Ice-Full Sensing Lever Cover for Reliable Refrigerator Ice Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional refrigerators face malfunctions due to ice getting caught between the ice making tray and the ice-full state sensing lever, preventing the lever from moving and determining the ice reservoir's full state accurately.
Innovation Solution
A vertically pivotally rotatable ice-full state sensing lever is installed with a lever cover that extends to cover the side surface, preventing ice interference and ensuring the lever's operation, along with a control method using a lever-position sensor to determine the ice reservoir's fullness by periodically moving and returning the lever.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the ice-full state sensing lever is installed at the side of the ice making tray to detect ice reservoir fullness, then the ice making device can stop operation when the ice reservoir is full, but ice may get caught between the ice making tray and the sensing lever, causing malfunction
Solution Approach 1:
A guide bar is introduced as an intermediary component between the ice making tray and the ice-full state sensing lever. The guide bar receives ice from the ice making tray and guides it to the ice reservoir, preventing ice from directly contacting and interfering with the sensing lever while still allowing the lever to accurately detect ice reservoir fullness
Solution Approach 2:
The ice transfer path is segmented into distinct functional zones: the ice making tray for ice formation, the guide bar for ice transfer and guidance, and the ice reservoir for storage. This segmentation isolates the sensing lever from direct ice contact while maintaining its detection function
Data Source
AI summary
A refrigerator including an ice making device to make ice and a control method of the refrigerator. The refrigerator includes the ice making device to make ice, and an ice reservoir disposed below the ice making device to receive the ice made by the ice making device. The ice making device includes an ice-full state sensing lever installed, in a vertically pivotally rotatable manner, at one side thereof to sense whether or not the ice reservoir is full of ice, and a lever cover to cover a side surface of the ice-full state sensing lever. With the use of the lever cover, even if the ice is caught between a wall surface of an ice making compartment and the ice making device, the ice is caught between the wall surface of the ice making compartment and the lever cover. This has the effect of assuring a stable operation of the ice-full state sensing lever.