Methods and apparatuses for controlling the harvest cycle of an ice maker using a harvest sensor and a temperature sensor
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ice makers lack reliable methods to determine if all ice has been harvested from the freeze plate, leading to potential flooding, system wear, and 'freeze-up' issues due to incomplete harvest cycles, especially in high water hardness areas and winter months.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating both a harvest sensor and a temperature sensor to confirm when all ice has been harvested, with the temperature sensor providing additional feedback to the controller to ensure accurate termination of the harvest cycle and prevent system damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If only a harvest sensor is used to detect ice harvest completion, then the device complexity is low, but the reliability of harvest detection is insufficient leading to incomplete harvest cycles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dual-sensor feedback system where both a harvest sensor and a temperature sensor provide feedback signals to the controller. The temperature sensor monitors the freeze plate temperature and provides additional confirmation that ice has completely melted and detached, creating a more reliable feedback mechanism for harvest completion detection than a single harvest sensor alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The temperature sensor performs preliminary detection of freeze plate temperature changes before the harvest cycle officially ends. By monitoring temperature rise that indicates ice melting and detachment, the system can prepare for harvest termination in advance, ensuring complete ice removal before the next cycle begins.
2Productivity
If the harvest cycle is terminated early based on harvest sensor alone, then productivity increases, but harmful factors increase due to incomplete harvest causing freeze-up issues
Solution Approach 1:
The dual-sensor feedback system ensures that harvest termination is confirmed by both harvest sensor activation and temperature sensor verification. This双重 confirmation prevents premature termination that would leave ice remnants causing freeze-up, while still enabling timely termination to maintain productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The temperature sensor provides a cushioning verification mechanism that confirms complete ice detachment before harvest termination. This preliminary temperature check acts as a protective measure against the harmful effects of incomplete harvest, such as freeze-up and flooding, while maintaining efficient cycle timing.
3Reliability
If the harvest cycle is extended to ensure complete ice removal, then reliability improves, but productivity decreases due to longer cycle times
Solution Approach 1:
The temperature sensor provides real-time feedback on freeze plate temperature changes that indicate ice melting progress. This allows the controller to accurately determine when complete harvest has occurred, terminating the cycle at the optimal moment rather than using fixed extended timing, thus maintaining both reliability and productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The harvest cycle timing becomes dynamic rather than fixed. The controller continuously monitors temperature sensor data and adjusts the harvest termination point based on actual ice melting conditions, allowing the cycle to end as soon as complete harvest is confirmed, optimizing both reliability and production rate.
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
Enhances the reliability of the ice making process by preventing unwanted freeze-ups, reducing system wear, and ensuring complete ice harvest, thereby minimizing the risk of flooding and maintaining the ice maker's operational integrity.
Implementation Method 1
a temperature sensor for measuring a temperature that indicates that all of the ice has been harvested from the freeze plate
Implementation Method 2
a hot gas valve which is adapted to be opened during a harvest cycle to direct warm refrigerant from the compressor to the evaporator through a hot gas bypass line
Implementation Method 3
The refrigeration system uses a refrigerant capable of transitioning between liquid and gaseous states
Implementation Method 4
a compressor for pressurizing the refrigerant
Implementation Method 5
a condenser for receiving the pressurized refrigerant and condensing the refrigerant into a substantially liquid refrigerant
Implementation Method 6
an evaporator for receiving the low pressure liquid refrigerant from the thermal expansion valve and discharging low pressure, substantially gaseous refrigerant
Data Source
AI summary
An ice maker for forming ice having a refrigeration system, a water system and a controller. The refrigeration system includes a freeze plate in which ice is formed and a hot gas valve for harvesting the ice therefrom. A harvest sensor is triggered when at least a portion of the ice is harvested from the freeze plate and at least one temperature sensor measures a temperature that indicates that all of the ice has been harvested from the freeze plate. The temperature sensors may include a temperature sensor for measuring the refrigerant temperature at the evaporator outlet, the refrigerant temperature at the evaporator inlet, and/or the temperature of the freeze plate. The controller closes the hot gas valve in response from the triggering of the harvest sensor and the temperature measured by the temperature sensor(s) indicating that all of the ice has been harvested from the freeze plate.