US2066431A - Ice making apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 5, 1937. w. H. TAYLOR ICE'MAKING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 2, 1955 ATTORNEY.

a3 INVENTOR. M55/c7 Patented Jan. l5, 1937 UNITI-:Dv STATES PATENT OFFICE ICE MAKING APPARATUS William H. Taylor, Muskego, Wis., assignor, by mesne assignments. to Reconstruction Finance Corporation, Chicago, lll., a corporation Application nepi-my 2, i935, serial Nn. 4,670

The present invention relates to improvements in the construction and operation of apparatus for congealing liquid and for separating the congealed substance from excess liquid.

Generally defined, an object of the present in- `vention is to provide improved ice making or liquid congealing apparatus, which is simple and compact in construction, and which has relatively great capacity.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved liquid congealing machine which can be conveniently built in units of various capacity, and which is entirely automatic in operation when once set for apredetermined output. j

AA further object of the invention is to provide new and useful .apparatus for effectively sepan automatic ice machine which can be manu- `I factured and operated at relatively low cost, and

which may be 'safely manipulated.

'Ihese and other objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description.

A clear conception of one embodiment of the several features constituting the present improvement, 'and of themode of constructingand of operating ice making apparatus manufacturedin accordance with the improvement, may be had4 by referring to the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this specification, wherein like reference characters designate the samev or similar parts in the several views.

.Fig. 1 is a more or less diagrammatic central vertical section through the improved ice making apparatus including the liquid congealing and f excess liquid separating structures; and

Fig. 2 is a transverse horizontal section through the liquid congealing structure takenl along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, and also shows a top View of the excess liquid separator.

Although the invention has been shown herein as beingv specically applied tol a 'machine for converting water into relatively dry or de-watered slush-ice, it is not the intent to thereby unnecessarily restrict the scope, since some of the new features may obviously bey susceptible of more p general application; and thisis especially true of the excess liquid separator.

Referring to the drawing,r the present improved ice making apparatus comprises, in part,

' a. liquid congealing unit consisting generally of 'a main casing 4 having mounted therein one or more substantiallyv upright long tubes 5 provided, 10

with internal bores or cooling'surfaces 6 and" ex-Y posed externally to a common refrigerant conning chamber l; a liquid's'upply pipe 8 for supplying abundant but regulated quantities of liquid to the upper open endsof the tubesr; a revolving 15 scraper 9 having staggered cutting lugs lll. co-v operable with the adjacent `cooling surface 6 and supported within each tube 5-by means of a shaft l l; a removable upper casing. l2 secured to the main casing 4 by cap'screws Band hav-y ing bearings I4 for rotatably supporting ailrof the scraper shafts Il; intermeshing ,gears l5 secured to the upper'ends'of theshafts Il for imparting rotary motion thereto; and a driving pulley I 6 secured to a selected group.

While the main 5, the number of these tubes actuallyutiliz'ed will depend upon the desired capacity of the machina; 30

and may range from a `sin'gletuhe 5 toVV several dozen or more. .In actual commercial construction, the tubes 5 may be formed by cutting v'standard tubing into proper lengths and subsequently welding or otherwise fastening the individual tubes 5 in place, and these Atubes are preferably of relatively small internal diameter and of relatively great length. The refrigerant .confining chamber 'l is preferably provided'with a lower refrigerant supply connection I'land with an 40 upper refrigerant outlet or exhaust connection i8,

and these connections befassociated Ywith any desired portion of the casing l. Y

The liquid supply pipe 8 may be provided with a suitable control valve, and the admitted fresh liquid may accumulate to a variable depth within the upper basin la formed ,by the casing l, aepending upon the number and diameters of the tubes 5, and upon the rateof liquid supply. The

outer wall of the casing I at the chamber 1 may l50 be insulated in orderto prevent undesirable heating from the ambient atmosphere, and each oi' thepscrapers 9 may be provided-at iis upper end with a spiral auxiliary scraping arm 2l couper- Vable with the upper tubesheet V2l of the casing I 55 shaft` f li of. the 25 casing `4 "pf the cpngeaiing unit illustrated is providedwith'only threetubes i to prevent ice' deposits from forming on this sheet. As previously indicated, thecutting lugs III of each scraper 9 are staggered, so that'each rotation ofthe scraper will cause the plural lugs I0 thereof to cooperate with all portions of the bore' or cooling surface 6 within which the scraper is disposed; and by virtue of the fact that -the scraper blades are radially disposed and are separated by intervening spaces, the liquid from within the basin I9 can gravitate freely and in abundant quant ties along the cooling surfaces i. These intervening spaces of the removed ice films, washed downwardly by the excess resulting slushice alower receptacle 22 as shown in Fig. 1.

In addition to the liquid .congealing unit above described, the present improved apparatus also comprises improvedmechanism for continuously de-watering the slush-ice. This liquid separator consists of a series of elongated, inclined rods or bars 23 xedly mounted within the receptacle 22 beyond the congealingunit; and a series of flights 24 carried by endless chains 25 for movement in these ice particles being liquid and the succession longitudinally over the bars 23.A

The 'bars 23 may be taut wires havingsuilicient resiliency to permit slight lateral deection, but should be capable of sustaining considerable load without excessive sagging. 'Ihe flights 24 are successively movable through the liquid within the receptacle 22 and are adapted to transport the slush-ice upwardly along the bars 23 and out of the liquid basin. The liquid thus separated from the ice particles may escape from the receptacle 22 through an outlet 26, andthe relatively dry ice crystals are discharged from the separator by the flights 24 into a delivery chute 21 located beyond the end of the receptacle 22. The flight carrier chains 25 may be supported upon sprockets 28 and driven by another chain 29, .or otherwise, and the separating mechanism may be protected by a removable enclosure, not

the excess liquid in reg'ulated quantities shown. v

lDuring normal operation of the improved ice making apparatus, the Scrapers 9 are being revolved within the tubes 5 by power applied to the pulley I6 and through the gears l5 to the shafts Il, and the flights 2l and chains 25 are being driven in the direction'of the arrow in Fig. i, by power applied tothe sprockets 28 through the driving chain 29.' Fresh liquid is being supplied through the supply pipe l to the basin I9, and this liquid is passing'in abundant quantities'downwardly through the tubes 5. The refrigerant confining` chamber'1 is being supplied. with refrigerant through the inlet connection", and the spent being withdrawn from'the exhaust connection i8. As the fresh liquid ows along the internal cooling surfaces S of the tubes 5, this liquid is conice films upon the surfaces 6, and the revolving cutters l0 of the scrapers 3 lconstantly remove this ice illm from the surfaces 0. -The ice crystals thus removed are. carried u downwardly through the tubes 5 by flowing between the radiating blades of the scrapers, and the mixture of excess liquid and ice ,crystals is delivered into the lower receptacle 22 through the lower ends of the tubes 5.` This congealing action Ataires place continuously, and due to the staggered dispositiongof the cutters Ill, the entire interior of .each tube 5 is freed from ice during each revolution of the corresponding scraper 9.

l'l'.'heslush-ice delivered into the receptacle 22 being delivered by gravity into v associated with the upper makingfapparatus which is refrigerant is bars 23. The ice, particles are transported out Y of the liquid, and the excess through the spaces between the eventually discharged through the whence it may be returned to the The separated ice crystals are in condition when they reach the upper tion inthe ice ends o( the revolving scrapers 9,servetopreventgocmnnlatkllofioe 'upon the upper tube-sheet 2|, the ice lloduction is obviously continuonsA and B without danger of clogging dueto ice accumulations. l

From thev foregoing description; it .will be apparent that the invention provides impoved ice extremely simple and compact in construction. and which is. morevvel'. continuous and automatic in operation. The ice making unit may readily be constructed of any desired capacity, and the separating dry ice crystals, from the apparatus. dant supply of fresh liquid not m17 insure! rapid production vof the successive ice maintains a flushing action along the ooolingsurfaces 6, and by utilising the most emeient ovencost, and may be capacity with minimum expenditure of power.

insures delivery of a. constant stream oirelatively rtsnomdbelmdemoodmatnamtwedw* limitthe invention to the exact deta'ih ofoonY struction and to the of'operaon herein shown and.deacribedfor modifi# canons within memo:

topersons skilled It is claimed-andrdesiredto Patent:

1. rngcombinauonpa 'series elongated tionary'tubes,me ans for cooling said tabel.- for supplying liquid through corresponding ends theref. and rotary scrapes within said tubes for delivellnl om from the opposite ends a relrig able means for from the interiors posite corresponding 3. In combination, a refrigerant chamber having stantially vertical elongated tubes passing through, means for supplying liquid to said tubes throughthel upper ends thereof, rotary scrapers within saidtubel for the' congealed substance from the interiors thereof and for delivering lthe removed substance from the lower ends of said tubes.

4. In combination, a casing forming a refrigerant chamber having a series of elongated tubes passing therethrough and also forming a basin communicating with the corresponding ends of said tubes, means for supplying liquid to said basin, and a rotary scraper within each of said "basin, and a rotary scraper Within eachl of saidtubes for removing congealed substance from the interior thereof and for delivering the removed material from the opposite ends of said tubes.

5. In combination, a stationary casing forming a refrigerant chamber having a series of parallel elongated tubes passing therethrough and also forming a liquid basin communicating with the -upper ends of said tubes, means for delivering refrigerant to said chamber, means for delivering liquid to said basin, and a rotary scraper within each of said tubes having a series of staggered cutting edges cooperable with the tube interior for removing congealed substance therefrom.

6. In combination, a casing forming a refrigerant chamber having a series of elongated tubes passing therethrough and also forming a basin having a bottom formed by one of the tube supporting sheets, means for supplying liquid to said tubes for removing congealed substance therefrom, each of said scrapers having means for removing ice lms from said tube supporting sheet.

7. In combination, a stationary casing forming a refrigerant chamber having a series of parallel vertical elongated tubes passing therethrough and also forming a basin communicating with the upper ends of said tubes, means for supplying refrigerant to said chamber, means for supplying pre-cooled liquid to said basin, a rotary scraper within ,each of said tubes having staggered cutting edges for removing congealed substance from the interiors thereof, means for conducting removed congealed substance from the lower ends of said tubes, and common means for propelling all of said Scrapers.

8. In combination, means for producing av mixture of ice crystals and excess liquid, a series of elongated resilient elements disposed side by side and separated by elongated spaces, means for conducting said mixture to upper surfaces of said elements, and means for transporting the ice crystals along said elements while permitting the excess liquid to escape through said spaces.

9. In combination, means for constantly producing slush-ice containing excess liquid, a series of elongated laterally resilient elements spaced apart and forming a deck, means for conducting said slush-ice to the upper surface of said deck, and means for transporting the ice crystals of said slush-ice along said elements while permitting escape of excess liquid through said spaces.

10. In combination, means for producing amixture of ice crystals and excess liquid, a series of elongated resilient elements spaced apart and forming an inclined deck, means forconducting said mixture to the upper portion of the lower end of said deck, and means for transporting said mixture upwardly along said deck to remove the ice crystals from the excess liquid.

l1. In combination, means for supplying slushice containing excess liquid, an inclined separating deck comprising a series of elongated elements extending at an inclination and separated by elongated spaces, means for conducting said slush-ice upon said deck, and a series of iiights movable upwardly along the surface of said deck for transporting the slush-ice therealong.

12. I n combination, means for constantly producing slush-ice containing excess liquid, a basin for receiving said slush-ice, a series of elongated inclined laterally spaced bars forming an inclined deck disposed within said basin, and means for removing said slush-ice from said basin and for urging the same upwardly along said deck.

13. In combination, means for producing slushice containing excess liquid, a basin for receiving said slush-ice as produced, a series of inclined bars extending from a medial portion of the bottom of said basin to an end thereof to form an inclined deck, a series of ights for transporting the slush-ice fromA said basin upwardly along said deck to remove the excess liquid therefrom,

land means for returning said excess liquid to said slush-ice producing machine.

14. In combination, a casing forming a refrigerant chamber having a vertical tube passing therethrough and also forming a basin communicating with the upper end of said tube, means for supplying refrigerant to said chamber, means for supplying cooled liquid to said basin, a scraper within said tube, means for causing relative movement between the tube and scraper for removing congealed substance from the interior of the tube and delivering it from the lower end thereof, and means for conducting delivered congealed substance to a point remote from the tube.

' 15. In combination, a series of elongated stationary tubes, means for cooling said tubes, means forming a basin for supplying liquid to said tubes through the corresponding ends thereof, ascraping rotor within each of said 'tubes for removing congealed liquid therefrom, and means carried by each of said rotors for preventing clogging of the inlet ends of said tubes by congealed liquid in said basin.

WILLIAM H. TAYLOR.

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