Refrigeration – Means producing shaped or modified congealed product – Mold with means to absorb heat – e.g. – brine tank
Patent
1991-09-20
1993-11-30
Fox, John C.
Refrigeration
Means producing shaped or modified congealed product
Mold with means to absorb heat, e.g., brine tank
62 73, 249 55, F25C 104
Patent
active
052654397
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention is a method for the manufacture of ice figures according to the characterizing clauses of the claims 1 and 6 as well as a respective device according to the characterizing clauses 13 and 14.
Ice figures are cast for special gastronomic occasions and events such as cold buffets, receptions and banquets as decorative element, often in connection with floral arrangements and special lighting effects. Animals or human figures are frequent motifs, while other elements such as letters or numbers relating to dates of festive occasions are frequently cast out of ice. The size of the ice figures ranges from a few centimeters to several meters. The surface of the figures usually displays a detailed structuring, such as a human face or the representation of feathers in the case of a bird figure.
One of the conventional ways of manufacturing ice figures consists of chiselling a figure of the desired size out of a block of ice with the use of a hammer and a chisel. Even in the event of relatively simple figures the amount of time required is anything up to three hours, whereby large and more complicated figures are more time consuming. The ice block chiselling method is beset with another difficulty, however, namely the fact that many cooks and chefs have not undergone the special training required and/or lack the aptitude and skills for creating sculptures. Moreover, there is always the risk that the ice sculptor, who is usually working under time pressure, will produce a figure of inferior esthetic appeal, or that an important part of the figure, or even the entire figure itself, will become damaged or broken due to an accidental misguided blow. Apart from this, the ice chiselling method is a technique for producing individual, single ice figures and is not suitable for series production.
The DE-PS 31 33 617 device enables ice figures to be produced without any of the above mentioned disadvantages. In the respective publication a method of casting ice figures in casting moulds with mostly rigid walls is presented. According to this method the filled casting moulds are placed in a refrigerator section or a refrigerating chamber and chilled to a temperature below the freezing point of water. There is an additional DE-PS 31 33 671 model, however, which introduces a rod shaped refrigeration element to the casting mould so that the freezing process occurs from the direction of the rod towards the walls of the casting mould.
While the method described for the DE-PS 31 33 617 does simplify the manufacture of ice figures compared with the ice chiselling method, it was found that this method incurs problems for the series manufacture of ice figures due to the relatively long refrigeration periods, the relatively large amount of space required and the refrigeration technology involved. This method proved problematic in the production of transparent ice due to the difficulty involved in freezing water from the inside to the outside within a closed mould while keeping the water in motion in order to generate transparent ice. As the mould is closed on all sides, the water, which inevitably contains impurities, will finally be frozen as part of the figure so that opaque sections cannot be avoided. In addition, a strong rise in tension caused by the increasing volume of the ice must be controlled by the introduction of discharging canals.
Based on the state of the art of the DE-PS 31 33 617 the present invention seeks to establish a method as well as a device which will permit the fast and simple manufacture of ice figures of all kinds, if required of transparent ice, and will be suited to series production when required.
In terms of the technical process involved, this task is fulfilled by the essential properties of claims 1 and 6, and in terms of the devices employed by the essential properties of the claims 13 and 14.
As each ice figure must be formed of at least two components, the parallel manufacturing of the components is capable of cutting down the time required to produce a complete ice figure approximately
REFERENCES:
patent: 1965616 (1934-07-01), Vogt
patent: 3576113 (1971-04-01), Swett et al.
patent: 3731103 (1973-03-01), Brandt et al.
patent: 4550575 (1985-11-01), DeGaynor
Behr Omri M.
Fox John C.
McDonald Matthew J.
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