Ice Maker Flexible Tray Design for Clear Ice Production
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ice makers often produce cloudy or opaque ice due to trapped air bubbles, and methods to remove bubbles are inefficient, resulting in suboptimal ice clarity.
Innovation Solution
An ice maker design featuring a tray assembly with a flexible upper and lower tray, a heater, and an ejector system that rotates to form and eject spherical ice pieces, allowing for the escape of air bubbles and the formation of clear ice by controlling the expansion of ice pieces within deformable portions of the tray.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rigid tray is used to maintain structural stability, then the tray can support the ice making chambers, but air bubbles become trapped inside the ice leading to cloudy appearance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a flexible tray made of elastomeric material that can deform during the ice making process. This flexibility allows the tray to adjust and accommodate the expansion of water into ice while maintaining sealing contact, thereby preventing air bubble entrapment. The flexible nature of the tray resolves the contradiction by providing both structural support and bubble-free ice production.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the tray is made flexible to allow bubble escape, then clear ice can be produced, but the tray deformation becomes difficult to control
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter of the tray from rigid to flexible (elastomeric material), which fundamentally alters its deformation characteristics. This parameter change allows the tray to naturally accommodate ice expansion through elastic deformation rather than requiring complex mechanical control systems. The material property change simplifies the overall device complexity while achieving controlled deformation behavior.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the ice making chambers are sealed tightly to maintain pressure, then ice structure is preserved, but air bubbles cannot escape during freezing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamic sealing through the flexible tray that can adjust its sealing contact during different stages of the ice making process. The tray maintains adequate sealing to preserve ice structure while allowing controlled deformation to accommodate bubble escape during freezing. This dynamic approach resolves the contradiction between sealed structure and bubble release.
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 effectively produces clear, transparent ice by allowing air bubbles to escape and accommodating the expansion of ice pieces, enhancing the clarity and quality of the ice produced.
Implementation Method 1
a heater located between the case and the flexible tray, that is configured to contact the flexible tray, and that is configured to supply heat to the plurality of ice making chambers through the flexible tray
Implementation Method 2
the flexible tray may include a stepped portion that protrudes from an outer surface of each of the plurality of ice making chambers and that is configured to contact the heater
Implementation Method 3
at least one of the upper tray or the lower tray includes a flexible tray made of a flexible material
Implementation Method 4
a lower tray that is located vertically below the upper tray, that is configured to rotate relative to the upper tray
Data Source
AI summary
An ice maker of a refrigerator includes a tray assembly having an upper tray that defines upper portions of a plurality of ice making chambers. Each of the plurality of ice making chambers is configured to receive water and generate an ice piece. The tray assembly also includes a lower tray that is located vertically below the upper tray, that is configured to rotate relative to the upper tray, and that defines lower portions of the plurality of ice making chambers, wherein at least one of the upper tray or the lower tray comprises a flexible tray made of a flexible material. Additionally, a case is configured to accommodate the flexible tray to restrict a deformation of the flexible tray. A heater that is located between the case and the flexible tray is configured to supply heat to the plurality of ice making chambers through the flexible tray.