CA1162064A - Auger type ice maker - Google Patents

Abstract

An auger type ice maker in which the auger is sup-ported by a thrust bearing carried by the extruding head at the top of the evaporator and in which the extruding head itself is entirely symmetrical around the axis of rotation of the auger and in which means is provided for preventing rotation of ice in the plenum formed by the extruding head above the upper end of the auger. The auger is not required to compress the ice against any plate or other means which closes the upper end of an extruding passage as ice is being delivered to lower end thereof. The extruding head is formed with radially outwardly extending lugs received in slots in the upper surface of a flange at the top of the evaporator housing which lugs also are received in slots formed in a flange at the bottom of the storage housing so as to position the housing circumferentially above the axis of rotation of the auger.

Description

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~`itle of the Invention IM~ )VL.D AUGER TYPE IC~ M~iKE;R

Ficld of the Invention My invention is in the field of ic~ maXers and, more particularly, in the field of ice makers of the auger type.

Bac.~kqround of the Invention Various types of ice makers are known in the prior art~. One form of ice maker incorporates an auger which lS
mounted for rotary movement within the cylindrical chamber of an evaporator to which water i9 supplied to cause ice ~crystals to form on the inner sur~ace of the evaporator.

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As~the auger rotates, the blade thereof scrapes the ice crys tals off the surface of the evaporator and advances the ice .
~ 15 ~ upwaraly toward an extruding head which forms a plenum at :: : : :
the top of the auger and a plurality of extruding passages extendin~ upwardly from the plenum toward an ice cube stor-,:
age chamber. A breaker blade which rotates with the auger has a passage-block~ing portion which normally covers the 20~ ~ upper end of an extruding passage as the auger forces ice upwardly into the passaye so that the ice i9 compressed : ~ :
ac3ainst the breaker blade. As the breaker blade moves away from the top o the passage, a rod of ice emerge-: whieh is : ;~:: :

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broken by the rotating blade into pieces of relatively hard ice.
, U,S. Patents 3,196,624 and 3,196,628 both dis-close ice makers of the type discussed hereinabove. In the ice makers shown in these patents, the extruding head includes a central cylindrical body portion which e~tends upwardly from the upper end of the auger to the lower ends o the extruding passages. Respective relatively large bosses which accommodate the head mounting screws to the lower ends of the extruding passages, extend axiall~ up-wardly and radially outwardIy of a central cylindrical portion of the head from a location spaced a distance above the ~ ; upper end of the auger. These bosses cooperate with ; ~ relatively thin fins disposed between respective pairs of lS~ ~ the bosses to form the extruding passages. ~ combined radial and thrust bearing at the lower end of the evaporator housing supports t1ie auger~ for rotary movement. It ~
readily be appreciated that in the course of forcing ice through the extruding head, relati.vely large thrust forces :
; ~20 ~ are~produced.

I have discovered that, while the ice maker dis-closed in the patents referred to hereinabove functions in a generally oati~Eactory manner in ~aking ;ce, it incorpo-rates a numher of defects. First, the plenum formed by

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the cylindrical portion of the extrucling head below the relatively large bosses which facilltate mounting of the head on the evaporator chamber, results in the formation of a donut-shaped body of ice which rotates with the auger. As additional ice is harvested by the auger and forced up in'co the plenum, the torus of icc is foreed up against the bosses and is fractured so t~at the ice formecl in the extrusion passage immediately following eaeh one of the bosses in the direction of auger rotation, is not as of high quality as is desired.

Secondly, the thrust bearing at the lower end of the evaporator housing which supports the auger is relatively ~: :
inaeeessible and quite difficult to servie. Bearings of relatively exotic materials which ean function satisfactorily 15 ~ in the water environment at this location for relatively long perlods of time are not readily available. Moreover, t w;ill rcadily be appreciated that this thrt~st bearing requires a disassembly of substantially the entire ice maker for replacement. A f~rther defect of the ice maker ~ shown aDd describec1 in the patents referred to hereinabove, result~ in the fact that the hard ice is formed by compress-; ~ lng the body of iee agaitlst the brcakcr bladc whieh rotate~with the auger. Owing to this fae~:, cacll extruding heacl must be tailored spccifically for tho compressor with which ~ it is to be used if ice of satisactory qu~lity i9 to be

3-produeed.

Summary of the Invention .
One ob~ect of my invention is to provide an auger type ice m~ker which i5 an improvement over auger type ice makers known in the prior art. -Another object of my invention is to provide an auyer type ice maker which produces ice of higher quality , than ~o auger type ice makers known in the prior art.

Yet~another object of my invention is to provide : .
an auger type ice maker whlch is more e~ficient than ar~
auger~type iee maXers in the prior art.

A further object of my invention is to provide an auger type ice maker which is more easily servicel than :
are auger type ice makers of the prior art.

lS~ A still further object of my invention is to provide an auger typc iee maker in which the same extruding head ean aceol~nodate compressors having a relatively wide range of e~paeities without affecting the quality of the iee.
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~ Still another object of ;ny invention is to pro-vicle an auger type ice maker which pcrmits one hopper to b~ replaeed by a hDpper of a differcnt capaeity without -the use of tools.
A still further object of my invention is to provide an auger type ice maker in which the location of the hopper outlet aroun~ the axis of rotation of the auger can be changed without the use of toolsO
Other and further objects of my invention will appear from the following description.
In its broadest form the present invention may be con-sidered as providing an ice maker comprising an evaporator housing with an inner wall providing a freezing surface on which ice crystals may form, an auger in the housing adapted to be driven to harvest ice crystals from the freezing surface and to advance the crystals toward one end of the housing, an extrusion head adapted to be received by the one end of the housing to form a plenum to which the ice crystals are delivered by the auger and an extrusion passage leading out-wardly from the plenum, and means on the head for inhibiting rotary movement of any body of ice which may form in the plenum.
Brief Description of the Drawings ~ In the accompanying drawings in which reference : ~, sd~ 5 31~L6~;4 is made in the instant gpecification and which are to be read in conjunction therewith and in w~ic~ like reference characters are used to indicate like parts in the various views;

, FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary sectional view of r~y improved auger type ice maker with parts broken away and with other parts shown schematically.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of my Improved auger type ice maker, taken along the line 2-2 of PIGURE
1 witb parts broken away and with other parts shown in 3ection.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmenta~y bottom plan view~of the hopper of my improved auger type ice maker taken along ; the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1.
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lS FIGUR~ 4 is an elevation of one form of ex~rusion head which can be used with my improved auger type ice maXer.

FIGURF S i5 a fragmentary section~l view oE my improved auger type ice maker illustrating an altern~te 20 form of ice rod breaking device.

FIGUR~ 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of my improved auger type ice makar illustrating a still further form of ice r~d breaking device.

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FXGUR~ 7 is a fragmentary scctional view of my improved auger type ice maker illustrating an alternate embodiment o~ the e~trusion head of the ice maXer.

~ IGURE 8 is a sectional view of tlle forn! of my improved auger type ice maker illustrated in PIGU~E 7 and taken along the line 8-8 thereof.

Description of the Preferred Em~odiment R~ferring now to FIGURES 1 to 4, my improved auger type ice maker indicated generally by the reference character 10, includes an evaporator housing 12 surrounded by a coil 14 through which rc~rigerant is passed in a manner known to tl~e nrt to cllill t~c housin~ l2. ~ jacket 16 containing insulation 18 surrounds the coil 14.

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pipe 20 leading from any suitable source of water supplies lS water~to the inner~free7ing surface 22 of the housing 12.

~, ~ An auger 24 havinq a helical bladc 26 has a :
lower shaft portion 28 which is received in a radlal be~ring ':
30 supported in a rin~3 32 carrying a seai 34 which prevents the escape of w~ter. A motor 36 is adapted to be energi~ed in a manner described more fully in thc Rcynolds patents, ra, to drive a mcchanical couplin~ 38 to drive shaft 28 .
to rotate the auger 24 in tbe direction indicated by the arrow in l~igure 1 to cauge the blade 26 to scrape ice crys-.

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tals off the surace 22 and to advance these crystals upwardly toward an extrusion head indicated generally : by the refcrence character 40 to be descril~ed more fully hereinbelow.
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Ice i5 delivered by the head 40 to a storage bin 42 having an outlet 44 in thc wall thereof which is normally closed by a door 46. As is more fully described : in the Reynolds patents, supra, when ice is to be delivered from the storage bin 42 door 46 is opened to permit ice to move outwardly along chute ~ in .12 is provided ~: with a~perforated false bottom 50 extendin~ over a bottom 52 which lS inclin~d inwardly and downwardly so as to dc~
:: :: liver melt-down water toward .the center o the bin ~2.
:: ::: : ~
A :jacket:54 filled with insulation S6 surrounds the major lS~ ~ port~on of the bln 42.

The hoa~1 40 includes a central body portion 58 formed with three equally circumfcrent~ally spacod radially and axially extending fulI fins 60, 62 and 64 extending :
from top to bottom of the body 58 ~nd tapering to knife ~ :

20 :~ edges at the lower ends thereo. I provide the body 58 ~; : : with respective pairs of relatively shorter Eins 6fi and 68,~70~and 72, and 74 and 76, between adlacent pairs oE

~ ; ful:l fina. These shortor flns 6G througll 76 extend down-:; ~ :

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wardly from the top of the body 58 for a distance which is appreciably less than the full length of the body 58. As is the case with the fins, 60, 62 and 64, the shorter fins taper downwardly toward their lower ends.
S The overall result of the structurc just described is that the extruding head 40 is completely symmetrical around the axis of rotation of the auger 24 in the region of the extruding passages formed by the fins.

I provide the interior of the body portion 5B
with a liner ~leeve 78 of a suitable bearing material which p~ermits the liner to act as a radial bearing Eor an upper auger shaft portion 79. In addition, I form the upper end of the sleeve 78 with a radially outwardly ; extendlng flange ao whic1~, as will be described ~nore fully hereinbelow, acts as a thrust bearing for receiving the ; thrust generated by the auger as it n;oves ice upwardly .
~ through the extruding head 40.
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I form eacll of the fins fiO through 76 at the upper~end thereof with a radially out~Jardly directed locating ~lug 82. Whon tho head 40 is assembled in th~ upper end of the evaporator houging 12, thc lllgS ~2 are reeivo~
in locating slots 8fi formed in a flange B4 at the upper end of the evaporator hougi3l~. I providc the hopper jackct 9_ Q~

54 with a mounting flange 88 having a plurality of radi-ally extending locating 910ts 90 in the underside thereof which are equal in number to the number of locating lugs.
Thus, as the bin 42 is mounted on the evaporator housing assembly, lugs 82 arc received in the slots 90 to position the hopper 42 circumfercntially around the axis of rota-tion of the auger 24. In the particular embodimcnt illus-trated in FIGURES 1 to 4, it will readily be appreciated that the hopper 42 can be located in one of nine positlons spaceq 40 apart. In addition, I form an annular step 94 in the upper surface of the evaporator fla~ge which i5 received iD a recess 92 in the hopper jacket flange so as to locate the hopper 42 with reference to the auger 24.

In the course oÇ assembling the hopper on the evaporator in the manner described, I position an annular gasket 96 around the edges of both flanges 84 and 88 to prevent the escape of melt-down water. Finally, I readily releaseably secure the parts together by r.leans of a quick release clamp 98 e~tending around thc periphery of tlle ~ 20 flanges. More speciÇically, a hook 100 at one end oÇ the .~ band clamp 98 rec~ivcs a hook 102 in one cnd of a llnX 104supported on a pivot pin 106 carricd by a handle 108 supported on pivot 110 at the other cnd of the clamp 98.
As will readily be appreciated by tllose skilled in the art, !
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tlle clamp may easily be released without the use of tools by moving the handle 108 in the direction of the arrow in FIGURE 2.

A threaded shaft portion 112 of reduced diameter S extending upwardly from shaft portion 79 is provided with a flat 114. A thrust plate 116 having an opening 11~
corresponding to the outline configuration of shaft portion 112 is assembled thereon for rotation therewith. The flat 114 not only causes t~e thrust plate 116 to rotate with the shaft portion 112 but also it orients a breaker finger 120 extendiny radially outwardly thererom in the correct relationship with the upper edge 122 of the auger blade 26.

:~ :The machine 10 includes an agitator hub 124 ~ lS having an internal bore which permits the hub to be screwed ; ` onto the shaft portion 112 to force the plate 116 down : into engagement with t~e thurst bearing portion 80. The hub ~124 carries a plurality of a~itator fingers 126 to prevent pieces of ice in the bin from forming a solid 20: mass.

:~ : My improved extruding head 40 forms a plenum ;~ ~ including three plenum s~bspaces locatetl between the upper end of the augcr and the lower ends of the pairs of shorter fins 66 and fi~, 70 and 12, antl 74 and 16 between the lower end~ of ac3jacent pairs of the longer fins 60 and 62, 62 and 6~, and 6~ and 60. ~y way of example, two of these plenum subsectiong are indicated generally by the respective reference characters 12G and 128 in FIGUR~ 4.
It will readily be appreciated that ice moved into thesc plenum spaces cannot rotate with the auger. That is to say, the portions of the longer fins 60, 62 and 64 extendin~ rom ; the lower ends of the shorter fins to the upper end of the auger prevent rotation of any body of ice in the plenum in-cluding sections 126 and 12~.

Referring r,ow to Figure S, I have shown an alternate means for breaking the rods of ice emerging from the extru-sion pas~aqes formed by ~he fins o the head 40. In this form of my invention, rather than using the breaker finger lS lZ0, I secure what may be termed an "inner dlameter" breaXer member indicated generally by the reference character 132 to the hub 124 for rotation therewith For example, me~ber 132 may be ~ormed ~ith a collar 134 secured to the hub 124 by means of a set screw 1~6 or the like. ~n upwardly and out-w~ardiy extending portion 138 of the breaXcr ~ember 132 pro-vides a surface ayainst which the rods of ice ~oving upwardly out the pas~ages betwecn the fins of the head 40 impinge.
i t~c l; na~i ~ n Gwing to the ~ncll~ L,v,~ of the surfacc of the portion 138, pieces o ice brea~ of~ thc.~ rods as they move upwardly.

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~eferring now to FIGURE 6, a still further form of ice breaker 1~5, which may be termed an "outer diameter"
breaker, is secured to the hub 124. For example, a collar 142 secured to the hub 124 by means of a set screw 144 or the like carries a plurality of arms 146 and 148 which extend outwardly and which are sectlred to the member 140 by means of screws 150 or the like. I ~orm the inside of the member 140 with an upwardly and inwardly directed surface portion 152 against which the outer edges oE the rod~ of ice impinge as they mov.e upwardly out of the extru-siorl passages formed in the head 40.

Referring now to FIGUR~S 7 and 8, I have shown an alternate form of extrusion head indicated generally by the reerence character 154 having a central portion 156 of bexagonal cross section and a lower portion l58 having a plurality of sides which extend clownwardly and outwardly for some distance from the sides of the intermediate section 156. I provide the head 154 with a pl.uralit:y of radially ~; outwardly di.rected fins l60a through 160f, all of which are of the same axial lenc~h and which form six extrusion pass~
ages. Lugs 162 on the outer ends of the tops of ins 160a . ~ :through 160f perform the same function as do the lu~s 82 .. . .
in the ~orm of my invelltion illustrated in FIGURES 1 to 4.
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Moreover, owing to the shape of the intermediate section 156 and the lower section 158, ice rnovinq into the plenum between the lower ends of the blades or fins 160a through 160f and the upper end of the auger 24 is prevented from-rotating with the auger.

In operation o all forms of my improved auger type ice maXer, the hopper 42 can readily be removed from the evaporator assembly without the use of tools merely by opening the releaseable clamp by moving the handle 108 in the direction of the arrow shown in FIGURE 2. This facilitates changing the hopper to one of greater or lesser capacity as is desired. This feature also facilitates changing the orientation of the hopper around the axis of rotation of the auger as it may be necessary or desir-able.

Further, in all forms of my invention, ice moved into the plenum is prevented from rotating wlth the auger.
In the form of my invention illustrated in ~IGunEs 1 to 4, the full-length fins 60, 62 and 6fi prevent atly ice which moves into the plenum spaces, including spaces 126 and 128, ~ from moving with the auger. Moreover, in the region of ; ~ the extruslon passages formed by the full-length fins and by the shorter fins, the extrusion head is entirely ~ymme-trical, so that there is no refracturing or breaking of ,. ,:

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a solid ice body once it has been formed and before it emeryes from the extruding head.

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~e form of my invention illustrated in ~IGURES
7 and 8, unctions in a similar manner in that the non-S circular configuration of the sections 156 and 15a of the extruding head, prevents any body of ice moved into the plenum 164 from rotating with the auger. In addition, as i~ the case with the form of my invention illustrated in FIGU~ES 1 to 4, the e~truding head 1S4 is completely symmetrical around the a~is of rotation of the auger in the règion o the extruding passages formed by the fins 160a to 160f. By this time I mean that not only are all of the extrusion passages of the same si~e and shape, but also all of the fins forming the ~xtrusion passages are of the same size and shape. Owinq to this construction~and the elimination of any large protrusions in the path of ice ~uch as are formed by the mounting bosses separating .
some of the passages formed in the extrusion head shown in the ~eynolds patent,supra, my head forms rods of ice in a generally smooth and continuous Ir,anner without any : ~ .
: ~ ~ refracturing of ice once it has been formed before the rod leaves the extrusion head.

It i9 to be noted further that in no form of my 15~

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invention is the auger required to feed harvested ice into an ~xtrusion passage which is closed dt tl1e top as in the Reynold-;
arrangement~ Thus, in my construction, none of the compression takes place against an element which closes hc uppcr end oF
the pass~ge For this reason, I need not tailor my head to the capacity of the compressor used or, alternatively, be linited to a compressor of a particular capaci.ty ror which a head is de-.signed. Stated othcl-wise, nmy hea~1 will ac(onmodate compressors having a relatively wide range of capacities, the only differ-ence being that the rate at which ice is produced incr~ases ~iththe capacity of the compressor used with my improved auger typc ice maker. For generally the game reason that my extrusion head i9 symmetrical in the reyion of the extrusion passages and that no comprcssion is required to take place against a b.~.ocXing mem-ber, an ice maker i.nclu~ing my improved head is more efficientthan are ice makers of the pri.or art usi.ng heads, such for e~-ample as that shown and described in t1ie Reynol~s patents, su~ra.
I~he kind of ice, " f~ ake, " or "cube" which i.s produced is a fllnc-tion of agqregate passage cross-sectional area to aqqreyate fin cro~s-sectional arca. My arrangement permits me readily manually o chonge the kind of ice which is produced ~y changing extrudil1q : heads.
further advantage of my a1-rangemet1t is the location of the thrust bearing ~0 at the top o~ the cvaporator assembly rathor than at the 1~o~tom thereof. ~rhat is t:o say, the thru3t exerted by the auger as it moves the ice upwardly into ::~ -]6-.
.

6~64 the extrusion passages formed by the.head i.s exerted down-wardly through shaft portion 112 through tlle hub 124 through the thrust plate 11~ on to the thrust bearing por-tion 80 on to the extrusion head and through the lugs ~2 S to the evaporator flange ~4. Prefcrably, I form the thrust bearing ~0 with a step so that wear of the thrust bearing can readily be observed when the parts are manually dis-assembled. In any event, no matter whether the radial bear-ing 78 or the thrust bearing portion 80 wears first, they can readily be replaced merely by assembling a new head in the machine without the use of tools. ~ro accomplish this, the clamp 98 is released, the bin 42 is removed, thc agita-tor hub 124 is unscrewed, the plate 116 is removed and the head 40 can be removed and replaced without the use of tools.

: ; It will be seen that I have acconlplislled the objects of my invcntion. I have provided an auger type ice m X er which overcomes the defects of auger type ice makers of the prior art. ~.y improved auger type ice maker pro-20 ~ duces ice of higher quality tllan do auger type ice makers of .
the prior art. My ice maker is mOrQ efficicnt than our auger type ice makers of the prior art. My auger type ice ma~er ; accommodates co~pressors l~aving a relatively wide range of .

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capacitie~ without modification of the extrusion head.
My auger typa ice maker i9 more easily serviced than our r ice makers of the prior art. My improved auger type ice maker permits ready replacement of the ice storage bin with one of a different size. In addition, it permits the orientation of the bin outlet to be changed without dificulty as desired or required.

It will be understood that certain feature3 and s-lbcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reerence to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of my claims.
It is further obvious that various changes may be made in details within the scope of my claims without departing from the spirit of my invention. It is, therefore, to be 15 understood that my invention is not to be limited to spe-.
cific detail~ shown and described.

Having thus des~ribed my invention, what I claim ` .

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Claims (18)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. An ice maker comprising an evaporator housing with an inner wall providing a freezing surface on which ice crystals may form, an auger in said housing adapted to be driven to harvest ice crystals from said freezing surface and to advance said crystals toward one end of said housing, an extrusion head adapted to be received by said one end of said housing to form a plenum to which said ice crystals are delivered by said auger and an extrusion passage leading outwardly from said plenum, and means on said head for inhibiting rotary movement of any body of ice which may form in said plenum.

2. The ice maker of claim 1 wherein said extrusion head comprises a body having a longitudinal axis, a plurality of radially outwardly directed fins extending axially of said body, the spaces between adjacent fins adapted to form extrusion passages, said head being symmetrical about said axis in the region of said passages in that all of said passages are of substantially the same shape and of substan-tially the same area in cross-section and all of said fins are of substantially the same shape and of substantially the same area in cross-section.

3. The ice maker of claim 2 wherein certain of said fins extend from the top of said body and terminate at a location intermediate the ends of the body, the remaining fins extending from top to bottom of said body.

4. The ice maker of claim 2 wherein said fins extend from the top of said body and terminate at a location inter-mediate the ends of the body, the portion of said body below said location being of non-cylindrical configuration.

5. The ice maker of claim 1 and further comprising means including a thrust bearing at the upper end of said auger for supporting said auger for rotary movement within said housing.

6. In an ice maker, apparatus including a generally vertically disposed evaporator housing having a generally cylindrical inner freezer surface on which ice crystals may form, an annular flange at the upper end of said evaporator housing, a plurality of radial grooves in the upper surface of said flange, an extrusion head having a plurality of radially extending lugs adapted to be received in said grooves to support said head at the upper end of said housing, said head being formed with a bore, a sleeve of bearing material within said bore adapted to act as a radial bearing, bearing material extending over the top of said head to act as a thrust bearing, an auger within said housing adapted to be driven to harvest ice crystals from said freezing surface and to advance said crystals toward said head, a shaft extending upwardly from said auger through said sleeve, means for translating thrust from said shaft to said thrust bearing, said extrusion head cooperating with said housing to form an extrusion passage at the top of the housing and to form a plenum between the passage and the upper end of the auger, means for inhibiting rotary movement of ice in said plenum and means disposed above said head for breaking a rod of ice moving upwardly out of said passage.

7. In an ice maker, apparatus including a generally vertically disposed evaporator housing having a generally cylindrical inner freezer surface on which ice crystals may form, an annular flange at the upper end of said evaporator housing, a plurality of radial grooves in the upper surface of said flange, an extrusion head having a plurality of radially extending lugs adapted to be received in said grooves to support said head at the upper end of said housing, said head being formed with a bore, a sleeve of bearing material within said bore adapted to act as a radial bearing, bearing material extending over the top of said head to act as a thrust bearing, an auger within said housing adapted to be driven to harvest ice crystals from said freezing surface and to advance said crystals toward said head, a shaft extending upwardly from said auger through said sleeve, means for translating thrust from said shaft to said thrust bearing, said extrusion head cooperating with said housing to form an extrusion passage at the top of the housing and to form a plenum between said passage and the upper end of said auger, and means for inhibiting rotary movement of ice in said plenum.

8. The ice maker of claim 1 and including a storage bin having a bottom inlet and a peripheral wall outlet, there being a peripheral flange at the top of said evaporator housing, a plurality of radial grooves in the upper surface of said flange, a plurality of radially extending lugs on said head adapted to be received in said grooves to support said head at the upper end of said housing, a peripheral flange around said bin inlet and a plurality of radial grooves in said bin flange adapted to be received by said lugs to orient said bin on said housing.

9. Ice maker apparatus comprising a generally vertically disposed evaporator housing having an inner surface on which ice crystals may form, an extrusion head at the upper end of said housing, an extrusion passage in said head, an auger in said housing adapted to be driven to harvest ice crystals from said surface and to cause the upper end thereof to deliver harvested ice to the lower end of said passage to form a rod of ice extending upwardly from said passage, the construction and arrangement being such that the upper end of said passage is clear of obstructions to the movement of said rod out of said passage as said auger delivers harvested ice to the lower end of said passage, said head including means for inhibitng rotary movement of said rod of ice as it is formed in the lower end of said passage, and said apparatus including means located above said head for breaking said rod into pieces.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said breaking means comprises a breaker blade and means mounting said breaker blade above said head for rotary movement with said auger and with the leading edge of said blade trailing the upper end of said auger with reference to the direction of rotation of the auger to break said rod of ice into pieces.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said breaking means comprises a member forming an upwardly and outwardly extending surface in the path of said rod of ice to break the rod into pieces.

12. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said breaking means comprises a member forming an upwardly and inwardly extending surface in the path of said rod to break the rod into pieces.

13. The ice maker of claim 1 wherein said extrusion passage is clear of obstructions to the movement of any body of ice formed in said plenum out of said passage as said auger delivers harvested ice to said plenum.

14. The ice maker of claim 1 wherein said extrusion head includes a body portion formed with a bore extending from the lower end of the head to the upper end thereof, a sleeve of bearing material within said bore for acting as a radial bearing, and a flange of bearing material extending outwardly from said sleeve and over the upper end of said body portion to act as a thrust bearing.

15. The ice maker of claim 1 and including means manually removably positioning said head at the top of said housing, said positioning means comprising manually disengageable inter-engageable elements on said head and on said housing for restraining said head from rotation relative to said housing, a bin having an inlet through which it receives ice and an outlet for discharging ice therefrom, and means manually removably mounting said bin on said housing with said inlet adapted to receive ice from said extrusion head, said bin mounting means comprising an element on said bin for engaging said head-carried element to orient said bin outlet around the axis of rotation of said auger.

16. The ice maker of claim 1 and including a storage bin having an inlet at the bottom thereof and an outlet in a wall thereof, means positioning said bin on said housing with said inlet adapted to receive ice from said extrusion passage and with said outlet located in one of a number of predetermined angular positions with reference to the axis of rotation of said auger, and manually releasable means for retaining said bin in said position.

17. The ice maker of claim 1 wherein said head comprises a pair of radially outwardly directed fins extending downwardly from the top of said head to a location intermediate the ends of the head to cooperate with the housing wall to form said extrusion passage, one of said fins terminating at said location to form said plenum between the upper end of the auger and said passage, the other fin extending down to the bottom of the head to inhibit rotary movement of ice in the plenum.

18. The ice maker of claim 1 wherein said head comprises a pair of radially outwardly directed fins extending down-wardly from the top of said head to a location intermediate the ends of the head to cooperate with the housing wall to form said extrusion passage, said fins terminating at said location whereby the portion of said head below said passage cooperates with said wall to form said plenum, said portion being formed with a non-cylindrical configuration to inhibit rotation of ice in said plenum.