US-12624876-B2 - Ice maker with pressure transducers

Abstract

An ice maker control system includes a low side pressure transducer on a suction line and a high side pressure transducer on a discharge line. The ice maker's refrigeration system is hermetically sealed and devoid of pressure taps for servicing gauges. The ice maker can display an indication of real-time suction or discharge pressure. The ice maker can store records of suction and discharge pressure over time and display time series data for suction and discharge pressure on the display. The ice maker can cycle the condenser fan based on the discharge pressure. An additional high pressure switch can shut off the compressor independently of the controller or transducers. During a pulldown routine, the ice maker refrains from delivering water to the ice formation device until the suction pressure is below a threshold.

Inventors

• Kevin Knatt

Assignees

• TRUE MANUFACTURING CO. INC.

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20220127

Claims (20)

1. 1 . An ice maker comprising: an ice formation device in which to form ice; a water system configured to deliver water to the ice formation device; a refrigeration system including a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator, a thermal expansion device, and refrigerant passaging connecting the compressor, the condenser, the evaporator, and the thermal expansion device, the evaporator being thermally coupled to the ice formation device to cool the ice formation device for forming at least some of the water delivered by the water system into ice; and a control system configured to control the refrigeration system and the water system to form ice in the ice formation device, the control system including a controller, a low side pressure transducer fluidly connected to the refrigerant passaging upstream of the compressor, and a high side pressure transducer fluidly connected to the refrigerant passaging downstream of the compressor, the low side pressure transducer being configured to output to the controller a signal representative of a suction pressure of the refrigeration system and the high side pressure transducer configured to output to the controller a signal representative of a discharge pressure of the refrigeration system; wherein the refrigeration system is hermetically sealed and is devoid of any pressure taps at which any servicing pressure gauge can be fluidly connected to the refrigerant passaging.
2. 2 . The ice maker as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the refrigeration system is charged with natural gas refrigerant.
3. 3 . The ice maker as set forth in claim 2 , wherein the natural gas refrigerant is r290.
4. 4 . The ice maker as set forth in claim 2 , wherein the natural gas refrigerant has a total charge of less than 150 g.
5. 5 . The ice maker as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the control system further comprises a display, the display connected to the controller, the controller being configured to selectively direct the display to display a real-time indication of each of the suction pressure and the discharge pressure based on the signals output from the low side pressure transducer and the high side pressure transducer, respectively.
6. 6 . The ice maker as set forth in claim 5 , wherein the display comprises a local display mounted on the ice maker.
7. 7 . The ice maker as set forth in claim 5 , wherein the controller is configured to selectively direct the display to display a schematic illustration of the refrigeration system including a schematic illustration of the compressor, a schematic illustration the evaporator, and a schematic illustration the condenser, and to display the real-time indication of the suction pressure at a location between the schematic illustration of the evaporator and the schematic illustration of the compressor and display the real-time indication of the discharge pressure at a location between the schematic illustration of the compressor and the schematic illustration of the condenser.
8. 8 . The ice maker as set forth in claim 7 , wherein the control system further comprises an evaporator temperature sensor configured to output to the controller a signal representative of a temperature of the evaporator and wherein the controller is configured to display a real-time indication of the temperature of the evaporator based on the signal output from the evaporator temperature sensor adjacent the schematic illustration of the evaporator.
9. 9 . The ice maker as set forth in claim 7 , wherein the controller is configured to direct the display to display a schematic illustration of the water system adjacent the schematic illustration of the refrigeration system.
10. 10 . The ice maker as set forth in claim 9 , wherein the control system includes one or more temperature sensors associated with the water system, each configured to output to the controller a signal representative of a water temperature, the controller being configured to display, adjacent to the schematic illustration of the water system, a real-time indication of each water temperature based on the signal output from each of the one or more temperature sensors.
11. 11 . The ice maker as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the control system comprises a network interface, the controller configured to transmit indications of each of the low side pressure and the high side pressure based on the signals output from the high side pressure transducer and the low side pressure transducer, respectively, to a remote device via the network interface.
12. 12 . The ice maker as set forth in claim 1 , wherein each of the high side pressure transducer and the low side pressure transducer is connected to the refrigerant passaging by a tee joint.
13. 13 . The ice maker as set forth in claim 12 , wherein the refrigerant tubing comprises copper tubing and each tee joint comprises a brazed tee joint.
14. 14 . The ice maker as set forth in claim 1 , wherein each of the high side pressure transducer and the low side pressure transducer is connected to the refrigerant tubing by a brazed joint.
15. 15 . The ice maker as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to actuate the water system to deliver water to the ice formation device based on the signal output from the low side pressure transducer.
16. 16 . The ice maker as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the refrigeration system comprises a condenser fan, wherein the controller is configured to cycle the condenser fan based on the signal output from the high side pressure transducer.
17. 17 . The ice maker as set forth in claim 16 , wherein the controller is configured to determine whether the discharge pressure is falling or rising based on the signal output from the high side pressure transducer.
18. 18 . The ice maker as set forth in claim 17 , wherein the controller is configured to adjust the condenser fan differently depending on whether the high side pressure is determined to be rising or falling.
19. 19 . The ice maker as set forth in claim 16 , wherein the controller is configured to selectively adjust a speed of the condenser fan based on the signal output from the high side pressure transducer.
20. 20 . The ice maker as set forth in claim 19 , wherein the controller is configured to selectively adjust the fan between a high speed, normal speed, and off based on the signal output from the high side pressure transducer.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/152,363, filed Feb. 23, 2021, and entitled ICE MAKER, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. FIELD The present disclosure generally relates to dedicated ice maker appliances of the type comprising a refrigeration system dedicated to the task of cooling water in an ice formation device into ice. BACKGROUND Numerous types of dedicated ice makers are in wide commercial and residential use. As compared with freezer-deployed ice makers, which cool water inside a freezer compartment that is simultaneously used to keep other goods frozen, dedicated ice makers include refrigerant systems that are dedicated to the task of cooling water in an ice formation device to make ice. Common types of dedicated ice makers include flow-down batch ice makers with a water distributor that direct water to flow down along the front side of a vertically oriented freeze plate, vertical spray ice makers that spray water upward into downwardly opening ice molds in a horizontal freeze plate, and nugget ice makers that cool water into ice inside a cylindrical tube containing an auger that pushes out nuggets of ice formed within the tube. SUMMARY In one aspect, an ice maker comprises an ice formation device in which to form ice. A water system is configured to deliver water to the ice formation device. A refrigeration system includes a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator, a thermal expansion device, and refrigerant passaging connection the compressor, the condenser, the evaporator, and the thermal expansion device. The evaporator is thermally coupled to the ice formation device to cool the ice formation device for forming at least some of the water delivered by the water system into ice. A control system is configured to control the refrigeration system and the water system to form ice in the ice formation device. The control system includes a controller, a low side pressure transducer fluidly connected to the refrigerant passaging upstream of the compressor, and a high side pressure transducer fluidly connected to the refrigerant passaging downstream of the compressor. The low side pressure transducer is configured to output to the controller a signal representative of a suction pressure of the refrigeration system and the high side pressure transducer configured to output to the controller a signal representative of a discharge pressure of the refrigeration system. The refrigeration system is hermetically sealed and is devoid of any pressure taps at which any servicing pressure gauge can be fluidly connected to the refrigerant passaging. In another aspect, a method of servicing an ice maker comprises displaying an indication one of suction pressure and a discharge pressure on a display connected to the ice maker. Said indication of one of the suction pressure and the discharge pressure is based on a signal output from a pressure transducer connected to a hermetically sealed refrigeration system of the ice maker. A controller of the ice maker conducts an automated maintenance routine in response to a user input to the display and received by the controller. The user input instructs the controller to perform the automated maintenance routine to address a diagnosis made based on the displayed one of the suction pressure and the discharge pressure. In another aspect, an ice maker comprises an ice formation device in which to form ice. A water system is configured to deliver water to the ice formation device. A refrigeration system includes a compressor, a condenser including a condenser fan, an evaporator, a thermal expansion device, and refrigerant passaging connecting the compressor, the condenser, the evaporator, and the thermal expansion device, the evaporator is thermally coupled to the ice formation device to cool the ice formation device for forming at least some of the water delivered by the water system into ice. A control system is configured to control the refrigeration system and the water system to form ice in the ice formation device. The control system includes a controller and a high side pressure transducer fluidly connected to the refrigerant passaging downstream of the compressor. The high side pressure transducer is configured to output to the controller a signal representative of a discharge pressure of downstream of the compressor. The controller is configured to cycle the condenser fan based on the output of the high side pressure transducer. In another aspect, an ice maker comprises an ice formation device in which to form ice. A water system is configured to deliver water to the ice formation device. A refrigeration system includes a compressor, a condenser including a condenser fan, an evaporator, a thermal expansion device, and refrigerant passaging connecting the compressor, the condenser, the evaporator, and the thermal expansion device. The evaporator