Direct cooling ice maker with cooling system
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional refrigeration appliances with bottom-mount configurations face impracticalities in placing ice makers within the freezer compartment due to the need for users to retrieve ice from a low location, and integrating ice makers in the fresh food compartment above freezing temperatures poses challenges in ice making and storage.
Innovation Solution
A refrigeration system with an ice maker evaporator in direct contact with an ice tray, utilizing a series cooling system including a fresh food evaporator, an ice box evaporator tube, and a freezer evaporator, controlled by a stepper valve to efficiently cool the ice mold below freezing temperatures within the fresh food compartment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If the ice maker is placed in the freezer compartment of a bottom-mount refrigerator, then ice can be made at sub-freezing temperatures, but users must retrieve ice from a low location close to the floor
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is segmented into multiple evaporators (freezer evaporator, fresh food evaporator, ice maker evaporator) that can operate independently. This allows the ice maker to be located in the fresh food compartment while receiving dedicated cooling from its own evaporator, separating the ice making function from the freezer compartment location constraints
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediate ice maker evaporator is introduced between the freezer evaporator and fresh food evaporator in the refrigerant circuit. This intermediary component provides direct cooling to the ice mold in the fresh food compartment, enabling ice production at convenient locations without requiring the ice maker to be in the freezer compartment
2Ease of operation
If the ice maker is placed in the fresh food compartment, then ice dispensing becomes convenient, but maintaining sub-freezing temperatures for ice making becomes challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system provides localized sub-freezing temperatures only at the ice maker evaporator and ice mold, while the rest of the fresh food compartment remains above freezing. The ice maker evaporator is positioned in direct contact with or adjacent to the ice mold, creating a localized cold zone that enables ice making without freezing the entire fresh food compartment
Solution Approach 2:
The ice maker evaporator acts as an intermediary cooling device that bridges the temperature gap between the freezer compartment (sub-freezing) and the fresh food compartment (above freezing). It transfers cooling capacity specifically to the ice mold, enabling ice production in the fresh food compartment without compromising the overall temperature distribution
3Ease of operation
If a conveyor system is added to transport ice from the freezer to the fresh food compartment, then ice dispensing becomes convenient, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ice making function is extracted from the freezer compartment and placed in the fresh food compartment with its own dedicated evaporator. This eliminates the need for conveyor systems or other complex transport mechanisms, as ice is produced directly at the point of use
Solution Approach 2:
The refrigeration system is segmented into independent cooling zones with dedicated evaporators. The ice maker evaporator in the fresh food compartment operates independently from the freezer evaporator, allowing ice production without mechanical transport systems
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables efficient ice production and storage within the fresh food compartment, maintaining temperatures below freezing without the need for elaborate conveyor systems and ensuring convenient ice dispensing, addressing the impracticalities of bottom-mount configurations.
Implementation Method 1
An ice maker evaporator cools the ice mold to a temperature below 0° C. via thermal conduction
Implementation Method 2
A cooling system having a fresh food evaporator, an ice box evaporator tube and a freezer evaporator all disposed in series with the ice maker evaporator
Data Source
AI summary
A refrigeration appliance includes a fresh food compartment for storing food items in a refrigerated environment having a target temperature above 0° C., a freezer compartment for storing food items in a sub-freezing environment having a target temperature below 0° C., a system evaporator for providing a cooling effect to at least one of the fresh food compartment and the freezer compartment, and an ice maker disposed within the fresh food compartment for freezing water into ice pieces. The ice maker includes an ice mold with an upper surface comprising a plurality of cavities formed therein for the ice pieces, a heater disposed on the ice mold and an ice maker refrigerant tube abutting at least one lateral side surface of the ice mold and cooling the ice mold to a temperature below 0° C. via thermal conduction.