US3277666A

US3277666A - Ice storage system

Info

Publication number: US3277666A
Application number: US425418A
Authority: US
Inventors: Marsden H Simmons
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1965-01-14
Filing date: 1965-01-14
Publication date: 1966-10-11
Anticipated expiration: 1983-10-11

Description

Oct. 11, 1966 M. H. SIMMONS ICE sToRAGEsYsTEM 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed June 14, 1965 INVENTOR. MARSDEN H. SIMMONS mwN ATTORNEYS Oct. 11, 1966 M. H. slMMoNs 3,277,666

ICE STORAGE SYSTEM Filed June 14, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Willi-'1M il F i G. 4

INVENTOR.

MARSDEN H. SIM MONS ATTORNEYS United States Patet O 3,277,666 ICE STGRAGE SYSTEM Marsden H. Simmons, W. University St., Siloam Springs, Ark. Filed Jan. 14, 1965, Ser. No. 425,418 3 Claims. (Cl. 62-320) This invention relates to an ice storage system. More particularly, the invention relates to a system for storing chipped ice and for subsequent usage of the stored ice. Still more particularly, the invention relates to a method of handling ice as used in processing plants requiring large amounts of chipped ice including means of storing the ice for subsequent use during periods when `the rate of usage is greater than the production rate of the ice making facilities.

Many types of food processing industries require large amounts of chipped ice, an example being the poultry processing industry. As poultry is processed and made ready for packaging and distribution, the product must he kept under iced conditions to maintain sanitation and avoid spoilage. Large quantities of chipped ice are required in poultry processing plants and heretofore the production,

storage and delivery for use of chipped ice has been a burdensome problem.

One of the problems concerning the usage of ice in processing plants is that heretofore no successful means of storing for later automatic mechanical delivery of chipped ice has been available. Therefore, the processor has been required to provide ice making facilities of a capacity capable of manufacturing the ice required at the rate it is used. This is a diicult problem, that is, it is virtually impossible to size ice making equipment to exactly meet the continued requirements of processing facilities under varying processing loads and Varying climatic conditions. Heretofore, to meet peak requirements, chipped ice stored in a bin has been shoveled out by hand.

This invention provides a system whereby ice manufacturing facilities can be operated on a more or less continuous basis, and wherein the ice manufactured in excess of that which is required at the time can be stored for later use. While bulk storage for later automatic delivery of all types of materials, such as grain, has been well known for many years, the storage of flaked or chipped ice has never been feasible. The pressure of chipped ice in a storage vessel tends to cause the ice to weld together, making the subsequent automatic removal `of `the ice impossible. This invention provides means whereby the previously encountered insurmountable problems have been overcome in a system whereby chipped ice may be stored for later automatic mechanical delivery.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an ice storage system.

A more particular object of this invention is to provide an ice storage system including means whereby surplus ice making capacity can be utilized for storage of chipped ice for subsequent usage,

Another object of this invention is to provide an upright cylindrical storage silo including means to receive chipped ice therein land for automatically delivering chipped ice thereout as required.

Another object of this invention is to provide an ice storage system including means whereby ice may be utilized directly as manufactured or stored for subsequent usage.

These and other objects will be fullled and a better understanding of the invention will be had by referring to the following description and claims, taken in conjunction with the attached drawings in which:

FIGURE l is a schematic illustration of the ice storage system of this invention.

serres Patented Get. l1, 1966 lCe FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view of the ice storage silo of the system of this invention showing the ice unloading means.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the bottom of the ice storage silo showing the arm member utilized to remove ice from the silo.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary view of a por-tion of the chain utilized on the arm for removal of ice from the storage silo.

This invention may be described as an ice storage system. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, the invention may be described as an ice making and storage system comprising an ice chip making means having a first and a second selectable discharge outlet, an upright cylindrical storage silo adjacent said ice chip making means, said silo having an ice intake opening in the upper end and a central outlet opening in the bottom, a storage conveyor extending from said rst discharge outlet of said -iee chip making means to the ice intake opening in said storage silo, an unloading means in said storage silo to move chipped ice stored in said silo to said central outlet opening, a horizontal discharge conveyor beneath the bottom of said silo for conveying chipped ice from the central outlet opening, a distribution conveyor receiving chipped ice from said horizontal discharge conveyor, the distribution conveyor being simultaneously actuatable independent of said ice making means and said storage conveyor, and a bypass conveyor extending from said second discharge outlet of said ice chip making means to said point of use, said bypass conveyor actuatable independent of said storage conveyor unloading means, horizontal discharge conveyor and distribution conveyor.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, the overall system of the invention is best disclosed. An ice making means, generally indicated by the numeral 10, is contained within a building 12. The ice making means 10 may be of any type of machine for producing flaked or chipped ice. Throughout this description, the term chipped ice will be used, it being understood that by this expression is meant any type of ilaked or chipped ice of discrete sizes movable by conveyors as contrasted with the large blocks of ice customarily made in commercial ice plants.

The ice making machine 10 is provided with a first outlet 14A and a second outlet 14B. By means within the ice making machine 10, the means not being shown, the ice manufactured in the machine may be discharged either through

outlet

14A or 14B.

Positioned adjacent the ice making machine 10 is an upright cylindrical storage silo 16. The typical storage silo 16 may be of the type utilized for storing silage or other agricultural products but modified in a way to be described subsequently. The storage silo 16 is provided with an ice intake opening 18 in the upper end and a central outlet opening 2i) in the bottom.

A storage conveyor 22 is positioned to receive ice discharged from the first outlet 14A of ice machine 10 and to carry the ice chips discharged therefrom to the intake opening 18 of the storage silo 16.

Positioned in the bottom of the storage silo 16 is an unloading means generally indicated by the numeral' 24. The function of the unloading means is to move chipped ice stored in storage silo 16 to the central bottom outlet opening 20 as required. Basically the unloading means 24 consists of an arm member 26 which is rotatably supported at its inner end 26A in the center of the central outlet 20. The arm 26 extends parallel to and adjacent the bottom 28 of the storage silo 16, the outer end 26B terminating adjacent the tubular wall of the silo 16. The arm member 26 is swept in a circle abou the central outlet opening 20 to substantially sweep the entire bottom 28 of the storage silo 16.

Supported in a channel below the bottom 28 of the silo 16 is a horizontal discharge conveyor 30 which moves chipped ice from the outlet opening 20 to a point exterior of the silo. Receiving the chipped ice discharge from the horizontal discharge conveyor 30 is a distribution conveyor 32 which conveys the chipped ice to a point of usage, which in FIGURE l is illustrated by a building 34 in which food processing is carried on. As illustrated, the chipped ice of the discharge conveyor 32 is delivered to a chute 36 where it falls into a wagon 38 containing processed poultry or any other process material requiring icing.

An alternate arrangement of this basic system of the invention includes the provision of a bypass conveyor 40. One end of the bypass conveyor 40 is positioned to receive ice discharged through second outlet 14B of ice machine and to carry the chipped ice directly to the chute 36 for immediate usage.

The ice storage system ydescribed has many advantages over any presently known system. When ice is being utilized in the processing in building 34 at the same rate it is manufactured by machine 10, the ice is discharged from machine 10 through second outlet 14B directly onto the bypass conveyor 40 where it is fed directly to chute 36 for immediate usage. In this manner it is not necessary that the ice go through the storage process. On the other hand, if ice is used at a rate faster than machine 10 is capable of manufacturing, then in addition to the ice passing through second outlet 14B and conveyor 40 to chute 36, additional ice may be utilized from the storage silo 16 by means of the unloading means 24 and distribution conveyor 32. If, through mechanical failure, the ice making machine 10 becomes inoperable, ice necessary for the processing can continue as supplied from the stored ice taken from the storage silo 16.

In a typical operation, it is diflicult to size ice making machine 10 to have capacity under all conditions to exactly satisfy the required rate of use in the processing operation. For this reason it is desirable to size the ice making machine 10 to provide suflicient capacity for a given work period (for instance, a given eight hour shift) for the i-ce making machine 10 working for a longer period of time, even if such period is on a full twentyfour hour basis. Thus, the ice making machine 10 can continuously manufacture ice delivered through outlet 14A and storage conveyor 22 into the silo 16. Ice can be utilized as required from the silo 16. In this way the total ice making capacity of the machine 10 is not as great and therefore a total necessary investment in ice making equipment is reduced. At the same time, the effect of mechanical failure of the ice making machine 10 is of less consequence since a backlog of stored ice is provided in the silo 16.

Referring to FIGURES 2, 3 and 4, the operation of the storage silo 16 and the unloading means 24 is best shown. Arm 26 is an elongated member having a sprocket 42 (FIGURE 3) at the inner end centrally positioned over the outlet opening in the bottom 28 of the silo 16. The arm 26 rotates about the center sprocket 42. At the same time a continuous chain 44 is provided which travels around the total periphery of the arm 26. The chain is provided with spaced horizontally extended teeth 46 which move chipped ice from the silo bottom 28 into the central outlet opening 20.

In addition to the horizontally extending teeth 46, the chain 44 is provided with a plurality of spaced elongated upwardly extending teeth 48 (best shown in FIGURE 4). As has been previously indicated, storage silos of substantially the same configuration as illustrated in this disclosure have been used for storing a great variety of materials, such as grain, but none of these devices have been successfully utilized for storage of chipped ice. It has been discovered that the reason such previously contemplated use has not been successful is that the chipped ice tends to pack and adhere together as it is stored. The

adhesion of the ice particles together tends to cause the ice to bridge near the bottom so that it is not encountered by the arm 26 as it is rotated. It has been learned that elongated, upwardly extending lteeth 38, of a length much longer than required for other types of materials, succeeded in continuously breaking up the adhered chips of ice, causing them to fall to the bottom 28 of the silo where the chips of ice are then easily swept into the outlet opening 20 by the horizontally extending teeth 46.

An endless chain forms the horizontal discharge conveyor 30 to convey ice from the outlet opening 20 exteriorly of the silo where it falls into a sump 50 to be picked up by the distribution conveyor 32.

As illustrated in FIGURE 2, the preferred embodiment of the invention requires that the storage silo 16 be covered insulation 52. The provision of insulation 52 achieves two highly beneficial results. First, when the device is utilized in warm ambient temperatures, insulation 52 prevents excessive melting and adhesion of the stored chipped ice. Secondly, when the system is used in extremely cold ambient temperatures, insulation 52 prevents excessive bridging of the ice within the storage silo.

Although this invention has been described with a certain degree of partieularity, it is manifest that many changes may be made in details of construction and the arrangement of components without `departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure.

What is claimed is:

1. An ice making and storage system comprising in cornbination:

an ice chip making means having a lirst and a seco-nd selectable discharge outlet;

an upright cylindrical storage silo adjacent said ice chip making means, said silo having an ice intake opening in the upper end and a central outlet opening in the bottom;

a storage conveyor extending from said first discharge outlet of said ice chip making means to the ice intake opening in said storage silo;

an unloading means in said storage silo to move chipped ice stored in said silo to said central outlet opening;

a horizontal ydischarge conveyor beneath the bottom of said silo for conveying chipped ice from the central outlet opening;

a distribution conveyor for receiving chipped ice from said horizontal discharge conveyor and conveying chipped ice to a point of use, said unloading means, horizontal discharge conveyor and distribtuion conveyor being simultaneously actuatable independent of said ice chip making means and said storage conveyor; and

a bypass conveyor extending from said second discharge outlet of said ice chip making means to said point of use, said bypass conveyor actuatable independent of said storage conveyor unloading means, horizontal discharge conveyor and distribution conveyor.

2. An ice making and storage system according to claim 1 wherein said unloading means comprises:

an arm member rotatably supported at its inner end in the center of said central outlet of said storage silo, said arm extending parallel to and adjacent the bottom of said storage silo, the outer end of said arm terminating adjacent the tubular wall of said silo;

means to slowly rotate said arm to sweep substantially the total bottom surface of said storage silo;

an endless conveyor chain supported on the peripheral surface of said arm;

means of rotating said conveyor chain as said arm is rotated;

a plurality of yspaced horizontal teeth affixed to said chain and extending substantially parallel to the bottom surface of said silo; and

a plurality of elongated upwardly extending spaced teeth aflixed to said chain, said teeth engaging and loosening chipped ice stored in said silo to cause the loosened chipped ice to fall to the silo bottom to be swept into said central outlet by said horizontal teeth.

3. An ice making and storage system comprising in combination:

an ice chip making means;

an upright cylindrical storage silo adjacent said ice -chip making means, the silo having anice intake opening in the upper end and a central outlet opening in the bottom;

a storage conveyor extending from said ice chip making means to the ice intake opening in .said `storage silo;

means to slowly rotate .said arm to sweep substantially the total bottom surface of said storage silo;

an endless conveyor chain supported on the peripheral surface of said arm;

means of rotating said conveyor chain as said arm is rotated;

a plurality of spaced horizontal teeth aixed to said chain and extending substantially parallel t-o the bottom surface o-f said silo;

a pluralty of elongated upwardly extending spaced teeth affixed to said chain, said teeth engaging and loosening chipped ice stored in said silo -to cause the loosened chipped ice to fall to the silo bottom to be swept into said central outlet by said horizontal teeth;

a horizontal discharge conveyor beneath the bottom of said silo for conveying chipped ice from the central outlet opening; and

a distribution conveyor receiving chipped ice from said horizontal discharge conveyor to a point of use, said arm member, horizontal discharge conveyor and distribution conveyor being simultaneously -actuatable independent of the ice chip making means and the storage conveyor.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,247,575 11/ 1917 Pratt 62-32 2,222,024 11/1940 Field. 2,791,887 5/1957 Hennig 62-344 X ROBERT A. OLEARY, Primary Examiner.

W. E. WAYNER, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

3. AN ICE MAKING AND STORAGE SYSTEM COMPRISING IN COMBINATION: AN ICE CHIP MAKING MEANS; AN UPRIGHT CYLINDRICAL STORAGE SILO ADJACENT SAID ICE CHIP MAKING MEANS, THE SILO HAVING AN ICE INTAKE OPENING IN THE UPPER END AND A CENTRAL OUTLET OPENING IN THE BOTTOM; A STORAGE CONVEYOR EXTENDING FROM SAID ICE CHIP MAKING MEANS TO THE ICE INTAKE OPENING IN SAID STORAGE SILO; AN ARM MEMBER ROTATABLY SUPPORTED AT ITS INNER END IN THE CENTER OF SAID CENTRAL OUTLET OF SAID STORAGE SILO, SAID ARM EXTENDING PARALLEL TO AND ADJACENT THE BOTTOM OF SAID STORAGE SILO, THE OUTER END OF SAID ARM TERMINATING ADJACENT THE TUBULAR WALL OF SAID SILO; MEANS TO SLOWLY ROTATE SAID ARM TO SWEEP SUBSTANTIALLY THE TOTAL BOTTOM SURFACE OF SAID STORAGE SILO; AN ENDLESS CONVEYOR CHAIN SUPPORTED ON THE PERIPHERAL SURFACE OF SAID ARM; MEANS OF ROTATING SAID CONVEYOR CHAIN AS SAID ARM IS ROTATED; A PLURALITY OF SPACED HORIZONTAL TEETH AFFIXED TO SAID CHAIN AND EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE BOTTOM SURFACE OF SAID SILO; A PLURALITY OF ELONGATED UPWARDLY EXTENDING SPACED TEETH AFFIXED TO SAID CHAIN, SAID TEETH ENGAGING AND LOOSENING CHIPPED ICE STORED IN SAID SILO TO CAUSE THE LOOSENED CHIPPED ICE TO FALL TO THE SILO BOTTOM TO BE SWEPT INTO SAID CENTRAL OUTLET BY SAID HORIZONTAL TEETH;