Evaporator assembly for an ice making assembly

Abstract

An ice making assembly includes an ice mold defining a mold cavity and a refrigeration loop having an evaporator assembly in thermal communication with the ice mold. A compressor is operably coupled to the refrigeration loop for circulating a flow of refrigerant through the refrigerant loop to cool the evaporator assembly and the ice mold. The evaporator assembly includes a primary evaporator tube and a thermal enhancement structure, such as internal tubes and/or copper foam, placed therein to increase the refrigerant side surface area. The primary evaporator tube is deformed into a non-circular cross sectional shape and soldered or brazed onto a top wall of the ice mold.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An ice making assembly comprising:
 an ice mold defining a mold cavity;   an evaporator assembly in thermal communication with the ice mold, the evaporator assembly comprising:
 a primary evaporator tube placed in direct contact with the ice mold; and 
 a thermal enhancement structure positioned within the primary evaporator tube. 
   
     
     
         2 . The ice making assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the ice mold comprises:
 a top wall; and   a plurality of sidewalls cantilevered from the top wall and extending downward from the top wall.   
     
     
         3 . The ice making assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the evaporator assembly is in direct contact with the top wall of the ice mold. 
     
     
         4 . The ice making assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the top wall and the plurality of sidewalls are formed from a single sheet of copper and have a constant thickness. 
     
     
         5 . The ice making assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the top wall defines a top width and the mold cavity defines a max width, the top width being greater than 50 percent of the max width. 
     
     
         6 . The ice making assembly of  claim 2 , wherein each of the plurality of sidewalls are separated by a gap to permit flexing relative to each other. 
     
     
         7 . The ice making assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of sidewalls comprise eight sidewalls forming a mold cavity having an octagonal cross section. 
     
     
         8 . The ice making assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the ice making assembly comprises a plurality of ice molds, the evaporator assembly being placed in thermal communication with each of the plurality of ice molds. 
     
     
         9 . The ice making assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the thermal enhancement structure comprises copper foam. 
     
     
         10 . The ice making assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the thermal enhancement structure comprises a plurality of internal tubes. 
     
     
         11 . The ice making assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the primary evaporator tube is formed into a non-circular cross section. 
     
     
         12 . The ice making assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of tubes comprise greater than 10 tubes. 
     
     
         13 . The ice making assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of tubes comprises about 15 tubes. 
     
     
         14 . The ice making assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the primary evaporator tube is a half-inch copper tube. 
     
     
         15 . The ice making assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a refrigeration loop comprising a condenser and an expansion device in serial flow communication with each other and with the evaporator assembly; and   a compressor operably coupled to the refrigeration loop and being configured for circulating a flow of refrigerant through the refrigerant loop.   
     
     
         16 . A method of forming an ice making assembly, comprising:
 positioning a thermal enhancement structure inside a primary evaporator tube;   pressing the primary evaporator tube into a non-circular shape to increase the thermal contact between the thermal enhancement structure and the primary evaporator tube;   attaching the primary evaporator tube onto an ice mold that defines a mold cavity.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the primary evaporator tube is brazed or soldered onto a top wall of the ice mold. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the ice mold comprises:
 a top wall; and   a plurality of sidewalls cantilevered from the top wall and extending downward from the top wall.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein each of the plurality of sidewalls are separated by a gap to permit flexing relative to each other. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the thermal enhancement structure comprises copper foam or a plurality of internal tubes.