Mile High Equipment Company

Other

Robert J Alvarez

Todd E Kniffen

James J Wilson

Scott E Bredesen

Clinton O Schahrer

Duane D Flim

Steven D VanderBurgh

Tom N Martineau

Christopher P Yoerg

An ice maker module is built on an integrally formed plastic base. One or more ice making modules are stacked on top of an ice bin. Integrally formed within the plastic base is 'wet' compartment within which are disposed multiple numbers of evaporators on which water is frozen into ice cubes. The plastic base also separates the wet compartment from a dry compartment in which is mounted refrigeration components and control circuitry. The evaporators are constructed of two plates of stainless steel. Icing sites are located on the flattened sides of a serpentine refrigeration channel formed between depressions in the stainless steel plates. A microcontroller operates the ice making process. Harvesting of the ice cubes is initiated after the ice maker has used an amount of water necessary to make the ice. An ultrasonic range finder monitors the amount of ice in the bin.

Method of making an integrally formed, modular ice cuber having a

Integrally formed, modular ice cuber having a stainless steel evaporator

To insure a continuous supply of ice pieces to a drink dispensing machine having an upwardly open ice piece dispensing compartment, a storage bin is provided in vertical alignment with the ice piece compartment and an ice making machine is mounted on top of the storage bin. A discharge auger is mounted in a discharge opening in the bottom of the ice piece storage bin and is energized by switch means responsive to the level of ice pieces in the ice dispensing compartment.

Intermediate staging ice bin for ice and beverage dispensing machines

An auger type ice flaking machine has an evaporator section defined in part by a vertically oriented flaker barrel with closed upper and lower ends, and a knurled longitudinally intermediate exterior side surface positioned within an annular hollow jacket structure externally and coaxially mounted on the barrel and having an outlet opening positioned adjacent its upper end and communicating with the accumulator portion of an associated refrigeration circuit. Spirally wrapped tightly around the knurled surface is a coiled length of refrigerant tubing having an open lower end, and an upper end connected to the outlet of the expansion valve portion of the refrigeration circuit, adjacent coils of the tubing being longitudinally spaced apart. During operation of the machine, refrigerant is flowed downwardly through the tubing, into the jacket interior, and then upwardly through the jacket and outwardly through its outlet opening. This causes water flowed into the barrel to freeze in a thin ice layer on its interior side surface. A motor-driven auger positioned within the barrel continuously scrapes the ice layer and forces the resulting flake ice upwardly within the barrel and outwardly through a discharge opening communicating with an upper interior end portion thereof. The knurled barrel surface advantageously functions to significantly enhance the barrel-to-refrigerant heat transfer rate, thereby substantially increasing the freezing capacity of the evaporator section without the necessity of increasing its physical size.

Auger type ice flaking machine with enhanced heat transfer capacity

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Denver, CO, United States of America

Robert J Alvarez