Automatic icemaker including means for minimizing the supercooling effect
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorLeopold Loeb
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A batch type automatic icemaker adapted for installation in the freezer compartment of a refrigerator includes a means for retaining a piece of ice throughout an entire icemaker operating cycle. The retained ice piece is in communication with at least one of the icemaker mold ice-forming cavities and reliably provides a seed ice crystal to initiate freezing of the water in the ice-forming cavities with a minimum of supercooling.
Claims7
In a batch type automatic icemaker adapted for installation in the freezer compartment of a refrigerator and including a mold having an ice-forming cavity, means for filling said ice-forming cavity with water, control means, and means responsive to the control means for removing ice pieces from said ice-forming cavity, the combination with said ice-forming cavity of:
- means for retaining a piece of ice in communication with said ice-forming cavity throughout each entire icemaker operating cycle;
- whereby the retained ice piece reliably provides a seed ice crystal during the next operating cycle, to initiate freezing of water in said ice-forming cavity with a minimum of supercooling.
In a batch type automatic icemaker adapted for installation in the freezer compartment of a refrigerator and including a mold having an ice-forming cavity, means for filling the ice-forming cavity with water, and means responsive to the control means for removing ice pieces from the ice-forming cavity, the improvement comprising:
- an ice-retaining cavity in communication with the ice-forming cavity, said ice-retaining cavity being constructed to retain an ice piece through the ice-ejection portion of one icemaker operating cycle and through the water-fill portion of the succeeding icemaker operating cycle,
- whereby the retained ice piece reliably provides a seed ice crystal to initiate freezing of water in the ice-forming cavity during the succeeding operating cycle with a minimum of supercooling.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.