Patent ID: 9518770
Filing Date: 2016-12-13
CPC Classification: F25C

Claim Text:
1. An ice maker comprising: a cold plate apparatus adapted to freeze a portion of running water from a water supply into layers to form a plurality of clear ice sheets; the cold plate apparatus including a flat cold plate base with upwardly extending side walls, and a plurality of upwardly extending dividers extending upwardly from the cold plate base, the dividers extending parallel to and spaced between the upwardly extending side walls; a cooling source coupled to the base, wherein a single ice sheet is formed on an opposing surface of the base from the cooling source, the ice sheet having a width defined by a distance between two adjacent dividers, a divider and one of the side walls, or the side walls; a staging area disposed downstream from the cold plate apparatus, the staging area adapted to receive and fuse the plurality of clear ice sheets to form a unitary clear ice sheet having a first surface and a second surface; a mold apparatus disposed within the staging area, the mold apparatus including a first mold assembly having a first mold form and a second mold assembly having a second mold form, wherein the first and second mold assemblies are operable between an open position and a closed position, wherein the first mold assembly engages the first surface of the unitary clear ice sheet and the second mold assembly engages the second surface of the unitary clear ice sheet as the first and second mold assemblies move from the open position to the closed position; and a mold cavity defined by the first and second mold forms of the first and second mold assemblies in the closed position, wherein the mold apparatus is adapted to shape the unitary clear ice sheet to form one or more clear ice structures in the mold cavity by driving the first and second mold assemblies to the closed position about the unitary clear ice sheet.