refrigerator
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional bottom-freezer refrigerators face challenges in minimizing power consumption and noise, maintaining optimal moisture levels for fresh food storage, preventing frost formation, and preventing the spread of food odors and foreign smells across compartments due to long fluid passages and differing door states.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a refrigerator with a cold air inlet/outlet duct and connection member to guide cold air efficiently between compartments, maintaining a short fluid passage length, and using flexible connection pipes to adjust cold air flow based on door states, ensuring the refrigerating compartment remains moist and the freezing compartment dry, while preventing door forced opening.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a long fluid passage is used to link the freezing compartment, ice making compartment, and refrigerating compartment, then the cold air can be distributed to all compartments, but power consumption increases due to motor operation and heat loss
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the refrigeration system into separate cold air circulation paths for the freezing compartment and refrigerating compartment, with the ice making compartment having its own dedicated evaporator and fluid passage. This segmentation eliminates the need for a single long fluid passage that would require motor operation, thereby reducing power consumption while ensuring reliable cold air distribution to all compartments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a flexible connection pipe instead of a rigid long fluid passage to dynamically adapt the cold air path length based on door opening states. When the door is open, the flexible pipe shortens the effective passage length, reducing heat loss and power consumption while maintaining adequate cold air distribution to the ice making compartment.
2Reliability
If a long fluid passage is used to link the freezing compartment, ice making compartment, and refrigerating compartment, then the cold air can be distributed to all compartments, but noise increases
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the refrigeration system into independent cold air circulation paths with dedicated evaporators for each compartment, the patent eliminates the need for a single long fluid passage that would require motor operation. This segmentation significantly reduces noise generation from motor operation and cold air flow through long passages.
3Reliability
If the refrigerating compartment circulates cold air to the freezing compartment, then the refrigerating compartment can be maintained in a high-moisture state, but the freezing compartment accumulates moisture causing frost formation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements separate cold air circulation systems with dedicated evaporators for the freezing compartment and refrigerating compartment. The freezing compartment evaporator directly supplies cold air to the freezing compartment without passing through the refrigerating compartment, preventing moisture accumulation and frost formation while the refrigerating compartment maintains its high-moisture environment for food freshness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different moisture control strategies to different compartments by providing dedicated evaporators. The freezing compartment evaporator supplies dry cold air directly to the freezing compartment to prevent frost, while the refrigerating compartment evaporator maintains high moisture levels for food freshness, allowing each compartment to have optimized local quality.
4Reliability
If the door of the refrigerating compartment is strongly closed, then the refrigerating compartment can be sealed, but air is introduced into the refrigerating compartment and moved into the freezing compartment forcing the freezing compartment door open
Solution Approach 1:
By providing separate cold air circulation paths and dedicated evaporators for each compartment, the patent creates independent pressure zones. This segmentation prevents pressure differential issues that would otherwise cause door forcing, allowing the refrigerating compartment door to be strongly closed for sealing while the freezing compartment door remains stable due to its independent cold air supply system.
5Reliability
If a long fluid passage is used, then the cold air can reach all compartments, but the length of the passage increases heat loss requiring more power to maintain cold air
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the refrigeration system into separate cold air circulation paths with dedicated evaporators for each compartment. This segmentation eliminates the need for a single long fluid passage, thereby reducing heat loss along the passage while ensuring cold air reaches all compartments through shorter, dedicated paths.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a flexible connection pipe that can dynamically adjust the effective passage length based on door opening states. When the door is open, the flexible pipe shortens the passage length, minimizing heat loss while still delivering cold air to the ice making compartment. This dynamic adjustment reduces energy loss compared to a fixed long passage.
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 configuration reduces power consumption and noise, maintains food freshness, prevents frost, and keeps compartments clean by minimizing odor spread and foreign matter introduction, ensuring uniform ice quality regardless of door states.
Implementation Method 1
an evaporator of the freezing compartment in the lower space generates cold air through a heat-exchange scheme
Implementation Method 2
a flexible connection pipe which is expanded or contracted according to open/close states of the door
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 2A
AI summary
A bottom-freezer refrigerator has an ice making compartment (33) formed in a door (30) thereof. Cold air formed in independent spaces of the refrigerating compartment (10) is individually guided to the ice making compartment (33) and the refrigerating compartment (10), thereby reducing power consumption and noise to be caused as the length of a fluid passage is decreased. Foods are refrigerated or frozen and stored in a clean state. The foods in the refrigerating compartment (10) are freshly stored in a high moisture state, and the door (30) is prevented from being forcibly open.