refrigerator
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Solution Overview
Problem
The production costs of refrigerators with ice makers are high due to the need for various specifications of water injection units and components, limiting the universality and efficiency of component interchangeability.
Innovation Solution
A modular structural design for water injection units in the ice maker, where end covers and water injection pipes are detachably connected in a one-to-one correspondence, allowing for interchangeable components with uniform specifications, facilitating mass production and reducing costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple specifications of water injection units are provided to meet diverse ice-making requirements, then the adaptability of the ice maker is improved, but the device complexity and production costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The water injection unit is divided into separate modular components: end covers and water injection pipes. Each component can be independently manufactured and assembled. This segmentation allows different combinations of components to create water injection units with different specifications, meeting diverse ice-making requirements without increasing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The end covers and water injection pipes are designed as universal components that can be used across different ice maker configurations. The same basic components serve multiple functions and can be combined in various ways to create different specifications, reducing the need for specialized parts for each application.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple specifications of water injection units are provided to meet diverse ice-making requirements, then the adaptability of the ice maker is improved, but the production costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the water injection unit into standardized end covers and water injection pipes, each component can be mass-produced using the same molds and manufacturing processes. This reduces tooling costs and enables economies of scale, lowering production costs while maintaining adaptability through different component combinations.
Solution Approach 2:
Universal components are designed to be compatible across different ice maker models and specifications. This allows a single component design to serve multiple purposes and configurations, reducing the total number of unique parts that need to be manufactured and stocked, thereby reducing production and inventory costs.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present application relates to the technical field of refrigeration apparatuses. Disclosed is a refrigerator (100), including a cabinet (10), a door body (20) and an ice maker (30). The cabinet (10) includes a cabinet shell (11) and an inner liner (12), and a refrigerating compartment (15) is provided inside the inner liner (12). The ice maker (30) is disposed in the refrigerating compartment (15). The ice maker (30) includes water injection units (31), frames (32), and ice trays (33), wherein the water injection units (31) are connected to the inner liner (12), the frames (32) are mounted on the corresponding water injection units (31), and the ice trays (33) are hinged in the corresponding frames (32); wherein at least two water injection units (31) are provided, each of the water injection units (31) includes an end cover (311) and a water injection pipe (312); the end covers (311) are sequentially arranged on the inner liner (12), and two adjacent end covers (311) are detachably connected; and the water injection pipes (312) are connected to the end covers (311) in a one-to-one correspondence. By providing a plurality of end covers (311) that are detachably connected, and by connecting the water injection pipes (312) to the end covers (312) in a one-to-one correspondence, a modular structural design of the water injection units (31) is achieved, allowing the end covers (311) of the water injection units (31) of different specifications to be mutually interchangeable. The end covers (311), with uniform specifications and structures, can be mass-produced, thereby reducing production costs.