EP3191775A1

EP3191775A1 - A cooling device wherein ice is obtained quickly

Info

Publication number: EP3191775A1
Application number: EP15757267.8A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Tolga APAYDIN; Sabahattin Hocaoglu; Cumhur Ayvazoglu; Erkan KARAKAYA; Faruk KOCABIYIK
Original assignee: Arcelik AS
Current assignee: Arcelik AS
Priority date: 2014-09-10
Filing date: 2015-09-02
Publication date: 2017-07-19
Also published as: WO2016037909A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cooling device (1) comprising a body (2); one or more than one compartment (3) wherein foodstuffs and/or beverages to be cooled and frozen are placed; an ice making unit (4) that is disposed into the compartment (3) and that has a lower body (5) and an upper body (6); an ice cube tray (7) that is detachably placed into the ice making unit (4) and that has more than one cell (8) enabling the water filled therein to be frozen to obtain ice and at least one heat exchanger (9) that is disposed on the lower body (5).

Description

A COOLING DEVICE WHEREIN ICE IS OBTAINED QUICKLY

The present invention relates to a cooling device comprising an ice making unit that is used in making ice.
In refrigerators, ice is generally made by pouring water into the ice tray by the user and placing the ice tray in the freezing compartment or fresh food compartment. The cooling and freezing phases that start after water is poured into the ice tray are maintained entirely by carrying the cool air into the ice making compartment with the cooling provided by the refrigerator. In the cooling phase, heat is absorbed from water proportionally to the specific heat of water and in the freezing phase, heat is absorbed proportionally to the latent heat. The cooling phase of water is generally short but the freezing phase is comparatively longer. This situation makes it hard to make ice in the refrigerator in a short period of time. The time of making ice is prolonged when the heat transfer is not realized effectively or heat losses during the air transfer are not prevented. This causes energy and time loss. In some of the state of the art embodiments, the ice cube tray is cooled by means of a heat exchanger in order to obtain ice more quickly.
In the state of the art Japanese Patent Application No. JP11211299A, an ice cube tray that is cooled by the evaporator is disclosed.
The aim of the present invention is the realization of a cooling device wherein the ice is obtained quickly.
The cooling device realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention, explicated in the first claim and the respective claims thereof, comprises a body; more than one compartment wherein the foodstuffs and/or beverages to be frozen are placed; an ice making unit that is composed of a lower body and an upper body and that is placed into the compartment; an ice cube tray that is detachably placed into the ice making unit and that is divided into more than one cell providing ice making by freezing the water filled therein and at least one heat exchanger that is placed onto the lower body.
The cooling device of the present invention comprises a fan that is placed onto the upper body. The fan sucks the cool air in the environment and enables it to be blown onto the upper surface of the ice cube tray via the upper body. Thus, when the ice cube tray is placed into the ice making unit, the lower surface of the former is cooled by the heat exchanger disposed on the lower body and the upper surface cooled by the cool air guided from the upper body. Accordingly, the water inside the cell is enabled to be homogeneously cooled from more than one cell.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the ice making unit comprises an air duct disposed on the upper body. The fan is positioned at the rear side of the ice making unit. The air duct is connected to the fan body at the outlet side of the fan and extends towards the front side of the ice making unit through the upper body. Thus, the air blown by the fan is enabled to be conveyed to the entire ice cube tray. The section of the air duct connected to the fan is produced in the same dimensions as the fan so that the air blown by the fan is entirely taken into the air duct.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the cross-sectional area of the air duct gets smaller while extending from the fan towards the ice cube tray. At least one surface of the air duct is inclined so that the air duct narrows. The narrowing cross-section provides that the air is conveyed to all the surfaces of the ice cube tray at the same flow rate. Thus, the ice making process is prevented from being realized at different durations in different cells.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the ice making unit comprises a heat exchanger inlet that enables the refrigerant to enter into the heat exchanger, a heat exchanger outlet that enables the refrigerant to exit the heat exchanger and a valve that is disposed on the heat exchanger inlet. When the valve is in the closed position, the refrigerant directed from the refrigeration cycle is prevented from entering the heat exchanger. The refrigerant is used for cooling the compartment. The ice making process is realized only with the cool air blown by the fan. Thus, the ice making process prolongs. When the valve is in the open position, the refrigerant enters the heat exchanger through the heat exchanger inlet. Thus, the ice making process is realized in a shorter duration by means of both the heat exchanger and the fan. The heat exchanger is connected to the present refrigeration cycle of the cooling device comprising the compressor, the condenser and the expansion member via the heat exchanger inlet and the heat exchanger outlet.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the cooling device comprises a quick ice button disposed on the body and a control unit enabling the valve to open after the quick ice button is activated. The control unit keeps the valve closed if the quick ice button is not activated and provides that the ice making process is realized only by means of the fan. When the quick ice button is activated, the refrigerant enters the heat exchanger and two-way refrigeration is carried out by means of the heat exchanger and the fan. The quick ice button is positioned on the body at a level that can be easily seen by the user, but that the children cannot reach. Thus, the quick ice making process cannot be activated by children without the desire of the user.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the cooling device comprises a sensor that detects the open position of the valve. The position data detected by the sensor is transmitted to the user by the warning unit by using audio or light warning means. Thus, the user is informed that the quick ice making process is activated, thus improving user satisfaction.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the ice making unit comprises a water adding apparatus disposed on the upper body. After being filled with water by the user, the water adding apparatus is placed onto the upper body. In this embodiment, the water adding apparatus comprises a port thereon that enables the water to be discharged and the upper body comprises a discharge hole on the base thereof, that enables the water discharged to be filled into the ice cube tray. The port and the discharge hole are located on the same axis. By means of the water adding apparatus, the user places the ice cube tray into the ice making unit without filling the former with water. Thus, the water is prevented from overflowing into the compartment or the ice making unit. Accordingly, customer satisfaction is increased.
By means of the present invention, the lower surface of the ice cube tray is cooled by the heat exchanger and the upper surface thereof by the cool air blown by the fan. Thus, a homogeneous cooling is obtained and the ice is produced quickly.
The cooling device realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention is illustrated in the attached figures, where:
Figure 1 – is the schematic view of a cooling device.
Figure 2 – is the perspective view of the ice making unit.
Figure 3 – is the sideways view of the ice making unit when the water adding apparatus is mounted.
Figure 4 – is the partial perspective view of the ice making unit.
The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:

Cooling device
Body
Compartment
Ice making unit
Lower body
Upper body
Ice cube tray
Cell
Heat exchanger
Heat exchanger inlet
Heat exchanger outlet
Fan
Air duct
Valve
Quick ice button
Control unit
Sensor
Warning unit
Water adding apparatus
Port
Discharge hole

The cooling device (1) comprises a body (2); one or more than one compartment (3) wherein foodstuffs and/or beverages to be cooled and frozen are placed; an ice making unit (4) that is disposed into the compartment (3) and that has a lower body (5) and an upper body (6); an ice cube tray (7) that is detachably placed into the ice making unit (4) and that has more than one cell (8) enabling the water filled therein to be frozen to obtain ice and at least one heat exchanger (9) that is disposed on the lower body (5) (Figure 1 and Figure 4).
The cooling device (1) of the present invention comprises a fan (12) that is placed onto the upper body (6). By means of the fan (12), the cool air inside the compartment (3) is directed into the ice making unit (4). When the ice cube tray (7) is placed into the ice making unit (4), by contacting the cells (8) with the heat exchanger (9), the cells (8) are cooled by the heat transfer between the cell (8) surfaces and the heat exchanger (9) while the cool air passing through the upper body (6) by means of the fan (12) contacts the water inside the cells (8), thereby providing refrigeration. Thus, a two-way refrigeration is provided and ice making process is accelerated (Figure 4).
In an embodiment of the present invention, the ice making unit (4) comprises an air duct (13) that is disposed on the upper body (6) and that enables the cool air blown by the fan (12) to be directly guided onto the ice cube tray (7). The air duct (13) positioned preferably at the fan (12) outlet, enables the entire cool air blown by the fan (12) to be sent onto the ice cube tray (7). The air duct (13) extends inside the upper body (6) so as to cover all cells (8). Thus, the cool air is sent onto the ice cube tray (7) without dissipating in the ice making unit (4) (Figure 3 and Figure 4).
In another embodiment of the present invention, the cross-sectional area of the air duct (13) gets smaller while extending from the fan (12) towards the ice cube tray (7). Thus, the cool air is sent onto the ice cube tray (7) at high flow rate, accelerating the ice making process.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the ice making unit (4) comprises a heat exchanger inlet (10) that enables the refrigerant to enter into the heat exchanger(9), a heat exchanger outlet (11) that enables the refrigerant to exit the heat exchanger (9) and a valve (14) that is disposed on the heat exchanger inlet (10). When the valve (14) is in the closed position, the heat exchanger inlet (10) is closed and the refrigerant is prevented from entering the heat exchanger (9). In this case, the ice making process is realized only by means of the fan (12). When the valve (14) is in the open position, the refrigerant enters the heat exchanger (9) through the heat exchanger inlet (10). In this case, the ice making process is realized by means of both the heat exchanger (9) and the fan (12).
In another embodiment of the present invention, the cooling device (1) comprises a quick ice button (15) disposed on the body (2) and a control unit (16) enabling the valve (14) to open after the quick ice button (15) is activated. In this embodiment, the valve (14) is in the closed position and the ice making process is realized by means of the fan (12). When the user presses the quick ice button (15) to obtain ice, the control unit (16) brings the valve (14) to the open position and the ice making process is realized by means of both the heat exchanger (9) and the fan (12) by proving the entry of air into the heat exchanger (9). If not required by the user, the exchanger (9) is not used for cooling, thus reducing the energy consumption.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the cooling device (1) comprises a sensor (17) that detects if the valve (14) is in the open position or the closed position and a warning unit (18) that enables the data received from the sensor to be conveyed to the user. When the valve (14) is changed from the closed position to the open position, the warning unit (18) warns the user by means of an audio or light warning. Thus, the user is enabled to understand that the quick ice button (15) is activated (Figure 1).
In another embodiment of the present invention, the ice making unit (4) comprises a water adding apparatus (19) that is disposed on the upper body (6). After being filled with water by the user, the water adding apparatus (19) is placed onto the upper body (6). In this embodiment, the water adding apparatus (19) comprises a port (20) and the upper body (6) comprises a discharge hole (21). The water inside the water adding apparatus (19) flows through the port (20), passes through the discharge hole (21) and fills in the cells (8) of the ice cube tray (7). The user places the ice cube tray (7) when the latter is empty into the ice making unit (3), thus the water is prevented from spilling into the compartment (2) and the ice making unit (4) (Figure 3).
In the cooling device (1) of the present invention, the ice cube tray (7) is cooled by means both the heat exchanger (9) and the fan (12), thus accelerating the ice making process.

Claims

A cooling device (6) comprising a body (2); one or more than one compartment (3) wherein foodstuffs and/or beverages to be cooled or frozen are placed; an ice making unit (4) that is disposed into the compartment (3) and that has a lower body (5) and an upper body (6); an ice cube tray (7) that is detachably placed into the ice making unit (4) and that has more than one cell (8) enabling the water filled therein to be frozen to obtain ice and at least one heat exchanger (9) that is disposed on the lower body (5), characterized by a fan (12) that is disposed on the upper body (6).
A cooling device (1) as in Claim 1, characterized by an air duct (13) that is disposed on the upper body (6) and that enables the cool air blown by the fan (12) to be directly guided onto the ice cube tray (7).
A cooling device (1) as in Claim 2, characterized by the air duct (13), the cross-sectional area of which gets smaller while extending from the fan (12) towards the ice cube tray (7).
A cooling device (1) as in any one of the above claims, characterized by a heat exchanger inlet (10) that enables the refrigerant to enter into the heat exchanger(9), a heat exchanger outlet (11) that enables the refrigerant to exit the heat exchanger (9) and a valve (14) that is disposed on the heat exchanger inlet (10).
A cooling device (1) as in Claim 4, characterized by a quick ice button (15) disposed on the body (2) and a control unit (16) enabling the valve (14) to open after the quick ice button (15) is activated.
A cooling device (1) as in Claim 4 or 5, characterized by a sensor (17) that detects if the valve (14) is in the open position or the closed position and a warning unit (18) that enables the data received from the sensor to be conveyed to the user.
A cooling device (1) as in any one of the above claims, characterized by a water adding apparatus (19) that is disposed on the upper body (6).