Mould Box Cooling Flow for Complex Edible Ice Release
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for producing edible ice items with complex shapes, such as bulges and undercuts, face challenges with brine as a freezing medium due to potential leaks and require costly or complex cryogenic techniques, and existing solutions result in significant force needed to remove items from moulds, damaging their surface quality.
Innovation Solution
A method and system utilizing controlled flow of cooling or heating medium, preferably cooled brine, within mould boxes equipped with control units and snap-couplings to reduce pressure loss and ensure uniform temperature, allowing for efficient freezing and controlled release of edible ice items without surface damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If brine is used as freezing medium in moulds, then freezing efficiency is improved, but leakage risk increases and reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a heating bath as an intermediary medium between the moulds and the final product release. The moulds are conveyed through a heating bath that provides controlled thawing, mediating the transition from frozen to release-ready state without requiring direct contact with heating elements or manual intervention. This intermediary system ensures reliable and uniform heating while preventing damage to the ice items.
2Adaptability or versatility
If moulds are opened to free ice items, then complex shapes can be produced, but considerable force is required which damages surface quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-heating the moulds in a heating bath before attempting to release the ice items. This preliminary thermal treatment creates a thin liquid layer between the ice and mould surfaces, significantly reducing the adhesion forces. As a result, when the moulds are subsequently opened, the ice items can be freed with minimal force, preserving their surface quality while still enabling the production of complex shapes.
3Ease of operation
If conventional freezing and thawing processes are used, then ice items can be produced, but considerable time is required for thawing to enable detachment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs hydraulic principles by using a liquid heating bath for rapid and uniform heat transfer to the moulds. The liquid medium provides superior thermal conductivity compared to air heating, enabling rapid thawing of the mould surfaces. This hydraulic heating system efficiently transfers thermal energy to detach the ice items from the moulds in minimal time, significantly reducing the production cycle while maintaining ease of 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 controlled flow of cooling medium effectively freezes and releases edible ice items with complex shapes without surface damage, reducing operational costs and improving the surface quality of the final products.
Implementation Method 1
a series of moulds to be conveyed extending downwards in a freezing bath, typically salt-brine
Implementation Method 2
conveyed further along a shorter section in a heating bath to achieve the thawing for freeing the ice item
Data Source
AI summary
A method, a system, and a mould box for creating form-moulded items of edible ice from an ice mass. The method includes filling at least one mould created between a number of mould boxes with ice mass, and the introduction of cooling or heating medium into the mould boxes, where the flow of the cooling or heating medium is controlled by one or more control units in the mould boxes.