US2807150A - Temperature control for ice making machine defrosting gases - Google Patents

Description

Se t. 24, 1957 M. s. CHAPMAN 2,807,150

TEMPERATURE common. FOR ICE MAKING MACHINE DEFROSTING GASES Filed April 1, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 SUCT/ON L l/VE L IOU/D A MMO/V/A HOT GAS'L/NG YVFRU/V 8. MA PMA/V,

BY M 2 ATTORNEYS Sept. 24, 1957 M. s. CHAPMAN "TEMPERATURE CONTRQL FOR ICE MAKING MACHINE DEFROSTING GASES Filed A il 1, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS M. S. CHAPMAN 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 III iiiiii 1.1.1.13... A

I N VENTOR ATTORNEYS Sept. 24, 1957 TEMPERATURE CONTROL FOR ICE MAKING MACHINE DEFROSTING GASES Filed April 1, 1955 TEMPERATURE CONTROL FOR ICE MAKING MACHINE DEFROSTING GASES Merlin S. Chapman, Wheeling, W. Va. Application April 1, 1955, Serial No. 498,582 2 Claims. (Cl. 2-7

The present invention relates to ice making machines and is more particularly concerned with the means for freeing ice from the surface against which it is formed by a slight thawing of its adjacent surface only.

In known ice making machines a liquid refrigerant is is employed which is introduced into one or more chambers while water is positioned or sprayed against the opposite side of the wall forming said chambers which water then becomes frozen due to the absorption of the heat by the refrigerant which then' turns into a gas. This gas is withdrawn from the chamber, compressed and condensed back to the liquid form for reintroduction into said chambers for further freezing purposes. The gas leaving the compressor in such machines is relatively hot and in some machines is introduced into said chambers for freeing the ice from the tubes upon which it is formed to assist in its removal between the introduction of the liquid refrigerant for forming the ice. Examples of such machines are shown in U. S. Patents Nos. 2,598,430; 2,590,499; 2,595,588 and applicants co-pending application for patent Serial No. 305,534, now Patent No. 2,739,457, granted March 27, 1955.

However, in such known machines the temperature of the hot gas is not controlled and, accordingly, efficient defrosting of the ice is not effected, nor can the temperature of the defrosting gas be varied as required due to the variation in the temperature surrounding said machine.

It is, accordingly, the principal object of the present invention to include in ice making machines means for increasing the temperature of the hot refrigerant gas employed for defrosting purposes.

Further objects of the invention will be in part obvious and in part pointed out in the following description of the accompanying drawings wherein,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an example of an ice making machine incorporating the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view showing the refrigerant pipes from the bottom of an ice making chamber.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of the refrigerant intro ducing means for the exemplary ice making machine of Fig. 1 during the defrosting cycle.

Fig. 4 is similar to Fig. 3 except the elements are shown during the freezing cycle.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section through a superheater for carrying out the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section through a modified form of superheater; and,

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section taken Fig. 6.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings, wherein like and corresponding parts are designated by similar reference characters, there is shown by way of example only, an ice making machine incorporating the present invention and which machine is more fully described in applicants co-pending application Serial No. 305,534, now Patent No. 2,739,457, in order that the operation of the present invention can be on line 77 of Patented Sept. 24, 1957 "ice .v

understood. Referring first to Fig. 1, there is shown a tank 1 for receiving a liquid refrigerant such as ammonia or Freon from the conventional refrigerant compressor and condenser for storing this refrigerant which by way of example is indicated as being ammonia, although other known refrigerants .can equally as well be employed.

Below tank 1 there is positioned a hollow header 2 from which extend a plurality of tubes 3. A plurality of pipes 4 extend from the bottom of each of said tubes and they are all connected to a pipe 5 which passes back to said tank 1.

Pipe 6 is connected to the exhaust end of the refrigerant compressor for receiving hot compressed refrigerant gas therefrom and conveys this hot gas in the present example into a superheater 12 which for example, is the same as shown in Fig. 5 or Figs. 6 and 7 and a plurality of pipes 7 each leading into a hollow plug 8 closing one end of a tube 3, while a corresponding plurality of pipes 9 connect said plug 8 to a pipe 10 which in turn is connected by a pipe 11 connected to a superheater 12 similar to those shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Using the superheater ofFig. 5 as an example of one type of device which can be employed for the present purpose, this superheater consists of a cylinder 12 having a disc 13 extending across one end forming a partition. Said disc has a large plurality of openings 14 formed therethrough from each of which extends a tube 15 down to a second disc 16 having a like plurality of openings 17 and forming a partition at the opposite end of said cylinder. A pair of inlet and outlet pipes 18 and 19 extend through said cylinder between said discs. A cover 20 having pipe 11 connected thereto closes the lower end of cylinder 12 while a similar cover 21 closes the upper end. A pipe 22 is connected to said cover 21 and extends to pipe 23 connected to said header 2. A by-pass pipe 24 connects pipe 22 to the base of the outlet cylinder 25, and extends to header 2. Within said outlet cylinder is positioned a closure piston 26 while a spring 27 is positioned within the outlet 28 of said tank. A pipe 29' extends from the lower side of said cylinder 25 to header 2.

In the operation of the present machine, liquid refrigerant is fed from the conventional refrigeration condenser to tank 1 while refrigerant gases are drawn into the compressor for being recondensed. This liquid refrigerant passes from tank 1 through outlet 28 to pipe 29 through header 2 to each of the tubes 3 where water in tubes 3 to tank 1 and thence through the suction line therefrom, and the liquid refrigerant remaining is discharged, during the harvest cycle, through pipes 4 into pipe 5, Y-shaped outlet 5' and pipe 5" back to tank 1.

At the same time hot gas under pressure from the highpressure side of the refrigeration system is in pipes 6 and upon the opening of the control valve to this pipe the hot gas therein and in superheater 12', passes into pipe 7, and plugs 8 where the ice thereon and around the lower ends only of the tubes 3, is initially and slightly melted whereupon this gas continues through pipe 9 and 10 to pipe 11 into superheater 12, where its temperature is raised to the extent desired.

The resultant superheated gas from superheater 12, during the harvesting cycle, passes through pipes 22, 24 into cylinder 25 where, because it is held under a much higher pressure than that in tank 1, it pushes piston 26 against spring 27 into tank outlet 28 whereupon this superheated gas under high pressure, passes downwardly through pipe 29 into header 2 and tubes 3 forcing out the liquid refrigerant therein through pipes 4, 5, etc., as described in applicants co-pending application hereinbefore mentioned. While the liquid refrigerant is being so expelled from tubes 3, the valve for pipe is opened for the passage of the refrigerant. When the hot gas has replaced the refrigerant in tubes 3, the ice on tubes 3 has its adjacent surfaces thawed sufliciently to allow the tubes of ice to'slide downwardly from said tubes 3. After the ice sheaths have been removed from the tubes 3 and so harvested, the timer closes the valve in pipes 6. Shortly thereafter the pressure beyond that point in the device illustrated in Fig. 1 equalizes, whereupon the valve 26 opens spilling refrigerant from the tank 1 into the tubes 3 and intermediate parts, thus beginning another freezing cycle. The freezing and the harvesting cycles can be alternated by controlling the valves for pipes 5 and 6.

Steam, generated by means not shown, may be introduced through the pipes Y19 and 19' into cylinders 12 and 12. By this means the gas passing through the tubes 15 is heated to the desired temperature in a manher Well understood.

By controlling the temperature of the steam in cylinders 12 and 12, the temperature of the hot gas can likewise be controlled so that a hotter than normal gas can be used to decrease greatly the time of the harvesting cycle and also to compensate for the loss of heat escaping from the pipes conveying the gas. Furthermore, these ice making machines are generally housed in a building without heat and in the winter it is especially desirable to increase the heat of the gas at one or both of the points indicated by the positions of the superheaters shown in Fig. 1.

In the superheater shown in Figs. 6 and 7, a casing 30 has a heat insulating material 31 therein With a cylinder 32 encased thereby. Said cylinder has a disc 33 partitioning off the top of said cylinder, while said disc has a plurality of openings 34 from each of which extends a tube 35 down to a similar disc 36 closing the lower end of said cylinder and having corresponding openings 37.

A cover 38 connected to pipe 11 closes the lower end of said cylinder while a cover 39 connected to pipe 22 closes the upper end. A safety valve 40 is connected to the medial portion of said cylinder, while an outlet pipe 41 having a control valve 42 is likewise connected to said cylinder. A water gauge 43 extends from pipe 41 to pipe 44 having a valve 45 and is likewise connected to said cylinder. Electrical heating coils '46 connected to a source of electrical current surround the lower ends of said cylinder 32. A valve Water inlet pipe 47 also is connected to said cylinder while an air outlet pipe 48 is positioned adjacent disc 33 which outlet pipe is closed when all the air in said cylinder is exhausted.

In the operation of this superheater the hot refrigerant gas from pipe 6 or 11 entering cover 38 passes through pipes 35 to cover 39 and through pipe 22. Water is in troduced through pipe 47 to the desired height as indicated by the water gauge '43. The heating element 46 heats the water in cylinder 32 turning the same to steam. The valve in pipe 48 remains open until the steam has driven all air from the interior of :the superheater and when that has been donethe valve is closed. The steam within the superheater then heats the tubes 35 and the gas passing through or contained therein. Safety valve 40 automatically releases steam if the pressure rises above the pointat which said valve is set to operate. Thus it will be understood, the temperature within cylinder 32 can be controlled by controlling the current of heating elements 46.

Superheater 12' also may be interconnected to the hot gas line 6 for increasing the temperature of the gas in that line since it is important that the ice be melted around the plugs 8 and adjacent end portion of tubes 3 before it is thawed from the remainder portions of the tubes 3. Either superheater 12 or superheater 12 or both can be employed, depending upon the conditions under which the machine is operating, and as experience may indicate is desirable. Also other types of superheaters such as superheater 31 can be used in place of superheater 12.

It is to be appreciated that the ice making machine disclosed herein as well as the particular forms of superheaters are merely by way of example only. Superheaters can equally as well be included in other types of ice making machines for controlling the temperature of the defrosting gas in view of the teachings disclosed herein. Likewise conventional forms of superheaters can be employed for heating the gas to the temperature desired.

Accordingly, the present invention is capable of a variation and changes thereto as come within the scope of the appended claims are deemed to be a part of the present invention.

What I claim is:

1. In an ice making machine having at least one upright cylinder for producing ice on the exterior thereof including a chamber connected to the lower end of said cylinder, a pipe for conducting a heating fluid to said chamber for loosening ice formed around the lower end of said cylinder and said chamber, a closed casing having said pipe connected at opposite ends thereof, a parti tion in said casing, a plurality of pipes extending through said partitions for the passage of fluid from said first mentioned pipe, controlled means for supplying steam at desired temperatures between said partitions and exteriorly of said plurality of pipes for superheating the fluid passing therethrough whereby fluid at a controlled high temperature will reach said chamber for loosening ice around said chamber and the lower'end of said cylinder.

2. In an ice making machine as claimed in claim 1, a controlled pipe connecting said cylinder and said chamber for feeding said fluid from said chamber to said cylinder, and means for superheating said fluid passing through said pipe whereby said fluid at a given temperature will be fed into said cylinder for melting ice therearound sufficient to cause said ice to slide from said cylinder.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 170,508 Beath Nov. 30, 1875 2,384,714 Villiger Sept. 11, 1945 7 2,397,347 Gruner Mar. 26, 1946 2,563,686 Archibald Aug. 7, 1951 2,575,509 Bayston Nov. 20, 1951 2,618,129 Williams Nov. 18, 1952 2,641,908 La Porte June 16, 1953 2,674,858 Magnuson Apr. 13, 1954 2,749,721 Trepaud June 12, .1956

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