Convertible Fridge Compartment Front Wall With Drawer-Flap Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing household refrigeration appliances lack a cost-effective and versatile storage compartment front wall design that can be easily adapted for various uses, such as drawer fronts or pivoting flaps, which limits flexibility and efficiency in storage configurations.
Innovation Solution
A household refrigeration appliance with a storage compartment front wall that features bearing means for rigid attachment as a drawer front or pivotable flap between side walls, utilizing latching and hinge mechanisms for secure locking and easy conversion between drawer front and flap configurations, allowing for identical design storage compartment front walls in both forms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the storage compartment front wall is designed as a fixed drawer front, then the structure is simple and stable, but the adaptability and flexibility are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The storage compartment front wall is designed with universal bearing means that can accommodate multiple functions - serving as a fixed drawer front when locked, or as a pivotable flap when unlocked. The bearing means includes both locking mechanisms and hinge mechanisms, allowing the same component to perform different roles based on operational requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The front wall transitions from a static fixed structure to a dynamic system that can change its state between fixed and movable. The bearing means enables the front wall to switch between being rigidly attached to the drawer container and being pivotable between side walls, providing dynamic adaptability to user needs.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the storage compartment front wall is designed as a pivotable flap, then the flexibility is improved, but the structural stability and ease of manufacture are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The same front wall design with bearing means serves both as a drawer front and a flap, eliminating the need to manufacture separate components for each function. The bearing means integrates both locking and hinge capabilities into a single manufacturable component.
Solution Approach 2:
The bearing means is segmented into distinct functional elements - locking mechanisms and hinge mechanisms - that can be independently manufactured and then assembled. This segmentation allows for easier manufacturing of complex functions by combining simpler, standardized components.
3Reliability
If different front wall designs are used for drawer fronts and flaps, then the functional requirements are met, but the cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
A single universal front wall design with bearing means replaces the need for separate drawer front and flap designs. The bearing means provides both locking functionality for drawer fronts and hinge functionality for flaps, reducing the number of different designs to one while maintaining all required functional performances.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a household refrigerating appliance (1), having a refrigeration chamber (8, 9) with at least one storage compartment, an inner container (2) delimiting the refrigeration chamber (8, 9) and having opposite side walls (3a, 3b), of which each side wall (3a , 3b) to form at least one pair of support means (11) lying opposite one another, in each case at least one of the support means (11), a door leaf (7, 10) which is designed to open and close the inner container (2), and at least one in the cold room ( 8, 9) arranged storage compartment front wall (16), the storage compartment front wall (16) having bearing means (17) which are designed to mount the storage compartment front wall (16) optionally as a drawer front (16a) on a drawer container (15) to be fixed rigidly or to be stored pivotably as a flap (16b) between the opposite side walls (3a, 3b) of the inner container (2). The invention also relates to a household appliance set, having a first household refrigeration appliance (1) and a second household refrigeration appliance (1).