Refrigerator Dispenser Switch Module for Uniform Button Actuation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing refrigerator dispensers for water or ice lack stability and efficient operation, leading to inconsistent performance and potential user experience issues.
Innovation Solution
A switch module with a push button, link assembly, and restoring spring that allows for uniform operation of the dispenser, including buffering members to prevent collision and noise, and light sources for aesthetic and operational enhancement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a simple push button structure is used for the dispenser switch, then the device complexity is reduced, but the operational stability and reliability deteriorate due to uneven button movement and potential collision
Solution Approach 1:
The push button is divided into an upper portion and a lower portion that move independently but are interconnected through the link assembly. This segmentation allows each portion to be guided separately, preventing collision while maintaining operational simplicity. The link assembly connects these segmented portions to ensure coordinated movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The link assembly acts as an intermediary mechanism between the push button portions and the switch. It mediates the movement by guiding the upper and lower portions through defined paths, ensuring uniform backward movement and preventing collision with the switch case while still actuating the switch reliably.
2Reliability
If buffering members are added to prevent collision and noise, then the reliability and user experience improve, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Buffering members are pre-installed at strategic positions within the switch module to provide cushioning before collision can occur. These members are integrated into the existing structure, absorbing impact forces and preventing noise without requiring complex additional mechanisms or significantly increasing overall device complexity.
3Reliability
If the push button moves backwards uniformly to operate the switch, then the switching reliability improves, but the mechanical complexity of the link assembly increases
Solution Approach 1:
The link assembly employs asymmetric link configurations where the upper link and lower link have different geometries and connection points. This asymmetry is deliberately designed to convert the simple backward push motion into uniform coordinated movement of both button portions, ensuring reliable switch actuation while keeping the mechanical structure manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The link assembly creates a dynamic mechanical system where the upper and lower links rotate and adjust their positions during button pressing. This dynamic behavior allows the system to automatically maintain uniform backward movement of the push button portions throughout the actuation stroke, improving reliability without requiring overly complex static structures.
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 switch module ensures stable and uniform operation of the dispenser, preventing collisions and noise, while enhancing user experience through improved mechanical reliability and visual appeal.
Implementation Method 1
a restoring spring to elastically support the push button forwards
Implementation Method 2
first buffering members to elastically support the rear surface of the push button moved backwards
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are a switch module and a refrigerator having the same. In the refrigerator with a dispenser installed on a door, a switch module to operate the dispenser includes a switch to operate the dispenser, a push button moving backwards by external force and applying pressure to the switch to operate the switch, and a switch case provided with a front surface on which the push button is arranged and receiving the switch therein, and the push button is installed on the switch case by a link assembly to simultaneously move upper and lower portions of the push button forwards and backwards. Therefore, the push button is uniformly operated regardless of a position to which the external force is applied.