U.S. patent number 3,864,933 [Application Number 05/419,942] was granted by the patent office on 1975-02-11 for defrost timer arrangement for making clear ice.
This patent grant is currently assigned to General Motors Corporation. Invention is credited to James A. Bright.
United States Patent |
3,864,933 |
Bright |
February 11, 1975 |
DEFROST TIMER ARRANGEMENT FOR MAKING CLEAR ICE
Abstract
A clear cube ice maker has a control circuit incorporating the
defrost timer of a freezer and a bistable relay switch in the
harvest mechanism. The relay switch, in response to a signal from
the defrost timer, conditions the ice maker for a deferred harvest
when the weigh switch is open (ice bucket full or ice bucket not in
place) at the time of the signal or during the harvest. The relay
switch is also in a circuit with an extra tray bottom heater to
prevent the water from freezing to the bottom of the tray while
awaiting the deferred harvest and is closed by the defrost timer
and opened by a cam in the harvest mechanism.
Inventors: |
Bright; James A. (Dayton,
OH) |
Assignee: |
General Motors Corporation
(Detroit, MI)
|
Family
ID: |
23664397 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/419,942 |
Filed: |
November 29, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
62/137; 62/344;
62/155; 62/233 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25C
1/04 (20130101); F25C 5/08 (20130101); F25C
2305/022 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
F25C
1/04 (20060101); F25C 5/08 (20060101); F25C
5/00 (20060101); F25c 005/18 () |
Field of
Search: |
;62/137,155,233,344 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: O'Dea; William F.
Assistant Examiner: Ferguson; Peter D.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Ritchie; Frederick M.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A clear ice maker for a freezer having defrost means and a
defrost timer for periodically defrosting said freezer, said ice
maker comprising a tray having walls adapted to contain a body of
water, a grid in said tray having cavity-forming means for
displacing the body of water contained by said walls into the
cavity, means distributing subfreezing air over the top planar
surface of said body of water in said grid cavity for a sufficient
period to initiate the freezing of clear ice in said grid cavity
along the interface between said air and said top planar surface
and to continue the freezing of clear ice downwardly in said grid
cavity, and a bucket for storing said clear ice in said freezer and
being removable from said freezer, tray heating means energizable
to maintain said body of water in a liquid state adjacent said tray
below the freezing clear ice, and harvesting mechanism operable in
a harvest cycle by a drive motor for removing said grid and clear
ice from said tray before the freezing of clear ice downwardly in
said grid cavity reaches the bottom wall of said tray and for
depositing said clear ice in said bucket, said harvesting mechanism
including a weigh switch, a bistable first timer switch and said
drive motor in series electrical flow relationship, said first
timer switch having the characteristic of stability in both its
open and closed positions and operating in its closed position to
enable the initiation of said harvest cycle by operating said
harvest mechanism when said weigh switch is closed, said weigh
switch having a closed position when said bucket is empty and an
open position when said bucket is full of clear ice or removed from
said freezer, said harvesting mechanism having a second timer
switch in shunt with said weigh switch and a third timer switch in
shunt with said first timer switch, said drive motor operating to
actuate said second and third timer switches to maintain the
operation of said drive motor and harvesting mechanism once said
harvest cycle is initiated irrespective of said weigh switch and
said first timer switch, said drive motor operating to actuate said
second and third timer switches to terminate said harvest cycle,
and said drive motor operating to move said first timer switch to
its stable open position after said second and third timer swiches
have been actuated to maintain the operation of said drive motor
and before said harvest cycle is terminated, said heating means
comprising a heater for a wall of the tray in shunt with said weigh
switch and said second timer switch and in series electrical flow
relationship with said first timer switch, said defrost timer
including ice maker means initially operable to move said first
timer switch to its stable closed position when said freezer is not
being defrosted and subsequently operable to permit the movement of
said first timer switch to its stable open position whereby said
heater is adapted for temporary energization when a harvest cycle
is initiated by the movement of said first timer switch to its
stable closed position and said bucket is either full of clear ice
or removed from said freezer, said temporary energization
continuing until said bucket is replaced in said freezer and is no
longer full.
2. In a clear ice maker for a freezer having defrost means and a
defrost timer including means for periodically defrosting said
freezer by energizing said defrost means, said ice maker including
a tray having side and bottom walls adapted to contain a body of
water, a grid in said tray having cavity-forming means for
displacing the body of water contained by said walls into the
cavity, fan means distributing subfreezing air over the top planar
surface of said body of water in said grid cavity for a sufficient
period to initiate the freezing of clear ice in said grid cavity
along the interface between said air and said top planar surface
and to continue the freezing of clear ice downwardly in said grid
cavity, a bucket for storing said clear ice in said freezer and
being removable from said freezer, and tray heating means
energizable to maintain said body of water in a liquid state
adjacent said tray below the freezing clear ice, the improvement
comprising harvesting mechanism operable in a harvest cycle by a
drive motor for removing said grid and clear ice from said tray
before the freezing of clear ice downwardly in said grid cavity
reaches the bottom wall of said tray and for depositing said clear
ice in said bucket, said harvesting mechanism including a weigh
switch, a bistable first timer switch and said drive motor in
series electrical flow relationship, said first timer switch having
the characteristic of stability in both its open and closed
positions and operating in its closed position to enable the
initiation of said harvest cycle by operating said harvest
mechanism when said weigh switch is closed, said weigh switch
having a closed position when said bucket is empty and an open
position when said bucket is full of clear ice or removed from said
freezer, said harvesting mechanism having a second timer switch in
shunt with said weigh switch and a third timer switch in shunt with
said first timer switch, said second and third timer switches and
said drive motor being in series electrical flow relationship, said
drive motor operating to close said second and third timer switches
to maintain the operation of the harvesting mechanism once said
harvest cycle is initiated irrespective of said weigh switch and
said first timer switch, said drive motor operating to open said
second and third timer switches to terminate said harvest cycle,
and said drive motor operating to move said first timer switch to
its stable open position after said second and third timer switches
are closed and before said harvest cycle is terminated, said
heating means comprising a heater for said tray in shunt with said
weigh switch and said second timer switch and in series electrical
flow relationship with said first and third timer switches, said
defrost timer including ice maker means initially operable to move
said first timer switch to its stable closed position when said
freezer is not being defrosted and subsequently operable to
facilitate the movement of said first timer switch to its stable
open position whereby said heater is adapted for temporary
energization when a harvest cycle is initiated by the movement of
said first timer switch to its stable closed position and said
bucket is either full of clear ice or removed from said freezer,
said temporary energization continuing until said bucket is
replaced in said freezer and is no longer full.
3. The improved harvesting mechanism of claim 2 wherein said ice
maker means comprises a timer switch in said defrost timer and a
relay coil for moving said first timer switch to its stable closed
position.
4. The improved harvesting mechanism of claim 2 wherein said
harvest cycle is substantially 10 minutes and said defrost timer is
adapted to operate said ice maker means to initiate said harvest
cycle substantially three times in an 8 hour period.
5. A clear ice maker for a freezer having defrost means and a
defrost timer including means for periodically defrosting said
freezer by energizing said defrost means, said ice maker comprising
a tray having side and bottom walls adapted to contain a body of
water, a grid in said tray having cavity-forming means for
displacing the body of water contained by said walls into the
cavity, fan means distributing subfreezing air over the top planar
surface of said body of water in said grid cavity for a sufficient
period to initiate the freezing of clear ice in said grid cavity
along the interface between said air and said top planar surface
and to continue the freezing of clear ice downwardly in said grid
cavity, and a bucket for storing said clear ice in said freezer and
being removable from said freezer, tray heating means energizable
to maintain said body of water in a liquid state adjacent said tray
below the freezing clear ice, and harvesting mechanism operable in
a harvest cycle by a drive motor for removing said grid and clear
ice from said tray before the freezing of clear ice downwardly in
said grid cavity reaches the bottom wall of said tray and for
depositing said clear ice in said bucket, said harvesting mechanism
including a weigh switch, a bistable first timer switch and said
drive motor in series electrical flow relationship, said first
timer switch having the characteristic of stability in both its
open and closed positions and operating in its closed position to
enable the initiation of said harvest cycle by operating said
harvest mechanism when said weigh switch is closed, said weigh
switch having a closed position when said bucket is empty and an
open position when said bucket is full of clear ice or removed from
said freezer, said harvesting mechanism having a second timer
switch in shunt with said weigh switch and a third timer switch in
shunt with said first timer switch, said second and third timer
switches and said drive motor being in series electrical flow
relationship, said drive motor operating to close said second and
third timer switches to maintain the operation of the harvesting
mechanism once said harvest cycle is initiated irrespective of said
weigh switch and said first timer switch, said drive motor
operating to open said second and third timer switches to terminate
said harvest cycle, and said drive motor operating to move said
first timer switch to its stable open position after said second
and third timer switches are closed and before said harvest cycle
is terminated, said heating means comprising a first heater for the
sidewall of the tray in shunt with said weigh switch and said
first, second and third timer switches and a second heater for the
bottom wall of the tray in shunt with said weigh switch and said
second timer switch and in series electrical flow relationship with
said first and third timer switches, said defrost timer including
ice maker switch means closable to move said first timer switch to
its stable closed position when said freezer is not being defrosted
and openable before said first timer switch is moved to its stable
open position whereby said first heater is adapted for continuous
energization and said second heater is adapted for temporary
energization when a harvest cycle is initiated and said bucket is
either full of clear ice or removed from said freezer, said
temporary energization continuing until said bucket is replaced in
said freezer and is no longer full and the delayed harvest cycle
thus initiated is subsequently terminated.
Description
This invention relates to apparatus for making clear ice of the
type taught in my copending application Ser. No. 272,410, filed
July 17, 1972 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,775,992 issued Dec. 4, 1973 and,
more particularly, to a timing arrangement for controlling such
apparatus through the defrost timer in a domestic refrigerator.
Clear ice has been a desire of users and a goal of manufacturers
for years. Apparatus for making clear ice, however, has been
cumbersome and suited only to commercial manufacture of ice.
Heretofore, no one has simplified clear ice makers to the point
where they are suitable in size, cost and operation to the
relatively small confines of the freezer in a domestic
refrigerator.
Accordingly, an object of this invention is the provision of a
method and apparatus for making clear ice in a container in the
freezer of a domestic refrigerator by containing water in a tray,
heating the bottom of the tray to keep the lower portion of the
water in a liquid state, freezing the top portion of the water
starting at the interface between the water and freezer air and
continuing to freeze water downwardly toward the bottom of the
tray, periodically removing the frozen clear ice portion before it
extends sufficiently toward the bottom of the tray to entrap gas
and minerals in the water, and timing the periodic removal through
a defrost timer for said freezer.
A further object of this invention is a timing arrangement for a
clear ice maker in a freezer having an automatic defrost cycle and
comprising a tray containing a body of water, a grid in said tray
displacing said body of water into cavities in said grid, fan means
distributing sub-freezing air over the top surface of said body of
water in said grid whereby to initiate the freezing of clear ice
along the interface between said air and said top surface, and a
bucket for storing said clear ice, heating means to maintain said
body of water in a liquid state adjacent said tray below said clear
ice, harvesting mecchanism for removing said grid from said tray
and depositing said clear ice in said bucket, and a defrost timer
for periodically defrosting said freezer, said heating means
comprising a first heater for the sidewall of the tray and a second
heater for the bottom wall of the tray, and control means providing
for continuous energization of said first heater and energization
of said second heater only when said bucket is full of clear ice or
not in said freezer, said defrost timer having bistable means for
initiating the operation of said harvesting mechanism.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be
apparent from the following description, reference being had to the
accompanying drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the present
invention is clearly shown.
IN THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary section through the freezer compartment of
a domestic refrigerator showing in side elevation an automatic
clear ice maker;
FIG. 2 is a front elevational view taken along line 2--2 in FIG. 1
with parts broken away to provide a schematic representation of the
clear ice harvesting cycle;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3--3 in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 4--4 in
FIG. 3 and showing a portion of the water fill system;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5--5 in FIG. 3 and
showing an insulated and heated water containing tray;
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 6--6 in
FIG. 4;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a side by side refrigerator freezer
showing the clear ice maker installed in a portion of the freezer
compartment;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the clear ice maker of this
invention in an ice harvesting mode;
FIG. 9 is a sectional view with parts broken away taken along line
9--9 in FIG. 3 to show the ice harvesting mechanism and weight
sensing means;
FIG. 10 is a side elevational view with parts broken away taken
along line 10--10 in FIG. 9;
FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the ice harvesting mechanism taken
along line 11--11 in FIG. 10 to show an ice making cycle timer and
drive mechanism;
FIG. 12 is a perspective view from the front side with parts broken
away to show ice harvesting mechanism for moving the ice grid and
weight sensing means for sensing, first, the presence of an empty
ice storage bucket and, secondly, a predetermined load of ice in
the bucket;
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the ice harvesting mechanism from
the back side to show an ice making cycle timer and drive
mechanism;
FIG. 14 is a sectional view of a water fill system suitable for use
with this invention;
FIG. 15 is a schematic wiring diagram of a circuit arrangement
including a defrost timer for controlling the ice making cycle in
the improved manner of this invention; and
FIG. 16 is a timer cycle chart interpreting the operation of the
defrost timer in FIG. 15.
GENERAL
In accordance with the teachings of the aforementioned copending
application and with particular reference to FIG. 7, a domestic
refrigerator 20 is shown. The refrigerator is of the side by side
type wherein a right side portion encloses a refrigerated food
compartment 22 and the left side portion encloses a lower freezer
portion 24 for storing frozen foods and an upper freezer portion 26
enclosing the clear ice maker of this invention shown generally at
28. A vertical full length door 30 may be used to close both the
upper and lower freezer compartments 24, 26.
In general, the clear ice maker 28 (FIGS. 1 and 8) includes a tray
and heater assembly 34, an ice cube grid 36, an ice storage bucket
assembly 38, a weight sensing means 39 for bucket and ice, an ice
harvesting mechanism 40, and a water fill system 42.
TRAY AND HEATER ASSEMBLY
The tray and heater assembly 34 (FIGS. 4 and 5) is supported by
bracket means 46 from a sidewall 48 of the freezer compartment 26.
The assembly includes a drawn sheet metal housing 50 forming on one
side thereof a water containing tray 52 having a sidewall 54 and a
bottom wall 56 and on the other side thereof a cavity filled with
freon-filled urethane foam insulation 58. A pair of heaters 60, 62
surround the tray 52. Heater 60 is adapted for heating all four
sidewalls 54 of the tray and thereby normally exposes the bottom
side of the tray (beneath the ice) to above-freezing temperature.
This retains that portion of water along the bottom side of the
tray in a liquid state. For this purpose, heater 60 is comprised of
90.8 inches of vinyl covered resistance wire rated at 115 volts,
6.5 - 7.5 watts, 250 ohms per foot reference.
Heater 62 is adapted for supplying additional heat to the tray
bottom wall 56 under certain circumstances to keep ice from
freezing all the way down to the bottom wall, and is comprised of
41.7 inches of vinyl covered resistance wire rated at 115 volts,
2.8 - 3.2 watts, 1,268 ohms per foot reference.
Heater 60 is sandwiched between a sheet 66 of 0.005 aluminum foil
and a sheet 68 of 0.002 aluminum foil. Similarly, bottom wall
heater 62 is sandwiched between a sheet 70 of 0.005 aluminum foil
and a sheet 72 of 0.002 aluminum foil. The mating edges of foil
sheets 66 and 68 are heat-sealed as are the mating edges of foil
sheets 70 and 72. Both heater assemblies 60 and 62 are foamed in
place between the tray and the urethane foam.
Also foamed in place is a tray fill tube 76 of polypropylene in
heat transfer relation to heater 62 to prevent freeze-up and
adapted to suppply water to fill tray 52 through the bottom wall 56
of the tray. Electrical leads may enter the freezer through tubing
77.
WATER FILL SYSTEM
The water fill system 42 will now be described with reference to
FIGS. 1 and 14. In general, water is supplied to tray 52 from a
reservoir 78 defined by a water valve housing 80 attached to the
back wall 82 of the refrigerator 20 behind the freezer compartment
26. Water in reservoir 78 communicates with tray 52 through outlet
84 in the reservoir housing and tubing or conduit means 86
connecting outlet 84 with tray fill tube 76 through a protector
tube base 90 (FIG. 4). Water contained in tray 52 seeks a common
level with water in reservoir 78. Thus, the desired fill level in
the tray is achieved by predetermining the water level in reservoir
78.
To control the level of water in reservoir 78, water valve housing
80 includes a float 94 pivotally attached at 96 to a wing hinge
bracket 98. Top wall 100 of housing 80 carries a water valve
assembly 102 including a water inlet 104 and a water outlet 106. A
domestic supply of purified water may be connected to the inlet
104. Valve pin 108 (slidably supported on three ribs 109) has a
rubber valve portion 110 adapted for closing against a valve seat
112. At the lower end of assembly 102, a valve pin actuator 114
pivots about axis 116 in response to the upward force of float 94
at one end 120 as balanced against a water level adjustment
mechanism 122 at the other end 124. Water level may be adjusted by
a remote knob 125 turning worm gears 126, 128 against spring
130.
The water level is adjusted at 125 in a manner to shut off the
water supply at 110, 112 when the water level A (FIGS. 2 and 14)
exists in both reservoir 78 and tray 52. In general, a fresh charge
of water is supplied to tray 52 during an ice harvesting cycle when
grid 36 is out of the tray. It should be noted that water level A
will be raised to water level B when the grid is in the tray. The
grid is constructed in a manner to displace substantially all water
from the tray into the grid cavities for making clear ice. In this
way, the water so displaced is available to form cubes in the grid
cavities and, accordingly, does not form an adhesive film of ice
between the grid and tray which resists the separation of grid and
tray at the start of an ice harvesting cycle.
ICE CUBE GRID
Ice cube grid 36 (FIGS. 2, 3 and 8) has characteristics of poor
heat conduction and good flexibility at low temperature with good
ice release and return memory. It is comprised of a polypropylene
housing 140 defining cavities 142 for a plurality of ice cubes.
Each cavity 142 has an inverted truncated pyramidal shape. On the
outside of the housing between the cavity forming portions thereof,
a flexible filler 146 of RTV silicone rubber fills the space
between the cube forming cavities on the outside of grid 36. The
filler material should have an anti-stick characteristic to aid in
the release of the grid from the tray during ice harvesting. It
should be sufficiently flexible to distribute forces throughout the
grid when the grid is warped for harvesting cubes. Aside from these
characteristics, the filler 146 serves to force water in the tray
upwardly into the cube forming cavities of the grid. Thus, with the
grid in place in the tray (FIG. 2, solid line), water level A will
become water level B.
ICE STORAGE BUCKET ASSEMBLY
The ice storage bucket assembly 38 will be described with reference
to FIGS. 1 and 2. An ice container 150 of high impact polystyrene
rests on a steel wire shelf 152. The shelf pivots about a support
foot 154 on the bottom wall 156 of freezer portion 26 and includes
an upright bracket 158 at the rear thereof which hangs from a
weight sensing means 39 in a manner to keep the back 160 of the
shelf spaced from the freezer wall 156. The ice container or bucket
150 is built up with a high wall 170 to catch the cubes falling
from the grid 36 above. In general, the weight sensing means 39
will in one mode reflect the presence of ice container 150 on shelf
152 and, in another mode, the presence of a full load of ice cubes
within the container 150.
WEIGHT SENSING MEANS
The weight sensing means 39 (FIGS. 1, 9 and 15) is comprised of a
nylon weight shaft 176 having a hooked portion 178 for gripping a
loop in the upright shelf bracket 158. The weigh shaft is connected
to a stainless steel container weigh bar 188 which pivots about 198
and is electrically connected to terminal 190 by resting thereon.
An ice weigh bar 192, also stainless steel, is disposed above the
container weigh bar and pivots about a brass pin 194. The other end
of ice weigh bar 192 normally rests in electrically conducting
relationship against a brass weigh bar stop and terminal 196. The
container weigh bar includes a terminal 198 which cooperates with
terminal 196 to comprise a weigh switch. In brief, the presence of
container 150 on shelf 152 will cause the weigh shaft 176 to pull
down in a manner to cause container weigh bar 188 to touch ice
weigh bar 192 and complete a circuit between terminals 198 and 196.
When container 150 fills up with a predetermined full load of ice
cubes, the further downward movement of weigh shaft 176 will cause
container weigh bar 188 to force ice weigh bar 192 out of
electrical contact with terminal 196 thereby breaking the
circuit.
HARVESTING MECHANISM
The harvesting mechanism 40 will now be described with reference to
FIGS. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 15. With particular reference to FIGS.
12 and 13, the harvesting mechanism is comprised of a box-like
plastic casing 210 defining a compartment 212 for the grid pivoting
and twisting gears on one side of a gear mounting plate 214. On the
other side of the mounting plate 214, the housing is divided into a
drive compartment 216 and a cam compartment 218.
The means for pivoting or removing and twisting or warping grid 36
are disposed in gear compartment 212. A cam and crank gear 220 is
rotatably mounted on plate 214 and is rotatably driven from the
other side of the plate by a pair of worm gears 222, 224 which are,
in turn, driven by drive motor assembly 226. The cam and crank gear
220 is comprised of a cam portion 230 and a gear portion 232. The
cam 230 cooperates with a timer holding switch 234 through a switch
actuator 236 so that the timer holding switch is closed when the
switch actuator 236 rides the outer periphery of the cam. Timer
holding switch 234 is in shunt with weight switch 196, 198. In the
position of FIG. 12, switch actuator 236 is disposed in a notched
portion of the cam periphery to open switch 234. Gear 232 directly
drives a cam gear 240 and includes a crank portion 242 in a slot
244 of segment gear 246. Thus, one rotation of crank and cam gear
220 will cause the segment gear 246 to rock back and forth about
its pivot point 250.
The segment gear is drivably connected to grid drive gear 252 which
extends outside the mechanism casing 210 where a D socket 254 is
adapted for connection with a similarly shaped stud on grid 36 as
at 256 (FIG. 3).
Cam gear 240 is pivotally mounted on mounting plate 214 and extends
therethrough for directly driving cam 260 and cam 274. Cam 260
operates a second timer holding switch 262 through a switch
actuator 264 so that the timer holding switch is closed when the
switch actuator rides the outer periphery of the cam. Thus, switch
262 is shown in its open position.
In accordance with this invention, an ice making cycle is timed and
controlled through a defrost timer 268 which otherwise has the
conventional function of periodically defrosting the
refrigerator.
OPERATION
An ice making cycle in accordance with the teachings of this
invention will now be described. Water level in reservoir 78 is
adjusted by means of water level adjustment 125 to provide a
predetermined water level A when grid 36 is not in tray 52. Once
the adjustment is made, water valve 110, 112 will be opened and
closed by the action of float 94 and lever 114 to rapidly return to
this water level during the time that grid 36 is being rotated out
of tray 52 during an ice harvesting cycle.
With grid 36 in tray 52, substantially all of the water comprising
water level A will be forced through the open bottom of each grid
cavity 142 to form a water level B near the top of the grid
cavities. This water level B will provide in the embodiment shown a
water depth of approximately one inch in the tray. Fan means 285
(FIG. 15) blows air through and includes a duct 290 on the back
wall of the freezer compartment 26 which distributes a quantity (10
to 15 cubic feet per minute) of below-freezing air (minus
10.degree. F. to minus 12.degree. F.) uniformly over the exposed
top planar surface (water level B) of the water in the grid
cavities. The air is cooled by refrigerating or cooling means
including a compressor 286 and a temperature responsive cold
control 289 for controlling fan means 285 and compressor 286. The
refrigerating means may include a defrost arrangement including a
defrost heater 287 and limiter switch 288 in series with a defrost
timer contact 4. Additional distribution may be accomplished by
suitable means such as adjustable louvers 292 at the duct 290.
A skim of clear ice (FIG. 3) starts to form at water level B along
the top planar surface of water filling each cube cavity 142. Ice
thickens from this top surface progressively downwardly. During the
generation of this ice, heater 60 is energized to heat the body of
water in each cube cavity below the ice forming along the top
surface of the body of water in each cube cavity. Periodically (see
FIGS. 15 and 16), defrost timer 268 initiates a harvest cycle. This
occurs when the clear ice is in the form of a cube 296
approximately one-half inch thick. With the ice maker in a
0.degree. F. freezer and the refrigerator in a 70.degree. F. room
ambient, compressor 286 in the freezing system normally operates 60
- 70 percent of the time. These parameters provide for freezing
clear ice 1/2 inch thick in about 21/2 hours. Thus, defrost timer
268 is designed to initiate three harvest cycles in the 8 hour
program of the defrost timer.
Generally, by adding cam 260 to the harvest mechanism and ice maker
switch 261 and contact 5 to the defrost timer 268, the clear cube
ice maker can be timed and controlled with the defrost timer. The
harvest can also be timed and oriented with respect to the defrost
cycle. The ice maker contact 5 (FIGS. 15 and 16) must be closed
long enough for the ice harvest mechanism 40 to close cam operated
timer switches 234 and 262 but must open before the mechanism has
completed its harvest cycle (10 minutes). FIG. 16 shows a suitable
8-hour cycle chart for defrost timer 268. A defrost cycle is
initiated once every 8 hours when contact 4 is closed to energize
defrost heater 287. The defrost cycle terminates when temperature
responsive limiter switch 288 opens. As aforesaid, three harvest
cycles are initiated during an 8 hour period, i.e., when contact 5
is closed for 4 minutes at the beginning of the period, after 3
hours and again after 5 1/2 hours. As can be seen in FIGS. 15 and
16, the defrost timer motor 269 runs continuously (contact 1
energized) and the compressor 286 and fan 285 are deenergized
during defrost (contact 2 open when contact 4 closed).
More particularly, the ice maker switch 261 and contact 5 in the
defrost timer energize a relay coil 270 which closes a bistable
timer switch 272 in the harvest mechanism. Bistable means that
timer switch 272 has the characteristic of stability in both its
open and closed positions. Thus, bistable timer switch 272 remains
closed (even after the relay coil is deenergized when switch 261 in
the defrost timer opens after 4 minutes) until the harvest
mechanism is operated through its harvest cycle by drive motor 226.
Half way through the harvest cycle, a cam 274 in the harvest
mechanism pushes switch 272 open. Cam operated timer switches 234
and 262 are closed at the time switch 272 is pushed open to allow
the mechanism to complete the harvest cycle by maintaining the
energization of driver motor 226. Timer switch 272 remains open
until the defrost timer ice maker switch 261 closes again for 4
minutes at its next following point (after 180 minutes) in the
timer cycle chart. The bistable relay switching arrangement
prevents the ice maker from missing a harvest cycle when the
defrost timer switch 261 closes at the same time the weigh switch
contact 196 is open due to the bucket being full or removed from
the freezer. Moreover, as long as timer switch 272 in the mechanism
is closed, the extra tray bottom heater 62 will be energized thus
preventing the water in the tray from freezing to the bottom if the
harvest cycle is to be delayed. This is the primary purpose for the
bistable relay switching arrangement when using the defrost timer
to time the clear cube ice maker.
With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, grid 36 starts to rotate with
substantially 1/2 inch cubes 296 of clear ice in the top portion
only of each cavity 142. Unfrozen water 298 beneath the cubes
remains in tray 52 in a liquid state. Tray housing 50 includes an
upstanding flange 300 journalling a stud 302 projecting from one
corner of the grid. A stud at the same corner on the opposite end
of the grid (not shown) fits in the D socket 254 of grid drive gear
252. As grid 36 rotates from the installed position X (FIG. 2)
through the upright position Y to the harvesting position Z, the
grid will engage a raised boss 304 which halts the pivoting motion
of the grid at its outer end. However, the harvesting mechanism
continues to drive the grid causing the end nearest the driving
mechanism to continue rotation to warp the grid in a manner to
release clear ice cubes 296 from the grid. The released cubes fall
into the ice bucket 38 therebelow.
After the cubes are harvested, the continued rotation of crank gear
232 operating through its crank 242 in the slot of segment gear 246
will return the grid to its installed position X.
While the embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed
constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other
forms might be adopted.
* * * * *