Ice maker and refrigerator including same
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ice makers in refrigerators produce opaque ice due to rapid freezing and air trapped inside, making it difficult to produce transparent ice within the sub-zero temperatures of a refrigerator.
Innovation Solution
The refrigerator includes a tray assembly with a heater and a driver to move the tray assembly, allowing for controlled ice formation by directing water flow and bubble movement within the ice making cell, thereby enhancing ice transparency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If water is frozen in all directions using a general ice maker, then freezing speed is fast, but air is trapped inside and opaque ice is generated
Solution Approach 1:
The ice making process is segmented into distinct phases: initial freezing phase where ice forms from the bottom upward, and a subsequent phase where a heater melts portions of the ice to allow bubble escape. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by separating the rapid freezing function from the transparency enhancement function.
Solution Approach 2:
A heater is introduced as an intermediary element that temporarily melts specific portions of the formed ice to create channels for bubble removal. This intermediary action allows the system to achieve both rapid freezing and high transparency by mediating between the freezing process and the final ice quality.
2Temperature
If ice is made at sub-zero temperatures in the refrigerator, then freezing is effective, but water cannot flow or be sprinkled to grow ice in one direction
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the refrigerator's existing sub-zero temperature environment to perform the freezing function, while the tray design automatically directs water flow and bubble movement through its structure. The water supply mechanism and heater work autonomously to achieve one-directional ice growth without requiring manual water flow control.
Solution Approach 2:
The tray assembly incorporates hydraulic principles by using controlled water flow to fill specific chambers and utilize buoyancy forces to move air bubbles upward during the ice making process. This allows one-directional ice growth to be achieved through fluid dynamics rather than manual intervention.
3Manufacturing precision
If a heater is used to move bubbles during ice making, then ice transparency is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heater serves multiple functions: it melts ice to create bubble escape channels, heats water to reduce viscosity for better flow, and can be positioned to affect different chambers. This multi-functionality reduces device complexity by having one component perform several tasks rather than requiring separate mechanisms for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The heater is integrated directly into the tray assembly structure, merging the heating function with the ice making chamber. This integration reduces overall device complexity by combining components that would otherwise be separate, while still achieving the transparency improvement through controlled melting.
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
This solution enables the production of transparent ice by managing ice formation direction and bubble movement, improving ice clarity and efficiency within the refrigerator's ice making process.
Implementation Method 1
a heater heating the ice making cell so as to move bubbles contained in water supplied to the ice making cell from the ice making position toward the water supply position
Implementation Method 2
a cooler supplying cold to the ice making cell
Implementation Method 3
supplying water to the ice making cell from the water supply position
Data Source
AI summary
An ice maker may include a first tray for defining one portion of the ice-making cell, a second tray for defining the other portion of the ice-making cell, a heater for providing heat to the second tray, and a heater case having the heater coupled thereto. In an ice-making process, at least one portion of the heater case may move along with the second tray.