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(11) | EP 0 265 392 A2 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Apparatus for the production of ice and similar products |
| (57) This invention relates to an apparatus for the production of ice and similar products
including a tank (2) containing a liquid to be frozen, internally defined to a bearing
framework (3) of a cylinder (4) pivoting around its own axis and drawing with one
of its portions in the same tank; the cylinder (4) is cooled by a refrigerant through
a supply duct (5) and a return duct (6) both associated on one face (7) of the above-mentioned
cylinder; this invention also provides for a scraping device (22) consisting in only
one piece of stainless steel to scrape the ice layer formed on the sleeve (8) of the
cylinder (4) and for a circuit for the cooling of the of the refrigerant fluid. |
[0002] As you know, the devices for the production of fine or crushed artificial ice, granulated ice, ice flakes, ice snow and the like are used in all kinds of food and non-food sectors, and shall be able to produce ice either using fresh drinking water or other food liquids or sea water. Generally, such devices for the production of artificial ice are used on boats or fishing vessels where ice is highly requested, therefore they must be extremely reliable and have a compact, not very bulky structure.
[0003] The German patent No. 870 551 and the German patent No. 951 517 disclose a procedure and a device for the production of ice having a pivoting cylinder drawing in a tank containing the liquid to be frozen.
[0004] The cylinder is cooled internally by means of a refrigerant and on its cylindrical surface it is provided with a scraping device to remove the ice layer forming on the surface of the cylinder itself. Moreover, the surface of the cylinder has a number of channels or tubular guides to channel the refrigerant, which are helicoidally positioned on the surface of the cylinder.
[0005] The device for the production of ice includes also the cylinder supporting shafts which are co-axial and associated respectively to the opposed plane faces of the same. Such shafts are axially perforated and associated, respectively, one to the supply duct of the refrigerant and the other to an outlet duct of the refrigerant, after the latter has flowed through the cylinder and has cooled it. From what has been said, you can easily understand that it is rather expensive and complex to make, for instance, the seals between the rotating parts and the fixed parts of the device described above, therefore, as a result of the high number of seals used, in the long run leaks occur between rotating and fixed parts of the device, which affect the performance of the device for the production of ice. Then, the fact that the refrigerant inlet and outlet are located on the two opposed plane faces of the cylinder involves that the driving members of the same shall be housed in areas far from the cylinder and, sometimes, even outside the framework bearing the same so that the dimensions of the device for the production of ice increase considerably with problems of coupling, for example, between the speed reducer, the cylinder driving motor and the cylinder itself.
[0006] The object of the present invention is to overcome all the above-mentioned drawbacks by making an apparatus for the production of ice and similar products having very little dimensions and at low costs thanks to the considerably reduced wear of all its mechanical parts.
[0007] In this context, a relevant object of this invention is to make an apparatus for the production of ice and similar products where the occurrence of any leak of refrigerant does not affect the performance of the machine.
[0008] Another important object of the present invention is to make an apparatus for the production of ice and similar products where the speed reducer and the cylinder driving motor can be directly mounted on the supporting frame of the same.
[0009] These and other objects of this invention are fulfilled by an apparatus for the production of ice and similar products including a tank containing a liquid to be frozen internally defined to a bearing framework of a cylinder pivoting around its own axis and drawing with one of its portions in said tank, said cylinder being cooled by a refrigerant through a supply duct and a return duct associated to the same, there being provided also a device scraping the ice layer formed on the sleeve of said cylinder, driving means of said cylinder, and a circuit cooling said fluid, characterized in that said inlet and outlet ducts of said refrigerant are both connected on one face of said cylinder.
[0010] Further characteristics and advantages of this invention will be better disclosed by the description of a preferred, but not exclusive embodiment of the apparatus for the production of ice and similar products in accordance with the invention, described by way of example, but with no limit to other embodiments, in the enclosed drawings in which:
- FIG. 1 is a scrap sectional top side view showing the connection of the refrigerant inlet and outlet ducts both on the same face of the cylinder on the sleeve of which the ice forms;
- FIG. 2 is a sectional, top side view of the cylinder appropriate for the formation of ice on its surface;
- FIG. 3 is a scrap sectional top side view showing the housing of the speed reducer located co-axially with the cylinder axis;
- FIG. 4 is a front top view of the cylinder appropriate for the formation of ice in accordance with the invention; and
- FIG. 5 is a front top view of the apparatus for the production of ice showing the housing of the motor directly on the cylinder supporting frame and a sectional view showing the scraping device for the ice removal from the surface of the same.
[0011] With reference to the above-mentioned Figures, the apparatus for the production of ice and similar products in accordance with this invention is shown globally with the reference number 1 and includes: a tank, generally shown as 2, containing a liquid to be frozen such as, for example, water, salt water or any food liquid to be frozen. The tank 2 is defined by a bearing framework 3 appropriate for supporting pivotably around its axis a cylinder 4 drawing with one of its lower portions inside the liquid to be frozen.
[0012] The cooling of the cylinder takes place in a well-known way and, namely, by means of an inlet duct 5 and an outlet duct 6 which are advantageously associated both on one face 7 of the cylinder 4.
[0013] By means of this technical solution, the seals between the rotating parts and the fixed parts of the apparatus are used in a considerably lower number and, beside this, as clearly shown in Figure 1, any leak of refrigerant that may occur in the supply duct pass directly into the return duct 6 thus recirculating without affecting the performance of the apparatus.
[0014] The cylinder 4, suitably made of an aluminium alloy, includes a sleeve 8 of stainless steel to strongly resist to corrosion and, therefore, to allow the apparatus to work also with salt water such as sea water.
[0015] The sleeve 8 is also laterally welded to the faces 7 and 9 of the cylinder 4 so that the latter turns out to be suitably made of only one piece.
[0016] The cylinder 4 includes internally a channel, globally shown as 10, the inlet 11 of which and its outlet 12 are associated to the supply and return ducts 5 and 6 respectively.
[0017] More in paticular, the channel 10 extends with its part 13 inside the cylinder and with its part 14, having a helicoidal development, on the peripheral surface of the same.
[0018] For what has been said, as the supply and return ducts 5 and 6 are associated both to one face 7 of the cylinder 4 it is possible to position on the opposed face the driving means, globally shown as 16, of the cylinder 4 itself co-axially to its rotation axis.
[0019] More in details, the driving means include a speed reducer of a well-known type associated, as already mentioned, to the cylinder 4 on the other side of the supply and return ducts.
[0020] In the Figure 3, by way of example, two speed reducers are shown as 17 and 18, which are applied to the cylinder 4 and have various dimensions according to the type of ice that you want to obtain.
[0021] The driving means include also a motor assembly 19 associated to said speed reducer, which can be advantageously connected as well by means of an adjusting bracket 20, to the bearing framework 3 to make an extremely compact, functional and simple structure.
[0022] As the apparatus is used on boats subject to pitching and/or rolling, during the navigation, a chamber is located inside the tank 2 communicating with the latter, internally provided with a floating device, not shown in the Figure and of a well-known type, which keeps the level of the liquid to be frozen constant inside the tank.
[0023] The framework 3 includes also a wall 21 which is made in a manner suitable to define the scraping device 22 developing inside the tank 2 over the cylinder 4.
[0024] Advantageosuly, the wall 21, and thus the scraping device 22, is adjustable when approaching and/or moving away from the sleeve of the cylinder 4 so to adjust its upper end 23 having a tapered configuration in order to better exercise its function of ice-scraper.
[0025] The operation of this device in accordance with the present invention is clearly disclosed by what is described and shown: in particular, referring to Figures 1, 2 and 3 it is possible to notice how the refrigerant coming from a cooling apparatus which is not shown and of a well-known type, through the supply duct flows into the channel 13 as a result of the pressure which it is subject to, how it circulates in the helicoidally developing part 14 and then through the drain 12 and the outlet duct 6 it returns to the cooling apparatus.
[0026] In this way, the refrigerant, circulating inside the cylinder 4, reduces its temperature so that the thin layer of water or of any other fluid which deposits on the sleeve of the same freezes by draft and as a result of the rotation of the cylinder 4 it arrives in front of the scraping device 22 which detaches it as flakes and channels it for processing.
[0027] It is evident that according to the cylinder rotation speed a thicker or thinner layer of ice will form on the external surface and, consequently, there will be greater or smaller thicknesses of ice produced according to the various needs. The apparatus as designed herein, subject-matter of this invention turns out to be extremely advantageous as the refrigerant supply and return ducts being both on one face of the cylinder allows the removal of a high number of seals between rotating and fixed parts of the cylinder itself; furthermore, thanks to this technical solution the speed reducer can be directly connected with the supporting shaft of the rotating cylinder so that all the necessary components are removed in order to allow the transmission of motion between the speed reducer and the cylinder itself.
[0028] In conclusion, it can be stated that by such a structure, the apparatus proves to be extremely functional, simple and compact and, therefore, suitable for being used also in extremely small spaces such as boats and the like.
1.- An apparatus for the production of ice and similar products including a tank (2),
containing a liquid to be frozen, internally defined to a bearing framework (3) of
a cylinder (4) pivoting around its own axis and drawing with one of its portions in
said tank, said cylinder being cooled by a refrigerant through a supply duct (5) and
a return duct (6) associated to the same, there being also provided a device (22)
scraping the ice layer formed on the sleeve (8) of said cylinder, driving means (16)
of said cylinder and a cooling circuit of said refrigerant, characterized in that
said supply and return ducts (5, 6) of said refrigerant are both connected on one
face (7) of said cylinder.
2.- An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said cylinder includes
internally a channel (10) having its inlet (11) and its outlet (12) associated respectively
with said supply and return ducts (5, 6).
3.- An apparatus as claimed in claims 1 and 2, characterized in that said channel
(10) partially devlops inside said cylinder and partialy on the whole peripheral surface
of the same.
4.- An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said driving means (16)
are associated to said cylinder (4) on the opposite side of said cooling circuit.
5.- An apparatus as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that such driving means (16)
include a speed reducer (17, 18) co-axially associated to said cylinder (4) on the
opposite side of said supply and return ducts (5, 6).
6.- An apparatus as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that said driving means include
a motor assembly (19) associated to said speed reducer (17, 18) and connected with
said bearing framework (3) on the side of said speed reducer.
7.- An apparatus as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that said motor assembly
(19) is supported by an adjusting bracket (20) for its positioning adjustable with
respect to said speed reducer.
8.- An apparatus as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterized in that it
includes seals at only one face (7) of said cylinder.
9.- An apparatus as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterized in that said
tank (2) communicates with one chamber included in the same having inside a floating
device to keep the level of said liquid constant in said tank.
10.- An apparatus as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterized in that
said cylinder (4) includes, on said peripheral surface, a sleeve (8) defining a body
of only one piece with said face (7) and the face opposite to it.
11.- An apparatus as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterized in that
said framework includes a wall (21) developing inside said tank (2) and above said
cylinder, said wall defining said scraping device (22).
12.- An apparatus as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterized in that
said wall (21) has a tapered free end edge (23), said wall being adjustable when approaching
and/or moving away from said sleeve (8)
13.- An apparatus as claimed in any of the previous claims, characterized in that
said cylinder (4) is made of aluminium alloy and said sleeve is made of stainless
steel.