Refrigerator and method for controlling the same
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ice makers struggle to produce ice with uniform transparency across different shapes, as the existing technologies fail to effectively manage bubble dispersion and solidification rates, leading to opaque or non-uniform ice formation.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator system with a controller that adjusts the heating amount of the transparent ice heater and cooling power of the cold air supply based on the mass per unit height of water in the ice making cell, ensuring uniform transparency by varying the heat transfer between water and cold air, using a dual-tray system where the second tray moves to different positions for water supply, ice making, and separation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If water is cooled rapidly in the ice making cell, then ice making speed is improved, but bubbles are trapped in the ice making uniform transparency is deteriorated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the heating amount variable rather than constant. The controller adjusts the heating amount based on the mass per unit height of water at different positions, creating a dynamic control system that adapts to changing conditions during the ice making process, thereby achieving both rapid ice making and uniform transparency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of heating amount according to the mass per unit height of water. By varying this parameter spatially (different heating amounts for different water heights) and temporally (adjusting during the freezing process), the system optimizes both freezing speed and bubble discharge, resolving the contradiction between productivity and manufacturing precision.
2Manufacturing precision
If the heating amount is increased to maintain convection, then transparent ice is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing different heating amounts for different regions of water in the ice making cell. Instead of uniform heating, the system adjusts heating based on the mass per unit height at specific positions, applying heat locally where needed to maintain convection and discharge bubbles, thereby reducing overall energy consumption while maintaining transparency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses partial action by applying heating only to specific portions of water rather than continuously heating all water. The controller adjusts the heating amount based on local water mass conditions, providing just enough heat to maintain convection where necessary, thus avoiding excessive energy consumption while achieving transparent ice.
3Productivity
If the solidification rate is increased, then ice making efficiency is improved, but convection is insufficient and bubble discharge is deteriorated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses dynamics by adjusting the heating amount in response to changing water mass conditions during freezing. This dynamic adjustment ensures that convection is maintained at appropriate levels throughout the process, allowing bubbles to be discharged even as the solidification rate increases, thereby maintaining both efficiency and bubble discharge completeness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback control where the controller monitors the mass per unit height of water and adjusts the heating amount accordingly. This feedback mechanism ensures that convection is maintained at optimal levels to discharge bubbles, while allowing the solidification rate to increase for efficient ice making, resolving the contradiction between productivity and manufacturing precision.
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 system achieves uniform transparency of ice regardless of shape by controlling the heating and cooling power in response to changing heat transfer conditions, delaying ice making to allow bubble movement and maintaining an optimal ice making rate, resulting in transparent ice with minimized bubble inclusion.
Implementation Method 1
a heater to provide heat to the tray
Implementation Method 2
a cold air supply part to supply cold air into the storage chamber
Implementation Method 3
a tray to define an ice making cell that is a space in which water is phase-changed into ice by the cold air
Implementation Method 4
controlling the heating and cooling power in response to changing heat transfer conditions
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a refrigerator in which a heater disposed at a side of a first tray or a second tray may be turned on in at least partial section while a cold air supply part supplies cold air to an ice making cell so that bubbles dissolved in water within the ice making cell move from a portion at which ice is made toward liquid water to make transparent ice, and one or more of the cooling power of the cold air supply part and the heating amount of heater may be controlled according to a mass per unit height of the water in the ice making cell so that the transparency is uniform for each unit height of the water in the ice making cell.