Patent Application
20220341642
The present invention generally relates to an icemaker for making ice cubes with a transparent center. More specifically, the present invention generally relates to an ice maker and methods which are capable of making transparent ice cubes through the proper combination of amplitude intensity and water movement frequency.
During the ice making process when water is frozen to form ice cubes, excessive trapped air, minerals or debris or a combination thereof, in the exact position in an ice mold where the water turns to ice tends to make the resulting ice cubes cloudy in appearance as numerous bubbles, minerals or debris clump together and crystallize in the center of the ice pieces. The trapped substances results in an ice cube which, when used in drinks, can provide an undesirable appearance which distracts from the enjoyment of a beverage. There have been several attempts to manufacture clear ice cubes. While some disclosures state they make short clear ice cubes of less than two ounces in weight each, the present invention discloses how to make large transparent ice cubes that are over one inch tall to over two full inches tall and over two ounces in weight.
A Clinebell CB 300 system produces about two 300-pound solid ten inch thick blocks of clear ice about every three or four days and discloses using thirty six kilowatts of energy per day. The low temperature system is primarily used to make large clear ice sculptures for banquets. A bin having a liner is filled with water. A water pump is placed in the water and is adjusted upwards as the water freezes. Clinebell non-electrically warms a segment of a refrigeration pipe extending from the compressor with a warm liquid and further uses a pressure switch.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,950,197 to Bortoletto, et al. Feb. 10, 2015, discloses a “swing tray that oscillates the ice forming tray about a longitudinal axis at a frequency of about “0.4-0.6 hertz” or less than thirty eight movements per minute.
US Patent application 20210381746 to Boarman et al, for a Clear Ice Maker With Warm Air Flow, filed Aug. 23, 2021, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/079,660 entitled “Clear Ice Maker With Warm Air Flow,” filed Oct. 26, 2020, discloses making substantially clear ice using ambient air to warm the top surface of the water and in an ice mold in a refrigerator and operates by forming, “an arc of from about 20.degree. to about 40.degree . . . . The microprocessor 204 is programmed to control the . . . oscillating motor 112 . . . such that the arc of rotation of the ice tray 70 and the frequency of rotation is controlled to assure that water is transferred from one individual compartment 96 to an adjacent compartment 96 throughout the freezing process at a speed which is harmonically related to the motion of the water in the freezer compartments 96 . . . a thermoelectric device 102 is physically affixed and thermally connected to bottom surface 80 of the ice forming plate 76 . . . ”
The microprocessor controls the disclosed narrow frequency band that appears to so be about thirty movements per minute “0.4 to 0.5 cycles per second” or less than thirty eight movements per minute.
US Patent application number 20160370066 to Yang, filed Aug. 31, 2015, discloses a vibrator attached to an ice tray that works to “vibrate the ice tray to remove bubbles contained in the water before the water is completely phase-transformed.” The ice trays are made out of copper, copper alloy, stainless steel or brass.
US patent application 20130276468 to Buehrle; Sascha et al, Oct. 14, 2013, discloses an ice maker in a refrigerator. Buehrle discloses “Ultrasonic waves” to make clear ice. Two oscillators are shown attached to the ice tray and a microprocessor “controls the oscillator to control the frequency of the ultrasonic waves”.
US patent application 20040025527 to Takahashi et al. filed May 29, 2003, discloses a clear ice making apparatus that makes clear ice at a very slow rate by metering small amounts of water at a time into an ice tray while vibrating the ice tray to make very small ice cubes, 10 ml. in about two hours.
US Patent application 20210278117 to Froelicher; Stephen Bernard; et al, filed Mar. 4, 2020, discloses an ice machine where the target revolutions per minute is “between about 600 and 2000 revolution per minute” to “create clear billets of ice”. A “controller . . . is operably coupled to the drive mechanism and is configured for accelerating the central hub until the rotation speed reaches a target speed and periodically reducing the rotation speed of the central hub to a reduced speed before accelerating back to the target speed . . . . A user interface panel 120 may be provided for controlling the mode of operation. For example, user interface panel 120 may include a plurality of user inputs 122, such as a touchscreen or button interface, for selecting a desired mode of operation. According to an exemplary embodiment, a display 124 indicates selected features, a countdown timer, and/or other items of interest to appliance users. User interface panel 120, input selectors 122, and display 124 collectively form a user interface input or control panel for operator selection of appliance cycles and features, as well as to receive useful information regarding appliance operation”.
The disclosed controller does not appear to allow a user to adjust the preprogramed revolution per minute for different weights nor provides an amplitude calibrated to a weight so a droplet of water jumps above a top surface of the water. Further, as with most clear ice disclosures Froelicher does not claim the clear ice billets are void of visual crystallization as embodiments of the present do claim.
US patent application 20220003478 to Jensen; Kim, filed May 21, 2021, references DK application No. PA201800900 filed Nov. 22, 2018, discloses an ice tray having a lid that seals the ice tray. The lid requires a “mechanism (6, 8, 10)” to remove the lid from the ice tray and put the lid on the ice try. Kim appears to rely on the lid moving to compensate for ice expansion in the ice tray and not air gaps between the mold and the lid. “When the ice expands, the entire lid will move away from the tray in a uniform manner as the sealing interface deforms instead of the lid or the tray . . . . The tray is typically stiff and the connection channel is typically thicker than the material of the lid.”
Stern Clear Ice Maker, Circa 2019, makes clear ice cubes measuring up to one inch tall. Viewing through the window of the device the ice tray is vertically positioned.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,672,097 to Ashley for, Flavored ice cartridge dispenser for ice maker, filed Feb. 28, 2003, discloses, automatically adding a flavor to an inlet port of an ice maker in a refrigerator. Ashely does not disclose a motivation to make flavored transparent ice cubes over one inch tall.
Without a properly configured refrigeration system and without properly configured ice molds and not knowing what constitutes the proper water movement frequency/amplitude combination and then applying the proper combination to the water in each ice mold, making tall ice cubes at least one inch tall void of visual crystallization in their centers is by chance.
A first aspect of the present invention is to disclose the proper frequency and amplitude combination. A proper amplitude intensity is achieved when a water droplet jumps above the water surface and most preferably jumps at least one half no of an inch above the water's surface when a lid is not covering the ice tray. If a water droplet jumps too high (amplitude too violent) and the surface of the water in the molds starts freezing before some water under the surface of the water freezes the amplitude is adjusted downward.
A proper frequency is achieved when the frequency is adjusted for the total mass moved until the targeted amplitude is achieved in each of the molds. The frequency will increase or decrease depending upon the weight of mass moved. Too much frequency and not enough amplitude may trap large numbers of large gas bubbles, minerals or debris that crystallize. Therefore, the present invention teaches how to calibrate a proper frequency/amplitude combination for different weights moved.
If the frequency is too high air bubbles may sink in water crystallizing causing cloudy ice cubes. See prior art citation Sinking Bubble in Vibrating Tanks by Christian Gentry, James Greenberg, Xi Ran Wang and Nick Kearns, University of Arizona, circa unknown. Therefore bubbles may sink to the bottom of the ice cube mold if the frequency is too high.
Ultrasonic vibrators have ultra-high frequencies of at least twenty thousand vibrations per minute. It is possible to have very high frequencies of twenty thousand or more vibrations per minute and low amplitude so a droplet of water never jumps above the surface of the water. High frequencies without enough amplitude creates short vibration rings in water.
Amplitude is the intensity of the water movement while frequency is the rate of the movement. As an example and not limitation, to increase amplitude in one embodiment of the present invention, weights in an eccentric vibrator are adjusted or added or subtracted to increase or decrease amplitude.
In one embodiment of the present invention having an electric motor and cams the electric motor is adjusted to increase or decrease the torque considering the cam distance to provide about one foot pound of force for each pound moved.
In one embodiment of the present invention having a magnetic force the magnetic force strength is adjusted through using more powerful magnets or shielding magnets to vary the power until the desired amplitude is achieved.
In one embodiment of the present invention using injected air into an ice mold to provide water movement the air volume is adjusted until the desired amplitude is achieved.
One embodiment of the present invention uses an agitation means inserts into an ice mold to agitate water therein and in one embodiment of the present invention the agitation means contracts upwards as the water freezes.
The present invention contemplates all ways to calibrate a water movement system to provide the targeted amplitude and frequency to multiple molds and all ways fall into the scope of the present invention.
Another aspect of one embodiment of the present invention calibrates a refrigeration system together with an ice cube mold to make transparent ice cubes measuring over one inch tall to over two inches tall and each weighing over two ounces or more where the ice cubes have a transparent center.
Making transparent ice cubes over one inch tall is significant because it takes the proper configuration of an ice mold and refrigeration system combination to make transparent ice cubes of this height from one directional freezing from a bottom position of the mold to a top position of the mold through a bottom wall of the mold from a freezing surface under the mold. A great deal of energy is needed to draw heat from the water on top of the ice in the mold that has yet to freeze using one directional freezing from bottom to top through a wall of the ice mold.
As an example and not limitation, one embodiment of the present invention accomplishes this goal by having the diameter of the refrigeration piping (one half of an inch) configured to the total equivalent length of the refrigeration piping (sixty feet) to provide proper pressure in the refrigeration piping system coupled with a condenser/compressor unit rated at twenty four hundred BTUs at minus ten degrees F. using an ambient temperature of ninety degrees Fahrenheit and for this piping pressure to use a refrigerant having a boiling point of minus forty four degrees Fahrenheit (F).
Home refrigerators are generally configured to use a refrigerant having a boiling point temperature of only about minus fifteen point four degrees F. R-134a is currently the prime example. Most home refrigerators utilize piping having a three eights of an inch in diameter and generally do not have piping having a diameter of one half of an inch or larger.
Therefore, disclosures that proport to produce clear ice cubes using one directional freezing from a bottom position of a mold to a top position of a mold in conjunction with a home refrigerator/freezer combination generally do not disclose or infer the height of the cubes produced. As mentioned above, when they do state a size they generally are small. See US patent application 20040025527 to Takahashi et al. Feb. 12, 2004, discloses a clear ice making apparatus that makes very small ice cubes, “10 ml . . . in about two hours”.
Another aspect of one embodiment of the present invention is configuring the system to purposely move the refrigeration piping. It is known by one of ordinary skill in the art that purposely oscillating, vibrating or in general moving the refrigeration piping is not recommended as it may decrease the life of the refrigeration components including possible leakage of the refrigeration pipe at the pipe joints. Therefore, another aspect of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide means functioning to help mitigate leakage of the piping due to repeated movement of the piping.
There are numerous ways to join piping including but not limited to, using soft solder, tin solder, zinc solder zinc-cadmium and lead solders, threaded piping with pipe tape, chemical bonding.
To help reduce the chance of leakage from movement of the pipe, one embodiment of the present invention utilizes brazing and a nitrogen purge of the pipe to join the piping and reduce the chance of leakage. One embodiment of the present invention uses a vibration isolator to reduce joint stress and reduce the chance of the piping leaking. One embodiment of the present invention utilizes solder and flux where the solder has a silver content of three percent to over thirty five percent or more to reduce the chance of pipe leakage. One embodiment of the present invention utilizes compression fittings for copper or aluminum piping that is rated at over two hundred pounds pressure, psig.
The present invention contemplates all ways to reduce the chance of pipe leakage due to repeated moving of the pipe and all ways fall into the scope of the present invention.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a freezing surface that helps distribute the proper amplitude to water in each ice mold. Essentially, metal is elastic and transmits vibrations easily while plastic is viscoelastic and does not transmit vibrations nearly as well. Metals and plastic react differently because of their molecular structure. As an example and not limitation the best metals for distrusting a frequency and amplitude is from a metal having a well-organized crystalline lattice structure such as but not limited to aluminum. The present invention contemplates all metals having a well-organized crystalline lattice structure and all metals having a well-organized crystalline lattice structure fall into the scope of the present invention. The method for obtaining the frequencies and orthogonality relation for combined dynamical systems in which the Green Functions of the vibrating subsystems are used is applied to a thick plate carrying concentrated masses. The effects of transverse shear and rotary inertia of each mass is accounted for. It is demonstrated that as the plate thickness goes to zero the results of thin plate analysis are obtained. The Green Functions for both thin and thick vibrating plates are derived by modal analysis in the form of infinite series. Physically, the Green's Functions of the steady-state vibration equations are the deflection of its steady-state response due to a unit concentrated harmonic stimulus acting at an arbitrary position.
With respect to one embodiment of the present invention when using Greens Functions the optimal metal thickness range to help distribute the amplitude to each ice mold is between one sixtieth of an inch and three eights of an inch thick. Further the footprint size of the freezing surface under the ice mold extends to the size or larger than the size of the footprint of the ice mold. As an example and not limitation when the ice mold is ten inches by ten inches the freezing surface will be at least ten inches by ten inches.
The present invention contemplates all ways to distribute the proper amplitude and frequency to water in multiple ice molds and all corrosive resistant material and all ways and material fall into the scope of the present invention.
Another aspect of the present invention is providing a proper ice mold to make transparent ice cubes over an inch tall. Plastic ice trays generally are not known to freeze water through their bottom walls as they usually are at least 0.125 inches thick. One component of making over inch tall or taller transparent ice cubes is utilizing a plastic ice cube mold wherein the ice mold has a bottom wall thickness of less than 0.070 inches and more preferably less than 0.040 inches and ideally less than 0.020 inches thick coupled with a proper refrigeration system configuration.
If the plastic bottom walls are too thick that may freeze an ice cube a certain amount of the way up in an ice mold but will not freeze large cubes measuring over one inch tall because the water not frozen above the frozen water in the ice mold needs a great deal of energy to freeze. Thick plastic bottoms will not allow the freezing of one inch tall cubes. One embodiment of the present invention utilizes a bottom wall made from a corrosive resistant metal material where the material has a corrosive penetration rate of less than five mils per year. In this embodiment the sidewalls of the mold are configured to not permit freezing of the water through the sidewalls.
In one embodiment of the present invention the thickness of the sidewalls of the ice molds vary from the bottom of the ice mold to the top of the ice mold and all thicknesses fall into the scope of the present invention.
Another aspect of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide an ice mold lid that compensates for the opposing BTUs freezing the water. In one embodiment of the present invention a lid covering the ice molds is calibrated to the BTU output of the refrigeration system piping under the molds to allow warm room temperature air above the lid to go through the lid to counter the BTUs in a refrigeration pipe under the mold to prevent the top surface of the water from freezing before the water under the surface yet allows all of the water to eventually freeze in the molds.
One embodiment of the present invention accomplish this goal is by using a refrigeration system rated to deliver twenty four hundred BTUs and rated at over two hundred cubic feet of movement with a room air temperature of seventy degrees Fahrenheit subjected to the top of the lid and the lid having a thickness of less than 0.016 inches.
Another embodiment of the present invention accomplishes this goal by providing an opening in the lid to allow warm air to go through the opening and warm the top surface of the water. The opening is sized to help reduce the chance of water from splashing outside the mold. In one embodiment of the present invention the opening is sized to allow a handle to go through the opening into water so when the water freezes the handle is frozen in the water.
One embodiment of the present invention keeps the top surface of the water from freezing before the water under the top surface by providing a thermostatically controlled temperature that keeps the top surface of the water from freezing before the water under the top surface freezes through a thermostat control in a room or on the system.
The present invention contemplates all ways to calibrate a lid to BTU output to allow enough heat to go through the lid to compensate for the opposing BTUs freezing the bottom of the water in a mold to prevent the top surface of the water from freezing before the water under the top surface and all ways fall into the scope of the present invention.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide different air gaps between the water's surface in a mold and the mold lid. These air gaps are sized to allow a water droplet to keep jumping above the surface of the water as the water freezes or compensate for the expanding ice in the mold. One embodiment of the present invention uses air gaps that are sized to allow enough retention of warm air to be trapped between the water and the lid where the volume and temperature of the air prevents the top surface of the water from freezing before the water under the surface freezes as the water freezes from one directional freezing. One of ordinary skill in the art would know how to configure these air gaps from this written disclosure.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide one directional freezing of the water. As an example and not limitation, in one embodiment of the present invention an ice mold is inserted into a mold receiver. In one embodiment of the present invention the mold receiver is made from a material having a pounds per square inch (psi) rating over fifteen psi and most preferable at least sixty psi and a heat conductivity of less than 1.8 watts per meter-Kelvin and most desirably less than 0.040 watts per meter-Kelvin.
The mold receiver insulates the molds so water freezes substantially through one wall of the ice mold. The present invention contemplates all ways to provide one directional freezing of the water and all ways fall into the scope of the present invention.
Another aspect of one embodiment the present invention is to allow a user to change the ice molds so the system can make a variety of different shaped and sized transparent ice without needing a tool to remove the ice tray from a freezer compartment of a refrigerator and without removing the oscillation system from a freezer compartment.
Most automatic ice makers are presently configured so only the manufacturer can change the ice cube mold. The removal of the ice cube tray the ice is made in is not part of the normal operation of these automatic ice makers. One embodiment of the present invention is configured so only the ice mold is removable from the transparent ice machine without having to remove a segment of the water movement system from a freezer compartment of a refrigerator.
Another aspect of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide an energy efficient transparent ice cube maker. The United States Department of Energy states that ice cube makers that make over fifty pounds of ice cubes per day weighing two ounces or less each must produce one hundred pounds of these sized ice cubes utilizing less than twenty kilowatts hours of energy. See, www.ecfr.gov/current/title-10/chapter-II/subchapter-D/part-431/subpart-H/section-431.132. Last visited Apr. 30, 2022.
There is no known prior art disclosing an energy efficient transparent ice cube maker that uses water movement by oscillation or vibration, that makes over fifty pounds of transparent ice cubes per day and makes one hundred pounds of transparent ice over one inch tall cubes without cutting the cubes that discloses using less than eighteen kilowatt hours of energy except for one embodiment of the present invention.
One embodiment of the present invention utilizes a water movement system that consumes less than two amperes while providing over one half pound of force for each pound of mass being moved. One embodiment of the present invention has a thirty six volt power supply with a condenser/compressor refrigeration unit that pulls less than nine amperes allows the complete system is plugged into a fifteen ampere circuit.
In one embodiment of the present invention the surface of the water or surface of the various ice molds are vented to above freezing air temperature outside a freezer compartment. This provides that the water in the molds do not freeze from the top of the molds to the bottom of the molds. Heating elements that heat the top surface of the water requires energy making these systems that use heating elements less energy efficient.
In one embodiment of the present invention a refrigeration liquid line is sized using one quarter inch piping. Three eights inch piping is commonly used in commercial freezer applications. Applicant cannot find a refrigeration piping chart that calls for using one quarter inch pipe for a commercial ice maker. If they do exist using one quarter inch piping is uncommon. In one embodiment of the present invention the one quarter of an inch piping is coupled with a compressor having a rated air flow of at least two hundred cubic feet per minute. In one embodiment of the present invention the temperature in liquid line helps to heat refrigerant inside a pipe so the temperature is above thirty five degrees F. and will not freeze the compressor.
The present invention contemplates all ways to produce one hundred pounds of transparent ice cubes using less than twenty kilowatt hours of energy, or more preferably less than fifteen kilowatt hours of energy and most preferably less than eight kilowatts hours of energy and all ways fall into the scope of the present invention.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a rechargeable battery water movement system. In one embodiment of present invention the water movement system works on rechargeable or replaceable batteries, alkaline, nickel metal hydride (NIMH), lithium ion, etcetera. Rechargeable batteries allow certain embodiment of the present invention to be placed in a freezer compartment of a refrigerator without having to use the freezers power source to move the water. Therefore, this embodiment can be placed in existing freezer compartments without modifying the existing freezer compartment to provide a plug.
Another aspect of the one embodiment of the present invention is to configure the ice maker to allow a user to adjust the frequency for different circumstances. Archimedes' Principle states that the buoyant force on an object submerged in water is given by: |F˜|=ρV g (6) which states that the upward force on a submerged object is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object. This arises from a difference in pressure between the upper and lower ends of a body in fluids. The lower end will have a higher pressure and will accelerate the body upwards. After combining the various forces associated with this motion and inserting the model parameters into Newton's Second Law, the governing equation of the bubble system is given by: (m+matt)″x+‘mattx’=−F(′x)+(m−ρV (t))(Aω2 sin(ωt)+g) (19) matt is the attached mass of the bubble, ‘mattx’ is the term associated with the variation of the attached mass, −F(′x) represents the drag force, and the last term is associated with the buoyancy force and the pressure fluctuations in the vibrating liquid.
It may take different frequencies to reach the targeted amplitude in each of multiple molds depending the total weight moved, if the molds have lids, if the molds are insulated, the thickness of the sidewalls of the mold, if it is soft water or hard water, has minerals, the altitude, etcetera. Therefore one embodiment of the present invention water movement system is adjustable so a user can vary the frequency for the given conditions. This provides for a transparent ice cube maker that produces a variety of shaped and sized transparent ice cubes. In one embodiment of the present invention the frequencies are between thirty and seventy five hundred movements or oscillations per minute or vibrations per minute, etcetera.
One embodiment of the present invention utilizes a water movement system comprising either an eccentric weight vibrator or a voice coil, or a stepper motor, or a servo motor or an impact vibrator or a magnetic force. In one embodiment of the present invention the water weight, refrigeration piping weight if it is to be moved, the bin weight if it is to be moved, etc., are added up and then the water movement system is configured and calibrated to provide over one half pound of force for each pound of the total weight.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a corrosive resistant freezing surface having a corrosive penetration rate less than five mils per year where the freezing surface also has a heat conductivity higher than forty watts per meter-Kelvin and the freezing surface provides a proper attenuation to help distribute a specified frequency and amplitude combination to multiple ice molds. As an example and not limitation one embodiment of the present invention accomplishes this goal by using ceramic or aluminum.
One way to calculate the corrosion rate is assuming uniform corrosion over the entire surface of the coupon. mpy=(weight loss in grains)*(22,300)/(Adt) mpy=corrosion rate (mils per year penetration) A=area of coupon (sq. in.) d=metal density of coupon (g/cm 3) t=time of exposure in corrosive environment (days).
Another aspect of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide an ice tray the ice cubes are made in used as end user packaging eliminating the cost of repackaging associated with bulk ice cube sales. There is no known prior art for transparent ice cubes sold in the ice tray the ice cubes were made in except for one embodiment of the present invention.
Another aspect of one embodiment of the present invention is using a paste between the metal freezing surface and the piping. Using a thermal paste is known in the art to maximize heat transfer and dissipation and is used in some applications. The present inventions uses paste in a novel way. When two dissimilar materials such as cooper pipe and an aluminum freezing surface touch they form corrosion at the point they touch assuming that the two metals are in contact with a common electrolyte such as water or humidity found in an ice machine. The paste provides a barrier between the two dissimilar materials reducing the chance of corrosion.
The paste further helps reduce wear of the two different metals that rub against each other during oscillation. Further the paste reduces noise by filling gaps between the two different materials. One of ordinary skill in the art would know how to apply a paste to accomplish this goal from this written description.
Another aspect of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide a manifold system having a manifold distributor. This allows for a greater amount of refrigeration piping under the freezing surface. A manifold distributor is configured to over fifteen pipes where each of the pipes have a diameter or one quarter inch to three eights of an inch or larger.
Another aspect of one embodiment of the present invention is to add a flavor to the water and a handle creating an ice treat that is substantially void of visible crystallization. Freezing of water requires at least a certain concentration of flavor so the flavor can be tasted after the ice is frozen. In other words, water having one concertation of a flavor may taste less flavorful after freezing. In one embodiment of the present invention the flavor added to water is about 0.2 percent by volume or more. This flavor concertation is known in the art for non-transparent popsicles. The term flavor or flavored herein means a flavor that is water soluble and a shade that is substantially transparent after the water freezes.
There is no known prior art for a flavored ice treat having a soluble liquid or powder flavor measuring over an inch tall that is substantially void of visible crystallization made with one directional freezing except for one embodiment of the present invention.
Prior art disclosures do not appear to (1) articulate a reason why a person of ordinary skill in the art would combine a flavor with a transparent ice cube or would combine the prior art references to do so; (2) they do not provide adequate evidentiary basis to combine prior art; and (3) they do not provide a satisfactory explanation for the motivation that includes an express and rational connection to combine. “It is never appropriate to rely solely on “common knowledge” in the art without evidentiary support in the record, as the principal evidence upon which a rejection was based. Zurko, 258 F.3d at 1385, 59 USPQ2d at 1697 (“[T]he Board cannot simply reach conclusions based on its own understanding or experience—or on its assessment of what would be basic knowledge or common sense”.
In one embodiment of the present invention after the ice is formed the ice is pressed into different shapes or two pieces of ice are pressed together to form one piece. The present invention contemplates all shapes, sizes and designs for a handle including but not limited to a ring finger handle and all fall into the scope of the present invention. The present invention contemplates all ways to automate the production of clear ice treats or make clear ice and all ways fall into the scope of the present invention, including but not limited to cannabis, cannabis extract, conveyors, robots, actuators, microprocessor configurations, rollers, pressure switches, alert mechanisms, lights, infrared waves or infrared light, timers, optics, remote controls, waterjet cutting, lasers, compressors, packaging, artificial intelligent, lathes, CNC machines, hot wire to cut ice, ionization, light refraction, algorithms, enzymes, ions and other items, methods and systems. The present invention contemplates all ways to suspend an object in water where the water turns into ice and all ways fall into the scope of the present invention. The present invention contemplates all ways to make an ice cube that is substantially void of visible crystallization made from a variety of ingredients, including but not limited to, water infused with a gas, natural flavors, flavors, non-oil based flavors, minerals, vitamins, amino acids, alcohol, medicine, sweeteners or fruit. The present invention contemplates all ways to secure a handle to the ice cube treat and all ways fall into the scope of the present invention. In one embodiment of the present invention the infrared ranges from seven hundred nanometers to one thousand nanometers in an electromagnetic spectrum.
All embodiments of the present invention are shown by way of example and not limitation. The present invention is not limited to what is disclosed herein.
This Summary of the Invention is being submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to limit the scope of the present invention or limit the scope and the meaning of claims herein.
Cart 105 has vibration adjusters 107 (also known as vibration isolators or vibration dampeners), is shown in one embodiment of the present invention between cart 105 and bin 108. Vibration adjusters 107 is attached to any segment of transparent ice cube maker 101 including various places on mold 111 and number between one, two, three, four or more. In one embodiment of the present invention freezing plate 119 is thermoelectrically cooled. Thermoelectrically cooling surfaces are known in the art. As an example see previously sited US Patent application 20210381746 to Boarman et al. which is incorporated by reference herein.
In one embodiment of the present invention vibrator 115 is attached to insulating cover 114 and insulating cover 114 goes over mold 111 to vibrate mold 111. In one embodiment of the present invention cover 114 is heated. Insulating cover 114 is one means functioning to provide an air pocket (not shown) above water in cavities 112 or mold 111. In one embodiment of the present invention cover 114 is magnetized or has magnets (not shown)
In one embodiment of the present invention vibrator 115 is located under freezing surface 109 and freezing surface 109 is made from corrosive resistant material. In one embodiment of the present invention vibrator (oscillator) 115 is either 110 volts, 115 volts, 120 volts 220 volts or 240 volts and preferably pulls less than three amperes and is capable of pulling more amperes. In one embodiment of the present invention vibrator 115 has a built in direct current 12 volt or 24 volt or 36 volt power supply.
In one preferred embodiment the vibration isolator 107 is located under freezing surface 109 or bin 108.
In one embodiment of the present invention vibrator 115. 118A is a microprocessor that senses when to turn off the compressor 100 when the ice cubes (not shown) are frozen and 118B is a voice coil. Microprocessor 118A is shown by way of example and not limitation. The present invention contemplates all ways to turn off compressor 100 when the ice cubes are ready and all ways fall into the scope of the present inv invention.
In one embodiment of the present invention the vibrator 115 oscillates refrigeration pipe 102 and is calibrated to provide at least one half pound of force for each pound of to be vibrated. The location of vibration adjustor 107, also known as vibration isolators, is shown by way of example and not limitation.
In one embodiment of the present invention vibration adjustor 107 (also known as a vibration isolator) is placed under freezing surface 109 but also is located under mold 111 and in other locations. Vibration adjusters 107 allows bin 108 to vibrate while cart 105 does not vibrate allowing about a uniformed distribution of vibration frequency and amplitude to water in cavities 112 or mold 111 to raise a droplet of water at least one half of an inch above the surface of water (not shown) in cavities 112 or mold 111.
In one embodiment of the present invention vibration adjusters 107 is a spring having high coils or rubber pads and can be a variety of mechanisms. In one embodiment of the present invention the vibration adjustors are configured to the total mass being vibrated so one coil does not touch another coil. The present invention contemplates all configurations of vibration adjusters 107 and all vibration adjusters fall into the scope of the present invention.
In one embodiment of the present invention mold 111 is located within one half of inch of freezing surface 109. In one embodiment of the present invention freezing surface 109 is magnetized or provides a magnet (not shown) to agitate or move water in mold 111.
In one embodiment of the present invention cavities 112 are made from a polymer. In one embodiment of the present invention a segment of cavities 112 are magnetized. One embodiment of the present invention provides that the cavities themselves are flexible. In one embodiment of the present invention cavities 112 and mold 111 are made from High Density Polyethylene, or Polyethylene Terephthalate or Polypropylene or Polycarbonate or metal. The material is important because in one embodiment of the present invention the mold 111 the ice (not shown) is made in is the packaging to the end user. In one embodiment of the present invention a label having the weight of the ice printed on the label is placed on ice mold 111. One of ordinary skill in the art would know how to accomplish that goal. There is no known art for mass produced transparent ice that is made in an ice mold having multiple cavities that acts as packaging for the end user with a label (not shown) having the ice weight on the label except for the present invention. This is very sanitary as there is no need to repackage the ice cubes (not shown), it ships in the mold 111 it is made in.
Mold receiver 110 sits atop freezing surface 109. Mold receiver 110 provides insulation to the of cavities 112 as cavities 112 insert into mold receiver 110 so that when water (not shown) is put in the cavities 112 the cavities 112 touch a segment of the mold receiver 110 sidewalls 113. The mold receiver thus provides one directional freezing of water. In one embodiment of the present invention a sidewall 113 is magnetized or has a magnet (not shown) attached to it.
Freezing surface 109 having mold 111 having cavities 112 fits into openings 113. The mold receiver 110 is eliminated in one embodiment of the present invention by using injected molded 111 parts. A segment of mold receiver 110 can become a part of mold 111 through various methods known in the art including glue (not shown) to insulate mold 111 where mold 111 and mold receiver 110 becomes a single part (not shown). In one embodiment of the present invention cavities 111 are magnetized or has a magnet (not shown) attached to it.
Mold 111 can be tightly fitted together in bin thus leaving no air between numerous molds 111. In this embodiment the water in mold 111 primarily freezes from only direction, the bottom up as there is no space between the numerous molds 111.
In one embodiment of the present invention lid (cover) 130A in
One embodiment of the present invention vibrator 115 operates on a direct current and is brushless.
In one embodiment of the present invention vibrator 115 is attached first to rigid metal plate 115B and then the rigid plate 115B is attached in various ways to the transparent ice maker 101. In another embodiment vibrator 115 is attached to any metal surface of transparent ice cube maker 101. It is most preferable that vibrator 115 is attached to a metal segment of transparent ice maker 101.
One embodiment of the present invention uses a servo motor 116 or stepper motor 117 is configured to move freezing surface 109 in an arch with an angle between twenty degrees and sixty degrees. In one embodiment of the present invention power supply 118 is either 12 volts or 24 volts or 36 volts. Mold 111 is configured in many shapes or sizes and made from numerous materials. In one embodiment of the present invention refrigeration pipe 119 in
In one embodiment of the present invention refrigeration 119 has a heater 120A to heat a refrigerant (not shown) in refrigeration pipe 119. In one embodiment of the present invention liquid refrigeration line 119D has a hot liquid or hot gas inside (not shown) so when refrigeration line 119D is placed in close proximity to refrigeration pipe 119 to heat a cold refrigerant (not shown) inside refrigeration pipe 119 to the degree it does not flow back to and freeze compressor 100 in
In one embodiment of the present invention the liquid refrigeration pipe 119D has a nominal diameter of one quarter of an inch and a length of over three feet that when coupled with a compressor 100 that in one embodiment of the present invention is rated to provide an air flow of at least two hundred cubic feet per minute to create enough pressure to heat the liquid refrigeration pipe 119D enough to properly heat a segment of refrigeration pipe 119.
In one embodiment of the present invention liquid refrigeration pipe 119D is coiled around refrigeration pipe 119 to increase the heat transfer from liquid refrigeration pipe 119D to refrigeration pipe 119. Wrapping a hot liquid pipe around a segment of a refrigeration pipe for a transparent ice cube maker is not known in the art or fairly suggested.
In one embodiment of the present invention a segment of refrigeration pipe 119 and refrigeration pipe 119D are wrapped together with insulation 120A so heat from liquid refrigerant (not shown) in refrigeration pipe 119D transfers heat to refrigeration pipe 119 having a cold refrigerant inside (not shown) is warmed.
In one embodiment if the present invention sidewalls 206 are configured to flex when water 204 is added to cavities 205.
In one embodiment of the present invention ice tray 200 is made of plastic and has a bottom wall 207 having a thickness of 0.0130 inches or less. In one embodiment of the present invention bottom wall 207 is made of metal and sidewalls 206 are made of plastic.
In one embodiment of the present invention from position top AB to position bottom BB there is at least a one degree tapper and most preferably two degrees tapper but less than four degrees tapper. In one embodiment of the present invention sidewalls 206 are made from plastic and bottom wall 207 is made from metal. In this embodiment the plastic sidewalls provide enough insulation that water 204 will not freeze through sidewalls 206 and only freeze through bottom wall 207. In making transparent ice cubes (not shown) it is advantages that in one embodiment of the present invention the plastic is clear so one can see through the plastic to judge the transparency of the ice cube as the ice is being made and before the ice cube is completely frozen. Therefore, with respect to making transparent ice a see through transparent ice cube tray should be considered novel.
In one embodiment of the present invention ice tray 200 is configured to mold receiver 110 in
In one embodiment of the present invention vibrator 115 is attached to ice tray 200. Vibrator 115 is attached to various parts of transparent ice cube maker 101 in
In one embodiment of the present invention handle 211 is attached to transparent ice treat 212. Handel 211 is made of a variety of material in a variety of configurations and most preferable made from a transparent material. In one embodiment one the present invention handle 211 is placed in opening 210 so when water 204 freezes handle 211 attaches to the ice treat 212. The attachment of the handle is an illustration and not limitation and there are various ways to attach one of ordinary skill in the art knows how to attach a handle 211 to ice treat 212.
In one embodiment of the present invention sidewalls 206 are configured to have a thickness of plastic to provide heat conductivity of less than 1.9 watts per meter-Kelvin (W/m−K).
In one embodiment one the present invention opening 210 allows heat to go through lid 201. Opening 210 is small enough to reduce the chance of a droplet from jumping outside cavities 205.
In one embodiment of the present invention vibration adjusters 107 in
In one embodiment of the present invention ice tray 200 is configured to be crushable or compressible or flexible using one quarter pound per sqaure inch of pressure or placing a one pound weight on the bottom wall of tray 200. In one embodiment of the present invention ice tray 200 is configured to be crushable and disposable after four uses and most preferably disposable after a single use. A single use ice tray for making transparent ice cubes is thought to be novel.
In one embodiment of the present invention a segment of mold receiver 110 is attached or adhered to a segment of ice tray 200.
In one embodiment of the present invention sidewalls 206 are thicker than bottom wall 207.
This Detailed Brief of the Preferred Embodiments is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims or any part of the present inventions multiple embodiments disclosed or not disclosed.
This patent application claims the benefits of non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 16/974,284 to Mattson, for Clear Ice Cube Making Device, filed Dec. 16, 2020, which claims the benefits of provisional application Ser. No. 63/102,512 to Mattson for Popsicle Device, filed Jun. 19, 2020, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63102512 | Jun 2020 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 16974284 | Dec 2020 | US |
| Child | 17741846 | US |
