Ice cube maker
OwnerJohn Delisle, Wayne Delisle +1inventors
InventorsJohn Delisle, Wayne Delisle, Alfred Delisle
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In a commercial ice cube making device, an accelerated freezing and harvest cycle is effected by employing parallel adjacent rectangular channel ways which are individually directly connected to intake and outflow manifolds, thereby producing even absorption and dispersion. In addition, melting of the cubes during the short harvest cycle takes place on one side only thereby reducing the problem of stored ice cubes freezing and sticking together. The ice cubes are made in novel nylon ice trays with combed partitions which allow ice to form from the vertically disposed evaporator outwards on both of its sides. The device advantageously produces large quantities of symmetrical non-sticky ice cubes more quickly and efficiently than the devices known in the prior art.
Claims23
An ice cube making apparatus comprising:
- an evaporator, including at least one freezing surface and a plurality of rectangular channel ways for transporting refrigerating fluid, said channel ways being parallel and contiguous, and being arranged such that substantially the entire area of said freezing surface is in contact with one side of said channel ways;
- said channel ways being connected to a disperser and at least one outlet manifold;
- supply means for delivering cooled refrigerant fluid to said system of channel ways during a freezing cycle to effect rapid cooling of the freezing surface;
- ice forming means defining a series of compartments for the formation of individual ice cubes, said compartments being arranged such that when in operation, each compartment is bounded by an open side being adjacent said freezing surface, a closed wall bearing a central aperture opposite to said open side, two solid walls lying in the vertical plane, and an upper and a lower slotted side in the horizontal plane, said slotted sides allowing water to pass through said compartment;
- means for cascading water in a sheeting action directly against said freezing surface, said water cascading progressively outwards of said freezing surface as ice forms;
- means adapted to deliver refrigerating fluid in the hot gaseous state in a harvest cycle to effect rapid warming of the freezing surface, thereby melting the ice surface in contact with said freezing surface, and permitting said ice forming means to be released;
- a means to move said ice forming means away from said freezing surface during the harvest cycle;
- an ejector means to remove ice cubes from said ice forming means;
- and
- means to return said ice forming means to an operative position at the commencement of the freezing cycle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.