3D Vacuum-Insulated Door Structure with Tooling Fixture Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing refrigerator cabinet structures with vacuum insulated panels face challenges in maintaining consistent insulation thickness and efficient gas removal to create a hermetic seal, leading to potential heat transfer inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A continuous core insulation member with non-planar surfaces and a barrier film envelope is used to form a vacuum insulated panel, where a tooling fixture engages the surfaces to remove gas and hermetically seal the envelope, ensuring a consistent thickness and efficient insulation across the appliance door.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If a vacuum insulated panel is used for refrigerator cabinet structures, then insulation efficiency is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases due to challenges in maintaining consistent insulation thickness and creating hermetic seals
Solution Approach 1:
The vacuum insulated panel is segmented into distinct functional layers: a core insulation member providing thermal insulation, a barrier film envelope creating the vacuum seal, and a tooling fixture system enabling manufacturing. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently while simplifying the overall manufacturing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The core insulation member is pre-formed with specific geometric features (protrusions and recesses) before being placed in the barrier film envelope. The tooling fixture is also prepared in advance with corresponding features that will automatically align and engage with the insulation member, eliminating the need for complex real-time alignment procedures during vacuum sealing.
2Reliability
If gas removal is performed to create hermetic seal, then insulation performance is improved, but manufacturing difficulty increases due to challenges in removing substantially all gas from between barrier film and core insulation member
Solution Approach 1:
The barrier film envelope and tooling fixture incorporate curved and contoured surfaces that conform to the three-dimensional geometry of the core insulation member. This curvature allows the barrier film to wrap around and engage with all surfaces of the insulation member, including recesses and protrusions, enabling complete gas evacuation from all cavities and crevices during the vacuum process.
Solution Approach 2:
The tooling fixture acts as an intermediary device between the barrier film envelope and the core insulation member during gas removal. It provides a structured pathway for gas evacuation and maintains proper spacing and alignment, making the gas removal process more controlled and efficient without requiring complex manufacturing procedures.
3Loss of energy
If consistent insulation thickness is maintained, then heat transfer resistance is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The core insulation member is manufactured as a single integral piece with controlled thickness variations built into its design, featuring protrusions and recesses that accommodate the barrier film envelope. This approach accepts and manages thickness variations through design rather than attempting to eliminate them through ultra-precise manufacturing, thereby reducing manufacturing precision requirements while maintaining effective insulation performance.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the core insulation member have different geometric characteristics (protrusions in some areas, recesses in others) that are locally optimized to work with the barrier film envelope. This local variation in geometry allows the barrier film to conform to the insulation member's surface while maintaining effective vacuum sealing and insulation across the entire panel, without requiring uniform thickness throughout.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enhances the insulation efficiency by maintaining a consistent thickness and minimizing heat transfer through the refrigerator door, while allowing for the integration of appliance modules and mechanical components.
Implementation Method 1
Substantially all of the air is removed from between the barrier film and the core insulation member such that the barrier film envelope engages the female engaging surfaces and the male engaging surfaces
Implementation Method 2
the core insulation member and the barrier film envelope together form a vacuum insulated panel
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for creating a vacuum insulated panel (34) including preforming a continuous insulation member (22) having male and female engaging surfaces (28, 26) and providing a barrier film envelope (30) having an opening. The insulation member (22) is disposed within the barrier film envelope (30) and a tooling fixture (90) presses the barrier film envelope (30) against the male and female engaging surfaces (28, 26) to remove gas (32) from between the barrier film envelope (30) and the male and female engaging surfaces (28, 26). Substantially all gas (32) is removed from within the barrier film envelope (30) so that the barrier film envelope (30) substantially conforms to the insulation member (22). The opening of the barrier film envelope (30) is hermetically sealed. The barrier film envelope (30) forms a continuous layer over the insulation member (22) to form a vacuum insulated panel (34). An appliance door (12) comprising said vacuum insulated panel (34).