WATER PRE-COOLING JACKET FOR A VERTICAL MULTITUBULAR-TYPE ICE-MAKING MACHINE

Abstract

The invention relates to a water pre-cooling jacket for a vertical multitubular-type ice-making machine comprising an ice maker (1) having an outer wall or jacket or sleeve in whose interior a series of vertical tubes (2) are disposed, containing water for freezing thereof, said ice maker having a cooling gas inlet (4) and an outlet (3) of said cooling gas, the pre-cooling jacket (5) having a channel (8) for recovering the cold from the cooling gas having an inlet (6) on the lower part of the pre-cooling jacket (5) and an outlet (7) on the upper part of this jacket (5), said duct extending spirally, or with any other geometry and achieving a reduction in temperature from 21° C. at the inlet to 7° C. at the outlet.

Description

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention, as established in the title, is to include an external jacket or pre-cooling jacket in the design of a vertical multitubular-type ice-making machine to recirculate the water that will subsequently be used to manufacture the ice.

The present installation is characterised in that it endows ice-making machines of this type with a configuration and geometry such as to improve the energy efficiency of the installation in its entirety, taking advantage of the cold losses that these machines have on their outer surface to cool the water entering the tubes in charge of making the ice.

Therefore, the present invention falls within the field of vertical multitubular-type ice-making machines.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The use of ice is on the rise, particularly due to the demand for drinks by both the hospitality industry and by distribution chains.

Vertical multitubular-type ice-making installations have a series of vertical tubes wherethrough water circulates and which are immersed in a cooling gas that causes freezing of the water inside each tube; next, the tubes are subjected to a sudden rise in temperature that causes the ice formed inside the tube and which is cylinder-shaped to become detached inside the tube where it was created and pass to a cutter that cuts it to the desired size.

However, the external part of the jacket or sleeve through whose interior the cooling gas flows is directly in contact with the surrounding air, which implies a heat exchange with the exterior which is not taken advantage of, said jacket or sleeve not having any insulation, thereby giving rise to energy loss and decreased performance of the machine.

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to improve ice-making machines of this type by taking advantage of the energy loss of the cooling gas when it is in direct contact with the exterior, developing a jacket such as that described below, the essential nature of which is included in claim one.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is a pre-cooling jacket or external jacket or second jacket to recirculate the water that is subsequently used to manufacture the ice. This second jacket surrounds the sleeve of the ice-making machine, in whose interior a series of vertically disposed tubes are housed, said sleeve having a cooling gas inlet and an outlet thereof, in addition to a pre-cooling jacket that envelops the former and through whose interior a water channel flows wherein the water inlet of said channel is disposed on the lower part, while the water outlet is disposed on the upper part, such that said channel disposed spirally around the length is subject to cooling from the inlet to the outlet and subsequent use as water for freezing inside the tower ducts.

Due to the layout of this second jacket, heat exchange of the cooling fluid with the exterior is avoided; also, due to the presence of a channel that surrounds the length of the ice-making machine's sleeve and through whose interior water flows, a reduction is achieved in the inflow temperature of the water to be frozen and, consequently, a lower energy requirement of the water to be frozen.

EXPLANATION OF THE DRAWINGS

As a complement to the description made below, and for the purpose of helping to make the characteristics of the invention more readily understandable, said description is accompanied by a set of drawings whose figures, by way of illustration and not limitation, represent the most significant details of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a representation of the vertical multitubular-type ice-making machine, with the jacket object of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a detail of the cross-section of the ice-making machine, wherein the tubes housed in its interior and the second jacket disposed around the sleeve can be observed.

FIG. 3 shows the second jacket in detail and the path of the channel of this second jacket, disposed throughout the length of the ice maker.

EXPLANATION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In light of the figures, what follows is a description of a preferred embodiment of the proposed invention.

In FIG. 1, it can be observed that the ice-making machine comprises an ice maker (1) having an outer wall or jacket or sleeve in whose interior a series of vertical tubes are disposed, in which water circulates for freezing thereof. Said ice maker has a cooling gas outlet (3) and an inlet (4) of said cooling gas such that it freezes the water inside the vertical forming tubes (2) and, after being subjected to a sudden rise in temperature, the ice formed is extracted in the form of solid cylinders for the subsequent cutting thereof.

Additionally, the ice maker (1) has a pre-cooling jacket (5) or jacket envelope or sleeve, through whose interior a channel (8) for recovering the cold from the cooling gas extends, having an inlet (6) on the lower part of the pre-cooling jacket (5) and an outlet (7) on the upper part of this pre-cooling jacket (5), the channel extending, in one possible embodiment, spirally throughout the length of the sleeve, thereby achieving a reduction in the temperature of the water to be used, which, in a verified embodiment, would drop from an input temperature of 21° C. to an output temperature of 7° C.

Due to the double combination of a second enveloping jacket (5) of the ice maker or its sleeve, together with a channel that extends throughout the length of the sleeve, energy efficiency is achieved and, consequently, a reduction in the cost of energy consumption by achieving a clear reduction in the temperature of the input water.

The essential nature of this invention is not altered by variations in materials, shape, size and layout of the constituent elements, described in a non-limiting manner, sufficing for the reproduction thereof by a person skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A water pre-cooling jacket for a vertical multitubular-type ice-making machine that comprises an outer wall or first jacket or sleeve, in the interior of which a series of vertical tubes are disposed, inside of which water is disposed for the freezing thereof, said ice-making machine having a cooling gas inlet and an outlet for said cooling gas, characterised in that the pre-cooling jacket encloses the first jacket or sleeve, said pre-cooling jacket having a channel for recovering the cold of the cooling gas for recirculating the water that will subsequently be used to make ice by said water flowing through the vertical tubes, said channel having an inlet on the lower part of the pre-cooling jacket and an outlet on the upper part of the pre-cooling jacket, and furthermore, the channel for recovering the cold of the cooling gas runs in a helical way throughout the length of the sleeve.

2. (canceled)