Machine for producing ice
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ice-making machines face high energy costs due to uneven heat distribution during the transition from freezing to defrosting, causing ice blocks to melt and fall at different rates, leading to inefficient energy use and higher operational costs.
Innovation Solution
The machine incorporates a mould with metallic separating sheets and connection channels that form ice bridges between blocks, allowing for simultaneous melting and removal of ice blocks through a thermal and mechanical connection, reducing the need for full coil heating.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a coil heat exchanger is used for freezing and defrosting ice blocks, then the ice blocks can be formed and removed, but the uneven heat distribution causes ice blocks to melt at different rates requiring high energy consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the mould into multiple independent cavities, each with its own cooling channel. This segmentation allows each ice block to be frozen and defrosted independently and simultaneously, eliminating the sequential processing bottleneck and reducing total energy consumption while maintaining uniform heat distribution across all cavities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements localized cooling channels within each mould cavity that are positioned to provide uniform heat distribution across the entire surface of each ice block. This local quality adjustment ensures that all ice blocks experience identical thermal conditions, enabling simultaneous melting and removal while reducing the total energy required compared to a single large coil system.
2Manufacturing precision
If the coil emits heat along the whole extension to melt all ice blocks, then all ice blocks can fall together, but the energy demand becomes very high
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the mould into multiple cavities with individual cooling channels, the system achieves uniform heat distribution across all cavities simultaneously. This segmentation allows all ice blocks to be melted and removed at the same time with lower total energy input, as each cavity receives optimized local heat treatment rather than relying on heat propagation from a single coil source.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling channels are pre-positioned within the mould structure during manufacturing, ensuring that heat is distributed uniformly from the start of the defrosting process. This preliminary arrangement of thermal pathways eliminates the need for high energy inputs to overcome uneven heat distribution, allowing all ice blocks to be ready for removal simultaneously from the beginning of the heating phase.
3Use of energy by moving object
If ice blocks are produced in irregularly shaped flakes using scraping elements, then energy consumption is reduced, but the ice blocks cannot have substantially the same shape and size
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses multiple mould cavities with precise geometric definitions for each ice block shape. This segmentation approach allows uniform ice blocks to be formed simultaneously in each cavity, maintaining manufacturing precision while reducing energy consumption compared to single-cavity systems that require prolonged heating for uniform defrosting.
Solution Approach 2:
Each mould cavity is designed with specific local geometric features that define the desired ice block shape and size. The cooling channels are locally positioned to ensure uniform heat distribution across each cavity, preserving the precise shape and size of ice blocks while enabling simultaneous production and lower energy consumption.
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 enables the production of uniformly sized ice blocks with lower energy consumption by ensuring all blocks fall together, reducing energy demands and operational costs.
Implementation Method 1
the mould has a plurality of cooling channels formed in the walls defining the shapers and configured to cool the water in the shapers
Implementation Method 2
Heating of the mould then melts the ice blocks so that they are free to exit the shapers
Data Source
Figure 1~2
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AI summary
A machine for producing ice, usable in commercial stores such as bars and ice-cream parlours, comprising a frame (11) with which are associated a mould (20) having a plurality of shapers (15) for forming blocks of ice and a spraying device (13) for spraying water towards the mould (20), the mould (20) being associated with a cooling/heating device configured for cooling the water in the shapers (15) until the ice is formed and then heating the ice formed so that it can be free to come out from the shapers (15), the mould (20) being configured so that the ice can come out from the shapers (15) falling by gravity, the machine (10) being characterised in that each of the shapers (15) is connected to one shaper (15) adjacent thereto through one connection channel (17) open on the same side where the openings of the shapers (15) face.