ICE-Making Assembly and ICE-Making Device

This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202410788948.1, filed on Jun. 18, 2024, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The present invention relates to the technical field of ice making, in particular to an ice-making assembly and an ice-making device.

Ice makers are mechanical equipment for quickly freezing water into ice by means of the heat pump technique. Ice cubes in different shapes may be made according to difference principles and production methods of evaporators, and cylindrical ice cubes produced by extrusion type ice makers are most popular.

Although the extrusion type ice makers have been developed for many years, they still have the following problems:

First, the problem of blockage caused by freezing, for example, under a relatively low environmental temperature condition, ice produced by a refrigerating system fails to be discharged in time and is accumulated in an ice-making chamber and frozen onto an ice-extruding screw rod. When an existing ice maker is blocked due to freezing, it takes as long as about 32 minutes to deice the ice maker.

Second, the problem of small ice pieces: for example, under a relatively high environmental temperature condition, ice produced by the refrigerating system is discharged out of the ice-making chamber without being fully compacted, leading to the formation of loose ice chips.

In view of the defects in the prior art, the application provides an ice-making assembly and an ice-making device. The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the application at least fulfill the following beneficial effects: first, the refrigerating efficiency is maximized, and the detrimental resistance of an ice-discharging system is reduced to prevent blockage caused by freezing; second, a temperature control member is adopted to control the temperature of an ice-scraping member to be higher than the freezing point, such that ice chips and the ice-scraping member are prevented from being frozen together; third, a control technique is adopted to pre-refrigerate water for making ice to minimize the influence of the environment on the ice-making process, such that small ice pieces are prevented; in addition, by means of a structural design, an axial force of the ice-scraping member on a mount is balanced and prevented from being applied to a driving device, such that the stress state of the driving device is simplified, thus simplifying the structure of the driving device. By adopting the embodiments of the application, blockage caused by freezing is avoided; and in a case where blockage is caused by freezing under human intervention, it only takes 12 minutes to realize deicing.

In view of the technical problems involved in the description of related art, in a first aspect, the embodiments of the application provide an ice-making assembly, including a barrel, a mount, an ice-extruding member, an ice-scraping member and a temperature control member. An ice-making chamber is formed in the barrel, and an upper end of the barrel functions as an ice outlet end. The mount is assembled at a lower end of the barrel. The ice-scraping member is assembled in the ice-making chamber. The ice-scraping member includes a spindle, a support structure arranged on the spindle, and a receiving cavity extending in an axial direction of the spindle. The ice-scraping member is driven by a driving device to rotate with respect to the barrel. The temperature control member is assembled in the receiving cavity. The ice-extruding member is assembled at a lower end of the barrel. The ice-extruding member is assembled at the upper end of the barrel. Wherein, a cross-sectional area, perpendicular to the axial direction of the spindle, of the spindle increases gradually in a direction close to the mount. The support structure is supported on and connected to the mount, and an axial movement of the ice-scraping member is restrained to prevent an axial force from being applied to the driving device.

In a second aspect, the embodiments of the application provide an ice-making device, including the ice-making assembly according to any one of the abovementioned embodiments.

It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are merely illustrative and explanatory and are not intended to limit the application.

Reference signs and corresponding description:

The application is described in detail below. Examples of the embodiments of the application are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein identical or similar reference signs indicate identical or similar components or components with identical or similar functions. In addition, if a detailed description of an existing technique is unnecessary for the features of the application, it may be omitted. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are illustrative ones merely used for explaining the application and should not be interpreted as limitations of the application.

Those skilled in the art may understand that unless otherwise particularly stated, a singular form such as “a/an”, “one”, “the” and “said” used here may also include a plural form. It should be further understood that the expression “comprise” or “include” used in the description of the application indicates the presence of said feature, element and/or assembly, without excluding the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, assemblies and/or combinations thereof. The expression “and/or” used here indicates any one or all combinations of one or more associated items listed.

As shown in, one embodiment of the application provides an ice-making assembly, mainly including a barrel, a mount, an ice-scraping member, an ice-extruding memberand a temperature control member. An ice-making chamberis formed in the barrel, and an upper end of the barrelfunctions as an ice outlet end. The mountis assembled at a lower end of the barrel. The ice-scraping memberis assembled in the ice-making chamber. The ice-scraping memberincludes a spindle, a support structurearranged on the spindle, and a receiving cavityextending in an axial direction of the spindle. The ice-scraping memberis driven by a driving device to rotate with respect to the barrel. The temperature control memberis assembled in the receiving cavity. The ice-extruding memberis assembled at the upper end of the barrel. Wherein, a cross-sectional area, perpendicular to the axial direction of the spindle, of the spindleincreases gradually in a direction close to the mount. The support structureis supported on and connected to the mount, and an axial movement of the ice-scraping memberis restrained to prevent an axial force from being applied to the driving device.

In this embodiment, the barrelis configured as a cylindrical structure. The barrelis vertically arranged on a horizontal plane, that is, an axis of the barrelis arranged in a vertical direction. The cylindrical ice-making chamberis defined by a shell wall of the barrel, and an ice outlet communicating with the ice-making chamberis formed in the top of the barrel. A lower portion of the barrelis provided with a water inlet endcommunicating with the ice-making chamber, and water flowing into the ice-making chambervia the water inlet endis refrigerated to form an ice layer.

The ice-scraping memberis configured as a columnar structure on the whole and vertically assembled in the ice-making chamber, and the ice-scraping memberis rotatable with respect to the barrel. A horizontal cross-section of the spindleincreases gradually from top to bottom to form a structure with a small upper end and a large lower end. Optionally, a cross-section, in the axial direction of the spindle, of the spindleis in the shape of an isosceles trapezoid. Optionally, a main body of the spindleis configured as a conical structure, and a top end and a bottom end of the conical structure are flat surface.

An outer side of the spindleis surrounded with a spiral scraper, and an outer ring of the spiral scraperis close to an inner wall of the ice-making chamber. In an ice-making state, the ice layer is formed on the inner wall of the ice-making chamber. The spiral scraperrotates synchronously with the spindle, an outer edge of the spiral scrapercomes in contact with the ice layer to realize ice scraping to obtain ice chips, the ice chips fall onto the spiral scraper, and finally, the accumulated ice chips are extruded towards the ice outlet along the spiral scraper.

The ice-extruding memberis arranged at a top end of the barreland is able to compact ice chips into ice cubes, thus facilitating the formation of the ice cubes.

As shown in, the ice-scraping memberis provided with the receiving cavityextending in the vertical direction, the receiving cavityis coaxial with in the spindle, and the temperature control memberis fixed in the receiving cavity.

In some embodiments, the temperature control memberis a heating rod, and the heating rod fits the receiving cavity. The heating rod is controlled to generate heat to control the temperature of the spiral scraperto be higher than 0° C.

In some embodiments, the ice-making assembly further includes a temperature controller, a rotary power supply unit and a temperature measurement element. The temperature controller outputs a proper current according to an actual temperature measured by the temperature measurement element, to allow the heating rod to generate heat. A temperature signal and a heating current are transmitted by means of the rotary power supply unit.

The mountis mounted at the bottom of the barreland works together with the support structureto support the ice-scraping member. A lower end of the ice-scraping memberis inlaid in the mountand is stably supported to restrain the ice-scraping memberfrom moving close to the driving device in the axial direction.

According to the ice-making assembly provided by the embodiments of the application, the support structureis supported on and connected to the mountto restrain an axial movement of the ice-scraping member, such that an axial force of the ice-scraping memberon the mountis balanced and will not be applied to the driving device, and the stress state of the driving device is simplified, thus simplifying the structure of the driving structure.

A spiral ice storage space is defined by the spindle, the spiral scraperand a wall of the ice-making chamber, and the capacity of the ice storage space increases gradually in a direction close to the ice outlet, that is, the ice storage space is enlarged gradually from bottom to top, such that a sufficient space is provided for the accumulation of ice chips close to the ice outlet. In this way, ice may be discharged smoothly without being affected by an increase in the diameter of the spindle, and blockage caused by freezing is avoided.

The temperature control memberis controlled to keep the temperature of the ice-scraping memberhigher than the freezing point, such that a chuck of compacted ice and the spiral scraperare prevented from being frozen together, thus avoiding blockage.

As shown in, as an optional embodiment, the ice-scraping memberfurther includes a sealed shaft, and the sealed shaftis coaxially connected to the spindle. The support structureis arranged at a joint between the sealed shaftand the spindle.

Based on the above embodiment, in this embodiment, the sealed shaftis connected to a big end of the spindle. The diameter of the sealed shaftis less than the diameter of the spindleto facilitate the installation of a mechanical sealing structure. The support structureis located below the spindle.

As an optional embodiment, the support structureis configured as a stepped structure.

Based on the above embodiment, in this embodiment, the support structureis configured as a ring structure. The support structureprotrudes out of or caves into the sealed shaftin a radial direction. In, the support structurecaves into the sealed shaft.

As shown in, as an optional embodiment, the ice-making assembly further includes a sealing element. The sealing elementis fixed in the ice-making chamber, disposed around an outer side of the sealed shaft, and connected to the sealed shaftin a sealing manner. The sealing elementis supported on and connected to the big endof the spindle.

Based on the above embodiment, in this embodiment, the sealing elementis configure as a ring structure and arranged below the spindle, and an inner side of the sealing elementis connected to the outer side of the sealed shaftin a sealing manner. The big endof the spindleis a bottom end of the spindle, and a top surface of the sealing elementis supported on the big endof the spindleto realize mechanical sealing. Optionally, the top surface of the sealing elementand a bottom surface of the big endof the spindleare horizontal surfaces.

In a specific embodiment, the sealing elementincludes a first ring piece and a second ring piece which are arranged from top to bottom, and the sealed shaftextends into the first ring piece and the second ring piece. The top of the first ring piece is supported on the spindle, and the first ring piece is a movable ring. The second ring piece is relatively fixed with respect to the barreland is a stationary ring. A sealing surface is arranged between the first ring piece and the second ring piece, and the sealing surface has an extremely small friction coefficient. The first ring piece includes a spring, and the spring surrounds the outer side of the sealed shaft. When the ice-scraping memberrotates, the spring generates an axial force to restrain the movement of the first ring piece to ensure that relative friction is produced between the first ring piece and the second ring piece and a water film between the first ring piece and the second ring piece water prevents water from flowing out, such that a sealing effect is realized by the first ring piece and the second ring piece to ensure that water will not leak from the bottom of the ice-scraping member.

In some embodiments, the bottom of the sealing elementis fixedly connected to the mountto realize stable support.

As shown in, as an optional embodiment, the wall of the ice-making chamberis provided with a spiral refrigerant channel. The refrigerant channelis sandwiched and surrounds the outer side of the spindle. The refrigerant channelis provided with a refrigerant inlet endand a refrigerant outlet endwhich communicate with the outside.

Based on the above embodiment, in this embedment, the refrigerant channelis formed in the wall of the ice-making chamber. An outer side of the shell wall of the barrelcaves in to form a grooves structure, and a shell is disposed around an outer side of the groove structure to form an interlayer, such that the refrigerant channelis formed.

The refrigerant outlet endis higher than the refrigerant inlet end, and the refrigerant inlet endis higher than the water inlet end. A liquid refrigerant flows into the refrigerant channelvia the refrigerant inlet end, flows from top to bottom along the refrigerant channel, absorbs heat in the ice-making chamberto turn from a liquid state to a gaseous state, and finally flows out via the refrigerant outlet end.

An end surface of a vertical section of the refrigerant channelis in the shape of a trapezoid. The shape of the vertical section of the refrigerant channelis obtained by heat engineering calculation to ensure that the contact area between the refrigerant channeland the refrigerant is maximized and total heat resistance is minimized. A short base of the trapezoid is close to the ice-making chamber. The refrigerant channelensures that the refrigerant flows orderly and maximizes the heat transfer area between the refrigerant and the wall of the ice-making chamberto realize stable ice-making.

In some embodiments, the refrigerant channelis an I-shaped circular groove.

As an optional embodiment, the ice-extruding memberis provided with multiple ice-extruding channels. All the ice-extruding channelscommunicate with the ice-making chamber. Each ice-extruding channelincludes an ice inlet. All the ice inletsare distributed in a circumferential direction, and edges of adjacent ice inletsare close to each other to reduce ice resistance.

Based on the above embodiment, in this embodiment, the ice-extruding memberis a special-shaped body in smooth transition. The ice-extruding memberis cylindrical close to the ice outlet end, and in an ice inlet segment, the flow resistance of the ice layer on a residual plane is minimized to prevent small ice pieces from being compacted into an ice cube on the residual plane. The ice inletsof the ice-extruding memberare located below the ice outlet. The ice inletsof the ice-extruding membercommunicate with the ice outlet in the barrel. The multiple ice-extruding channelsare arranged uniformly around the axis of the spindle.

In some embodiments, a bottom surface of the ice-extruding memberis a flat surface. The horizontal cross-section of the ice inletsis trapezoidal, short bases of trapezoids of all the ice inletsare close the inner side, and long bases of the trapezoids of all the ice inletsare close the outer side. Legs of adjacent trapezoids are close to each other, such that the proportion of circulation areas of the ice inletson the bottom surface of the ice-extruding memberis increased, and the ice resistance on the plane is reduced, thus lowering the probability of blockage caused by freezing.

A vertical section of the ice-extruding channelis a flared ice-extruding segment, and a large open end of the ice-extruding segment is located at the bottom, such that the quantity of small ice pieces entering the ice-extruding channelmay be increased; and after a large quantity of small ice pieces enters the ice-extruding channel, a horizontal section of the ice-extruding segment becomes smaller, that is, the circulation area becomes smaller, such that the small ice pieces may be compacted to form an ice cube, thus improving the quality of the ice cube extruded from the ice-extruding channel. Wherein, the horizontal section of the ice-extruding segment may be circular, rectangular or in other shapes. An improper design of the ice-extruding channelmay lead to direct discharge of small ice pieces due to insufficient compaction and may also lead to blockage due to excessive compaction.

The ice-making assembly further includes an ice-breaking memberarranged on the ice-extruding member. An outer side surface of the ice-breaking memberis an ice-breaking slope used for breaking ice cubes discharged from the ice-extruding channels. The ice-breaking memberis detachably mounted on the ice-extruding member, or the ice-breaking memberand the ice-extruding memberare formed integrally. The application has no specific limitation in this aspect.

In some embodiments, the ice-extruding memberis provided with a limit hole, which extends vertically and is formed in the middle of the ice-extruding member, and the multiple ice-extruding channelssurround an outer side of the limit hole. A tubular upper bearingis arranged close to an inner wall of the limit hole.

The ice-scraping memberfurther includes a limit shaft. The limit shaftis coaxially connected to the spindleand arranged on a side, opposite to the sealed shaft, of the spindle, that is, the limit shaftis arranged above the spindle. The limit shaftextends into the limit holeof the ice-extruding member, and the upper bearingis disposed around an outer side of the limit shaftand supports the limit shaftin the radial direction to keep the axis of the spindlevertical, thus avoiding a deflection of the axis of the spindle. The top of the spindleabuts against the bottom of the upper bearingto restrain the ice-scraping memberfrom moving upwards.

As an optional embodiment, the ice-scraping memberfurther includes a guide shaft. The guide shaftis coaxially connected to the sealed shaftand arranged on a side, opposite to the spindle, of the sealed shaftto prevent the spindlefrom skewing and moving.

Based on the above embodiment, in this embodiment, the guide shaftis coaxially connected to the sealed shaftand located below the sealed shaft. The diameter of the guide shaftis less than the diameter of the sealed shaft, and the support structureis formed at a joint between the sealed shaftand the guide shaft.

The ice-scraping memberfurther includes a power input shaft, and the power input shaftis connected to the driving device. The power input shaftis coaxially connected to the guide shaftand arranged on a side, opposite to the sealed shaft, of the guide shaft, that is, the power input shaftis arranged below the guide shaft.

The mountincludes a base. The top of the basesupports and is connected to the sealing element. A through-hole extending in the vertical direction is formed in the middle of the mount, and a lower bearingis arranged close to an inner wall of the through-hole. The guide shaftof the ice-scraping memberextends into the lower bearing, and the power input shaftextends out of the through-hole. The lower bearingis disposed around an outer side of the guide shaftand supports the guide shaftin the radial direction to keep the axis of the spindlevertical, thus preventing a deflection of the axis of the spindle. The top of the lower bearingsupports and is connected to the support structureand is able to restrain the ice-scraping memberfrom moving downwards. Wherein, the upper bearingand the lower bearingare coaxial.

In addition, it should be noted that a main body of the spindleis configured as a conical structure, such that a stepped structure is formed without reducing the diameter of the power input shaft.