Ice maker and refrigerator having the same
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ice makers in refrigerators often suffer from usability issues due to water splashing or flowing when mounting the water bucket, which complicates the water supply process and affects consumer convenience.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator design featuring a rotatable water bucket with a rotating shaft and moving guide, integrated with a frame that includes a rotating shaft coupling portion and guide rail, allowing for stable and controlled water supply to the ice-making tray, along with an elliptical shaft configuration for the ice-making tray to facilitate easy ice separation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a water bucket is mounted to supply water to the ice-making tray, then water supply function is improved, but water splashing and flowing occurs causing usability deterioration
Solution Approach 1:
The water bucket is designed to be rotatable rather than fixed, allowing it to dynamically adjust its position. The rotating shaft enables the bucket to pivot between different orientations, transforming a static water supply structure into a dynamic one that can adapt to prevent water splashing while maintaining supply function.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution introduces rotational movement as an additional degree of freedom. Instead of only linear positioning, the water bucket can rotate around the rotating shaft, adding a rotational dimension to the water supply mechanism. This allows water to be guided along a controlled path, preventing splashing while maintaining supply capability.
2Ease of operation
If the water bucket is made rotatable with a rotating shaft and moving guide, then water splashing is prevented improving usability, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rotating shaft and moving guide are integrated into a unified mounting structure on the frame. Rather than separate components, they work together as a combined mechanism where the guide rail supports the rotating shaft assembly, merging the rotation function and guidance function into one integrated structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotating shaft assembly serves multiple functions: it enables rotation of the water bucket, provides a pivot point for movement, and works with the guide rail to constrain the motion path. This multi-functional design reduces the need for additional separate components, offsetting the complexity increase from adding rotational capability.
3Ease of operation
If an elliptical shaft configuration is used for the ice-making tray, then ice separation is simplified improving operation ease, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The shaft portion is designed with an elliptical cross-section rather than a circular one. This asymmetric geometry creates different clearance characteristics in different directions, allowing the shaft to naturally guide the ice-making tray during rotation. The elliptical shape provides mechanical advantage for ice release by creating varying friction zones during the rotation cycle.
Data Source
AI summary
A refrigerator having an ice maker with an improved structure. The refrigerator includes an ice maker installable in the door, and including a frame, an ice-making tray which is detachably mounted on the frame, configured to contain ice, and a water bucket which is rotatable while mounted on the frame, configured to supply water to the ice-making tray. The water bucket may include a rotating shaft as a rotation center about which the water bucket is rotatable, and a moving guide spaced apart from the rotating shaft and movable around the rotating shaft. The frame may include a rotating shaft coupling portion to which the rotating shaft is rotatably coupled, and a guide rail on which at least a portion of the moving guide is supported, configured to guide a rotational movement of the water bucket.