Spherical Ice Maker with Elastic Tray Design to Prevent Water Overflow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ice makers produce ice with non-spherical shapes, leading to inefficient use and increased contact area between ice cubes, and are prone to water overflow and interference between components, which affects cold-air flow and ice removal efficiency.
Innovation Solution
An ice maker with an upper tray made of elastic material featuring hemispherical chambers and a lower tray with pivoting mechanism, along with a driver for smooth operation, ensures spherical ice formation and prevents water overflow by using a design that minimizes interference and optimizes cold-air flow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a guide sleeve is formed extending upward from each cell to guide the ejecting pin, then the ejecting pin can be guided, but the height of the guide sleeve becomes excessively large, inhibiting cold-air flow
Solution Approach 1:
The guiding function is extracted from the guide sleeve and transferred to the ejecting pin itself through groove structures formed directly on the pin surface. This eliminates the need for a separate guide sleeve, thereby removing the obstacle to cold-air flow while maintaining the guiding function.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide sleeve is replaced with thin groove structures formed on the ejecting pin surface. These grooves act as flexible guiding features that provide necessary alignment without the bulk of a separate sleeve structure, allowing cold-air to flow freely around the ejecting pin.
2Reliability
If the diameter of the guide sleeve is excessively large, then the ejecting pin can be guided, but the planar shape of the ice becomes excessively large and does not appear as spherical ice
Solution Approach 1:
The guiding function is extracted from a separate guide sleeve structure and integrated directly into the ejecting pin through surface grooves. This eliminates the need for a large-diameter guide sleeve, allowing the ice to assume its proper spherical shape within the cell.
Solution Approach 2:
The ice is designed to form as spherical shapes within the cells, and the ejecting pin with integrated grooves maintains this spherical geometry without interference from oversized guide structures. The curved groove paths guide the pin while preserving the spherical ice form.
3Productivity
If the ejecting pin moves to eject ice, then ice removal is achieved, but the ejecting pin may be caught to the upper tray and guide sleeve, causing breakage
Solution Approach 1:
The ejecting pin is designed with self-contained guiding grooves that eliminate dependence on external guide sleeves. This extraction of the guiding function from separate components prevents catching and interference between the pin and guide sleeve during ejection motion, reducing breakage risk.
Solution Approach 2:
The groove structures on the ejecting pin are designed to provide smooth guidance paths that prevent sudden catches or impacts during ejection. The grooves act as pre-formed guides that cushion the motion and prevent the pin from binding against the upper tray or guide structures.
4Productivity
If water is supplied into the cell, then ice making is enabled, but water may overflow when the amount of water supplied changes
Solution Approach 1:
The opening-defining wall is positioned at a specific vertical level to create a localized water containment structure. This local geometric feature acts as an overflow prevention mechanism, ensuring water remains within acceptable levels regardless of supply variations, while still allowing ice making to proceed.
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 results in uniformly sized, spherical ice cubes with reduced contact area, improved cold-air flow, and enhanced ice removal efficiency, while preventing water overflow and component damage.
Implementation Method 1
an upper tray made of an elastic material, wherein a plurality of hemispherical upper chambers are defined in the upper tray
Implementation Method 2
The refrigerator uses cold-air to cool inside of a storage space, so that the stored food may be stored in a refrigerated or frozen state
Data Source
AI summary
An ice maker includes an upper tray and a lower tray made of an elastic material. Upper chambers in the upper tray and lower chambers in the lower tray contact each other to define spherical ice chambers, respectively. An ejector-receiving opening is opened to each of the upper chambers. An opening-defining wall extends upward along a circumference of each ejector-receiving opening. An upper ejector passes through the ejector-defining wall and vertically moves to remove ice from the ice chamber, and a driver pivots the lower tray to open and close the upper tray and the lower tray. The upper tray includes a horizontal extension forming a top face of the upper tray, and the upper chamber is positioned below the horizontal extension such that the opening-defining wall is formed at a vertical level equal to or lower than a vertical level of the opening-defining wall.