Ice maker and refrigerator
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ice makers fail to produce sphere-shaped ice due to deformation of lower cells under expansion force, resulting in imperfect shape and opacity caused by bubbles during the ice formation process.
Innovation Solution
An ice maker design featuring a lower tray with a convex portion that deforms during ice formation and separation, allowing for the production of transparent sphere-shaped ice by ensuring smooth heat transfer from a lower heater without interfering with the ice ejector, and using flexible materials for the trays to facilitate deformation and separation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the lower cell is not covered by the lower frame to allow flexibility, then the ice maker can be simpler in structure, but the lower cell is deformed by the expansion force of water resulting in imperfect spherical shape
Solution Approach 1:
The lower cell is constructed using a flexible material that can deform during ice making and then return to its original spherical shape. This flexibility allows the cell to accommodate water expansion without permanent deformation, while maintaining the spherical shape needed for producing sphere-shaped ice.
Solution Approach 2:
The lower cell transitions from a static rigid structure to a dynamic flexible structure that can adapt its shape during the ice making process. The cell deforms temporarily to accommodate expanding water, then returns to its original shape, enabling both structural simplicity and shape precision.
2Productivity
If ice is frozen in each of the upper and lower cells, then the ice maker can produce ice efficiently, but bubbles are present in the completed ice making it opaque
Solution Approach 1:
The design removes the lower cell from the ice making process, using only the upper cell for freezing. This extraction eliminates the source of bubbles that would be trapped between two freezing surfaces, while maintaining efficient ice production through the single-cell design combined with the flexible lower tray for separation.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible material used in the lower tray contains air pockets or porous structure that allows trapped air and bubbles to escape during the ice making and separation process, resulting in transparent ice without compromising production efficiency.
3Manufacturing precision
If a convex portion is added to the lower tray to prevent deformation, then the spherical shape precision is improved, but the heat transfer from the lower heater is interfered with
Solution Approach 1:
The design replaces the mechanical convex portion structure with a flexible material solution. The flexibility itself provides the needed shape maintenance without requiring additional mechanical structures that would interfere with heat transfer from the lower heater.
4Ease of operation
If the lower tray is made of flexible material to facilitate deformation and separation, then the ease of operation is improved, but the structural strength is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The lower tray uses a flexible material that provides sufficient strength for its specific function of deformation and separation, while maintaining the ability to flex during operation. The material strength is optimized for the required deformation range rather than maximum structural strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The tray structure transitions from static to dynamic, with the flexible material providing strength when needed for structural support and flexibility when needed for deformation during separation. The material's mechanical properties are utilized dynamically throughout the operation cycle.
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 design ensures the production of transparent, sphere-shaped ice with improved separation performance by allowing the convex portion to deform and reform, preventing bubble formation and maintaining the ice's spherical shape.
Implementation Method 1
ensuring smooth heat transfer from a lower heater
Implementation Method 2
water is expanded, such that an expansion force of the water acts on the lower tray
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
Provided is an ice maker for a home appliance, in particular for a refrigerator or freezer, including: an upper assembly (110) including an upper tray (150) having at least one upper chamber part (152); a lower assembly (200) including a lower support (270) and a lower tray (250) having at least one lower chamber part (252), wherein the lower assembly (200) is movable with respect to the upper assembly (110) between an open position and a closed position, wherein in the closed position, the lower chamber part (252) and the upper chamber part (152) form at least one ice chamber (111) in which ice is to be formed, and wherein the lower tray (250) has a convex portion (251b) protruding into the lower chamber part (252) and configured to be deformed towards an outside of the lower chamber part (252) for compensating a volume increase during ice formation