Ice Maker Temperature Control for Selectable Transparency Levels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ice making devices struggle to produce ice cubes with varying degrees of transparency, often resulting in opaque ice due to trapped air bubbles.
Innovation Solution
An ice making device that includes a controller to adjust the rate of change of temperature in the ice making container, allowing for the production of ice cubes with different transparency levels by controlling the output of the cooler, fan, and heater.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the surface is firstly frozen to produce ice cubes, then ice cubes can be made, but air bubbles remain in the ice making water producing opaque ice cubes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-freezing the inner circumference of the ice making container before freezing the center. This creates a sealed environment that prevents air bubbles from being trapped during the subsequent center freezing process, thereby producing transparent ice cubes while maintaining efficient production speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by creating different freezing conditions in different regions of the ice making container. The inner circumference is pre-frozen to form a sealed barrier, while the center is then frozen to produce transparent ice cubes. This spatial differentiation of freezing sequences resolves the contradiction between speed and transparency.
2Manufacturing precision
If a thawing stick is used to discharge air bubbles, then transparent ice cubes can be produced, but the entire inner circumference starts forming ice toward the center simultaneously
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the thawing stick function and replaces it with a controlled pre-freezing process of the inner circumference. This eliminates the need for additional devices while achieving the same transparency goal through a more efficient sequential freezing approach that maintains higher production speed.
Solution Approach 2:
By pre-freezing the inner circumference before center freezing, the patent creates a sealed environment that naturally prevents air bubble entrapment during center freezing. This preliminary action eliminates the need for thawing sticks and achieves transparency through optimized freezing sequence rather than post-processing intervention.
3Productivity
If the rate of change of temperature is increased to make ice faster, then ice making speed improves, but ice cube transparency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the freezing process into two distinct stages: first freezing the inner circumference, then freezing the center. This segmentation allows each stage to operate at optimal temperatures and rates, achieving both high speed and high transparency by preventing air bubble entrapment through the sequential approach.
Solution Approach 2:
The pre-freezing of the inner circumference creates a sealed environment that enables the center to be frozen at a faster rate without trapping air bubbles. This preliminary structural preparation allows subsequent rapid freezing while maintaining transparency, resolving the speed-transparency trade-off.
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
Enables the production of ice cubes with various transparency qualities, improving transparency by varying the heater output or repeatedly turning the heater on and off, while maintaining a simple structure for both heating and ice separation.
Implementation Method 1
a cooler configured to supply cool air to the ice making chamber to cool the ice making water
Implementation Method 2
an ice making heater configured to supply heat to the ice making water when the ice making water is cooled
Implementation Method 3
The ice making water in the ice making mold start being cooled from the area initially contacting surrounding cool air and freezing advances in a central direction
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is an ice making device that is able to selectively make ices having different transparencies from each other. The ice making device includes: an ice making chamber including an ice making container to accommodate ice making water therein; a cooler configured to supply cool air to the ice making chamber to cool the ice making water; an ice making fan configured to circulate the supplied cool air; an ice making heater configured to supply heat to the ice making water when the ice making water is cooled; and a controller configured to control at least one of the cooling unit, the ice making fan and the ice making heater to adjust a rate of change of temperature of the ice making container to generate one of two types of ice having different transparency.