Refrigerator Door Ice Maker With Rotating Tray Spill Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ice makers installed inside the freezing chamber of refrigerators reduce storage capacity and cause water to flood outside when the door is opened or closed, making it difficult to move made ice efficiently.
Innovation Solution
An ice maker is integrated into the refrigerator door with a rotatable ice tray and a tray cover that selectively opens and closes to prevent water flooding, using a twisting mechanism to separate ice and store it in an ice bank, while a sealing member and water flood prevention ribs prevent water from spilling during door operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If an ice maker is installed inside the freezing chamber, then ice can be made using cooling air, but the storage capacity of the freezing chamber is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The ice maker is extracted from the freezing chamber and relocated to the door assembly. The door assembly includes a door body with an ice maker mounted on the inner surface, separating the ice making function from the storage space. This allows the freezing chamber to provide full storage capacity while the door provides the ice making function using door-cooled air.
2Ease of operation
If the refrigerator door is opened or closed during ice making, then access is enabled, but water floods outside the ice tray
Solution Approach 1:
The tray cover is designed to rotate relative to the ice tray during door opening/closing operations. The rotating cover dynamically adjusts its position to maintain coverage over the ice tray openings, preventing water from spilling out while allowing the door to move freely. This dynamic adjustment ensures continuous protection during door operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotating tray cover acts as an intermediary element between the ice tray and the external environment. It mediates the conflict between door accessibility and water containment by providing a movable barrier that adapts to door position changes, blocking water egress paths when the door moves during ice making.
3Ease of manufacture
If ice is made in a stationary tray, then ice production is simple, but moving made ice outside is difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The ice tray is designed to rotate about a rotation axis during door opening. As the door opens, the ice tray rotates to bring the ice cavity openings to the front, allowing ice to be easily accessed and removed. The rotation mechanism is driven by the door movement itself, automatically positioning the ice for removal without requiring additional manual operations.
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 design minimizes storage capacity reduction, prevents water flooding, and simplifies the movement of made ice by integrating the ice maker into the door, allowing for efficient ice production and storage without compromising food storage space.
Implementation Method 1
a phenomenon that water for making ice floods into an outside during a process of opening/closing a refrigerator door
Implementation Method 2
An ice maker having a rotatable ice tray and a tray cover selectively opening/closing the ice tray as the ice tray rotates
Implementation Method 3
a sealing member and water flood prevention ribs prevent water from spilling during door operation
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
Provided are an ice maker and a refrigerator including the same. The ice maker for making ice is provided on a rear side of a refrigerator door. A tray cover, a water flood prevention rib, and a rotation guide are provided to prevent flooding of water stored in an ice tray forming the ice maker while the refrigerator door is opened/closed. According to the ice maker and the refrigerator, reduction in a storage capacity of the refrigerator is prevented, flooding of water for making ice is prevented, and the ice maker can be more easily used.