Foam protective shell for refrigerator connectors
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing connector assemblies for appliances, such as refrigerators, face issues with insulation foam entering the connector and terminal interface areas, leading to maintenance difficulties and complex assembly processes.
Innovation Solution
A connector assembly with a protective shell that encases the main connector body, featuring a receptacle, flange, and lead-through channel with inclined internal flaps to prevent foam entry, along with a design allowing easy assembly and maintenance, suitable for various wall types and thicknesses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a connector assembly is installed on a refrigerator wall and foam insulation material is sprayed, then insulation protection is improved, but foam insulation material accidentally enters the connector body and terminal interface area causing maintenance difficulties
Solution Approach 1:
The connector assembly is divided into distinct functional segments: a connector body for electrical connections, a protective shell for foam insulation, and a cable management section. This segmentation allows the protective shell to be specifically designed to prevent foam ingress while maintaining access to the connector body for maintenance purposes.
Solution Approach 2:
A protective shell acts as an intermediary element between the foam insulation material and the connector body. This shell receives the foam insulation and prevents it from reaching the terminal interface area, while still allowing cable access and maintenance operations.
2Reliability
If complex sealing structures like tapes or adhesives are used to seal gaps between housing and inner liner, then foam leakage prevention is improved, but assembly and installation difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protective shell integrates multiple functions into a single component: it provides structural protection, creates the sealing interface with the wall opening, and manages cable passage. This merging eliminates the need for separate sealing materials like tapes or adhesives, simplifying both manufacturing and installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective shell employs flexible sealing lips and deformable cover elements that can adapt to the wall opening geometry. These flexible elements provide effective sealing against foam leakage without requiring complex rigid sealing structures or additional sealing materials.
3Reliability
If foam insulation material enters the lead-through channel and solidifies around cables, then cable routing is blocked, but preventing foam entry requires complex labyrinth structures
Solution Approach 1:
The cable routing function is extracted from the main connector body and placed into a dedicated lead-through channel with specific geometric features. This channel includes inclined flaps that actively prevent foam ingress while maintaining cable accessibility, separating the cable management function from the connector body.
Solution Approach 2:
The lead-through channel incorporates dynamic geometric features such as inclined flaps and meandering paths that adapt to cable installation. These features actively prevent foam material from reaching the cables during the foaming process, while still allowing easy cable routing after installation.
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4~5
Figure 6~8
AI summary
Connector assembly (100) for use in house appliance applications configured to be installed on a wall (300) having an outer side (301) and an inner side (302) opposite to that outer side (301) comprising a main connector body (101) that may be introduced into a cut-out hole (303) of said wall (300) along a direction (X1); a protective shell (200) that may be positioned on the inner side (302) of said wall (300) configured to protect the main connector body (101) from insulation foam entering the main connector body (101) when the protective shell (200) and the main connector body (101) are foamed in place, comprising a receptable (203) formed at a front portion (201) of the protective shell (200) configured to receive the second end (103) of the main connector body (101); a flange (204) extending from and surrounding the receptacle (203) that may be attached to the wall on the inner side (302) for covering the cut-out hole (303) of said wall (300); a lead-through channel (205) formed at a back portion (202) of the protective shell (200); wherein the lead-through channel (205) has one or more internal flaps (206) for routing cables (217) of the connector through the back portion (202) of the shell (200) in a meandering manner, which one or more flaps (206) are inclined with respect to the lead-through channel (205).