Clear ice hybrid mold

• US 9,074,802 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2012
• Issued: 07/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Original Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Inventors: Culley, Brian K., Lin, Yen-Hsi
• Primary Examiner(s): Ali, Mohammad M
• Application Number:
  US13/713,119
• Publication Number:
  US 20140165618A1
• Time in Patent Office: 936 Days
• Field of Search: 62/71, 623/44, 623/47, 62/74, 62/75
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F25C 1/18 of a particular transparency or translucency, e.g. by injecting air
• CPC Class Codes: F25C 1/25 Filling devices for moulds

Abstract

A method of making clear ice spheres includes a providing a mold apparatus having a first mold portion and a second mold portion having mold cavity segments which define one or more mold cavities when the mold apparatus is assembled in an ice forming position. The mold apparatus includes a water jacketing system which is adapted to keep water in continuous circulation within the mold cavities to ensure clear ice is formed. Water is injected into the mold cavities and where a portion of the water is frozen to form a clear ice structure and a portion of the water enters the water jacketing system. Water may remain circulating in the water jacketing system, or may be expelled from the mold apparatus. The circulating water of the water jacketing system facilitates directional solidification of clear ice structure across a thermal gradient of the mold apparatus.

Claims

1. An ice structure forming mold comprising:

a first mold portion having a thermal conductivity and thermally engaged with a cooling source and having a first mold portion mold cavity segment;

a second mold portion comprising a chilling portion cover, a mold cover, and a chilling portion that has a thermal conductivity that is higher than the chilling portion cover and the mold cover;

wherein at least the chilling portion and the chilling portion cover define a second mold cavity segment and the chilling portion cover comprises a mold cavity water inlet and a mold cavity water outlet that are configured to receive and deliver water into the mold cavity segments when the first mold portion and the second mold portion are engaged with one another, and wherein the chilling portion cover and the mold cover define a water circulating cavity between the chilling portion cover and the mold cover.

2. The ice structure forming mold of claim 1, wherein the water circulating cavity inlet is the mold cavity water outlet.

3. The ice structure forming mold of claim 2, wherein the mold cavity water inlet is coaxially oriented with the mold cavity water outlet.

4. The ice structure forming mold of claim 3, wherein the water circulating cavity further comprises a water circulating cavity outlet.

5. The ice structure forming mold of claim 4, wherein the first mold portion mold cavity segment and the second mold cavity segment are both hemispherically-shaped segments.

6. The ice structure forming mold of claim 1, wherein the first mold portion mold cavity segment and the second mold cavity segment are both hemispherically-shaped segments that have a layer of ice-phobic material coating disposed thereon.

7. The ice structure forming mold of claim 1, wherein the water circulating cavity further comprises a distal portion that is configured to receive and move water therein and a proximate portion that primarily receives water from the mold cavity water outlet and is configured to deliver water to the distal portion and out of the water circulating cavity outlet.

8. The ice structure forming mold of claim 7, wherein the mold cavity segment cover is a chilling ring, which is matingly engaged with the chilling portion cover that is a chilling ring cover and wherein the chilling ring cover is a thermoplastic material with a thermal conductivity less than the thermal conductivity of the first mold portion and the thermal conductivity of the chilling ring.

9. The ice structure forming mold of claim 1, wherein the first mold portion and the second mold portion each have at least one alignment feature that mate with one another when the first mold portion and the second mold portion are in a closed, ice structure forming position.

10. The ice structure forming mold of claim 2, wherein the first mold portion and the second mold portion each have a top surface and the top surface of the first mold portion and the top surface of the second mold portion are joined with one another by at least one hinge and configured to allow at least one of the first mold portion and the second mold portion to rotate about the hinge away from one another into an open, ice structure harvesting position.

11. The ice structure forming mold of claim 1 wherein the ice structure forming mold is configured to form spherically-shaped clear ice structures and wherein the mold cavity water inlet is coaxially oriented within the mold cavity water outlet, which surrounds an exterior structural wall of the mold cavity water inlet and wherein the first mold portion mold cavity segment and the second mold portion mold cavity segment have a layer of a silicon material.

12. The ice structure forming mold of claim 1, wherein the mold is configured to produce clear ice in layers beginning in the first mold portion mold cavity segment and ending proximate the mold cavity water inlet.

13. The ice structure forming mold of claim 1, wherein the chilling portion cover and the mold cover each have a thermal conductivity less than the thermal conductivity of the first mold portion.

14. A clear ice sphere forming mold comprising:

a first mold portion having a thermal conductivity and thermally engaged with a thermoelectric cooling source on at least one cooling receiving surface and having a first hemispherically-shaped cavity that is open on a cavity containing side surface;

a second mold portion comprising a chill ring cover having a chill ring cover thermal conductivity, a chill ring facing side and a mold cover facing side, a mold cover having a mold cover thermal conductivity, and a chilling ring that has a thermal conductivity that is higher than the thermal conductivity of the chilling ring cover and the thermal conductivity of the mold cover;

wherein at least the chilling ring and the chilling ring cover define at least a portion of a second hemispherically-shaped cavity and the chilling ring cover comprises a mold cavity water inlet and a mold cavity water outlet that are configured to receive and deliver water into the mold cavity when the first mold portion and the second mold portion are engaged with one another; and

wherein the first mold portion and the second mold portion are configured to engage one another and form a mold cavity through engagement of the first and second hemispherically-shaped cavity segments that, when joined, define a clear ice sphere forming volume; and

wherein the chill ring cover and the mold cover define a water circulating cavity between the chilling portion cover and the mold cover configured to receive unfrozen water from the clear ice sphere forming volume and out a water outlet in the water circulating cavity that is configured to flow water out of the overall clear ice forming mold.

15. The clear ice sphere forming mold of claim 14, wherein the mold cavity water inlet is coaxially oriented with the mold cavity water outlet and are a portion of the mold cover and wherein the first mold portion and the second mold portion are each about one half of a total clear ice sphere forming mold and wherein the chill ring cover is at least partially spherically shaped on a water circulating cavity side and at least partially spherically shaped on a portion of a mold cavity facing side of the chill ring cover.

16. The clear ice sphere forming mold of claim 14, wherein the chilling ring and the first mold portion are both at least substantially metallic material and the chill ring cover and the mold cover comprise thermoplastic material and the water outlet in the water circulating cavity is distal from the mold cavity water inlet and the mold cavity water outlet.

17. The clear ice sphere forming mold of claim 16, wherein the first mold portion and the second mold portion each have at least one alignment feature that mate with one another when the first mold portion and the second mold portion are in a closed, clear ice sphere forming position and wherein the thermoelectric cooling source is only on the surface opposite the first hemispherically-shaped cavity.

18. The clear ice sphere forming mold of claim 14, wherein the mold includes a plurality of first mold portions and second mold portions and form more than one clear ice sphere.

19. A method of making clear ice spheres comprising the following steps:

engaging at least one first mold portion and at least one second mold portion together to form at least one closed mold;

chilling the at least one first mold portion on a first surface of the at least one first mold portion that is opposite a hemispherically-shaped cavity in the at least one first mold portion;

injecting incoming water into the closed ice mold through a water inlet in a mold cover having a water inlet channel that delivers the injected water into a mold interior and directs the incoming water toward and into contact with a mold cavity segment in the at least one first mold portion where an ice forming portion of the incoming water freezes and an unfrozen water portion of the incoming water flows back toward the inlet and toward a water outlet proximate the water inlet;

delivering some of the unfrozen water portion into a water circulating cavity within the at least one second mold portion that at least substantially surrounds a hemispherically-shaped cavity of the at least one second mold portion and wherein the water circulating cavity is positioned between the mold cover and a chilling ring cover that covers a chill ring and wherein the chilling ring cover and the chill ring form at least a substantial portion of the hemispherically-shaped cavity in the at least one second mold portion;

forming a clear ice sphere by gradually freezing incoming water;

opening the closed mold by separating the at least one first mold portion from the at least one second mold portion; and

ejecting the clear ice spheres from the opened mold.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the step of injecting incoming water into the closed ice mold comprises continuously injecting incoming water into the closed ice mold through a water inlet in a mold cover while the clear ice sphere is being formed and wherein the first mold portions are integrated and the second mold portions are integrated and the water circulating cavity of the at least one second mold portions are fluidly interconnected.