Refrigerator
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional refrigerators lack the ability to provide users with a visual inspection of the interior without opening the door, leading to inefficient grocery shopping and storage management.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator design that incorporates a camera unit mounted on the door, allowing for distortionless imaging of the storage chamber, with a frame and coupling mechanism that supports door bins and connects the camera to the body without external fastening members.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a camera is installed in the refrigerator door to photograph the storage chamber, then users can view the interior without opening the door, but the camera may capture distorted images if not properly positioned
Solution Approach 1:
The patent positions the camera at the center of the door in the width direction, creating a specific localized installation position that ensures distortionless imaging. This central positioning optimizes the camera's field of view to capture the storage chamber interior without distortion, directly addressing the image quality concern while enabling remote visual inspection.
2Reliability
If a frame with camera is coupled to the door using separate fastening members, then the camera can be securely mounted, but the device complexity and assembly difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The frame is designed with integrated coupling bars that extend vertically from both ends of the housing and couple directly to the door, eliminating the need for separate fastening members. The coupling bars incorporate coupling protrusions that engage with corresponding coupling grooves on the door, merging the mounting function into the frame structure itself and simplifying the overall assembly.
3Ease of manufacture
If the camera is positioned off-center in the door, then installation is easier, but the resulting image of the storage chamber becomes distorted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies that the camera be installed at the center of the door in the width direction, creating a precise localized position that ensures distortionless imaging. This central positioning optimizes the camera's field of view to capture the storage chamber interior without distortion, directly addressing the image quality concern while enabling remote visual inspection.
4Reliability
If door bins are permanently fixed to the door, then they remain securely in place, but the adaptability and ease of removal decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The door bin is designed with detachable coupling mechanisms featuring coupling protrusions that engage with coupling grooves on the coupling bars. This dynamic coupling system allows the bin to be securely retained during normal use while enabling easy detachment when needed, providing both reliability and adaptability through a reversible mechanical connection.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein is a refrigerator which allows a user to check the status of a storage chamber with a camera without opening a door. The refrigerator includes a body having a storage chamber, a door rotatably coupled to the body to open or close the storage chamber, a frame coupled to the door and including a housing in which a camera configured to photograph the inside of the storage chamber is installed, and a first door bin configured to receive an object to be cooled, detachably coupled to the frame, and located on an upper portion of the housing to be supported by the housing.