Multi-Ice-Maker Refrigerator Water Supply Priority Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Refrigerators with multiple components requiring simultaneous water supply face challenges in ensuring accurate water distribution, leading to inconsistent water amounts, pressure fluctuations, and increased electricity consumption, potentially damaging components.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator system with a controller that manages water supply through valves based on priority and flow rate sensing, ensuring precise water distribution to multiple components like ice makers and a dispenser, preventing pressure changes and electrical overload.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If water is supplied to multiple components simultaneously, then all components can operate, but water distribution becomes inaccurate and pressure fluctuates
Solution Approach 1:
The water supply system is segmented into multiple independent paths, each controlled by its own valve. The controller manages these segments sequentially rather than simultaneously, dividing the water supply task into separate controllable units to maintain precision while serving multiple components.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts valve opening/closing timing based on real-time water supply status and component priorities. The controller modifies the operational state of valves dynamically to ensure accurate water distribution to the currently active component while preventing pressure fluctuations.
2Productivity
If multiple valves operate simultaneously, then all components receive water, but electricity consumption increases rapidly and components may be damaged
Solution Approach 1:
Valves are operated periodically rather than continuously or simultaneously. The controller opens and closes valves in a sequential periodic manner based on component water supply status, ensuring that only one valve operates at a time. This reduces electricity consumption while maintaining continuous operation of ice makers and dispensers through coordinated periodic actions.
3Device complexity
If water supply amount is not monitored, then the system is simpler, but it is difficult to know the amount of water supplied to each component
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where the controller receives information about water supply status from each component and adjusts valve operations accordingly. This feedback loop enables the controller to track and manage the amount of water supplied to each component without requiring complex additional monitoring hardware for every component.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, a refrigerator comprises a plurality of ice makers configured to generate ice, a valve part configured to adjust a supply of water to each of the plurality of ice makers, and a controller configured to control the valve part, and when receiving a request for a supply of water to an ice maker of higher priority while water is supplied to an ice maker of lower priority, the controller controls the valve part to cut off the supply of water to the ice maker of lower priority and supply water to the ice maker of higher priority.