Refrigerator Door Ice Maker Layout for More Freezer Space
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ice-making devices in refrigerators reduce storage capacity and allow food odors to permeate ice due to their installation within the freezing chamber, affecting storage efficiency and hygiene.
Innovation Solution
An ice-making device is installed on the backside of the refrigerator door, with a detachable ice maker cover and an ice bank that uses a cold air duct to supply cold air, minimizing odor transfer and optimizing storage space by positioning the ice-making components outside the main freezing chamber.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the ice maker is installed on the rear side of the freezing chamber to extend from side to side, then the ice-making function is achieved, but the storage capacity of the freezing chamber is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The ice maker is relocated from the horizontal plane (extending side to side within the freezing chamber) to the vertical plane (mounted on the rear side of the door). This dimensional change allows the ice-making components to utilize the door's thickness and vertical space, effectively removing them from the freezing chamber's storage volume while maintaining the ice-making function.
Solution Approach 2:
The ice maker is extracted from the freezing chamber and mounted on the door's rear side. This extraction separates the ice-making function from the storage space, allowing the freezing chamber to be used entirely for food storage while the door houses the ice-making components in its structural space.
2Device complexity
If the ice maker is installed inside the freezing chamber, then the ice-making process is simplified, but food odors can permeate the ice
Solution Approach 1:
The ice maker is extracted from the freezing chamber environment and mounted on the door's rear side. This physical separation removes the ice-making process from the food storage environment, preventing odor contamination while maintaining the simplicity of the ice-making operation through dedicated cold air supply channels.
Solution Approach 2:
A dedicated cold air duct system acts as an intermediary between the evaporator and the ice maker. This intermediary channel delivers cold air directly to the ice maker without exposing it to the general freezing chamber environment, thereby preventing odor contamination while maintaining efficient heat transfer for ice production.
3Ease of operation
If the motor casing and ice bank are provided in the freezing chamber to transfer ice to the dispenser, then the ice transfer function is achieved, but the storage capacity is further reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The motor casing and ice bank are relocated from the horizontal storage space to the vertical door structure. This dimensional relocation allows these components to occupy the door's structural volume rather than the freezing chamber's storage volume, maintaining the ice transfer function while preserving storage capacity.
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 maximizes storage capacity, prevents food odors from contaminating the ice, enhances product durability, and maintains refrigerator cleanliness by isolating the ice-making process from the main storage area.
Implementation Method 1
a cold air duct that supplies the ice maker with a portion of cold air supplied to the storage space
Implementation Method 2
an insulating material is provided in the cold air duct so as to prevent the inside of the cold air duct from being frozen by the cold air supplied to the ice maker
Data Source
AI summary
A refrigerator including a main body having a storage chamber, a door provided to the main body to selectively open or close the storage chamber, the door including an outer door defining a front external appearance of the door, and a door liner defining a rear external appearance of the door, the door liner including support steps vertically extending along both sides of the door liner, a liner plate interconnecting the support steps, and a seating step horizontally extending from the door liner, the support steps and the seating step defining an installation space, an ice bank removably located on the door liner, and an ice maker cover located above the ice bank.