Ice Tray Insert for Directional Freezing to Reduce Impurities
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current ice making technologies fail to produce high-quality, clear ice efficiently and consistently, often resulting in opaque ice, slow growth rates, and issues with freezer burn, while also being costly and space-intensive.
Innovation Solution
An ice machine with a thermal transfer surface coupled to a tray that minimizes thermal resistance, utilizing a directional solidification process with a mixing mechanism to create a velocity profile at the liquid/ice boundary, which washes away impurities and forms clear ice with reduced TDS and TDG concentrations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If simple molds are used to create large ice forms, then the ice production cost is reduced and ease of use is improved, but the ice quality becomes poor and freezer burn occurs
Solution Approach 1:
A removable insert is introduced as an intermediary component between the mold and the freezing environment. This insert creates a controlled interface that enables directional freezing from the bottom while maintaining the simplicity of using basic molds. The insert acts as a mediator that transforms the uncontrolled freezing process into a controlled directional solidification process, improving ice quality without requiring complex mold structures
Solution Approach 2:
The ice making system is segmented into separate components: a reusable mold and a removable insert. This segmentation allows the insert to be optimized for directional freezing functionality while the mold maintains its simple structure for ease of manufacture. The insert can be removed and replaced, separating the freezing control function from the containment function, thereby resolving the contradiction between simplicity and quality
2Manufacturing precision
If freezing time is extended to improve ice clarity, then impurity concentration is reduced, but productivity decreases and freezer space is occupied for longer periods
Solution Approach 1:
The freezing process parameters are changed by implementing directional solidification from the bottom upward. This parameter change transforms the freezing progression direction, allowing impurities to be systematically pushed to the top rather than becoming distributed throughout the ice. The removable insert facilitates this parameter change by providing a controlled bottom-freezing interface, achieving clarity without requiring extended freezing times
3Manufacturing precision
If complex molds with insulation and water reservoirs are used to improve ice quality, then transparency increases, but device complexity and ease of operation worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The complex insulation and water reservoir components are extracted from the mold structure itself and separated into distinct elements. The removable insert captures only the essential functionality needed for directional freezing, eliminating unnecessary complexity. This extraction allows the mold to remain simple while still achieving high transparency ice through the insert's controlled freezing interface
4Ease of operation
If top-freezing is allowed in simple molds, then ease of use is maintained, but freezer burn occurs and ice quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The removable insert provides preliminary protection against freezer burn by creating a controlled sealing interface at the top of the mold. This preliminary anti-action prevents direct exposure of the water surface to the freezer environment before freezing is complete, eliminating the harmful effect of freezer burn while maintaining the simplicity of top-loading operation
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 faster, more consistent ice growth, prevents freezer burn, and produces uniform, clear ice with lower impurity concentrations, while being cost-effective and compact, enhancing the ice harvesting experience.
Implementation Method 1
A heat exchanger in the ice machine removes energy from liquid, cooling the liquid from room temperature to freezing temperature, then overcomes the heat of fusion to form ice
Implementation Method 2
The mixing mechanism creates a velocity profile at the water/ice boundary layer. This velocity profile washes away impurities, enabling more pure crystal growth
Implementation Method 3
The insert comprises a surface apportioned to trap a small volume of liquid between the insert and the heat exchanger, thus hindering movement of the liquid underneath the inserts and providing a nucleation/seed site
Data Source
AI summary
An ice machine, tray, and tray insert are provided. A heat exchanger cools the liquid to freezing, then overcomes the heat of fusion to form ice. The tray includes an energy transfer surface in thermal contact with the heat exchanger to define a liquid/ice boundary layer. The tray further includes at least one freezing cavity. An egress area is defined in the tray above the freezing cavity. An insert traps a small volume of liquid, thus hindering movement of the liquid underneath the inserts and providing a nucleation/seed site. A mixing mechanism displaces the liquid thereby causing the liquid to flow to create a velocity profile at the liquid/ice boundary layer to create a directional freezing process starting from the energy transfer surface of the tray in thermal contact with the heat exchanger and growing through the freezing cavity up to the egress area.