Clear Ice Maker with Controlled Finger Submergence
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for making ice result in opaque ice due to trapped gases, and existing automated ice makers in refrigeration appliances freeze ice too quickly, preventing gas escape and leading to opacity, while new appliance designs complicate ice dispensing mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A refrigeration appliance with a fresh food compartment maintaining a temperature between 32° F and 55° F, featuring a water tray and fingers that are chilled to a temperature below 32° F, with a controlled submergence and removal process to form transparent ice, allowing gases to escape and ice to be formed gradually without opacity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If water is frozen rapidly in a freezer compartment with ambient temperature well below 32° F., then ice is produced quickly, but gas becomes trapped within the ice causing opaque appearance
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the temperature parameter from conventional freezer temperatures (well below 32° F.) to a controlled temperature range near the freezing point (32° F. or slightly above). This parameter change allows gradual freezing that permits gas escape while maintaining efficient ice production, resolving the contradiction between speed and transparency.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs periodic submergence of freezing fingers into the water, alternating between freezing and allowing gas escape. This periodic action enables gas bubbles to rise and escape during non-freezing phases while ice forms during freezing phases, achieving both transparency and productivity.
2Speed
If freezing fingers are chilled to −22° C. to expedite freezing, then freezing speed increases, but air bubbles freeze too quickly resulting in opaque regions in the center of ice cubes
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the freezing finger temperature from extremely cold (−22° C.) to a moderate temperature (32° F. or slightly below). This parameter change slows the freezing process enough to allow gas escape while still maintaining practical ice production speed, eliminating opaque centers.
3Reliability
If ice is stored in a freezer compartment with ambient temperature much lower than freezing temperature, then ice is kept frozen, but an opaque ice film forms on the exterior surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts ice from the conventional freezer compartment environment and implements a two-stage process: ice is formed in a controlled environment near 32° F. to ensure transparency, then transferred to a freezer compartment for storage. This separation eliminates the harmful effect of extreme cold on ice surface quality while maintaining storage stability.
4Extent of automation
If automated ice makers are disposed within freezer compartments, then manual filling is eliminated, but the cold ambient temperature causes too rapid freezing preventing gas escape
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces an intermediary controlled environment (fresh-food compartment or controlled chamber) between the automated ice maker and the freezer compartment. This intermediary space maintains a temperature near 32° F., allowing automated ice making with controlled freezing speed that permits gas escape, while ice is subsequently transferred to the freezer for storage.
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
The method and apparatus produce substantially transparent ice by allowing gas escape and controlling the freezing process, reducing opacity and enabling convenient ice dispensing without requiring access to the freezer compartment.
Implementation Method 1
an evaporator in thermal communication with the fingers for chilling an exposed surface of the fingers to a finger temperature that is less than 32° F.
Implementation Method 2
Water is introduced into the water tray disposed within the fresh-food compartment, and at least a portion of the fingers are repeatedly submerged in the water within the water tray and subsequently at least partially removed from the water during formation of the substantially-transparent ice.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are a method and refrigeration appliance for making substantially-transparent ice. The refrigeration appliance includes a fresh food compartment in which a refrigeration temperature that is greater than 32° F. and less than 55° F. is maintained, and a water tray disposed within the fresh food compartment and including a bottom surface and an upwardly extending wall forming a reservoir for holding a volume of water. A plurality of fingers are supported adjacent to the water tray to be at least partially submerged in water within the water tray, and an evaporator is in thermal communication with the fingers for chilling an exposed surface of the fingers to a finger temperature that is less than 32° F. Water is introduced into the water tray, and an extent to which the fingers are submerged in the water is repeatedly adjusted.