U.S. patent application number 13/192587 was filed with the patent office on 2012-02-02 for ice making machine.
This patent application is currently assigned to LG ELECTRONICS INC.. Invention is credited to Donghoon LEE, Wookyong LEE, Changho SEO.
Application Number | 20120024000 13/192587 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44674163 |
Filed Date | 2012-02-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120024000 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
LEE; Donghoon ; et
al. |
February 2, 2012 |
ICE MAKING MACHINE
Abstract
Provided is a device for cooling a condenser of an ice making
machine. Water and air are simultaneously supplied to the surface
of the condenser, and heat of vaporization absorbed during
evaporation of the water is used, thereby maximizing cooling
performance on the condenser just with a small amount of water. In
addition, power consumption for operating a blower fan, and a noise
from the blower fan can be decreased. In addition, since cool water
generated from ice stored in a storing compartment is sprinkled to
the condenser, the condenser can be more effectively cooled. In
addition, since meltwater is used, water consumption for cooling
can be significantly reduced.
Inventors: |
LEE; Donghoon; (Seoul,
KR) ; LEE; Wookyong; (Seoul, KR) ; SEO;
Changho; (Seoul, KR) |
Assignee: |
LG ELECTRONICS INC.
Seoul
KR
|
Family ID: |
44674163 |
Appl. No.: |
13/192587 |
Filed: |
July 28, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
62/344 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25D 23/003 20130101;
F25C 1/00 20130101; F25C 2700/04 20130101; F25B 2339/041
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
62/344 |
International
Class: |
F25C 5/18 20060101
F25C005/18 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 28, 2010 |
KR |
10-2010-0073043 |
Jan 21, 2011 |
KR |
10-2011-0006520 |
Claims
1. An ice making machine comprising: an ice making compartment
accommodating an ice making unit for making ice, and storing the
ice; a machine compartment disposed under the ice making
compartment, and accommodating a cool air generating unit including
a compressor, a condenser, and a blower fan; a water collecting
plate disposed between the ice making compartment and the machine
compartment, and collecting water generated from ice melted in the
ice making compartment; a sprinkling barrel disposed over the
condenser, and communicating with the water collecting plate to
sprinkle cooling water to the condenser; and the blower fan
forcibly moving air for cooling the condenser.
2. The ice making machine according to claim 1, wherein the water
collecting plate is provided with a discharge tube for discharging
water collected in the sprinkling barrel, and the discharge tube is
provided with a valve for selectively discharging the collected
water.
3. The ice making machine according to claim 2, wherein the
sprinkling barrel is provided with a level sensor that measures a
level of water in the sprinkling barrel to open and close the
valve.
4. The ice making machine according to claim 1, wherein a water
collecting barrel is disposed under the condenser to store water
flowing along an outer surface of the condenser.
5. The ice making machine according to claim 4, wherein the water
collecting barrel is provided with a discharge tube for discharging
the stored water.
6. The ice making machine according to claim 5, wherein the water
collecting barrel is provided with a level sensor, and the
discharge tube is provided with a valve that is opened and closed
by the level sensor to selectively discharge the water from the
water collecting barrel.
7. The ice making machine according to claim 4, wherein the water
collecting barrel is connected to the sprinkling barrel through a
circulation tube, and the circulation tube is provided with a
circulation pump.
8. The ice making machine according to claim 1, wherein the
sprinkling barrel has a length corresponding to a width of the
condenser, and is disposed on a vertical upper side of the
condenser.
9. The ice making machine according to claim 1, wherein the
sprinkling barrel includes holes that are arrayed in a width
direction of the condenser to sprinkle water to an outer surface of
the condenser.
10. The ice making machine according to claim 2, wherein the blower
fan operates when the valve is opened.
11. The ice making machine according to claim 1, wherein the
sprinkling barrel is disposed at a position that is horizontally
spaced apart from a vertical upper side of the condenser.
12. The ice making machine according to claim 1, wherein the
sprinkling barrel is opposite to the blower fan with respect to the
condenser.
13. The ice making machine according to claim 1, wherein the
condenser comprises a refrigerant tube that has a vertical long
oval shape in a cross-section thereof.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims the benefit of priority under
35 U.S.C. 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2010-0073043
(filed on Jul. 28, 2010), and Korean Patent Application No.
10-2011-0006520(filed on Jan. 21, 2011), which are hereby
incorporated by reference in their entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The present disclosure relates to an ice making machine.
[0003] Ice making machines quickly produce a large amount of ice.
Ice making machines may be classified into horizontal ones and
vertical ones according to methods of installing an ice making grid
plate, and the vertical ice making machines are widely used.
[0004] Such a vertical ice making machine includes an ice making
grid plate that is vertically disposed. Water flows down along a
grid from the upper side of the ice making grid plate, and is
frozen by refrigerant circulating through an ice making coil
disposed on the rear surface of the ice making grid plate, and
thus, pieces of ice are made and grown in the inner space of the
grid.
[0005] When the pieces of ice are grown to have a predetermined
size in the inner space of the grind, that is, in cells of the
grid, a sensor senses the size of the ice to stop an ice making
operation. At this point, when high pressure gas is directly
introduced to the ice making coil to heat the grid and the ice
making grid plate, the boundaries of the pieces of ice contacting
the grid are melted, and the pieces of ice, which have a plate
shape, are dropped from the cells, and are stored in a collecting
barrel.
[0006] Such an ice making machine typically includes a machine
compartment that accommodates a freezing cycle device on its lower
rear surface. The machine compartment further accommodates a
compressor, a condenser, and a condenser fan for cooling the
condenser. The condenser fan blows air to the condenser to
dissipate heat of condensation, thereby improving cooling
efficiency for the condenser.
[0007] However, when indoor air is in a high or closed space,
circulation of the indoor air may be difficult. Thus, dissipation
of heat from the condenser by the condenser fan, which is an
air-cooling type fan, may be difficult, and the cooling efficiency
for the condenser may be degraded. To address these limitations, a
so-called water-cooling type condenser, which is cooled with water,
is introduced. However, in this case, it is required to continually
supply water on the condenser, and thus, water consumption is
increased. In addition, since the condenser is cooled only with
water, cooling efficiency for the condenser is not high.
SUMMARY
[0008] In one embodiment, an ice making machine includes: an ice
making compartment accommodating an ice making unit for making ice,
and storing the ice; a machine compartment disposed under the ice
making compartment, and accommodating a cool air generating unit
including a compressor, a condenser, and a blower fan; a water
collecting plate disposed between the ice making compartment and
the machine compartment, and collecting water generated from ice
melted in the ice making compartment; a sprinkling barrel disposed
over the condenser, and communicating with the water collecting
plate to sprinkle cooling water to the condenser; and the blower
fan forcibly moving air for cooling the condenser.
[0009] The water collecting plate may be provided with a discharge
tube for discharging water collected in the sprinkling barrel, and
the discharge tube may be provided with a valve for selectively
discharging the collected water.
[0010] The sprinkling barrel may be provided with a level sensor
that measures a level of water in the sprinkling barrel to open and
close the valve.
[0011] A water collecting barrel may be disposed under the
condenser to store water flowing along an outer surface of the
condenser.
[0012] The water collecting barrel may be provided with a discharge
tube for discharging the stored water.
[0013] The water collecting barrel may be provided with a level
sensor, and the discharge tube may be provided with a valve that is
opened and closed by the level sensor to selectively discharge the
water from the water collecting barrel.
[0014] The water collecting barrel may be connected to the
sprinkling barrel through a circulation tube, and the circulation
tube may be provided with a circulation pump.
[0015] The sprinkling barrel may have a length corresponding to a
width of the condenser, and be disposed on a vertical upper side of
the condenser.
[0016] The sprinkling barrel may include holes that are arrayed in
a width direction of the condenser to sprinkle water to an outer
surface of the condenser.
[0017] The blower fan may operate when the valve is opened.
[0018] The sprinkling barrel may be disposed at a position that is
horizontally spaced apart from a vertical upper side of the
condenser.
[0019] The sprinkling barrel may be opposite to the blower fan with
respect to the condenser.
[0020] The condenser may include a refrigerant tube that has a
vertical long oval shape in a cross-section thereof.
[0021] The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the
accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features
will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the
claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an ice making
machine according to an embodiment.
[0023] FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration
for cooling a condenser according to an embodiment.
[0024] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a control unit
controlling the configuration of FIG. 2.
[0025] FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration
for cooling a condenser according to another embodiment.
[0026] FIG. 5 is a side view illustrating the configuration of FIG.
4, with a cross-sectional view illustrating refrigerant tubes of
the condenser of FIG. 4.
[0027] FIG. 6 is a graph showing a relationship between power
consumption and a distance between a sprinkling barrel and a
condenser according to another embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0028] Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred
embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
[0029] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an ice making
machine according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view
illustrating a configuration for cooling a condenser according to
the current embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a
control unit controlling the configuration of FIG. 2.
[0030] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, the ice making machine including
a cooling device for the condenser also includes a main body 1
having a hexahedron shape, and a door 2 opening and closing an ice
dispensing opening of the main body 1.
[0031] The main body 1 may be divided into an ice making
compartment in the upper portion thereof, and a storing compartment
in the lower portion thereof. The ice making compartment may
communicate with the storing compartment. An ice making unit 3 for
making ice is disposed in the upper portion of the ice making
compartment. A water supply unit (hereinafter, a first water supply
unit) (not shown) may be disposed at the upper side of the ice
making unit 3 to supply water to the ice making unit 3.
[0032] A machine compartment may be disposed at the lower side of
the storing compartment, that is, in the lower rear portion of the
main body 1, and a cool air generating unit 10 may be disposed in
the machine compartment to supply cool air to the ice making unit
3.
[0033] The cool air generating unit 10 includes a compressor 11 for
compressing refrigerant, a condenser 12 for condensing the
refrigerant compressed in the compressor 11, and a blower fan 13
for dissipating heat from the condenser 12. The cool air generating
unit 10 further includes a cooling water supply unit 20
(hereinafter, a second water supply unit) that collects meltwater
from the storing compartment to sprinkle the meltwater to the
condenser 12.
[0034] The compressor 11, the condenser 12, and the blower fan 13
may be arrayed along a lateral line.
[0035] A water collecting plate 5 is disposed between the ice
making compartment and the machine compartment to collect water
from ice melted in the ice making compartment, and includes a
discharge tube 6 for discharging collected water.
[0036] Referring to FIG. 2, the lower end of the discharge tube 6
communicates with a sprinkling barrel 21 to be described later, and
the sprinkling barrel 21 is disposed between the lower end of the
discharge tube 6 and the upper end of the condenser 12.
[0037] Sprinkling holes (not shown) are arrayed in the sprinkling
barrel 21 in a width direction of the condenser 12 to sprinkle
meltwater collected by the water collecting plate 5 to the
condenser 12.
[0038] The sprinkling barrel 21 may be provided with a first level
sensor 22 for detecting a level of collected meltwater in real
time. The discharge tube 6 may be provided with a first valve 23
for selectively discharging meltwater collected in the sprinkling
barrel 21.
[0039] A water collecting barrel 24 is disposed under the condenser
12 to collect water flowing down along the outer surface of the
condenser 12. The water collecting barrel 24 may be connected to a
discharge tube 25 for discharging the collected water out of the
ice making machine.
[0040] The water collecting barrel 24 may be provided with a second
level sensor 26 for detecting a level of water collected in the
water collecting barrel 24. The discharge tube 25 may be provided
with a second valve 27 for selectively discharging water.
[0041] A circulation tube 28 may connect the water collecting
barrel 24 and the sprinkling barrel 21 to each other. The
circulation tube 28 may be provided with a circulation pump 29 for
pumping water from the water collecting barrel 24 to the sprinkling
barrel 21.
[0042] Referring to FIG. 3, the blower fan 13, the first level
sensor 22, the first valve 23, the second level sensor 26, the
second valve 27, and the circulation pump 29 may be electrically
connected to a control unit 30 to operate in conjunction with one
another.
[0043] Operations and effects of a cooling device for a condenser
of an ice making machine as described above will now be
disposed.
[0044] That is, after the ice making unit 3 makes ice, the ice is
dropped and stored in the storing compartment of the main body 1.
Over time, the ice stored in the storing compartment is melted to
form meltwater.
[0045] Then, the meltwater collected in the bottom of the storing
compartment is collected in the water collecting plate 5 at the
lower side of the storing compartment. The meltwater collected in
the water collecting plate 5 is collected in the sprinkling barrel
21 through the discharge tube 6. When the sprinkling barrel 21
overflows, or cooling of the condenser 12 is unnecessary, the first
valve 23 provided to the discharge tube 6 prevents the meltwater
collected in the water collecting plate 5 from moving to the
sprinkling barrel 21.
[0046] When cooling of the condenser 12 is necessary, the first
valve 23 is opened to sprinkle the meltwater collected in the
sprinkling barrel 21 to the upper portion of the condenser 12
through the sprinkling holes (not shown). At this point, the
control unit 30 operates the blower fan 13 to supply air to the
condenser 12.
[0047] Then, the water sprinkled from the sprinkling barrel 21 and
flowing down along the outer surface of the condenser 12 is
evaporated by the air supplied by the blower fan 13 and absorbs
heat of vaporization from the condenser 12, thereby cooling the
condenser 12. After the evaporation, the rest of the water flowing
down along the outer surface of the condenser 12 is collected in
the water collecting barrel 24 under the condenser 12.
[0048] Then, the circulation pump 29 installed on the circulation
tube 28 between the water collecting barrel 24 and the sprinkling
barrel 21 pumps the water from the water collecting barrel 24 to
the sprinkling barrel 21, to thereby reuse it. At this point, since
the water collecting barrel 24 is connected to the discharge tube
25, and the second valve 27 is installed on the discharge tube 25,
when the sprinkling barrel 21 or the water collecting barrel 24
overflows, or cooling of the condenser 12 is unnecessary, the water
collected in the water collecting plate 24 may be discharged out of
the ice making machine, instead of pumping the water to the
sprinkling barrel 21.
[0049] As such, water and air are simultaneously supplied to the
surface of the condenser 12, and heat of vaporization absorbed
during evaporation of the water is used, thereby maximizing cooling
performance on the condenser 12 just with a small amount of water.
In addition, power consumption for operating the blower fan 13, and
a noise from the blower fan 13 can be decreased. In addition, since
cool water generated from ice stored in the storing compartment is
sprinkled to the condenser 12, the condenser 12 can be more
effectively cooled. In addition, since meltwater is used, water
consumption for cooling can be significantly reduced.
[0050] An ice making machine according to the present disclosure
may be described according to various embodiments. An ice making
machine according to another embodiment will now be described.
[0051] In the current embodiment, a water supply unit is disposed
at an opposite side of a condenser to a blower fan, and is spaced
apart from the condenser.
[0052] Thus, since the rest parts of the current embodiment except
for the position of the water supply unit are the same as those of
the previous embodiment, a description thereof will be omitted, and
like reference numeral denote like elements.
[0053] FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration
for cooling a condenser according to the current embodiment. FIG. 5
is a side view illustrating the configuration of FIG. 4.
[0054] Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, a second water supply unit 20
according to the current embodiment includes a sprinkling barrel
121, a first level sensor 22, a first valve 23, a water collecting
barrel 24, a discharge tube 25, a second level sensor 26, a second
valve 27, a circulation tube 28, and a circulation pump 29.
[0055] The sprinkling barrel 121 is disposed under the discharge
tube 6. The sprinkling barrel 121 is spaced a distance L from the
upper end of a condenser 12, and thus is disposed at the front
upper side of the condenser 12. That is, the sprinkling barrel 121
is disposed over the condenser 12 at a position horizontally spaced
apart from the condenser 12. For example, the sprinkling barrel 121
may be disposed in front of the condenser 12 as illustrated in
FIGS. 4 and 5.
[0056] The lower end of the discharge tube 6 communicates with the
sprinkling barrel 121. Water collected in the water collecting
plate 5 is discharged to the sprinkling barrel 121 through the
discharge tube 6. One or more discharge holes (not shown) are
arrayed in the sprinkling barrel 121 in a width direction of the
condenser 12. Water collected in the sprinkling barrel 121 is
sprinkled through the discharge holes. At this point, the water is
sprinkled in a direction parallel to the front surface of the
condenser 12. The discharge holes are disposed out of a region that
vertically overlaps the condenser 12.
[0057] The first level sensor 22 may be provided to the sprinkling
barrel 121 to detect the level of water in the sprinkling barrel
121.
[0058] The water collecting barrel 24 is disposed under the
condenser 12. Water flowing down along the outer surface of the
condenser 12 may be stored in the water collecting barrel 24.
Water, which is discharged from the sprinkling barrel 121 and does
not arrive at the condenser 12, may be dropped and stored in the
water collecting barrel 24. That is, the water collecting barrel 24
may be disposed at the vertical low side of the sprinkling barrel
121.
[0059] The water collecting barrel 24 may be connected to the
discharge tube 25 for discharging water from the water collecting
barrel 24 to the outside of the ice making machine.
[0060] The water collecting barrel 24 may be provided with the
second level sensor 26 for detecting the level of water collected
in the water collecting barrel 24.
[0061] The discharge tube 25 may be provided with the second valve
27 for selectively discharging water collected in the water
collecting barrel 24.
[0062] The water collecting barrel 24 is connected to the
sprinkling barrel 121 through the circulation tube 28. The
circulation tube 28 may be provided with the circulation pump 29
for pumping water from the water collecting barrel 24 to the
sprinkling barrel 121.
[0063] The blower fan 13 is disposed behind the condenser 12. The
blower fan 13 sucks air from the front side thereof, and blows the
air to the rear side thereof. That is, air flows from the condenser
12 to the blower fan 13. Water sprinkled to the front side of the
condenser 12 is moved to the condenser 12 by an air flow, and
contacts the outer surface of the condenser 12. That is, the
sprinkling barrel 121 is disposed at a side of the condenser 12
with respect to a vertical center line C of the condenser 12, and
the blower fan 13 is disposed at the other side of the condenser 12
with respect to the vertical center line C. In other words, the
sprinkling barrel 121 is opposite to the blower fan 13 with respect
to the condenser 12.
[0064] The condenser 12 includes refrigerant tubes 120 that have a
vertical long oval shape in a cross-section thereof. In this case,
since an area of the oval shape contacting water is greater than
that of a circular shape in a cross-section thereof, the amount of
water evaporated from the outer surface of the refrigerant tube 120
can be increased. Accordingly, since water flowing along the outer
surface of the refrigerant tube 120 absorbs more heat from the
refrigerant tube 120, the condenser 12 can be more efficiently
cooled.
[0065] The blower fan 13, the first level sensor 22, the first
valve 23, the second level sensor 26, the second valve 27, and the
circulation pump 29 may be electrically connected to a control unit
(not shown) 30 to operate in conjunction with one another.
[0066] FIG. 6 is a graph showing a relationship between power
consumption and a distance between a sprinkling barrel and a
condenser according to another embodiment.
[0067] The sprinkling barrel 121 is spaced the distance L from the
upper end of the condenser 12, and thus is disposed at the front
upper side of the condenser 12. The distance L may be determined to
minimize power consumption of a cooling device for the condenser
12.
[0068] When the blower fan 13 is rotated with a motor of about 60
W, a relationship between the distance L and power consumption of
the cooling device is shown in FIG. 6. When the distance L is about
15 mm, the power consumption is about 5.01 kWh that is the minimum.
Thus, when the distance L is maintained at about 15 mm, the power
consumption can be minimized. As such, the distance L may be
determined according to a condition of the cooling device such as
the type of a motor included in the cooling device.
[0069] Operations and effects of a cooling device for a condenser
of an ice making machine as described above will now be
disposed.
[0070] Ice made in the ice making unit 3 is stored in the storing
compartment of the main body 1. Over time, the ice stored in the
storing compartment is melted to water. The water is collected in
the water collecting plate 5 disposed in the storing compartment.
The water collected in the water collecting plate 5 is discharged
to the sprinkling barrel 121 through the discharge tube 6. The
first valve 23 provided to the discharge tube 6 is opened or closed
to selectively discharge the water. That is, when the sprinkling
barrel 121 overflows, or cooling of the condenser 12 is
unnecessary, the first valve 23 is closed to prevent the water
collected in the water collecting plate 5 from being discharged to
the sprinkling barrel 121.
[0071] When cooling of the condenser 12 is necessary, the first
valve 23 is opened. The water collected in the sprinkling barrel 21
is sprinkled to the front side of the condenser 12 through the
discharge holes (not shown). At this point, the blower fan 13 sucks
air from the condenser 12. The water sprinkled to the front side of
the condenser 12 is moved by a flow of the sucked air, and contacts
the condenser 12. The water contacting the condenser 12 flows down
along the outer surface of the condenser 12, and is evaporated by
the sucked air. The water absorbs heat of vaporization from the
condenser 12, thereby cooling the condenser 12.
[0072] After the evaporation, the rest of the water flowing down
along the outer surface of the condenser 12 is collected in the
water collecting barrel 24 under the condenser 12. The water
collected in the water collecting barrel 24 may be pumped to the
sprinkling barrel 121 through the circulation tube 28 by the
circulation pump 29. The water pumped to the sprinkling barrel 121
may be reused to cool the condenser 12.
[0073] The water collected in the water collecting barrel 24 may be
discharged through the discharge tube 25. The second valve 27
installed on the discharge tube 25 may be opened and closed to
selectively discharge the water from the water collecting barrel 24
to the outside of the ice making machine, instead of pumping the
water to the sprinkling barrel 121. When the sprinkling barrel 121
or the water collecting barrel 24 overflows, or cooling of the
condenser 12 is unnecessary, the second valve 27 is opened to
discharge the water collected in the water collecting barrel 24
through the discharge tube 25.
[0074] As described above, cooling efficiency for a condenser may
be improved by an air flow and heat of vaporization during
evaporation of water. In addition, since power consumption for
operating a blower fan can be reduced, a noise from the blower fan
can be decreased. In addition, cool water generated from ice melted
in a storing compartment is sprinkled to the condenser to thereby
further improve the cooling efficiency for the condenser. In
addition, since meltwater and water collected in a water collecting
barrel are reused, water consumption for cooling can be
significantly reduced.
[0075] Although embodiments have been described with reference to a
number of illustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood
that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by
those skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and scope
of the principles of this disclosure. More particularly, various
variations and modifications are possible in the component parts
and/or arrangements of the subject combination arrangement within
the scope of the disclosure, the drawings and the appended claims.
In addition to variations and modifications in the component parts
and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also be apparent to
those skilled in the art.
* * * * *