Refrigerator Base Trough Drawer for Floor Space Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Refrigeration devices often have unused space due to the design of cooling air ducts and machine rooms, leading to inefficient use of interior space and difficulty accessing pull-out drawers, especially when trying to match door dimensions with furniture front panels of varying heights.
Innovation Solution
A refrigeration device design featuring a trough bounded by an upright wall, with a pull-out drawer that engages the trough in a manner allowing access without raising a cover plate, and a sloping front wall for easier access, along with a subdivided cover plate for enhanced usability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a trough is formed at the bottom of the interior to utilize unused space, then the interior volume is expanded, but the floor storage area becomes non-flat and difficult to access
Solution Approach 1:
The pull-out drawer is divided into two functional portions: a first portion that engages with the trough and a second portion that extends beyond it. This segmentation allows the drawer to access both the trough space and the flat floor area, resolving the contradiction between utilizing the trough volume and maintaining accessible flat storage surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The drawer is designed to extend in the depth direction beyond the trough, utilizing the space in front of the trough. This dimensional extension allows the drawer to access both the vertical trough space and the horizontal flat floor area, simultaneously achieving volume utilization and ease of access.
2Volume of moving object
If the pull-out drawer is designed to fully engage the trough to maximize space utilization, then the trough volume is fully used, but the mobility and accessibility of the drawer is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The drawer engages the trough only partially in the depth direction, rather than fully. This partial engagement is sufficient to utilize the trough volume while leaving the front portion of the drawer accessible and mobile, resolving the contradiction between space utilization and accessibility.
3Reliability
If the partition wall between compartments is made thick to accommodate door seals, then the sealing function is improved, but the usable volume of the compartments is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The seal contact surface is relocated from the thick partition wall to the door assembly itself. The door is designed with an extended seal contact surface that engages with the partition wall, allowing the partition to be thinner while maintaining sealing reliability. This dimensional relocation resolves the contradiction between sealing function and usable volume.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5
AI summary
In a refrigeration device with a body (1) enclosing at least one interior space, a trough (6) is formed in a base (5) of the interior space. A pull-out drawer (9) engages in the trough (6) so that it can be displaced in the depth direction of the body (1).