Ice Maker Liquid Delivery Assembly for Bubble-Free Ice Cube Formation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional ice makers in refrigerators produce ice cubes with bubbles and poor transparency due to unstable water flow around ice making columns, leading to poor ice making performance.
Innovation Solution
An ice maker design with a liquid delivery assembly featuring multiple surge outlets aligned with ice making columns, ensuring stable water flow and bubble-free ice cubes by continuously spraying water towards each column.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a circulating pump is used to drive water circulation in the ice tray, then water flow is generated, but stable water flow around each ice making column cannot be ensured, resulting in bubbles in ice cubes
Solution Approach 1:
The liquid delivery tube is divided into multiple surge outlets, with each outlet corresponding to one ice making column. This segmentation ensures that water flows directly around each column individually, preventing bubbles from forming in the ice cubes while maintaining reliable water circulation for consistent ice making performance.
Solution Approach 2:
Each surge outlet is positioned and oriented to provide localized water flow specifically around its corresponding ice making column. This local quality approach ensures that each column receives adequate water flow for bubble-free ice formation, addressing the specific need at each location rather than relying on general tray-wide circulation.
2Ease of manufacture
If air cooling or direct cooling is used in traditional ice makers, then ice formation from outside inward occurs, but residual air in the air cannot be expelled, leading to ice cubes with bubbles and poor transparency
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses hydraulic flow by directing water to surge around each ice making column during the ice making process. This continuous water flow displaces air bubbles from the ice formation zone, allowing ice cubes to form with high transparency while maintaining an easy manufacturing process that builds on traditional cooling methods.
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 ensures bubble-free and transparent ice cubes by maintaining water motion during the ice making process, improving overall ice making performance.
Implementation Method 1
the liquid delivery tube comprises a plurality of surge outlets exposed to the ice making cavity, the number of the surge outlet being the same as the number of the ice making columns, and each the surge outlet is oriented towards each the ice making column
Implementation Method 2
a refrigeration device, comprising a plurality of ice making columns; at least a portion of the ice making columns extends into the ice making cavity
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
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AI summary
An ice maker, comprising a water storage box (10), an ice tray (20), a refrigeration device (30), and a liquid delivery assembly (40). The ice tray (20) is formed therein with an ice making cavity (21), and is capable of pivoting relative to the water storage box (10) so as to be switched between an ice-making position and a discharging position. The refrigeration device (30) is provided with a plurality of ice-making columns (31), and at the ice-making position, at least part of each ice-making column (31) extends into the ice making cavity (21). The liquid delivery assembly (40) comprises a liquid delivery tube (41) communicating the water storage box (10) with the ice tray (20). The liquid delivery tube (41) is provided with a plurality of surge outlets (41b) exposed in the ice making cavity (21), and the number of surge outlets (41b) is the same as the number of ice-making columns (31). At the ice-making position, each surge outlet (41b) faces a corresponding ice-making column (31), thereby preventing ice cubes formed on the ice-making columns (31) from containing bubbles.