On-Demand Ice Machine With Sealed Dispensing for Fresh Ice
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pre-bagged ice is often stale and prone to odor contamination during storage and transport, and existing ice dispensing methods expose ice to unhealthy conditions, including human contact and potential bacterial contamination.
Innovation Solution
A compact ice machine with a rectangular housing that maintains a constant 34°F temperature, featuring an icemaker that produces ice on demand in 10 or 20-pound bags, and includes a money acceptor and ice water dispenser, ensuring fresh ice delivery while minimizing human contact and contamination risks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If pre-bagged ice is stored and transported, then ice can be made offsite and shipped to retail sites, but the ice becomes stale, develops odors, and agglomerates into unusable chunks
Solution Approach 1:
The ice machine produces ice in advance and stores it in a controlled environment within the machine, preparing the ice before the customer needs it. This eliminates the need for offsite production and long-term storage, as ice is made on-demand in the retail location itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealed storage chamber acts as an intermediary between ice production and customer dispensing, maintaining a controlled environment that prevents contamination and agglomeration. This intermediary space allows ice to be held without direct customer contact or exposure to ambient conditions.
2Ease of operation
If ice is dispensed from an open bin with a scoop, then customers can easily retrieve ice, but the ice is exposed to unhealthy conditions including human contact and bacterial contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the harmful element of direct customer contact with ice by implementing a sealed dispensing system. Customers interact with the machine through coin insertion and button pressing, but the ice itself remains enclosed until the moment of dispensing, eliminating contamination from hands and external buckets.
Solution Approach 2:
The machine performs the dispensing action automatically when activated by the customer's input (coin and button press). The sealed mechanism self-opens to deliver ice directly to the customer's container, removing the need for manual scooping and reducing human contact with the ice.
3Loss of time
If ice is made onsite in an ice machine, then transportation costs and time lag are eliminated, but the machine requires significant space and infrastructure
Solution Approach 1:
The ice machine is designed to perform multiple functions: ice production, sealed storage, controlled dispensing, and temperature maintenance within a single integrated unit. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate infrastructure components while enabling complete on-site ice production and distribution.
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 ice machine provides convenient access to fresh, on-site produced ice, reducing transportation costs and maintaining ice quality by controlling temperature and minimizing exposure to unhealthy conditions.
Implementation Method 1
The interior of the housing is maintained at a constant thirty-four degrees Fahrenheit when the ice machine is in operation. If the ice machine interior temperature rises above thirty-four degrees, a preprogrammed refrigeration cycle begins to reduce the temperature to thirty-four degrees.
Implementation Method 2
If the temperature drops below thirty-four degrees, a preprogrammed defrost cycle begins to elevate the temperature to thirty-four degrees.
Data Source
AI summary
An ice machine in which an icemaker sits atop the ice machine and makes ice that is processed by the ice machine to deliver on demand ice in bags to a paying customer. The customer places payment into the money acceptor and pushes a button indicating a demand to purchase an open bag of ice or a container of ice water provided by the ice water dispenser.