Ice Maker Liquid Delivery Design for Bubble-Free Transparent Ice Cubes
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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 continuous water circulation to prevent bubble formation, using a pivotable ice tray and refrigeration device to form transparent bullet-shaped ice cubes.
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 independent delivery channels, each corresponding to an ice making column. This segmentation allows each column to receive dedicated water flow control, ensuring stable water flow around each column without requiring a complex circulating pump system.
Solution Approach 2:
Each delivery channel is designed with specific local characteristics (different positions, orientations, and flow rates) tailored to the requirements of its corresponding ice making column. This local optimization ensures that each column receives appropriate water flow for bubble-free ice formation.
2Manufacturing precision
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:
Water is delivered to the ice making columns before and during the freezing process through the liquid delivery system. This preliminary water supply ensures that air bubbles are displaced and prevented from being trapped in the ice cubes, achieving bubble-free and transparent ice formation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a liquid delivery system with multiple delivery channels to introduce water directly to the ice making columns. This hydraulic approach replaces air-based cooling methods, ensuring that water displaces air bubbles and enables transparent ice cube formation through controlled liquid flow.
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 solution ensures stable water flow around each ice making column, preventing bubble formation and improving ice making performance by producing transparent, bubble-free ice cubes.
Implementation Method 1
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
Implementation Method 2
a liquid delivery assembly, comprising a liquid delivery tube connecting the water storage box and the ice tray
Data Source
AI summary
An ice maker includes a water storage box, an ice tray, a refrigeration device, and a liquid delivery assembly. The ice tray is formed with an ice making cavity and is pivotable relative to the water storage box to switch between an ice making position and an ejection position. The refrigeration device has a plurality of ice making columns, wherein at least a portion of the ice making columns extends into the ice making cavity when in the ice making position. The liquid delivery assembly comprises a liquid delivery pipe connecting the water storage box and the ice tray. The liquid delivery pipe has a plurality of surge outlet exposed to the ice making cavity, the number of surge outlet being the same as the number of the ice making columns. In the ice making position, each surge port is oriented towards each ice making column.