Systems and methods for forming shaped ice

Abstract

An automatic shaped ice system for forming and dispensing three-dimensional shaped ice pieces. The system includes a control module, a user interface, an ice maker module, and a storage and dispensing module. The ice maker module includes a plurality of shaped ice units, which include movable two-piece molds for forming the shaped ice pieces and transferring them into the storage and dispensing module for dispensing upon a user request input via the user interface. The shaped ice pieces may be of a plurality of different shapes, and organized into different categories for dispensing such that a user may select from a category and receive shaped ice pieces relating to that category.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An automatic shaped ice system comprising:
 a control module coupled and configures to operatively control an ice maker module, an ice dispensing module, and a user interface;   the ice maker module including a plurality of molds for forming a plurality of shaped ice pieces, the module configured to receive water from a water source and supply the water to at least one mold, freeze the at least one mold, and remove the plurality of shaped ice pieces from the molds, wherein the plurality of molds produces a plurality of ice shapes;   the ice dispensing module configured to receive the ice shapes from the ice maker module and store the ice shapes in a plurality of storage bins, wherein each storage bin stores a combination of ice shapes; and   the user interface configured to receive a user selection for a combination of ice shapes stored in at least one of the storage bins, whereby a selected combination of ice shapes is dispensed by the ice system.   
     
     
         2 . The automatic shaped ice system of  claim 1 , the ice maker module further comprising a plurality of shaped ice units, each shaped ice unit including a stationary top mold located proximate to a top of the shaped ice unit, and a movable bottom mold located below the top mold and configured to removably couple to the top mold, whereby cavities for forming three-dimensional shaped ice pieces are formed when the top mold is coupled to the bottom mold. 
     
     
         3 . The automatic shaped ice system of  claim 2 , wherein the coupling of the top mold to the bottom mold is a watertight coupling. 
     
     
         4 . The automatic shaped ice system of  claim 3 , wherein the bottom mold is movable from a molding position, wherein the bottom mold is coupled to the top mold, to an unmolding position, wherein the bottom mold, after the shaped ice pieces are formed, is moved downward away from the top mold and rotated approximately 180 degrees, whereby the shaped ice pieces in the bottom mold fail from the bottom mold. 
     
     
         5 . The automatic shaped ice system of  claim 4 , wherein the shaped ice pieces fall from the bottom mold into one of the plurality of storage bins. 
     
     
         6 . The automatic shaped ice system of  claim 1 , the control module comprising at least one processor and a non-transitory memory coupled to the processor. 
     
     
         7 . The automatic shaped ice system of  claim 1 , wherein the user interface is a touchscreen interface. 
     
     
         8 . The automatic shaped ice system of  claim 7 , wherein the user interface displays a plurality of category icons. 
     
     
         9 . The automatic shaped ice system of  claim 8 , wherein the user selection comprises selecting by a user of at least one of the category icons displayed on the user interface. 
     
     
         10 . The automatic shaped ice system of  claim 1 , further comprising a housing enveloping the control module, the ice maker module, and the ice dispensing module. 
     
     
         11 . The automatic shaped ice system of  claim 2 , the ice maker module further comprising a water tank interposed between the water source and the shaped ice units. 
     
     
         12 . The automatic shaped ice system of  claim 2 , the ice maker module further comprising a water injection manifold interposed between the water source and the shaped ice units, the water injection manifold operatively coupled to the control module, whereby flow of water to each shaped ice unit is controlled by the control module via the water injection manifold. 
     
     
         13 . A process for an automatic shaped ice system comprising the steps of:
 selecting, by a user from a user interlace of the automatic shaped ice system, of at least one category of shaped ice, whereby a control module coupled to the user interlace receives a category selection;   sending, by the control module, in response to receiving the category selection, of a dispensing command to a storage and dispensing module of the automatic shaped ice system;   dispensing of shaped ice from at least one storage bin of the storage and dispensing module, the storage bin storing a plurality of shaped ice pieces, wherein the at least one storage bin corresponds to the at least one category;   sending, by the control module, of at least one command to an ice maker module of the automatic shaped ice system for forming additional shaped ice pieces.   
     
     
         14 . The process for using the automatic shaped ice system of  claim 13 , wherein at least one of the at least one category of shaped ice is selected from a group consisting of a movie category, an animal category, a holiday category, a games category and a classic category. 
     
     
         15 . The process for using the automatic shaped ice system of  claim 13 , wherein each storage bin includes at least three different ice shapes. 
     
     
         16 . The process for using the automatic shaped ice system of  claim 13 , wherein the user interface displays a plurality of category icons, and whereby the selecting of the at least one category of shaped ice further includes selecting of at least one category icon. 
     
     
         17 . A shaped ice unit for an automatic shaped ice system, comprising:
 a frame including two vertical sidewalls located on opposite sides of the frame;   a generally vertical track located in each sidewall;   a top mold removably coupled to a portion of the frame near the top of the sidewalls, wherein the top mold is located between the sidewalls, and wherein the top mold is oriented in a horizontal position, and configured to receive water from a water line of the automatic shaped ice system, and wherein the top mold includes a plurality of downward-facing cavities for forming shaped ice pieces;   a bottom mold located between the sidewalls and movably coupled to each sidewall track, whereby at a top position the bottom mold is coupled to the top mold, the bottom mold including a plurality of cavities configured to form three-dimensional shapes when matched with the cavities of the top mold;   two flanges coupled to the bottom mold, wherein each arm is coupled proximate to the sidewall, each flange generally perpendicular to a horizontal plane of the bottom mold and extending generally downward when the bottom mold is in a horizontal position, each flange including two generally parallel arms and a channel formed between the arms;   two track plates oriented parallel to the sidewalls, each track plate pivotally coupled at one end to an inside face of the proximate sidewall by an upper bolt located proximate to the top mold, each track plate including a curved rod track;   a cylindrical rod coupled to the bottom mold and oriented horizontally, the rod passing through each rod track and each vertical track and spanning between the sidewalls, whereby movement of the rod is constrained by the rod tracks and the vertical tracks, and wherein when the bottom mold is in the top position the rod is in a top position; and   a pivot bolt projecting inward from each sidewall and extending through each flange channel, whereby when the rod is moved downward from the top position, the bottom mold moves downward to a bottom position, and rotates approximately 180 degrees, whereby ice pieces formed when the top mold is coupled to the bottom mold are inverted, whereby gravity causes the ice pieces to fail from the bottom mold.   
     
     
         18 . The shaped ice unit of  claim 17 , wherein the plurality of cavities are configured to produce approximately the same ice shapes. 
     
     
         19 . The shaped ice unit of  claim 17 , wherein the plurality of cavities are configured to produce at least two different ice shapes. 
     
     
         20 . The shaped ice unit of  claim 17 , further comprising an actuator coupled to the rod, the actuator configured to move the rod between the rod top position and the rod bottom position.