Ice Maker Water Supply Tray Coupling Without Transfer Interference
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ice makers face difficulties in assembling and disassembling the water supply tray, leading to decreased workability and interference issues during ice transfer, which can cause deformation of the upper tray and affect the ice-making process.
Innovation Solution
The ice maker design includes a water supply part with fixing protrusions that can be easily coupled and separated from a vertical extension part, allowing for improved coupling force and preventing plastic deformation, even during repeated ice-making cycles, by moving downward to attach and upward to detach, minimizing contact areas and interference.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the water supply tray is coupled to the upper tray using separate fasteners such as bolts, then the coupling force is improved, but the assembly and disassembly process becomes complex and workability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The water supply tray is divided into an upper tray portion and a lower tray portion that can be separately assembled and disassembled. The upper tray includes upper cells and the lower tray includes lower cells, allowing independent manipulation of each segment for easier maintenance and assembly without requiring complex fastening of the entire structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The lower tray is rotatably connected to the upper tray through a rotary shaft, creating a nested configuration where the lower tray can rotate within the structure defined by the upper tray. This nested arrangement allows the lower tray to be positioned and secured without requiring separate fasteners, improving workability while maintaining coupling force.
2Ease of operation
If the upper tray is deformed to transfer ice, then the ice transfer function is improved, but interference is generated between the lower end of the water supply tray and the water supply guide
Solution Approach 1:
The lower tray is designed to rotate relative to the upper tray through a rotary shaft, creating a dynamic structure that can adapt during ice transfer operations. This rotational capability allows the lower tray to move independently to accommodate the deformation of the upper tray during ice ejection, preventing interference with the water supply guide while maintaining effective ice transfer.
Solution Approach 2:
The ice transfer mechanism utilizes rotational movement in a different dimension rather than linear deformation. By rotating the lower tray around the rotary shaft, the system achieves ice transfer through angular displacement, which avoids the interference problem that occurs when the upper tray deforms linearly and contacts the water supply guide.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the lower tray is rotatably connected to the upper tray, then the ice transfer capability is improved, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rotary shaft serves multiple functions simultaneously: it connects the lower tray to the upper tray, enables rotational movement for ice transfer, and acts as a structural support element. By merging these functions into a single component, the system achieves versatile ice transfer capability without proportionally increasing structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotary shaft is designed as a universal component that performs multiple roles: structural connection, rotational actuation, and positional adjustment. This multi-functional design allows the lower tray to be rotatably connected for enhanced ice transfer capability while avoiding the need for additional separate mechanisms, thereby limiting the increase in structural complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An ice maker includes: an upper assembly comprising a plurality of upper chambers recessed upward to define an upper portion of an ice chamber in which water is filled and ice is made, and having an intake opening by being open on a top, and a vertical extension part formed to protrude upward around the intake opening; a lower assembly comprising a plurality of lower chambers recessed downward to define a lower portion of the ice chamber, and rotatably connected to the upper assembly; and a water supply part that is recessed downward from an upper side of the water supply part and configured to receive therein water for making ice, the water supply part being removably coupled to the vertical extension part and configured to guide the received water into the intake opening.