Patents by Inventor Matthew W. Allison

Matthew W. Allison has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 7540161
    Abstract: Ice making machine that uses PETD harvest technology, evaporators, ice molds and cooling system. One evaporator makes thin layers of ice that are laminated to form a larger ice piece. Other evaporators include an ice forming surface on a material that has good thermal conductivity for forming ice in a freeze mode and good electrical conductivity to serve as a resistive heater during a harvest mode. One evaporator has a plate and an array of freezing sites that extend above a surface thereof. Another evaporator has a plate that is divided into strips of good and poor thermal conductivity by. Another evaporator has a refrigerant tube that is sandwiched between a pair of corrugated sheets that have ice forming surfaces. Another evaporator has a waffle style pan that is constructed of a dielectric layer sandwiched between a pair of copper layers. Another evaporator forms an ice slab on an inclined flat surface, which after harvest is diced into cubes with a wire grid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2009
    Assignee: Mile High Equipment LLC
    Inventors: John Allen Broadbent, Matthew W. Allison
  • Patent number: 7204091
    Abstract: An ice-making machine and method of maintaining and cleaning an ice-making machine are provided. The ice-making machine has predictive maintenance and cleaning. Operational conditions of the ice-making machine, such as, for example, water quality, are used to establish service intervals and/or types of service, and the service intervals and/or types of service are indicated to the user with a lead-time to allow for timely obtaining the service.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2007
    Assignee: Scotsman Ice System
    Inventors: Matthew W. Allison, Daniel Alan Jaszkowski, Garth Kurt Pearson
  • Patent number: 6711910
    Abstract: An ice cube-making machine that is characterized by noiseless operation at the location where ice cubes are dispensed and be lightweight packages for ease of installation. The ice cube-making machine has an evaporator package, a separate compressor package and a separate condenser package. Each of these packages has a weight that can generally by handled by one or two installers for ease of installation. The noisy compressor and condenser packages can be located remotely of the evaporator package. The maximum height distance between the evaporator package and the condenser package is greatly enhanced by the three package system. A pressure regulator operates during a harvest cycle to limit flow of refrigerant leaving the evaporator, thereby increasing pressure and temperature of the refrigerant in the evaporator and assisting in defrost thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2004
    Assignees: Mile High Equipment Co., Scotsman Ice Systems
    Inventors: Daniel Leo Ziolkowski, Matthew W. Allison, David Brett Gist
  • Patent number: 6691528
    Abstract: An ice cube-making machine that is characterized by noiseless operation at the location where ice cubes are dispensed and be lightweight packages for ease of installation. The ice cube-making machine has an evaporator package, a separate compressor package and a separate condenser package. Each of these packages has a weight that can generally by handled by one or two installers for ease of installation. The noisy compressor and condenser packages can be located remotely of the evaporator package. The maximum height distance between the evaporator package and the condenser package is greatly enhanced by the three package system. A pressure regulator operates during a harvest cycle to limit flow of refrigerant leaving the evaporator, thereby increasing pressure and temperature of the refrigerant in the evaporator and assisting in defrost thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2004
    Assignees: Scotsman Ice Systems, Mile High Equipment Co.
    Inventors: Gerald J. Stensrud, Daniel Leo Ziolkowski, Matthew W. Allison, David Brett Gist
  • Patent number: 6668575
    Abstract: An ice cube-making machine that is characterized by noiseless operation at the location where ice cubes are dispensed and be lightweight packages for ease of installation. The ice cube-making machine has an evaporator package, a separate compressor package and a separate condenser package. Each of these packages has a weight that can generally by handled by one or two installers for ease of installation. The noisy compressor and condenser packages can be located remotely of the evaporator package. The maximum height distance between the evaporator package and the condenser package is greatly enhanced by the three package system. A pressure regulator operates during a harvest cycle to limit flow of refrigerant leaving the evaporator, thereby increasing pressure and temperature of the refrigerant in the evaporator and assisting in defrost thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2003
    Assignees: Mile High Equipment Co., Scotsman Ice Systems
    Inventors: Gerald J. Stensrud, Daniel Leo Ziolkowski, Matthew W. Allison, David Brett Gist
  • Patent number: 6637227
    Abstract: An ice cube-making machine that is characterized by noiseless operation at the location where ice cubes are dispensed and be lightweight packages for ease of installation. The ice cube-making machine has an evaporator package, a separate compressor package and a separate condenser package. Each of these packages has a weight that can generally by handled by one or two installers for ease of installation. The noisy compressor and condenser packages can be located remotely of the evaporator package. The maximum height distance between the evaporator package and the condenser package is greatly enhanced by the three package system. A pressure regulator operates during a harvest cycle to limit flow of refrigerant leaving the evaporator, thereby increasing pressure and temperature of the refrigerant in the evaporator and assisting in defrost thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2003
    Assignees: Mile High Equipment Co., Scotsman Ice Systems
    Inventors: Gerald J. Stensrud, Daniel Leo Ziolkowski, Matthew W. Allison, David Brett Gist
  • Publication number: 20030126877
    Abstract: An ice cube-making machine that is characterized by noiseless operation at the location where ice cubes are dispensed and be lightweight packages for ease of installation. The ice cube-making machine has an evaporator package, a separate compressor package and a separate condenser package. Each of these packages has a weight that can generally by handled by one or two installers for ease of installation. The noisy compressor and condenser packages can be located remotely of the evaporator package. The maximum height distance between the evaporator package and the condenser package is greatly enhanced by the three package system. A pressure regulator operates during a harvest cycle to limit flow of refrigerant leaving the evaporator, thereby increasing pressure and temperature of the refrigerant in the evaporator and assisting in defrost thereof.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 26, 2003
    Publication date: July 10, 2003
    Applicant: MILE HIGH EQUIPMENT CO.
    Inventors: Gerald J. Stensrud, Daniel Leo Ziolkowski, Matthew W. Allison, David Brett Gist
  • Publication number: 20030126874
    Abstract: An ice cube-making machine that is characterized by noiseless operation at the location where ice cubes are dispensed and be lightweight packages for ease of installation. The ice cube-making machine has an evaporator package, a separate compressor package and a separate condenser package. Each of these packages has a weight that can generally by handled by one or two installers for ease of installation. The noisy compressor and condenser packages can be located remotely of the evaporator package. The maximum height distance between the evaporator package and the condenser package is greatly enhanced by the three package system. A pressure regulator operates during a harvest cycle to limit flow of refrigerant leaving the evaporator, thereby increasing pressure and temperature of the refrigerant in the evaporator and assisting in defrost thereof.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 26, 2003
    Publication date: July 10, 2003
    Applicant: MILE HIGH EQUIPMENT CO.
    Inventors: Gerald J. Stensrud, Daniel Leo Ziolkowski, Matthew W. Allison, David Brett Gist
  • Publication number: 20020189270
    Abstract: An ice cube-making machine that is characterized by noiseless operation at the location where ice cubes are dispensed and be lightweight packages for ease of installation. The ice cube-making machine has an evaporator package, a separate compressor package and a separate condenser package. Each of these packages has a weight that can generally by handled by one or two installers for ease of installation. The noisy compressor and condenser packages can be located remotely of the evaporator package. The maximum height distance between the evaporator package and the condenser package is greatly enhanced by the three package system. A pressure regulator operates during a harvest cycle to limit flow of refrigerant leaving the evaporator, thereby increasing pressure and temperature of the refrigerant in the evaporator and assisting in defrost thereof.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 16, 2002
    Publication date: December 19, 2002
    Applicant: MILE HIGH EQUIPMENT CO. and SCOTSMAN ICE SYSTEMS
    Inventors: Gerald J. Stensrud, Daniel Leo Ziolkowski, Matthew W. Allison, David Brett Gist
  • Publication number: 20020073728
    Abstract: An ice cube-making machine that is characterized by noiseless operation at the location where ice cubes are dispensed and be lightweight packages for ease of installation. The ice cube-making machine has an evaporator package, a separate compressor package and a separate condenser package. Each of these packages has a weight that can generally by handled by one or two installers for ease of installation. The noisy compressor and condenser packages can be located remotely of the evaporator package. The maximum height distance between the evaporator package and the condenser package is greatly enhanced by the three package system. A pressure regulator operates during a harvest cycle to limit flow of refrigerant leaving the evaporator, thereby increasing pressure and temperature of the refrigerant in the evaporator and assisting in defrost thereof.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 14, 2001
    Publication date: June 20, 2002
    Inventors: Gerald J. Stensrud, Daniel Leo Ziolkowski, Matthew W. Allison, David Brett Gist
  • Patent number: 6311501
    Abstract: An ice making machine having a water distribution and cleaning system which supplies an evaporator plate assembly with all of the water required during ice making operations and provides all of a cleaning solution to cascade down interior and exterior surfaces of the evaporator plate assembly during a cleaning operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2001
    Assignee: Scotsman Ice Systems
    Inventors: Matthew W. Allison, Christopher Salatino
  • Patent number: 5937658
    Abstract: An icemaker having a means for bypassing a head pressure control valve thereof depending upon the ambient air temperature surrounding a remotely located condenser of the icemaker. The method and apparatus involve a first bypass conduit which is coupled to an outlet of the condenser upstream of the head pressure control valve and a first bypass valve disposed in the first bypass conduit. A second bypass conduit is in communication with an inlet of the condenser and also with the head pressure control valve. A second bypass valve is disposed in the second bypass conduit. A thermostat controls each of the bypass valves such that the first bypass valve is closed and the second bypass valve opened when the sensed ambient air temperature around the condenser is below a predetermined temperature, to thereby permit normal operation of the head pressure control valve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 17, 1999
    Assignee: Scotsman Group
    Inventors: William J. Black, Matthew W. Allison, Melvin A. Baker, Gary L. Van Riper
  • Patent number: 5901561
    Abstract: A fault restart routine for an icemaker having a microprocessor-based system controller. The fault restart routine provides at least a limited number of attempts at automatically restarting the icemaker after a shutdown has occurred because of a detected fault condition. If the fault condition is not a water inlet fault, the routine waits a first predetermined period of time before attempting to restart the icemaker. If the fault is detected as being a water inlet fault, then the system controller waits for a second predetermined time period before restarting the icemaker. If after restarting the icemaker, the icemaker completes one complete cycle of operation (i.e., a complete FREEZE cycle and a complete HARVEST cycle), then the fault restart routine is exited and a previously generated fault code is cleared.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 1997
    Date of Patent: May 11, 1999
    Assignee: Scotsman Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew W. Allison, William J. Black, Christopher J. Wilson
  • Patent number: 5794452
    Abstract: An icemaker incorporating a hot gas bypass system for introducing a supplemental quantity of refrigerant from a condenser into a compressor of the icemaker during a harvest cycle. The system includes a harvest bypass valve disposed in a bypass conduit coupled between an input port of the compressor and the inlet of a remotely disposed condenser. The harvest bypass valve is opened by a system controller of the icemaker during a harvest cycle which allows refrigerant in the condenser to migrate back into the input port of the compressor during the harvest cycle. In this manner, it can be insured that a sufficient quantity of refrigerant is available to carry out the harvest cycle. The adding of a supplemental quantity of refrigerant is further accomplished through a single valve and does not add appreciably to the overall cost or complexity of the icemaker.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 18, 1998
    Assignee: Scotsman Group, Inc.
    Inventors: William J. Black, Matthew W. Allison, Melvin A. Baker, Gary L. Van Riper
  • Patent number: 5215367
    Abstract: A refrigerator door hinge including a bracket connected to and extending forwardly from the face of the cabinet on the side to which the door opens. The bracket includes an upper horizontal plate supporting the door, and a lower horizontal plate with a threaded aperture which captures a threaded post of a foot. The bottom of the foot has a pad and during installation, the foot is rotated to lower the foot until the pad contacts the floor thereby providing adjustable height hinge support directly to the floor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 1992
    Date of Patent: June 1, 1993
    Assignee: Amana Refrigeration, Inc.
    Inventors: Louis D. Montuoro, James M. Grace, Matthew W. Allison