Ice maker
AssigneeTrue Manufacturing Co., Inc.
InventorKevin Knatt
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An ice maker includes an evaporator configured to freeze water into ice as it flows vertically down a freeze plate. A distributor distributes the water along the top of the freeze plate to form ice across the width of the freeze plate as the water flows downward along the freeze plate. The distributor can be integrated into the evaporator. For example, the distributor and evaporator can have a part in common. The distributor can be formed from two pieces that come together to form the freeze plate. The distributor can have various features that aid in providing a desirable distribution of water along the width of the freeze plate. The freeze plate can be mounted in an ice maker enclosure in thermal communication with the evaporator and to slant forward.
Claims18
A distributor for receiving water imparted through the distributor and directing the water to flow along a freeze plate of an ice maker so that the water forms into ice on the freeze plate, the distributor comprising:
- an inlet;
- an outlet;
- an upstream end wall adjacent the inlet;
- a bottom wall extending from the upstream end wall to the outlet and defining at least a portion of a distributor flow path extending from the inlet to the outlet;
- and
- a tube protruding rearward from the upstream end wall, the inlet comprising an opening formed in the upstream end wall immediately above the bottom wall through which the tube fluidly communicates with the distributor;
- wherein the bottom wall comprises an upstream section sloping downward opposite the distributor flow path to the upstream end wall and a downstream section sloping downward with the distributor flow path to the outlet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.