Patent Description:
The present invention relates to the technical field of equipment for preparing ice cubes, and in particular to an ice crushing device and a refrigerator.

With the continuous development of science and technology and the continuous improvement of people's living standards, in order to meet people's higher and higher requirements for living quality, the function of household appliances also keeps increasing, such as adding an ice maker to a refrigerator and so on. The ice maker comprises an ice making device and an ice crushing device. After ice cubes are prepared by the ice making device, the ice cubes are stored in a barrel-shaped container so that users can access them. Meanwhile, those skilled in the art set the ice discharging forms of the refrigerator as the mode of crushed ice and the mode of ice cubes for convenient use. In the mode of crushed ice, users access the crushed ice cubes; while in the mode of ice cubes, users access the complete ice cubes. However, after the ice cubes are stored in the barrel-shaped container, the ice cubes in contact with each other for a long time prone to freeze together, and even all the ice cubes in the whole barrel-shaped container may freeze together. In order to solve this problem, those skilled in the art adopt setting a stirring structure in the barrel-shaped container so as to make the ice cubes move within the barrel-shaped container, thus solving the problem that the ice cubes in contact with each other for a long time freeze together.

Exemplarily, with reference to <FIG> as shown, an ice crushing device of an ice maker is adopted in the prior art, comprising a driving gear <NUM>, a driven gear <NUM>, an ice stirrer <NUM> with a wheeled main body, an ice stirring bar <NUM> provided on the ice stirrer <NUM>. The driving gear <NUM> is meshed with the driven gear <NUM>. The driving gear <NUM> is coaxially sleeved with a plurality of ice crushing blades <NUM> used for cutting the ice cubes. The two adjacent ice crushing blades <NUM> are spaced by a certain distance. The driven gear <NUM> is a hollow ring structure so that the ice stirrer <NUM> is coaxially sleeved with the driven gear <NUM>, and that a circle of gap forms between the outer peripheral surface of the ice stirrer <NUM> and the inner ring surface of the driven gear <NUM>; the ice stirrer <NUM> is made to rotate as needed, while driving the ice stirring bar <NUM> to rotate. Two fan-shaped eccentric wedges <NUM> are symmetrically provided on the ice stirrer <NUM>.

As the ice crushing blades <NUM> in the ice crushing device of the ice maker are coaxially sleeved with the driving gear <NUM>, the ice crushing blades <NUM> rotate in the same direction as the driving gear <NUM>; the ice stirrer <NUM> is coaxially sleeved with the driven gear <NUM>, and is driven by the driven gear <NUM> to rotate as needed. At this time, the ice stirrer <NUM> and the ice stirring bar <NUM> provided on the ice stirrer <NUM> rotate in the same direction as the driven gear <NUM>, but in the opposite direction to the driving gear <NUM>. Two fan-shaped eccentric wedges <NUM> are symmetrically provided on the ice stirrer <NUM>. Moreover, in this solution, only when the driving gear <NUM> rotates anticlockwise, larger portions of the two eccentric wedges <NUM> contact with the inner ring surface of the driven gear <NUM> to produce friction force, and the driven gear <NUM> then is capable of driving the ice stirrer <NUM> to rotate. At this time, the ice crushing blades <NUM>, the ice stirrer <NUM> and the ice stirring bar <NUM> simultaneously produce a force in the right direction as shown in <FIG> on the ice cubes to make the ice cubes within the container move. When the driving gear <NUM> rotates clockwise, a gap forms between smaller portions of the two eccentric wedges <NUM> and the inner ring surface of the driven gear <NUM>, thus the ice stirrer <NUM> and the driven gear <NUM> are disengaged so that the driven gear <NUM> is incapable of driving the ice stirrer <NUM> to rotate, and the ice stirrer <NUM> stops working. However, when the ice stirrer <NUM> operates, all the forces that make the ice cubes move are in the same direction (the right direction as shown in <FIG>). Therefore, the ice cubes move towards the right direction in the container as a whole, the relative movement between the ice cubes is not significant and the stirring effect is not obvious.

<CIT> discloses an ice crusher. The ice crusher includes a rotating shaft <NUM>, a plurality of rotary blades <NUM> and a plurality of fixed blades <NUM> and <NUM>. The rotating shaft <NUM> is rotatably provided in a grinding chamber <NUM> with both ends supported by front and rear walls of the grinding chamber <NUM>. The plurality of rotary blades <NUM> are fixed to the rotating shaft <NUM>. The plurality of rotary blades <NUM> are axially spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance and circumferentially displaced by a predetermined angle. The plurality of fixed blades <NUM> are disposed on an inner wall of the grinding chamber <NUM>, and the plurality of fixed blades <NUM> are disposed on an opposite inner wall of the grinding chamber <NUM>.

In an aspect, the present invention provides an ice crushing device which is defined by appended claim <NUM>.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a refrigerator which is defined by appended claim <NUM>.

In order to describe technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or in the prior art more clearly, the accompanying drawings to be used for describing the embodiments or the prior art will be introduced briefly. Obviously, the accompanying drawings to be described below are merely some embodiments of the present invention, and an ordinary person skilled in the art can obtain other drawings according to those drawings without paying any creative effort.

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be described below clearly and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the embodiments to be described are merely some but not all of embodiments of the present invention. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by an ordinary person skilled in the art without paying any creative effort fall within the protection scope of the present invention as defined by the claims.

In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that orientation or location relationships indicated by terms "up", "down", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inside", "outside" and the like are the orientation or location relationships based on the accompanying drawings, provided just for ease of describing the present invention and simplifying the description. They are not intended to indicate or imply that the stated devices or elements must have the specific orientation and be constructed and operated in the specific orientation. Hence, they shall not be understood as any limitation to the present invention.

Terms "first" and "second" are simply used for description, and shall not be understood to indicate or imply relative importance or to imply the amount of the stated technical features. Therefore, features defined with "first" and "second" can explicitly or impliedly include one or more such features.

For a refrigerator with ice making and ice crushing functions, the ice making and ice crushing functions are achieved by adding a portion for preparing ice cubes and an ice crushing device to the refrigerator.

With reference to <FIG>, a refrigerator door <NUM> of the refrigerator is provided with an ice maker, which comprises an ice making device and an ice crushing device <NUM>. The ice making device conveys the prepared ice cubes into an ice storage container of the ice crushing device. When users need to access complete ice cubes, the ice cubes in the ice storage container are discharged, or when users need to access crushed ice cubes, the ice cubes in the ice storage container are discharged after being crushed.

The ice making device conveys the ice cubes into the ice storage container <NUM> after finishing the preparation of the ice cubes. A rotatable stirrer <NUM> and a rotatable ice knife assembly <NUM> are provided in the ice storage container <NUM>. The stirrer <NUM> and the ice knife assembly <NUM> drive the ice cubes within the ice storage container <NUM> to move by rotating themselves, and discharge complete ice cubes or crushed ice cubes after crushing the ice cubes in accordance with the actual needs of users.

In <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG> the ice crushing device comprises an ice storage container <NUM>, a rotatable stirrer <NUM> is provided in the ice storage container <NUM>, a rotatable ice knife assembly <NUM> is provided below the stirrer <NUM>, and the axis of a rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> and the axis of a rotary shaft <NUM> of the ice knife assembly <NUM> are mutually on lines in different planes.

Thus compared with the prior art the axis of the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> and the axis of the rotary shaft <NUM> of the ice knife assembly <NUM> are mutually skew lines. Therefore, the line in the direction of the acting force on the ice cubes when the stirrer <NUM> rotates and the line in the direction of the acting force on the ice cubes when the ice knife assembly <NUM> rotates are mutually skew lines, that is, when the stirrer <NUM> stirs, disturbance will happen between the stirrer <NUM> and the ice knife assembly <NUM>, making the ice cubes do irregular movement within the ice storage container <NUM>. The relative movement between the ice cubes increases, and the stirring effect of the stirrer <NUM> reaches to maximum, thus avoiding that the adjacent ice cubes contact for a long time to freeze together due to the unobvious relative movement between them.

Further, in order to make the stirring effect of the stirrer <NUM> better, with reference to <FIG> and <FIG> as shown, the axis of the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> and the axis of the rotary shaft <NUM> of the ice knife assembly <NUM> are mutually perpendicular. When the axis of the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> and the axis of the rotary shaft <NUM> of the ice knife assembly <NUM> are mutually perpendicular, the direction of the acting force generated by the stirrer <NUM> and the direction of the acting force generated by the ice knife assembly <NUM> when the ice knife assembly <NUM> rotates are also mutually perpendicular. There is no component force in the same direction and the disturbance effect reaches to maximum, so that the stirring effect of the stirrer reaches to the best at the same time.

Further, with reference to <FIG> and <FIG> as shown, the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> and the rotary shaft <NUM> of the ice knife assembly <NUM> are both arranged horizontally. When the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> and the rotary shaft <NUM> of the ice knife assembly <NUM> are both arranged horizontally, during the operation process of the ice crushing device, the force of the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> in the axial direction is uniformly distributed during its rotation process, avoiding the situation that some portion is subjected so excessive force that bending or fracture happens; moreover, during the accumulation process of the ice cubes in the ice storage container, both sides of the ice crushing blades of the ice knife assembly <NUM> are subjected to an equal force. Besides, the knife edge and knife back are not easily squeezed due to their excessively small area. During the rotation process, both sides of the ice crushing blades of the ice knife assembly <NUM> only need to overcome the friction force with the ice cubes, thus making the ice crushing blades of the ice knife assembly <NUM> not to bend during the rotation process. However, if the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> is arranged obliquely, after the side of the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> close to the ice making unit is squeezed by the ice cubes, the force generated by squeezing cannot be uniformly distributed over the entire shaft, and the installation portion of the shaft is more likely to be bent; if the rotary shaft <NUM> of the ice knife assembly <NUM> is arranged obliquely, during the operation process of the ice crushing device, the knife faces of the ice crushing blades of the ice knife assembly <NUM> will be additionally squeezed by the ice cubes so that the ice crushing blades of the ice knife assembly <NUM> also need to overcome the pressure from the ice cubes during the rotation process, increasing the possibility of the ice crushing blades of the ice knife assembly <NUM> to be bent or fracted. Meanwhile, obliquely arranging the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> and/or the rotary shaft <NUM> of the ice knife assembly <NUM> may also increase the installation difficulty of the shaft. Therefore, horizontally arranging both the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> and the rotary shaft <NUM> of the ice knife assembly <NUM> can maximize the protection of the stirrer <NUM> and the ice knife assembly <NUM>, and decrease the installation difficulty at the same time. The rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer crosses the ice storage container <NUM> to ensure that the stirrer <NUM> has as large a stirring space as possible and covers the entire area above the ice knife assembly <NUM>.

In order to make the stirring effect of the stirrer <NUM> better, with reference to <FIG> and <FIG> as shown, a plurality of stirring claws <NUM> are arranged on the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM>. The plurality of stirring claws <NUM> are uniformly distributed in the circumferential direction of the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM>. When the stirrer <NUM> is working, the plurality of stirring claws <NUM> arranged on the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> can simultaneously stretch into the ice cubes from different directions to stir, increasing the stirring range of the stirrer <NUM>. The plurality of stirring claws <NUM> uniformly distributed in the circumferential direction of the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> can ensure that when the stirrer <NUM> stirs, the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> generates the same acting force on the ice cubes in the circumferential direction at every moment, ensuring the stability of the stirring process and avoiding the situation of uneven stirring. Meanwhile, the length of the stirring claws <NUM> in the vertical direction should be as long as possible under the circumstances of not interfering with the ice crushing blades of the ice knife assembly <NUM>, so that the stirring range of the stirring claws <NUM> covers the ice storage container space above the ice crushing blades as much as possible, thus the stirring range is wider and the stirring effect of the stirrer <NUM> is better.

In order to ensure the stability of the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> in use, with reference to <FIG> and <FIG> as shown, the plurality of stirring claws <NUM> are arranged apart from each other in the axial direction of the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM>, and the adjacent two stirring claws <NUM> are spaced in the axial direction of the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> by an equal distance. The stirring claws <NUM> are uniformly arranged in the axial direction of the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> so that the portion covered by the stirrer <NUM> can be sufficiently and uniformly stirred in the case of using the stirring jaws <NUM> as few as possible during the stirring process of the stirrer <NUM>, thus saving cost while improving the stirring efficiency to the greatest extent. The adjacent two stirring claws <NUM> are spaced in the axial direction of the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> by an equal distance so that when the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> rotates, the force suffered by the rotary shaft <NUM> is uniformly distributed on the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> so as to prevent the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> from being deformed or even fracted due to uneven force.

For example, with reference to <FIG> and <FIG> as shown, four stirring claws are uniformly arranged in the circumferential direction of the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM>, and the degree of the angle α formed by the adjacent two stirring claws <NUM> is <NUM>°. α=<NUM>°/ n, wherein n is the number of the stirring claws <NUM>. Four stirring claws <NUM> are arranged on the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM>, so that the four stirring claws <NUM> can respectively stretch into the accumulated ice cubes in four circumferential directions of the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> during the stirring process of the stirrer <NUM>. It is ensured that the ice cubes in the ice storage container are sufficiently stirred in the case of arranging only four stirring claws <NUM>, and the frozen ice cubes with relatively large volume can be separated into smaller cubes which then can be separated or broken by the ice knife assembly <NUM>, reducing the workload of the ice knife assembly <NUM> and extending the service life of the ice knife assembly <NUM>. And the four stirring claws <NUM> uniformly distributed in the circumferential direction of the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> can ensure that when the stirrer <NUM> stirs, the acting force of the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> is uniformly distributed on the rotary shaft in the case that the stirrer <NUM> operates, thus preventing the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> from being deformed or even fracted due to uneven force and ensuring the stability of the stirring process.

Further, with reference to <FIG> and <FIG> as shown, the plurality of stirring claws <NUM> all extend in a direction perpendicular to the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM>. When the stirring claws <NUM> are arranged perpendicular to the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM>, it can be ensured that when the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> rotates, each portion of the stirring claws <NUM> can be subjected to force and no ice cubes will be stuck between the stirring claws <NUM> and the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM>, ensuring the normal operation of the stirrer <NUM>.

With reference to <FIG> as shown, the rotary shaft <NUM> of the ice knife assembly <NUM> is connected with a driving device (not shown in the figure) for driving the rotation of the rotary shaft <NUM> of the ice knife assembly <NUM>. The rotary shaft <NUM> of the ice knife assembly <NUM> is connected with the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> through a transmission assembly <NUM> in a transmission way, so as to drive the rotation of the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM>. Using the transmission assembly <NUM> to drive the rotation of the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> compared with the driving method to directly use driving devices such as motors consumes relatively less energy and the noise is lower. The transmission assembly <NUM> may be a turbine transmission assembly, a chain transmission assembly, a belt transmission assembly or a gear transmission assembly.

Wherein, adopting the turbine transmission assembly can achieve a higher accuracy of transmission, and the structure is compact in size. But the turbine transmission assembly has large axial force with easy heating and low transmission efficiency. Meanwhile, the turbine transmission assembly requires a better working environment and the equipment is easy to be damaged.

Adopting the chain transmission assembly has such advantages as low installation accuracy and simple transmission structure. But the chain transmission assembly has poor transmission stability, the impact and shock resistance ability of the transmission chain is weak, and it is very easy to be damaged.

Adopting the belt transmission assembly has such advantages as simple structure and low cost. Moreover, the belt transmission assembly itself has the function to ease vibration and absorb impact, and can prevent the other components from being damaged. But in the belt transmission assembly, the service life of the belt is relatively short and the belt needs to be frequently replaced. Moreover, the belt of the belt transmission assembly is easy to slip making the transmission ratio often change, and stable operation of the machine cannot be guaranteed.

With reference to <FIG>, <FIG> as shown, when the transmission assembly <NUM> is adopted with a gear transmission assembly, the transmission assembly <NUM> comprises a first intermediate shaft <NUM> and a second intermediate shaft <NUM>, the first intermediate shaft <NUM> is transmitted with the rotary shaft <NUM> of the ice knife assembly <NUM> through a first cylindrical gear set <NUM>, the first intermediate shaft <NUM> is transmitted with the second intermediate shaft <NUM> through a second cylindrical gear set <NUM>, and the second intermediate shaft <NUM> is transmitted with the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> through a bevel gear set <NUM>.

The first cylindrical gear set includes a first cylindrical gear <NUM> fixedly sleeved to the rotary shaft <NUM> of the ice knife assembly <NUM> and a second cylindrical gear <NUM> fixedly sleeved to the first intermediate shaft <NUM>. And the first cylindrical gear <NUM> and the second cylindrical gear <NUM> are meshed to ensure that the first intermediate shaft <NUM> can rotate synchronously when the rotary shaft <NUM> of the ice knife assembly <NUM> is driven by the driving device (not shown in the figure). At this time, the rotary shaft <NUM> of the ice knife assembly <NUM> and the first intermediate shaft <NUM> are parallel to each other.

The second cylindrical gear set <NUM> includes the second cylindrical gear <NUM> and a third cylindrical gear <NUM> fixedly sleeved to the second intermediate shaft <NUM>. And the second cylindrical gear <NUM> and the third cylindrical gear <NUM> are meshed to ensure that the second intermediate shaft <NUM> can rotate synchronously when the first intermediate shaft <NUM> rotates. At this time, the first intermediate shaft <NUM> and the second intermediate shaft <NUM> are parallel to each other, that is, the rotary shaft <NUM> of the ice knife assembly <NUM>, the first intermediate shaft <NUM> and the second intermediate shaft <NUM> are also parallel to each other.

The bevel gear set <NUM> includes a first bevel gear <NUM> fixedly sleeved to the second intermediate shaft <NUM> and a second bevel gear <NUM> fixedly sleeved to the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM>. And the first bevel gear <NUM> and the second bevel gear <NUM> are meshed, so that when the second intermediate shaft <NUM> rotates, it drives the first bevel gear <NUM> fixedly sleeved thereto to rotate, thus driving the second bevel gear <NUM> meshed with the first bevel gear <NUM> to rotate, further driving the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> sleeved in the second bevel gear <NUM> to rotate, thus the stirrer <NUM> starts to stir. As the axis of a rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> and the axis of a rotary shaft <NUM> of the ice knife assembly <NUM> are inevitably mutually skew lines, the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> fixedly sleeved in the second bevel gear <NUM>, and the second intermediate shaft <NUM> fixedly sleeved in the first bevel gear <NUM> must also have a certain angle β. If a cylindrical gear meshing is adopted, it is impossible to realize the transmission as needed between the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> and the second intermediate shaft <NUM>. But the angle of the shafts when bevel gears are meshed can meet this requirement. It only needs to calculate out each required parameter of the bevel gear according to the actual angle of the angle β in use, and select the appropriate bevel gear set <NUM> to carry out the transmission, further to meet the requirements of the embodiments of the present invention and implement the embodiments of the present invention. Moreover, the bevel gear itself has a long service life and can carry a larger load, which also ensures the stable operation of the ice crushing device to a certain extent.

When the gear transmission assembly is adopted to drive the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM>, the structure of the gear transmission assembly itself is relatively simple, and the stability and the efficiency of the transmission are both relatively high, making the reliability of the transmission work also relatively high due to its relatively high stability itself. The gear itself has a relatively high hardness and the requirements of the gear transmission assembly for the installation environment are not high, which makes the service life of the gear transmission assembly relatively long correspondingly. When the rotary shaft <NUM> of the stirrer <NUM> is driven by the gear transmission assembly, the operation of the stirrer <NUM> is smoother, and the noise is lower. Moreover, the service life of the transmission assembly <NUM> adopted with gear transmission assembly is long, and there is no need to frequently replace the components in the transmission assembly <NUM>, enhancing the continuous operation ability of the stirrer <NUM>.

When users access complete ice cubes in the mode of ice cubes, sometimes the situation that no ice cubes are discharged may happen. After research, those skilled in the art find the reason that some frozen ice cubes block the outlet of the complete ice cubes. Therefore, in order to solve the problem that frozen ice cubes block the outlet of the complete ice cubes, the ice crushing device of the present invention also comprises the following structures:.

With reference to <FIG> as shown, according to the invention, the ice knife assembly <NUM> comprises the rotary shaft <NUM>, a fixed ice knife <NUM>, a movable ice knife <NUM> and an ice cube separation structure <NUM>, the rotary shaft <NUM> can drive the movable ice knife <NUM> to rotate, the fixed ice knife <NUM> and the ice cube separation structure <NUM> are located at two sides of the rotary shaft <NUM> separately, and the fixed ice knife <NUM> and the ice cube separation structure <NUM> are both fixed relative to the ice storage container <NUM>. When the rotary shaft <NUM> drives the movable ice knife <NUM> to rotate in the first direction, the ice cubes within the ice storage container <NUM> can be broken under the shear force of the movable ice knife <NUM> and the fixed ice knife <NUM>. When the rotary shaft <NUM> drives the movable ice knife <NUM> to rotate in the second direction opposite to the first direction, the frozen ice cubes can be separated under the cooperation of the movable ice knife <NUM> and the ice cube separation structure <NUM>. The fixed ice knife <NUM> and the ice cube separation structure <NUM> are provided on two sides of the rotary shaft <NUM> separately, so that when the rotary shaft <NUM> rotates in the first direction in the mode of crushed ice for the ice crushing device, the movable ice knife <NUM> presses downward the direction in which the fixed ice knife <NUM> is located, cutting the ice cubes between the movable ice knife <NUM> and the fixed ice knife <NUM>; when the rotary shaft <NUM> rotates in the second direction opposite to the first direction in the mode of ice cubes, the movable ice knife <NUM> presses downward the direction in which the ice cube separation structure <NUM> is located, applying a downward force to the upper surface of the frozen ice cubes between the ice cube separation structure <NUM> and the movable ice knife <NUM>, while the contact portion of the ice cube separation structure <NUM> and the lower surface of the frozen ice cubes provides a corresponding support force, so that the frozen ice cubes are separated into ice cubes. Therefore, when users access complete ice cubes in the mode of ice cubes, the situation that the frozen ice cubes block the outlet of the complete ice cubes may not happen.

Further, with reference to <FIG> and <FIG> as shown, one end of the fixed ice knife <NUM> may be rotatably connected to the rotary shaft <NUM>, the other end is fixedly connected to a fixed base <NUM> which is fixed relative to the ice storage container <NUM>, and the ice cube separation structure <NUM> is fixed at the end of the fixed ice knife <NUM> connected to the rotary shaft <NUM>. Alternatively, the ice cube separation structure <NUM> may also be fixedly provided within the ice storage container <NUM> instead of being fixed to one end of the fixed ice knife <NUM>. But when the ice cube separation structure <NUM> works, the edge of the connection portion between the ice cube separation structure <NUM> provided within the ice storage container <NUM> and the ice storage container <NUM> may also be subjected to a shear force to a certain degree, and it is difficult for the connection portion to provide an individual support force. Long-time use will reduce the reliability of the connection portion and even cause the ice cube separation structure <NUM> to fall off from the connection portion. On the contrary, when the ice cube separation structure <NUM> is connected to one end of the fixed ice knife <NUM> connected to the rotary shaft <NUM>, both the fixed base <NUM> fixedly provided relative to the ice storage container <NUM> and the rotary shaft <NUM> can provide sufficient support force for counteracting the force on the ice cube separation structure <NUM> when the ice cube separation structure <NUM> is subjected to forces, so that the ice cube separation structure <NUM> itself is subjected to less force and the service life of the ice cube separation structure <NUM> is extended.

In order to reduce the situations where the reliability of the connection portion in long-time use is reduced as mentioned in the above embodiments, with reference to <FIG>, <FIG> as shown, the ice cube separation structure <NUM> is a plate-shape structure, and is integrally formed with the fixed ice knife <NUM>. The plate-shape ice cube separation structure <NUM> is easier to be installed. After the ice cube separation structure <NUM> is integrally formed with the fixed ice knife <NUM>, there is no connection portion between the ice cube separation structure <NUM> and the fixed ice knife <NUM> because the connection process is not adopted therebetween, so that the situations where the connection portion is disconnected due to reduced connection reliability in long-time operation will not happen, and the operation stability of the ice crushing device is ensured. In order to reduce the process difficulty of integrally forming the ice cube separation structure <NUM> and the fixed ice knife <NUM>, it is preferable to arrange the ice cube separation structure <NUM> and the fixed ice knife <NUM> with the same thickness.

In order to accommodate the demand of different equipments in size or the efficiency of crushing ice, with reference to Fig. <NUM> to Fig. <NUM> as shown, according to the invention, a plurality of fixed ice knives <NUM> are provided, the movable ice knife <NUM> is provided on the rotary shaft <NUM> between two adjacent fixed ice knives <NUM>, at least some of the fixed ice knives <NUM> are connected with the ice cube separation structure <NUM>, and the gap between two adjacent ice cube separation structures <NUM> allows only one ice cube to pass through. The number of the fixed ice knives <NUM>, the movable ice knives <NUM> and the ice cube separation structures <NUM> in the present device can be selected according to actual requirements, which increases the flexibility of the ice crushing device. The fixed ice knife <NUM> and the movable ice knife <NUM> are provided alternately, which ensures that in the mode of crushed ice, when the rotary shaft <NUM> rotates in the first direction, the movable ice knife <NUM> presses downward the direction in which the fixed ice knife <NUM> is located, each ice cube located between the movable ice knife <NUM> and the fixed ice knife <NUM> can be cut into pieces under the cooperation of the movable ice knife <NUM> and the fixed ice knife <NUM>. Only at the instant when the fixed ice knife <NUM> and the movable ice knife <NUM> stagger and both sides of the fixed ice knife <NUM> are the movable ice knives <NUM>, the fixed ice knife <NUM> provides an upward support force on the ice cube toward the side of the movable ice knife <NUM>, the movable ice knives <NUM> on both sides of the fixed ice knife <NUM> provide a downward force on the ice cube, so that the ice cube can be cut into pieces under the cooperation of the movable ice knife <NUM> and the fixed ice knife <NUM>. If one or both sides of the fixed ice knife <NUM> mounted on the rotary shaft <NUM> are still fixed ice knife, it may result in that the fixed ice knife <NUM> and the fixed ice knife on one or both sides thereof cannot cooperate with the movable ice knives <NUM> in the mode of crushed ice, and that the ice cubes near the fixed ice knife <NUM> and the fixed ice knife on one or both sides thereof cannot be cut into pieces; similarly, if one or both sides of the movable ice knife <NUM> mounted on the rotary shaft <NUM> are still movable ice knife, the movable ice knife <NUM> cannot cooperate with the movable ice knife on one or both sides thereof in the mode of crushed ice, and the ice cubes near the movable ice knife <NUM> and the movable ice knife <NUM> on one or both sides thereof cannot be cut into pieces. A plurality of ice cube separation structures <NUM> are arranged and the gap between two adjacent ice cube separation structures <NUM> allows only one ice cube to pass through, which ensures that when the rotary shaft <NUM> rotates in the second direction in the mode of ice cubes, the ice cubes separated by the movable ice knife <NUM> and the ice cube separation structure <NUM> can pass through the gap and the outlet of the complete ice cubes to facilitate people's access.

For example, with reference to <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG> as shown, the number of the fixed ice knives <NUM> is three, and the intermediate fixed ice knife is connected to the ice cube separation structure <NUM>, both the gap m and gap n between the ice cube separation structure <NUM> and the inner wall of the ice storage container <NUM> in the axial direction of the rotary shaft <NUM> may only allow an independent ice cube <NUM> to pass through. Here the independent ice cube refers to one that is prepared by anyone of the ice making trays in the ice making box and not frozen with other ice cubes. In the present embodiment, three fixed ice knives <NUM> and four movable ice knives <NUM> are provided alternately, and when the rotary shaft <NUM> rotates in the first direction, the ice crushing device can cut the ice cubes between the fixed ice knives <NUM> and the movable ice knives <NUM>; when the rotary shaft <NUM> rotates in the second direction opposite to the first direction, the movable ice knives <NUM> can cooperate with the ice cube separation structures <NUM> to separate the frozen ice cubes. And only when the frozen ice cubes are separated to be able to pass through the gap m and gap n, the separated ice cubes can be transported to the outlet of the complete ice cubes and slide out from the outlet of the complete ice cubes.

Further, with reference to <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG> as shown, the movable ice knife <NUM> includes a knife edge <NUM> and a knife back <NUM>. When the rotary shaft <NUM> drives the movable ice knife <NUM> to rotate in the first direction, the knife edge <NUM> of the movable ice knife <NUM> cooperates with a knife edge <NUM> of the fixed ice knife <NUM> to cut the ice cubes in the ice storage container <NUM>. When the rotary shaft <NUM> drives the movable ice knife <NUM> to rotate in the second direction, the knife back <NUM> of the movable ice knife <NUM> cooperates with the ice cube separation structure <NUM> to separate the frozen ice cubes. When the rotary shaft <NUM> rotates in the first direction in the mode of crushed ice, the movable ice knife <NUM> needs to cooperate with the fixed ice knife <NUM> to cut the ice cubes. Therefore, in the mode of crushed ice, the force provided by the movable ice knife <NUM> and the fixed ice knife <NUM> is required to be bigger, which increases the load of the driving device of the driving rotary shaft <NUM>. If the movable ice knife <NUM> is provided with the knife edge <NUM> and the knife back <NUM>, when the knife edge <NUM> of the movable ice knife <NUM> presses downward the fixed ice knife <NUM>, the thinner knife edge <NUM> can provide greater pressure than the thicker knife back <NUM> in the case of the same rotational speed of the rotary shaft <NUM> to cooperate with the fixed ice knife <NUM> to cut the ice cubes. Meanwhile, in the mode of crushed ice, the portion of the fixed ice knife <NUM> for cooperation with the knife edge <NUM> of the movable ice knife <NUM> may also be thinned and provided as the knife edge <NUM> of the fixed ice knife <NUM> to reduce the workload of the fixed ice knife <NUM>. When the rotary shaft <NUM> rotates in the second direction in the mode of ice cubes, the knife back <NUM> of the movable ice knife <NUM> presses downward the direction in which the ice cube separation structure <NUM> is located, applying downward force F<NUM> and F<NUM> to the upper surface of the frozen ice cubes <NUM>' located between the ice cube separation structure <NUM> and the movable ice knife <NUM>, the ice cube separation structure <NUM> provides a corresponding support force F<NUM> on the lower surface of the frozen ice cubes <NUM>' which is in contact with the ice cube separation structure <NUM>, so that the frozen ice cubes <NUM>' are separated into ice cubes <NUM> under the cooperation of the knife back <NUM> of the movable ice knife <NUM> and the ice cube separation structure <NUM>. At this time, the contact portion of the movable ice knife <NUM> and the frozen ice cubes <NUM>' only needs to provide a downward force, so there is no need for thinning the movable ice knife <NUM>. The contact portion of the movable ice knife <NUM> with the frozen ice cubes <NUM>' is just the knife back <NUM> of the movable ice knife <NUM>. If the knife back <NUM> of the movable ice knife <NUM> is thinned, it will not only increase the difficulty of processing and installing the movable ice knife <NUM>, but also lead to that the integrity of the ice cubes will be destroyed when the frozen ice cubes are separated in the mode of ice cubes and it is not conducive to access complete ice cubes.

Further, with reference to <FIG> as shown, both the knife edge <NUM> of the movable ice knife <NUM> and the knife edge <NUM> of the fixed ice knife <NUM> are serrated, the knife back <NUM> of the movable ice knife <NUM> is serrated, and the end portion of the extension end of the ice cube separation structure <NUM> is obliquely upturned. The serrated knife edge is sharper than the smooth thin knife edge, and can more easily cut the ice cubes when the rotary shaft <NUM> drives the movable ice knife <NUM> to rotate in the first direction, extending the service life of the movable ice knife <NUM> and the fixed ice knife <NUM>. When the rotary shaft <NUM> drives the movable ice knife <NUM> to rotate in the second direction, the knife back of the movable ice knife <NUM> drives the ice cubes to rotate, and sends the frozen ice cubes to the ice cube separation structure <NUM>. The knife back <NUM> of the movable ice knife <NUM> is provided as serrated, so that if the ice cubes slide along the knife back of the movable ice knife <NUM>, the groove structure of the serrated knife back <NUM> can play a certain limiting role on the position where the ice cubes freeze together, avoiding separation failure due to sliding force during the separation process of the frozen ice cubes. One end of the ice cube separation structure <NUM> is fixedly connected to the fixed ice knife <NUM>, and the other end extends in the direction away from the fixed ice knife <NUM>, the end extending in the direction away from the fixed ice knife <NUM> is the extension end of the ice cube separation structure <NUM>. The end portion of the extension end is obliquely upturned, relative to that the end portion of the extension end is arranged horizontally or downward obliquely, when the frozen ice cubes are separated, the ice cube separation structure <NUM> with end portion of the extension end being obliquely upturned has a higher separation success rate. When the frozen ice cubes slide due to subjected force as they are separated, the end portion of the extension end is obliquely upturned to better avoid the frozen ice cubes from being divorced from the ice cube separation structure <NUM>.

Further, with reference to <FIG> as shown, there is a gap d between the ice cube separation structure <NUM> in the radial direction of the rotary shaft <NUM> and the inner wall of the ice storage container <NUM>, and the gap d does not allow an independent ice cube to pass through. The gap d between the end face of the ice cube separation structure <NUM> away from the rotary shaft <NUM> and the inner wall of the ice storage container <NUM> can facilitate the installation or replacement of the ice cube separation structure <NUM>. Since the gap d does not allow an independent ice cube to pass through, an ice cube that is bigger than the independent ice cube in size cannot pass through the gap d either, so that even the frozen ice cubes are driven to the vicinity of the gap d when the fixed ice knife <NUM> rotates, they cannot cross the ice cube separation structure <NUM> and directly slide through the gap d to the outlet of the complete ice cubes along the inner wall of the ice storage container <NUM>. The ice cubes that can move to the outlet of the complete ice cubes are all ones that have been separated, and they will not block the outlet of the complete ice cubes, ensuring the normal operation of the ice crushing device.

Further, with reference to <FIG> as shown, the bottom of the side where the fixed ice knife <NUM> is arranged in the ice storage container <NUM> is provided with an ice discharging funnel (not shown in the figure), and the bottom of the side where the ice cube separation structure <NUM> is arranged in the ice storage container <NUM> is provided with an ice discharging door <NUM>. When the ice cubes in the ice storage container <NUM> are driven by the ice knife assembly to rotate, there will be a certain centrifugal force. The direction of the ice cubes with the centrifugal force when they are flying out is uncertain. Once the ice discharging door <NUM> is provided, the ice cubes with the centrifugal force will fall on the ice discharging door <NUM> and then slide out along the ice discharging door <NUM>, avoiding the situation where the ice cubes with the centrifugal force directly fly out of the ice storage container <NUM> and fall outside the container for accessing the ice cubes or even injure people or things nearby.

With reference to <FIG> as shown, the present invention also proposes a refrigerator, an inner wall of the refrigerator door <NUM> thereof is provided with an ice maker. The above ice crushing device <NUM> is provided in the ice maker, so that the ice cubes stored in the ice storage container <NUM> after they are prepared by the ice making device are sufficiently stirred. The refrigerator with the function of preparing ice cubes can ensure that the prepared ice cubes will not freeze together, so that users can timely access ice cubes as needed. Moreover, the ice crushing capacity of the refrigerator is also greatly enhanced to facilitate use when the ice cubes freeze together. Meanwhile, the refrigerator can not only make the movable ice knife <NUM> cooperate with the fixed ice knife <NUM> to cut the ice cubes when the movable ice knife <NUM> rotates in the first direction in the mode of crushed ice, but also make the movable ice knife <NUM> cooperate with the ice cube separation structure <NUM> to separate the frozen ice cubes when the movable ice knife <NUM> rotates in the second direction opposite to the first direction in the mode of ice cubes, so that the separated ice cubes can pass through the outlet of the complete ice cubes, thus facilitating people's smooth access to ice cubes in the situation where they directly use the mode of ice cubes.

Since the ice crushing device used in the refrigerator of the present embodiment is the same as that provided in each embodiment of the above ice crushing device, both of them can solve the same technical problem and achieve the same expected effect. Other configurations of the refrigerator according to the embodiments of the present invention have been well known to those skilled in the art and will not be described in detail herein.

Claim 1:
An ice crushing device (<NUM>), comprising an ice storage container (<NUM>) and a rotatable ice knife assembly (<NUM>), the rotatable ice knife assembly (<NUM>) being disposed in the ice storage container (<NUM>),
the ice knife assembly (<NUM>) includes a rotary shaft (<NUM>), a plurality of fixed ice knives (<NUM>), a movable ice knife (<NUM>) and an ice cube separation structure (<NUM>), wherein
a rotary shaft (<NUM>) of the ice knife assembly (<NUM>) is capable of driving the movable ice knife (<NUM>) to rotate;
the plurality of fixed ice knives (<NUM>) and the ice cube separation structure (<NUM>) are located at two sides of the rotary shaft (<NUM>) of the ice knife assembly (<NUM>) separately, and both fixed relative to the ice storage container (<NUM>);
the movable ice knife (<NUM>) is provided on the rotary shaft (<NUM>) of the ice knife assembly (<NUM>) between two adjacent fixed ice knives (<NUM>); and
the rotary shaft (<NUM>) of the ice knife assembly (<NUM>) is configured to drive the movable ice knife (<NUM>) to rotate in a first direction to break ice cubes in the ice storage container (<NUM>) under a cooperation of the movable ice knife (<NUM>) and the plurality of fixed ice knives (<NUM>), and drive the movable ice knife (<NUM>) to rotate in a second direction opposite to the first direction to separate frozen ice cubes under a cooperation of the movable ice knife (<NUM>) and the ice cube separation structure (<NUM>),
and
at least one of the fixed ice knives (<NUM>) is connected to the ice cube separation structure (<NUM>); characterized in that
a gap between an inner wall of the ice storage container (<NUM>) and a closer ice cube separation structure (<NUM>) in an axial direction of the rotary shaft (<NUM>) of the ice knife assembly (<NUM>) allows only one ice cube to pass through.