Transparent Refrigerator Door Display Assembly for Cool Air Retention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional refrigerators require opening the door to confirm the storage of food, leading to unnecessary leakage of cool air and increased energy consumption, as the internal arrangement does not allow for visual confirmation of stored items without opening.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator with a transparent display assembly in the door that can be selectively transparent or opaque, allowing users to see the interior without opening the door, featuring a touch-sensitive front panel, insulation layers for thermal efficiency, and a light guide plate for backlighting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the door is made opaque for thermal insulation, then thermal insulation performance is improved, but user convenience deteriorates because users cannot visually confirm stored items without opening the door
Solution Approach 1:
The door panel incorporates a transparent display assembly that can dynamically switch between transparent and opaque states. This dynamic property allows the door to adapt its transparency based on user needs, resolving the contradiction between maintaining thermal insulation (opaque state) and enabling visual confirmation of stored items (transparent state).
Solution Approach 2:
The door panel's optical parameter (transparency) is changed from a fixed state to a variable state. By controlling the transparency parameter of the display assembly, the system can switch between transparent and opaque modes, allowing users to view stored items without permanently compromising thermal insulation performance.
2Ease of operation
If the door is opened frequently to confirm stored items, then user convenience is improved, but energy loss increases due to cool air leakage
Solution Approach 1:
The transparent display assembly acts as an intermediary that enables users to view stored items without physically opening the door. This intermediary solution provides the information needed (visual confirmation of stored items) while avoiding the harmful action (opening the door and causing cool air leakage).
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanical action of opening the door is replaced by an optical system (transparent display assembly). Instead of using mechanical movement (opening/closing the door) to achieve visual confirmation, the system uses optical transparency to provide the same information while maintaining the door's closed state and preventing energy loss.
3Ease of operation
If a transparent door is used to see stored items, then user convenience is improved, but thermal insulation performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The door is segmented into multiple functional layers, including the transparent display assembly and insulation layers. This segmentation allows different portions of the door to serve different functions: the display assembly provides transparency for viewing, while the insulation layers maintain thermal performance, resolving the contradiction between user convenience and energy efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The door employs a composite structure combining transparent materials (for the display assembly) with insulating materials. This composite construction enables the door to simultaneously achieve transparency for user convenience and thermal insulation for energy efficiency, resolving the contradiction between these two opposing requirements.
4Ease of operation
If the transparent display assembly is always transparent, then user convenience is improved, but power consumption increases due to continuous backlighting
Solution Approach 1:
The backlighting of the transparent display assembly operates periodically rather than continuously. The display switches between transparent and opaque states based on user interaction or predetermined intervals, activating the backlight only when needed. This periodic operation reduces power consumption while maintaining user convenience when the display is actually viewed.
Solution Approach 2:
The transparency state of the display assembly is dynamic rather than static. It transitions between transparent and opaque modes based on user needs, with the backlight activating only during transparent states when viewing is required. This dynamic behavior optimizes power consumption by eliminating unnecessary continuous backlighting while preserving user convenience on demand.
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 verify stored items without opening the door, reducing energy loss and improving user convenience while maintaining thermal insulation and power efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
an insulation layer may be provided between the rear panel and the light guide plate
Implementation Method 2
a light guide plate for backlighting
Data Source
AI summary
A refrigerator includes a door with a transparent display assembly that includes a front panel defining at least a portion of a front surface of the door, a touch sensor disposed on a rear surface of the front panel to recognize touch manipulation, a rear panel defining at least a portion of a rear surface of the door, an insulation coating layer provided on a surface of the rear panel by a metal oxide to block heat from the outside, an outer spacer disposed between the front panel and the rear panel to provide a sealed space between the front panel and the rear panel, a display disposed in the sealed space, a light guide plate spaced apart from the display to brighten up the display, and a spacer supporting the light guide plate and maintaining a distance between the display and the light guide plate.