Icemaker Flow-Space Design for Dual Ice and Cold Water Production
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing icemakers are limited in their ability to produce both ice and cold water, and they often lack improved cooling efficiency.
Innovation Solution
An icemaker design featuring a device body with inflow and discharge penetration portions, a flow portion with a cooling system that uses refrigerant to cool water, a separating and transferring mechanism, and a supplying and storing system that includes a pump and separate storage spaces for ice and cold water, allowing for the production of ice and cold water while enhancing cooling efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If an auger type icemaker is used, then ice can be made and discharged, but cold water cannot be produced
Solution Approach 1:
The flow portion is designed to serve multiple functions: it can produce both ice and cold water by controlling the flow rate of water through the flow space. The same flow space and cooling portion structure is used for both ice making and cold water production, eliminating the need for separate structures and achieving multi-functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the water flow rate to control the cooling process. By varying the flow rate, the system can produce ice (lower flow rate allowing complete freezing) or cold water (higher flow rate allowing partial cooling), enabling flexible adaptation to different product requirements without structural changes.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a separate storage system is added for ice and cold water, then product separation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The storage portion is segmented into separate storage spaces: an ice storage space for storing produced ice and a water storage space for storing produced cold water. This segmentation allows independent storage and discharge of different products, improving product separation while maintaining a relatively simple integrated structure within the housing.
3Reliability
If the cooling portion surrounds the entire flow portion, then cooling efficiency is maximized, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling portion is designed to surround at least a portion of the flow portion, specifically the sections where ice or cold water is produced. This localized cooling approach provides sufficient cooling efficiency for the critical areas while simplifying manufacturing compared to surrounding the entire flow portion, balancing performance and ease of manufacture.
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 icemaker effectively produces both ice and cold water while improving cooling ability, enabling efficient ice and cold water production and storage.
Implementation Method 1
a cooling portion allowing a refrigerant to flow in at least a portion of a periphery of the flow portion such that water entering the flow space through the inflow opening and flowing in the flow space is cooled to be turned into ice or cold water
Data Source
AI summary
An icemaker according to present invention may comprise: a device body having an inflow penetration portion and a discharge penetration portion formed therein; a flow portion having an inflow opening and a discharge opening provided to penetrate the inflow penetration portion and the discharge penetration directly or indirectly, respectively, and having a flow space formed therein so as to connect with the inflow opening and the discharge opening; a cooling portion configured such that a refrigerant flows to at least a part of the periphery of the flow portion, thereby cooling water, which is introduced into the flow space through the inflow opening and flows therein, and turning the same into ice or cold water; and a separating/transferring portion for separating the ice, which has been generated in the flow space, from the flow space and transferring the same to the discharge opening.