Ice maker harvest control
First Claim
1. In an ice making machine having a freezing mold with cells and an open face, a pump for delivering a water stream into said mold, a refrigeration system for chilling said mold, and an electrical control for stopping said pump and causing said refrigeration system to heat rather than chill said mold, an ice harvest sensor comprising, in combination, an electrically conducting probe mounted on a non-electrically conducting support with the probe being slightly spaced from said mold open face and being free to move well clear of the mold face, means for adjusting the spacing of said probe from said open face, means for electrically coupling said control with the water stream delivered into said mold, and means for coupling said control with said probe so that contact between the probe and the water stream delivered into the mold completes a circuit causing said control to stop said pump and heat the mold so as to harvest ice.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vertical ice cube mold chilled by a refrigeration system has a water stream pumped into its open vertical face to build up ice cubes in the mold. A probe hangs over the open mold face at an adjustable spacing. When the mold fills with ice and the water stream contacts the probe, an electrical circuit is completed to cause a control to stop the water pump and heat the mold, thus harvesting the ice cubes. A timer restarts the icemaking cycle in case ice is not delivered for some reason. Casual water contact with the probe is prevented from tripping the control through the use of a simple integrator device.
31 Citations
4 Claims
- 1. In an ice making machine having a freezing mold with cells and an open face, a pump for delivering a water stream into said mold, a refrigeration system for chilling said mold, and an electrical control for stopping said pump and causing said refrigeration system to heat rather than chill said mold, an ice harvest sensor comprising, in combination, an electrically conducting probe mounted on a non-electrically conducting support with the probe being slightly spaced from said mold open face and being free to move well clear of the mold face, means for adjusting the spacing of said probe from said open face, means for electrically coupling said control with the water stream delivered into said mold, and means for coupling said control with said probe so that contact between the probe and the water stream delivered into the mold completes a circuit causing said control to stop said pump and heat the mold so as to harvest ice.
Specification