US 9,316,427 B2Granted

Direct contact icemaker with chambered air cooling system

AssigneeWhirlpool Corporation

InventorsLuiz Antonio D. Lopes, Lorraine J. Westlake

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Abstract

A refrigerator includes a direct contact ice making system in conjunction with a circulating liquid coolant. The ice making system includes a coolant loop and an air flow chamber on a portion of the loop. The air flow chamber includes channels formed by offset protrusions, which direct air back and forth over the portion of the cooling loop to cool ambient air within the ice making system. The cooled air is then directed by a fan and supply duct to an ice storage container to prevent ice cubes in the container from melting. Once the air has warmed in the container, it is directed by a return duct to the beginning of the air flow chamber to begin the process over once again, thus creating a recirculation of air within a refrigerator system to cool an ice storage container.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A refrigerator, comprising:

a refrigerator cabinet;
a fresh food compartment disposed within the refrigerator cabinet;
at least one door providing access to the fresh food compartment;
a direct contact ice maker in the refrigerator cabinet for making ice comprising an ice mold and a water supply;
a cooling loop having a portion in contact with the ice mold, the cooling loop comprising a conduit for fluidly transporting a cooling medium;
an ice storage container adjacent to the ice maker;
and
an airflow chamber positioned on the cooling loop adjacent the ice maker along the same path of the cooling medium, the airflow chamber including a channel for air to pass through in contact with the cooling loop to cool the air via the cooling medium as the cooling medium travels towards the ice maker and before the cooling medium reaches the ice maker, and a fan assembly operably associated with the airflow chamber such that the fan assembly directs cooled air via a supply duct from the airflow chamber to the ice storage container;
and a return duct extending from the ice storage container to a first end of the airflow chamber to return air from the ice storage container to the airflow chamber
wherein the medium of the conduit of the cooling loop is used to cool the air in the airflow chamber and to contact the ice mold in a single pass through cooling loop;
wherein the cooling medium passes from at least a portion of the airflow chamber to the ice mold;
and
wherein the channel of the airflow chamber includes a plurality of offset protrusions to pass the air over a larger surface area of the cooling loop to remove heat from the air.

10 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.