Refrigerator Ice Container Drainage Through Hinge and Mullion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Refrigerator ice containers with 'nugget' ice, stored at higher temperatures, tend to melt and stick together due to excess water, leading to undesirable results, highlighting the need for improved drainage systems in refrigerator appliances.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a drain assembly within refrigerator appliances that provides a flow path through the hinge, mullion, door, or sidewall to direct liquids from the ice container to an exhaust location, either passively using gravity or actively with a pump, ensuring effective drainage without requiring additional apparatus.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If nugget ice is stored at higher temperatures above 32 degrees Fahrenheit, then the ice becomes chewable and desirable, but the ice melts and sticks together
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the melted water from the ice container by providing a drainage system that removes excess liquid from the ice storage compartment, preventing the ice cubes from sticking together while maintaining the higher temperature storage for chewable ice
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary drainage system including a drain tube, reservoir, and pump that mediates between the ice container and the external environment, capturing and removing melted water without affecting the ice storage temperature or requiring the door to be opened
2Reliability
If a drain assembly is added to the refrigerator appliance, then liquid drainage from the ice container is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the drainage system with existing refrigerator components by routing the drain tube through the hinge and mullion structures that already connect the door to the cabinet, integrating the drainage function into the existing structural framework rather than adding separate complex components
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the hinge and mullion serve multiple functions: they continue to provide structural connection and door movement while also serving as pathways for the drainage system, allowing melted water to flow from the ice container to the reservoir without requiring dedicated drainage channels
3Reliability
If the drain tube extends through the hinge and mullion, then the drainage path is established, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the drainage path into distinct sections corresponding to different structural components (ice container to hinge, hinge to mullion, mullion to reservoir), allowing each segment to be manufactured and assembled separately with standard tolerances rather than requiring a single complex precision-routed tube
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 drain assembly effectively prevents ice from sticking together by efficiently draining liquids, maintaining the appliance's functionality and user satisfaction by addressing the melting issue of 'nugget' ice.
Implementation Method 1
providing a flow path through the hinge and the mullion to an exhaust location
Implementation Method 2
including a drain reservoir, a pump, and a drain tube, the drain reservoir in fluid communication with the ice container, the pump in fluid communication with the drain reservoir
Data Source
AI summary
Refrigerator appliances are provided. A refrigerator appliance includes a cabinet defining a fresh food chamber and a freezer chamber and including a mullion extending between and defining the fresh food chamber and freezer chamber. The refrigerator appliance further includes a door rotatably hinged to the cabinet for accessing the fresh food chamber, the door including an inner surface and an outer surface, the door further including an ice container mounted thereon. The refrigerator appliance further includes a hinge connecting the mullion and the door, and a freezer door connected to the cabinet for accessing the freezer chamber. The refrigerator appliance further includes a drain assembly for draining a liquid from the ice container, the drain assembly providing a flow path through the hinge and the mullion to an exhaust location.