Refrigeration – Means producing shaped or modified congealed product – With product receiving and storing means
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-15
2001-01-23
Tapolcai, William E. (Department: 3744)
Refrigeration
Means producing shaped or modified congealed product
With product receiving and storing means
C062S353000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06176099
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ice making assembly for use in a refrigerator, and in particular relates to the use of a baffle positioned in the air flow cooling stream to improve the ice making process.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the modem domestic refrigerators it is common to provide an ice making assembly in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator. The ice making assembly includes a water reservoir into which water is supplied. The water is then chilled to form ice pieces. The ice pieces or cubes, are then moved to a storage bin where they are held until the user accesses ice from the refrigerators through an ice dispenser typically mounted through the door of the refrigerator.
When a user obtains ice through the ice dispenser in the door of the refrigerator, a button is usually pressed which controls the delivery of the ice from the storage bin to the user. Also, this action controls the making of ice in the ice making assembly. When a user requires substantial amounts of ice from the refrigerators, the ice storage bin may not hold sufficient amounts of ice to meet the demands of the user. Accordingly, the user has to wait for the ice making device to make more ice. The time required to make ice is a dependent upon the temperature of water being filled into the ice making reservoir and of the temperature of the cooling air passing over the ice in the of the water reservoir. Currently, it may take as long as 3 hours for the ice maker to form ice pieces for delivery to a user.
Currently, in many ice making assembly, air flow is through the ice making machine above the water reservoir. Consequently, the heat exchange between the air flow and water is limited to the passage of air over the water because the air passes directly out of the ice forming chamber. In this type of ice making assembly, there is a need to improve the cooling or freezing efficiency of the ice maker without increasing the energy consumed by it the ice maker.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to improve the efficiency of the ice making process within an ice making assembly, the present invention incorporates the use of an air flow deflection baffle located within the ice making assembly. The air flow baffle is positioned across an outlet opening in the ice forming chamber. The baffle acts to redirect air normally passing out of the outlet opening back into the ice forming chamber and over the water seated in the water reservoir so as to increase the heat exchange between the water being chilled and the coolant air flow within the ice forming chamber. The use of the this air flow baffle results in increasing the speed at which the ice pieces are formed without requiring additional energy. In particular, where the ice normally takes about 3 hours to be formed, the process now takes about 25% less time with the use of the baffle of the present invention.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention there is provided an ice making assembly for use in a refrigerator having a freezer compartment. The ice making assembly has an ice forming chamber positioned in the freezer compartment adjacent a rear wall of the freezer compartment. The ice forming chamber has a water reservoir for receiving water, at least one air inlet passage and an outlet opening for permitting cool air flow to pass through the ice forming chamber, over the water reservoir, chilling the water into ice pieces, and out the outlet opening. The ice forming chamber has an ice displacing device for displacing the ice pieces from the water reservoir and moving the ice pieces out of the ice forming chamber through the outlet opening. The ice making assembly has an ice storage bin positioned in the freezer compartment forward of and adjacent to the ice forming chamber. The ice storage bin has a first end in air flow communication with the outlet opening so that the air flow and ice pieces passing through the outlet opening pass into the ice storage bin. The ice storage bin has a discharge opening at a second end opposite the first end for discharging ice pieces from the ice making assembly. The ice storage bin has a transport device for moving ice pieces from the first end to the second end and out the discharge opening. The ice making assembly has the improvement of a baffle positioned across the ice forming chamber at the outlet opening and extending downward to partially close the outlet opening and to redirect a portion of the air flow normally exiting the outlet opening back into the ice forming chamber and over the water reservoir.
Advantage is found by using the baffle because the baffle redirects air flow back over the water to be chilled thereby increasing the heat exchange between the air flow and water without increasing the energy requirements to effect this heat exchange. The improved heat transfer quickens the freezing of the water into ice pieces or cubes.
In the preferred embodiment, the baffle is mounted to and extends downwardly from a top wall of the freezer compartment. Alternatively, the baffle extends downwardly from the ice making assembly when the ice making assembly has a top wall. The baffle is preferably slanted from the vertical back towards the outlet opening of the ice making chamber to increase the redirection of the air flow back into the ice forming bin and over the water to be chilled. The baffle is preferably slanted by an angle of about 5° to redirect the air flow and still maintain an effective partial closure for the air outlet opening.
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Camco Inc.
Tapolcai William E.
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