The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent

Application No. 61756834 filed January 25, 2013, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to ice makers generally and in particular to an ice maker that comprises a sump that quickly slides from an operational position to a cleaning position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Ice cube makers employing gridded freeze plates forming lattice-type cube molds, gravity water flow and ice harvest are well known and in extensive use. Such machines have received wide acceptance and are particularly desirable for commercial installations such as restaurants, bars, motels and various beverage retailers having a high and continuous demand for ice.

In these ice makers, water is introduced at the top of a freeze grid which directs the water in a tortuous path toward a sump. The frozen water collects on the freeze grid and is sensed by suitable means to defrost the grid whereupon the frozen product is discharged therefrom into an ice bin. Control means associated with the ice maker are provided to control the operation of the device to insure a constant supply of frozen product. A refrigeration system incorporating a compressor, condenser, evaporator and expansion valve is common. The evaporator tubing is in direct physical connection with the freeze plate in order to freeze the water.

Water that falls from the freeze plate into a sump is recirculated from the sump across the freeze plate again until it freezes on the plate. Commonly water falls from the freeze plate back to the sump over and over until the charge of water sufficiently cools and begins to reach the freezing point.

One of the most desirable features of manufactured ice is that it be as clear as possible. Highly clear ice becomes increasingly difficult as operation of the machine continues until the machine is cleaned.

Because the water used in ice machines is tap water supplied from municipal water supplies or private wells, the quality of the water supply to ice machines varies greatly.

Tap water contaminants can generally be classified into three categories: suspended solids, dissolved minerals and metals, and chemicals. Sand and dirt are examples of suspended solids and can be removed with mechanical filters. Chemicals are typically removed with carbon filtration. Removal of dissolved metals and minerals is more difficult and requires processes like reverse osmosis, distillation (water softening), or deionization. These processes are more expensive and difficult to implement, and ice machines generally do not include apparatus to remove any or certainly all minerals. Moreover water softening just exchanges sodium ions for calcium and manganese, so the mineral problem is not effectively eliminated by water softening. The minerals and metals general comprise sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, manganese, phosphorus, and zinc in amounts that vary with locale and type of water source.

As the ice maker begins to form ice on the freeze plate, minerals and metals tend to build up in concentration within the sump and begin to "wash out", or fall out of solution, to form a solid build-up in the lowest portion of the water circuit, the sump. This is because pure water freezes at a higher temperature than the impurities, and thus will freeze first. This causes the mineral and metal concentration in the unfrozen water to increase as purer liquid water is removed in the form of ice.

This phenomenon is also evident when standing water freezes into an ice cube. The clearest water will tend to be at the outer edges of the cube, which freeze first, and a cloud of minerals eventually become trapped at the center of the cube.

No matter what method is used to form ice, a cleaner ice machine and purer water will form harder, more sanitary and clearer ice. Many ice makers include built-in flushing and purging cycles that direct sump water to a drain when a predetermined amount of water has been turned to ice. This flushing of high mineral concentration water out of the sump works to help minimize mineral formation in the sump, but eventually minerals will still form in the sump. Eventually, the must still be manually cleaned to keep the ice clear and conditions sanitary. When cleaning mineral buildup, or scale, from an ice machine, food grade acids are used to help dissolve the mineral buildup. Heavier scale deposits may require soaking in the acid solution, but manual scrubbing or wiping is also very effective and sometimes necessary to clean minerals and metals from the sump. However, in ice makers, sumps are located under the evaporator and freeze plate, which make it difficult to access the interior of the sump to remove mineral build up and may require the use of tools to remove it.

Moreover, when cleaning the sump, it is important to ensure that acid cleaning solutions, mineral and metal deposits or anything else is not dropped onto the ice in the ice storage bin underneath. These materials are contaminants that cause the stored ice and the ice bin to become unsanitary. Removing the ice from the ice bin is wasteful and can cause ice shortages, however it is a process that is recommended in the cleaning instructions provided by all of the ice machine manufacturers, and is necessary to insure that the ice remains sanitary and suitable for consumption.

Therefore, there is a need in the art for a sump that is easily removed from its location under the refrigeration unit and freeze plate in an ice machine for cleaning access. There is also a need in the art for a method of protecting the ice bin and its contents from becoming contaminated during the cleaning process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises an ice maker having an upper section and a lower section. The lower section comprises an ice storage portion, and the upper section comprises a refrigeration compartment for housing at least a portion of a closed refrigeration circuit for making ice. The upper section further houses an ice-making grid, a water pump and sump. The lower section defines an ice opening from which ice can fall from the ice-making grid of the upper section into the lower section. The sump is configured to be movable from a first position where the sump is positioned to catch unfrozen water falling from the ice-making grid to a second, cleaning position whereby the interior of the sump is more easily accessed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an ice maker with its front cover removed according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view an ice maker with its front cover removed and with its sump in an operating position according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a side view an ice maker with its front cover removed and with its sump in an extended, cleaning position according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an ice maker with its front cover removed and with its sump in an operating position according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an ice maker with its front cover removed and with its sump in an extended, cleaning position according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is an isometric view of a sump according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspect of the invention to the embodiment illustrated.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a sump which is moveable from a first, ice-making position to a second, extended, cleaning position. The sump is held in either position by the friction of its own weight (and occasional the weight of the water within the sump) and requires no tools to move the sump between either position. It is protected from overextension and accidental removal by a back wall that will contact a portion of the upper cabinet and/or a front wall which will contact a portion of the upper cabinet thereby preventing the sump from being completely removed from the ice maker. Further, when in the extended position, the sump will block the hole through which ice falls when it is being harvested. This protects the ice and ice bin from contamination during the cleaning process. Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a commercial type ice making machine 10 of the present invention is housed in a cabinet 12 which is located on top of a lower housing 14 that forms an ice receiving and storing compartment (ice bin 15) accessible through door 16 and an upper section 20 comprising a refrigeration compartment housing the compressor and condenser units of a closed refrigeration circuit. The upper section 20 of the ice making machine 10 further includes evaporator tubing 18 (Figs. 4 and 5) attached to an ice making grid 21, which is located above a water pump 19 and sump 24. The various compartments of the ice maker cabinet 12 are enclosed by suitable fixed and removable panels to provide temperature integrity and compartmental access, as will be understood by those in the art.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the closed refrigeration system housed in compartment 20 includes the refrigeration compressor and the air-cooled condenser. The high pressure discharge side of the compressor is connected by a discharge line to the condenser. Saturated liquid refrigerant flows from the condenser through liquid line having a filter/drier unit therein and is connected to a typical thermostatic expansion valve which meters refrigerant into the inlet 42 of the evaporator unit 21 in the freeze compartment. The outlet 44 of the evaporator is connected by a suction line to a suction side of the compressor. The refrigeration cycle is typical— the compressor supplies high pressure hot refrigerant gas to the condenser, where it is cooled to its saturation temperature and liquefied refrigerant flows to the evaporator 21 through the expansion valve. The expanding vaporization of liquid refrigerant in the evaporator removes heat from the water on the evaporator 18 and freeze plate 21 thereby forming the ice cubes in the lattice molds thereon, and the gaseous refrigerant is returned to the compressor suction side to complete the refrigeration and freeze cycle.

The system also includes a hot gas by-pass line connected between the discharge line and the evaporator inlet 42 side downstream of expansion valve, and being controlled by solenoid valve to initiate an ice harvest cycle. When this solenoid valve is energized, the hot gas bypass line warms the freeze plate 21 to thaw ice cubes that have been formed thereon. The result is that the ice cubes melt away from the freeze plate 21 and fall through an ice hole 22 into the lower housing 14 from where it can be retrieved and used.

The sump 24 of the preferred embodiment will now be specifically shown and described. The sump 24 comprises a generally rectangular box having an open top. The sump 24 rests just above the lower cabinet 14 and is slidably movable between the positions of Figs. 2 and 3 (side view) and Figs. 4 and 5 (cross-section view). Referring now specifically to Figs. 1, 2, and 4, the sump 24 is held in position by the friction of its own weight (and when full of water, the weight of the water within the sump 24). A rear abutment surface 26 strikes a rear surface 28 of a rear wall 30 of the sump 24 and prevents the sump from being inserted too far within the upper housing 14 of the ice maker 10. Furthermore, a front abutment surface 36 of the upper cabinet 14 strikes a rear abutment surface 38 of a front wall 40 of the sump 24.

For purposes of cleaning the sump 24 and when the sump 24 has little or no water within it, the sump 24 may be moved to an extended position by sliding it outwardly toward a front of the ice maker 10. This done by manually pulling on a front wall 32 of the sump 24 until the sump 24 completely cover the ice hole 22.

In this extended position of Figs 3 and 5, interior volume of the sump 24 is easy accessible to pour an acidic solution for descaling of calcium and removal of other minerals and metals from the sump 24. Moreover, the sump 24 extends sufficiently from under the upper cabinet 14, evaporator unit 18 and freeze plate

21 that a person may insert his/her hand into an interior volume of the sump 24 and use a cloth or tool to remove mineral and metal build up.

In the extended position of Figs. 3 and 5, the sump 24 covers the ice hole

22 that provides access to the ice bin 15 of the lower cabinet 16 such that the sump 24 protects the ice bin 15, and the ice within it, from contaminants such as minerals, dirt and dust, cleaning solutions, cloths and cleaning tools. Because of this, the cleaning instructions for this machine do not include the requirement to remove ice from the bin prior to cleaning.

When the sump 24 is returned to the operating position of Figs. 1, 2 and 4, the ice hole 16 is once again opened to allow harvested ice to fall into the bin 15 and the sump 24 is returned to operating position to catch and hold water falling from the freeze plate 21.

The above example shows that the invention, as will be defined by the claims, has far ranging application and should not be limited merely to the embodiment shown and described in detail. Instead the invention should be limited only to the words of the claims. Aspects of the preferred embodiment not claimed are not intended to be part of the claimed invention. Applicant intends the scope of the protection to be only limited by the scope of the patent claims.