Ice making method and machine with PETD harvest
First Claim
1. An ice making machine comprising:
- an evaporator assembly comprising an array of ice forming surfaces;
a water supply, a refrigerant supply and an electrical energy source; and
a controller that during a freeze mode operates said water supply and said refrigerant supply to form ice on said ice forming surfaces and during a harvest mode operates said electrical energy source to apply electrical pulse energy to said evaporator assembly to melt an interfacial layer of said ice such that it is freed from said surfaces.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An ice making has an ice making mold with a plurality of ice making cells opened at the bottom, a water tank, water spray nozzles adapted for spraying the water contained in the water tank towards the ice making cells, an ice bin adapted for storage of ice cubes formed in and harvested from the ice making cells, and an inclined plate having water spray openings and recovery openings and mounted between the ice making mold and the water spray nozzles. The ice making cells are each attached to a serpentine evaporator tube, which is cooled by a refrigeration system and also heated by way of electrical pulse energy. The electrical pulse heating of the ice making cells allows ice to be quickly and efficiently harvested from the cells.
-
Citations
14 Claims
-
1. An ice making machine comprising:
-
an evaporator assembly comprising an array of ice forming surfaces;
a water supply, a refrigerant supply and an electrical energy source; and
a controller that during a freeze mode operates said water supply and said refrigerant supply to form ice on said ice forming surfaces and during a harvest mode operates said electrical energy source to apply electrical pulse energy to said evaporator assembly to melt an interfacial layer of said ice such that it is freed from said surfaces. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A method of making ice with an ice making machine that comprises an evaporator assembly comprising an array of ice forming surfaces, a water supply, a refrigerant supply and an electrical energy source, said method comprising:
-
during a freeze mode operating said water supply and said refrigerant supply to form ice on said ice forming surfaces; and
during a harvest mode operating said electrical energy source to apply electrical pulse energy to said evaporator assembly to melt an interfacial layer of said ice such that it is freed from said surfaces. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
-
Specification