Refrigerator Door-Mounted Display with Adjustable Height and Rotation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Refrigerators with door-mounted displays lack adjustable height and rotatable functionality, limiting user convenience and complicating maintenance due to fixed positioning and integration with motorized or locking mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator design featuring a sliding plate and spur gear mechanism that allows manual height adjustment and automatic fixing of the display, along with rotatable and detachable installation on the door, using a slot and guide groove system to facilitate vertical and horizontal screen orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a locking jaw is used to fix the display position, then the display becomes concise, but the position where the display may be fixed is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The display assembly utilizes gravity as a self-service mechanism to automatically engage with the guide groove and locking structure. When the user releases the display, it automatically locks into position without requiring additional locking mechanisms or power sources, achieving both structural simplicity and position adaptability
Solution Approach 2:
The display mounting structure transitions from a static fixed position to a dynamic adjustable position system. The guide groove allows the display to move vertically and rotate, while the locking structure provides automatic stabilization at desired positions, enabling both movement and fixation without complex mechanisms
2Adaptability or versatility
If a motor is used to fix the display position, then the position where the display may be fixed is not limited, but the cost increases and power needs to be applied
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces motorized actuation with a gravity-based self-locking mechanism. The display's own weight drives the engagement with the guide groove and locking structure, eliminating the need for external power sources and complex motor controls while maintaining unlimited position adjustability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the motorized mechanical system with a passive mechanical system utilizing gravity and geometric constraints. The guide groove and locking structure work together to provide automatic positioning without requiring active mechanical actuators, reducing both cost and complexity
3Reliability
If the display and rotating structure are integrated and assembled, then the rotation operation of the display may be reliably performed, but it is difficult to separate the display for maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The display system is divided into separable modules: the display assembly and the mounting bracket. The guide groove and locking structure are designed to allow easy separation of these modules while maintaining reliable rotation operation when assembled, enabling independent maintenance of each component
Solution Approach 2:
The display can be easily extracted from the mounting bracket by releasing the locking mechanism and removing it from the guide groove. This extraction capability allows for maintenance of the display without disassembling the rotating structure, while the integrated rotating structure itself can be independently maintained by removing the bracket from the door
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5
AI summary
Disclosed is a refrigerator including a main body, a door coupled to a front surface of the main body, a bracket coupled to a front surface of the door and including a roller, a sliding plate supported on the roller and fixed to the bracket to slide in a vertical direction, a display supported on the sliding plate, and a position fixing device configured to fix a position of the sliding plate, wherein the position fixing device includes a spur gear rotatably provided on the bracket, a rack gear provided on the sliding plate and engaged with the spur gear, and a stopper configured to prevent rotation of the spur gear when the sliding plate is stopped to fix the position of the sliding plate.