US 11,988,432 B2
Refrigerator appliance having an air-cooled clear ice making assembly
Brent Alden Junge, Louisville, KY (US); and Jason Andrew May, Prospect, KY (US)
Assigned to Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc., Wilmington, DE (US)
Filed by Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc., Wilmington, DE (US)
Filed on Apr. 21, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/725,847.
Prior Publication US 2023/0341163 A1, Oct. 26, 2023
Int. Cl. F25C 1/18 (2006.01); F25C 1/24 (2018.01); F25C 1/25 (2018.01)
CPC F25C 1/18 (2013.01) [F25C 1/24 (2013.01); F25C 1/25 (2018.01); F25C 2400/10 (2013.01); F25C 2400/14 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A refrigerator appliance comprising:
a cabinet;
a liner attached to the cabinet, the liner defining an icebox (IB) compartment;
a heat exchanger, a chilled air supply duct, and a chilled air return duct, the heat exchanger being mounted within the cabinet outside of the IB compartment in fluid communication with the chilled air supply duct and the chilled air return duct;
an air conduit disposed within the IB compartment, the air conduit defining a conduit path between a conduit inlet and a conduit outlet downstream from the conduit inlet, the chilled air supply duct and the chilled air return duct being in fluid communication with the air conduit to circulate air along the conduit path;
a heat pipe mounted to the air conduit and extending therefrom outside of the conduit path to conduct heat to the conduit path;
a conductive ice mold mounted to the heat pipe within the IB compartment to conduct heat to the heat pipe, the conductive ice mold defining a mold cavity outside of the air conduit; and
a water dispenser positioned below the conductive ice mold to direct an ice-building spray of water to the mold cavity;
wherein the air conduit is enclosed within the IB compartment above the conductive ice mold while the conduit path is fluidly isolated from a surrounding portion of the IB compartment to direct chilled air through the air conduit during the ice-building spray of water without permitting the chilled air to the surrounding portion of the IB compartment.