Ice Making Module Quantitative Water Supply and Rapid Demolding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ice making devices face challenges in supplying water quantitatively, achieving rapid ice making, and quick release of ice blocks without over-melting or equipment damage due to water overflow.
Innovation Solution
An ice making module with an upper and lower mold, a refrigeration module, a quantitative water supply system, a separation mechanism, and an ice release mechanism. The module includes a heat transfer block, a lifting device, a flipping motor, and a ventilation system to facilitate quick and efficient ice making and demolding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If heating is used to melt the surface of ice blocks for demolding, then the ice blocks can be released from the mold, but prolonged heating causes the ice blocks to over-melt
Solution Approach 1:
The heating element is positioned and configured to apply heat only to specific areas of the mold that require melting for demolding, rather than heating the entire mold uniformly. This preliminary targeted heating allows the ice blocks to be released without excessive melting of the ice blocks themselves.
Solution Approach 2:
The heating system applies localized heating to specific regions of the mold where adhesion occurs, rather than uniform heating across the entire mold surface. This ensures that only the necessary portions are heated to enable demolding, preserving the integrity and mass of the ice blocks.
2Loss of substance
If the lower mold is quickly separated from the heat source during demolding, then over-melting is prevented, but the melted water causes surface tension in fitting gaps making separation difficult
Solution Approach 1:
A separation mechanism with separation teeth is introduced as an intermediary device to facilitate the separation of the lower mold from other components. The separation teeth engage with corresponding features on adjacent components, providing mechanical leverage to overcome the surface tension caused by melted water in the fitting gaps, enabling clean separation without dragging or damage.
3Manufacturing precision
If molds are used to make ice blocks, then the volume and consistency of ice blocks can be controlled, but the cooling speed of the ice making process is relatively slow
Solution Approach 1:
The mold is divided into an upper mold and a lower mold that can be separated. The lower mold contains cooling channels that allow refrigerant to flow through, providing efficient heat extraction. This segmented design with internal cooling channels enables faster heat transfer compared to external cooling systems, thereby increasing ice making speed while maintaining consistent ice block formation.
Solution Approach 2:
A heat transfer block is introduced as an intermediary between the refrigeration system and the mold. The heat transfer block efficiently conducts heat from the mold to the refrigerant, enhancing the cooling rate. This intermediary component improves thermal coupling, allowing the ice making process to proceed faster while maintaining the precision and consistency provided by the mold structure.
4Productivity
If water is supplied to ice making cavities, then ice blocks can be formed, but without quantitative control the equipment may be soaked leading to damage
Solution Approach 1:
A quantitative water supply control system with sensors and control mechanisms is implemented to monitor and regulate the amount of water supplied to the ice making cavities. The system provides feedback on water levels and supply rates, automatically adjusting the water supply to prevent overfilling. This ensures that the correct amount of water is supplied for ice block formation while preventing water overflow that could soak and damage the equipment.
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 precise quantitative water supply, rapid ice formation, quick separation of molds from the heat source, and easy demolding, preventing equipment damage and ensuring efficient ice production.
Implementation Method 1
a heat transfer block that is attached to the bottom of the lower mold and connected to the evaporator of the refrigeration module to quickly transfer cold to the lower mold
Implementation Method 2
The ice making cavities are connected to the refrigeration module
Data Source
AI summary
An ice making module (100), and an ice maker and refrigerator having same. In the ice making module (100), a lifting device drives an upper die (26) to ascend or descend. After descending, the upper die (26) matches with a lower die (13) to form a plurality of ice making cavities. The top of the upper die (26) is provided with a plurality of water inlet holes, which are respectively in communication with the cavities. A quantitative water supply system (7) is in communication with the water inlet holes (261) to achieve quantitative water supply. The lower die (13) is connected to a turning device. The bottom of the lower die (13) is attached to a heat transfer block (12). Further comprised is a separation apparatus and/or a vent hole (122). The separation apparatus is used for separating the heat transfer block (12) and the lower die (13). The vent hole (122) communicates a gap between the heat transfer block (12) and the lower die (13). By means of the present ice making module (100), ice can be rapidly made, the dies can be rapidly separated from the heat source, the dies are easy to turn over, and the ice maker can collect overflow water to prevent the overflow water from soaking the device. The refrigerator is connected in series with an evaporator (33) of the ice making module (100) by means of an evaporator (102) of the refrigerator, or directly uses air from an air port of an air duct of a freezing chamber of the refrigerator to cool the dies, thereby saving energy.