FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the structure of an ice shaver, in particular to an ice cube positioning and protecting structure of the ice shaver.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In a conventional ice shaver, an ice cube is put onto a planer seat, and a rotating mechanism is provided for rotating the ice cube, so that the rotation of the ice cube with respect to the planer shaves the ice cube into flake ice which is used for making ice products. However, the ice cube is put onto the planner seat and exposed to the outside, so that the ice cube may be melted quickly by the relatively higher temperature of the environment, which may increase the cost intangibly. In addition, dust may be attached onto the exposed ice cube easily, and thus affecting the sanitation of the ice products. On the other hand, the ice shaver producing the flake ice by rotating and rubbing the ice cube with the planer, and the flake ice may fly towards the outside during its manufacturing process due to the centrifugal force of the rotation. Obviously, the conventional ice shaver causes inconvenience and messy environment and requires further improvements.

Therefore, it is an important subject of the present invention to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks of the conventional ice shaver.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art, it is a primary objective of the present invention to provide a

To achieve the aforementioned objective, the present invention provides an ice cube positioning and protecting structure of an ice shaver, wherein the structure comprises a bucket structure for containing an ice cube, and the ice cube is fixed and prevented from ejecting the flake ice while providing a thermal insulation effect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of assembling a planer of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of operating a planer of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a using status of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of parts of a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 for an ice cube positioning and protecting structure of an ice shaver in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, the structure comprises a base 1, a transmission mechanism 2 and a bracket 3. The transmission mechanism 2 is installed on the base 1, and the base 1 includes a support base 4 disposed thereon, and the support base 4 is screwed to a rotating rod 21, and the rotating rod 21 is linked and coupled to the transmission mechanism 2, and the transmission mechanism 2 is provided for driving the rotating rod 21 to rotate, so that the rotating rod 21 can be moved vertically up and down with respect to the support base 4. In this preferred embodiment, the transmission mechanism 2 includes a motor (not shown in the figure) and a rotor 22, and the motor is installed in a column 11 which is erected from the base 1, and the rotor 22 is installed at an end of the motor and driven to rotate. The support base 4 includes a positioning shaft tube 41 installed thereon, and an end of the positioning shaft tube 41 is pivotally coupled to a rotating disk 23, and the rotating rod 21 is passed through he rotating disk 23 and then screwed downwardly into the support base 4, and a belt 24 is wound around the exterior of the rotor 22 and the rotating disk 23 and provided for driving the rotating disk 23 to rotate in order to rotate the rotating rod 21, so that the rotating rod 21 can be moved vertically up and down with respect to the support base 4. A nail plate 25 (as shown in FIG. 2) is installed at the bottom of the rotating rod 21 for fixing with the ice cube, so that the rotation of the rotating rod 21 drives the ice cube to rotate.

In addition, a positioning space 42 is concavely formed on a side of the support base 4, and a first engaging portion is disposed on at least one side of an inner wall of the positioning space 42. In this preferred embodiment as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the support base 4 is comprised of a support plate 43 and two positioning portions 44, and the two positioning portions 44 are disposed on both sides of the support plate 43 respectively, and the support base 4 is mounted onto the column 11, wherein the space enclosed by the support plate 43 and the two positioning portions 44 is defined as the positioning space 42, and the two positioning portions 44 have a first engaging portion disposed separately on opposite sides of the positioning space 42 respectively, wherein the first engaging portion is a rail slot 441 for slidably installing the bracket 3 into the positioning space 42. Wherein the bracket 3 has a second engaging portion slidably disposed in the rail slot 441. In this preferred embodiment, the second engaging portion is a wing plate 311 and provided for installing the bracket 3 into the positioning space 42, and an ice containing space 321 is concavely and downwardly formed on the bracket 3 for containing the ice cube. In this preferred embodiment, the bracket 3 has a plate portion 31 and a bucket 32, and the bucket 32 is formed by concavely and downwardly extended from the plate portion 31, and the ice containing space 321 is defined in the bucket 32, and both sides of the plate portion 31 form the two wing plates 311 respectively, so that the two wing plates 311 can be slidably installed into the rail slots 441 of the positioning portions 44 on both sides of the support base 4 respectively, and the bracket 3 is formed into a sliding structure that can be installed into the support base 4 and detached from the support base 4.

In FIG. 3, the bottom surface of the bucket 32 includes a planer 33 and an outlet 34 for interconnecting the ice containing space 321 to the outside. The planer 33 is detachably installed at the bottom surface of the bucket 32, and the planer 33 is comprised of a seat 35, a blade holder 36 and a blade 37. Wherein, an end of the seat 35 is bent to form a connecting portion 351, and the other end of the seat 35 is bent to form a blocking portion 352 parallel to the connecting portion 351, and an installing slot 353 is formed between the connecting portion 351 and the blocking portion 352, and the connecting portion 351 of the seat 35 is passed through and locked onto the inner wall of the outlet 34 by a plurality of locking elements 354, and an end of the blade holder 36 has a blade interface 361 for embedding and coupling the blade 37. When the blade 37 is installed into the blade interface 361, the blade 37 is tilted towards the outlet 34 and slightly extended into the ice containing space 321, and the other end of the blade holder 36 is bent to form a protrusion 362, and the blade holder 36 is received by the installing slot 353 of the seat 35 through the protrusion 362, and two elastic elements 38 are installed between the protrusion 362 and the blocking portion 352, and an adjusting screw 39 is screwed and passed through the connecting portion 351 of the seat 35, and an end of the adjusting screw 39 abuts against the protrusion 362 of the blade holder 36.

In FIG. 4, the adjusting screw 39 is screwed and locked onto the connecting portion 351 of the seat 35, so that when a user rotates the adjusting screw 39, the connecting portion 351 of the seat 35 is moved axially to drive an end of the adjusting screw 39 to push the blade holder 36 to move and compress the two elastic elements 38, so as to adjust the extending length of the blade 37 situated on the blade holder 36, and meet the actual ice shaving requirements.

In addition, the transmission mechanism 2 includes a casing 12 covered thereon, and the casing 12 includes a power switch 13 and a steering control switch 14, both electrically coupled to the transmission mechanism 2, and provided for turning on the transmission mechanism 2 and controlling the rotation direction of the rotating rod 21 driven by the transmission mechanism 2.

In an application as shown in FIG. 5, the ice cube 5 is put into the ice containing space 321 of the bucket 32 of the bracket 3. and after the support base 4 is installed, the rotating rod 21 is aligned with the ice containing space 321, and a nail plate 25 is nailed downwards at the ice cube 5, so that the ice cube 5 is fixed with the rotating rod 21 and rotated synchronously. And then, the power switch installed on the casing 12 is turned on and the steering control switch is operated, so that the rotating rod 21 drives the ice cube 5 to rotate together and move downwardly with respect to the support base 4, and the ice cube 5 is sliced by the planer 33 at the bottom of the bucket 32 to produce flake ice. Now, the flake ice is collected into the ice containing space 321 and sent out from the outlet 34 formed at the bottom of the bucket 32, so as to prevent the flake ice from flying out during the process of rotating the ice cube 5 due to the centrifugal force. On the other hand, the ice cube 5 is put into the bucket 32 of the bracket 3 to achieve the thermal insulation effect, so as to slow down the melting speed of the ice cube and save material costs. In addition, the ice cube 5 put into the bucket 32 is protected by the wall of the bucket 32 to prevent dust from the external environment from contaminating the ice cube and assure the sanitation of the ice product and maintain good health of the ice product consumers.

With reference to FIG. 6 for the second preferred embodiment of the present invention, the difference between the second preferred embodiment and the first preferred embodiment resides on the combination between the support base 4 and the bracket 3. In the second preferred embodiment, a protruding rail 442 is formed separately on the first engaging portion of the support base 4, and a rail slot 312 is concavely and separately formed on both sides of the plate portion 31 of the bracket 3, so that the rail slot 312 of the bracket 3 can be combined with the rail 442 of the support base 4.

In addition, the ice containing space 321 of the bucket 32 not just can accommodate larger ice cubes only, but also can accommodate a plurality of smaller ice cubes. The ice shaver of the present invention can be used for producing flake ice.