Door for an ice machine
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Solution Overview
Problem
Commercial ice machines face contamination risks due to user contact with the inner surfaces of the doors during ice retrieval, which can lead to foodborne illnesses.
Innovation Solution
The ice machine door is designed to pivot away from the opening and translate down into an open position, minimizing user contact with the inner surfaces by using guides within the machine, allowing gravity to assist in the opening motion and positioning handles on the outer surface for easy operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the door is moved upward to open the opening, then the opening is exposed and ice may be retrieved, but the user must contact the inner surface of the door with one hand, which may introduce contaminants to the inside of the icemaker
Solution Approach 1:
The door movement direction is inverted from the conventional upward opening motion to a downward opening motion. The door pivots from a closed position and translates down into an open position, causing the inner surface to face away from the opening. This inversion allows users to operate the door from the outer surface while the inner surface remains protected and facing inward, eliminating the need for users to contact the inner surface during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The door motion is changed from simple vertical translation to a combination of pivoting and translating along guides. The door pivots away from the opening and then translates down along guides, adding a dimensional component to the motion. This dimensional change enables the inner surface to face away from the opening during the open position, creating a spatial separation between the user's hand and the inner surface.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the door pivots away from the opening and translates down into an open position, then user contact with the inner surface is minimized, but the door mechanism becomes more complex with guides and pivotable portions
Solution Approach 1:
The door assembly serves multiple functions: it acts as a barrier to contamination, provides a surface for user operation, and incorporates guides that serve both as structural support and as motion constraints. The extensions on the door that engage with the guides serve both to attach the door to the housing and to control the pivoting and translating motion, reducing the need for separate components.
Solution Approach 2:
The door mechanism uses gravity to assist in the opening motion. As the door pivots and translates down along the guides, gravity provides a portion of the force needed to move the door, reducing the effort required by the user and simplifying the actuation mechanism. The guides themselves provide the constraint and support needed for the complex motion without requiring additional active control systems.
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 design significantly reduces the risk of contamination by minimizing direct contact with the inner surfaces of the door, thereby preventing the introduction of contaminants into the ice machine.
Implementation Method 1
the door pivots and translates down into the open position
Data Source
AI summary
An ice machine includes a housing including a front panel, a first sidewall, a second sidewall opposite the first sidewall, and an opening. The first sidewall and the second sidewall extend away from the front panel. The ice machine also includes a guide at or adjacent to an inner surface of the first sidewall, an inner surface of the second sidewall, or an inner surface of the front panel. The ice machine includes a door movably coupled to the guide. From a first position of the door, the door is pivotable away from the opening and translatable along the guide down into a second position.