Clear Ice Maker with Directional Freezing and Gas Separation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for producing clear ice cubes are time-consuming, inefficient, and often result in cloudy ice, making them unsuitable for large-scale use in retail establishments like bars and restaurants where clear ice is desired for its slow melting and purity.
Innovation Solution
A container with a tapered side wall and bottom, featuring a receptacle for residual gases, is used to freeze partially degassed water, directing gases into a separate compartment to produce clear ice while the cloudy ice is collected in the receptacle, utilizing an insulated tray for directional freezing and easy separation of clear ice products.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If water is frozen using conventional molds, then ice cubes are produced, but the ice turns cloudy due to trapped gases
Solution Approach 1:
The mold is divided into two distinct chambers: a first chamber for forming clear ice and a second chamber for collecting gas. This segmentation allows gases to be separated from the water during freezing, preventing gas entrapment in the ice and achieving the desired clarity while maintaining production efficiency.
2Manufacturing precision
If clear ice production methods are used, then ice clarity is improved, but the process becomes time-consuming and difficult to use
Solution Approach 1:
The mold is pre-designed with integrated gas collection chambers and directional freezing pathways before the freezing process begins. This preliminary structural preparation enables gases to be automatically directed away from the ice formation zone during freezing, achieving clear ice production without requiring time-consuming post-processing or complex operational steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The mold is divided into two distinct chambers: a first chamber for forming clear ice and a second chamber for collecting gas. This segmentation allows gases to be separated from the water during freezing, preventing gas entrapment in the ice and achieving the desired clarity while maintaining production efficiency.
3Reliability
If large clear ice cubes are produced, then beverage dilution is reduced and melting is slowed, but the production process becomes complex and difficult to operate
Solution Approach 1:
The mold is divided into two distinct chambers: a first chamber for forming clear ice and a second chamber for collecting gas. This segmentation allows gases to be separated from the water during freezing, preventing gas entrapment in the ice and achieving the desired clarity while maintaining production efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The mold structure automatically performs gas separation and directional freezing during the freezing process itself, without requiring external intervention or complex operational steps. The gas collection chamber passively captures gases as they rise during freezing, and the structural design naturally directs freezing from the clear ice chamber, making the system self-regulating and easy to operate.
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 effectively produces clear ice that melts slowly and maintains beverage purity, suitable for large-scale use in bars and restaurants, with the ability to produce multiple clear ice products simultaneously while separating cloudy ice for disposal.
Implementation Method 1
When the container is arranged in a freezer or other environment having a temperature below freezing, the degassed water progressively freezes toward the bottom wall to direct residual gas within the water into the at least one receptacle to produce a clear ice product in the chamber and a cloudy ice product in the receptacle
Implementation Method 2
the insulation material is thicker at the bottom of the tray than at the top. That is, there is more insulation material adjacent the bottom of the tray than at the top, with the thickness of the insulation material increasing progressively toward the bottom owing to the taper of the opening. With such a tray, the insulation material produces directional freezing of the at least partially degassed water from the container chamber toward the tubes when the tray and container are arranged in a freezer
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for making clear ice utilizes an insulated cooler tray, a container, and degassed water arranged in the container. The container includes a chamber in an upper portion and at least and preferably a plurality of receptacles in a lower portion, with the chamber and receptacles being filled with degassed water. The container is arranged in the cooler tray which includes a greater amount of insulating material in the bottom of the tray than in the top. When the container and cooler tray are arranged in a freezer, the tray causes directional freezing of the degassed water which forces any residual gas or air in the water to the bottom of the container into the receptacles. When directional freezing is complete, the bottom portion of the container may be broken away and the clear ice product removed from the container chamber for use.