Ice Bucket Spacing Structure for Airflow and Full-Ice Sensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Refrigerators with ice-making devices face challenges in maintaining cool air flow within the ice bucket to prevent ice from melting and in accurately detecting when the ice bucket is full, leading to inefficiencies in ice production and storage.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a spacing member with guide ribs and a dividing wall within the ice bucket to facilitate cool air circulation and an optical full-ice detecting sensor with a mounting structure that enhances detection reliability, along with a control unit managing the ice-making cycle based on sensor inputs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cool air is supplied to the ice bucket to prevent ice melting, then ice preservation is improved, but the ice bucket structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The ice bucket is divided into multiple functional zones using guide ribs and a dividing wall. The guide ribs segment the storage space to create designated flow paths for cool air, while the dividing wall separates the ice storage area from the cool air circulation area. This segmentation enables effective cool air circulation to prevent ice melting without requiring a completely complex redesign of the ice bucket structure.
2Measurement precision
If an optical sensor is used for full-ice detection, then detection accuracy is improved, but the mounting structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The optical sensor's own housing structure is utilized to provide the mounting function. The sensor housing is designed with an integrated mounting structure that includes a recessed portion fitting into a corresponding protrusion on the ice bucket, and a fixing protrusion that engages with a fixing recess. This self-service approach allows the sensor to be mounted securely without requiring separate mounting brackets or additional fastening components, thus improving detection accuracy while minimizing structural complexity.
3Productivity
If the ice bucket is designed with cooling flow paths, then cool air circulation is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guide ribs and dividing wall are integrated into a single spacing member that is molded as one piece with the ice bucket body. This merging of components means that the cooling flow path structure is created during the same injection molding process as the ice bucket itself, rather than requiring separate manufacturing steps for the ribs, walls, and bucket body. The result is improved cool air circulation efficiency achieved through integrated design that does not significantly increase manufacturing complexity.
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
This solution ensures effective cool air circulation within the ice bucket and improves the accuracy of full-ice detection, optimizing ice production and storage by controlling the ice-making cycle accordingly.
Implementation Method 1
a full-ice detecting sensor having an emitter to radiate optical signals and a receiver to receive optical signals to detect the full-ice status at the ice bucket
Implementation Method 2
a spacing member to allow ice to be spaced apart from the ice bucket body toward the ice storage space to secure a flow path of cool air
Data Source
AI summary
A refrigerator is provided. The refrigerator includes a body having a storage compartment, an ice making device, and an ice bucket to store the generated ice. The ice bucket includes an ice bucket body, an ice storage space inside the ice bucket body, and a spacing member to allow ice to be spaced apart from the ice bucket body toward the ice storage space to secure a flow path of cool air, so that the cool air smoothly flows inside the ice bucket body. A full-ice detecting sensor having an emitter and a receiver to receive optical signals is provided. A control unit determines a full-ice status by receiving an output value of signals received from the full-ice detecting sensor.