U.S. patent application number 14/663606 was filed with the patent office on 2015-10-29 for ice making apparatus for a fridge or freezer.
The applicant listed for this patent is BSH Hausgerate GmbH, emz-Hanauer GmbH & Co. KGaA, Liebherr-Hausgerate Ochsenhausen GmbH. Invention is credited to Josef Bauriedl, Bernd Brabenec, Ulrich Demi, Albert Dirnberger, Volker Friedmann, Holger Jendrusch, Mario Kaiser, Hans Gerd Keller, Karl-Friedrich Laible, Peter Lienhart, Stefan Rapp, Manfredi Signorino, Georg Spiessl, Matthias Wiest.
Application Number | 20150308725 14/663606 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 54053382 |
Filed Date | 2015-10-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150308725 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Friedmann; Volker ; et
al. |
October 29, 2015 |
Ice making apparatus for a fridge or freezer
Abstract
An ice-making device for a refrigerator or freezer comprises: an
ice-making tray having an upper side, a lower side, a longitudinal
direction and a transverse direction of said tray, wherein said
ice-making tray is mounted so as to be rotatable about a first axis
of rotation which is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the
tray; a collecting container arranged underneath the ice-making
tray for catching ice which falls out of said ice-making tray when
the latter is in an emptying rotational position; a wall structure
which, when the ice-making tray is in an ice-making rotational
position, delimits a first air duct which runs underneath said
ice-making tray and is open towards the underside of said tray,
wherein said first air duct runs in the longitudinal direction of
the tray and extends over substantially the entire length of the
ice-making tray, wherein the wall structure has at least one wall
element which, when the ice-making tray is in the ice-making
rotational position, projects into a falling trajectory of the ice
falling out of said ice-making tray and is arranged so as to be
movable out of said falling trajectory; and a cold air supply
system which is designed for the purpose of directing cold air into
the first air duct in such a way that said cold air flows, within
said first air duct, in the direction from a first longitudinal end
of the tray to an opposite, second longitudinal end of said
ice-making tray.
Inventors: |
Friedmann; Volker;
(Biberach, DE) ; Jendrusch; Holger; (Rot a. d.
Rot, DE) ; Rapp; Stefan; (Erolzheim, DE) ;
Wiest; Matthias; (Ochsenhausen, DE) ; Brabenec;
Bernd; (Giengen, DE) ; Kaiser; Mario;
(Waldstetten, DE) ; Keller; Hans Gerd; (Giengen,
DE) ; Laible; Karl-Friedrich; (Langenau, DE) ;
Lienhart; Peter; (Giengen, DE) ; Demi; Ulrich;
(Lappersdorf, DE) ; Dirnberger; Albert; (Neunburg
vorm Wald, DE) ; Bauriedl; Josef; (Neunburg vorm
Wald, DE) ; Spiessl; Georg; (Altendorf, DE) ;
Signorino; Manfredi; (Milano, IT) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Liebherr-Hausgerate Ochsenhausen GmbH
BSH Hausgerate GmbH
emz-Hanauer GmbH & Co. KGaA |
Ochsenhausen
Munchen
Nabburg |
|
DE
DE
DE |
|
|
Family ID: |
54053382 |
Appl. No.: |
14/663606 |
Filed: |
March 20, 2015 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
62/344 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25C 5/06 20130101; F25C
1/04 20130101; F25C 5/182 20130101; F25C 1/10 20130101 |
International
Class: |
F25C 5/18 20060101
F25C005/18; F25C 1/04 20060101 F25C001/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 21, 2014 |
DE |
10 2014 004 086.0 |
Jun 16, 2014 |
DE |
10 2014 008 876.6 |
Claims
1. An ice-making device for a refrigerator or freezer, the device
comprising: an ice-making tray having an upper side, a lower side,
a longitudinal direction and a transverse direction of the
ice-making tray, wherein the ice-making tray is mounted so as to be
rotatable about a first axis of rotation which is parallel to the
longitudinal direction of the ice-making tray; a collecting
container arranged underneath the ice-making tray for catching ice
which falls out of the ice-making tray when the latter is in an
emptying rotational position; a wall structure which, when the
ice-making tray is in an ice-making rotational position, delimits a
first air duct which runs underneath the ice-making tray and is
open towards an underside of the ice-making tray, wherein the first
air duct runs in the longitudinal direction of the ice-making tray
and extends over substantially the entire length of the ice-making
tray, wherein the wall structure has at least one wall element
which, when the ice-making tray is in the ice-making rotational
position, projects into a falling trajectory of the ice falling out
of the ice-making tray and is arranged so as to be movable out of
the falling trajectory; and a cold air supply system which directs
cold air into the first air duct in such a way that the cold air
flows, within the first air duct, in the direction from a first
longitudinal end of the ice-making tray to an opposite, second
longitudinal end of the ice-making tray.
2. The ice-making device according to claim 1, wherein the wall
structure has a wall element which at least partly delimits the
first air duct and which is rotatably arranged for rotation about
the first axis of rotation.
3. The ice-making device according to claim 1, wherein the wall
structure has a wall element which at least partly delimits the
first air duct and which is rotatably arranged for rotation about a
second axis of rotation which is parallel to the first axis of
rotation.
4. The ice-making device according to claim 3, wherein the second
axis of rotation runs, when observed in a top view of the
ice-making tray in the ice-making rotational position, in the
region of, or outside, a longitudinal lateral edge of the
ice-making tray.
5. The ice-making device according to claim 1, wherein the wall
structure has a first wall element and a second wall element,
wherein each of the first wall element and the second wall element
delimits part of the first air duct, wherein the first wall element
is arranged so as to be rotatable about a second axis of rotation
which is parallel to the first axis of rotation, and the second
wall element is arranged so as to be rotatable about a third axis
of rotation which is parallel to the first axis of rotation and to
the second axis of rotation.
6. The ice-making device according to claim 5, wherein the second
axis of rotation and the third axis of rotation lie, when observed
in a top view of the ice-making tray in the ice-making rotational
position, in a mirror-inverted manner in relation to a longitudinal
central axis of the ice-making tray.
7. The ice-making device according to claim 5, wherein, when
observed in a top view of the ice-making tray in the ice-making
rotational position, the second axis of rotation runs in the region
of, or outside, a first longitudinal lateral edge of the ice-making
tray, and the third axis of rotation runs in the region of, or
outside, an opposite, second longitudinal lateral edge of the
ice-making tray.
8. The ice-making device according to claim 1, wherein a
cross-sectional area of a duct space of the first air duct, which
duct space is delimited between the wall structure and an
enveloping surface of the underside of the ice-making tray,
decreases in the direction from the first longitudinal end of the
ice-making tray to the second longitudinal end of the ice-making
tray.
9. The ice-making device according to claim 8, wherein the
cross-sectional area of the duct space decreases continuously over
at least a partial portion of the length of the first air duct.
10. The ice-making device according to claim 1, wherein the wall
structure also delimits a second air duct which, when the
ice-making tray is in the ice-making rotational position, runs
underneath the ice-making tray in the longitudinal direction and
within which at least some of the cold air flows back, after
flowing through the first air duct, in a direction from the second
longitudinal end of the ice-making tray to the first longitudinal
end of the ice-making tray, a deflecting surface for deflecting the
cold air out of the first air duct and into the second air duct
being arranged in the region of the second longitudinal end of the
ice-making tray.
11. The ice-making device according to claim 10, wherein the
deflecting surface is formed by the wall structure.
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to an ice-making device for a
refrigerator or freezer.
[0002] Refrigerators and freezers which are used in the household
sector for keeping foods cool or storing them in the frozen state,
are sometimes equipped with an ice-making device which is capable
of producing blocks of ice which can be taken out by the user when
required. In a conventional ice-making device, water is poured into
an ice-making tray which is designed with a plurality of
pocket-like depressions. A block of ice forms in each of these
depressions. In order to bring about or assist the freezing of the
water, a flow of cold air is generated which is conducted along the
ice-making tray. The freezing of water takes place more quickly in
the presence of a flow of cold air than in an environment with
stationary air. As soon as the water in the ice-making tray is
frozen, the tray is emptied. The blocks of ice produced are
collected in a catching container (which is sometimes referred to
in the trade by the English term "hopper"). For the purpose of
emptying the tray, solutions are available in which the tray is
rotated and, in addition, twisted on itself (so-called "twist-tray"
ice-makers). As a result of the twisting of the tray, the blocks of
ice located within it break loose from the tray; the torsion of the
tray guarantees that the blocks of ice fall out of it.
[0003] One example of a conventional ice-making device is indicated
in JP 2009-293872 A. According to this document, a flow of cold air
is initially directed over the upper side of an ice-making tray,
transversely to its longitudinal extension (said tray being longer
than it is wide), is then deflected towards the underside of the
tray and finally is directed back along said underside of the tray,
i.e., the same air flows in succession, first over the upper side
of the tray and, after that, over the underside of said tray. In
addition, some of the air which is conducted over the upper side of
the tray is decoupled in the deflecting region, where the
deflection of the flow of air towards the underside of the tray
takes place, so that it flows to a catching container located
underneath said tray in order to keep blocks of ice, which are
located therein after their production is complete, cool.
[0004] An object of the present invention is to make available an
ice-making device which requires comparatively little installation
space.
[0005] The present invention makes available an ice-making device
for a refrigerator or freezer, which device comprises: an
ice-making tray having an upper side, a lower side, a longitudinal
direction and a transverse direction of said tray, wherein said
ice-making tray is mounted so as to be rotatable about a first axis
of rotation which is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the
tray; a collecting container arranged underneath the ice-making
tray for catching ice which falls out of said ice-making tray when
the latter is in an emptying rotational position; a wall structure
which, when the ice-making tray is in an ice-making rotational
position, delimits a first air duct which runs underneath said
ice-making tray and is open towards the underside of said tray,
wherein said first air duct runs in the longitudinal direction of
the tray and extends over substantially the entire length of the
ice-making tray, wherein the wall structure has at least one wall
element which, when the ice-making tray is in the ice-making
rotational position, projects into a falling trajectory of the ice
falling out of said ice-making tray and is arranged so as to be
movable out of said falling trajectory; and a cold air supply
system which is designed for the purpose of directing cold air into
the first air duct in such a way that said cold air flows, within
said first air duct, in the direction from a first longitudinal end
of the tray to an opposite, second longitudinal end of said
ice-making tray.
[0006] In the ice-making device according to the invention, the
first air duct runs in the longitudinal direction of the ice-making
tray and therefore requires a comparatively small cross-sectional
width. In the region in which cold air is directed into the first
air duct, the cold air supply system may be of correspondingly
narrow, and thereby installation space-saving, design. The movable
arrangement of the wall structure guarantees that, when the
ice-making tray is emptied, the ice falling out of said tray is not
blocked by the wall structure but is able to fall into the
collecting container unhindered.
[0007] According to one form of embodiment, the movability of the
wall structure can be achieved through the fact that said wall
structure has a wall element which at least partly delimits the
first air duct and which is rotatably arranged for rotation about
the first axis of rotation. According to another form of
embodiment, the wall structure may have a wall element which at
least partly delimits the first air duct and which is rotatably
arranged for rotation about a second axis of rotation which is
parallel to the first axis of rotation. Said second axis of
rotation may run--when observed in a top view of the ice-making
tray in the ice-making rotational position--in the region of, or
outside, a longitudinal lateral edge of said ice-making tray.
[0008] In one form of embodiment, the wall structure comprises a
first and a second wall element, which wall elements each delimit
part of the first air duct, wherein the first wall element is
arranged so as to be rotatable about a second axis of rotation
which is parallel to the first axis of rotation, and the second
wall element is arranged so as to be rotatable about a third axis
of rotation which is parallel to the first and to the second axis
of rotation. The second and third axes of rotation may lie--when
observed in a top view of the ice-making tray in the ice-making
rotational position--in a mirror-inverted manner in relation to a
longitudinal central axis of said ice-making tray. When observed in
a top view of the ice-making tray in the ice-making rotational
position, the second axis of rotation may run in the region of, or
outside, a first longitudinal lateral edge of said ice-making tray,
whereas the third axis of rotation runs in the region of, or
outside, an opposite, second longitudinal lateral edge of said
ice-making tray.
[0009] In one form of embodiment, the cross-sectional area of a
duct space of the first air duct, which duct space is delimited
between the wall structure and an imaginary enveloping surface of
the underside of the tray, decreases in the direction from the
first longitudinal end of the tray to the second longitudinal end
of said tray. This reduction in cross-section has an accelerating
effect upon the cold air flowing within the duct space and
guarantees a satisfactory cooling effect, even in those regions of
the ice-making tray which are located remotely from the first
longitudinal end of the tray. The reduction in cross-section may
be, for example, of continuous design; alternatively or
additionally, it may be brought about by one or more stepped
transitions. If the point at issue here is an imaginary enveloping
surface of the underside of the tray, this should take account of
the possibility of the ice-making tray being of uneven design on
its underside, for example as a consequence of the presence of
pocket-like depressions in said ice-making tray, in each of which a
block of ice is produced. The enveloping surface is imagined for
the purpose of theoretically masking these unevennesses in the
underside of the tray.
[0010] In one form of embodiment, the wall structure also delimits
a second air duct which, when the ice-making tray in the ice-making
rotational position, runs underneath said tray in its longitudinal
direction and within which at least some of the cold air flows
back, after flowing through the first air duct, in the direction
from the second longitudinal end of the tray to the first
longitudinal end of said tray. Under these circumstances, a
deflecting surface for deflecting the cold air out of the first air
duct and into the second air duct may be arranged in the region of
the second longitudinal end of the tray. This deflecting surface
may be formed by the wall structure and may accordingly be arranged
in a movable manner. Alternatively, it is conceivable for the
deflecting surface to be provided on a framework or housing which
is arranged in a stationary manner and on which the ice-making tray
is rotatably mounted.
[0011] The invention will be further explained below with the aid
of the appended drawings, in which:
[0012] FIG. 1 represents, diagrammatically, components of an
ice-making device according to one example of embodiment;
[0013] FIGS. 2a and 2b represent, diagrammatically, an
ice-producing state and an emptying state, respectively, of the
ice-making device according to FIG. 1;
[0014] FIG. 3 represents a perspective view of an ice-making module
for an ice-making device according to another example of
embodiment, in an ice-producing state;
[0015] FIG. 4 represents a perspective view of an ice-making module
according to another example of embodiment;
[0016] FIG. 5 represents a perspective view of an ice-making module
according to another example of embodiment:
[0017] FIG. 6 represents a perspective view of an ice-making module
according to another example of embodiment; and
[0018] FIGS. 7a and 7b represent a perspective view and a side
view, respectively, of an ice-making module according to another
example of embodiment.
[0019] The reader is referred, first of all, to FIG. 1. The
ice-making device represented therein is designated, in general, by
10. It comprises an ice-making tray 12 which is produced, for
example, from plastic and within which ice cubes are produced. For
this purpose, said ice-making tray 12 has, in a manner of which no
further details are represented, a plurality of ice cube-producing
pockets which each serve for producing one ice cube. The ice-making
tray 12 is longer than it is wide; in the direction of its
longitudinal extension, said ice-making tray 12 has a greater
number of ice cube-producing pockets, arranged one behind another,
than in its transverse direction. For example, said ice-making tray
12 is designed with two rows of ice cube-producing pockets, which
rows are located side by side in the transverse direction of the
tray and each have, for example, four, five or six ice
cube-producing pockets one behind another in the longitudinal
direction of the tray. In a manner which is known per se, the ice
cube-producing pockets may, for example, be formed by trough-like
depressions in the floor of the ice-making tray 12.
[0020] The ice-making tray 12 can be filled, by means of a water
supply apparatus 14, with water which is then to be frozen to form
ice cubes. In the exemplary case shown, the water supply apparatus
14 has a water storage container 16 as well as a feed 18 via which
water from said water storage container 16 can be introduced into
the ice-making tray 12 in a manner which is controlled
quantity-wise.
[0021] Located underneath the ice-making tray 12 is a catching
container 20 in which the ice cubes which have been produced and
ejected from said ice-making tray 12 can be caught and
collected.
[0022] A cold air supply system 22 serves to blow cold air, which
has been drawn from a cold air source of which no further details
are represented, into an air duct 24 which runs underneath the
ice-making tray 12 in the longitudinal direction of said tray, i.e.
in the direction from a first longitudinal end 26 to an opposite,
second longitudinal end 28 of the ice-making tray 12, and is open
towards said ice-making tray 12 (i.e. towards its underside).
Within the air duct 24, the cold air, which is discharged from an
orifice 30 of the cold air supply system 22 arranged in the region
of the first longitudinal end 26 of the tray, flows along the
underside of said tray and, in the process, extracts thermal energy
from the material of the tray and from the water located in said
ice-making tray 12. The freezing of the water within the tray 12 is
brought about, or at least assisted, by this extraction of thermal
energy.
[0023] The air duct 24 is delimited downwards (i.e. in the
direction of the catching container 20) and optionally also towards
the side (i.e. perpendicularly to the plane of the drawing in FIG.
1) by a wall structure 32 which extends over substantially the
entire length of the ice-making tray 12. According to one example
of embodiment, the wall structure 32, of which only a part which
delimits the air duct 24 downwards (i.e. in the direction of the
catching container 20) is indicated diagrammatically in FIG. 1, is
formed by a wall element 34 of trough-like or channel-like
configuration (see FIGS. 2a, 2b) which has a trough bottom 36 and
also trough side walls 38 which lie opposite one another. It can be
seen in FIGS. 2a, 2b that the trough side walls 38 are raised along
the longitudinal side walls of the ice-making tray 12, under which
circumstances there may be an intervening space between the trough
side walls 38 and said longitudinal side walls of the ice-making
tray 12 (as in FIGS. 2a, 2b), or alternatively said trough side
walls 38 may rest against said longitudinal side walls of the
ice-making tray 12. In the latter case, a space which is closed all
round in cross-section may be formed between the ice-making tray 12
and the wall element 34.
[0024] The ice-making tray 12 is arranged so as to be rotatable
about an axis of rotation 42 (see FIGS. 2a, 2b) by means of a, for
example electromotive, driving unit 40. This rotatability is
necessary in order to eject a charge of ice cubes out of the
ice-making tray 12 after their production has been completed. The
driving unit 40 is controlled by a control unit 44 controlled by a
processor for example, and is capable of rotating the ice-making
tray 12 out of an ice-making rotational position shown in FIG. 2a
by at least 90.degree. and optionally still further into an
emptying rotational position which is indicated diagrammatically in
FIG. 2b and in which the ice cubes are able to fall out of said
ice-making tray 12 and into the catching container 20.
[0025] So that the wall element 34 does not get in the way of the
ice cubes which are falling out, it is arranged for joint rotation
with the ice-making tray 12 about the axis of rotation 42. When the
ice-making tray 12 rotates out of the ice-making rotational
position in the direction of the emptying rotational position, the
wall element 34 thus rotates with it. From a certain angle of
rotation onwards, twisting of the ice-making tray 12 sets in, as
actuation of the driving unit 40 continues, following which the ice
cubes produced in said ice-making tray 12 break loose from it. This
technique, which is known in the trade as a "twist-tray" technique,
is known per se; it is therefore possible to dispense with more
detailed explanations at this point.
[0026] For a satisfactory cooling action of the cold air flowing
within the air duct 24, even in the regions which are remote from
the first longitudinal end 26 of the tray (i.e. are close to the
second longitudinal end 28), the cross-sectional area of the air
duct 24 decreases as the distance from the first longitudinal end
26 of the tray increases. In the exemplary case in FIG. 1, the
distance between the trough bottom 36 of the wall element 34 and
the underside of the ice-making tray 12 diminishes, for this
purpose, as the distance from the longitudinal end 26 of the tray
increases. For the sake of simplicity, the ice-making tray 12 is
represented graphically with a flat underside of said tray in FIG.
1. In practice, it may be that said ice-making tray 12 is designed
with numerous unevennesses on its underside which are caused by the
presence of the ice cube-producing pockets. The decrease which has
been mentioned in the cross-sectional area of the air duct 24 as
the distance from the first longitudinal end 26 of the tray
increases then bears a relation to a decrease in the
cross-sectional area of that space which is delimited between the
wall element 34 and an imaginary enveloping surface of the
underside of the tray (the said enveloping surface evening out the
unevennesses mentioned). For example, the cross-sectional area of
the air duct 24 may decrease continuously in the direction of the
second longitudinal end 28, that is to say over substantially the
entire length of said air duct 24 or only over one or more partial
portions.
[0027] In the other figures, components which are the same, or act
in the same way, as in the previous figures are provided with the
same reference numerals, but supplemented by a small letter.
Provided nothing to the contrary emerges below, the reader is
referred, for the purpose of explaining these components, to the
preceding remarks in connection with FIGS. 1, 2a and 2b.
[0028] FIG. 3 shows an ice-making module 46a which can be
preassembled as a structural unit and has a module frame 48a with
end plates 50a, 52a of said frame. The ice-making tray 12a is
rotatably mounted on the module frame 48a. Said module frame 48a
also serves as a carrier for the orifice 30a of a cold air supply
system (for instance of the system 22 in FIG. 1), and also for the
driving unit 40a which may be coupled to the ice-making tray 12a
via a reduction gear, of which no further details are represented.
Leading to the driving unit 40a is an electric control cable 54a
with a plug-type connection 56a by means of which said control
cable 54a can be connected to a control unit (for instance the
control unit 44 in FIG. 1) of which no further details are
represented in FIG. 3.
[0029] Neither a catching container for the ice cubes produced in
the ice-making tray 12a nor a water supply apparatus for pouring
water into said ice-making tray 12a is contained in the ice-making
module 46a. For this purpose, recourse may be had to the catching
container 20 and the water supply apparatus 14 according to FIG.
1.
[0030] As in the exemplary case in FIGS. 2a, 2b, the wall element
34a is arranged for joint rotation with the ice-making tray 12a,
relative to the module frame 48a, about the axis of rotation
42a.
[0031] A lever 58a which is pivotably attached to the module frame
48a serves to detect the filling level in a catching container (for
instance the catching container 20 in FIG. 1) which is located
underneath the ice-making module 46a and in which the ice ejected
from the tray 12a is collected. Said lever 58a assumes a different
position of pivoting, relative to the module frame 48a, depending
upon the level to which the said catching container is filled with
blocks of ice. Said lever may, for example, be coupled to an
electrical switch (of which no further details are represented),
which transmits a switching signal to a control unit when a
predetermined filling level within the catching container is
reached. As soon as this signal is generated, this means that there
is a sufficient stock of blocks of ice in the catching container
and further production of ice can therefore be interrupted.
[0032] The ice-making module 46b according to FIG. 4 differs from
the ice-making module according to FIG. 3 through the fact that the
wall element 34b is held on the module frame 48b so as to be
rotatable, relative to the latter, about an axis of rotation 60b
which is parallel to the axis of rotation 42b of the ice-making
tray 12b. The axis of rotation 60b runs laterally beside the
ice-making tray 12b (when the latter is located in its ice-making
rotational position which is shown in FIG. 4). Said ice-making tray
12b and the wall element 34b are both in driving connection with
the driving unit of the ice-making module 46b (of which driving
unit no further details are represented in FIG. 4). Under these
circumstances, the driving connection may be designed in such a way
that the wall element 34b rotates into its position which is shown
in FIG. 4, even before the rotation of the ice-making tray 12b in
the direction of the latter's emptying rotational position begins.
Alternatively, it is naturally possible for the wall element 34b to
open substantially simultaneously with the rotation of the
ice-making tray 12b (i.e. into a rotational position which leaves
the falling trajectory of the ice cubes clear). Also clearly
visible in FIG. 4 is the configuration of the ice-making tray 12b
with a number of pockets 62b which each serve to produce an ice
cube.
[0033] It is conceivable for the wall element 34b to be divided in
two lengthwise in the region of the trough bottom 36b and for one
of the halves of the trough which are thus produced to be left so
as to be rotatable about the axis of rotation 60b, and on the other
hand for the other of the halves of the trough which are produced
to be mounted rotatably on the module frame 48b in the region of
the opposite longitudinal side of the ice-making tray 12b. This
variant is shown in FIG. 5. Here, the wall structure 32c is formed
by two wall elements 34-1c, 34-2c which each form one half of the
trough and are mounted on the module frame 48c so as to be
rotatable about separate axes of rotation 60-1c, 60-2c. The two
axes of rotation 60-1c, 60-2c are arranged so as to be
substantially mirror-symmetrical in relation to the axis of
rotation 42c of the ice-making tray 12c. The wall elements 34-1c,
34-2c can be moved between the open position shown in FIG. 5 and a
closed position in which they form a trough, which is closed at
least to a very large extent, underneath the ice-making tray 12c
(in a manner comparable to the situation shown in FIG. 2a).
[0034] In the example of embodiment according to FIG. 6, the wall
element 34d is not rotatably attached to the module frame 48d,
unlike the previous examples of embodiment, but is displaceable
rectilinearly (along a displacement-indicating arrow 64d shown in
the drawing) in the direction transverse to the longitudinal
direction of the ice-making tray 12d, for example by means of a
toothed-rack guide. In this way too, the wall structure 32d can be
moved out of the falling trajectory of the ice cubes when the
ice-making tray 12d is to be emptied.
[0035] Finally, in the example of embodiment according to FIGS. 7a,
7b, the wall structure 32e forms, in addition to the air duct 24e,
an air duct 66e within which at least some of the cold air, which
flows within said air duct 24e in the direction from the first
longitudinal end 26e of the tray to the second longitudinal end 28e
of said tray, is conducted back in the reverse direction. In the
region of the second longitudinal end 28e of the tray, the wall
structure 32e forms a deflecting surface 68e (see FIG. 7b) which
brings about deflection of the cold air coming from the air duct
24e into the air duct 66e. The direction of flow of the cold air
within the air ducts 24e, 66e is illustrated in FIG. 7b by
flow-indicating arrows which are shown in the drawing.
[0036] For the purpose of forming the air duct 66e, the wall
structure 32e has another wall element 70 which curves round the
wall element 34e, underneath the latter, and leaves an intervening
space in relation to said wall element 34e. The air duct 66e runs
within this intervening space.
[0037] An orifice belonging to a cold air supply system, from which
cold air is blown into the air duct 24e, is not shown in FIGS. 7a,
7b. The ice-making module 46e can, of course, be designed with such
an orifice. For example, the orifice 30a in FIG. 3 can be adopted
for the ice-making module 10e with the modification that separate
air paths are constructed within said orifice, namely one for the
purpose of feeding cold air into the air duct 24e and another for
the purpose of receiving cold air from the air duct 66e. If the
parts of the cold air supply system which are connected to the
orifice are configured in a suitable manner with an outward duct
and a return duct, the used cold air (i.e. the cold air which is
conducted back within the air duct 66e) can be directed via the
orifice directly into the return duct.
[0038] The movability of the wall structure 32e relative to the
module frame 48e (for the purpose of moving the wall elements 34e,
70e out of the falling trajectory of the ice cubes) may be
comparable to the example of embodiment according to FIG. 3, i.e.
the wall structure 32e as a whole (including the two wall elements
34e, 70e and the deflecting surface 68e) may be rotatable about the
axis of rotation 42e of the ice-making tray 12e.
* * * * *