US2891387A - Cube ice machine - Google Patents

Description

June 23, 1959 J. B. COCANOUR CUBE ICE MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Dec. 3. 1949 IN VEN TOR. John B. (ac-amour June 23, 1959' J. B. COCANOUR 2,891,387

CUBE ICE MACHINE Original F iled Dec. 3. 1949 s Sheets-Sheet 2 GOA/P1955501? sup/1441p I INVENTOR. Job/7 B. Coca/mur- FIE 3 June 23 1959 CUBE ICE MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 3, 1949 J. B. COCANOUR 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IEIE 4- o o o c; o o 4 7 4 g IE"IE 5 37 -5 ,2

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INVENTOR.

r/o/m B. C ocanour United States Patent I CUBE ICE MACHINE John B. Cocauour, Reno, Nev.

Continuation of abandoned application Serial No.

130,888, December 3, 1949. This application September 22,'1953,'-Serial,No. 381,660

11 Claims. (Cl; 62---233)' The present invention relates to a cube ice machine and its principal object is to provide a machine of the character described that will produce clear ice cubes. The present application is a continuation of the parent application, Serial Number 130,888, now abandoned.

A further object is to provide means for irradiating the water during the freezing process.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a cube ice machine that is simple and economic in operation, that is entirely automatic and will deliver ice. cubes in batches at predetermined intervals.

It is further proposed to provide a machine of the characterdescribed in which the operating parts are accommodated in a cabinet and in which the batches of cubes are dropped into a drawer having separate containers for receiving the cubes,'so that the latter may be easily removed for use with; a minimum of handling.

In carrying out my-invention=I have developed a new method of keeping the water in motion-during the freezing process for the production-"of clear ice which consists in running the water through-a series 'of inclined channels in a continuous and closed circuit so that the water not in the immediate". freezing zone'is' oooled and passes through the channelsin successive" operations at progressively lowered temperatures. I

It is further contemplated in the present invention to provide a timing device operative to stopthe freezing process when strips on bars? of ice have been built-up inthe channels to a desired height and to-provide instrumem talities for inverting the-channels-so as to allow the frozenbars to drop out of the channels by gravity.

It is additionally proposed to provide means forexpediting. the loosening of the bars from=thechannels by' sending a hot refrigerantthrough. evaporator tubes of the invertedchannels and by passingwater of relatively high temperature in heat exchange relation with the'sides of the channels.

It is further-proposed to utilize-for the latterpurpose water heated by the refrigerating' systemin the process" of condensation, which water has a uniform temperature throughout the=.year regardless of generalkliarrg'esin term peraturet.

It is rfurther;.-contemplatedio introduce the latterwater,

after-heat units-haver'beenz extracted from the same in the thawing-.-.p rocess,- into the .generabcircuit to compensate for the-,water=-removed.-from the circuit in the form'of the finalproduct...

It is additionallyproppsed to provide a series of heated wires above. each. channel positioned in suchamanner" that .the frozen bars from, the inverted channels -drop thereonand are cut into cubes thereby.

And finally, it is proposed to provide instrumentalities-- whereby the alternate processes of freezing, dropping Patented June 23, 1959 2 and cutting are arena-near iicyclicrelation for batchwise delivery of ic'e'cube'sinto the containers at stated intervals. I 4

Further objects and advantages of my invention will appwr as the specification proceeds, and the novel features of my inventibnwill be fully defined in the claims attached hereto.

The preferred form of my invention is illustrated in the aceompa'nying'drawirig, in which Figure'l showsa front view of a cabinet used for housing the apparatus of my invention,

Figure 2, a frout 'view of the'apparatus housed in the cabinet," portions be'ingshown in section,

Figure 3, a wir'ingdiagram;

Figure 4', a top planview of an evaporator forming an essentialpart of the invention; I

Figure 5, a transverse section through the evaporator taken along line 5 5 of'Figure 4,

Figure 6, a transvrse'section through the evaporator taken-along line '6'6 of Figure 4,

Figure 7, a top plan View of a receiving drawer used in my invention, and

Figure-8, a perspective view of a cube made in accordance with-my invention;

While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, I wish to have it understood that various changes and modificationsmay bemade within the scope of the claims attached hereto without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring to the drawings; in detail, my evaporator 1 comprises in'its principal features a series of parallel channels 2 arranged in adjacent relation, a crosshead 3 mounted at one end; thereof, and a crosshead 4 mounted at the other end. The evaporator has journals 5 projecting from opposite ends thereof,; the journals extending centrally so 'thatthelevaporator is substantially balanced thereon. The'journals are-revolvably mounted in theside walls of the cabinet 6 in sucha manner that the evaporator has -a slight downward slant, as shown.

Each-of the channels has a bottom consisting of a flattened evaporatortube I, which runs lengthwise of the channel and takes up the entirewidth thereof. These tubes are made of copper orot her highly conducting material and are connected into the general refrigeration circuit by means of tubes 8 and9.

The side walls Ill of each channel areinclined to slant outwardly and are made o f stainless steel or some other metal having a lowdegree of heat conductivity, and the metal of the side wallsmay be made to extend underneath'thebottohitiibeQas at ll, to produce an insulating effect.

Adjacent channels are slightly spaced one from the other, and elongatec l"strips1 2 of insulating material are interposedbetweeri the. channels so as to project upwardly beyond the channels-and toform continuations of the side walls; The'end channels are provided with similar strips' of'in's'ul'ating material registering with the strips between'the 'chaiinels, 1

Since the'sidewalls o f the channels are inclined and the insulating strips fill the spaces between the channels along their 'upper'ed'ge'sj; there remain tapered spaces between'.thechannels, which willb'referred to as inverted wall 18 has a series of openings 20, one for each channel, and the cross-channel has a false bottom 21 above the openings 20 and extending from the inner wall to a line spaced from the outer wall, the free edge of the false bottom having a bafile 22 rising therefrom.

Water is admitted to the upper cross-channel through a pipe 23, and this water first drops on the false bottom 21 and builds up to the height of the baifie 22 before it discharges over the edge of the baflle into the compartment underneath the false bottom for further discharge into the channels 2 through the openings 20. This arrangement allows a certain amounrof pressure to build up in the upper cross-channel 15 and insures uniform distribution of the water through all the longitudinal channels.

The water then passes through the longitudinal channels and is discharged into the crosshead 4 at their lower ends which is also in the form of a cross-channel adapted to receive the water and to pass the same on, through a slot 25, to a tank 26 disposed underneath the crosshead. This tank has a pump 27 operated by a motor 28 which pumps the water back into the pipe 23 for renewed discharge into the upper cross-channel 15.

As the water runs through the longitudinal channels 2 and over the refrigerated tubes 7, it slowly freezes from the bottom up, and at the end of a certain time period, say 53 minutes, a strip or bar of ice builds up in each channel corresponding in cross-section to that of the desired ice cubes. Littlefreezingtakes place along the sides of the channels since the sides are made of a metal of low conductivity. Since the water is in motion up to the time when it is frozen into ice, the bars of ice formed are absolutely clear.

If the flattened tubes forming the bottom of the longitudinal channels were continued clear to the lower ends of the channels, icicles would form at said lower ends which would interfere with the operation of freeing the ice bars from the channels. In order to prevent the forming of icicles, I cut the tube lengths short of the lower ends of the channels and continue the upper surfaces of the tubes by means of short plates 29 of nonconducting material, such as stainless steel, these plates being insulated at the bottom by an air space 30 and projecting slightly beyond the lower ends" 'of the channels to form discharge lips. These plates establish a definite end of the freezing zone and make the ice bars stop short of the lower ends of the channels.

At the end of the freezing operation, which may consume about 53 minutes, the entire evaporator is turned upside down, by means to be described later. At the same time the flow of water through the pipe 23 is stopped. The turning movement is executed slowly so as to give the water still in the channels and in the upper crosshead an opportunity to discharge into the lower cross-head 4 and the tank 26. Any small residue of water present in the upper cross-channel 15 toward the end of the turning operation is caught in a relatively small inverted pocket 31 formed in the descending end of the cross-channel.

When the evaporator is turned, the refrigeration system is changed, by means to be described later, to pass a hot refrigerant right from the compressor through the evap orlator tubes 7 so as to melt the ice bars away from the tu es.

The evaporator is formed with a solid bottom 32 which may be insulated and which extends into the crosshead 3 to form a bottom for the lower cross-channel 16. This bottom is formed with an opening 33 having a raised flange extending into the channel and being disposed opposite a pipe 34 so that when the turning movement of the evaporator is completed, water from the pipe 34 may pass through the opening 33into the cross-channel 16, now on top, and may be distributed through holes 35, into the inverted channels 13 for warming the side walls of the channels and for freeing the ice bars from said 4 sides. This water, after having been cooled in the process, is finally discharged, through a slot 36, into the tank 26, when the evaporator is turned back to normal position, to compensate for water withdrawn from the circuit in the form of ice.

The water used for freeing the ice from the channels should preferably be of uniform temperature throughout the year and should be fairly warm. To insure this desirable characteristic I use water preheated in the condensing effect of the refrigerating system.

The latter comprises a conventional compressor 37, an air-cooled condenser 38 connected thereto by a pipe 39, a Water cooled condenser 40 connected to the first condenser by a pipe 41, an expansion valve 42, a pipe 43 connecting the second condenser to the expension valve, a pipe 44 connecting the expansion valve to the evaporating tubing, and a return pipe 45 leading back to the cornpressor. The connections about the evaporator include flexible tubing as at 46 to allow of the turning movement of the evaporator.

For the defrosting cycle I use a by-pass conduit 47 which connects the compressor outlet directly with the evaporator pipe 44, bypassing the condensers and the expansion valve, this by-pass being controlled by a solenoid valve 48. When the latter valve is opened, the compressor discharges directly into the evaporator tubing.

Water in the pipe 34 (for defrosting) is preheated in the condensing system. The condenser 40 is cooled by water in the pipe 49, which may come from any suitable source. This water is then passed through a coil 50 for heating water in the tank 51. This tank receives water (from any suitable source under pressure) through pipe 52 and discharges into the pipe 34 upon the opening of a solenoid valve 53. The temperature of this water will remain substantially constant throughout the year regardless of atmospheric temperature conditions.

Rotary motion is imparted to the evaporator through a motor 54 and a chain drive 55, the motor being specially designed for alternate turns through an angle of in one direction and back again.

A sterilamp 56 is suitably mounted over the flow of water emitted from the bottom ends of the channels to keep the water under a continuous process of sterilization.

The insulating strips 12 rising from the edges of the channels carry a cutting wire 12' which passes back and forth to form uniformly spaced strands across the strips for cutting the ice bars when they drop upon the strands. the wire is connected into the electrical circuit to be heated for the period of the cutting operation.

The cabinet 6 is provided with a removable door 57 held in place by suitable fastening means 58, the door occupying the upper part of the front wall opposite the evaporator.

Underneath the door I provide a drawer 59 which forms a receptacle for the ice cubes dropping from the evaporator and which preferably holds two containers 60, one behind the other, so that all the ice cubes accumulated in either one of them may be removed by taking out the container and without any handling of the cubes.

The electrical circuit for operating the various instrumentalities hereinabove described, is shown in Figure 3. It includes in its general features a timing device 61 controlling three micro-switches 62-63-64, which in turn control the water solenoid valve 53, the refrigeration solenoid valve 48 and the motor 54. The latter turns the evaporator 1 back and forth through an angle of 180', the motor used in the present machine being known as the Modutrol motor No. M6040. The voltage for the motor is reduced from the line voltage of l10-120 volts to 25 volts in the transformer 65. The motor 66 of the compressor 'unit, the sterilamp 56, the

Pump 28; and the cutting 'wire -12?- areconnected into the circuit as shown.

In. addition I 'provide a' temperature control 67 which responds to the: amount of-ice' cubes acc'umulated in? the drawer? and opens when "the quantity "reaches af desired maximum, "and a pressure" responsive control 68 which responds to a pressure drop' in theloW 'pressure s'ide'of the "refrigeration circuit and o'pen's" in 'case of" "rtain eme rg enciesja's" when 'th'ewater pump ceasesp ping, or the mod-utrol motor does not-operate properly and allows' the ice to buildup toohigh iir'the channels or when the refrigerant'leaks'out ofthesystem' These controls may beconsiderea closed for' tlie purposes or rhe present discussion.

' The"operation' of the apparatus may be described as follows:

Current flows continuously from line "wire a' through thetirriingdevice 61 to the'return linewire bi also thefcompressor motor" and ftliesteri lamp 516, which latter iscontrolled by a "transformer" 69. These three devices are in continuousoperation.

During the freezing cycle the pump motor 28 is active, while the ,solenoids of the refrigeration valve 48 and the'w'ater'v'alve 53 and the" heater are inactive. During this period Water is'dis'charged into the upper chamber 15 of the evaporator, runs through the longitudinal channels and back over the' lips 29- into the tank 26 from which it is I pumped 'back' into the pipe 23. I 'Ifhe water passing over the channels freezes slowly from the bottom up and at the end of the freezing period, which maybe set for 53 minutes, the'ice bars in the channel have reached thev desired height.

At the endofthis period the timing device begins to' -turnthemodutrol motor and the evaporator through an angle of 180", the turning movemenfl'extending over a" period of one minute. During thi'sfperiod thewater present in the head channel 15 and the longitudinal channels runs 01f into the tank 26 and what little remains in the head channel 'iscaught in thereverse pocket 31.

therevaporator begins to .tu'rngthe device also turns off the pump motor 28, opens the refrigeration solenoid valve 48, and turns on the heater, with the result that the flow of water stops, the compressor sends a hot refrigerant through the evaporator coils, and the cutting wires are heated.

After the turning movement has been completed, the timing device opens the Water valve 53, with the result that water heated by the condensing elfect is discharged into the inverted channels through the pipe 34, this process taking only about 40 seconds.

Now the next 5 or 6 minutes are devoted to the heating of the bottom and the side walls of the longitudinal channels, whereby the bars of ice are freed from the channels and drop upon the heated wires, and to the cutting of the bars into cubes by the heated wire strands, with the result that the cubes drop into the drawer 59. This period may be described as the harvesting period.

At the end of this period, that is approximately one hour from the beginning of the cycle, the timing device causes the motor 54 to turn the evaporator back to its original position, starts the pump motor, closes the refrigeration solenoid valve 48 and turns oif the heater, the water solenoid valve 53 having been closed a few minutes before. After the turning movement of the evaporator back to its original position the Water used during the harvesting process and cooled in the course thereof flows through the slot 36 into the tank 26 to be incorporated in the general circuit and to compensate for the water withdrawn in the formation of the ice cubes.

During the harvesting period the hot refrigerant passing through the evaporator tubing partly condenses into a semiliquid state. The compressor unit is made to immediately re-vaporize the refrigerant before it enters the compressor pump, for which purpose specially designed compressor units'are available as, re"; instance, the hermeticallyr s'ealed" pumpl manufactured by the L General Electric'Company.

Thor-iceicubes'formedrby this process,'one of which is shownperspective view at 70 in' Figure 8, are somewhat different in shape from' the conventional cubes. Theislightlyiconveir shape of the evaporator tubing in the b'ottor'npf the channels causes th'e bottom faces of the :cubes' to be slightly concave The upper face of r the cube is also ap't' to 'be sli'ghtly conoave', on' account of the slight conductivity 'ofthe side=walls made of stainless' steel. The-cut sides of'th'e'cube'willbe rather rough, due tothe cutting action; and the other two sides will be slightly tapered. This has the advantage that when the cubes are'bunche'd in the drawer, there will be few faces that can make actual contact throughout, which prevents the stickin'g ftogether of "the cubes.

The irradiation by the ste'rilamp is particularlyeifective in my system" since the'wate'r 'is in continuous motion up'to freezing-point and continuously passes the ste'r ilamp in'the term of relatively thin" and active streams resembliri-gwaterfalls.

'The"dripping of vVa't'eiQinto thedra'w'er or compartment containing thedce cubes is effectively prevented by the slow turning of the evaporator which allows substantially all the water' to-escapeovemhe lower ends of the chan nelsbe'fore thetuf'ning rnovemem is completed, while the reverse-"pocket at the-"tilting end of the head channel catches whatlittle' water remains in the latter.

""Ihein'sulation alon'g the' b'ottoniof the evaporator unit prevents the-evaporator tubin'g from Withdrawing heat units from the "compartmenth'olding "the ice cubes and thereby-prevents*the freezingtogether of the icecubes when they are bunched up in the-compartment.

The flattened tubes forming the bottoms ofthe channels are preferabl' seeured to '-tlie' i sides ofthe channels at-the'ends only; so'as tolavethemajor portions of the tubes }free reflex in res'po'n'se tothe passingtherethrough of' the ho't refrigerant which aids in the process of loosen- *in'g'fthe iceb ai's f-rorn the channels.

If it is desired weave-some advert-izing'; such as the name as e'sthhl-ishhien'tiihrfaririted on the ice cubes, this may be easily accomplished by impressing the advertizing on the upper surface of the copper tubing or any strip of copper or similar conducting metal superimposed on the copper tubing.

I claim:

1. In a machine of the character described, a reversibly mounted inclined channel having a refrigerated bottom and having means for running water over said bottom for freezing the Water from the bottom up and for maintaining the water in motion at the freezing zone to produce a strip of clear ice, and heated cutters mounted above the channel for cutting the strip of ice When the latter drops upon the cutters upon reversal of the channel.

2. In a machine of the character described, a reversibly mounted channel having means for freezing water therein to form a strip of ice, and heated cutters mounted above the channel for cutting the strip of ice when the latter drops upon the cutters upon reversal of the channel.

3. In a machine of the character described, a channel having a bottom formed of a flattened tube of high heat conducting material and having side Walls secured upon the side edges of the tube and made of material of lower heat conductivity.

4. In a machine of the character described, a channel having a bottom formed of a flattened tube of high heat conducting material and having side walls secured upon the side edges of the tube and made of material of lower heat conductivity, means for passing a refrigerant through the tube, and means for passing water over the bottom of the channel in a continuous circuit.

5. In a machine of the character described, a reversibly mounted channel having means for freezing water therein to form a strip of ice, means for reversing the channel to allow the strip of ice to drop out by gravity, and heating means operating in cyclic relation with the reversal of the channel for releasing the strip of ice from the channel wall, the channel having heating strips mounted thereon in the path of the dropping strip of ice for cutting the latter into smaller units.

6. In a machine of the character described, a battery of channels arranged in parallel relation, each channel having a bottom formed of a flattened tube of high heat conducting material and having side walls secured upon the side edges of the tube and made of material of lower heat conductivity, and adjacent channels being connected along their upper edges to form reverse channels between the first named channels.

7. In a machine of the character described, a channel having a bottom formed of a flattened tube of high heat conducting material and having side walls secured upon the side edges of the tube and made of material of lower heat conductivity, the side walls projecting beyond the tube at one end of the channel, and the projecting ends of the side walls having a strip of material of relatively low conductivity connecting the same to form a continuation of the upper wall of the tube and to mark a limit to the freezing area when a refrigerant is passed through the tube.

8. In a machine of the character described, a battery of inclined channels arranged in side by side relation, a common channel-shaped header secured upon the upper ends of the channels and having holes communicating with the channels, and a false floor connected to the front Wall of the header above said holes and spaced from the rear wall, whereby water dropped on the false floor is made to pass over the rear edge of the latter into the space underneath the false floor for uniform discharge through all the holes.

9. In a machine of the character described, an inclined channel having a substantially flat-surfaced and contin uous refrigerated bottom of highly heat-conducting material and having means for running Water over said bottom for freezing the Water from the bottom up and for maintaining the water in motion at the freezing zone, the sides of the channel being made of material of less heat conductivity to substantially prevent freezing of the water from the sides of the channel.

10. In a machine of the character described, an inclined channel having a substantially flat-surfaced and continuous refrigerated bottom of highly heat-conducting material and having means for running water over said bottom for freezing the water from the bottom up and for maintaining the water in motion at the freezing zone, the sides of the channel being made of material of less heat conductivity to substantially prevent freezing of the water from the sides of the channel, and the bottom terminating in a section of material of relatively low heat conductivity to mark a limit to the freezing zone.

11. In a machine of the character described, an inclined channel having a substantially flat-surfaced and continuous refrigerated bottom of highly heat-conducting material and having means for running water over said bottom for freezing the water from the bottom up and for maintaining the water in motion at the freezing zone, the bottom terminating in a section of material of relatively low heat conductivity to mark a limit to the freezing zone.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,020,696 Hill Mar. 19, 1912 1,753,236 Ebinger Apr. 8, 1930 2,126,364 Witzel Aug. 9, 1938 2,145,776 Mufily Jan. 31, 1939 2,165,573 Pfeil July 11, 1939 2,292,350 Brandt Aug. 11, 1942 2,569,113 Munshower Sept. 25, 1951 2,575,892 Roberts Nov. 20, 1951 2,586,588 Weseman Feb. 19, 1952 2,606,427 Kirkpatrick Aug. 12, 1952 2,635,439 Philipp Apr. 21, 1953 2,682,155 Ayres June 29, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 973,025 France Feb. 6, 1951

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