Ice maker with slide out sump
AssigneeTrue Manufacturing Co., Inc.
InventorJohn Allen BROADBENT
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An ice maker for forming ice using a refrigerant capable of transitioning between liquid and gaseous states, the ice maker comprising a compressor, a condenser, a thermal expansion device, an evaporator assembly, a freeze plate thermally coupled to the evaporator assembly, a sump located below the freeze plate, and a guide which permits the sump to move from a first position to a second position. The ice maker may be disposed on top of an ice storage bin having a hole through which ice produced by the ice maker may fall and when the sump is in the first position, water can be recirculated from the sump to the freeze plate by a water pump, and when the sump is in the second position, the sump is adapted to cover the hole of the ice storage bin.
Claims8
An ice maker for forming ice using a refrigerant capable of transitioning between liquid and gaseous states, the ice maker comprising:
- (i) a compressor;
- (ii) a condenser;
- (iii) a thermal expansion device;
- (iv) an evaporator assembly;
- (v) a freeze plate thermally coupled to the evaporator assembly;
- (vi) a sump located below the freeze plate;
- and
- (vi) a guide which permits the sump to move from a first position to a second position.
An ice maker assembly comprising:
- (iii) an ice storage bin assembly comprising an ice storage bin having a hole through which ice may fall and a cavity in which the ice may be stored;
- (ii) a cabinet disposed on the ice storage bin assembly;
- and
- (i) an ice maker disposed within the cabinet, the ice maker comprising a condenser, a thermal expansion device, an evaporator assembly, a freeze plate thermally coupled to the evaporator assembly, a sump located below the freeze plate, and a guide which permits the sump to move from a first position to a second position, wherein when the sump is in the first position, ice produced by the ice maker falls through the hole of the ice storage bin, and when the sump is in the second position, the sump is adapted to cover the hole of the ice storage bin.
A method of cleaning an ice maker assembly comprising an ice storage bin assembly comprising an ice storage bin having a hole through which ice may fall and a cavity in which the ice may be stored, a cabinet disposed on the ice storage bin assembly, and an ice maker disposed within the cabinet, the ice maker comprising a condenser, a thermal expansion device, an evaporator assembly, a freeze plate thermally coupled to the evaporator assembly, a sump located below the freeze plate, and a guide which permits the sump to move from a first position to a second position, wherein when the sump is in the first position, ice produced by the ice maker falls through the hole of the ice storage bin, and when the sump is in the second position, the sump is adapted to cover the hole of the ice storage bin, comprising the steps of:
- (i) moving the sump from the first position to the second position thereby covering the hole in the ice storage bin so that ice stored in the cavity of the ice storage bin does not need to be removed;
- and
- (ii) cleaning the ice maker while the sump is the second position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.