Door Ice Maker Protrusion Structure to Prevent Tray Collision
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing ice makers installed on refrigerator doors often malfunction due to the tray hitting the ice making compartment door, leading to noise, damage, and the generation of foreign substances, which reduces the efficiency and reliability of the ice production process.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves providing a protrusion part between the ice maker and the ice making compartment door to maintain a predetermined distance and prevent interference during the ice removal process, thereby minimizing contact and potential damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the ice maker is installed in a narrow space on the refrigerator door, then the device complexity is reduced and ease of operation is improved, but the tray hits the ice making compartment door causing noise, damage, and malfunction
Solution Approach 1:
A protrusion part is introduced as an intermediary element between the ice maker and the ice making compartment door. This protrusion part acts as a spatial buffer that prevents direct contact between the tray and the compartment door during rotation, thereby eliminating the harmful collision while maintaining the compact installation structure.
2Productivity
If the size of the ice maker is reduced to fit the installation space, then the device can be installed on the refrigerator door, but the ice making cell size is reduced and the amount of ice produced decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The protrusion part extends in the depth dimension (perpendicular to the door surface) rather than occupying additional surface area. This allows the ice maker to maintain a larger ice making cell volume for higher productivity while the protrusion part uses the available depth space to prevent tray collision, effectively resolving the space-productivity contradiction through dimensional optimization.
3Ease of operation
If the tray is rotated in the narrow installation space, then ice removal is achieved, but the tray deforms the surrounding structure and hits the ice making compartment door
Solution Approach 1:
The protrusion part is positioned in advance to preemptively block the collision path between the rotating tray and the ice making compartment door. By establishing this protective barrier before the harmful collision can occur, the design prevents impact noise and structural damage while maintaining the rotational ice removal operation.
Data Source
AI summary
In an ice maker and a refrigerator having the same of the present disclosure, the ice maker is provided on the refrigerator door, and when operating to remove ice within an ice making cell, a protrusion part separates the ice making compartment door and the ice maker to prevent problems caused by malfunction of the ice maker or scratches on the ice making compartment door.