Refrigerator Ice Bin Auger and Shutter for Controlled Dispensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ice bins in refrigerating machines often experience issues with ice cubes sticking together, making smooth discharge difficult, and excessive ice being dispensed when ejected, due to the mechanical limitations of existing ice dispensing systems.
Innovation Solution
An ice bin design featuring a motor-driven auger with spiral transfer wings and a self-restoring shutter mechanism that ensures controlled dispensing of ice cubes, allowing for precise control over the amount of ice dispensed based on user selection, preventing multiple cubes from being ejected at once and reducing the risk of breakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a simple ice bin design is used, then the device complexity is reduced, but ice cubes stick together making discharge difficult and excessive ice is dispensed
Solution Approach 1:
The ice bin is segmented into distinct functional zones: an ice storage chamber for holding ice cubes, a transfer chamber for moving ice, and a dispensing chamber for controlled release. This segmentation prevents ice cubes from sticking together across the entire bin while enabling precise control over discharge through the shutter mechanism in the dispensing chamber.
Solution Approach 2:
A shutter mechanism acts as an intermediary between the ice storage and dispensing chambers. This shutter controls the passage of ice cubes, allowing only one or a controlled number to pass through at a time, thereby preventing excessive dispensing while maintaining a relatively simple overall bin structure.
2Productivity
If ice pieces are ejected without control, then the dispensing speed is increased, but pieces of ice are broken and varying amounts are dispensed
Solution Approach 1:
The shutter mechanism is designed to be dynamically controllable, opening and closing at precise moments during the auger rotation cycle. This dynamic control allows ice cubes to be gently pushed through the shutter one at a time, maintaining their integrity while achieving consistent dispensing speed and quantity.
Solution Approach 2:
The auger rotates periodically to push ice cubes toward the shutter, and the shutter opens in synchronization with this periodic motion. This coordinated periodic action ensures that ice cubes are dispensed at regular intervals at controlled speeds, preventing breakage while maintaining productivity.
3Volume of moving object
If the ice bin size is reduced, then the space utilization is improved, but the auger and shutter mechanism becomes more compact and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The auger and shutter mechanisms are nested within the compact ice bin structure. The auger is positioned centrally within the storage chamber, and the shutter is integrated into the dispensing chamber wall, allowing both components to fit within a reduced overall bin volume without excessive complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The design optimizes the spatial arrangement by utilizing vertical space and three-dimensional positioning. The auger rotates in a horizontal plane while the shutter moves vertically or radially, effectively using multiple dimensions to accommodate both mechanisms in a compact footprint without significant complexity increase.
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
The solution enables efficient, controlled dispensing of a consistent number of ice cubes, preventing excessive dispensing and breakage, while reducing the size of the ice bin through strategic design, enhancing user convenience and operational efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
an auger that is positioned in a cavity defined by the casing, that is configured to rotate about a rotational axis in response to the rotational force generated by the motor assembly
Implementation Method 2
The shutter is configured to move from the closed position to the opened position in response to force imparted against the shutter by an ice cube whose movement toward the outlet is being promoted
Implementation Method 3
a guide that is positioned between the ice storage and the auger and that is configured to, when the ice bin is in an ordinary operating orientation, guide ice cubes toward the shutter based on gravitational force
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are an ice bin installed in a refrigerator or the like and a refrigerating machine having the same. One auger having spiral transfer wings rotates to transfer ice cubes that are introduced between the transfer wings, which allows a constant amount of ice or an amount of ice selected by a user to be dispensed. In addition, a shutter is disposed at a lower side of the auger to define a dispensing space, which may reduce a length of a casing in a depth direction and, thereby, result in a reduced size of the ice bin.