Ice Maker with Bottom-Up Freezing to Reduce Air Bubble Trapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ice makers produce cloudy ice due to trapped air bubbles and have inefficient energy use, leading to a bulky and complex structure that reduces storage capacity in refrigerators.
Innovation Solution
An ice maker with a water supplying-ice separator that includes a rotating shaft with outlets and ice separating rods, allowing for controlled discharge and separation of ice, enabling the production of transparent ice while reducing energy consumption and simplifying the structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional ice making method is used where water freezes from the surface, then ice is made easily, but air bubbles remain trapped causing cloudy ice
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional ice making approach by freezing water from the bottom up rather than from the top down. The ice making container is designed with the opening at the bottom and the closed end at the top, allowing water to be supplied from below. As water freezes progressively from the bottom, air bubbles are naturally expelled upward and escape through the bottom opening, resulting in transparent ice without requiring complex bubble removal mechanisms.
2Manufacturing precision
If a thawing rod with heating device is used to remove air bubbles, then transparent ice is made, but energy consumption increases and structure becomes bulky
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the heating device and thawing rod from the ice making system entirely. Instead of using thermal energy to melt and remove air bubbles, the design relies on the natural physics of freezing from the bottom up, where air bubbles are passively expelled by the advancing ice front. This eliminates the need for additional heating elements, reducing both energy consumption and structural complexity.
3Manufacturing precision
If heating device and separating device are added to make transparent ice, then ice transparency is improved, but storage capacity of refrigerator is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the heating device and separating device from the system, thereby eliminating the space these components would occupy. The ice making container is designed with a simple cylindrical shape and direct bottom opening, requiring no additional chambers or mechanisms for bubble removal. This compact design maximizes the storage capacity of the refrigerator while still achieving transparent ice production.
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 ice maker can produce transparent ice with high transparency and reduce energy usage, resulting in a more compact and efficient design that enhances storage capacity in refrigerators.
Implementation Method 1
a cooler configured to provide a chill to the ice-making water filled in the ice making container to cool the ice-making water
Implementation Method 2
The ice-making water in the ice making container starts to freeze from a part that first comes into contact with an ambient chill
Implementation Method 3
a driver configured to rotate the water supplying-ice separator
Implementation Method 4
a water supplying shaft having therein a water passage through which the ice-making water supplied from the water supply enters, and a plurality of outlets through which the entered ice-making water is discharged
Data Source
AI summary
An ice maker of a refrigerator includes a water supply to supply an ice-making water. The ice maker also includes an ice making container to be filled with the ice-making water. The ice maker further includes a cooler to provide a chill to the ice-making water. The ice maker additionally includes a water supplying-ice separator including at least one ice separating rod and a water supplying shaft. The water supplying shaft includes a water passage therein and a plurality of outlets wherein the ice-making water is discharged through the plurality of outlets to the ice making container. The at least one ice separating rod is provided on the water supplying shaft. The ice maker also includes a driver configured to rotate the water supplying-ice separator. The ice maker additionally includes a controller to control the driver, so that the at least one ice separating rod separates the ice.