Methods and apparatus for creating photonic structured ice cube

Abstract

The invention relates to colored ice cubes, wherein the coloration is achieved by periodic or quasi-periodic nano- or micro-structures, embedded inside the volume of the ice cube, which serve as photonic structures. The invention also discloses apparatus and methods for the production of such colored ice cubes.

1 . An ice cube, comprising at least partially periodic microscopic structures embedded inside a void of the ice cube and arranged in a pattern to serve as photonic structures; and wherein the microscopic structures have a feature size within the range of 50-5000 nanometers (nm). 
     
     
         2 . The ice cube of  claim 1 , wherein the photonic structure comprises at least one repeating structure selected from the group consisting of: a diffraction grating, a hierarchal structure, a linear diffraction grating, pillars, conical shapes, spherical shapes, square shapes, grooves, rows, protrusions/niches, a blaze diffraction grating, an Echelle grating, an immersion grating, a prism array, a prism, a microscopic sized prism pattern, a millimetric size prism patterns, a nanostructure, and a moth-eye structure. 
     
     
         3 . (canceled) 
     
     
         4 . (canceled) 
     
     
         5 . The ice cube of  claim 1 , wherein the microscopic structures have a feature size in the range of 300-800 nm. 
     
     
         6 . The ice cube of  claim 1 , wherein the pattern is selected from the group consisting of: a symbol, a logo, a text, and a letter shape. 
     
     
         7 . An apparatus for the manufacturing of ice cubes, comprising:
 a cooling system;   an ice mold base, comprising at least partially periodic microscopic structures that are arranged in a pattern to serve as photonic structures, wherein the microscopic structures have a feature size within the range of 50-5000 nanometers (nm);   a foldable grid comprising an open configuration and a folded configuration, wherein parts of the ice cubes are formed in the open configuration, and, in the folded configuration, the parts are combined to form ice cubes with an embedded void comprising the microscopic structures; and   a mechanism configured to extract the ice cubes from the grid.   
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , further comprising a surface-treating device selected from the group consisting of: a UV-ozone surface treating device, a corona treatment device, and an atmospheric pressure plasma. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , further comprising air piping for dry ejecting, and a peripheral channel in the grid for distributing compressed air coming from the air piping. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , further comprising means for heating the grid for wet ejection. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the heating of the grid is by at least one of: (a) passing a hot gas through internal channels in the grid; (b) passing hot water through internal channels in the grid; and (c) applying electrical current through heating bodies in the grid. 
     
     
         12 . (canceled) 
     
     
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         15 . (canceled) 
     
     
         16 . (canceled) 
     
     
         17 . A method for manufacturing of ice cubes, comprising:
 a) producing at least two parts of an ice cube, the ice cube comprising at least partially periodic microscopic structures arranged in a pattern to serve as photonic structures, wherein the microscopic structures have a feature size within the range of 50-5000 nanometers (nm);   b) selectively heating the periphery of at least one of the at least two parts; and   c) binding the at least two parts of the ice cube to embed the at least partially periodic microscopic structures within a void of each ice cube.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein at least part of the manufacturing is done at a temperature below the freezing temperature of the water and inside a dry chamber. 
     
     
         19 . (canceled) 
     
     
         20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . (canceled) 
     
     
         22 . (canceled) 
     
     
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         25 . The ice cube of  claim 1 , wherein the void comprises at least two surfaces, each comprising different ones of the microscopic structures. 
     
     
         26 . The ice cube of  claim 1 , wherein the void is filled with a gas having a refractive index different from the refractive index of ice. 
     
     
         27 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the ice mold base comprises a peripheral mold base surrounding each pattern of each ice cube, wherein the peripheral mold base is configured to be selectively heated. 
     
     
         28 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , further comprising a thin heating line configured to selectively heat the peripheral mold base to facilitate extraction of the ice cubes form the grid. 
     
     
         29 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , further comprising a mechanism for selectively heating the periphery of each ice cube part prior to combining the parts and forming the ice cubes. 
     
     
         30 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , further comprising a peripheral channel in the grid for distributing the water to the ice cube parts and freezing the water to form the ice cubes. 
     
     
         31 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the photonic structure comprises at least one repeating structure selected from the group consisting of: a diffraction grating, a hierarchal structure, a linear diffraction grating, pillars, conical shapes, spherical shapes, square shapes, grooves, rows, protrusions/niches, a blaze diffraction grating, an Echelle grating, an immersion grating, a prism array, a prism, a microscopic sized prism pattern, a millimetric size prism patterns, a nanostructure, and a moth-eye structure. 
     
     
         32 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the microscopic structures have a feature size in the range of 300-800 nm. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising filling the void with a gas having a refractive index different from the refractive index of ice prior to binding the at least two parts of the ice cube.