37 results about "Clear ice" patented technology

A clear ice making apparatus includes: a freezing space; a tray placed in the freezing space and having a lower temperature at a bottom part thereof than at an upper part thereof; and a water supply unit of supplying water to the tray from the top thereof, in which ice is made at an ice making rate of 5 μm / s or lower, a part of a liquid-phase section of water in the tray which part is in contact with atmosphere is frozen to complete the ice making, the liquid-phase section of water is not entirely supercooled before the ice making is completed, and the concentration of air in the liquid-phase section of water in the tray is equal to or lower than an excessive concentration of air.

An exciter circuit for a gas turbine engine delivers a first single high-energy spark followed by subsequent sparks of relatively lower energy to ensures start reliability by specifically clearing ice build-up at the ignition plugs.

An apparatus and method for producing substantially clear ice in a variety of desired shapes. The apparatus and method in the described embodiments generally provide for an insulated ice mold containing one or more mold cells, each mold cell with an open top, open bottom, and insulated side walls, that is suspended over a liquid water reservoir surrounded and contained in an insulated container. The top surface of the water residing in each mold cell is exposed to freezing air. The insulated walls forming the sides of one or more mold cells act to ensure that each ice shape forms and grows from the top surface, down and towards the bottom of each mold cell. The liquid water reservoir, which contacts the bottom surface of the ice shape, remains in a liquid phase and serves as an impurity sink into which the impurities and gases contained in the freezing water are driven as ice forms downward in the mold cell. The liquid water reservoir acts to arrest ice growth below the bottom of the mold cell, while the water in the mold cells freezes into a solid above the ice-water interface.

In one exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, an ice making assembly is provided for making clear ice. The ice making assembly may include a conductive ice mold, an insulation jacket, and a water dispenser. The conductive ice mold may define an upper portion of a mold cavity extending from a top end to a bottom end. The insulation jacket may extend downward from the conductive ice mold. The insulation jacket may define a lower portion of the mold cavity. The lower portion of the mold cavity may be a vertically open passage aligned with the upper portion of the mold cavity. The water dispenser may be positioned below the insulation jacket to direct an ice-building spray of water to the mold cavity through the vertically open passage of the insulation jacket.

In one exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, an ice making assembly is provided for making clear ice. The ice making assembly may include a conductive ice mold, an insulation jacket, and a water dispenser. The conductive ice mold may define an upper portion of a mold cavity extending from a top end to a bottom end. The insulation jacket may extend downward from the conductive ice mold. The insulation jacket may define a lower portion of the mold cavity. The lower portion of the mold cavity may be a vertically open passage aligned with the upper portion of the mold cavity. The water dispenser may be positioned below the insulation jacket to direct an ice-building spray of water to the mold cavity through the vertically open passage of the insulation jacket.

A clear ice maker having an ice tray with a thermally conductive cold plate, where the cold plate has a top surface and a bottom surface, with a thermoelectric cooling device thermally coupled to the bottom surface. Water is dispensed onto the top surface, and the bottom surface is cooled such that a portion of the water adjacent the top surface is frozen, to form a layer of ice. Then the ice tray is oscillated about a transverse axis of the ice tray, such that the water freezes in successive layers from the top surface of the cold plate upwards.

An ice making tray has a water basin with a thermally conductive floor and a flexible grid positioned therein to define a plurality of ice making compartments. A motor is coupled to the basin to rotate the basin and grid to an inverted position, and a link is coupled between the motor and drive such that the grid is rotatable out of the basin and is flexed to release ice cubes formed therein.

An ice making assembly and method for making clear ice utilizing an ice making appliance are provided herein. The ice making appliance may include a cabinet, an ice mold, a heating element, and a controller. The ice mold may be positioned within the freezer chamber and define a mold cavity. The heating element may be mounted within the ice mold in conductive thermal communication with the mold cavity. The controller may be configured to initiate an ice making operation. The ice making operation may include maintaining the freezer chamber below a first sub-freezing during an ice formation cycle subsequent to a volume of water being received within the mold cavity, and heating the ice mold during the ice formation cycle at the heating element as a portion of the volume of water freezes to a frozen volume.

A clear ice maker having an ice tray with a thermally conductive cold plate, where the cold plate has a top surface and a bottom surface, with a thermoelectric cooling device thermally coupled to the bottom surface. Water is dispensed onto the top surface, and the bottom surface is cooled such that a portion of the water adjacent the top surface is frozen, to form a layer of ice. Then the ice tray is oscillated about a transverse axis of the ice tray, such that the water freezes in successive layers from the top surface of the cold plate upwards.

A unitary clear ice sheet is formed from a plurality of individual clear ice sheets which are fused together to give the unitary ice sheet a predetermined thickness. The fused unitary ice sheet is a clear unitary ice sheet due to the formation of the plurality of individual clear ice sheets by running water over a cold plate apparatus or evaporator mechanism to form the ice sheets in a gradual layer-by-layer process. The fused unitary clear ice sheet is used to mold or shape clear ice structure therefrom, such as clear ice spheres in a mold apparatus.

In accordance with the principals of the present invention, an ice machine, tray, and process for producing high-quality, substantially clear ice is provided. A heat exchanger in the ice machine removes energy from liquid, cooling the liquid from room temperature to freezing temperature, then overcomes the heat of fusion to form ice. The tray containing a liquid is received in a freezing / mixing chamber. The tray includes an energy transfer surface in thermal contact with the heat exchanger to define a liquid / ice boundary layer. The tray further includes at least one freezing cavity having geometry defining surfaces to form the geometry of the ice. An egress area is defined in the tray above the geometry defining surfaces. A mixing mechanism is provided in operative communication with the liquid to create a velocity profile at the liquid / ice boundary layer to create a directional freezing process starting from the energy transfer surface of the tray in thermal contact with the heat exchanger and growing through the freezing cavity up to the egress area. The velocity profile at liquid / ice boundary enables impurities to be washed away during the freezing process, deterring impurities from getting entrapped in the ice. Impurities in the liquid are thereby washed away and concentrate in a pool away from the ice, ultimately in the egress area of the tray to be purged. In addition, in embodiments sensors can be provided to provide various functions selected from the group consisting of, for example, determining ice creation status, determining freezing height, varying ice creation, determining tray presence, detecting freezing / mixing chamber door position, determining liquid level, and combinations thereof.

An ice making assembly and method for making clear ice utilizing an ice making appliance are provided herein. The ice making appliance may include a cabinet, an ice mold, a heating element, and a controller. The ice mold may be positioned within the freezer chamber and define a mold cavity. The heating element may be mounted within the ice mold in conductive thermal communication with the mold cavity. The controller may be configured to initiate an ice making operation. The ice making operation may include maintaining the freezer chamber below a first sub-freezing during an ice formation cycle subsequent to a volume of water being received within the mold cavity, and heating the ice mold during the ice formation cycle at the heating element as a portion of the volume of water freezes to a frozen volume.

The invention relates to a making method and a making device of clean transparent ice, and belongs to the field of ice making. The making method and the making device solve the problem that an existing ice making technology cannot discharge air dissolved in water in the freezing process. The making method and the making device are characterized in that a dissolved air supersaturated open area is arranged in an ice making container, in particular, the supersaturated open area is formed between the liquid level in the ice making container and an upper opening of the ice making container, the supersaturated open area keep to communicate with external atmosphere, and the temperature of the supersaturated open area is controlled; a mechanical disturbance mode is selected according to the volumeof the ice making container, the crystal interface is washed at a constant flow rate, the dissolved air supersaturated zone formed by the crystal interface is diluted or replaced, the temperature ofthe supersaturated open area is controlled, and the water body liquid level temperature is improved; and a clean transparent ice body is obtained by controlling the physical conditions in the icing environment. According to the making method and the making device, dissolved air and impurities in water are discharged in the icing process, and meanwhile, the ice making device which is simple in structure and convenient to use is provided for making the clean transparent ice.

An ice making tray has a water basin with a thermally conductive floor and a flexible grid positioned therein to define a plurality of ice making compartments. A motor is coupled to the basin to rotate the basin and grid to an inverted position, and a link is coupled between the motor and drive such that the grid is rotatable out of the basin and is flexed to release ice cubes formed therein.

An ice making system for creating clear ice and an associated method are provided. The ice making system employs a first sealed refrigerant system connected to a heat exchanger. A second sealed refrigerant system is also connected to the heat exchanger for cooling a first refrigerant of the first sealed refrigerant system. A heat exchanger heater is at least partially contained with the heat exchanger for heating the first refrigerant. A pump in the first refrigerant system is activated after heat exchanger heater has warmed the first refrigerant, enabling a cooling cycle to begin. Once sufficient clear ice has been generated, the pump is deactivated.

An ice making assembly and method utilizes a housing having an upper fluid chamber, a plurality of distinct, substantially vertical fluid channels, and at least one drain aperture in fluid communication with a fluid reservoir. Ice forming members extend from an ice forming evaporator into respective fluid channels. During an ice making event, fluid continuously supplied to the upper fluid chamber flows into each of the fluid channels and out through at least one drain aperture into a fluid reservoir below. The ice forming members are cooled such that fluid flowing across the fluid channels freezes on the ice forming members over time, forming clear ice pieces. The ice pieces are subsequently released from the ice forming members and transferred for storage and / or dispensing.