Refrigerated Display Grille Venting for Airflow and Transport Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional merchandise display systems, including commercial refrigerators, fail to adapt to design trends and consumer expectations, and suffer from transportation damage due to exposed components.
Innovation Solution
A refrigeration compartment cover with hidden vents and a partition to separate inlet and exhaust air streams, along with a front grille design featuring a planar and curved surface with integrated air inlets and outlets, enhances thermal efficiency and cooling capacity while protecting components during transport.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the refrigeration compartment cover includes visible vents, then air circulation is improved, but the aesthetic appearance deteriorates and component protection during transport is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The vents are extracted from the visible front surface and relocated to the interior portion of the grille, hidden from external view. This allows the front surface to maintain a clean, aesthetic appearance while air circulation functionality is preserved through the relocated vents in the interior portion.
Solution Approach 2:
The vents are nested within the interior portion of the grille structure, concealed behind the outer aesthetic shell. This nested arrangement allows the functional vents to be housed within the decorative grille assembly, maintaining both appearance and functionality.
2Device complexity
If inlet and exhaust air streams are allowed to mix, then device complexity is reduced, but thermal efficiency deteriorates and cooling capacity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The grille interior is segmented into distinct zones using a partition wall that separates the inlet air stream from the exhaust air stream. This segmentation prevents mixing of hot and cold air, maintaining thermal efficiency while the partition itself is a relatively simple structural element.
3Adaptability or versatility
If components extend outward from the surface of the main housing, then functionality is improved, but transportation damage risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The grille is designed as a detachable component that can be removed and reattached. During transportation, the grille can be detached to prevent damage to extended components, and then reattached at the destination to restore full functionality. This dynamic assembly/disassembly capability resolves the conflict between functionality and transportation durability.
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 solution improves thermal efficiency, increases cooling capacity, and reduces the risk of component damage during transportation by concealing vents and optimizing airflow, aligning with modern design trends and consumer expectations.
Implementation Method 1
an interior portion including a partition placed between the air inlet and the air outlet to separate inlet air flowing through the air inlet from outlet air flowing through the air outlet
Implementation Method 2
a refrigeration unit, an outer housing having a top wall, a bottom wall, side walls, a back wall, and an interior lower wall, where the refrigeration unit is positioned within a refrigeration compartment
Data Source
AI summary
A merchandise display system for storing and dispensing merchandise is provided. The merchandise display system includes an outer housing, a transparent front door, a refrigeration unit, and a door that includes an extended canopy. The merchandise display system also includes a front grille for a refrigeration system having a surface adjacent a curved surface.