Hot gas bypass system for an icemaker
US5794452A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 1, 1997 |
| Grant date | Aug 18, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 1, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF25B47/022
- WIPO fieldThermal processes and apparatus
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
An icemaker incorporating a hot gas bypass system for introducing a supplemental quantity of refrigerant from a condenser into a compressor of the icemaker during a harvest cycle. The system includes a harvest bypass valve disposed in a bypass conduit coupled between an input port of the compressor and the inlet of a remotely disposed condenser. The harvest bypass valve is opened by a system controller of the icemaker during a harvest cycle which allows refrigerant in the condenser to migrate back into the input port of the compressor during the harvest cycle. In this manner, it can be insured that a sufficient quantity of refrigerant is available to carry out the harvest cycle. The adding of a supplemental quantity of refrigerant is further accomplished through a single valve and does not add appreciably to the overall cost or complexity of the icemaker.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.