Spherical Ice-Maker Shield Design for Uniform Cold-Air Distribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ice-makers produce spherical ice with non-uniform formation speeds and shapes due to uneven cold-air distribution, leading to deformed ice and inefficiencies in ice production.
Innovation Solution
An ice-maker design with a cold-air guide that directs cold air across multiple ice chambers uniformly, using shields to regulate cold-air flow and prevent excessive ice formation in specific chambers, ensuring consistent ice formation and shape.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If cold air is supplied from one side to multiple ice chambers, then ice-making speed is increased, but ice formation becomes non-uniform and shape is deformed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces shields in specific ice chambers (first and third chambers) to create localized thermal insulation. This selective modification of thermal properties allows different chambers to have different heat transfer characteristics, compensating for the non-uniform cold air flow from the single-side supply and achieving uniform ice formation across all chambers.
2Speed
If cold air flow is maximized in end chambers, then ice generation speed increases, but water expansion deforms ice shape
Solution Approach 1:
The shields are installed in advance in the first and third ice chambers to prevent excessive ice formation before it occurs. By providing thermal insulation beforehand in these specific chambers, the system counteracts the tendency for accelerated ice formation caused by maximum cold air flow at the ends, preventing water expansion and shape deformation.
3Productivity
If ice formation starts from end chamber, then ice-making process is efficient, but last chamber receives excessive water resulting in poor shape
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies selective thermal insulation to specific chambers (first and third) where ice formation starts earliest. This localized quality modification ensures that chambers experiencing earlier and faster ice formation receive additional thermal protection, balancing the ice-making timeline across all chambers and ensuring consistent water distribution and shape quality.
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 solution ensures uniform ice formation speeds across all chambers, maintaining spherical shape and preventing ice deformation, thus improving ice quality and production efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a cold-air guide that guides flow of the cold air
Implementation Method 2
a shield that shields a top face of the first ice chamber
Implementation Method 3
when water in the cells at the both ends is phase-changed into ice
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
Provided is a refrigerator including a cabinet having a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment defined therein, and an ice-maker disposed in the freezing compartment, wherein the ice-maker includes a cold-air hole for receiving cold air, an upper tray having a plurality of hemispherical upper chambers defined therein, a lower tray pivotably disposed below the upper tray, wherein the lower tray has a plurality of lower chambers defined therein respectively connected to the upper chambers by pivoting, wherein each of the lower chambers and each of the upper chambers connected with each other define an ice chamber for forming spherical ice therein, a driver for pivoting the lower tray, and at least one shield formed on an outer face of the upper tray and corresponding to at least one of the ice chambers respectively, thereby to reduce the cold-air from invading the at least one corresponding ice chamber.