Ice maker with freezing aid

Abstract

An ice maker for fitting into a cooling or freezing appliance includes an ice-making tray which forms a plurality of ice-piece-producing cavities for producing one ice piece each. An air channel is formed above the ice-making tray, which serves to guide a cold air stream. There is provided a heat-dissipating structure including a metal material and having a plurality of heat-dissipating pins, each of which, in a freezing phase, projects from above, with a pin tip leading, into one of the ice-piece-producing cavities. In some embodiments, the heat-dissipating pins extend into and through the upper air channel, so that the cold air flowing in the air channel flows around shaft portions of the heat-dissipating pins situated inside the air channel. When the ice-piece-producing cavities are filled with water, the heat-dissipating pins immersed in the water ensure improved dissipation of thermal energy from the water, which accelerates freezing.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An ice maker for fitting into a cooling or freezing appliance for domestic use, comprising
 an ice-making tray, which forms a plurality of ice-piece-producing cavities having cavity walls for producing one ice piece each;   a channel wall arrangement for delimiting at least one air channel comprising a first air channel which serves to guide a cold air stream; and   a heat-dissipating structure comprising a metal material and having a plurality of heat-dissipating pins, each of which, in a freezing phase, projects from above, with a pin tip leading into one of the plurality of ice-piece-producing cavities of the ice-making tray, wherein the heat-dissipating structure has heat transfer surfaces which are in heat-conducting connection with the pin tip of each of the heat-dissipating pins and against which there flows the cold air stream of a first air channel delimited by the channel wall arrangement.   
     
     
         2 . The ice maker according to  claim 1 , wherein, in the freezing phase, each of the plurality of heat-dissipating pins projects into a corresponding ice-piece-producing cavity of the plurality of ice-piece-producing cavities in question without contact with the cavity walls. 
     
     
         3 . The ice maker according to  claim 1 , wherein at least some of the plurality of heat-dissipating pins project into a center of a corresponding ice-piece-producing cavity in the freezing phase. 
     
     
         4 . The ice maker according to  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of heat-dissipating pins is associated with a different one of the plurality of ice-piece-producing cavities. 
     
     
         5 . The ice maker according to  claim 1 , wherein, for at least some of the plurality of heat-dissipating pins, the depth of penetration of a corresponding pin into the corresponding ice-piece-producing cavity in question is selected from the group consisting of at least one third, at least half and at least three fifths of the depth of the cavity. 
     
     
         6 . The ice maker according to  claim 1 , wherein the heat transfer surfaces against which the cold air stream of the first air channel flows are formed on pin shafts of at least some of the heat-dissipating pins. 
     
     
         7 . The ice maker according to  claim 1 , wherein the first air channel runs above the ice-making tray and is separated from the ice-making tray in the direction of a tray upper side of the ice-making tray by a channel-delimiting wall, and in that the heat-dissipating structure extends through the channel-delimiting wall into the first air channel in the freezing phase. 
     
     
         8 . The ice maker according to  claim 7 , wherein at least some of the plurality of heat-dissipating pins project through the channel-delimiting wall into the first air channel in the freezing phase. 
     
     
         9 . The ice maker according to  claim 7 , wherein the first air channel has a channel cross-section that is closed all round at least in a channel portion situated above the ice-making tray. 
     
     
         10 . The ice maker according to  claim 1 , further comprising a pin-release mechanism which can be switched between an activated state and a deactivated state and which is configured, in the activated state, to effect a release of the plurality of heat-dissipating pins from frozen ice pieces which have been produced or/and to prevent the heat-dissipating pins from freezing to ice pieces. 
     
     
         11 . The ice maker according to  claim 10 , wherein the pin-release mechanism is configured to heat the plurality of heat-dissipating pins, or to drive the plurality of heat-dissipating pins in rotation about a respective pin axis, or to heat the plurality of heat-dissipating pins and to drive the plurality of heat-dissipating pins in rotation about a respective pin axis. 
     
     
         12 . The ice maker according to  claim 11  wherein the rotation is oscillation-rotation about a respective pin axis. 
     
     
         13 . The ice maker according to  claim 11 , wherein the pin-release device comprises a toothed rod which is interlocked with at least some of the plurality of heat-dissipating pins and is driven by a motor for displacement in a longitudinal direction of the rod. 
     
     
         14 . The ice maker according to  claim 1 , further comprising a pin-lifting device which is configured to lift the plurality of heat-dissipating pins out of and into the ice-piece-producing cavities. 
     
     
         15 . The ice maker according to  claim 14 , wherein the ice-making tray is mounted for rotation about an axis of rotation between an ice-producing rotational position and an ice-ejecting rotational position, and in that the pin-lifting device is configured to lift the plurality of heat-dissipating pins out of a path of rotation of the ice-making tray. 
     
     
         16 . The ice maker according to  claim 1 , wherein at least some of the plurality of heat-dissipating pins are each in the form of a hollow pin or in the form of a solid pin. 
     
     
         17 . The ice maker according to  claim 1 , wherein the metal material of the heat-dissipating structure comprises aluminium or/and copper. 
     
     
         18 . The ice maker for fitting into a cooling or freezing appliance for domestic use, the ice maker comprising:
 an ice-making tray, which forms a plurality of ice-piece-producing cavities for producing one ice piece each; and   a channel wall arrangement for delimiting at least one air channel which serves to guide a cold air stream,   wherein the channel wall arrangement delimits a lower air channel which runs beneath the ice-making tray and is open on a lower side of the tray, and at least some of the plurality of ice-piece-producing cavities are each equipped in the region of a cavity bottom with a heat-dissipating member comprising a metal material, which heat-dissipating member has a heat-absorbing surface which is exposed to a cavity interior of the at least some of the ice-piece-producing cavities in question, and a heat transfer surface which is so arranged that the cold air stream of the second air channel flows against the heat transfer surface and which is in heat-conducting connection with the heat-absorbing surface.   
     
     
         19 . The ice maker according to  claim 18 , wherein the heat-dissipating member comprises a peg body which passes through a bottom wall of a corresponding ice-piece-producing cavity of the at least some of the plurality of ice-piece-producing cavities, and in that the heat-absorbing surface is formed on a peg head of the peg body. 
     
     
         20 . The ice maker according to  claim 19 , wherein the heat-dissipating member comprises a plate body which is connected to a shaft portion of the peg body and on which the heat transfer surface is formed. 
     
     
         21 . The ice maker for fitting into a cooling or freezing appliance for domestic use, the ice maker comprising:
 an ice-making tray, which forms a plurality of ice-piece-producing cavities for producing one ice piece each; and   a channel wall arrangement for delimiting an upper air channel which serves to guide a cold air stream above the ice-making tray and a lower air channel which runs beneath the ice-making tray and is open on a lower side of the tray, and at least some of the plurality of ice-piece-producing cavities are each equipped in the region of a cavity bottom with a heat-dissipating member comprising a metal material, which heat-dissipating member has a heat-absorbing surface which is exposed to a cavity interior of the at least some of the ice-piece-producing cavities in question, and a heat transfer surface which is so arranged that the cold air stream of the second air channel flows against the heat transfer surface and which is in heat-conducting connection with the heat-absorbing surface.