On door drawer and refrigerating appliance with same
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional refrigeration appliances lack optimal humidity and temperature control for specific food storage needs within compartments, as they rely on general insulation and compartmentalization without specific features for varying food requirements.
Innovation Solution
An on-door drawer assembly with a crisper frame and upper shelf, featuring vents, a pocket for ethylene absorbers, permeable membranes, and adjustable bin configurations, which allows for customizable humidity and temperature management within the fresh food compartment, and can also function as a soft serve drawer in the freezer compartment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional solid insulated doors with general compartmentalization are used, then basic temperature maintenance is achieved, but optimal humidity and temperature control for specific food storage needs cannot be provided
Solution Approach 1:
The door is segmented into multiple functional zones: a fresh food compartment, a freezer compartment, and an on-door drawer assembly with separate crisper compartments. Each segment can independently control humidity and temperature, allowing different food types to be stored under optimal conditions without requiring complete redesign of the entire door structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The on-door drawer assembly is nested within the fresh food compartment door, containing an upper shelf and lower crisper drawers within a compact frame. The crisper drawers themselves are nested within the drawer assembly, creating a space-efficient hierarchical structure that maximizes storage functionality within limited door space.
2Adaptability or versatility
If separate access doors for freezer and fresh food compartments are used, then temperature stability in each compartment is maintained, but specific food items cannot receive customized environmental control
Solution Approach 1:
The on-door drawer assembly creates additional segmented storage spaces (upper shelf and lower crisper drawers) within the fresh food compartment door. Each segment can be accessed independently through the single fresh food door, providing customized environmental control for different food types without requiring multiple external doors.
Solution Approach 2:
The on-door drawer assembly serves multiple functions: it provides additional storage capacity, creates humidity-controlled crisper environments, and offers organized separation for different food categories. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for additional separate doors while delivering customized environmental control.
3Temperature
If heavily insulated doors are used, then temperature within compartments is maintained within acceptable range, but humidity optimization for specific food items is not achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The on-door drawer assembly introduces local quality variations within the fresh food compartment by creating distinct micro-environments. The crisper drawers with permeable membranes provide localized humidity control for produce, while the upper shelf offers a different storage environment, allowing humidity optimization for specific food items without compromising overall temperature maintenance.
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
Enhances food storage by optimizing humidity and temperature conditions for different food types, improving the preservation quality and flexibility of storage options within the appliance.
Implementation Method 1
The roof section includes a permeable membrane and the crisper frame includes a permeable membrane
Implementation Method 2
the pocket houses a packet containing one or more of ethylene absorbers, anti-oxidants and odor absorbers
Implementation Method 3
the roof section includes vents over each drawer compartment... the roof section includes opening near the vertical intermediate wall and communicating with a chimney structure connecting the two drawer compartments
Data Source
AI summary
A refrigerating appliance including a cabinet, a door pivotally mounted onto a front of the cabinet, a crisper frame mounted to an inside surface of the door, the crisper frame comprising a back wall and two side walls and an intermediate wall forming two drawer compartments, a roof, the roof including vents over each drawer compartment, and an upper shelf lying above the roof section and connected to the crisper frame at each of the two side walls, wherein the upper shelf includes a pocket, wherein the roof includes a chimney opening near the vertical intermediate wall connecting the two drawer compartments with the pocket; and two crisper drawers, each crisper drawer configured to removably fit within one of the two drawer compartments and comprising two side walls, a back wall, a front wall and a bottom wall is provided.