Ice making device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current ice making devices rely on host apparatuses for operation control, limiting their ability to perform independent ice making operations, including water supply and ice separation.
Innovation Solution
An autonomous ice making device with a control part that manages a fan motor, ice separating mechanism, and water supply mechanism, allowing for independent operation, temperature-controlled ice production, and efficient power usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If the ice making device is controlled by a host apparatus, then the control structure is simple, but the device cannot perform independent ice making operations
Solution Approach 1:
The control functionality is segmented into a dedicated control part within the ice making device, separate from the host apparatus control. This control part independently manages the fan motor, ice separating mechanism, and water supply mechanism, enabling autonomous operation while maintaining clear functional boundaries that prevent excessive complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The control part is designed to universally manage multiple subsystems (fan motor, ice separating mechanism, water supply mechanism) through a single integrated control unit. This multi-functional approach enables independent operation without requiring separate control structures for each function, thus avoiding excessive complexity.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the fan motor is fixed to multiple frame parts, then the fixing is more stable, but distortion occurs during frame deformation
Solution Approach 1:
The fan motor fixing is extracted from multiple frame parts and concentrated to a single frame part. This extraction eliminates the distortion problem caused by differential deformation of multiple frame parts while maintaining sufficient fixing stability through the dedicated single-point attachment structure.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of fixing the fan motor to multiple frame parts to enhance stability, the approach is inverted by fixing it to a single frame part. This inversion resolves the distortion issue by eliminating the conflicting deformation forces while the single fixed point provides adequate stability for the fan motor operation.
3Productivity
If the fan motor operates for a long time, then ice making capacity is maintained, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control part implements feedback control by continuously monitoring the ice tray temperature and adjusting the fan motor operation accordingly. The fan motor operates only when the temperature is above the threshold and stops when the threshold is reached, maintaining ice making capacity while minimizing unnecessary power consumption through temperature-based feedback regulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The fan motor operates in periodic cycles rather than continuously - it starts when water is supplied and operates until the ice tray reaches the target temperature, then stops. This periodic operation pattern maintains adequate ice making capacity while significantly reducing overall power consumption compared to continuous operation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables independent ice making operations, producing high-quality ice efficiently and stably while reducing power consumption and simplifying the device's structure, reducing manufacturing costs and potential for distortion in the fan motor fixing.
Implementation Method 1
a fan motor 4 structured to send air to the ice tray 2
Implementation Method 2
a temperature sensor 5 which acquires temperature of the ice tray 2
Implementation Method 3
heat transfer of the water which is supplied to the ice tray 2 is mainly performed during a time when the water temperature becomes about 0° in which a state of the water is changed into ice
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is an ice-making device that can autonomously perform a series of ice-making operations that include control of a fan motor, without relying on a higher-level device. An ice-making device that is characterized by comprising an ice-making tray, a fan motor that blows air onto the ice-making tray, an ice removal mechanism that removes ice from the ice-making tray, a control part, and a frame that holds the ice-making tray, the fan motor, the ice removal mechanism, and the control part. The ice-making device is also characterized in that the control part controls the operations of the fan motor, the ice removal mechanism, and a water supply mechanism that opens/closes a water supply path that supplies water to the ice-making tray.