Ice making control method for improving quality of sprayed ice

Abstract

According to the ice making control method for improving the quality of the sprayed ice, a corresponding ice making system comprises a cold water tank, a spraying evaporator, a spraying pipe and a speed-adjustable water pump, and a plurality of fan-shaped nozzles installed on the spraying pipe correspond to each row of ice cube trays on the lower side of the spraying evaporator respectively; the ice-making method comprises the following steps: S1, all ice-making grids in the spraying evaporator operate to an ice-making state; s2, a speed-adjustable water pump pumps water in a cold water tank to a spraying pipe; s3, reducing the temperature of the inner wall of the ice cube tray to an icing temperature; in the step S4 to the step S6, the total duration t of ice making is set, the ice making is divided into three stages according to the total duration, the total flow speed of the speed-adjustable water pump is gradually reduced in sequence, water in the spraying pipe is sprayed into each row of ice making grids through each fan-shaped nozzle in a high flow speed mode, a middle-low flow speed mode and a low flow speed mode, and high-transparency ice blocks are formed through rapid cooling and solidification; and S7, entering an ice unloading working mode, and enabling the ice cubes to fall off from the ice cube trays to complete the preparation of the ice cubes.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to ice making technology, and in particular to an ice making control method for improving the quality of spray ice. Background Art

[0002] Currently, an ice maker is a refrigeration device that passes water through an evaporator, where it is cooled by the refrigerant in the refrigeration system to produce ice. There are several methods for making ice using an evaporator: (1) immersion, where a water tank is filled with water; (2) spraying, where water is sprayed through a nozzle; (3) a stream, where water flows downward in a sloping area; and ice cube trays, where water is cooled. Existing ice makers generally use a pouring type, where water flows downward. This means that a water injection head is located above an ice plate with multiple grooves, and the water injection head injects water toward the ice plate. The bottom of the ice plate has a refrigeration device for quickly freezing the water in the grooves into ice.

[0003] In the actual ice making process, a small spray ice maker and its ice making method provided by patent publication number "CN217464992U" adopts a spraying ice making method, using a water pump to continuously spray water upward on the evaporator. Since the flowing water can reduce the air content, the ice made is more transparent and hard, which is incomparable to the ice cubes of immersion, flow and extrusion ice makers. Therefore, it is widely used for alcoholic or beverage drinks. However, the spray ice maker still has the following problems in the specific ice making process: (1) When the nozzle flow rate is fast, such as Figure 1 As shown, the ice produced will be more transparent. At the same time, due to the fast flow rate, the impact on each ice making grid 1' on the evaporator is large, which can easily cause a dent in the middle of the ice cube and affect the quality of the ice cube; (2) When the nozzle flow rate is slow, the impact on each ice making grid on the evaporator is small, and water droplets are easy to adhere to each ice making grid and freeze into ice. This will shorten the ice making time, but the transparency of the ice cube will be slightly worse.

[0004] Therefore, the existing spray ice making methods cannot meet the ideal ice making requirements. Either the shape of the ice cubes is defective, or the transparency of the ice cubes does not meet the usage requirements. There is an urgent need to improve the existing ice making control mode to achieve the ideal ice making requirements. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present invention provides an ice making control method for improving the quality of spray ice. By controlling the spray flow rate in stages during the ice making process, the transparency requirements of the ice cubes can be met and the ice making efficiency can be improved. At the same time, defects in the ice cubes can be avoided, and the consistency and quality of the ice cubes can be effectively improved.

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object of the invention, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: The application discloses an ice-making control method for improving ice spraying quality, and a corresponding ice-making system. S1, all ice-making grids in the spraying evaporator are operated to the ice-making state; S2, the adjustable speed water pump draws water in the cold water tank to the spraying pipe; S3, ice-making starts to work, and the refrigerant flows into the spraying evaporator, so that the inner wall temperature of the ice-making grid is reduced to the ice-forming temperature; S4, the total time length t of ice-making is set, and the total time length t is sequentially divided into three stages connected in sequence from the start of ice-making, in the first stage of the total time length, the adjustable speed water pump sprays water in the spraying pipe through each sector-shaped nozzle into each column of ice-making grids in a high flow rate mode according to 95% to 100% of the total flow rate, and high-transparency ice blocks are quickly cooled and solidified in each ice-making grid; S5, after the ice blocks are frozen to a certain thickness in each ice-making grid, in the second stage of the total time length, the adjustable speed water pump sprays water in the spraying pipe through each sector-shaped nozzle into each column of ice-making grids in a medium-low flow rate mode according to 90% to 95% of the total flow rate, so that the ice-making time is shortened and the ice-making efficiency is improved, and higher-transparency ice blocks are quickly cooled and solidified in each ice-making grid; S6, when the ice blocks are to be finally shaped in each ice-making grid, in the third stage of the total time length, the adjustable speed water pump sprays water in the spraying pipe through each sector-shaped nozzle into each column of ice-making grids in a low flow rate mode according to 85% to 90% of the total flow rate, so that the impact on the ice blocks is reduced, and ice blocks which are free from intermediate depressions and are more full as a whole are quickly cooled and solidified in each ice-making grid; S7, after the ice-making stage of the total time length t, the ice-making grid enters an ice-removing working mode, high-temperature liquid or gas generated when the compressor works is input into the evaporator, so that the inner wall temperature of the ice-making grid is increased to the ice-melting temperature, the evaporator is heated to remove ice, and the ice blocks are removed from the ice-making grid, and the preparation of the ice blocks is completed.

[0007] Further, in step S4, the first stage accounts for 30% to 50% of the total time length. Further, in step S4, the first stage accounts for 30% to 50% of the total time length.

[0008] Further, in step S4, the first stage accounts for 30% to 50% of the total time length. Time, the total flow rate of the adjustable speed water pump is preferably set at 95% of the total flow rate.

[0009] Furthermore, in step S5, the second phase accounts for the total time time.

[0010] Furthermore, in step S5, the second phase accounts for the total time Time, the total flow rate of the adjustable speed water pump is preferably set at 90% of the total flow rate.

[0011] Furthermore, in step S6, the third phase accounts for the total time time.

[0012] Furthermore, in step S6, the third phase accounts for the total time Time, the total flow rate of the adjustable speed water pump is preferably set at 85% of the total flow rate.

[0013] The beneficial effects of the present invention are: Compared with the existing technology, the ice produced will be more transparent due to the faster flow rate of the nozzle. At the same time, due to the fast flow rate, the impact on the ice making grid is greater, and water droplets are not easy to adhere to the ice making grid. In the same time, the ice cubes produced will have a depression in the middle, and the weight of the ice cubes will also become lighter, affecting the quality of the ice cubes. The nozzle flow rate is slower, the impact on the ice making grid is small, and water droplets are easy to adhere to the ice making grid and freeze into ice, which will shorten the ice making time, but the transparency of the ice cubes is poor, the depression in the center of the ice cubes is smaller, and the weight will be heavier.

[0014] In response to the above problems, in order to take into account both the transparency and fullness of the ice cubes, in this embodiment, the total ice-making time t is divided into three stages, and the total flow rate of the adjustable-speed water pump is controlled to decrease in sequence. The water in the spray pipe is sprayed into each column of ice-making grids through each fan-shaped nozzle in high flow rate, medium-low flow rate and low flow rate modes respectively. In the early stage of ice-making, the water is quickly cooled and solidified to form highly transparent ice cubes, ensuring that the ice cubes at the bottom of the ice grid have high transparency; in the later stage of ice-making, as the amount of cold transferred to the evaporator by the ice cubes decreases, the use of low-flow-rate spraying reduces the impact on the ice cubes. Not only does it not shorten the ice-making time, but it also effectively maintains the ice-making efficiency and can improve the depression in the middle of the ice cubes, making the ice cubes fuller, thereby improving the quality of the ice cubes.

[0015] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of ice cubes generated in an ice making tray in the prior art; Figure 2 It is an enlarged schematic diagram of the partial cross-sectional structure when ice cubes are generated in the ice making tray of the present invention; Figure 3It is a schematic diagram of the longitudinal cross-section structure of the corresponding ice making machine in the present invention; Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the longitudinal cross-sectional structure of the corresponding ice making machine in the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention more clear, the technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the embodiments described are only some of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of them. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0018] References herein to "embodiments" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of this phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor does it constitute an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive of other embodiments. It is understood, both explicitly and implicitly, by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

[0019] An ice making control method for improving the quality of spray ice, such as Figures 2 to 4 As shown, the corresponding ice-making system includes a cold water tank 1, a spray evaporator 2 for making ice, a spray pipe 3 and an adjustable-speed water pump 4. The adjustable-speed water pump 4 is installed in the cold water tank 1, the spray pipe 3 is arranged on the lower side of the spray evaporator 2, and a plurality of fan-shaped nozzles 5 installed on the spray pipe 3 respectively correspond to each column of ice-making grids 6 on the lower side of the spray evaporator 2. The adjustable-speed water pump 4 is connected to the spray pipe 3 through a pipeline; the adjustable-speed water pump 4 draws ice water from the cold water tank 1 into the spray pipe 3, and each fan-shaped nozzle 5 sprays ice water into each column of ice-making grids 6 arranged in an inverted manner; the ice-making method includes the following steps: S1, all ice making grids 6 in the spray evaporator 2 are operated to the ice making state; S2, the adjustable speed water pump 4 pumps the water in the cold water tank 1 to the spray pipe 3; S3, ice making starts, the refrigerant flows into the spray evaporator 2, so that the inner wall temperature of the ice making grid 6 drops to the freezing temperature; S4, set the total ice making time t, starting from the start of ice making, the total time t is divided into three consecutive stages. In the first stage, the adjustable-speed water pump 4 sprays the water in the spray pipe 3 through each fan-shaped nozzle 5 into each row of ice-making grids 6 at a high flow rate of 95% to 100% of the total flow rate, and the water is quickly cooled and solidified in each ice-making grid 6 to form ice cubes with high transparency. In this embodiment, the total flow rate of the adjustable-speed water pump 4 is preferably set to 95% of the total flow rate.

[0020] S5, after the ice cubes in each ice-making grid 6 freeze to a certain thickness, in the second phase of the total time length , the adjustable speed water pump 4 sprays the water in the spray pipe 3 through each sector-shaped nozzle 5 into each column of ice-making grid 6 at a low flow rate mode according to 90%-95% of the total flow rate, shortens the ice-making time and improves the ice-making efficiency, and quickly cools and solidifies to form ice cubes with higher transparency in each ice-making grid 6; in this embodiment, the total flow rate of the adjustable speed water pump 4 is preferably set according to 90% of the total flow rate.

[0021] S6, when the ice cubes in each ice-making grid 6 are about to be finally shaped, in the third phase of the total time length , the adjustable speed water pump 4 sprays the water in the spray pipe 3 through each sector-shaped nozzle 5 into each column of ice-making grid 6 at a low flow rate mode according to 85%-90% of the total flow rate, reduces the impact on the ice cubes, and quickly cools and solidifies to form ice cubes that avoid intermediate depression and are more full in each ice-making grid 6; in this embodiment, the total flow rate of the adjustable speed water pump 4 is preferably set according to 85% of the total flow rate.

[0022] S7, after the ice-making phase of the total time length t, the ice-making grid 6 enters the ice-removing working mode, the high-temperature liquid or gas generated by the compressor when the compressor is working is input into the evaporator, so that the temperature of the inner wall of the ice-making grid 6 rises to the ice-melting temperature, the evaporator is heated to remove ice, and the ice cubes are removed from the ice-making grid 6, completing the preparation of the ice cubes.

[0023] In this embodiment, the total time length t of ice-making is evenly divided into three phases, and the total flow rate of the adjustable speed water pump 4 is sequentially decreased in the three phases, and the water in the spray pipe 3 is sprayed through each sector-shaped nozzle 5 into each column of ice-making grid 6 at a high flow rate mode, a medium-low flow rate mode and a low flow rate mode, respectively, to quickly cool and solidify to form ice cubes with high transparency in the early stage of ice-making, and to reduce the impact on the ice cubes by using low flow rate spraying in the late stage of ice-making, effectively maintaining the ice cube generation efficiency while avoiding the generation of intermediate depression of the ice cubes, making the ice cubes more full, thereby improving the quality of the ice cubes.

[0024] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined arbitrarily, and to make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described, however, as long as the combinations of the technical features do not exist contradictory, they should be considered as the scope of the present disclosure.

[0025] The above embodiments are only preferred embodiments of the present application, and cannot be used to limit the scope of protection of the present application, and any non-essential changes and substitutions made by those skilled in the art on the basis of the present application shall be within the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. An ice making control method for improving the quality of spray ice, characterized in that: The corresponding ice-making system includes a cold water tank, a spray evaporator for making ice, a spray pipe and an adjustable-speed water pump. The adjustable-speed water pump is installed in the cold water tank. The spray pipe is arranged on the lower side of the spray evaporator, and multiple fan-shaped nozzles installed on the spray pipe correspond to each column of ice-making grids on the lower side of the spray evaporator. The adjustable-speed water pump is connected to the spray pipe through a pipeline. The adjustable-speed water pump draws ice water from the cold water tank into the spray pipe, and each fan-shaped nozzle sprays ice water into each column of ice-making grids arranged in an inverted manner. The ice-making method includes the following steps: S1. All ice-making grids in the spray evaporator are operated to the ice-making state; S2, the adjustable speed water pump pumps the water in the cold water tank to the spray pipe; S3: Ice making starts, and the refrigerant flows into the spray evaporator, causing the inner wall temperature of the ice making grid to drop to the freezing temperature; S4. Setting a total ice-making time t, which is calculated from the start of ice making, and is divided into three consecutive stages. In the first stage of the total time, the adjustable-speed water pump sprays water in the spray pipe through each fan-shaped nozzle at a high flow rate of 95% to 100% of the total flow rate to each row of ice-making grids, rapidly cooling and solidifying the water in each ice-making grid to form ice cubes with high transparency. S5. After the ice cubes have frozen to a certain thickness in each ice making grid, in the second stage of the total time, the adjustable speed water pump sprays the water in the spray pipe through each fan-shaped nozzle at a medium-low flow rate at 90% to 95% of the total flow rate to each row of ice making grids, thereby shortening the ice making time and improving the ice making efficiency. The ice cubes are quickly cooled and solidified in each ice making grid to form ice cubes with higher transparency. S6. When the ice cubes are about to be finally formed in each ice cube tray, in the third stage of the total time, the adjustable speed water pump sprays the water in the spray pipe through each fan-shaped nozzle at a low flow rate of 85% to 90% of the total flow rate to each row of ice cube trays, thereby reducing the impact on the ice cubes and rapidly cooling and solidifying them in each ice cube tray to avoid concavity in the middle and form fuller ice cubes. S7. After the ice making stage of a total time t, the ice tray enters the ice-removing mode. The high-temperature liquid or gas generated by the compressor is input into the evaporator, so that the inner wall temperature of the ice tray rises to the ice-melting temperature. The evaporator heats up to remove ice, causing the ice cubes to fall off the ice tray, completing the ice preparation.

2. The ice making control method for improving the quality of spray ice according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S4, the first phase accounts for the total time time.

3. The ice making control method for improving the quality of spray ice according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S4, the first phase accounts for the total time Time, the total flow rate of the adjustable speed water pump is preferably set at 95% of the total flow rate.

4. The ice making control method for improving the quality of spray ice according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S5, the second phase accounts for the total time time.

5. The ice making control method for improving the quality of spray ice according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S5, the second phase accounts for the total time Time, the total flow rate of the adjustable speed water pump is preferably set at 90% of the total flow rate.

6. The ice making control method for improving the quality of spray ice according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S6, the third phase accounts for the total time time.

7. The ice making control method for improving the quality of spray ice according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S6, the third phase accounts for the total time Time, the total flow rate of the adjustable speed water pump is preferably set at 85% of the total flow rate.

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