Ice Maker Dual-Tray Assembly for Clear Spherical Ice Formation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ice makers in refrigerators often produce ice with trapped air bubbles, resulting in a cloudy or opaque appearance, and methods to release air bubbles during the ice-making process can lead to irregular ice shapes.
Innovation Solution
An ice maker design featuring an upper and lower assembly, where the lower tray is made of a flexible material and rotates relative to the upper assembly, allowing for the formation of ice making chambers that fill with water from two volumes, and a circumferential wall helps shape the ice into a spherical form while accommodating expansion during freezing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If water is supplied to ice making chambers to form ice pieces, then ice production is achieved, but air bubbles become trapped inside the ice resulting in cloudy or opaque appearance
Solution Approach 1:
The lower tray is pre-filled with a first volume of water before the upper tray is positioned. This preliminary action ensures that water is already in place to receive the descending upper tray, creating a controlled environment for ice formation that minimizes air bubble entrapment from the start of the process
Solution Approach 2:
The system extracts air bubbles from the ice making process by allowing the flexible lower tray to deform and expel trapped air during the closing and freezing cycles. The tray's flexibility enables it to push out air bubbles as ice forms, preventing them from being trapped in the final product
2Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid ice making chamber structure is used to maintain shape, then structural stability is achieved, but the structure cannot accommodate water expansion during freezing
Solution Approach 1:
The lower tray is made of flexible material that can deform to accommodate the expansion of water during freezing. This flexibility allows the chamber to expand outward as ice forms, preventing structural damage while maintaining the ice making chamber's integrity and shape
Solution Approach 2:
The lower tray transitions from a static rigid structure to a dynamic flexible structure that can adapt its shape during the ice making process. The tray deforms during water filling and freezing, then returns to its original shape for ice ejection, providing both adaptability and stability at different stages
3Productivity
If conventional ice making methods are used, then ice production is achieved, but the ice pieces have irregular shapes due to air bubble release
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible lower tray maintains consistent chamber shapes during the ice making process by deforming uniformly to accommodate water and ice expansion. This uniform deformation ensures that air bubbles are expelled consistently without creating irregularities in the ice piece shapes
Solution Approach 2:
The lower tray is pre-positioned and pre-filled with water in a controlled manner before the upper tray is introduced. This preliminary setup ensures proper alignment and water distribution, leading to consistent ice formation and uniform shapes across multiple ice pieces
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 design produces clear, transparent spherical ice by effectively releasing air bubbles and maintaining a consistent shape through the use of a flexible lower tray and controlled rotation, ensuring efficient ice formation and ejection.
Implementation Method 1
a lower tray that is made of a flexible material, that is configured to contact the water received through the water receiving hole
Implementation Method 2
Each of the plurality of ice making chambers is configured to: based on rotation of the lower assembly to a first position relative to the upper assembly, receive water through the water receiving hole; and based on joining of the upper portions and the lower portions of the plurality of ice making chambers at a second position different from the first position, generate an ice piece
Implementation Method 3
a lower support that is configured to receive the lower tray and that is configured to restrict an outward expansion of the lower portions of the plurality of ice making chambers
Data Source
AI summary
An ice maker includes an upper assembly having an upper tray that defines upper portions of a plurality of ice making chambers. The ice maker also includes a lower assembly that is located vertically below the upper assembly and configured rotate relative to the upper assembly. The lower assembly includes a lower tray that defines lower portions of the plurality of ice making chambers, and a lower support that is configured to receive the lower tray and restrict an outward expansion of the lower portions of the plurality of ice making chambers. The lower tray includes a lower tray body configured to hold a first volume of water, and a circumferential wall that extends upward from the lower tray body and is configured to hold a second volume of water above the first volume of water.