US3040541A - Home appliance for ice-making - Google Patents

Description

June 26, 1962 J. P. JONES ET AL 3,040,541

' HOME APPLIANCE FOR ICE-MAKING Filed April 24, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 a INVENTORS.

June 26, 1962 J. P. JONES ET AL 3,040,541

HOME APPLIANCE FOR ICE-MAKING Filed April 24, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 nited States 3,040,541 HOME APPLIANCE FUR ICE-MAKIN John Paul Jones and William F. Scott, Benton Harbor,

and Carl B. Methling, Coloma, Mich., assignors to Whirlpool Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 24, 1959, Ser. No. 808,729 4 Claims. (Cl. 62-435) This invention relates to an ice maker that is particularly adapted to household use.

' The ice maker of this invention produces ice bodies automatically with a very small number of operating parts and without requiring complicated apparatus such as motors, clock timers and the like. The ice maker is simple in construction, low in cost and produces ice bodies rapidly,

\ mally extending across said opening, means for introducing liquid into said mold to be frozen into an ice body, and means for moving said closure to permit the body to fall from the mold.

Another feature of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus for freezing ice bodies comprising a mold adapted to contain an ice body frozen therein and having an opening through which said body is remov able, means for removing said body through said opening, and means operable by expansion of the ice upon freezing for operating said removing means.

A further feautre of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus for freezing 'ice bodies comprising a mold having a bottom opening, a movable closure normally extending across said opening, means for introducing liquid into said mold. in a flowing stream tobe frozen into an ice body, the closure being contacted by the ice body and being of a material having high heat transfer for causing the stream of liquid in the mold to freeze and seal the closure to the mold to prevent substantial atent l liquid leakage therebetween and the closure being bendable and having an undistorted shape different from the shape of the surface of the ice body that contacts the closure, means for releasing said ice body from the mold, the weight of the ice body being sufficient to move said closure and permit the ice body to fall from the mold, and means operable by expansion of the freezing ice to operate said releasing means.

Another feature of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus for freezing ice bodies comprising a mold, a source of liquid arranged to flow into said mold to be frozen into an ice body, valve means controlling said flow of liquid, and means operable by the temperature of said mold for activating said valve to permit said flow only when said temperature is a freezing temperature.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of an embodiment thereof as illustrated in the accompanying draw- Patented June 26, 1962 portion of the apparatus illustrating one stage in the preparation of an ice body.

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 4 showing another stage in the preparation of an ice body.

The apparatus for freezing ice bodies as illustrated in the accompanying drawings is adapted to be mounted on the wall it) of a refrigerator and to extend into the freezer compartment 11. The apparatus includes a hous ing 12 forming a water chamber 13 enclosed on top by a cover plate 14 which is shown removed in FIGURE 3. The housing 12 is held in place as by screws 15 engaging flanges 16 on the outer surface of the wall 10. The principal part of the housing 12 is located within the conventional insulation 16 ofthe refrigerator wall It The housing 12' is provided with a water inlet connection 17 adapted to be attached-in the customary manner to a source of water under pressure. The connection 17 is provided with an inlet passage 18 that is adapted to be closed at its inner end such as by means of the ball valve 19. Extending from the inner end of the passage 18 is a smaller passage 20 having an inwardly extending portion and an upwardly extending portion 21 which is located immediately behind an upwardly extending partition wall 22. This partition wall 22 extends upwardly to adjacent the cover plate 14 and the cover I beneath the upper edge thereof rearwardly to an outlet connection 26 located exteriorly of the wall 10. Between the passage 24 and the fitting 26 there is located a second valve such as the ball valve 27. The ball valve 19 is adapted to close when subjected to an inward pressure flowing inwardly of the passage 18 and the ball valve 27 is adapted to close when subjected to an inward pressure flowing inwardly through the fitting 26.

Extending longitudinally in the bottom of the housing 12 is a longitudinally movable push rod 28 having its outer end adjacent to the ball valve 19 and having its inner end attached to a longitudinally extending plunger 29 that is movably mounted in a forward extension 30 of the housing 12. This plunger 29 is aligned with the push rod 28 and is attached thereto and is loosely mounted in a chamber 31 in the extension 30. Chamber 31 is similar in shape to the cylindrical plunger 29 but of larger diameter as is illustrated in FIGURE 2.

Attached to opposite sides of the housing 12 as by bolts 32 are elongated members 33. These members 33 are in the form of elongated cylinders and are substantially parallel to and coplanar with the extension 39.

Mounted on the outer ends of the members 33 and extending substantially vertically therefrom is an ice mold assembly 34. This assembly includes a mounting support 35 of essentially square configuration mounted at right angles to the members 33 by the bolts 32. The support 35 is provided with a rear plate 36 which is spaced from the remainder of the support as by electrical insulation 37 so as to provide an internal chamber 38 in which is located a vertically extending electric heater 39. Between the heater 39 and the plunger 29 there is located a snap-acting essentially circular, bimetal plate 40 located in its chamber 41. This bimetal plate 40 contacts the end 42 of the plunger 29 that is beyond the extension 30.

The inner end of the plunger 29 opposite to the end 42 is shaped to provide a valve 43 which is adapted to cooperate with a valve seat 44 on theinner end of a liquid passage 45 that extends from the chamber 14 around the push rod 28 and into the chamber 31. The outer end of the push rod 28 that is adjacent the ball valve 19 is guided for movement by engagement with a closely spaced opening 46 in the housing 12. The opening 2 6 and the push rod 28 are so dimensioned that substantially no water can flow between this opening and the push rod.

Mounted on the bottom end of the support 35 and formed integrally therewith is an ice mold 47. This ice mold has an internal ice cavity 48 with downwardly and outwardly sloping sides to aid in release of the ice body formed therein. The mold 47 is provided with a pair of top openings 49 and 50 with one opening being directly beneath the outlet 70 of the chamber 31 in the housing 12. The ice mold 47 is essentially symmetrically arranged with respect to the upwardly extending support 35 so that the support 35 is essentially at right angles to the plane of the top 51 of the mold.

The bottom of the mold 47 has a bottom opening 52 and an outwardly extending planar, substantially square flange 53. This flange is adapted to be mounted on a shelf or other support 54 as shown in FIGURES l and 2.

Normally closing the bottom opening 52 of the mold 47 is a closure 55 of sheet metal having edges engaging the edge of the mold forming the opening 52 and mounted on a central, downwardly extending post 56. The closure 55 is of concave-convex configuration with the convex side being adjacent the cavity 48. The closure post 56 is held on the end of a laterally extending arm 57 whose end 58 is angled upwardly and mounted for oscillation about a hinge pin 59.

With this arrangement the arm 57 and closure 55 are arranged for oscillation away from and toward the mold 47. Attached to the end of the arm 57 and adjacent the hinge pin 59 is a counterweight 60 tending to hold the closure in closed position as illustrated in the drawings but permitting movement of the closure 55 and arm 57 away from the mold by the weight of an ice body on the closure 55.

The hinge pin 59 and arm 57 are mounted on a bracket 61 on which is positioned a microswitch 62. This microswitch 62 is provided with a plunger 63 that is adapted to be contacted by an adjustable set screw 64. The microswitch 62 is arranged to open and close the electrical circuit (not shown) to the heater 39 and this circuit is open when the screw 64 contacts the plunger 63 as shown in FIGURE 1 and the circuit is closed when the screw 64 moves away from contact with the plunger 63 as shown in FIGURES 4 and 5.

The mold 47 and the support 35 are made relatively thick and are preferably made of a high thermal conducting metal such as aluminum so that heat from a heater 39 will be rapidly conducted not only to the bimetal plate 40 but also to the sides of the mold 47 and to the closure 55. The apparatus of this invention utilizes heat from the heater 39 not only to free the ice body within the cavity 48 from the mold 47 but also to move the bimetal plate 40 and thus the plunger 29 and push rod 28 to open and close the various valves. Thus when the heater is off and the parts are cold the bimetal plate 46 is in the position shown in FIGURE 2 in which valve 19 is closed and valve 43 is open. After the bimetal has been heated by the heater 39 so that it snaps to the opposite position or is bowed outwardly instead of inwardly, as shown in FIGURE 2, the valve 43 is then closed and the ball valve 19 is opened in order to admit water through the passage 18 in order to fill the chamber 13.

The apparatus of this invention does not use relatively complicated motors and motor operated timers but uses the expansion of the freezing ice body 65 in the mold 47 in order to initiate the water feeding and ice freezing cycle.

The operation of the ice making apparatus of this invention is as follows: Assume the chamber 13 to be filled with water and the bimetal 40 and attached valve parts to he recently moved to the position shown in FIGURE 2, water will then flow from the chamber 13 out the passage 45, out the passage 31 and outlet 70 therefrom and fall in a small stream through the mold opening 50 into the mold cavity 48. During the water flow from the chamber 13 air will be bled into the chamber by flow through the connection 26, around the ball 27 and in wardly through the passage 25.

Because of the shape of the closure 55 the initial water will flow outwardly to the contacting surfaces of the mold opening 52 and closure 55. Because the closure 55 is of very thin sheet metal this water will immediately freeze to join the closure to the mold and to prevent appreciable leakage of water. The water will continue flowing from the chamber 13 into the mold 48 with air being bled into the system through the outlet connection 26 and past the ball valve 27 and through the passage 25. The outer end of passage 25 is so shaped that when the ball valve 27 is in its inner position as shown in FIGURE 2 there will always be clearance around the ball so as to permit this air flow.

As the water continues to flow into the mold 48 in the manner described the freezing process will be taking place. As soon as the ice body 65 is substantially entirely frozen the normal expansion of the final water core 69 of the ice will cause a normal central bulge in the bottom of the mold as indicated in FIGURE 4 where the final portion of water is being frozen. This expansion will move the arm 57 about the hinge pin 59 to move the screw 64 and release the plunger 63. This release of the plunger 63 will cause the electric circuit to the heater 39 to begin the heating up process. This rise in temperature will have two functions. It will cause heat to be transferred through the relatively thick support 35 and the relatively thick sides of the mold 47 to release the ice body 65. It will also snap the bimetal 40 to the right to assume a curved position opposite to that shown in FIG- UR-E 2. Thi movement of the bimetal 40 will cause a corresponding movement of the plunger 29 to the right to close exit valve 43 from the chamber 13.

The movement of the plunger 29 to the right will also move push rod 28 to the right to unseat ball valve 19. This unseating of the valve will permit water to flow inwardly through the passage 18 and around the ball 19, inwardly and upwardly through the passages 20, 21 and 24 to impinge against the curved portion 23 of the plate 14 and thereby to pass over the top of the wall 22 into the chamber 13. Air from the chamber 13 will flow in the opposite direction over the wall 22 and outwardly through the passage 25. This outward flowing air will stream past the ball 27 as the air will not exert sufiicient force on the ball to cause it to seat against valve seat 66. The air will then escape through the connection 26. When the chamber 13 is filled with water the water will then flow outwardly through the passage 25 and will strike the ball 27 and force it into valve seating position against the seat 66 to stop the flow of water.

Because of the curved shape of the closure 55 the closure which is distorted by the expanding ice body 65, as shown in FIGURE 4 snaps away from the ice body as shown in FIGURE 5 when the distorting forces on the closure become great enough. Then when the heater 39 has operated a sufiicient time to loosen completely the ice body 65 from the mold the ice body will drop out of the mold rotating the arm 57 and closure 55 around the pin 59. The counterweight 60 will then cause the arm 57 and closure 55 to return to their closed positions as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2. In this position the screw 64 of course contacts the plunger 63 to again open the circuit to the heater 39. The heater 39 and associated parts will then again begin to cool rapidly as they are located in the freezing compartment 11. When a sufficiently low temperature has been reached to again cause the closure 55 to freeze against opening 52 and ice to freeze in the mold 47, the bimetal 40 will snap to the position shown in FIGURE 2 at which time the ice body forming cycle will repeat itself in the manner just described. In the embodiment shown the heater 39 is about 165 watts, the mold holds about 1.73 cubic inches of water and the bimetal 40 operates in one direction at about 30 F. and in the other at about 80 F.

As can be seen from this description, the apparatus of this invention has a number of advantages. It freezes ice bodies successively in an efiicient, noiseless and troublefree manner. It is also inexpensive and has a minimum of component parts and all of these parts are of simple, trouble-free construction. The apparatus avoids the necessity of using electric motors, timers and the like as it uses the freezing of the ice body itself to cause operation of the valves and to loosen the ice bodies for removal by gravity. Furthermore, the water passages and particu larly those subject to freezing are arranged so that substantially all water will drain from them so as to prevent freeze-up of these passages. In addition, the valves are separated from the freezing environment by the insulation 16.

Closure plate 55 is made of relatively thin metal so that it will cool rapidly and have efficient heat transfer thereby permitting the initial water flow to freeze almost instantaneously and attach the closure to the mold and form a water seal therebetween to prevent Water leakage.

This closure is also extremely light in weight so that the counterweight 60 may be kept correspondingly light. In addition, the closure and associated structures are quite simple and low in cost and the closure itself is self-aligning with the bottom opening 52. The closure is so pos i tioned that no heater is required to release the closure, and the closure is provided with a concavo-convex shape not only to direct initial water to the edges of the closure but also to release the closure from the ice body with a snap action as previously described. ,The particular closure and associated structure, as described, also permit faster filling of the mold cavity 48 and thus a faster production of ice bodies. Because the closure 55 is distortable under the expansion of the ice body, as shown in FIGURES 4 and 5, the closure recognizes the final solidification of the ice body without use of a thermostat and initiates the removal of the ice body without requiring a timer. It also uses the force of expansion of the ice body to aid in breaking the frozen seal between the edge of the closure and the mold and utilizes progressive stripping to release the closure from the ice body.

The ice making apparatus of this invention also adjusts itself to the rate of freezing of the liquid in the mold cavity 48. Thus, regardless of whether the temperature in the freezer compartment 11. is such that the ice bodies are frozen rapidly or slowly, there is no timer to be adjusted as the cycle is not begun until the ice body is frozen solid.

Having described our invention as related to the embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, it is our intention that the invention be not limited by any of the details of description, unless otherwise specified, but rather be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as set out in the accompanying claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as followsz 1. Apparatus for freezing ice bodies, comprising: a mold having a bottom opening; a movable closure normally extending across said opening; means forming a liquid chamber adjacent the mold having an inlet, and an outlet communicating with said mold; first valve means controlling flow of liquid through said inlet; second valve means controlling flow of liquid in a flowing stream through said outlet and into the mold to be frozen into mice body, the closure being contacted by the ice body and being of a material having high heat transfer for causing the liquid in the mold to freeze and seal the closure to the mold to prevent substantial liquid leakage therebetween, and the closure being bendable and having an undistorted shape different from the shape of the surface of the ice body that contacts the closure; releasing means including an electric circuit and heater in heat transfer relationship with said mold, ice body and closure for releasing said ice body from the mold, the weight of the ice body being sufiicient to move said closure and permit the ice body to fall from the mold; a switch in said circuit; means operable by the substantially maximum expansion of ice on said closure for closing said switch to activate said heater; and a temperature responsive device for opening said second valve means and closing the first valve means when the temperature of the mold reaches a freezing temperature subsequent of the removal of an ice body therefrom and opening said first valve means and closing the second valve means when the mold temperature is above freezing to refill said chamber with liquid.

2. Apparatus for freezing ice bodies, comprising: a mold having a bottom opening; a movable closure normally extending across said opening; means forming a liquid chamber adjacent the mold having an outlet communicating with said mold; normally closed valve means controlling flow of liquid through said outlet and into the mold to be frozen into an ice body, the closure being contacted by the ice body and being of a material having high heat transfer for causing the liquid in the mold to freeze and seal the closure to the mold to prevent substantial liquid leakage therebetween; releasing means including a heater in heat transfer relationship with said mold, ice body and closure for releasing said ice body from the mold, the Weight of the ice body being sufiicient to move said closure and permit the ice body to fall from the mold; and means operable by the expansion of ice on said closure for activating said heater and opening said valve.

3. Apparatus for freezing ice bodies, comprising: a mold having a bottom opening; a movable closure normally extending across said opening; means forming a liquid chamber adjacent the mold having an inlet, and an outlet communicating with said mold; first valve means controlling fiowof liquid through said inlet; second valve means controlling flow of liquid in a flowing stream through said outlet and into the mold to be frozen into an ice body, the closure being contacted by the ice body and being of a material having high heat transfer for causing the liquid in the mold to freeze and seal the closure to the mold to prevent substantial liquid leakage therebetween, and the closure being bendable and having an undistorted shape different from the shape of the surface of the ice body that contacts the closure; releasing means including an electric circuit and heater in heat transfer relationship with said mold, ice body and closure for releasing said ice body from the mold, the weight of the ice body being sufficient to move said closure and permit the ice body to fall from the mold; a switch in said circuit; and means operable by the expansion of ice on said closure for first activating said heater to release said ice body from the mold and then opening said first valve means and closing said second valve means.

4. Apparatus for freezing ice bodies, comprising: a mold; freezing means for subjecting said mold to a freezing temperature; means forming a chamber for freezable liquid adjacent the mold with a capacity substantially equivalent to that of the ice body to be formed, the chamber having an inlet communicating with a source of liquid and an outlet communicating with said mold; first valve means controlling flow of liquid through said inlet; second valve means controlling flow of liquid through said outlet and into the mold to be frozen into an ice body; heating means in heat transfer relationship with the mold and the contained ice body for releasing the body from the mold; means operable by the temperature of the mold for opening said second valve means only when said temperature is a freezing temperature to admit liquid from said chamber to said mold; and means operable by the temperature of the mold for opening said first valve 7 8 means only when the temperature is above freezing to 2,259,066 Gaston Oct. 14, 1941 admit liquid to said chamber. 2,471,655 Rundell May 31, 1949 References Cited in the file of this patent 3: 2:: UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 2,923,134 Bauerlein Feb. 2, 1960 989,044 P001 Apr. 11, 1911

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