TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosed embodiments relate to ice holding devices, and more particularly to multi-purpose ice forming assemblies.

BACKGROUND

Conventional ice trays generally suffer from several endemic problems. Some of these problems include the following.

The first problem pertains to the filling of conventional ice trays to achieve level filling of each ice compartment. The second problem pertains to the transporting of a filled ice tray to a freezer without spilling water during transport. The third problem pertains to the placing of an ice tray in a freezer without spilling water. The fourth problem pertains to the lack of levelness of a freezer, which may result in non-uniform sized cubes. The fifth problem pertains to the tendency of ice cubes to go stale due to absorbing odors from other foods. The sixth problem pertains to the cubes being exposed to air and evaporating. Other problems exist. Previous attempts to solve some of these problems include the following. One solution involved the creation of a bottle style ice tray. This method allows the user to fill a bottle with a desired liquid to an indication line on the bottle, to cap the bottle and to place the bottle in the freezer. While this is a simple and easy to understand approach the design has several problems. The first problem is that if the device was slightly over-filled the cubes would overflow the ice separation walls and freeze into one block of ice, thus making it nearly impossible to extract the ice. The other major flaw is the

type of material traditionally used in fabricating the bottle is non-flexible and breaks quite easily.

A second solution involved using a sliding lid that is connected to an ice tray and pushed over the ice compartments once they were filled. While this accomplished the covering of the ice for transportation and prevents the evaporation of the ice once the device is placed in the freezer, sliding the lid is difficult and spillage frequently occurs before the tray is moved.

SUMMARY

The present invention makes and stores ice after being equipped and placed in a freezer; it also provides for the serving of ice as well as the chilling of liquids contained in bottles or cans that are placed therein.

In an exemplary embodiment the present invention is comprised of an exterior chamber, an interior damming bucket and a lid. The exterior chamber may be comprised of a fill-line or fill indicator disposed on the inside of the exterior chamber. The exterior chamber may be further comprised of an array of cavities, i.e. ice molding pockets, formed on the inside of the exterior chamber where these cavities form an array of protrusions on the outside of the exterior chamber. Channels, i.e. gates and runners, may connect these cavities. The damming bucket is dimensioned to fit snuggly inside the exterior chamber and to allow sealing of the exterior chamber when the damming bucket is inserted within the exterior chamber. The lid is dimensioned to fit snuggly on top of the exterior chamber. The lid facilitates ice staying fresh and not evaporating in the freezer.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The making of ice using the present invention is accomplished by filling the exterior chamber with water, or another desired liquid, to the level of the fill indicator. The damming bucket is then placed inside the exterior chamber, which displaces the liquid into the cavities in the exterior chamber. Any excess liquid overflows out of the exterior chamber. The damming bucket remains within the exterior chamber, the lid is placed on top of this assembly, and the entire assembly is placed inside a freezer to solidify the liquids within the cavities. Once the liquid within the cavities is frozen, the damming bucket is removed from the exterior chamber and ice within the recesses is removed by flexing the external chamber. The removed ice may then be placed inside the damming bucket and the exterior chamber may be refilled if desired, the damming bucket replaced inside chamber, the lid placed on top of the assembly and the entire assembly placed back in the freezer to make more ice. In addition to making and storing ice in a freezer, another use of the present invention may be to use it as an ice bucket and for the serving of ice.

An optional procedure is to leave the ice formed by the above process inside the molding pockets in the exterior chamber and to place a container of wine or other liquid inside the exterior chamber for chilling.

The present invention departs from the prior art by not having a tray style design. The design of the present invention is inspired from injection molding methods, rotational casting methods and from the field of hydraulics. Inside any molding tool are a series of runners and gates that carry molten or liquid materials to the cavity that creates the molded part. The present invention uses similar types of gates and runners to connect the cavities in order to ensure that each cavity is adequately filled every time. Overfilling of the cavities cannot occur because the damming bucket forces out the

excess liquid hydraulically. The result is ice that cannot become stuck and is substantially uniform in shape.

Secondly, once the cavities are full and the damming bucket is in place liquid is not spilled during transport of the assembly to a freezer. Another feature of this approach is that the ice is completely encapsulated and does not spill during placement of the assembly into a freezer.

Thirdly, with the lid in place any ice contained in the bucket portion is stored without absorbing food odors or evaporating. Another feature is the easy removal of the ice due to the flexibility of the external chamber. The present invention also departs from the prior art by having the ability to store ice while additional ice is being formed. No other known device facilitates the serving of ice from the same apparatus in which the ice is made in the manner of the present invention. This feature adds to the usefulness of the present invention by saving space and eliminating the need for an additional conventional ice bucket and trays. Yet another feature of the present invention is the ability to chill other liquids contained in bottles or cans by placing them into the damming bucket or inside the exterior chamber with ice either in the recesses, in the damming bucket, or both.

In one embodiment of the present invention the damming bucket may have cavities indented on its surface pointing inward while the exterior chamber does not have cavities but is dimensioned to fit snuggly around the damming bucket. This embodiment may be further comprised of gates and runners connecting the cavities.

One aspect of the present invention is that it may be used to function as an ice bucket for the serving of ice.

Another aspect of the present invention is that it may be used to chill bottled or canned liquids.

Another aspect of the present invention is that the amount of ice that can be made is greater than the amount of ice created by a conventional ice tray.

Another aspect of the present invention is the creation of substantially uniformly shaped and sized ice cubes. Another aspect of the present invention is that is may be manufactured economically.

Another aspect of the present invention is that it may be made from readily available materials.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The invention, together with further advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 illustrates an exploded perspective view of an ice holding device, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 illustrates a front plan view of an ice holding device, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 illustrates a top plan view of an ice holding device, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 illustrates a bottom plan view of an ice holding device, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to Figure 1 through Figure 4 an exemplary embodiment of an ice holding device 100 is comprised of an external chamber 200, a damming bucket 300 and a lid 400. The exterior chamber 200 has an inside and an outside and is further comprised of an exterior chamber top 230 that is dimensioned to form an opening to the exterior chamber and an exterior chamber bottom 220. The exterior chamber 200 is further comprised of an array of cavities 211 formed on the inside of exterior chamber 200 where the indentions made by the formation of the array of cavities 211 form corresponding array of protrusions 210 on the outside of exterior chamber 200. The exterior chamber may be further comprised of a fill line or a fill indicator disposed on the inside of the exterior chamber 200.

In the exemplary embodiment of an ice holding device 100 the damming bucket 300 has an inside and an outside and is dimensioned and formed to fit snugly within the exterior chamber 200, such that a liquid that has been poured into the exterior chamber 200 to the fill line will be forced into the array of cavities. The damming bucket is further comprised of a damming bucket bottom 320 and an array of damming bucket holes 310 disposed towards the top of the damming bucket.

In the exemplary embodiment of an ice holding device 100, the lid 400 is dimensioned and formed to fit snugly on the exterior chamber top 230, either with the damming bucket 300 inserted or removed from the exterior chamber 200. The lid 400 has a top surface and a bottom surface. The top surface of the lid 400 has a message area 410.

In another embodiment a ice holding device is comprised of an external chamber, an internal bucket and a lid, where the external chamber has an external chamber bottom that is encompassed by an external chamber wall that has a first inside surface and a first outside surface thus forming an external chamber top opening. A fill

indicator is clearly marked on the first inside surface. An array of cavities is formed within the first inside surface. This creates a corresponding array of protrusions emanating from the first outside surface. The internal bucket bottom is encompassed by an internal bucket wall that has a second inside surface and a second outside surface thus forming an internal bucket top opening. Li this embodiment the second outside surface is substantially coplanar to the second inside surface.

Ih an alternate embodiment the inside wall of the external chamber is smooth and the internal bucket has an array of cavities formed within outside wall of the internal bucket where the array of cavities creates a corresponding array of protrusions within the internal bucket.

In one embodiment the present invention may be made as follows:

• Cut or burn a shaped cavity into a mold that will create a compartment suitable for molding a part that will contain liquid

• Cut or burn another cavity that will create a part that will nest snuggly inside the other part

• Form surface protrusion features or surface indention features on one or both parts

• Fill the mold with silicone or other suitable material

• Remove the parts from the mold

• Cure the parts

• The device is now ready to be used