# US 2019/0170421 A1 · Refrigerator with Door-Mounted Icemaking System > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2019/0170421 A1 - Document ID: US20190170421A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 15/830,845 - Filed: 2017-12-04 - Published: 2019-06-06 - Earliest claimed: 2017-12-04 - Assignees: Midea Group Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Midea Group Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Eric Scalf - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190170421A1 ## CPC - F25C 5/10: using hot refrigerant; using fluid heated by refrigerant - F25B 5/02: arranged in parallel - F25B 47/025: {by reversing the cycle} - F25C 1/24: for refrigerators, e.g. freezing trays - F25C 5/182: Ice bins therefor - F25C 5/185: with freezing trays - F25D 11/022: {with two or more evaporators} - F25D 19/04: with more than one refrigeration unit - F25D 23/006: {for mounting refrigerating machinery components} - F25D 23/04: with special compartments, e.g. butter conditioners - F25D 29/005: {Mounting of control devices} - F25B 2600/2511: Evaporator distribution valves - F25C 5/22: {particularly adapted for household refrigerators} - F25C 2600/04: Control means - F25C: PRODUCING, WORKING OR HANDLING ICE - F25B: REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS - F25D: REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR (refrigerated showcases A47F3/04; thermally-insulated vessels for domestic use A47J41/00; refrigerated vehicles, see the appropriate subclasses of classes B60 - B64; containers with thermal insulation in general B65D81/38; heat-transfer, heat-exchange or heat-storage materials, e.g. refrigerants, or materials for the production of heat or cold by chemical reactions other than by combustion C09K5/00; thermally-insulated vessels for liquefied or solidified gases F17C; air-conditioning or air-humidification F24F; refrigeration machines, plants, or systems F25B; cooling of instruments or comparable apparatus without refrigeration G12B) ## Abstract A refrigerator and method utilize a door-mounted icemaking system including an icemaking mold, an ice storage bin and a cold wall evaporator disposed proximate the ice storage bin along an interior wall of the door to provide cooling proximate the ice storage bin. In some instances, the cold wall evaporator may be in addition to an icemaking evaporator that provides direct cooling of the icemaking mold, and furthermore, in some instances, the cold wall and icemaking evaporators may be separately controllable to optimize cooling within the door-mounted icemaking system. In addition, in some instances, a hot wall condenser may be used in a door-mounted icemaking system to dissipate heat generated by a refrigeration circuit through an exterior wall of a door. Further, in some instances a reversible refrigeration circuit may be used in connection with an icemaking evaporator to assist in ejecting ice from an icemaking mold. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A refrigerator, comprising: a cabinet including a fresh food compartment and a freezer compartment; a fresh food compartment door coupled to the cabinet adjacent an opening of the fresh food compartment and configured to insulate the fresh food compartment from, an exterior environment, the fresh food compartment door including: one or more interior walls facing the fresh food compartment when the door is closed and including one or more metal sheets; and an exterior wall facing the exterior environment and including an exterior metal skin; a door-mounted icemaking system disposed on the fresh food compartment door, the door-mounted icemaking system including: an icemaking mold disposed between the exterior wall and the one or more interior walls of the fresh food compartment door and configured to produce ice; an ice storage bin disposed between the exterior wall and the one or more interior walls of the fresh food compartment door and configured to receive and store ice produced by the icemaking mold; an ice and water dispenser disposed on the exterior wall of the fresh food compartment door and configured to dispense water and to dispense ice produced by the icemaking mold; and a reversible self-contained in-door refrigeration circuit disposed between the exterior wall and the one or more interior walls of the fresh food compartment door, including: a compressor in thermal contact with the exterior metal skin; a condenser in fluid communication with an outlet of the compressor and in thermal contact with the exterior metal skin; an icemaking evaporator disposed between the exterior wall and the one or more interior walls of the fresh food compartment door and in thermal contact with the icemaking mold to directly cool the icemaking mold; a cold wall evaporator disposed proximate the ice storage bin and along at least one interior wall among the one or more interior walls of the door, the cold wall evaporator in thermal contact with the one or more metal sheets; and at least one valve disposed between the condenser and one or both of the icemaking and cold wall evaporators to regulate refrigerant flow to one or both of the icemaking and cold wall evaporators; and a controller coupled to the reversible self-contained in-door refrigeration circuit, the controller configured control the at least one valve to selectively control refrigerant flow to the cold wall evaporator and the icemaking evaporator, and the controller further configured to control the compressor to selectively reverse refrigerant flow to the icemaking evaporator to heat the icemaking mold when ejecting ice from the icemaking mold. ### Claim 2 A refrigerator, comprising: a cabinet including one or more food storage compartments defined therein; a door coupled to the cabinet adjacent an opening of a first compartment from among the one or more food storage compartments and configured to insulate the first compartment from an exterior environment, the door including one or more interior walls facing the first compartment when the door is closed and an exterior wall facing the exterior environment; and a door-mounted icemaking system disposed on the door, the door-mounted icemaking system including: an icemaking mold disposed between the exterior wall and the one or more interior walls of the door and configured to produce ice; an ice storage bin disposed between the exterior wall and the one or more interior walls of the door and configured to receive and store ice produced by the icemaking mold; and a cold wall evaporator disposed proximate the ice storage bin and along at least one interior wall among the one or more interior walls of the door. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the cold wall evaporator includes a generally planar evaporator coil disposed along at least a portion of a first interior wall among the one or more interior walls of the door. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein the first interior wall is a back-facing wall of the door. ### Claim 5 (depends on 2) The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the cold wall evaporator extends along multiple interior walls among the one or more interior walls of the door, wherein the multiple interior walls include interior walls selected from the group consisting of a back-facing wall, a top-facing wall, a bottom-facing wall, and a side-facing wall. ### Claim 6 (depends on 2) The refrigerator of claim 2, further comprising a thermally-conductive body disposed on the at least one interior wall, the thermally-conductive body formed of a heat conducting material and in thermal contact with the cold wall evaporator. ### Claim 7 (depends on 2) The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the thermally-conductive body comprises a metal sheet. ### Claim 8 (depends on 2) The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the metal sheet includes multiple portions disposed on multiple interior walls among the one or more interior walls of the door. ### Claim 9 (depends on 2) The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the thermally-conductive body comprises multiple metal sheets disposed on multiple interior walls among the one or more interior walls of the door. ### Claim 10 (depends on 2) The refrigerator of claim 2, further comprising an icemaking evaporator n thermal contact with the icemaking mold to directly cool the icemaking mold. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The refrigerator of claim 10, wherein the icemaking evaporator is integrally formed with the icemaking mold. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The refrigerator of claim 10, wherein the icemaking and cold wall evaporators are coupled in series. ### Claim 13 (depends on 10) The refrigerator of claim 10, further comprising at least one valve disposed between a refrigerant supply and one or both of the icemaking and cold wall evaporators to regulate refrigerant flow to one or both of the icemaking and cold wall evaporators. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The refrigerator of claim 13, further comprising a controller coupled to the at least one valve, the controller configured to control the at least one valve to: direct refrigerant flow only to the cold wall evaporator when the ice storage bin is full; and direct refrigerant flow only to the icemaking evaporator when maximizing ice production. ### Claim 15 (depends on 10) The refrigerator of claim 10, wherein the door-mounted icemaking system further includes a reversible refrigeration circuit coupled to the icemaking evaporator, the reversible refrigeration circuit configured to cool the icemaking mold when operating in an ice producing mode and to heat the icemaking mold when operating in an ice ejecting mode. ### Claim 16 (depends on 2) The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the door-mounted icemaking system further includes a condenser disposed between the exterior wall and the one or more interior walls of the door. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The refrigerator of claim 16, wherein the condenser includes a generally planar condenser coil extending along at least a portion of the exterior wall of the door. ### Claim 18 (depends on 16) The refrigerator of claim 16, further comprising a thermally-conductive body disposed in the exterior wall, the thermally-conductive body formed of a heat conducting material and in thermal contact with the condenser. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The refrigerator of claim 18, wherein the thermally-conductive body comprises an exterior metal skin of the door. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The refrigerator of claim 19, further comprising a plurality of heat shunts extending between the condenser and the exterior metal skin of the door. ### Claim 21 (depends on 18) The refrigerator of claim 18, wherein the door-mounted icemaking system further includes a compressor disposed between the exterior wall and the one or more interior walls of the door and operatively coupled to the cold wall evaporator and the condenser in a self-contained in-door refrigeration circuit. ### Claim 22 (depends on 21) The refrigerator of claim 21, further comprising a thermally-conductive body disposed in the exterior wall of the door, the thermally-conductive body formed of a heat conducting material and in thermal contact with the condenser and the compressor. ### Claim 23 (depends on 2) The refrigerator of claim 2, further comprising an externally-accessible dispenser disposed on the door and configured to dispense ice produced by the icemaking mold. ### Claim 24 A door-mounted icemaking system for a refrigerator, the refrigerator of the type including a cabinet including one or more food storage compartments defined therein and a door coupled to the cabinet adjacent an opening of a first compartment from among the one or more food storage compartments and configured to insulate the first compartment from an exterior environment, the door including one or more interior walls facing the first compartment when the door is closed and an exterior wall facing the exterior environment, the door-mounted icemaking system including: an icemaking mold disposed between the exterior wall and the one or more interior walls of the door and configured to produce ice; an ice storage bin disposed between the exterior wall and the one or more interior walls of the door and configured to receive and store ice produced by the icemaking mold; an icemaking evaporator disposed between the exterior wall and the one or more interior walls of the door and in thermal contact with the icemaking mold to directly cool the icemaking mold; a cold wall evaporator disposed proximate the ice storage bin and along at least one interior wall among the one or more interior walls of the door; and at least one valve coupled between a refrigerant supply and one or both of the icemaking and cold wall evaporators and configured to regulate refrigerant flow to one or both of the icemaking and cold wall evaporators. ### Claim 25 (depends on 24) The door-mounted icemaking system of claim 24, further comprising a controller coupled to the at least one valve and configured to control the at least one valve to: direct refrigerant flow only to the cold wall evaporator when the ice storage bin is full; and direct refrigerant flow only to the icemaking evaporator when maximizing ice production. ### Claim 26 (depends on 25) The door-mounted icemaking system of claim 25, wherein the icemaking evaporator and the cold wall evaporator are disposed in a reversible refrigeration circuit and wherein the controller is further configured to selectively reverse the reversible refrigerator circuit to heat the icemaking mold when ejecting ice from the icemaking mold. ### Claim 27 A method of operating a reversible refrigeration circuit of a door-mounted icemaking system for a refrigerator, the door-mounted icemaking system including an icemaking mold disposed between an exterior wall and one or more interior walls of a door of the refrigerator and an icemaking evaporator disposed between the exterior wall and the one or more interior walls of the fresh food compartment door and in thermal contact with the icemaking mold to directly cool the icemaking mold, the method comprising: operating the reversible refrigeration circuit to cool the icemaking mold with the icemaking evaporator when producing ice with the icemaking mold; and operating the reversible refrigeration circuit to heat the icemaking mold with the icemaking evaporator when ejecting ice from the icemaking mold. ### Claim 28 (depends on 27) The method of claim 27, wherein the door-mounted icemaking system further includes an ice storage bin disposed between the exterior wall and the one or more interior walls of the door and configured to receive and store ice produced by the icemaking mold, a cold wall evaporator disposed proximate the ice storage bin and along at least one interior wall among the one or more interior walls of the door, and at least one valve coupled between a refrigerant supply and one or both of the icemaking and cold wall evaporators, the method further comprising regulating refrigerant flow to one or both of the icemaking and cold wall evaporators using the at least one valve. ### Claim 29 (depends on 28) The method of claim 28, further comprising: controlling the at least one valve to direct refrigerant flow only to the cold wall evaporator when the ice storage bin is full; and controlling the at least one valve to direct refrigerant flow only to the icemaking evaporator when maximizing ice production. ### Claim 30 A refrigerator, comprising: a cabinet including one or more food storage compartments defined therein; a door coupled to the cabinet adjacent an opening of a first compartment from among the one or more food storage compartments and configured to insulate the first compartment from an exterior environment, the door including one or more interior walls facing the first compartment when the door is closed and an exterior wall facing the exterior environment; and a door-mounted icemaking system disposed on the door, the door-mounted icemaking system including: an icemaking mold disposed between the exterior wall and the one or more interior walls of the door and configured to produce ice; an ice storage bin disposed between the exterior wall and the one or more interior walls of the door and configured to receive and store ice produced by the icemaking mold; and a refrigeration circuit disposed on the door and including an evaporator disposed between the exterior wall and the one or more interior walls of the door and configured to provide cooling for the door-mounted icemaking system and a hot wall condenser disposed on the door and in fluid, communication with the evaporator, wherein the hot wall condenser is configured to dissipate heat generated by the refrigeration circuit through the exterior wall of the door. ### Claim 31 (depends on 30) The refrigerator of claim 30, wherein the condenser includes a generally planar condenser coil extending along at least a portion of the exterior wall of the door. ### Claim 32 (depends on 30) The refrigerator of claim 30, further comprising a thermally-conductive body disposed in the exterior wall, the thermally-conductive body formed of a heat conducting material and in thermal contact with the condenser. ### Claim 33 (depends on 30) The refrigerator of claim 30, wherein the exterior wall of the door includes an exterior metal skin, and wherein the condenser is in thermal contact with the exterior metal skin of the door. ### Claim 34 (depends on 33) The refrigerator of claim 33, further comprising a plurality of heat shunts extending between the condenser and the exterior metal skin of the door. ### Claim 35 (depends on 30) The refrigerator of claim 30, wherein the door-mounted icemaking system further includes a compressor disposed between the exterior wall and the one or more interior walls of the door and operatively coupled to the evaporator and the condenser in a self-contained in-door refrigeration circuit, and wherein the refrigerator further comprises a thermally-conductive body disposed in the exterior wall of the door, the thermally-conductive body formed of a heat conducting material and in thermal contact with the condenser and the compressor. ### Claim 36 (depends on 30) The refrigerator of claim 30, wherein the evaporator comprises a cold wall evaporator disposed proximate the ice storage bin and along at least one interior wall among the one or more interior walls of the door. ### Claim 37 (depends on 36) The refrigerator of claim 36, further comprising an icemaking evaporator in thermal contact with the icemaking mold to directly cool the icemaking mold.