Door Bin Mounting with Flexible Lugs for Secure Appliance Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing door bins for cooled kitchen appliances have complex mounting arrangements and are prone to disconnection when excessive force is applied, either from stored items or external forces.
Innovation Solution
A simplified mounting system for door bins, featuring a door liner with protruding walls and ledges, and storage bins with flexible lugs that secure into receiving spaces on the liner, ensuring stability and preventing disconnection under heavy loads.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing door bins use complex mounting arrangements, then the mounting structure provides some stability, but the device complexity increases and reliability decreases when excessive force is applied
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting system is divided into discrete modular components: ledges protruding from the door liner, hooks on the storage bin, and lugs with receiving spaces. Each component performs a specific function and can be independently manufactured and assembled, simplifying the overall complexity while maintaining reliability through modular interchangeability and focused stress distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
The lug of the storage bin is received within the receiving space formed by the ledge and door liner, creating a nested configuration where the bin Lug fits into the structural cavity of the door assembly. This nested arrangement provides secure mechanical interlocking while minimizing the overall mounting profile and complexity.
2Device complexity
If existing door bins use simple mounting arrangements, then the device complexity is reduced, but the mounting stability and reliability decrease when excessive force is applied
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting system concentrates strength and rigidity at specific critical locations: the ledges protruding from the door liner, the hooks on the storage bin, and the lug-receiving space interface. Rather than uniformly complex construction throughout, the design applies enhanced local structural properties where mounting forces are transmitted, achieving high reliability with minimal overall complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The ledges are pre-formed protruding structures on the door liner, and the storage bin includes pre-formed hooks and lugs during manufacturing. These preliminary structural features are built into the components before assembly, eliminating the need for complex fastening operations or additional mounting hardware during installation, thereby reducing device complexity while ensuring reliable pre-engineered connection points.
3Reliability
If the storage bin is securely mounted to withstand excessive forces, then reliability improves, but the ease of operation for removal and installation decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The lug and receiving space interface is designed with controlled flexibility: the lug can be manually pressed or flexed to disengage from the receiving space for removal, but once seated, the interlocking geometry and friction provide stable mechanical retention during normal use. This dynamic characteristic allows the mounting to transition between easy installation/removal and secure operational stability.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using complex fasteners that require tools for both installation and removal, the design inverts the approach by using a simple push-to-engage mechanism where the same simple pressing action that installs the bin also enables its removal. The mounting system is designed so that the installation and removal operations are mechanically similar, both requiring simple manual pressure applied to the lug to disengage or engage the receiving space.
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 provides a secure and stable storage solution that withstands excessive forces, preventing the door bins from disconnection and ensuring items remain stored safely.
Implementation Method 1
The lugs of the storage bin side walls can be flexible in a direction towards the lugs of the door liner when received within the receiving space therebetween such that each lug of the storage bin is secured between the lugs of the door liner
Data Source
AI summary
A door for closing a compartment of a cooled kitchen appliance having a door liner and a storage bin mounted to the door liner. The door liner comprises a first side configured to face the compartment that the door closes, walls protruding from the first side of the liner, and a ledge also protruding from the first side of the liner. The storage bin comprises walls which, together with the walls and ledge of the liner, define a storage space that can store items. The storage bin and door liner can comprise mating lug features that allow the storage bin to be mounted to the door liner. In one example, the storage bin can comprise an isolated sub-section defining an isolated storage space separate from the rest of the storage space of the storage bin.