Home appliance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing home appliances, such as refrigerators, require the entire decoration panel to be removed and replaced to change the outer appearance, limiting user flexibility and functionality.
Innovation Solution
A home appliance design featuring a panel assembly with a bracket protrusion that covers the upper and lower ends of a transparent panel to prevent light leakage, allowing for adjustable lighting effects without disassembly, and includes a light guide plate and mounting member to enhance the outer appearance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the entire decoration panel is removed and replaced to change the outer appearance, then the outer appearance can be changed, but the operation becomes complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The decoration panel is divided into multiple detachable sub-panels that can be independently removed and replaced. This allows users to change the outer appearance by replacing only specific sections rather than the entire panel, simplifying the operation while maintaining versatility in appearance customization.
Solution Approach 2:
The panel assembly incorporates movable and adjustable components that allow dynamic reconfiguration. The lighting device can be adjusted in position and intensity, and the sub-panels can be easily attached and detached, enabling flexible changes to the outer appearance without complex replacement procedures.
2Illumination intensity
If the lighting device is positioned close to the panel, then the panel shines brightly with set color, but light leaks through the circumference affecting appearance quality
Solution Approach 1:
A light guide plate is introduced as an intermediary component between the lighting device and the panel. The light guide plate distributes the light uniformly across the panel surface while preventing direct light leakage through the circumference. This mediator maintains high panel brightness while eliminating the harmful light leakage effect.
Solution Approach 2:
The lighting device is extracted from direct contact with the panel edge and repositioned behind the panel assembly. The light path is routed through the light guide plate which channels the light to illuminate the panel from behind without allowing light to escape at the circumference, thus separating the light source from the problematic edge area.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the bracket protrusion covers the panel ends to prevent light leakage, then appearance quality improves, but the panel assembly structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The bracket protrusion is merged with the existing bracket structure that supports the panel. Instead of adding a separate light-blocking component, the bracket is designed to simultaneously perform its support function and extend protrusions that cover the panel ends to prevent light leakage, combining multiple functions into a single structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The bracket is designed as a multi-functional component that serves both as a support structure for the panel and as a light-blocking element. The bracket protrusions extend from the support bracket to cover the panel ends, preventing light leakage while maintaining the structural support function, thus achieving universal functionality without increasing overall device complexity.
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
Enables users to change the color and brightness of the appliance's front surface without disassembly, improving aesthetic flexibility and maintaining a uniform appearance.
Implementation Method 1
a lighting device provided behind the panel so that the panel shines with a set color
Implementation Method 2
a bracket protrusion that is in contact with an upper end or a lower end of the panel is disposed on the upper bracket or the lower bracket, and the bracket protrusion protrudes to cover the upper end or the lower end of the panel so as to prevent the light from leaking from the lighting device
Data Source
AI summary
A home appliance includes: a cabinet defining a storage space, and a door comprising (i) a door body configured to open and close the storage space and (ii) a panel assembly disposed at the door body. The panel assembly includes: a panel defining a front surface of the door and through which light is transmitted, a lighting device disposed at a rear side of the panel and configured to irradiate the light through the panel with a set color, an upper bracket supporting the panel from an upper side of the panel, and a lower bracket supporting the panel from a lower side of the panel. At least one of the upper bracket or the lower bracket includes a bracket protrusion that protrudes to face and cover an upper end or a lower end of the panel to thereby block the light from the lighting device.