BACKGROUND
[0001] The present disclosure relates to an ice making machine.
[0002] Ice making machines quickly produce a large amount of ice. Ice making machines may
be classified into horizontal ones and vertical ones according to methods of installing
an ice making grid plate, and the vertical ice making machines are widely used.
[0003] Such a vertical ice making machine includes an ice making grid plate that is vertically
disposed. Water flows down along a grid from the upper side of the ice making grid
plate, and is frozen by refrigerant circulating through an ice making coil disposed
on the rear surface of the ice making grid plate, and thus, pieces of ice are made
and grown in the inner space of the grid.
[0004] When the pieces of ice are grown to have a predetermined size in the inner space
of the grind, that is, in cells of the grid, a sensor senses the size of the ice to
stop an ice making operation. At this point, when high pressure gas is directly introduced
to the ice making coil to heat the grid and the ice making grid plate, the boundaries
of the pieces of ice contacting the grid are melted, and the pieces of ice, which
have a plate shape, are dropped from the cells, and are stored in a collecting barrel.
[0005] Such an ice making machine typically includes a machine compartment that accommodates
a freezing cycle device on its lower rear surface. The machine compartment further
accommodates a compressor, a condenser, and a condenser fan for cooling the condenser.
The condenser fan blows air to the condenser to dissipate heat of condensation, thereby
improving cooling efficiency for the condenser.
[0006] However, when indoor air is in a high or closed space, circulation of the indoor
air may be difficult. Thus, dissipation of heat from the condenser by the condenser
fan, which is an air-cooling type fan, may be difficult, and the cooling efficiency
for the condenser may be degraded. To address these limitations, a so-called water-cooling
type condenser, which is cooled with water, is introduced. However, in this case,
it is required to continually supply water on the condenser, and thus, water consumption
is increased. In addition, since the condenser is cooled only with water, cooling
efficiency for the condenser is not high.
SUMMARY
[0007] In one embodiment, an ice making machine includes: an ice making compartment accommodating
an ice making unit for making ice, and storing the ice; a machine compartment disposed
under the ice making compartment, and accommodating a cool air generating unit including
a compressor, a condenser, and a blower fan; a water collecting plate disposed between
the ice making compartment and the machine compartment, and collecting water generated
from ice melted in the ice making compartment; a sprinkling barrel disposed over the
condenser, and communicating with the water collecting plate to sprinkle cooling water
to the condenser; and the blower fan forcibly moving air for cooling the condenser.
[0008] The water collecting plate may be provided with a discharge tube for discharging
water collected in the sprinkling barrel, and the discharge tube may be provided with
a valve for selectively discharging the collected water.
[0009] The sprinkling barrel may be provided with a level sensor that measures a level of
water in the sprinkling barrel to open and close the valve.
[0010] A water collecting barrel may be disposed under the condenser to store water flowing
along an outer surface of the condenser.
[0011] The water collecting barrel may be provided with a discharge tube for discharging
the stored water.
[0012] The water collecting barrel may be provided with a level sensor, and the discharge
tube may be provided with a valve that is opened and closed by the level sensor to
selectively discharge the water from the water collecting barrel.
[0013] The water collecting barrel may be connected to the sprinkling barrel through a circulation
tube, and the circulation tube may be provided with a circulation pump.
[0014] The sprinkling barrel may have a length corresponding to a width of the condenser,
and be disposed on a vertical upper side of the condenser.
[0015] The sprinkling barrel may include holes that are arrayed in a width direction of
the condenser to sprinkle water to an outer surface of the condenser.
[0016] The blower fan may operate when the valve is opened.
[0017] The sprinkling barrel may be disposed at a position that is horizontally spaced apart
from a vertical upper side of the condenser.
[0018] The sprinkling barrel may be opposite to the blower fan with respect to the condenser.
[0019] The condenser may include a refrigerant tube that has a vertical long oval shape
in a cross-section thereof.
[0020] The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanying drawings
and the description below. Other features will be apparent from the description and
drawings, and from the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an ice making machine according to an embodiment.
[0022] Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration for cooling a condenser
according to an embodiment.
[0023] Fig. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a control unit controlling the configuration
of Fig. 2.
[0024] Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration for cooling a condenser
according to another embodiment.
[0025] Fig. 5 is a side view illustrating the configuration of Fig. 4, with a cross-sectional
view illustrating refrigerant tubes of the condenser of Fig. 4.
[0026] Fig. 6 is a graph showing a relationship between power consumption and a distance
between a sprinkling barrel and a condenser according to another embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0027] Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present
disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
[0028] Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an ice making machine according to an embodiment.
Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration for cooling a condenser
according to the current embodiment. Fig. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a control
unit controlling the configuration of Fig. 2.
[0029] Referring to Figs. 1 to 3, the ice making machine including a cooling device for
the condenser also includes a main body 1 having a hexahedron shape, and a door 2
opening and closing an ice dispensing opening of the main body 1.
[0030] The main body 1 may be divided into an ice making compartment in the upper portion
thereof, and a storing compartment in the lower portion thereof. The ice making compartment
may communicate with the storing compartment. An ice making unit 3 for making ice
is disposed in the upper portion of the ice making compartment. A water supply unit
(hereinafter, a first water supply unit) (not shown) may be disposed at the upper
side of the ice making unit 3 to supply water to the ice making unit 3.
[0031] A machine compartment may be disposed at the lower side of the storing compartment,
that is, in the lower rear portion of the main body 1, and a cool air generating unit
10 may be disposed in the machine compartment to supply cool air to the ice making
unit 3.
[0032] The cool air generating unit 10 includes a compressor 11 for compressing refrigerant,
a condenser 12 for condensing the refrigerant compressed in the compressor 11, and
a blower fan 13 for dissipating heat from the condenser 12. The cool air generating
unit 10 further includes a cooling water supply unit 20 (hereinafter, a second water
supply unit) that collects meltwater from the storing compartment to sprinkle the
meltwater to the condenser 12.
[0033] The compressor 11, the condenser 12, and the blower fan 13 may be arrayed along a
lateral line.
[0034] A water collecting plate 5 is disposed between the ice making compartment and the
machine compartment to collect water from ice melted in the ice making compartment,
and includes a discharge tube 6 for discharging collected water.
[0035] Referring to Fig. 2, the lower end of the discharge tube 6 communicates with a sprinkling
barrel 21 to be described later, and the sprinkling barrel 21 is disposed between
the lower end of the discharge tube 6 and the upper end of the condenser 12.
[0036] Sprinkling holes (not shown) are arrayed in the sprinkling barrel 21 in a width direction
of the condenser 12 to sprinkle meltwater collected by the water collecting plate
5 to the condenser 12.
[0037] The sprinkling barrel 21 may be provided with a first level sensor 22 for detecting
a level of collected meltwater in real time. The discharge tube 6 may be provided
with a first valve 23 for selectively discharging meltwater collected in the sprinkling
barrel 21.
[0038] A water collecting barrel 24 is disposed under the condenser 12 to collect water
flowing down along the outer surface of the condenser 12. The water collecting barrel
24 may be connected to a discharge tube 25 for discharging the collected water out
of the ice making machine.
[0039] The water collecting barrel 24 may be provided with a second level sensor 26 for
detecting a level of water collected in the water collecting barrel 24. The discharge
tube 25 may be provided with a second valve 27 for selectively discharging water.
[0040] A circulation tube 28 may connect the water collecting barrel 24 and the sprinkling
barrel 21 to each other. The circulation tube 28 may be provided with a circulation
pump 29 for pumping water from the water collecting barrel 24 to the sprinkling barrel
21.
[0041] Referring to Fig. 3, the blower fan 13, the first level sensor 22, the first valve
23, the second level sensor 26, the second valve 27, and the circulation pump 29 may
be electrically connected to a control unit 30 to operate in conjunction with one
another.
[0042] Operations and effects of a cooling device for a condenser of an ice making machine
as described above will now be disposed.
[0043] That is, after the ice making unit 3 makes ice, the ice is dropped and stored in
the storing compartment of the main body 1. Over time, the ice stored in the storing
compartment is melted to form meltwater.
[0044] Then, the meltwater collected in the bottom of the storing compartment is collected
in the water collecting plate 5 at the lower side of the storing compartment. The
meltwater collected in the water collecting plate 5 is collected in the sprinkling
barrel 21 through the discharge tube 6. When the sprinkling barrel 21 overflows, or
cooling of the condenser 12 is unnecessary, the first valve 23 provided to the discharge
tube 6 prevents the meltwater collected in the water collecting plate 5 from moving
to the sprinkling barrel 21.
[0045] When cooling of the condenser 12 is necessary, the first valve 23 is opened to sprinkle
the meltwater collected in the sprinkling barrel 21 to the upper portion of the condenser
12 through the sprinkling holes (not shown). At this point, the control unit 30 operates
the blower fan 13 to supply air to the condenser 12.
[0046] Then, the water sprinkled from the sprinkling barrel 21 and flowing down along the
outer surface of the condenser 12 is evaporated by the air supplied by the blower
fan 13 and absorbs heat of vaporization from the condenser 12, thereby cooling the
condenser 12. After the evaporation, the rest of the water flowing down along the
outer surface of the condenser 12 is collected in the water collecting barrel 24 under
the condenser 12.
[0047] Then, the circulation pump 29 installed on the circulation tube 28 between the water
collecting barrel 24 and the sprinkling barrel 21 pumps the water from the water collecting
barrel 24 to the sprinkling barrel 21, to thereby reuse it. At this point, since the
water collecting barrel 24 is connected to the discharge tube 25, and the second valve
27 is installed on the discharge tube 25, when the sprinkling barrel 21 or the water
collecting barrel 24 overflows, or cooling of the condenser 12 is unnecessary, the
water collected in the water collecting plate 24 may be discharged out of the ice
making machine, instead of pumping the water to the sprinkling barrel 21.
[0048] As such, water and air are simultaneously supplied to the surface of the condenser
12, and heat of vaporization absorbed during evaporation of the water is used, thereby
maximizing cooling performance on the condenser 12 just with a small amount of water.
In addition, power consumption for operating the blower fan 13, and a noise from the
blower fan 13 can be decreased. In addition, since cool water generated from ice stored
in the storing compartment is sprinkled to the condenser 12, the condenser 12 can
be more effectively cooled. In addition, since meltwater is used, water consumption
for cooling can be significantly reduced.
[0049] An ice making machine according to the present disclosure may be described according
to various embodiments. An ice making machine according to another embodiment will
now be described.
[0050] In the current embodiment, a water supply unit is disposed at an opposite side of
a condenser to a blower fan, and is spaced apart from the condenser.
[0051] Thus, since the rest parts of the current embodiment except for the position of the
water supply unit are the same as those of the previous embodiment, a description
thereof will be omitted, and like reference numeral denote like elements.
[0052] Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration for cooling a condenser
according to the current embodiment. Fig. 5 is a side view illustrating the configuration
of Fig. 4.
[0053] Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, a second water supply unit 20 according to the current
embodiment includes a sprinkling barrel 121, a first level sensor 22, a first valve
23, a water collecting barrel 24, a discharge tube 25, a second level sensor 26, a
second valve 27, a circulation tube 28, and a circulation pump 29.
[0054] The sprinkling barrel 121 is disposed under the discharge tube 6. The sprinkling
barrel 121 is spaced a distance L from the upper end of a condenser 12, and thus is
disposed at the front upper side of the condenser 12. That is, the sprinkling barrel
121 is disposed over the condenser 12 at a position horizontally spaced apart from
the condenser 12. For example, the sprinkling barrel 121 may be disposed in front
of the condenser 12 as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5.
[0055] The lower end of the discharge tube 6 communicates with the sprinkling barrel 121.
Water collected in the water collecting plate 5 is discharged to the sprinkling barrel
121 through the discharge tube 6. One or more discharge holes (not shown) are arrayed
in the sprinkling barrel 121 in a width direction of the condenser 12. Water collected
in the sprinkling barrel 121 is sprinkled through the discharge holes. At this point,
the water is sprinkled in a direction parallel to the front surface of the condenser
12. The discharge holes are disposed out of a region that vertically overlaps the
condenser 12.
[0056] The first level sensor 22 may be provided to the sprinkling barrel 121 to detect
the level of water in the sprinkling barrel 121.
[0057] The water collecting barrel 24 is disposed under the condenser 12. Water flowing
down along the outer surface of the condenser 12 may be stored in the water collecting
barrel 24. Water, which is discharged from the sprinkling barrel 121 and does not
arrive at the condenser 12, may be dropped and stored in the water collecting barrel
24. That is, the water collecting barrel 24 may be disposed at the vertical low side
of the sprinkling barrel 121.
[0058] The water collecting barrel 24 may be connected to the discharge tube 25 for discharging
water from the water collecting barrel 24 to the outside of the ice making machine.
[0059] The water collecting barrel 24 may be provided with the second level sensor 26 for
detecting the level of water collected in the water collecting barrel 24.
[0060] The discharge tube 25 may be provided with the second valve 27 for selectively discharging
water collected in the water collecting barrel 24.
[0061] The water collecting barrel 24 is connected to the sprinkling barrel 121 through
the circulation tube 28. The circulation tube 28 may be provided with the circulation
pump 29 for pumping water from the water collecting barrel 24 to the sprinkling barrel
121.
[0062] The blower fan 13 is disposed behind the condenser 12. The blower fan 13 sucks air
from the front side thereof, and blows the air to the rear side thereof. That is,
air flows from the condenser 12 to the blower fan 13. Water sprinkled to the front
side of the condenser 12 is moved to the condenser 12 by an air flow, and contacts
the outer surface of the condenser 12. That is, the sprinkling barrel 121 is disposed
at a side of the condenser 12 with respect to a vertical center line C of the condenser
12, and the blower fan 13 is disposed at the other side of the condenser 12 with respect
to the vertical center line C. In other words, the sprinkling barrel 121 is opposite
to the blower fan 13 with respect to the condenser 12.
[0063] The condenser 12 includes refrigerant tubes 120 that have a vertical long oval shape
in a cross-section thereof. In this case, since an area of the oval shape contacting
water is greater than that of a circular shape in a cross-section thereof, the amount
of water evaporated from the outer surface of the refrigerant tube 120 can be increased.
Accordingly, since water flowing along the outer surface of the refrigerant tube 120
absorbs more heat from the refrigerant tube 120, the condenser 12 can be more efficiently
cooled.
[0064] The blower fan 13, the first level sensor 22, the first valve 23, the second level
sensor 26, the second valve 27, and the circulation pump 29 may be electrically connected
to a control unit (not shown) 30 to operate in conjunction with one another.
[0065] Fig. 6 is a graph showing a relationship between power consumption and a distance
between a sprinkling barrel and a condenser according to another embodiment.
[0066] The sprinkling barrel 121 is spaced the distance L from the upper end of the condenser
12, and thus is disposed at the front upper side of the condenser 12. The distance
L may be determined to minimize power consumption of a cooling device for the condenser
12.
[0067] When the blower fan 13 is rotated with a motor of about 60 W, a relationship between
the distance L and power consumption of the cooling device is shown in Fig. 6. When
the distance L is about 15mm, the power consumption is about 5.01 kWh that is the
minimum. Thus, when the distance L is maintained at about 15mm, the power consumption
can be minimized. As such, the distance L may be determined according to a condition
of the cooling device such as the type of a motor included in the cooling device.
[0068] Operations and effects of a cooling device for a condenser of an ice making machine
as described above will now be disposed.
[0069] Ice made in the ice making unit 3 is stored in the storing compartment of the main
body 1. Over time, the ice stored in the storing compartment is melted to water. The
water is collected in the water collecting plate 5 disposed in the storing compartment.
The water collected in the water collecting plate 5 is discharged to the sprinkling
barrel 121 through the discharge tube 6. The first valve 23 provided to the discharge
tube 6 is opened or closed to selectively discharge the water. That is, when the sprinkling
barrel 121 overflows, or cooling of the condenser 12 is unnecessary, the first valve
23 is closed to prevent the water collected in the water collecting plate 5 from being
discharged to the sprinkling barrel 121.
[0070] When cooling of the condenser 12 is necessary, the first valve 23 is opened. The
water collected in the sprinkling barrel 21 is sprinkled to the front side of the
condenser 12 through the discharge holes (not shown). At this point, the blower fan
13 sucks air from the condenser 12. The water sprinkled to the front side of the condenser
12 is moved by a flow of the sucked air, and contacts the condenser 12. The water
contacting the condenser 12 flows down along the outer surface of the condenser 12,
and is evaporated by the sucked air. The water absorbs heat of vaporization from the
condenser 12, thereby cooling the condenser 12.
[0071] After the evaporation, the rest of the water flowing down along the outer surface
of the condenser 12 is collected in the water collecting barrel 24 under the condenser
12. The water collected in the water collecting barrel 24 may be pumped to the sprinkling
barrel 121.through the circulation tube 28 by the circulation pump 29. The water pumped
to the sprinkling barrel 121 may be reused to cool the condenser 12.
[0072] The water collected in the water collecting barrel 24 may be discharged through the
discharge tube 25. The second valve 27 installed on the discharge tube 25 may be opened
and closed to selectively discharge the water from the water collecting barrel 24
to the outside of the ice making machine, instead of pumping the water to the sprinkling
barrel 121. When the sprinkling barrel 121 or the water collecting barrel 24 overflows,
or cooling of the condenser 12 is unnecessary, the second valve 27 is opened to discharge
the water collected in the water collecting barrel 24 through the discharge tube 25.
[0073] As described above, cooling efficiency for a condenser may be improved by an air
flow and heat of vaporization during evaporation of water. In addition, since power
consumption for operating a blower fan can be reduced, a noise from the blower fan
can be decreased. In addition, cool water generated from ice melted in a storing compartment
is sprinkled to the condenser to thereby further improve the cooling efficiency for
the condenser. In addition, since meltwater and water collected in a water collecting
barrel are reused, water consumption for cooling can be significantly reduced.
[0074] Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number of illustrative
embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerous other modifications and
embodiments can be devised by those skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit
and scope of the principles of this disclosure. More particularly, various variations
and modifications are possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subject
combination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawings and the appended
claims. In addition to variations and modifications in the component parts and/or
arrangements, alternative uses will also be apparent to those skilled in the art.
1. An ice making machine including: an ice making compartment accommodating an ice making
unit for making ice, and storing the ice; and a machine compartment disposed under
the ice making compartment, and accommodating a cool air generating unit including
a compressor, a condenser, and a blower fan, the ice making machine comprising:
a water collecting plate disposed between the ice making compartment and the machine
compartment, and collecting water generated from ice melted in the ice making compartment;
a sprinkling barrel disposed over the condenser, and communicating with the water
collecting plate to sprinkle cooling water to the condenser; and
the blower fan forcibly moving air for cooling the condenser.
2. The ice making machine according to claim 1, wherein the water collecting plate is
provided with a discharge tube for discharging water collected in the sprinkling barrel,
and
the discharge tube is provided with a valve for selectively discharging the collected
water.
3. The ice making machine according to claim 2, wherein the sprinkling barrel is provided
with a level sensor that measures a level of water in the sprinkling barrel to open
and close the valve.
4. The ice making machine according to claim 1, wherein a water collecting barrel is
disposed under the condenser to store water flowing along an outer surface of the
condenser.
5. The ice making machine according to claim 4, wherein the water collecting barrel is
provided with a discharge tube for discharging the stored water.
6. The ice making machine according to claim 5, wherein the water collecting barrel is
provided with a level sensor, and
the discharge tube is provided with a valve that is opened and closed by the level
sensor to selectively discharge the water from the water collecting barrel.
7. The ice making machine according to claim 4, wherein the water collecting barrel is
connected to the sprinkling barrel through a circulation tube, and
the circulation tube is provided with a circulation pump.
8. The ice making machine according to claim 1, wherein the sprinkling barrel has a length
corresponding to a width of the condenser, and is disposed on a vertical upper side
of the condenser.
9. The ice making machine according to claim 1, wherein the sprinkling barrel includes
holes that are arrayed in a width direction of the condenser to sprinkle water to
an outer surface of the condenser.
10. The ice making machine according to claim 2, wherein the blower fan operates when
the valve is opened.
11. The ice making machine according to claim 1, wherein the sprinkling barrel is disposed
at a position that is horizontally spaced apart from a vertical upper side of the
condenser.
12. The ice making machine according to claim 1, wherein the sprinkling barrel is opposite
to the blower fan with respect to the condenser.
13. The ice making machine according to claim 1, wherein the condenser comprises a refrigerant
tube that has a vertical long oval shape in a cross-section thereof.