阅读说明：本技术 具有门装式制冰系统的冰箱 (Refrigerator having door-mounted ice making system ) 是由 艾瑞克·斯高富 于 2018-01-25 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种冰箱(10)包括箱体(12),该箱体包括新鲜食物室(14)和冷冻室(16)。门装式制冰系统(48)布置在新鲜食物室门(18)上。制冰系统(48)包括：制冰模具(90)；储冰盒(92)；冰和水分配器(24)；以及闭合制冷回路,该闭合制冷回路与冰箱(10)的主制冷冷却系统分开。上述制冷回路包括：压缩机(94)；冷凝器(96)；制冰蒸发器(98),该制冰蒸发器布置在新鲜食物室门(18)的外壁(68)与一个或更多个内壁(74-80)之间,并且与制冰模具(90)热接触以直接冷却制冰模具(90)；冷壁蒸发器(100),该冷壁蒸发器邻近储冰盒且沿着门(18)的至少一个内壁(74-80)布置；以及至少一个阀(102),该至少一个阀布置在冷凝器(96)与制冰蒸发器和冷壁蒸发器(98、100)中的一个或两个之间,以调节到制冰蒸发器和冷壁蒸发器(98、100)中的一个或两个的制冷剂流。(A refrigerator (10) includes a cabinet (12) including a fresh food compartment (14) and a freezer compartment (16). A door mounted ice making system (48) is disposed on the fresh food compartment door (18). An ice making system (48) includes: an ice making mold (90); an ice bank (92); an ice and water dispenser (24); and a closed refrigeration circuit, which is separate from the main refrigeration cooling system of the refrigerator (10). The refrigeration circuit comprises: a compressor (94); a condenser (96); an ice-making evaporator (98) disposed between an outer wall (68) and one or more inner walls (74-80) of the fresh food compartment door (18) and in thermal contact with the ice-making mold (90) to directly cool the ice-making mold (90); a cold-wall evaporator (100) disposed adjacent the ice bank and along at least one interior wall (74-80) of the door (18); and at least one valve (102) disposed between the condenser (96) and one or both of the ice making and cold wall evaporators (98, 100) to regulate refrigerant flow to the one or both of the ice making and cold wall evaporators (98, 100).)

1. A refrigerator, comprising:

a cabinet including a fresh food chamber and a freezing chamber;

a fresh food chamber door coupled to the cabinet adjacent an opening of the fresh food chamber and configured to isolate the fresh food chamber from an external environment, the fresh food chamber door comprising:

one or more inner walls facing the fresh food chamber when the door is closed and comprising one or more metal sheets; and

an outer wall facing the external environment and comprising an outer metal skin;

a door-mounted ice making system disposed on the fresh food compartment door, the door-mounted ice making system comprising:

an ice making mold disposed between the outer wall and the one or more inner walls of the fresh food compartment door and configured to produce ice;

an ice bank disposed between the outer wall and the one or more inner walls of the fresh food compartment door and configured to receive and store ice produced by the ice-making mold;

an ice and water dispenser disposed on the outer wall of the fresh food compartment door and configured to dispense water and to dispense ice produced by the ice-making mold; and

a reversible, self-contained, in-door refrigeration circuit disposed between the outer wall and the one or more inner walls of the fresh food compartment door, comprising:

a compressor in thermal contact with the outer metal skin;

a condenser in fluid communication with an outlet of the compressor and in thermal contact with the outer metal skin;

an ice making evaporator disposed between the outer wall and the one or more inner walls of the fresh food compartment door and in thermal contact with the ice making mold to directly cool the ice making mold;

a cold-wall evaporator disposed adjacent to the ice bank and along at least one of the one or more interior walls of the door, the cold-wall evaporator in thermal contact with the one or more metal sheets; and

at least one valve disposed between the condenser and one or both of the ice making evaporator and cold wall evaporator to regulate refrigerant flow to the one or both of the ice making evaporator and cold wall evaporator; and

a controller coupled to the reversible, self-contained, in-door refrigeration circuit, the controller configured to control the at least one valve to selectively control refrigerant flow to the cold wall evaporator and the ice-making evaporator, and the controller further configured to control the compressor to selectively reverse refrigerant flow to the ice-making evaporator to heat the ice-making mold when ice is being discharged from the ice-making mold.

2. A refrigerator, comprising:

a cabinet including one or more food storage compartments defined therein;

a door coupled to the cabinet adjacent an opening from a first chamber of the one or more food storage chambers and configured to isolate the first chamber from an external environment, the door including one or more inner walls facing the first chamber when the door is closed and an outer wall facing the external environment; and

a door mounted ice making system disposed on the door, the door mounted ice making system comprising:

an ice making mold disposed between the outer wall and the one or more inner walls of the door and configured to produce ice;

an ice bank disposed between the outer wall and the one or more inner walls of the door and configured to receive and store ice produced by the ice-making mold; and

a cold-wall evaporator disposed adjacent to the ice bank and along at least one of the one or more interior walls of the door.

3. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the cold wall evaporator comprises a generally planar evaporator coil disposed along at least a portion of a first of the one or more interior walls of the door.

4. The refrigerator of claim 3, wherein the first interior wall is a rear facing wall of the door.

5. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the cold wall evaporator extends along a plurality of the one or more interior walls of the door, wherein the plurality of interior walls includes an interior wall selected from the group consisting of a rear facing wall, a top facing wall, a bottom facing wall, and a side facing wall.

6. The refrigerator of claim 2, further comprising a thermal conductor disposed on the at least one interior wall, the thermal conductor being formed of a thermally conductive material and in thermal contact with the cold wall evaporator.

7. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the heat conductor comprises a metal sheet.

8. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the metal sheet comprises a plurality of portions disposed on a plurality of the one or more interior walls of the door.

9. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the heat conductor comprises a plurality of metal sheets disposed on a plurality of the one or more interior walls of the door.

10. The refrigerator of claim 2, further comprising an ice making evaporator in thermal contact with the ice making mold to directly cool the ice making mold.

11. The refrigerator of claim 10, wherein the ice-making evaporator is integrally formed with the ice-making mold.

12. The refrigerator of claim 10, wherein the ice making evaporator and cold wall evaporator are coupled in series.

13. The refrigerator of claim 10, further comprising at least one valve disposed between a source of refrigerant and one or both of the ice-making evaporator and cold wall evaporator to regulate refrigerant flow to the one or both of the ice-making evaporator and cold wall evaporator.

14. The refrigerator of claim 13, further comprising a controller coupled to the at least one valve, the controller configured to control the at least one valve to:

directing a flow of refrigerant only to the cold wall evaporator when the ice bank is full; and is

Directing refrigerant flow only to the ice-making evaporator while maximizing ice production.

15. The refrigerator of claim 10, wherein the door mount ice making system further comprises a reversible refrigeration circuit coupled to the ice making evaporator, the reversible refrigeration circuit configured to cool the ice making mold when operating in an ice production mode and to heat the ice making mold when operating in an ice discharge mode.

16. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the door mount ice making system further comprises a condenser disposed between the outer wall and the one or more inner walls of the door.

17. The refrigerator of claim 16, wherein the condenser comprises a generally planar condenser coil extending along at least a portion of the outer wall of the door.

18. The refrigerator of claim 16, further comprising a thermal conductor disposed in the outer wall, the thermal conductor being formed of a thermally conductive material and in thermal contact with the condenser.

19. The refrigerator of claim 18, wherein the thermal conductor comprises an outer metal skin of the door.

20. The refrigerator of claim 19 further comprising a plurality of heat shunt tubes extending between the condenser and the outer metal skin of the door.

21. The refrigerator of claim 18, wherein the door mount ice making system further comprises a compressor disposed between the outer wall and the one or more inner walls of the door and operably coupled to the cold wall evaporator and the condenser in a self-contained, in-door refrigeration circuit.

22. The refrigerator of claim 21, further comprising a thermal conductor disposed in the outer wall of the door, the thermal conductor being formed of a thermally conductive material and in thermal contact with the condenser and the compressor.

23. The refrigerator of claim 2, further comprising an externally accessible dispenser disposed on the door and configured to dispense ice produced by the ice-making mold.

24. A door mounted ice making system for a refrigerator of the type comprising: a cabinet including one or more food storage compartments defined therein; and a door coupled to the bin adjacent an opening from a first compartment of the one or more food storage compartments and configured to isolate the first compartment from an external environment, the door including one or more inner walls facing the first compartment when the door is closed and an outer wall facing the external environment, the door-mounted ice making system comprising:

an ice making mold disposed between the outer wall and the one or more inner walls of the door and configured to produce ice;

an ice bank disposed between the outer wall and the one or more inner walls of the door and configured to receive and store ice produced by the ice-making mold;

an ice making evaporator disposed between the outer wall and the one or more inner walls of the door and in thermal contact with the ice making mold to directly cool the ice making mold;

a cold-wall evaporator disposed adjacent to the ice bank and along at least one of the one or more interior walls of the door; and

at least one valve coupled between a source of refrigerant and one or both of the ice making evaporator and the cold wall evaporator and configured to regulate a flow of refrigerant to the one or both of the ice making evaporator and the cold wall evaporator.

25. The door mounted ice making system of claim 24, further comprising a controller coupled to the at least one valve and configured to control the at least one valve:

directing a flow of refrigerant only to the cold wall evaporator when the ice bank is full; and is

Directing refrigerant flow only to the ice-making evaporator while maximizing ice production.

26. The door-mounted ice making system according to claim 25, wherein the ice making evaporator and the cold wall evaporator are arranged in a reversible refrigeration circuit, and wherein the controller is further configured to selectively reverse the reversible refrigeration circuit to heat the ice making mold when ice is discharged from the ice making mold.

27. A method of operating a reversible refrigeration circuit for a door mounted ice making system for a refrigerator, the door mounted ice making system comprising: an ice making mold disposed between an outer wall and one or more inner walls of a door of the refrigerator; and an ice making evaporator disposed between the outer wall and the one or more inner walls of the fresh food compartment door and in thermal contact with the ice making mold to directly cool the ice making mold, the method comprising:

operating the reversible refrigeration circuit to cool the ice-making mold with the ice-making evaporator while ice is being produced with the ice-making mold; and

operating the reversible refrigeration circuit to heat the ice-making mold with the ice-making evaporator when ice is ejected from the ice-making mold.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the door mounted ice making system further comprises: an ice bank disposed between the outer wall and the one or more inner walls of the door and configured to receive and store ice produced by the ice-making mold; a cold-wall evaporator disposed adjacent to the ice bank and along at least one of the one or more interior walls of the door; and at least one valve coupled between a source of refrigerant and one or both of the ice-making evaporator and the cold wall evaporator, the method further comprising: regulating refrigerant flow to one or both of the ice-making evaporator and the cold wall evaporator using the at least one valve.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

controlling the at least one valve to direct refrigerant flow only to the cold wall evaporator when the ice bank is full; and

controlling the at least one valve to direct refrigerant flow only to the ice-making evaporator while maximizing ice production.

30. A refrigerator, comprising:

a cabinet including one or more food storage compartments defined therein;

a door coupled to the cabinet adjacent an opening from a first chamber of the one or more food storage chambers and configured to isolate the first chamber from an external environment, the door including one or more inner walls facing the first chamber when the door is closed and an outer wall facing the external environment; and

a door mounted ice making system disposed on the door, the door mounted ice making system comprising:

an ice making mold disposed between the outer wall and the one or more inner walls of the door and configured to produce ice;

an ice bank disposed between the outer wall and the one or more inner walls of the door and configured to receive and store ice produced by the ice-making mold; and

a refrigeration circuit disposed on the door and including an evaporator disposed between the outer wall and the one or more inner walls of the door and configured to provide cooling for the door mounted ice making system and a hot wall condenser disposed on the door and in fluid communication with the evaporator, wherein the hot wall condenser is configured to dissipate heat generated by the refrigeration circuit through the outer wall of the door.

31. The refrigerator of claim 30, wherein the condenser comprises a generally planar condenser coil extending along at least a portion of the outer wall of the door.

32. The refrigerator of claim 30, further comprising a thermal conductor disposed in the outer wall, the thermal conductor being formed of a thermally conductive material and in thermal contact with the condenser.

33. The refrigerator of claim 30, wherein the outer wall of the door includes an outer metal skin, and wherein the condenser is in thermal contact with the outer metal skin of the door.

34. The refrigerator according to claim 33, further comprising a plurality of heat shunt tubes extending between the condenser and the outer metal skin of the door.

35. The refrigerator of claim 30, wherein the door-mounted ice-making system further comprises a compressor disposed between the outer wall and the one or more inner walls of the door and operatively coupled to the evaporator and the condenser in a self-contained, door-in refrigeration circuit, and wherein the refrigerator further comprises a thermal conductor disposed in the outer wall of the door, the thermal conductor being formed of a thermally conductive material and in thermal contact with the condenser and the compressor.

36. The refrigerator of claim 30, wherein the evaporator comprises a cold wall evaporator disposed adjacent the ice bank and along at least one of the one or more interior walls of the door.

37. The refrigerator of claim 36, further comprising an ice making evaporator in thermal contact with the ice making mold to directly cool the ice making mold.

Background

A household refrigerator generally includes both a fresh food chamber maintained at a temperature above freezing point to store fresh food and liquid, and a freezing chamber maintained at a temperature below freezing point to store frozen food for a long period of time. For many years, most refrigerators have fallen into one of two categories. For example, a top mount refrigerator includes a freezer compartment located near the top of the refrigerator, which is accessible via an outer door separate from the outer door of the fresh food compartment, or accessible via an inner door within the fresh food compartment. Side-by-side refrigerators, on the other hand, orient the freezer compartment and the fresh food compartment close to each other and extending generally along most of the height of the refrigerator.

Door-mounted ice dispensers, which are often combined with water dispensers, are a common convenient feature on many of these household refrigerators. Incorporating these features into top loading and side by side refrigerators is generally simple because such dispensers can typically be mounted on the outside door of the freezer compartment at a height convenient to the user and at a location suitable for receiving ice produced by an ice maker mounted in the freezer compartment.

Recently, however, various types of bottom mount refrigerator designs have become more popular with consumers. The underneath type refrigerator orients the freezer compartment below the fresh food compartment and near the bottom of the refrigerator. Access to the fresh food compartment is more frequent for most people than to the freezer compartment, and therefore many items that are routinely accessed by the user are accessible at a height that is convenient for the user. Some bottom-mount refrigerators include a single door for each of the fresh food compartment and the freezer compartment, while other designs, commonly referred to as "french door" refrigerators, include a pair of side-by-side doors for the fresh food compartment. Some designs may also use sliding doors instead of hinged doors for the freezer compartment, and in some designs, multiple doors may be used for the freezer compartment.

However, placing the freezer compartment at the bottom of the refrigerator complicates the design of door-mounted ice dispensers because each freezer compartment door is positioned too low for a door-mounted ice dispenser and because the placement of the ice dispenser on a fresh food compartment door orients the ice dispenser opposite the frozen fresh food compartment described above. Most ice dispensers rely at least in part on gravity to transport ice from the ice maker mold to the storage container and/or to transport ice from the storage container to the outlet chute of the ice dispenser, and it is therefore often desirable to orient the ice maker at a higher elevation than the ice dispenser.

Accordingly, many designs have sought to position the ice maker and storage container in one or more separate sub-chambers in the fresh food compartment door or in the fresh food compartment itself, and to direct cold air from the freezer compartment to the sub-chambers in order to maintain the ice maker and storage container at a temperature suitable for producing and storing ice. However, existing designs are often accompanied by compromises that result in reduced energy efficiency, increased cost, reduced storage capacity, and complex arrangements of pipes and ports.

Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for an improved way of providing door-mounted ice dispensing, particularly in an under-mount refrigerator.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments described herein address these and other problems associated with the prior art by providing, in one aspect, a refrigerator and method that utilizes a door-mounted ice-making system that includes an ice-making mold, an ice bank, and a cold-wall evaporator disposed along an interior wall of the door adjacent the ice bank to provide cooling adjacent the ice bank. In some cases, the cold wall evaporator may be an evaporator other than an ice making evaporator that provides direct cooling of the ice making molds, and further, in some cases, the cold wall evaporator and the ice making evaporator may be individually controllable to optimize cooling within the door mounted ice making system. Additionally, in some cases, hot wall condensers may be used in door-mounted ice making systems to dissipate heat generated by the refrigeration circuit through the exterior walls of the door. Further, in some cases, a reversible refrigeration circuit may be used in conjunction with the ice-making evaporator to assist in ejecting ice from the ice-making mold.

Therefore, according to an aspect of the present invention, a refrigerator may include: a cabinet including a fresh food chamber and a freezing chamber; a fresh food chamber door coupled to the cabinet adjacent to the opening of the fresh food chamber and configured to isolate the fresh food chamber from an external environment; and a door-mounted ice making system disposed on the fresh food compartment door. The fresh food compartment door may include: one or more inner walls facing the fresh food chamber when the door is closed and comprising one or more metal sheets; and an outer wall facing the external environment and comprising an outer metal skin. The door mounted ice making system may include: an ice making mold disposed between an outer wall and one or more inner walls of the fresh food compartment door and configured to generate ice; an ice bank disposed between an outer wall and one or more inner walls of the fresh food compartment door and configured to receive and store ice produced by the ice-making mold; an ice and water dispenser disposed on an outer wall of the fresh food compartment door and configured to dispense water and to dispense ice produced by the ice-making mold; and a reversible, self-contained, in-door refrigeration circuit disposed between an outer wall and one or more inner walls of the fresh food compartment door. The reversible self-contained in-door refrigeration circuit may include: a compressor in thermal contact with the outer metal skin; a condenser in fluid communication with an outlet of the compressor and in thermal contact with the outer metal skin; an ice-making evaporator disposed between an outer wall and one or more inner walls of the fresh food compartment door, and in thermal contact with the ice-making mold to directly cool the ice-making mold; a cold wall evaporator disposed adjacent the ice bank and along at least one of the one or more interior walls of the door, the cold wall evaporator in thermal contact with the one or more metal sheets; and at least one valve disposed between the condenser and one or both of the ice making evaporator and the cold wall evaporator to regulate a flow of refrigerant to the one or both of the ice making evaporator and the cold wall evaporator. The refrigerator may also include a controller coupled to the reversible, self-contained, in-door refrigeration circuit and configured to control the at least one valve to selectively control refrigerant flow to the cold wall evaporator and the ice making evaporator. The controller may also be configured to control the compressor to selectively reverse the flow of refrigerant to the ice-making evaporator when ice is ejected from the ice-making mold to heat the ice-making mold.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a refrigerator may include: a case including one or more food storage compartments defined therein; a door coupled to the case adjacent to the opening from a first chamber of the one or more food storage chambers and configured to isolate the first chamber from an external environment, the door including one or more inner walls facing the first chamber when the door is closed and an outer wall facing the external environment; and a door-mounted ice making system disposed on the door. The door mounted ice making system may include: an ice making mold disposed between an outer wall and one or more inner walls of the door and configured to produce ice; an ice bank disposed between an outer wall and one or more inner walls of the door and configured to receive and store ice produced by the ice-making mold; and a cold wall evaporator disposed adjacent to the ice bank and along at least one of the one or more interior walls of the door.

In some embodiments, the cold wall evaporator includes a generally planar evaporator coil disposed along at least a portion of a first of the one or more interior walls of the door. Also, in some embodiments, the first interior wall is a rearward facing wall of the door. Also, in some embodiments, the cold wall evaporator extends along a plurality of the one or more interior walls of the door, wherein the plurality of interior walls includes an interior wall selected from the group consisting of a rear facing wall, a top facing wall, a bottom facing wall, and a side facing wall.

Some embodiments may also include a thermal conductor disposed on at least one of the inner walls, the thermal conductor being formed of a thermally conductive material and in thermal contact with the cold wall evaporator. Further, in some embodiments, the thermal conductor comprises a metal sheet. In some embodiments, the metal sheet comprises a plurality of portions disposed on a plurality of the one or more interior walls of the door. Additionally, in some embodiments, the thermal conductor includes a plurality of metal sheets disposed on a plurality of the one or more interior walls of the door.

Some embodiments may further include an ice making evaporator in thermal contact with the ice making mold to directly cool the ice making mold. In some embodiments, the ice-making evaporator is integrally formed with the ice-making mold. In some embodiments, the ice-making evaporator and the cold wall evaporator are coupled in series. Additionally, some embodiments may further include at least one valve disposed between the source of refrigerant and one or both of the ice making evaporator and the cold wall evaporator to regulate the flow of refrigerant to the one or both of the ice making evaporator and the cold wall evaporator.

Additionally, some embodiments may further include a controller coupled to the at least one valve, the controller configured to control the at least one valve to direct the flow of refrigerant only to the cold wall evaporator when the ice bank is full, and to direct the flow of refrigerant only to the ice making evaporator when ice production is maximized. In some embodiments, the door-mounted ice-making system further includes a reversible refrigeration circuit coupled to the ice-making evaporator, the reversible refrigeration circuit configured to cool the ice-making mold when operating in the ice-producing mode and to heat the ice-making mold when operating in the ice-discharge mode.

Further, in some embodiments, the door mount ice making system further includes a condenser disposed between the outer wall and the one or more inner walls of the door. Also, in some embodiments, the condenser includes a generally planar condenser coil extending along at least a portion of the outer wall of the door. Some embodiments may also include a thermal conductor disposed in the outer wall, the thermal conductor being formed of a thermally conductive material and in thermal contact with the condenser. In some embodiments, the thermal conductor comprises an outer metal skin of the door. Additionally, some embodiments may also include a plurality of heat shunt tubes that extend between the condenser and the outer skin of the door.

Additionally, in some embodiments, the door mounted ice making system further includes a compressor disposed between the outer wall and the one or more inner walls of the door and operably coupled to the cold wall evaporator and the condenser in the self-contained, in-door refrigeration circuit. Some embodiments may also include a thermal conductor disposed in the outer wall of the door, the thermal conductor being formed of a thermally conductive material and in thermal contact with the condenser and the compressor.

In addition, some embodiments may further include an externally accessible dispenser disposed on the door and configured to dispense ice produced by the ice-making mold.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there may be provided a door-mounted ice making system for a refrigerator of the type including: a case including one or more food storage compartments defined therein; and a door coupled to the case adjacent to the opening from a first chamber of the one or more food storage chambers and configured to isolate the first chamber from an external environment, the door including one or more inner walls facing the first chamber when the door is closed and an outer wall facing the external environment. The door mounted ice making system may include: an ice making mold disposed between an outer wall and one or more inner walls of the door and configured to produce ice; an ice bank disposed between an outer wall and one or more inner walls of the door and configured to receive and store ice produced by the ice-making mold; an ice making evaporator disposed between an outer wall and one or more inner walls of the door and in thermal contact with the ice making mold to directly cool the ice making mold; a cold wall evaporator disposed adjacent to the ice bank and along at least one of the one or more interior walls of the door; and at least one valve coupled between the source of refrigerant and one or both of the ice-making evaporator and the cold wall evaporator and configured to regulate the flow of refrigerant to the one or both of the ice-making evaporator and the cold wall evaporator.

Some embodiments may further include a controller coupled to the at least one valve and configured to control the at least one valve to direct the flow of refrigerant only to the cold wall evaporator when the ice bank is full and to direct the flow of refrigerant only to the ice making evaporator when ice production is maximized. Additionally, in some embodiments, the ice making evaporator and the cold wall evaporator are arranged in a reversible refrigeration circuit, and the controller is further configured to selectively reverse the reversible refrigeration circuit to heat the ice making molds while discharging ice from the ice making molds.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there may be provided a method for operating a reversible refrigeration circuit of a door-mounted ice-making system of a refrigerator, the door-mounted ice-making system comprising: an ice-making mold disposed between an outer wall and one or more inner walls of a door of a refrigerator; and an ice-making evaporator disposed between an outer wall and one or more inner walls of the fresh food compartment door, and in thermal contact with the ice-making mold to directly cool the ice-making mold. The method may comprise the steps of: operating the reversible refrigeration circuit to cool the ice-making mold with the ice-making evaporator while the ice-making mold is producing ice; and operating the reversible refrigeration circuit to heat the ice-making mold with the ice-making evaporator when ice is ejected from the ice-making mold.

Also, in some embodiments, the door-mounted ice making system further comprises: an ice bank disposed between an outer wall and one or more inner walls of the door and configured to receive and store ice produced by the ice-making mold; a cold wall evaporator disposed adjacent to the ice bank and along at least one of the one or more interior walls of the door; and at least one valve coupled between the source of refrigerant and one or both of the ice-making evaporator and the cold wall evaporator. In addition, the method may further comprise the steps of: refrigerant flow to one or both of the ice-making evaporator and the cold wall evaporator is regulated using at least one valve. Additionally, some embodiments may further include: controlling at least one valve to direct refrigerant flow only to the cold wall evaporator when the ice bank is full; and controlling the at least one valve to direct refrigerant flow only to the ice-making evaporator while maximizing ice production.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a refrigerator may include: a case including one or more food storage compartments defined therein; a door coupled to the case adjacent to the opening from a first chamber of the one or more food storage chambers and configured to isolate the first chamber from an external environment, the door including one or more inner walls facing the first chamber when the door is closed and an outer wall facing the external environment; and a door-mounted ice making system disposed on the door. The door mounted ice making system may include: an ice making mold disposed between an outer wall and one or more inner walls of the door and configured to produce ice; an ice bank disposed between an outer wall and one or more inner walls of the door and configured to receive and store ice produced by the ice-making mold; and a refrigeration circuit disposed on the door and including an evaporator disposed between an outer wall and one or more inner walls of the door and configured to provide cooling for the door mounted ice making system, and a hot wall condenser disposed on the door and in fluid communication with the evaporator, wherein the hot wall condenser is configured to dissipate heat generated by the refrigeration circuit through the outer wall of the door.

Further, in some embodiments, the condenser includes a generally planar condenser coil extending along at least a portion of the outer wall of the door. Additionally, some embodiments may further include a thermal conductor disposed in the outer wall, the thermal conductor being formed of a thermally conductive material and in thermal contact with the condenser. Also, in some embodiments, the outer wall of the door includes an outer skin, and wherein the condenser is in thermal contact with the outer skin of the door. Some embodiments may also include a plurality of heat shunt tubes extending between the condenser and the outer skin of the door.

Further, in some embodiments, the door-mounted ice-making system further includes a compressor disposed between the outer wall and the one or more inner walls of the door and operatively coupled to the evaporator and the condenser in the self-contained, in-door refrigeration circuit, and the refrigerator further includes a thermal conductor disposed in the outer wall of the door, the thermal conductor formed of a thermally conductive material and in thermal contact with the condenser and the compressor. In some embodiments, the evaporator comprises a cold wall evaporator disposed adjacent to the ice bank and along at least one of the one or more interior walls of the door. Some embodiments may further include an ice making evaporator in thermal contact with the ice making mold to directly cool the ice making mold.

These and other advantages and features, which characterize the invention, are set forth in the claims annexed hereto and forming a further part hereof. However, for a better understanding of the invention, and of the advantages and objectives attained through its use, reference should be made to the drawings, and to the accompanying descriptive matter, in which there is described exemplary embodiments of the invention. This summary is provided merely as an option to introduce concepts that are further described below in the detailed description and is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator according to some embodiments of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of an example control system of the refrigerator of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a functional perspective view of the inside of the fresh food door of the refrigerator of fig. 1.

FIG. 4 is a functional cross-sectional view of the fresh food door of FIG. 3, taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a functional cross-sectional view of the fresh food door of FIG. 3, taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram of an example implementation of a refrigeration circuit for a door mounted ice making system for the refrigerator of fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a functional side sectional view of an alternative fresh food door to the fresh food door illustrated in fig. 3.

FIG. 8 is a functional perspective view of an alternative cold wall evaporator to the cold wall evaporator illustrated in FIG. 7.

Fig. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a series of operations for an example of generating and storing ice in the refrigerator of fig. 1.

Detailed Description

Turning now to the drawings (in which like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views), fig. 1 illustrates an example refrigerator 10 in which the various techniques and methods described herein may be implemented. The refrigerator 10 is a household type refrigerator, and thus it can be seen to comprise: a cabinet or bin 12 including one or more food storage compartments (e.g., a fresh food compartment 14 and a freezer compartment 16); and one or more fresh food compartment doors 18, 20 and one or more freezer compartment doors 22 disposed adjacent respective openings of the food storage compartments 14, 16 and configured to isolate the respective food storage compartments 14, 16 from the external environment when the doors are closed.

The fresh food compartment 14 is typically maintained at a temperature above freezing for storing fresh food, such as produce, beverages, eggs, spices, luncheon meat, cheese, and the like. Various shelves, drawers, and/or sub-compartments may be provided within the fresh food compartment 14 for organizing the food, and it should be understood that some refrigerator designs may incorporate multiple fresh food compartments and/or zones that are maintained at different temperatures and/or different humidity levels to optimize the environmental conditions for different types of food. The freezer compartment 16 is typically maintained at a sub-freezing temperature for long-term storage of frozen food, and may also include various shelves, drawers, and/or sub-compartments for organizing food therein.

The refrigerator 10 illustrated in fig. 1 is a bottom-mount type refrigerator, which is generally called a french door refrigerator, and includes: a pair of split fresh food compartment doors 18, 20 hinged along the left and right sides of the refrigerator to provide a wide opening for accessing the fresh food compartment; and a single sliding freezer door 22 that resembles a drawer and is pulled out to provide access to the items in the freezer compartment. However, it should be understood that other door designs may be used in other embodiments, including hinged and/or sliding doors for various combinations and numbers of individual fresh food compartments and freezer compartments. Moreover, while the refrigerator 10 is a bottom mount refrigerator with the freezer compartment 16 disposed below the fresh food compartment 14, the present invention is not so limited, and as such, it will be appreciated that the principles and techniques may be used in conjunction with other types of refrigerators in other embodiments.

The refrigerator 10 also includes a door mounted dispenser 24 for dispensing ice and/or water. In the illustrated embodiment, dispenser 24 is an ice and water dispenser capable of dispensing ice (cubed ice and/or crushed ice) and chilled water, while in other embodiments, dispenser 24 may be an ice-only dispenser for dispensing only cubed ice and/or crushed ice. In still other embodiments, the dispenser 24 may additionally dispense hot water, coffee, beverages, or other liquids, and may have variable and/or rapid dispensing capabilities. In some cases, ice and water may be dispensed from the same location, while in other cases, separate locations may be provided in the dispenser to dispense the ice and water.

The refrigerator 10 also includes a control panel 26, which in the illustrated embodiment is integrated with the dispenser 24 on the door 18 and includes various input/output controls for interacting with a user, such as buttons, indicator lights, alphanumeric displays, dot matrix displays, touch sensitive displays, and the like. In other embodiments, the control panel 26 may be separate from the dispenser 24 (e.g., on a different door), and in other embodiments, multiple control panels may be provided. Further, in some implementations, audio feedback may be provided to the user via one or more speakers, and in some implementations, user input may be received via a spoken or gesture-based interface. Additional user controls may also be provided elsewhere on the refrigerator 10, for example, in the fresh food compartment 14 and/or the freezer compartment 16. In addition, the refrigerator 10 may be remotely controlled, such as via a smart phone, tablet, personal digital assistant, or other networked computing device, for example, using a web interface or a dedicated application.

The refrigerator according to the present invention also typically includes one or more controllers configured to control the refrigeration system and manage interaction with a user. For example, FIG. 2 illustrates an example embodiment of a refrigerator 10 that includes a controller 40 that receives inputs from and drives a number of components in response to the inputs. The controller 40 may include, for example, one or more processors 42 and memory 44, within which program code for execution by the one or more processors may be stored. The memory may be embedded in the controller 40, but may also be considered to include volatile and/or non-volatile memory, cache memory, flash memory, programmable read-only memory, etc., as well as memory storage physically located elsewhere from the controller 40 (e.g., in a mass storage device or on a remote computer that interfaces with the controller 40). In some embodiments, the controller 40 may also be distributed among multiple controller circuits within the refrigerator 12, and thus the present invention should not be considered limited to controllers implemented as a single central controller circuit as illustrated in fig. 2.

As shown in fig. 2, the controller 40 may interface with various components including a cooling or refrigeration system 46, an ice-making system 48, one or more user controls 50 (e.g., various combinations of switches, knobs, buttons, sliders, touch screens or touch sensitive displays, microphones or audio input devices, image capture devices, etc.) for receiving user inputs, and one or more user displays 52 (including various indicators, graphical displays, text displays, speakers, etc.) as well as various additional components suitable for use in a refrigerator, such as interior and/or exterior lighting 54, etc.

The controller 40 may also interface with various sensors 56 (e.g., one or more temperature sensors, humidity sensors, etc.) positioned to sense environmental conditions inside and/or outside the refrigerator 10. Such sensors may be internal or external to the refrigerator 10, and in some embodiments may be wirelessly coupled to the controller 40.

In some embodiments, the controller 40 may also be coupled to one or more network interfaces 58, for example, for interfacing with external devices via a wired and/or wireless network, such as Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, cellular, and other suitable networks, collectively indicated at 60 in FIG. 2. In some embodiments, the network 60 may incorporate a home automation network and may support various communication protocols, including various types of home automation communication protocols. In other embodiments, other wireless protocols may be used, such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

In some embodiments, the refrigerator 10 may interface with one or more user devices 62 (e.g., computers, tablets, smart phones, wearable devices, etc.) through the network 60, and through these devices, the refrigerator 10 may be controlled and/or the refrigerator 10 may provide user feedback.

In some embodiments, the controller 40 may operate under the control of an operating system and may execute or otherwise rely on various computer software applications, components, programs, objects, modules, data structures, and the like. In addition, the controller 40 may also incorporate hardware logic to implement some or all of the functionality disclosed herein. Further, in some embodiments, a series of operations performed by the controller 40 to implement embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented using program code comprising one or more instructions that reside at various times in various storage and storage devices, and that when read and executed by one or more hardware-based processors, perform operations that embody the desired functions. Moreover, in some embodiments, such program code may be distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and the present invention applies equally regardless of the particular type of computer-readable media used to actually carry out the distribution, including, for example, non-transitory computer-readable storage media. In addition, it should be appreciated that the various operations described herein may be combined, split, reordered, inverted, altered, omitted, parallelized, and/or supplemented by other techniques known in the art, and thus the present invention is not limited to the particular series of operations described herein.

As will become apparent from the following description, many variations and modifications to the refrigerator illustrated in fig. 1 to 2 will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments discussed herein.

Turning now to fig. 3, an embodiment according to the present invention, as described above, is directed in part to the use of a door mounted ice making system (e.g., door mounted ice making system 48 disposed on fresh food compartment door 18). Fresh food compartment door 18 includes an outer wall 68 facing the outside environment (and optionally ice and/or water dispenser 24), and an ice-making compartment 70 defined by one or more inner walls that face fresh food compartment 14 when door 18 is closed. In the illustrated embodiment, for example, the rear facing major interior wall 72 may be defined on the door 18 along with a plurality of additional interior walls 74-80 forming the ice making compartment 70 in the door, including a rear facing wall 74, a top facing wall 76, a bottom facing wall 78, and a pair of side facing walls 80. Additional components may also be disposed on the interior walls of the door 18, such as one or more shelves 82 and additional storage bins or compartments, etc., and further, as represented by the door 84, one or more doors and/or removable panels may be defined on any of the interior walls 74-80 to provide access to the ice-making compartment 70. In the illustrated embodiment, for example, the door 84 may provide access to an ice bank, bucket, or other storage structure to enable a user to remove ice from the ice-making system and/or otherwise access the ice-making system for other purposes (e.g., to remove blockages).

Although the outer and inner walls 68, 74-80 are illustrated as defining a generally rectangular parallelepiped-shaped ice-making chamber 70, it should be appreciated that the invention is not so limited as in other embodiments any number and/or arrangement of flat and/or curved surfaces may be used to define the ice-making chamber. Also, while in some embodiments the interior walls 74-80 may form a housing separate from and mounted to the door 18, in other embodiments the interior walls 74-80 may be integrally formed with the interior wall 72, e.g., as part of a single molded interior door panel. Further, it should be understood that an insulating material, such as foam, may be incorporated into any and/or all of the walls 68 and 72-80 to provide suitable insulation between the ice-making chamber 70 (which is desirably maintained at a temperature below freezing) and the fresh food chamber 14 (which is desirably maintained at a temperature above freezing), and between the chambers 14, 70 and the external environment.

Additionally, in the illustrated embodiment, the door-mounted ice-making system 48 is a self-contained ice-making system, and as such, is seen to comprise a complete and closed refrigeration circuit (e.g., including at least a compressor, a condenser, and an evaporator fluidly coupled to one another to circulate refrigerant) separate from the main refrigeration or cooling system 46 of the refrigerator 10. In this regard, a water source 86 and a power source 88 may be provided to the door 18 to supply water and power to the ice-making system 48 and routed from the bin 12 to the door 18 in any number of suitable manners known to those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure (e.g., using water lines, electrical wiring harnesses, etc.). It should also be understood that in some embodiments, the power source 88 may provide only a source of electrical power to the ice-making system 48, while in other embodiments, the power source 88 may communicate data, e.g., control signals, sensor signals, etc., between the ice-making system 48 and electrical components within the bin 12 (e.g., the controller 40). However, in other embodiments, portions of the refrigeration circuit may be disposed elsewhere in the refrigerator 12, it follows that in some embodiments, one or more refrigerant lines may also run between the door 18 and the cabinet 12.

Turning now to fig. 4 and 5, these figures illustrate various components in an exemplary embodiment of an ice-making system 48. For example, fig. 4 is a view taken from within the ice making compartment 70 and toward the outer wall 68, while fig. 5 is a view taken from within the ice making compartment 70 and toward the inner wall 74.

As shown in these figures, the ice-making system 48 can include an ice-making mold 90 and an ice bank 92, each disposed between the exterior wall 68 and one or more interior walls 74-80 of the door 18. The ice-making mold 90 generally includes a body having a void defined therein for receiving and freezing water into ice pieces of a particular size and shape, and includes additional ice-making components, such as water valves, shut-off or control arms, heating elements, temperature sensors, and the like, as will be apparent to those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure. In some embodiments, the ice-making mold 90 may be pivotable, movable, or otherwise configured to discharge the produced ice into the ice bank 92.

The ice bank 92 is configured to receive and store ice produced by the ice-making molds 90 and may be implemented using a fixed container or, alternatively, a user-removable container that is removable from the ice-making chamber 70 to access the ice stored therein. The ice bank 92 may also include an ice mover, such as a screw feeder or conveyor, and an ice crusher to enable ice to be delivered to the dispenser 24 for dispensing to a user through the front of the door 18. However, in other embodiments, the ice moving and crushing functions may be implemented separately from the ice bank 92 or may be omitted entirely (e.g., when no ice dispenser is provided in the refrigerator 12).

With additional reference to fig. 6, the ice-making system 48 additionally includes an exemplary embodiment of a refrigeration circuit including a compressor 94, a condenser 96, an ice-making (IM) evaporator 98, a Cold Wall (CW) evaporator 100, a valve 102, and expansion devices 104, 106 coupled to one another using refrigerant lines 108.

The compressor 94 includes a high pressure output coupled to a condenser 96, which in turn is coupled to a valve 102 having two outputs coupled to the ice making and cold wall evaporators 98, 100, respectively, by separate expansion devices 104, 106, such that the compressor 94 and/or condenser 96 operate as a source of refrigerant for the valve 102. The valve 102 may regulate refrigerant flow to one or both of the evaporators 98, 100, and in the illustrated embodiment may be configured as a 2-way or 3-way valve to direct selective or proportional refrigerant flow to each of the evaporators 98, 100. In some embodiments, it may be desirable to enable flow to individual evaporators to be individually turned on or off, while in other embodiments, it may be desirable to enable control of refrigerant flow rates for one or more of the evaporators 98, 100. It should also be understood that while a single valve 102 is illustrated in fig. 6, in some embodiments, multiple valves may be used, e.g., with a separate valve for each evaporator 98, 100. The expansion devices 104, 106 may be configured in many different ways, for example, as capillary tubes or mechanical or electronic expansion valves. Additional refrigeration circuit components, such as dryers, sensors, refrigerant dryers, accumulators, defrost heaters, are not shown, but will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

There are countless different variations of refrigeration circuit designs that include one or more of these various components and, thus, the present invention is not limited to the specific designs illustrated herein. For example, in some embodiments, the evaporators 98, 100 can be coupled in series without valves or other components providing selective control of one or both evaporators. In some aspects, in such embodiments, the evaporators 98, 100 can be considered two portions of the same overall evaporator assembly. Additionally, in some embodiments, rather than utilizing an ice-making evaporator in thermal contact with the ice-making mold, another cold-wall evaporator (or another portion of the same cold-wall evaporator) may be positioned to cool the ice-making mold. In some embodiments, additional cold wall evaporators may be coupled in series with cold wall evaporator 100 and may not be individually controllable, while in other embodiments, two cold wall evaporators may be individually controllable.

Also, in some embodiments, the refrigeration circuit of fig. 6 may be configured as a reversible refrigeration circuit capable of reversing refrigerant flow, for example, by reversing the operation of the compressor 94 to reverse refrigerant flow through the circuit and controlling the valve 102 to regulate refrigerant flow to one or both of the evaporators 98, 100, to effectively operate one or both of the evaporators 98, 100 as a condenser. In the illustrated embodiment, for example, it may be desirable to operate the refrigeration circuit to apply heat to the ice-making molds 90 via the ice-making evaporators 98 while inhibiting refrigerant flow to the cold wall evaporators 100 to assist in releasing the produced ice from the ice-making molds. Thus, in the ice-producing mode, ice-making evaporator 98 may be configured to cool ice-making mold 90, and in the ice-discharging mode, ice-making evaporator 98 may be configured to heat ice-making mold 90. However, in other embodiments, a reversible refrigeration loop may not be used.

Returning to fig. 5, an ice-making evaporator 98 is disposed between the outer wall 68 and one or more of the inner walls 74-80 of the door 18 and is in thermal contact with the ice-making mold 90 to directly cool the ice-making mold. In this regard, thermal contact refers to mechanical contact with ice-making mold 90, either directly or indirectly through a thermally conductive material (e.g., using one or more thermal shunt tubes), such that heat is transferred primarily via conduction between ice-making mold 90 and ice-making evaporator 98, rather than through circulating cool air. For example, in some embodiments, ice-making evaporator 98 may be integrally formed within ice-making mold 90 such that refrigerant flows through lines formed within ice-making evaporator 98. In other embodiments, ice-making evaporator 98 may be mounted directly to ice-making mold 90 or otherwise placed in thermal contact with ice-making mold 90, as will be apparent to those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure. In still other embodiments, ice-making evaporator 98 may not be in thermal contact with ice-making mold 90, and, in some embodiments, ice-making evaporator 98 may be omitted entirely.

In addition to or in lieu of ice-making evaporator 98, a cold-wall evaporator 100 is provided, which is also disposed between outer wall 68 and one or more of inner walls 74-80 of door 18. In particular, in the illustrated embodiment, the cold wall evaporator 100 is disposed adjacent the ice bank 92 along the rear facing interior wall 74 to provide cooling to the ice stored in the ice bank 92. The evaporator 100 is a cold wall evaporator in the sense that the evaporator may be used to provide a cold wall or surface for cooling the ice making compartment 70. As can be seen, in some embodiments, the evaporator 100 may be generally planar in shape and extend along at least a portion of one or more of the inner walls 74-80. For example, the evaporator 100 may be formed as an evaporator coil as illustrated in fig. 5, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

Returning to FIG. 4, the compressor 94 and condenser 96 may also be disposed between the outer wall 68 of the door 18 and one or more of the inner walls 74-80, e.g., mounted to the outer wall 68 of the door 18. Further, given that both components are hot, it may be desirable to locate both components away from the ice bank 92 and the ice-making mold 90, and in some embodiments, it may be desirable to include insulating partitions or separate insulating compartments in the door 18 for the condenser and compressor. The condenser 96 may be configured as a hot wall condenser in some embodiments, and thus, may be generally flat in shape to extend along at least a portion of the outer wall 68. In addition, the condenser 96 may be formed as a condenser coil as illustrated in fig. 4, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

Additionally, although not shown in fig. 4, in some embodiments, ice chutes and/or other ice and/or water dispenser components may be disposed adjacent to the ice making chamber 70. Thus, in some embodiments, the location of the compressor 94, condenser 96, and/or cold wall evaporator 100 may be indicated by the positioning of the dispenser in the door 18.

It should be appreciated that in order to more efficiently cool the ice making compartment 70 and/or dissipate the heat generated by the compressor 94 and/or the condenser 96, in some embodiments, a number of techniques may be implemented to improve heat transfer. For example, fig. 7 illustrates an alternative design for a fresh food compartment door 130, including an outer wall 132 facing the outside environment and an ice making compartment 134 defined by one or more inner walls that face the fresh food compartment when the door 130 is closed. In the illustrated embodiment, for example, the rear facing main interior wall 136 may be defined on the door 130 along with a plurality of additional interior walls 138 and 144 forming an ice making compartment in the door, including a rear facing wall 138, a top facing wall 140, a bottom facing wall 142, and a pair of side facing walls 144. Additional components, such as shelves, bins, ice and/or water dispensers, etc., are omitted from fig. 7 for clarity.

The ice-making system 134 includes an ice-making mold 146, an ice bank 148, a compressor 150, a condenser 152, and an evaporator 154. The compressor 150 and the condenser 152 are disposed adjacent the outer wall 132, and the condenser 152 is configured as a generally planar condenser coil extending along at least a portion of the outer wall 132.

To enhance heat dissipation of the compressor 150 and/or the condenser 152, it may be desirable in some embodiments to include a thermal conductor in the outer wall and in thermal contact with the compressor 150 and/or the condenser 152. For example, in fig. 7, similar to a conventional refrigerator, the door 130 may include an outer metal skin 156, and it may be desirable to place the compressor 150 and/or the condenser 152 in thermal contact with the outer metal skin 156 so that heat may be dissipated over a majority of the exterior surface area of the door 130. In some embodiments, for example, one or more thermal shunt tubes 158, 160 may extend between the outer metal skin 156 and the compressor 150 and/or condenser 152 to conduct heat from the compressor and/or condenser to the outer metal skin 156. It should be understood that the thermal conductor and/or thermal shunt tubes can be formed of metal and other thermally conductive materials, and that various configurations of cooling bodies and thermal shunt tubes can be used to dissipate heat to the outer wall 132 of the door 130. For example, in some embodiments, various metal plates, panels, and the like may be used for the thermal conductor to effectively increase the surface area over which heat may be dissipated.

Similarly, to increase the cooling efficiency of the cold wall evaporator 154, it may be desirable to configure the cold wall evaporator 154 as a generally planar evaporator coil disposed along at least a portion of the rearward facing wall 138. Additionally, in some embodiments, it may be desirable to include a thermal conductor formed of a thermally conductive material and in thermal contact with the cold wall evaporator, and disposed on one or more interior walls of the door 130, e.g., a metal sheet 162 on the rear facing wall 138. The metal sheet 162 may be in thermal contact with the evaporator 154 through one or more thermal shunt tubes 164, or may be directly coupled to the evaporator. Further, in some embodiments, one or more fans may be used to improve convection and produce improved cooling performance of the cold wall evaporator 154.

It should be understood that the thermal conductor may be arranged on the wall in many ways, for example by forming the wall of thermally conductive material, or by embedding, laminating, fastening or otherwise attaching the thermally conductive material to the wall.

Also, in some embodiments, a thermal conductor may be formed on multiple walls and/or multiple thermal conductors may be disposed on one or more walls. For example, fig. 8 illustrates an alternative thermal conductor 162 that is suitable for use with the cold wall evaporator 154 and includes a plurality of panels or portions 170 that are configured to be disposed on the interior walls 138, 140, 142, and 144 of the door 130 (fig. 7) and joined together along folds 172. Fig. 8 also illustrates that in some embodiments, evaporator 154 can be coupled directly to thermal conductor 162, rather than through a thermal shunt as illustrated in fig. 7. In still other embodiments, the cold wall evaporator itself may include multiple portions that extend along multiple interior walls of the door. In other embodiments, other ways of increasing the effective surface area of the cold wall evaporator may be used.

Returning to fig. 6, as described above, a controller may be coupled to the ice-making system to control the production of ice and to regulate the temperature within the ice-making chamber. Thus, a controller may be coupled to, for example, the ice-making mold 90 (fig. 4-5) as well as the compressor 94 and valve 102 to regulate the flow of refrigerant to one or both of the ice-making evaporator 98 and the cold wall evaporator 100. In some embodiments, for example, the controller may be configured to regulate the flow of refrigerant to effectively activate only one of the ice-making evaporator 98 and the cold wall evaporator 100 under certain circumstances.

For example, when it is determined that the ice bank is full (e.g., using a level sensor), ice production will typically be stopped to prevent overfilling, so the controller can reduce or even shut off the flow of refrigerant to the ice-making evaporator 98, since ice production is not required in the near future. Additionally, when storing ice, minimal cooling is typically required, and therefore the flow of refrigerant to the cold wall evaporator 100 may also be limited to provide limited cooling.

As another example, when all ice storage is quickly depleted, the depletion may indicate a high use condition (e.g., a party) where maximum ice production is desired. Thus, in some embodiments, the controller may detect such high usage (e.g., based on sensing an empty ice bank, sensing higher than normal use of the ice dispenser, etc.) and reduce or even shut off the flow of refrigerant to the cold wall evaporator 100 and/or focus the maximum cooling capacity toward the ice-making evaporator 98, as maintaining the ice storage temperature is of lower priority over producing ice in a short period of time (because there is a high chance that any new ice introduced to the ice bank will be dispensed quickly).

In some embodiments, the controller may also employ a more balanced distribution of cooling capacity between the evaporators 98, 100, such as during normal use, where ice may be generated as needed (e.g., based on a level sensor) and cooling of the ice bank may be performed to prevent melting. Thus, the controller may alternate between the two evaporators, or provide percent cooling to the two evaporators, to properly balance the cooling of the ice produced and the ice in the ice bank.

Additionally, as described above, in some embodiments, a reversible refrigeration circuit may be used to assist in ejecting ice from the ice-making mold. Thus, in some embodiments, the controller may selectively reverse the reversible refrigeration circuit to heat the ice-making molds as the ice is ejected therefrom (e.g., by heating the molds immediately prior to and/or simultaneously with physically ejecting the ice from the molds).

For example, fig. 9 illustrates an example series of operations 200 for operating the ice-making system 48 with the controller 40 according to some embodiments of the invention. For example, block 202 may determine whether the ice bank 92 is full (e.g., based on a level sensor). If so, additional ice production is not desired, so control may pass to block 204 which shuts off the flow of refrigerant to the ice-making evaporator 98 and directs the flow of refrigerant only to the cold wall evaporator 100. In some embodiments, a temperature sensor may also be used, such that the temperature within the ice making compartment 70 may be controlled by one or more of the following: the compressor 94 is cycled and the flow of refrigerant to the cold wall evaporator 100 is regulated with a valve 102.

However, if the ice bank is not full, additional ice production may be initiated, and control may pass from block 202 to block 206, which begins an ice production operation (e.g., by filling the ice-making mold 90 with water). Block 208 then determines whether the ice-producing operation is complete and the resulting ice is ready to be discharged. If not, control passes to a block 210 that determines whether the ice bank 92 is completely empty. If so (which may indicate a higher than normal ice consumption, thereby requiring maximum ice production), control passes to block 212, which is cooled only with ice-making evaporator 98, e.g., by shutting off the flow of refrigerant to cold-wall evaporator 100 and directing the entire flow of refrigerant to ice-making evaporator 98. Control then returns to block 208 to wait until the ice-making mold 90 is ready to eject ice.

Returning to block 210, if the ice bank is not completely empty, it may be desirable to employ a more balanced cooling scheme, whereby control may pass to block 214 which meters or circulates the flow of refrigerant between the two evaporators 98, 100 to balance ice production while maintaining sufficient temperature in the ice bank. Control then returns to block 208.

Once the ice-making mold 90 is ready to discharge ice, block 208 transfers control to block 216, which temporarily reverses the refrigeration circuit for a short period of time, optionally directing all refrigerant flow to the ice-making evaporator 98 to heat the ice-making mold 90 to facilitate discharging ice. Once the ice-making mold is sufficiently heated, control passes to block 218, which expels ice from the ice-making mold 90, and control returns to block 202, which produces additional ice if necessary.

It should be understood that various additional modifications may be made to the embodiments discussed herein, and that many of the concepts disclosed herein may be used in combination with each other or separately. For example, a cold wall evaporator as disclosed herein may be used in some embodiments in conjunction with an ice making evaporator, or may be used without an ice making evaporator. In some embodiments where a cold wall evaporator is used with an ice making evaporator, both evaporators may be individually controllable, while in other embodiments both evaporators may be controlled together. Further, in some embodiments, a cold wall evaporator may be used in conjunction with a hot wall condenser, while in other embodiments, each of the cold wall evaporator and the hot wall condenser may be used without the other. Also, in some embodiments, the cold wall evaporator and/or hot wall evaporator described herein may be used in a self-contained door-mounted ice making system, while in other embodiments, portions of the refrigeration circuit may be disposed in the refrigerator cabinet rather than in the door. Additionally, in some embodiments, the reversible refrigeration circuit may be used in conjunction with other types of ice making systems, for example, including other evaporators and/or condensers from those described herein. Further, while no ducts, fans, or other air circulation is used in conjunction with the door ice-making system described herein, in other embodiments, cooling air may be circulated to provide at least a portion of the cooling employed in the door ice-making system according to the present invention.

Other modifications will be apparent to persons skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. Accordingly, the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended.