Clear Ice Maker Bypass Cooling for Precise Temperature Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing clear ice makers in refrigerators struggle to maintain a consistent temperature below zero degrees, which is essential for producing clear ice, due to fluctuations in the cooling capacity influenced by stored goods and other factors.
Innovation Solution
A refrigeration device with a bypass line that allows refrigerant to be routed past the cold fingers, using a mixture of glycol and water as refrigerant, and incorporating a throttle and pressure relief valve to regulate refrigerant flow, along with controllable valves to maintain precise temperature control, eliminating the need for a separate refrigerant circuit for the ice maker.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the clear ice maker uses the refrigerator's cooling circuit, then the manufacturing cost is reduced, but the temperature control precision deteriorates due to fluctuations in cooling capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling circuit is segmented into two parallel paths: the main refrigeration circuit and a bypass circuit dedicated to the clear ice maker. This segmentation allows the ice maker to have dedicated temperature control while sharing the overall cooling system, resolving the contradiction between cost reduction and temperature precision.
Solution Approach 2:
A bypass line acts as an intermediary pathway, allowing refrigerant to flow directly to the cold fingers of the clear ice maker without passing through the main refrigeration components. This intermediary path enables precise temperature control for ice production while utilizing the existing cooling circuit infrastructure.
2Power
If the refrigerant flow is increased to maintain lower temperature, then the cooling capacity is improved, but the energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts refrigerant flow distribution between the main circuit and bypass circuit based on real-time temperature requirements. The controllable valve modulates flow rates dynamically, allowing the system to optimize cooling capacity while minimizing energy consumption by routing refrigerant through the most efficient path.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the flow rate parameter of refrigerant dynamically based on temperature requirements. By adjusting the volume flow rate through the bypass line and controllable valve, the system optimizes the balance between cooling capacity and energy consumption, avoiding excessive energy use while maintaining required cooling performance.
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
This solution ensures consistent temperature control at the cold fingers of the clear ice maker, allowing for efficient production of clear ice without increasing manufacturing costs or requiring additional components, and includes a heating device to facilitate ice detachment and collection.
Implementation Method 1
refrigerant from the cold fingers of the clear ice maker, which has already absorbed heat
Implementation Method 2
In the return line to the refrigeration generator, a suitably dimensioned throttle is installed between the bypass line and the refrigeration generator
Implementation Method 3
a pressure relief valve is installed in the bypass line itself
Implementation Method 4
using a mixture of glycol and water as refrigerant
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~5
AI summary
The invention is based on a refrigerator (1) with an interior (11) for storing refrigerated and/or frozen products and an ice maker (4) which is arranged in the interior (11) and is cooled by means of a refrigerant circuit, wherein the refrigerant circuit has a cold generator (5) for cooling the refrigerant. According to the invention, the refrigerant circuit has a bypass line (18) by means of which refrigerant can be conducted past the cold generator (5).