and these modifications and substitutions should also be considered as being within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A refrigerator, comprising:

A case defining an ice making chamber therein;

An ice maker disposed within the ice making chamber;

The ice maker is characterized by comprising a mould shell and a driving mechanism;

The driving mechanism is used for driving the first mould shell to move in a translational mode so that the first mould shell and the second mould shell which are fixed form an opening and closing mode;

2. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the driving mechanism comprises a main motor, a main rotating shaft, a gear set, a rack, and a slide bar;

3. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the racks are provided at front and rear sides of the top of the first case portion.

4. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the sliding bars are provided with four sliding bars and are respectively penetrated through four corner positions of the first shell.

5. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the mold shell comprises a housing and a mold body;

The water inlet is arranged on the die body, and the shell is provided with an avoidance opening which is enclosed at the periphery of the water inlet.

6. The refrigerator of claim 5, wherein said mold body has a plurality of said mold cavities, each of said mold cavities being provided with one of said water inlets;

7. The refrigerator of claim 6, wherein a plurality of said cavities are in communication with each other through water holes.

8. The refrigerator of claim 5, wherein the water inlet is ring-shaped and is provided on the first mold portion or the second mold portion.

9. The refrigerator of claim 5, wherein a first engaging portion is provided at a cavity edge of the first mold portion, and a second engaging portion adapted to the first engaging portion is provided at a cavity edge of the second mold portion; one of the first combining part and the second combining part is a convex rib, and the other is a groove.