Snow And Ice Shower Grinding Screen for Smooth Firn-Like Ice
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing snow and ice shower systems produce ice with sharp edges and inconsistent consistency, making them unsuitable for shower applications and potentially painful to users.
Innovation Solution
A snow and ice shower system featuring an ice machine that produces flake ice, a grinding device with a grinding sieve and n-cornered grinding elements, which crushes the ice into a consistent firn-like consistency, ensuring the ice is neither too hard nor too soft and free of sharp edges, and is dispensed through a funnel-shaped removal area in the ceiling for optimal distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a rotating crusher with teeth is used to crush ice, then ice can be broken into pieces, but the pieces have sharp edges and inconsistent consistency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional rotating crusher with teeth (mechanical cutting action) with a grinding device consisting of a grinding mechanism and a grinding sieve (grinding action). This substitution transforms the ice crushing process from a cutting mechanism that produces sharp edges to a grinding mechanism that produces consistent, smooth-textured ice particles suitable for shower applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters of the ice breaking process by using a grinding sieve with specific mesh sizes and a grinding mechanism that applies controlled pressure and friction. This alters the physical state and texture of the ice particles, transforming them from sharp-edged pieces to consistent, smooth granules with firm but not painful consistency.
2Device complexity
If ice is dispensed directly from the ice machine, then the process is simple, but the ice is too hard and has sharp edges for shower use
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by grinding the ice particles to the desired consistency before they are dispensed to the user. The grinding device processes the ice in advance, transforming it into the appropriate texture and removing sharp edges, so that when the ice is dispensed, it is already in the optimal state for shower application, preventing user discomfort.
3Productivity
If a grinding device with teeth is used, then ice can be crushed, but sharp-edged pieces are produced that cause pain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the tooth-based crushing mechanism with a grinding mechanism and grinding sieve system. This substitution maintains ice processing efficiency while fundamentally changing the output characteristics from sharp-edged pieces to smooth, consistent granules that do not cause user discomfort during shower application.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potentially harmful sharp edges produced by traditional crushing into a beneficial smooth, consistent texture through the grinding process. The grinding sieve and mechanism transform what would be a harmful characteristic (sharp edges causing pain) into a beneficial one (smooth texture providing comfortable cooling effect).
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 system provides a comfortable and effective cooling experience by ensuring the ice is evenly distributed and of optimal consistency, eliminating the risk of sharp edges and pain, while allowing for efficient ice production and easy maintenance.
Implementation Method 1
an ice machine which has an ice dispensing area and dispenses ice via this ice dispensing area. The ice is in particular flake ice
Implementation Method 2
a grinding device that is designed to crush the ice in the feed and/or storage container, ie the ice that is in the feed and/or storage container
Implementation Method 3
The grinder is arranged to be movable (rotatable) relative to the grinding sieve and can be rotated about an axis of rotation. Ice, which is fed to the grinding device via the supply and/or storage container, is moved in the direction of the grinding sieve by the rotation of the grinder
Implementation Method 4
The removal area is arranged in particular in the ceiling or ceiling arrangement of the snow and ice shower, so that the ice pressed through falls to the ground within the snow and/or ice shower due to gravity
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a snow and/or ice shower (1) comprising a first snow and/or ice generating device (2a), which has an ice machine (3) that has an ice dispensing region (3a). The ice machine (3) is designed to generate ice (4) and dispense same out of the ice dispensing region (3a). The at least one first snow and/or ice generating device (2a) comprises a supply and/or storage container (9). The ice dispensing region (3a) of the ice machine (3) opens into the supply and/or storage container (9). The at least one first snow and/or ice generating device (2a) comprises a grinding device (10) which is designed to comminute the ice (4) in the supply and/or storage container (9). The grinding device (10) comprises a grinding mill (11) and a grinding screen (12), wherein the grinding mill (11) is movably arranged relative to the grinding screen (12) and can be rotated about a rotational axis (13), whereby ice (4) which can be supplied to the grinding device (10) can be pressed through the grinding screen (12) by the rotation of the grinding mill (11) and can be dispensed in a collection region (16).