US2556510A - Crushed ice dispenser - Google Patents

Description

June 12, 1951 F. w. TOPPING CRUSHED ICE DISPENSER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 12, 1946 INVENTOR. FRANK W. TOPPING ATTOR NE Y5 Patented June 12, 195i UNl TE!) TATE-S PATENT QFFI'CE 2,556,510 'oit'iisHF'i) E DisPEit'sER Frank W. Topping, "statue, Wash. Ab'pudat'ibn February 12, 194e,'sfi%; 1No. 647,040

'7 Olaini's.

, 1 v r In restaurants, bars, hospitals, and th'e lil ie there is a large demand for crushed ice. Normal ly a large block of ice, supplied by a commercial refrigerating concern, is broken up, held inr'e frigerated compartments until needed, and is then further broken up, chipped or shaved offlfo'r criislrie'd, and is placedin tubs or in glasses rp'r serving. This involves the necessity of large re ir-i'ger ated storage capacity for the ice in it's several forms (blocks, "chunks, and crushed) 'ar1fd the necessity Of Sevial handling's. Notes-1y is the labor of so handling the ice, and effecting its progressive diminution in size, somewhat 'ekpen sive, but there is also the possibility of its be= coming dirty or contaminated as a result. There is, too, an appreciable loss from meitin'g and from shattering and flying err. an these eonsiaera tions, and various others, urge a change in the methods of supplying crushed ice for such vol ume uses. r I

Accordingly; it is the primary object or the present invention to provide "czru's hedl ice; in adequate volume to sunny such needs; yet by means which avoid or eliminate the present ewjecti'ons, such as those outlined above. ie specifically, it is an object of the presentinvention to provide means and a method whereby ice can be frozen, crushed '(in the sense that it is broken into pieces of Small size from arga piece or sheet); and delivered in the amounts and at the times it is needed, from water, ane by substantially automatic and immediately avarle m n o It is a further object to provide against the contingency that ice will collect upon the freezin surface, and to that end to insure that operation of the ice crushing and "delivering means continuesfor a sufiioient time after termination of the water supply to the freezing surface, that all ice is removed, and the freezing surface is left clear and ready for the next operation. Itis also an object to carry out the objects in dicated above by means of a machine of simple, rugged, land dependable construction, and capable of beingbuilt in a compact, convenient, and attractive form; 7

Various other objects; and in particular those which pertain more especially to the mechanical features of the invention; will be ascertainabl as this specification (including the claims) pro ceeds, or can be determined by inspection of the drawings.

The invention comprises the novel mechanism; and the novel method; illustrated in the accom panying drawings in a representative form, and

as 'jvillbe Hereinafter more particularly descriliied.

, f a' neta .c vati iv ew oft vice, in somewhatdiagrammaticform, an with the outer a ing shown in section. I I

Figure 2 is an "enlargedaxial sectional view 0f the f 7 citing chamber and 'associated parts Figure 3 is a di'a lain of the electrical circuit and controls. p h n a The method is st-ran y mple and m iii eissent' themainten anc -oi chamber, were ablYfOf cyli'n or into which water s sup-pu a q V the amounts heeded; he water promptly rr 'zes upon some 'r l gseeh cheetah-y with intact operation, to dislodge the ice as it fo break it up into small hits; such mechan sm may also be formed or operated in such as to 'aidvance tli bits bf ice to i whence an 'of it is 'd'eli'v u has a lass or 'qh receptacle placed to receive it; which to be used or cbiisuined. The m ethod is thus analogous to the dispensing, restaurants pf water from H the faucet directly 0 suriier"s glass, except that saw i'c'e, instead of liquid water, is supplied to the glass. :33; suitable controls, and if the form of the freezing surface so requires, it can'be insured that the delivery action continues automatically, so that an the water supplied is delivered as ice, and so that no ice remains upon the freezing surface to obstruct subsequent operation of the device; y

The freezing chamber I; preferably in tlie f o'i i'n of a cylinder, disposed substantially horizontally; is surrounded by a jacket it! for the circulation of refrigerant, and is 'enclos e clwithiii a housing H between which and the jacket is an insulating space filled with insulating material 15 The chamber I has a water inlet aperture I 2; nearits upper portion at one end, leading to which the exterior is a funnel l3. At its teeters end the, chamber has a discharge spout i4; preferably is made or material which is or low heat conductivity.

Refrigerant is circulated through the jacket II), by the tubing 2|], 2|, by means Such as the "oil ventional refrigeration unit 2 including pressor driven by a self-contained motor 0t shown). Suitable ontrolme'aiis insure 'such eration of the refrigerating mechanism as maintain the freezing chamber I, or it's lo wall, at a low enough temperature to effect quifreezing of water deposited thereupon. As example of such control means; a tliririo-snsi tive element 22 is exposed, directly or indirectly, to the temperature prevailing within the chamber l, and through a bellows 23 closes a switch 241 in the circuit 25 of the compressor motor to initiate circulation of refrigerant, say at 14 F. (assuming the master switch 59 has been closed), or opens such switch 24 when the chambers temperature is sufriciently low, say at 8 F.

Water is supplied to the funnel 13 for delivery to the interior of the chamber from a supply nozzle 3 in the water supply line 30. The nozzle 3 is arranged above and out of thermal contact with the funnel i3 and chamber 1. Thus, it is thermally divorced from the freezing chamber, and any residue of water left in the nozzle after the supply is cut off will not freeze and obstruct emission of Water when next needed. Supply of water is controlled by a normally closed valve 3 I, which preferably is solenoid-operated. Opening of the valve is effected by closure of a normally open control switch 5. Also, since service pressures in the line will vary in different localities, and this would affect the quantity of water supplied during each opening of the valve 3i, it is preferable to include in the water supply line 3%! a pressure reducing valve 32, which in a sense becomes a metering valve to limit the quantity of water supplied during a valve opening of given duration.

Within the freezing chamber i means, typified by the rotary blades 3, for scraping and dislodging the ice from the chambers surface as it forms, for breaking up the ice into small bits of more or less uniform size, and for advancing the broken or crushed ice towards the spout I l. The blades are inclined, and are rotated in the proper sense, to accomplish the latter end. They may be rotatively supported by the ring and plate 4D, 4!, or in any other suitable manner, and their rotation is efiected from the pulley 4 2 through the two-part shaft t3, the parts whereof are mechanically joined, but thermally separated, by the clutch or coupling 44. A driving motor drives the pulley d2 relatively slowly through the belt 46.

As has already been stated, the valve 3! is normally closed, is self-closing, and is opened only when, and to the extent that ice is desired. Similarly, the blades i need be rotated only-when ice is required. Since the operation of the valve 3| and of the blades 4 is coincidental, they may be set in operation substantially simultaneously by a common control, in the form of the same normally open control switch 5. By reference to Figure 3 it will be seen that closure of the switch 5 will energize the solenoid of the valve 3|, to open that valve, and by energization of the solenoid will close switch 5| in the branch circuit 54 that controls the motor 45, and the motor will be and remain energized so long as the switch 5! remains closed. The motor 45 is removed from the immediate control of the main switch 5 in order that it be not deenergized immediately upon opening of the switch 5, but rather continue in operation for a time thereafter. A time-delay mechanism, incorporated in the relay 50, holds the switch 5i closed for a time after the switch 5 reopens and thereby insures this continued operation of the motor 45, and hence the ice expulsion means, the purpose of which is to insure that all water admitted to the chamber i be immediately frozen, dislodged, and preferably expelled from the chamber. Thus it cannot stick to the chambers walls, and obstruct subsequent operation of the blades 4.

are 503331331 The entire mechanism, or the major part thereof, can be enclosed within a suitable and attractive casing or cabinet 6. The latter may be provided with a shelf 69, whereon glasses to be filled may be placed, beneath the spout l4. Suitable drains 6i and 62 may be provided, leading from the funnel l3" to control overflow, and from the shelf 60, to convey away any drippings.

It is believed that the operation will be obvious. When ice is required, a glass or other receptacle R is disposed beneath the spout, the switch 5 is pressed or closed, and held closed for a period of time which corresponds to the amount of ice desired. Water, supplied only so long as switch 5 is closed and the valve 3! is open, is delivered into and forms a pool within the interior of the chamber l, which is automatically maintained at a quick-freezing temperature by independent, automatic control of circuit 25. There the Water is soon frozen, and by operation of the blades 4 is removed and expelled from the spout 14 direct- 1y into the waiting glass R. Operation of the blades It continues, after cutting off of the Water supply by opening of the switch 5, until the time delay relay 5B permits the switch 5i to reopen, and for a sufficiently long time to insure that substantially all of the admitted water has been delivered in the form of ice. The control switch 5 might, incidentally, be incorporated in the form of or associated with such a valve handle as commonly controls restaurant water faucets, to be closed by the positioning of the glass beneath the spout, and to be opened by removal of the lass.

While it is preferred to deliver only ice, and to supply water, if desired, from another source and by a separate operation, it is not outside the scope of this invention to supply ice and water simultaneously, and from the same spout. For example, and as one means of so doing, water may be supplied through the valve 31 and nozzle 3 in amounts in excess of the capacity of the freezing chamber to convert it promptly into ice. Excess water would run directly through the receptacle R, while a certain proportion of the water would be frozen, broken up, and delivered as ice. However, this would cause fluctuations in the temperature of the chamber I, and might lessen its capacity for delivering an adequate quantity of ice immediately thereafter, hence, as already indicated, it is preferred that the device be used only for the purpose of providing bits of ice, as and to the extent needed, without any intermediate handling.

I claim as my invention:

1. A dispenser of individual batches of crushed ice, comprising a freezing chamber, normally deenergized means to supply liquid Water thereinto upon energization, for prompt conversion into ice, normally deenergized means energizable to break up and expel from the chamber the ice so formed, control means operable under control to energize the water supply means and the ice breaking means substantially simultaneously, and so long as said control means is operated, and means operable during a predetermined period after discontinuance of operation of said control means and of consequent deenergization of the water supply means, to continue energization of and then to deenergize automatically the ice breaking and expelling means.

2. A dispenser as in claim 1, including 2. normally inactive actuating means for the water supply means, a separate normally inactive and selfinactivating actuating means for the ice-breaking and expelling means, the control means being operatively connected to both thereof for energization of the two actuating means, and a time delay means operatively connected to the actuating means for the ice breaking and expelling means, to delay inactivation of the latter for a predetermined time after deenergization of the control means.

3. An ice dispenser comprising a chamber, means including a refrigeration unit operable to maintain said chamber normally at a temperature suitable for quick-freezing of water, means, including a normally closed solenoid valve, for supplying water to said chamber as needed, mechanical scraper means located within said chamber to break up and expel therefrom ice formed therein, an electric motor for driving said mechanical scraper means, and an electric circuit, including switch means, operable by closure of said switch means, to energize said motor for operation of said scraper, and said solenoid valve for opening thereof, simultaneously, said circuit further including time-delay relay means operable by and during closure of said switch means to energize said motor, and further operable automatically to continue cnergization of said motor for a predetermined period following opening of said switch means.

4. An ice dispenser comprising a chamber, means including a refrigeration unit operable to maintain said chamber normally at a temperature suitable for quick-freezing of water, means, including a normally closed solenoid valve, for supplying water to said chamber as needed, me chanical scraper means located within said chamher to break up and expel therefrom ice formed therein, an electric motor for driving said mechanical scraper means, and an electric circuit, including switch means, operable by closure of said switch means, to energize said motor for operation of said scraper, and said solenoid valve for opening thereof, simultaneously, said circuit further including time-delay relay means operable by and during closure of said switch means to energize said motor, and further operable automatically to continue energization of said motor for a predetermined period following opening of said switch means.

5. An ice dispenser comprising a container having a freezing surface, an ice delivery outlet formed in one wall of said chamber adjoining said freezing surface, water supply means operable to deliver water into said container and upon said freezing surface, mechanical scraper means operable to break ice formed on said surface and when freed from said surface to move it progressively toward said outlet for delivery through the same in a continuous operation, control means to operate said water supply means and energize said scraper means simultaneously, and. time delay means cooperating with said control means and operable to continue energization of said scraper means for a predetermined period following termination of said water supply means.

6. An intermittently operable dispenser for supplying ice in crushed form only when and to the extent required, comprising an elongated and generally horizontally disposed freezing chamber, a discharge aperture at one end thereof, means at its opposite end, including a valve biased to close, to supply liquid water to the interior of said chamber, means within said chamber for agitating admitted water and breaking up the resultant ice during its formation, and for advancing the ice particles to the discharge aperture, normally deenergized drive means for said agitating,

\ breaking, and advancing means, control means energizable at will and during any desired period, operatively connected to said water supply valve to open and to maintain the same open so long as said control means is energized, and likewise operatively connected to said drive means to energize the same during the same period, and means to delay deenergization of the drive means for a predetermined period following deenergization of the control means, whereby continued operation of the ice advancing means can clear the chamber of ice resulting from the water admitted during such energization.

7. An ice dispenser as in claim 6, wherein the agitating, ice breaking and advancing means are constituted by relatively narrow helical blades rotative about and spaced from a generally horizontal axis, and wherein the chamber is of the shape of a body of revolution the inner wall whereof conforms generally to the peripheral locus of the blades outer edges.

FRANK W. TOPPING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,020,759 Holden Mar. 19, 1912 1,857,122 Sherman May 3, 1932 2,026,227 Foraker Dec. 31, 1935 2,100,742 Hartman Nov. 30, 1937 2,104,260 Kemp Jan. 4, 1938 2,191,344 Erickson Feb. 20, 1940 2,282,862 Genova May 12, 1942 2,304,579 Lindsey Dec. 8, 1942

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