Method and apparatus for sealing French doors for a freezer compartment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The use of French doors on freezer compartments reduces the size of each compartment, limiting the extension of internal shelves across the appliance width and increasing complexity and cost when articulating mullions are employed.
Innovation Solution
A housing with rotatable French doors and a movable mullion that pivots between sealed and unsealed positions to accommodate shelves fully across the appliance width, allowing for full-width sealing and deployment of shelves through both doors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a vertical case is used between two freezer compartments with French doors, then each freezer compartment is sealed, but the size (width) of each freezer compartment is reduced and shelves cannot extend fully across the appliance
Solution Approach 1:
The mullion is designed with a movable portion that can pivot between a first position (when doors are closed) and a second position (when doors are open). This dynamic configuration allows the mullion to provide sealing when needed while clearing the path for full-width shelf deployment when doors are open, resolving the contradiction between maintaining compartment width and ensuring proper sealing.
Solution Approach 2:
The mullion is divided into a fixed portion and a movable portion. The fixed portion provides structural support and attachment points, while the movable portion can pivot to accommodate different operational states. This segmentation allows the sealing function to be decoupled from the shelf deployment path, enabling both full-width compartments and proper sealing.
2Reliability
If an articulating mullion is attached to one of the freezer doors, then the sealing function is maintained, but the price and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The mullion incorporates a simple pivot mechanism that allows the movable portion to rotate between two positions. This dynamic design replaces complex articulating mechanisms while maintaining the sealing function, as the pivot allows the mullion to clear the shelf path when doors are open without requiring sophisticated control systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The movable portion of the mullion is positioned and oriented such that it automatically clears the shelf deployment path when the doors are in the open position, without requiring active control or additional actuators. The geometry of the pivot arrangement ensures that the natural movement of the door operation is sufficient to position the mullion correctly, reducing mechanical complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An appliance having at least a freezer compartment. The appliance may include a pair of freezer doors accessing the freezer compartment. The freezer compartment may include one or more freezer shelves. A mullion may include a movable portion and a fixed portion for sealing the pair of freezer doors.