Cabinet Door with Segmented LED Strips to Eliminate Corner Dark Spots
Solution Overview
Problem
Cabinet doors with mirrors in bathrooms or bedrooms often experience dark spots in light-transmitting corners due to insufficient illumination, limiting their applicability.
Innovation Solution
A cabinet door design featuring a transparent cover plate with a reflecting region and light-transmitting edges, accompanied by first and second lamp strips strategically arranged along the inner frame to illuminate light-transmitting edges and corners, respectively, ensuring comprehensive lighting coverage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If lighting is mounted inconspicuously with respect to the cabinet, then the aesthetic appearance is improved, but dark spots appear in the viewing area
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting system is segmented into multiple LED light strips positioned at different locations (top, bottom, left, right sides of the inner frame) to provide comprehensive illumination. This segmentation allows each light strip to illuminate specific areas, collectively eliminating dark spots while maintaining an inconspicuous overall appearance.
Solution Approach 2:
The lighting solution transitions from conventional single-point or single-plane lighting to multi-dimensional illumination by placing LED strips along all four sides of the inner frame. This spatial distribution in multiple dimensions ensures complete coverage of the viewing area without compromising aesthetic appearance.
2Illumination intensity
If multiple lamp strips are added to illuminate light transmitting corners, then illumination coverage is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The LED light strips serve multiple functions: they illuminate the light transmitting edges and corners, provide ambient lighting, and maintain an inconspicuous appearance when not in use. This multi-functionality justifies the addition of multiple lamp strips by delivering comprehensive benefits beyond simple illumination.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple LED light strips are merged into a unified lighting system controlled by a single controller. The controller coordinates all light strips to turn on/off simultaneously or in different patterns, managing the complexity through centralized control while achieving comprehensive illumination coverage.
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
The design effectively eliminates dark spots in light-transmitting corners, enhancing the usability and functionality of the cabinet door by providing uniform illumination.
Implementation Method 1
one side of the transparent cover plate facing the inner frame comprises a reflecting region coated with a reflective coating
Data Source
AI summary
A cabinet door includes a transparent cover plate, an outer frame secured with the transparent cover plate, and an inner frame arranged inside the outer frame and supporting the transparent cover plate that includes a reflecting region coated with a reflective coating and a light transmitting region surrounding the reflecting region; the light transmitting region includes a plurality of light transmitting edges annularly arranged around the reflecting region, and a light transmitting corner is formed between any two adjacent light transmitting edges. Each of first lamp strips is secured on the inner frame and arranged on the same sides as the respective light transmitting edges correspondingly. Each of second lamp strips is secured on the inner frame, one second lamp strip is arranged between any two adjacent first lamp strips, and the second lamp strips correspond to the respective light transmitting corners one by one.