Door-Mounted Ice Maker with Tray Cover to Prevent Water Flooding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ice makers installed inside the freezing chamber of refrigerators reduce storage capacity and often cause water to flood outside when the door is opened or closed.
Innovation Solution
An ice maker is mounted on the rear side of the refrigerator door, featuring a rotatable ice tray with a tray cover and water flood prevention ribs, which prevents water from flooding and allows easy ice removal by rotating the tray to store ice in a detachable ice bank.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If an ice maker is installed inside the freezing chamber, then ice can be made using the existing cooling system, 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 refrigerator door. This separates the ice making function from the food storage space, allowing the freezing chamber to maintain its full storage capacity while still providing ice making capability through the door-mounted ice maker with its own dedicated water reservoir and tray.
2Ease of manufacture
If an ice maker is installed inside the freezing chamber, then ice can be made, but water may flood outside when the door is opened or closed
Solution Approach 1:
The ice maker components including the water reservoir and ice tray are extracted from the freezing chamber and mounted on the door. This relocation isolates the water-containing components from the food storage areas, preventing water flooding into the freezing or cooling chambers when the door is opened or closed.
Solution Approach 2:
The door itself serves as an intermediary structure that houses the ice maker components. By placing the water reservoir and ice tray on the door rather than inside the chambers, the door acts as a buffer zone that prevents water from directly contacting the food storage spaces during door operation.
3Ease of manufacture
If a conventional ice tray is used, then ice can be made, but ice removal is difficult and requires manual effort
Solution Approach 1:
The ice tray is designed to be rotatable rather than fixed. Users can rotate the ice tray to different positions to easily access and remove ice cubes, transforming the static ice tray into a dynamic component that adapts to user needs and simplifies ice removal operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The ice tray is divided into multiple separate compartments or cavities, each capable of holding individual ice cubes. This segmentation allows users to access and remove ice from specific compartments without having to handle the entire tray, making ice removal more convenient and efficient.
Data Source
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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.