Ice Cavity Heating Control for Predefined Cube Shapes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ice making devices produce ice cubes with flat upper surfaces due to gravity, limiting the ability to create ice shapes other than the tray's cavity shape, and lack control over ice formation.
Innovation Solution
An ice making apparatus with a cavity that allows for controlled freezing and heating, using thermoelectric elements and individually controllable heating elements to shape the ice, enabling the formation of specific ice shapes by preventing ice formation in selected regions and using a mold cavity for the upper surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If conventional ice tray cavities are used with uniform cooling, then ice cubes form with the cavity shape, but the upper surface remains flat due to gravity and cannot achieve diverse shapes
Solution Approach 1:
The cavity is divided into multiple independently controllable heating zones with individual heating elements, allowing different regions to be heated or cooled independently to create varied ice shapes
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the cavity have different thermal characteristics through selective heating/cooling control, enabling localized shape modification while maintaining other regions' standard freezing
2Shape
If heating elements are added to control ice shape, then diverse ice shapes can be created, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The same cavity structure serves multiple functions: it acts as both the freezing chamber and the shaping mold, eliminating the need for separate complex molding mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The system controls ice shape by changing thermal parameters (heating/cooling activation) rather than mechanical parameters, simplifying the control mechanism to binary on/off states for each zone
3Device complexity
If a single cavity is used for all ice shapes, then device simplicity is maintained, but the ability to produce different shapes is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The cavity transitions from a static single-purpose mold to a dynamic multi-functional chamber where thermal conditions can be adjusted in real-time to produce different shapes from the same physical space
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 the creation of ice pieces with diverse shapes by controlling the freezing process, allowing for the production of ice with predefined shapes beyond the standard flat upper surface, using a single device.
Implementation Method 1
a portion of the cavity is cooled to cause at least some of the ice in the cavity to freeze
Implementation Method 2
Other portions of the cavity may be heated to thereby prevent formation of ice in selected locations or regions of the cavity
Implementation Method 3
A mold cavity may be formed in a lower surface of the upper side wall to thereby form a predetermined shape in the ice formed at the top of the cavity
Data Source
AI summary
An ice making device includes heating and cooling elements that control the formation of ice within a cavity. The ice making device may include one or more fluid inlets that supply liquid water to the cavity, and one or more fluid outlets that drain water from the cavity after formation of ice having a desired shape.