refrigerator

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional refrigerators face challenges in maintaining the quality of frozen foods due to thermal interference and slow cooling times when high-temperature foods are introduced, leading to potential melting and bacterial growth, while also compromising the convenience of easy food access.

Innovation Solution

A refrigerator design featuring a thermally insulated storage room with a container that extends from the main body and includes a cooling material attached to the door side, which absorbs heat loads from external air and put-in foods, maintaining a low temperature and enhancing cooling efficiency.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If a conventional container without cooling material is used, then the door can be opened easily for food access, but the temperature rises rapidly when high-temperature food is introduced, causing melting and quality degradation

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefood access convenienceVSAvoidtemperature stability

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSTemperature

Solution Approach 1:

The cooling material is pre-cooled to low temperature before the door is opened. When high-temperature food is introduced, the pre-cooled cooling material immediately absorbs heat, preventing rapid temperature rise and maintaining temperature stability during the door-open period

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The cooling material acts as an intermediary between the external environment and the stored food. It absorbs heat from both the external air and the introduced high-temperature food, mediating the thermal impact and protecting the stored food from temperature fluctuations

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Device complexity

If no cooling material is attached to the container, then the device structure remains simple, but the cooling time for high-temperature food is excessively long, reducing productivity

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontainer structureVSAvoidcooling speed

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of cooling the entire storage room, the cooling material is locally attached to the container where food is stored and accessed. This localized cooling approach provides intensive cooling exactly where needed, dramatically reducing cooling time without requiring complex system-wide cooling modifications

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The cooling material utilizes phase transition (freezing/melting) to absorb large amounts of heat. When high-temperature food is introduced, the cooling material absorbs heat through phase change, enabling rapid cooling of the food without requiring complex active cooling systems

Inventive Principle:

Principle #36Phase transitions

3Stability of the object's composition

If the container is made thermally insulated, then temperature stability is improved, but the heat load from external air when door is opened cannot be quickly absorbed, worsening temperature rise

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetemperature stabilityVSAvoidheat load absorption

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The cooling material serves as a thermal intermediary that absorbs the heat load from external air when the door is opened. It takes up the thermal shock before it can penetrate into the stored food, maintaining temperature stability while handling the energy loss from door opening

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

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

This design effectively suppresses temperature rises, maintains food quality, and shortens freezing times by using the cooling material to absorb heat loads before the door is closed, ensuring rapid cooling and improved preservation of frozen foods.

Implementation Method 1

a cooling material attached to the container; the cooling material is provided in the front side section of the container and has a food placing surface on which the food is placed

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectHeat absorption: Absorption (physical)

Implementation Method 2

the cooling material is provided in the front side section of the container and has a food placing surface on which the food is placed

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectThermal conduction: Conduction (thermal)

Data Source

PatentEP2258995B1refrigerator

Publication Date: 2019.10.02 PANASONIC HOLDINGS CORP

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Figure 2
Figure 3A

AI summary

A refrigerator has: a refrigerator main body having a storage room defined such that the room is thermally insulated; a door through which food is placed in and removed from a freezing room as the storage room; a container extending to the outside of the refrigerator main body at the time of opening the door; and a cooling material attached to the container. After opening and closing the door, by the coldness storing effect of the cooling material, suppression of temperature rise in frozen food stored in advance and quick cooling of put-in food can be performed. While maintaining the structure of easily transfer of food, the refrigerator realizing suppression of temperature rise in the container when the door is opened, improved speed of cooling food, and improved a performance to maintain freshness of food is provided.