Direct-Cooling Ice Maker for Faster Freezing and Melt Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ice makers in refrigeration equipment take a long time to make ice and often result in melted ice stored in the ice bucket due to temperature changes, leading to inconvenience for users.
Innovation Solution
An ice maker system that uses a refrigerant channel to directly cool water in the ice making tray and a ventilator to discharge cold air into the ice bucket, preventing melting and reducing ice making time through a direct cooling system with a refrigerant pipe and a heating member for ice separation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If cold air from the freezing compartment is used to make ice through a cooling duct, then the ice making process can be performed, but the ice making time becomes relatively long
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the refrigerant cooling function from the freezing compartment and creates a dedicated ice making system with its own refrigerant pipe directly contacting the water in the ice making tray. This separation allows independent and faster ice making without being constrained by the freezing compartment's cooling cycle.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a refrigerant pipe as an intermediary that directly contacts the water in the ice making tray, enabling efficient heat transfer from the refrigerant to the water. This direct thermal contact through the refrigerant pipe significantly accelerates the ice making process compared to indirect cooling methods.
2Reliability
If the ice maker operates without additional cooling for the ice bucket, then the structure remains simple, but the ice stored in the ice bucket melts due to temperature changes
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling duct serves multiple functions: it provides cold air to the ice making tray during ice making and also provides cold air to the ice bucket for ice storage. This multi-functionality allows the system to maintain ice without melting while using the same cooling infrastructure, avoiding additional complex cooling systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the cold air generated for ice making to also cool and protect the stored ice in the ice bucket. The ventilator automatically directs cold air to the ice bucket when needed, allowing the system to self-regulate ice storage temperature without requiring separate active cooling mechanisms.
3Productivity
If a refrigerant pipe is used for direct cooling of water in the ice making tray, then ice making time is shortened, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the refrigerant pipe with the cooling duct structure, where the refrigerant pipe is positioned within or integrated into the cooling duct assembly. This integration allows the direct cooling function to be achieved while sharing structural components, thereby reducing overall device complexity compared to having completely separate systems.
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 system effectively prevents ice melting in the ice bucket and shortens ice making time, enhancing user satisfaction by using a direct cooling method with refrigerant contact and ventilator-assisted cold air discharge.
Implementation Method 1
making ice from the water in the ice making tray by transferring a refrigerant to the water through an ice making refrigerant pipe which branches from a refrigerant channel
Implementation Method 2
making ice from the water in the ice making tray by transferring a refrigerant to the water
Implementation Method 3
a cooling duct configured to form a cold air channel through which cold air is provided to the ice making unit
Implementation Method 4
a ventilator configured ventilate the cold air discharged from the cooling duct to the ice bucket
Implementation Method 5
executing an ice separation mode using a heating member installed on the end portion of the ice making refrigerant pipe
Data Source
AI summary
An ice maker for refrigeration equipment includes an ice making unit in the refrigerating compartment of the refrigeration equipment, an ice bucket disposed in the ice making unit and configured to store the ice made with an ice making tray, a cooling duct configured to form a cold air channel through which cold air is provided to the ice making unit, a refrigerant pipe enclosing the cooling duct to form a refrigerant channel, and an ice making refrigerant pipe configured make water into the ice through heat-exchange, where the ice making refrigerant pipe branches from the refrigerant pipe, and an end portion of the ice making refrigerant pipe is in the ice making tray.