The invention relates to improvements of a scraping heat exchanger having an outer cylinder comprising a first wall having a smooth circle-cylindrical inner side, and an inner cylinder positioned concentrically within it. The improvements regard a simple detachable inner cylinder, a heat exchanger with lid including a fluid barrier, a heat exchanger with a tangential output, and a method and heat exchanger adapted for improved evacuation of a product chamber of a heat exchanger.

An ice maker apparatus is provided that may include a casing, an extruder die, an auger, a heat exchange body, and a fin portion. The casing may define a chamber about a central axis and extend along the central axis between a top portion and a bottom portion. The extruder die may be mounted to the casing at the top portion of the casing. The auger may be disposed within the chamber. The heat exchange body may be disposed in thermal engagement with the chamber. The heat exchange body may include a base wall extending along a portion of the casing and a sidewall extending outward from the base wall. The heat exchange body may also define an air duct across the base wall and sidewall. The fin portion may include a fin extending outward from the base wall. The fin may define a plurality of subchannels.

A stand-alone ice making appliance is provided. The stand-alone ice making appliance may include an outer casing, a water tank, a pump, an ice maker, and a container. The outer casing may define an internal cavity that includes a primary opening. The water tank may define a storage volume to receive water. The pump may be in fluid communication with the storage volume of the water tank to actively flow water therefrom. The ice maker may in fluid communication with the storage volume of the water tank to receive water therefrom. The container may be disposed within the internal cavity. The container may include an insulated sidewall positioned across the primary opening and at least partially defining a storage volume to receive ice from the ice maker.

An appliance and method of operation is provided. The appliance may include an outer casing, a user interface, and a controller. The outer casing may define an enclosed volume. The user interface may be mounted to the outer casing to include a light projector and a translucent diffuser disc. The light projector may be positioned within the enclosed volume and include a plurality of discrete segmented light emitting diodes to each selectively emit one or more discrete light emissions. The translucent diffuser disc may be positioned between the light projector and the outer casing. The diffuser disc may include a continuous outer surface aligned with the light projector to display the one or more discrete light emissions as a visually continuous pattern. The controller may be operably connected with the light projector and configured to determine the visually continuous pattern displayed at the continuous outer surface.

A method for operating a fan of a nugget ice maker is provided. The method includes monitoring a speed of an auger of the nugget ice maker while a motor of the nugget ice maker rotates the auger and the fan of the nugget ice maker runs at a stored speed. A speed of the fan is increased when the speed of the auger stabilizes.

A filter for a non-plumbed appliance is provided. The filter includes a filter housing having a sidewall extending along a longitudinal direction between a first end wall and a second end wall. A flow distribution channel is also defined by the sidewall of the filter housing, the flow distribution channel extending outwardly from the sidewall along the radial direction and along the longitudinal direction between the flow aperture and the first end wall of the filter housing. The flow distribution channel equalizes the pressure gradient on the outer surface of the filter media, resulting in an improved flow pattern, increased clogging resistance, and improved filter performance capacity.

A filter for a non-plumbed appliance is provided. The filter includes a filter housing defining a filter chamber. A filter inlet and a filter outlet are positioned along a bottom portion of the filter housing, and filter media is positioned within the filter chamber to remove contaminants from water flowing through the filter media. A divider wall is positioned within the filter chamber to direct the flow of water through a flow aperture at a top portion of the filter chamber, such that the filter chamber remains filled with water during operation. As a result, the filter media remains completely submerged, thereby improving filtration performance, reducing pressure drop, and more evenly depleting the filter media.

An apparatus covering an evaporator on all four sides. a first inlet to allow refrigerant into the casing. A side chamber, a top chamber, a center chamber, and a bottom chamber to receive refrigerant and act as a heat exchange allowing the refrigerant received to undergo heat transfer and reduction in temperature due to thermal exchange with a plurality of side of the evaporator. A first outlet to allowing the refrigerant to exit the casing. A second inlet to allow the refrigerant to enter the evaporator after exiting the casing and distribute the refrigerant within the evaporator. A second outlet allowing the refrigerant to exit the evaporator and cycle through a refrigeration system. The first inlet and the second outlet are dual-piped to allow for heat exchange. The evaporator, comprising a plurality of tubes, optionally, space reducers, and optionally, a center space reducer.

A machine for making extruded ice obtained by passing a mass of ice in granules through an extrusion die (20) arranged at the end of a main cooled drum (4). The latter at one end has a flange (10) upon which a ring (14) clamping the die is fastened. Thus, screws for fastening the die to the main drum are not required, so that operations for the machine maintenance and for replacing the die are considerably facilitated.

A method for operating a fan of a nugget ice maker is provided. The method includes monitoring a speed of an auger of the nugget ice maker while a motor of the nugget ice maker rotates the auger and the fan of the nugget ice maker runs at a stored speed. A speed of the fan is increased when the speed of the auger stabilizes.