Indirect Cooling Channels for Refrigerator Vegetable Drawers
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing refrigerator design allows cool air to permeate into vegetable boxes, leading to potential contamination from other foods' smells and moisture evaporation, and results in uneven cooling due to the installation of vegetable boxes at the lower portion of the refrigerating chamber, causing excessive or weak cooling.
Innovation Solution
A cool air supply structure with detachable box casings in the refrigerating chamber, featuring channels for indirect cooling, a temperature sensor for controlled air supply, and a humidity control material to maintain optimal moisture levels, ensuring fresh storage of food.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If vegetable boxes are installed at the lower portion of the refrigerating chamber to improve accessibility and storage efficiency, then ease of operation is improved, but temperature uniformity deteriorates causing excessive or weak cooling
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigerating chamber is divided into multiple cooling zones: an upper circulation zone for general refrigeration and a lower indirect cooling zone for vegetable boxes. This segmentation allows different cooling methods to be applied to different regions, ensuring temperature uniformity while maintaining accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
A cool air supply structure with channels acts as an intermediary between the upper cool air supply and the lower vegetable boxes. The channels guide cool air to flow around the vegetable boxes without direct exposure, mediating the cooling process to achieve uniform temperature distribution.
2Productivity
If cool air supply ports are provided in the upper portion of the refrigerating chamber to improve cooling efficiency, then productivity is improved, but temperature distribution deteriorates causing uneven cooling at lower portions
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system transitions from a single-point upper supply to a multi-dimensional distribution network. Cool air is supplied from the upper portion and distributed through vertically extending channels to the lower portion, adding a vertical distribution dimension to achieve uniform temperature throughout the chamber.
Solution Approach 2:
The channel structure serves as an intermediary that transfers cool air from the upper supply ports to the lower vegetable box region. This intermediary system ensures that cool air reaches all areas uniformly, maintaining both high cooling efficiency and even temperature distribution.
3Ease of operation
If vegetable boxes are made open-topped for easy access and visibility, then ease of operation is improved, but protection against contamination and moisture loss deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The box casings are designed with thin, removable lids that can be easily opened for access while providing protection when closed. These flexible covering elements maintain the open-topped accessibility benefit while preventing contamination and moisture loss when the boxes are not in use.
Solution Approach 2:
The box casings act as an intermediary protective layer between the food in the vegetable boxes and the surrounding environment. They provide a barrier against contamination and moisture loss while allowing easy access when opened, mediating between protection and accessibility requirements.
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 prevents contamination, maintains optimal moisture, and ensures consistent cooling, keeping food fresher by controlling cool air supply based on internal temperatures and humidity levels.
Implementation Method 1
a cool air supply structure with detachable box casings in the refrigerating chamber, featuring channels for indirect cooling
Implementation Method 2
the cool air is generated by heat exchange with coolant flowing through an evaporator
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a cool air supply structure of a storage receptacle for a refrigerator. The present invention comprises one or more box casings detachably installed in a refrigerating chamber, each box casing having a mounting space and a channel through which cool air flows, the cool air being supplied from a cool air supply source through a cool air supply port formed in a side surface of the refrigerating chamber; and one or more storage receptacles, each storage receptacle being withdrawably installed in the mounting space, wherein food accommodated in an accommodation space provided in the storage receptacle is indirectly cooled by the cool air that flows through the channel. According to the present invention, there is an advantageous effect in that the food accommodated in a plurality of storage receptacles can be stored to be fresher by indirectly cooling the food and simultaneously the supply of cool air can be controlled depending on the use or not of the storage receptacles.