BE1025647B1 - PROCESS FOR COMPLETELY CONTAINING A CAVITY IN ICE WITH PRESERVATION OF CONTROL ON THE GEOMETRY OF THE CAVITY AND WITH PRESERVATION OF CONTROL ON THE CONCLUDED MEDIUM. - Google Patents

Abstract

The process for completely enclosing a cavity in ice while maintaining control over the geometry of the cavity and while maintaining control over the enclosed medium consists of building an ice volume around a mold which after removal from the ice volume the intended cavity in the leaves ice volume in which a second ice volume is subsequently built up from outside to inside via an inserted channel, which encloses the intended cavity but whereby access is retained via the inserted channel to the enclosed cavity in order to change the content of the cavity before the channel passage during removal from the inserted channel.

Description

DESCRIPTION.

PROCEDURE FOR COMPLETELY CONTAINING A CAVITY IN ICE WITH PRESERVATION OF CONTROL ON

THE GEOMETRY OF CAVITY AND WITHIN THE CONTROL OF THE ENCLOSED MEDIUM.

The invention relates to the manufacture of cavitated ice volumes in which the cavity is completely enclosed and in which control over the nature and the pressure of the enclosed medium in the cavity is maintained and wherein the geometry of the cavity is independent of the external geometry of the ice volume .

Existing similar cavitation containment procedures are known, for example, by casting objects, vacuum casting and blow molding as stated in patents US 7211215 B1, US 7887744 B2 and WO 1990011481 A2.

With existing techniques of casting objects, the cavity is formed by the cast object. There is no control over the enclosed medium during the casting process, which remains in the cavity.

With existing techniques of blow molding, balloon injection molding, or caster casting, the geometry of the cavity is determined by the external shape and the local wall thicknesses of the casting and can therefore only deviate slightly from the internal geometry of the casting mold. A cavity geometry that is asymmetrically different from the geometry of the casting mold cannot be accurately controlled with these techniques.

In the embodiment as intended in the origin of the invention, the ice volume with fully enclosed cavity is built up in two parts. A first part of the ice volume is built around a mold which after removal leaves an impression of the mold as a cavity in the ice volume. The second part of the ice volume is built up on the cavity side of the first part, whereby the cavity is enclosed and whereby the ice volume is obtained with fully enclosed cavity.

In contrast to already existing similar cavity containment systems, the invention offers the following combined advantage:

1. the geometry of the enclosed cavity is independent of the external geometry of the enclosing volume and is determined by that of the mold used which any geometry can have.

2. Control over the cavity geometry is maintained during the process.

3. Control over the medium trapped in the cavity is maintained during the process.

-2BE2017 / 0146

The process for the controlled containment of a cavity in ice while maintaining control over the geometry of the cavity and while maintaining control over the entrapped medium will be explained with reference to the drawings.

In the described, but not limiting, application of the process for completely enclosing a cavity in ice while maintaining control over the geometry of the cavity and maintaining control over the entrapped medium, the process is carried out in 2 phases, namely: phase 1 : building the cavitated volume and phase 2: building the closing volume whereby the cavity is completely enclosed in the first part. In phase 1, a thermally controllable casting frame (1) with open top and bottom on the underside is closed off by a bottom plate (2) in which a thermally controllable mold (3) can move up and down and can be fixed at its different positions. FIG. 1 shows the movable mold (3) fixed at a predetermined height with respect to the bottom plate (2), wherein a space (4) is maintained between the casting frame (1) and the mold (3). The volume (4) is filled with material to be cavitated in the liquid state (5a). FIG. 2 shows how the volume (4) between casting frame (1) and mold (3) is lined up with the material to be cavitated in the liquid state (5a). By curing of the material to be cavitated, the material to be cavitated (5a) changes from the liquid state to the solid state and the cavitated volume (5b) is obtained. FIG. 3 shows the cavitated volume (5b) where the movable mold (3) after being warmed to release the adhesion of the contact surfaces between mold (3) and the cavitated volume (5b) has been retracted to the boundary surface between the bottom plate (2) and the cavitated volume (5b) and wherein the mold (3) leaves the cavity (6) in the cavitated volume (5b). In this state, phase 1 ends and phase 2 is started.

In phase 2, bottom plate (2) and mold (3) are exchanged with a bottom plate (7) in which a thermally controllable channel (8) can move up and down and can be fixed at its different positions. This movable channel (8) bottom plate (7) is positioned relative to the casting frame (1) and the cavitated volume (5b) such that the movable channel (8) can move freely up and down in the cavity (6) left behind. Fig. 5 shows the position of the movable channel (8) fixed at a predetermined height position. In this position, the cavity (6) is filled via channel (8) with the filling material (9a) in the liquid state so that under the influence of gravity and in combination with cooling of the bottom plate (7) a closing volume (9b) from the bottom plate (7) is built up. The closing volume (9a) builds up until the cavity (6) is filled above the top of the movable channel (8), whereby the cavity (6) is completely enclosed. By enclosing and filling the cavity (6), enclosed gases will compress and the changing pressure must be controlled. The filling of the enclosed cavity (6) is done branching and alternating with it

-3BE2017 / 0146 controlling the pressure in the enclosed cavity (6). By controlling the trapped gas volume along the movable channel (8) alternately between the filling steps, the pressure in the enclosed volume remains under control.

As a result of curing, the filling material (9a) changes from liquid to solid and thereby becomes the closing volume (9b). Thus the second half of the cavitated volume is obtained.

The movable channel (8) is then heated so that the adhesion of the contact surface between the channel (8) and the material to be cavitated (9b) is released and the channel (8) in its opening in the bottom plate (7) can be retracted to below the interface between the bottom plate (7) and the closing volume (9b). Fig. 6 shows the channel (8) in its retracted position. The bottom plate (7) and the channel (8) are then removed under cavitated volume (5b) and the closing volume (9b), after which the casting frame (3) is heated to the contact surfaces between the material to be cavitated (5b) and the casting frame ( 3) to release in order to eject the merged volumes with embedded cavity.

The cavity containment system in the described but non-limiting application is practicable both for encapsulating an air-filled cavity, both for encapsulating a gas-filled cavity, as well as for encapsulating a fluid-filled cavity, as well as for encapsulating a cavity under the same atmospheric pressure, both for encapsulating a cavity under reduced atmospheric pressure, as well as for encapsulating a cavity under increased atmospheric pressure. Both with control of the pressure of the enclosed gases along the channel along which the cavity is filled, as well as with control of the pressure of the enclosed gases via a channel other than the channel along which the cavity is filled, this other channel both at a random location next to the channel along which the cavity is filled can open into the cavity or can be introduced through the channel along which the cavity is filled into the cavity, both executable with one mold, both with multiple molds, both with molds with vertical side walls, as well as with molds with oblique side walls, both with molds without aeration channel, both with molds with aeration channel, both with fixed casting frame and movable base plate, both with movable casting frame and fixed base plate, both with movable casting frame and movable base plate.

The cavity in the described application has a three-dimensional geometry of a logo, but is not limited thereto since it is determined by the geometry of the mold used, which can be manufactured in any desired geometry

Claims (3)

CONCLUSIONS. J A process for completely enclosing a cavity in ice while maintaining control over the geometry of the cavity and maintaining control over the entrapped medium, consisting of forming a cavitated ice volume in a controlled manner around a removable mold, curing the cavitated cavity ice volume, controlled forming of a partially filling ice volume in the cavity of the cured ice volume, curing of the partially filling ice volume in the cavitated ice volume, controlling the content of the unfilled space between the cured cavitated ice volume and the partially filling ice volume closing the channel passage in the partially filling ice volume. Process for completely enclosing a cavity in ice while maintaining control over the geometry of the cavity and maintaining control over the enclosed medium according to claim 1, characterized in that: the geometry of the enclosed cavity is independent of the external geometry of the encapsulating medium. A process for completely enclosing a cavity in ice while maintaining control over the geometry of the cavity and while maintaining control over the enclosed medium according to claim 1, characterized in that: during enclosing the cavity, control over the contents of the enclosed cavity is preserved.