CN-117029333-B - Refrigerator with air-cooled ice making assembly

CN117029333BCN 117029333 BCN117029333 BCN 117029333BCN-117029333-B

Abstract

A refrigeration appliance may include a cabinet, a liner, a thermodynamic component, an air duct, a heat pipe, a conductive ice mold, and a water dispenser. The liner may define an Ice Bin (IB) chamber and the air duct may be disposed within the IB chamber. The air duct may define a duct path between a duct inlet and a duct outlet downstream of the duct inlet. The heat pipe may be mounted to the air duct and extend from the air duct to an exterior of the duct path. A conductive ice mold may be mounted to the heat pipe within the IB chamber. The conductive ice mold may define a mold cavity external to the air duct. A water dispenser may be disposed below the conductive ice mold to direct an ice-making jet of water to the mold cavity.

Inventors

Brent Alden Jung
Jason Andrew May

Assignees

海尔智家股份有限公司
青岛海尔电冰箱有限公司
海尔美国电器解决方案有限公司

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230418
Priority Date: 20220421

Claims (14)

1. A refrigeration appliance, comprising: a case; a liner attached to the tank, the liner defining an Ice Bin (IB) chamber; A thermodynamic assembly installed in the case outside the ice bank compartment, the thermodynamic assembly including a cold air supply duct and a cold air return duct; An air duct disposed within the ice bin chamber, the air duct defining a duct path between a duct inlet and a duct outlet downstream of the duct inlet, the cold air supply duct and the cold air return duct being in fluid communication with the air duct to circulate air along the duct path; A heat pipe mounted to the air duct and extending from the air duct to an exterior of the duct path to conduct heat to the duct path; A conductive ice mold mounted to the heat pipe within the ice bin chamber to conduct heat to the heat pipe, the conductive ice mold defining a mold cavity external to the air duct, and A water dispenser disposed below the conductive ice mold to direct an ice making jet of water to the mold cavity; a thermoelectric heat exchanger (TEHE) mounted between the heat pipe and the conductive ice mold.
2. A refrigeration appliance according to claim 1 wherein the air duct is disposed above the mold cavity.
3. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 1 wherein said conductive ice mold is spaced from said heat pipe.
4. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 1 wherein the heat pipe defines a closed void therein.
5. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 4 wherein the heat pipe further includes a refrigerant liquid held within said closed void.
6. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 1 wherein said water dispenser is disposed directly below said conductive ice mold to direct an ice-making jet of water upwardly into said mold cavity.
7. The refrigeration appliance of claim 1 further comprising: An IB fan mounted within said housing in fluid communication with said thermodynamic assembly and said air duct to push cool air from said thermodynamic assembly to said air duct, and A controller in operative communication with the water dispenser and the IB fan, the controller configured to initiate an ice making operation comprising: Directing the ice making jet to the mold cavity, and Pushing the cold air during the directing of the ice making jet.
8. A refrigeration appliance, comprising: a case; the door body is provided with a door body, the door is rotatably attached to the case; a liner mounted to the door for rotation therewith, the liner defining an Ice Bin (IB) chamber; a thermodynamic assembly mounted within the tank, the thermodynamic assembly including a cold air supply duct and a cold air return duct; An air duct disposed within the ice bin chamber, the air duct defining a duct path between a duct inlet and a duct outlet downstream of the duct inlet, the cold air supply duct and the cold air return duct being in fluid communication with the air duct to circulate air along the duct path; A heat pipe mounted to the air duct and extending from the air duct to an exterior of the duct path to conduct heat to the duct path; A conductive ice mold mounted to the heat pipe within the ice bin chamber to conduct heat to the heat pipe, the conductive ice mold defining a mold cavity external to the air duct, and A water dispenser disposed below the conductive ice mold to direct an ice making jet of water to the mold cavity; a thermoelectric heat exchanger (TEHE) mounted between the heat pipe and the conductive ice mold.
9. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 8 wherein said air duct is disposed above said mold cavity.
10. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 8 wherein said conductive ice mold is spaced from said heat pipe.
11. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 8 wherein the heat pipe defines a closed void therein.
12. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 11 wherein the heat pipe further includes a refrigerant liquid held within said closed void.
13. The refrigeration appliance according to claim 8 wherein said water dispenser is disposed directly below said conductive ice mold to direct an ice-making jet of water upwardly into said mold cavity.
14. The refrigeration appliance of claim 8 further comprising: An IB fan mounted within said housing in fluid communication with said thermodynamic assembly and said air duct to push cool air from said thermodynamic assembly to said air duct, and A controller in operative communication with the water dispenser and the IB fan, the controller configured to initiate an ice making operation comprising: Directing the ice making jet to the mold cavity, and Pushing the cold air during the directing of the ice making jet.

Description

Refrigerator with air-cooled ice making assembly Technical Field The present invention relates generally to refrigeration appliances and more particularly to refrigeration appliances having a transparent ice making assembly. Background In household and commercial applications, ice is typically formed into solid cubes, such as crescent-shaped cubes or generally rectangular blocks. The shape of such a square is generally determined by the container in which the water is held during the freezing process. For example, an ice maker may receive liquid water, and such liquid water may freeze within the ice maker to form ice cubes. In particular, some ice making machines include a freezing mold that defines a plurality of cavities. The plurality of cavities may be filled with liquid water that remains stationary within the cavities and may freeze within the plurality of cavities to form solid ice cubes. Typical solid blocks or masses can be relatively small to accommodate a large number of applications, such as temporary refrigeration and rapid cooling of liquids over a wide range of sizes. While typical solid blocks or tiles may be useful in various situations, they have certain drawbacks. Such typical cubes or blocks are quite turbid, for example, due to impurities found in frozen molds or water. Thus, some consumers consider clear ice to be preferred over cloudy ice. During the formation of the transparent ice, dissolved solids typically found in water (e.g., tap water) are separated out and the substantially pure water freezes to form the transparent ice. Since the water in transparent ice is purer than that found in typical cloudy ice, transparent ice is less likely to affect the taste of the beverage. Additionally or alternatively, typical blocks or tiles may have dimensions or shapes that are undesirable under certain conditions. There are certain conditions under which different or unique ice shapes may be desired. In particular, relatively large or round ice blanks or gemstones (e.g., about two inches in diameter) will melt more slowly than typical ice sizes/shapes. In certain wines or cocktails, slow melting of ice may be particularly desirable. Moreover, such a blank or gemstone may provide a unique or high-grade impression to the user. In recent years, ice making appliances have been developed for forming relatively large billets in a manner that avoids entrainment of impurities and gases within the ice billets. These appliances also use precise temperature control to avoid a matt or hazy finish that may form on the outer surface of the ice slab (e.g., during rapid freezing of ice cubes). However, such systems are typically very bulky and cannot be incorporated into commercial refrigeration appliances. In particular, the inefficiency and large mass of these dedicated appliances makes them unsuitable for use within appliances that also store food (e.g., in a fresh food compartment or freezer compartment). Furthermore, the installation of an ice maker in the same chamber as one or more food products runs the risk of producing an undesirable taste or the need to subject the ice to a temperature more suitable for storing the food products. Accordingly, further improvements in the field of ice making and refrigeration appliances would be desirable. In particular, it may be desirable to provide a refrigeration appliance capable of reliably and efficiently producing substantially transparent ice blanks (e.g., outside a chamber for storing food). Disclosure of Invention Various aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention. In one exemplary aspect of the present invention, a refrigeration appliance is provided. The refrigeration appliance may include a cabinet, a liner, a thermodynamic component, an air duct, a heat pipe, a conductive ice mold, and water dispenser. The liner may be attached to the tank. The liner may define an Ice Bin (IB) chamber. The thermodynamic components may be mounted within a housing outside the IB chamber. The thermodynamic assembly may include a cold air supply duct and a cold air return duct. The air conduit may be disposed within the IB chamber. The air duct may define a duct path between a duct inlet and a duct outlet downstream of the duct inlet. The cold air supply duct and the cold air return duct may be in fluid communication with the air duct to circulate air along the duct path. The heat pipe may be mounted to the air duct and extend from the air duct to an exterior of the duct path to conduct heat to the duct path. A conductive ice mold may be mounted to the heat pipe within the IB chamber to conduct heat to the heat pipe. The conductive ice mold may define a mold cavity external to the air duct. A water dispenser may be disposed below the conductive ice mold to direct an ice-making jet of water to the mold cavity. In another exemplary