Ice Machine Tray Segmentation for Multi-Size Cube Production
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ice machines are unable to efficiently produce ice cubes of various sizes, as they typically form ice of a single shape and size, leading to incomplete ice production and varying completion times based on cube size, which does not meet user requirements for different ice use conditions.
Innovation Solution
An ice machine with a tray having multiple cells of different sizes, a nozzle system for independent water spraying, and a controlled evaporator system that includes evaporators and hot-gas lines for forming, removing, and storing ice cubes of various sizes, using a storage tank and sensors to manage water supply and ice storage based on full state detection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a single tray is used to make ice cubes of various sizes, then user requirements for different ice sizes are satisfied, but ice making is stopped when ice cubes of a certain size fill the tray
Solution Approach 1:
The tray is divided into multiple cell groups (first cell group, second cell group, third cell group) with different cell sizes. Each cell group is dedicated to producing ice cubes of specific size ranges, allowing simultaneous production of various ice sizes without stopping when one size fills up. The segmentation enables continuous ice making across different size categories.
Solution Approach 2:
The single tray structure serves multiple functions by incorporating cells of various sizes within different groups. The same tray simultaneously produces small, medium, and large ice cubes, eliminating the need for multiple separate trays while maintaining versatility in ice size production.
2Productivity
If ice-removal is performed when smaller ice cubes are completed, then removal timing is optimized for small cubes, but larger ice cubes cannot be made
Solution Approach 1:
The tray cells are segmented into groups with different freezing characteristics. Small cells in the first group freeze quickly and can be removed early, while larger cells in subsequent groups continue freezing. This segmentation allows staggered ice removal timing optimized for each size category, enabling both fast production of small ice and continued production of larger ice.
Solution Approach 2:
The system prepares for differential removal timing by designing cell groups that naturally complete freezing at different times. Smaller cells are preliminarily designed to reach freezing completion faster, allowing early removal without affecting the freezing process of larger cells in other groups.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple evaporators and nozzles are used for independent ice making systems, then various ice sizes can be produced simultaneously, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigeration system is segmented into multiple evaporators (first, second, third evaporators) each serving specific cell groups. Nozzles are similarly segmented to spray water into corresponding cell groups. This segmentation enables independent control of ice making in different size categories while maintaining a structured, manageable system architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
Different evaporators and nozzles are configured with local quality variations - each evaporator is positioned and sized to provide appropriate cooling to its designated cell group, and each nozzle is configured to spray water optimally into its target cells. This local optimization enables efficient independent control without excessive overall complexity.
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 simultaneous production of ice cubes of different sizes on a single tray, improving user convenience by accommodating various ice use conditions and optimizing ice production and storage efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a nozzle disposed below the tray and spraying water toward the tray
Implementation Method 2
attaches single-typed or plural-typed evaporation pipes to a tray to cool the tray to a temperature equal to or below a freezing point
Implementation Method 3
a pump connected to the first nozzle and the second nozzle by a guide pipe and supplying the water stored in the storage tank to the first nozzle and the second nozzle
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides an ice machine including: a cabinet; a tray disposed inside the cabinet and having a plurality of cells for respectively forming ice cubes; and a nozzle disposed below the tray and spraying water toward the tray, wherein the plurality of cells includes a first cell having a smaller size and a second cell having a larger size than the first cell, and wherein the nozzle includes a first nozzle for spraying the water into the first cell and a second nozzle for spraying the water into the second cell.