Ice Making Assembly with Segmented Mold for Clear Ice Production
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ice making appliances produce cloudy or opaque ice due to trapped impurities and gases, and require larger ice billets that are inefficient and prone to cracking, making it difficult to produce clear and large ice cubes or spheres efficiently.
Innovation Solution
An ice making assembly comprising a conductive ice mold, an insulation jacket, a sealed refrigeration system, and a water dispenser, with a controller that initiates an ice-building spray and a separate ice-reducing spray to form clear ice billets, ensuring even heat distribution and preventing cracking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a large ice billet is formed in typical ice making appliances, then the final ice cube or sphere can be substantially clear, but the process is inefficient, consumes excessive energy and time, and risks cracking
Solution Approach 1:
The mold cavity is segmented into multiple zones (first region with evaporator, second region without evaporator). This segmentation allows different freezing rates in different regions, enabling clear ice formation without requiring excessive over-freezing of the entire billet, thus improving efficiency while maintaining clarity.
Solution Approach 2:
The evaporator is positioned only in the first region of the mold cavity, creating local thermal conditions. This local quality approach allows precise control of freezing in the critical region where clarity is most important, while other regions freeze at different rates, preventing the need for excessive overall billet size and reducing cracking risk.
2Manufacturing precision
If a large ice billet is formed to ensure clear final product, then clarity can be achieved, but the time and energy required to melt or shape the billet increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the mold cavity into regions with different thermal characteristics, the system achieves clear ice formation with a smaller, more efficient billet size. The evaporator region creates the necessary clarity while the insulated region prevents excessive overall freezing, reducing the energy required to process the billet.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes thermal parameters locally by positioning the evaporator only in the first region. This parameter change creates optimal freezing conditions for clarity in the critical region while maintaining different conditions elsewhere, reducing the total energy and time required for billet processing.
3Manufacturing precision
If a large ice billet is formed to ensure clear final product, then clarity can be achieved, but the billet is prone to cracking due to significant temperature gradient
Solution Approach 1:
Segmenting the mold cavity into thermally differentiated regions allows controlled freezing progression. The evaporator region freezes first creating clear ice, while the insulated region freezes later, reducing temperature gradients and thermal stress that cause cracking in uniformly frozen large billets.
Solution Approach 2:
Creating local thermal quality differences through selective evaporator placement enables the critical clarity region to freeze under optimal conditions while other regions provide thermal buffering. This local quality approach reduces overall temperature gradients, preventing cracking while maintaining clarity.
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 enables rapid and reliable production of substantially clear ice billets, reducing energy consumption and minimizing the risk of cracking, while maintaining the desired shape and size of the ice.
Implementation Method 1
an evaporator in conductive thermal communication with the conductive ice mold above the insulation jacket
Implementation Method 2
The insulation jacket may extend downward from the conductive ice mold. The insulation jacket may define a lower portion of the mold cavity
Implementation Method 3
as a result of the freezing liquid to solid phase change of the ice cube surfaces
Data Source
AI summary
In one exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, an ice making assembly is provided for making clear ice. The ice making assembly may include a conductive ice mold, an insulation jacket, and a water dispenser. The conductive ice mold may define an upper portion of a mold cavity extending from a top end to a bottom end. The insulation jacket may extend downward from the conductive ice mold. The insulation jacket may define a lower portion of the mold cavity. The lower portion of the mold cavity may be a vertically open passage aligned with the upper portion of the mold cavity. The water dispenser may be positioned below the insulation jacket to direct an ice-building spray of water to the mold cavity through the vertically open passage of the insulation jacket.