Spherical Ice Maker with Elastic Trays to Prevent Burr Formation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ice makers face issues with forming spherical ice due to gaps between upper and lower trays, leading to irregular shapes and ice removal defects, as well as the formation of burrs around the ice.
Innovation Solution
The ice maker incorporates an upper tray and a lower tray made of elastic materials with ribs that contact each other to maintain sealing, ensuring uniform ice formation and preventing burrs, using a driver to pivot the trays and a heater to control ice making speed and transparency, with a burr removing heater for efficient ice removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If water is phase-changed into ice and expands, then ice volume increases, but a gap between the upper tray and the lower tray is generated
Solution Approach 1:
The upper tray and lower tray are made of elastic materials that can flexibly expand and contract. When water freezes and expands, the elastic trays deform to accommodate the volume increase while maintaining continuous contact, preventing gaps that would cause irregular ice shapes. This flexible structure allows the trays to adapt to the expanding ice without losing sealing contact.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic modulus and dimensional parameters of the trays are specifically designed to allow controlled deformation during the freezing process. The trays can change their shape and size parameters to match the expanding ice volume while maintaining the sealed configuration, thus preserving spherical ice formation precision despite the phase change expansion.
2Ease of operation
If the upper tray and the lower tray are separated during ice making, then ice removal becomes easier, but ice cubes in neighboring cells are connected and spherical shape is not formed
Solution Approach 1:
The ice maker employs dynamic control of the trays throughout the process. During ice making, the elastic trays maintain continuous contact to form spherical ice. During ice removal, the trays are dynamically separated through pivoting motion. This dynamic approach allows the system to achieve both spherical shape precision and ease of ice removal at different stages.
Solution Approach 2:
The ice making and removal process follows a periodic cycle. The trays alternately contact during ice formation and separate during ice removal. This periodic action ensures that spherical ice is formed when needed while allowing easy removal when the cycle calls for it, resolving the contradiction between maintaining contact for shape precision and separating for removal ease.
3Manufacturing precision
If ribs are added to maintain sealing between trays, then spherical ice formation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of adding complex rigid sealing structures like ribs, the patent uses the inherent flexibility of elastic material trays to maintain sealing. The elastic trays naturally conform to each other and maintain contact through their material properties, achieving spherical ice formation without increasing structural complexity through additional components.
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
This design ensures spherical ice is formed consistently, minimizes burr formation, and improves ice making efficiency by maintaining tray contact, ensuring uniform cold air flow and transparent ice, while also facilitating smooth ice removal with reduced power consumption.
Implementation Method 1
an upper tray made of an elastic material, and having a plurality of upper chambers defined therein, a lower tray made of an elastic material, wherein the lower tray comes into contact with the upper tray by pivoting to define a plurality of spherical ice chambers therebetween
Implementation Method 2
when water is phase-changed into ice and expands, a gap between the upper tray and the lower tray may be generated
Implementation Method 3
using a driver to pivot the trays and a heater to control ice making speed and transparency
Implementation Method 4
with a burr removing heater for efficient ice removal
Data Source
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 an upper tray made of an elastic material, and having a plurality of hemispherical upper chambers defined therein, a lower tray made of an elastic material, wherein the lower tray comes into contact with the upper tray by pivoting to define a plurality of spherical ice chambers therebetween, a driver for pivoting the lower tray to open and close the upper tray and the lower tray, and each rib formed along a circumference of each upper chamber or each lower chamber in contact with each other.