Ice Maker Mold Design for Clear Barrel-Shaped Ice Production
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ice makers either produce cloudy or opaque ice or barrel-shaped ice, but not both, failing to meet consumer preferences for clear and cylindrical ice.
Innovation Solution
An ice maker design featuring a mold body with cylindrical mold cavities, a heater to maintain water in a lower portion as liquid, and a drain conduit to manage liquid water, allowing for the production of clear and barrel-shaped ice by freezing water from the top down, which purifies the ice by forcing impurities downwards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If conventional ice makers use standard mold bodies, then they can produce ice efficiently, but the ice is cloudy or opaque and not barrel-shaped
Solution Approach 1:
The mold body is designed with differentiated zones: an upper freezing zone with thermal insulation and a lower liquid retention zone with heater elements. This local quality differentiation allows the upper portion to freeze clear while the lower portion remains liquid to trap impurities, resolving the contradiction between shape and clarity.
Solution Approach 2:
The mold cavity is segmented into distinct functional regions: a barrel-shaped cavity for form, a heated lower section for impurity management, and an insulated upper section for clear ice formation. This segmentation enables simultaneous achievement of barrel shape and clarity.
2Manufacturing precision
If ice makers produce clear ice, then the ice is transparent and aesthetically pleasing, but the ice is not barrel-shaped
Solution Approach 1:
The mold incorporates localized heating elements in the lower region and insulation in the upper region, creating different thermal conditions in different zones. This allows the upper zone to form clear ice while the overall mold geometry maintains barrel shape.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically controls temperature parameters in different zones of the mold - maintaining higher temperature in the lower region to prevent freezing (trapping impurities) and lower temperature in the upper region for clear ice formation, while the mold geometry ensures barrel shape.
3Shape
If ice makers produce barrel-shaped ice, then the ice is cylindrical and preferred by consumers, but the ice is cloudy or opaque
Solution Approach 1:
The mold body features localized thermal management with heating elements positioned in the lower region and insulation in the upper region. This creates a temperature gradient that allows barrel shape formation while ensuring clarity in the frozen portion.
Solution Approach 2:
The system extracts impurities from the ice-making process by maintaining a liquid state in the lower mold region, effectively separating impurities from the freezing zone. This extraction allows barrel-shaped clear ice to form in the upper region.
4Manufacturing precision
If ice makers use heaters to maintain liquid water, then clear ice can be produced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heating elements, drain conduit, and mold body are integrated into a unified structure where the heater is embedded in the mold wall and the drain conduit is built into the mold geometry. This merging reduces overall system complexity while maintaining the ability to produce clear ice.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the natural convection and drainage of liquid water combined with localized heating to automatically maintain the liquid state in the lower region. The drain conduit passively removes impurity-rich water without requiring active pumping, reducing system complexity.
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 effectively produces clear, cylindrical ice by maintaining water in a liquid state at the bottom of the mold cavities, allowing it to freeze from the top down, resulting in purer ice while managing impurities, thus addressing consumer preferences for both clarity and shape.
Implementation Method 1
a heater in thermal communication with the floor of each mold cavity of the plurality of mold cavities. The heater is configured to maintain water within a lower portion of each mold cavity in a liquid state
Implementation Method 2
directing a flow of chilled air from the chilled chamber towards openings of the plurality of mold cavities, causing the liquid water in an upper portion of each of the plurality of mold cavities to freeze from the top down
Implementation Method 3
freezing water from the top down, which purifies the ice by forcing impurities downwards
Data Source
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AI summary
A refrigerator (100) and an ice maker (160) therefore are provided. The ice maker (160) includes a mold body (170). A plurality of mold cavities (200) are defined in the mold body (170). Each mold cavity (200) extends between a floor (202) and an opening (206) along a longitudinal axis (A). Each mold cavity (200) is enclosed by at least one sidewall between the floor (202) and the opening (206). The longitudinal axis (A) of each mold cavity (200) is oriented generally along the vertical direction (VI). The ice maker (160) also includes a heater (182) in thermal communication with the floor (202) of each mold cavity (200) of the plurality of mold cavities (200). The heater (182) is configured to maintain water within a lower portion (207) of each mold cavity (200) in a liquid state. The ice maker (160) further includes a drain conduit (214) in fluid communication with the mold body (170) and configured to receive a flow of liquid water from the mold cavities (200).