Ice Making Tray Structure for Excess Water Drainage and Ice Release
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Solution Overview
Problem
Direct-cooling type ice makers in refrigerators face issues with frost formation and ice sticking due to temperature differences, and excess water accumulation, which complicates the ice separation process.
Innovation Solution
The design includes an ice making tray with a drain duct for excess water discharge, partition walls to divide the tray into units, and cutting ribs to prevent ice interference, along with a derailment prevention wall and an inclined configuration to facilitate smooth ice separation and prevent water overflow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If a refrigerant pipe is directly contacted with an ice making tray to enable direct-cooling, then cooling speed is improved, but frost formation increases due to temperature difference
Solution Approach 1:
The ice making tray is divided into multiple unit ice making spaces by partition walls, allowing segmented ice production and easier separation. The refrigerant pipe is also segmented into multiple contact points along the tray, distributing the cooling effect and reducing localized frost formation while maintaining overall cooling efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The refrigerant pipe makes contact with specific localized portions of the ice making tray rather than the entire surface, concentrating cooling effect where needed while reducing overall frost formation. The partition walls create localized compartments that manage frost and water differently in different areas of the tray.
2Productivity
If water is supplied to the ice making tray without overflow control, then ice production capacity is improved, but excess water accumulates and complicates ice separation
Solution Approach 1:
The drain duct is pre-configured at the lowest point of each unit ice making space to automatically discharge excess water before it can interfere with the ice separation process. The partition walls are designed with predetermined overflow levels to guide water to the drain duct, ensuring water management is built into the tray structure itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The drain duct extracts excess water from the ice making tray system, removing the harmful element (excess water) that would otherwise complicate ice separation. This allows the tray to handle larger water volumes for increased productivity without the negative effects of water accumulation.
3Ease of operation
If partition walls are added to divide the ice making tray into unit spaces, then ice separation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple functions are merged into the partition walls: they divide the tray into unit spaces for easier ice separation, provide structural support for the refrigerant pipe contacts, create overflow channels to guide excess water to drain ducts, and define the boundaries of each ice making compartment. This integration reduces the need for separate components.
Solution Approach 2:
The partition walls serve multiple purposes simultaneously: structural division, refrigerant pipe support, water guidance, and ice separation facilitation. The refrigerant pipe contacts serve both cooling and structural attachment functions. This multi-functionality reduces overall device complexity despite the added segmentation.
4Ease of operation
If the ice making tray is configured with drainage features, then water management is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drain ducts and overflow channels are designed as integral features of the tray structure, pre-configured during manufacturing to ensure proper water drainage. The partition walls are formed with built-in overflow edges that automatically guide water to the drain ducts, eliminating the need for post-manufacturing assembly of drainage components.
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
This design enhances ice separation efficiency by preventing ice from sticking and reducing frost formation, ensuring consistent ice production and easy water management within the ice making compartment.
Implementation Method 1
an ice making tray configured to make contact with a refrigerant pipe of the ice making compartment to directly receive the cooling energy from the refrigerant pipe
Implementation Method 2
an opening formed at the sidewall so that, in a case when water supplied to the ice making space has an amount exceeding a predetermined amount, the excess amount of water is discharged to an outside the ice making tray
Data Source
AI summary
A structure of an ice making tray of a refrigerator configured to discharge the excess water to generate ice having a suitable size and to crush the link of the ice generated at an ice making tray to prevent the ice from being stuck when the ice is separated from the ice making tray, the ice making tray including a bottom, a sidewall extended toward an upper side thereof from the bottom in order to form an ice making space, an opening formed at the sidewall to discharge the water supplied in excess, a partial wall unit to divide the ice making space, and a cutting rib formed at an upper side of the partition wall.