Ice Bucket Locking and Two-Area Sealing in Refrigerators

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing ice bucket locking structures in refrigerators are complex and prone to breaking, and they fail to effectively seal the ice making compartment, leading to air leakage and potential shaking of the ice bucket.

Innovation Solution

A locking apparatus is integrated into the ice making compartment, featuring a locking projection on the ice bucket and a lever with a torsion spring, which simplifies the structure and ensures secure locking, while a gasket with a two-area contact design seals the compartment to prevent air leakage and shaking.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a locking apparatus is provided at the ice bucket, then the ice bucket can be locked to prevent withdrawal, but the structure of the ice bucket becomes complex

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvelocking reliabilityVSAvoidice bucket structure complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of providing the locking apparatus at the ice bucket, the patent inverts the design by providing the locking apparatus at the ice making compartment. The locking projection is formed at the lower portion of the ice making compartment, and the locking protrusion is formed at the lower portion of the ice bucket, reversing the conventional approach and simplifying the ice bucket structure while maintaining locking functionality

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The locking apparatus is extracted from the ice bucket and relocated to the ice making compartment. This separation removes the complex locking mechanism from the ice bucket structure, leaving only the simple locking protrusion on the ice bucket while housing the main locking apparatus in the ice making compartment

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Reliability

If a gasket is provided to seal the ice making compartment, then air leakage is prevented, but the ice bucket may shake due to increased contact pressure

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesealing reliabilityVSAvoidice bucket stability

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The gasket contact area is segmented into two distinct regions: a first contact area at the front side of the ice making compartment and a second contact area at the lower side wall of the ice making compartment. This segmentation distributes the sealing function across multiple locations, reducing concentrated contact pressure that would cause shaking while maintaining effective sealing

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different portions of the gasket are designed to contact different surfaces with different orientations. The first contact area contacts the front side surface while the second contact area contacts the lower side wall surface, creating localized sealing zones that adapt to different geometric surfaces and reduce overall contact stress

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Device complexity

If the gasket contacts only one area of the ice making compartment, then the structure is simple, but air leakage occurs and the ice bucket shakes

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvegasket structure complexityVSAvoidsealing effectiveness

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The single gasket is designed to contact two distinct areas of the ice making compartment simultaneously: the front side surface and the lower side wall surface. This segmentation of contact areas improves sealing effectiveness by creating multiple sealing zones without requiring multiple separate gaskets, maintaining relatively simple structure while enhancing reliability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

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 simplifies the ice bucket structure, prevents air leakage, and stabilizes the ice bucket, ensuring secure locking and effective sealing of the ice making compartment.

Implementation Method 1

an elastic member configured to elastically bias the lever so that the locking protrusion interferes with the locking projection

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectElastic biasing: Elasticity

Implementation Method 2

The elastic member may be a torsion spring mounted on the rotating shaft of the lever

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectTorsion spring: Torsion Spring

Data Source

PatentUS8973392B2Refrigerator

Publication Date: 2015.03.10 SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD

AI summary

A locking apparatus of an ice bucket of a refrigerator capable of simplifying the structure of the ice bucket while preventing the cool air of the ice making compartment from leaking and the ice bucket from being shaken, the refrigerator including a locking apparatus accommodating portion formed at a lower portion of the ice making compartment, a lever hingedly coupled to the locking apparatus accommodating portion, and an elastic member configured to elastically bias the lever, wherein the lever is configured to interfere with a locking projection of the ice bucket, and a button portion configured to adjust the position of the locking protrusion by rotating the lever, wherein a gasket mounting portion formed around an opening portion of the ice making compartment is formed to be extended to the inner side of the ice making compartment to make contact with the gasket mounting portion in a two-area contact manner.