Ice-Cube Filling Detector With 180° Lever Rotation Accuracy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ice-cube complete filling detectors fail to accurately detect the complete filling state of ice-cube containers, especially when ice cubes are vertically stacked, leading to continuous ice production and potential overflow due to limited rotational range of the detection lever.
Innovation Solution
The ice-cube complete filling detector enhances the rotational range of the detection lever to 180 degrees and incorporates a height-adjusting mechanism to ensure accurate detection without changing the lever's length, using a cam, arm lever, detector driving gear, detector driven gear, and a sensing unit with a magnet and hole-sensor to detect the ice cubes' filling state.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the rotational range of the detection lever is increased to 180 degrees, then the detection accuracy is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional gears and height-adjusting mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The detection mechanism is divided into multiple functional components: a detection lever for rotational movement, a driving gear connected to the ejector motor, and a driven gear connected to the detection lever. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently, enabling the detection lever to rotate through a larger range (180 degrees) without requiring complete redesign of the entire system.
Solution Approach 2:
A height-adjusting mechanism is introduced as an intermediary component between the driven gear and the detection lever. This mechanism includes a support structure with adjustable height, allowing the rotational center of the detection lever to be lowered. The intermediary mechanism enables the detection lever to achieve the required rotational range while maintaining proper engagement with the driven gear, thus improving detection accuracy without directly modifying the core drive system.
2Measurement precision
If the rotational center of the detection lever is lowered, then the detection accuracy for vertically stacked ice cubes is improved, but the device complexity increases due to the height-adjusting mechanism
Solution Approach 1:
The height-adjusting mechanism is designed to be dynamically adjustable, allowing the rotational center of the detection lever to be positioned at different heights. The support structure includes adjustable components that enable the rotational center to be lowered to an optimal position for detecting vertically stacked ice cubes. This dynamic adjustability allows the system to adapt to different ice cube stacking patterns, improving detection accuracy without requiring a completely fixed and complex structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The height parameter of the detection lever's rotational center is changed through the height-adjusting mechanism. By adjusting the vertical position of the rotational center, the detection lever can effectively scan through the volume of the ice cube container, including the bottom region where vertically stacked ice cubes are located. This parameter change (vertical position) is achieved through a relatively simple adjustable support structure rather than a complex reconfiguration of the entire detection system.
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 high accuracy in detecting the complete filling state of ice-cube containers, preventing overfilling and overflow by allowing a larger rotational range and adjusting the detection height to accommodate varying container volumes.
Implementation Method 1
a sensing unit to detect rotation of one of the arm lever, the detector driving gear and the ice-cube detection lever
Data Source
AI summary
An ice-cube complete filling detector and a refrigerator comprising the same comprise a cam, an arm lever rotated by the cam, a detector driving gear rotated by the arm lever, a detector driven gear rotated by the detector driving gear, and an ice-cube detection lever connected to the detector driven gear, so that the detector driven gear is rotated via gear engagement by the detector driving gear and the detector driven gear, and the ice-cube detection lever can be rotated in a large range of about 180 degrees, thereby ensuring high accuracy of detection.