Container for freezing liquids
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ice-making containers lack the ability to simultaneously store and freeze ice while ensuring sanitary transfer of ice and liquids, leading to contamination risks and inefficient ice production.
Innovation Solution
A container with a chamber defining multiple regions, equipped with a reclosable divider fastener and port fasteners, allowing liquids to freeze in one region while storing ice in another, and enabling sanitary transfer of ice and liquids by manual manipulation of exterior portions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a single-chamber container is used for ice making, then the structure is simple, but the ability to simultaneously store and freeze ice is lost, and contamination risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The container chamber is divided into multiple regions (freezing region and storing region) using a divider fastener, allowing simultaneous ice making and storage while maintaining separate sanitary zones. This segmentation enables the container to perform multiple functions without requiring entirely separate containers.
Solution Approach 2:
The divider fastener and port fasteners are designed to be reclosable and manually adjustable, allowing dynamic reconfiguration of the chamber regions based on operational needs. Users can open/close dividers and ports to transition between freezing and storing modes or to transfer ice between regions.
2Reliability
If ice and liquids are transferred manually in traditional containers, then the operation is simple, but contamination risk increases due to lack of sanitary barriers
Solution Approach 1:
The reclosable port fastener acts as an intermediary mechanism that allows controlled transfer of ice and liquids between regions. By providing a sealable opening, it enables sanitary transfer without requiring direct manual contact between users and the ice/liquid, thus reducing contamination risk while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The container utilizes flexible sealing components in the fasteners that create temporary barriers during transfer operations. These flexible sealing elements allow for easy opening and closing while maintaining sanitary separation when closed, enabling reliable yet simple ice transfer.
3Reliability
If multiple regions are created with dividers and fasteners, then sanitary transfer and simultaneous storage/freezing are enabled, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The reclosable fasteners (both divider and port fasteners) serve multiple functions: they act as seals to prevent contamination, dividers to separate regions, and transfer mechanisms for ice and liquids. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components for each function, thereby limiting the increase in overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The divider fastener combines the functions of region separation and sanitary barrier in one component. Similarly, the port fastener integrates sealing and transfer control functions. By merging functions into single components rather than using separate parts, the design achieves contamination prevention without proportionally increasing complexity.
4Productivity
If traditional ice making is used, then the process is simple, but iterative ice production while maintaining storage is not possible
Solution Approach 1:
The container enables continuous ice production by allowing users to freeze new batches in the freezing region while simultaneously storing previously made ice in the storing region. The reclosable fasteners maintain sanitary separation throughout this continuous process, enabling iterative production without interrupting storage or requiring time-consuming manual cleaning and reconfiguration.
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 container improves ice-making by allowing different sizes of ice to form simultaneously, reduces contamination risk through sanitary ice transfer, and enhances efficiency by iteratively producing ice while maintaining ice storage.
Implementation Method 1
The container has a barrier in the first region. The barrier is coupled to the chamber and defines cavities that can separate liquid between the cavities.
Implementation Method 2
The reclosable divider fastener can be closed to divide or isolate the first region from the second region.
Implementation Method 3
The reclosable port fastener is openable to define a port to receive the liquid from outside of said chamber.
Implementation Method 4
A container for freezing liquids and storing ice improves ice-making by having the capability to simultaneously store and freeze ice
Implementation Method 5
Freezing liquids (e.g., water) to ice is useful for applications at home and in various industries
Data Source
AI summary
A container for freezing liquids and storing ice has a chamber defining multiple regions to improve ice-making by forming and storing ice simultaneously and facilitating the transfer of ice between a freezing region and a storing region of the container without introducing new contaminants. The regions are separable by a reclosable divider fastener that, when closed, isolates liquid in the freezing region from ice in the storing region. Ice frozen in the freezing region can be sanitarily transferred to the storing region, such as by opening the reclosable divider fastener by grasping and manipulating only the exterior portions of the container. Optionally, the container may be designed to allow forming multiple batches of ice in the freezing region and moving them into the storing region until ready for use.