Refrigerator Door Display Integration with Separated Input Member
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional refrigerators with metal doors face challenges in integrating a display unit and input member without compromising the aesthetic appeal and touch sensitivity, while also needing improved component coupling efficiency and space utilization.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator design featuring a metal front plate with through holes of specific shapes for displaying information, a separate input member, and a rotatable guide assembly, where the display unit is hidden within the door, allowing for efficient information transmission and easy assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If the display unit is integrated into the metal front plate, then information can be displayed through the front plate, but the aesthetic appeal is compromised and touch sensitivity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The display unit is segmented from the front plate and positioned in a recessed area behind the front plate. The front plate maintains its complete, uninterrupted aesthetic design while the display elements are hidden behind it, visible only through strategically placed openings or transparent portions.
Solution Approach 2:
The display unit is nested within the door structure behind the front plate. The display housing is positioned in a recessed area, allowing the front plate to overlay and conceal the display components, creating a layered nested configuration that preserves the front plate's aesthetic integrity.
2Device complexity
If the input member is integrated with the display unit, then the structure is simplified, but touch sensitivity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The input member is segmented from the display unit and positioned as a separate component. The input member is disposed in a different door or a separate region, allowing it to maintain full touch sensitivity without interference from the display unit's electromagnetic emissions or physical structure.
3Volume of stationary object
If components are tightly integrated in the door, then space is optimized, but assembly and coupling become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The door assembly is segmented into distinct modular components: the front plate, the display housing positioned in a recessed area, and the input member disposed separately. These segmented components can be manufactured independently and then assembled through standardized coupling mechanisms, simplifying the manufacturing process while maintaining compact space utilization.
Solution Approach 2:
The display unit is positioned in the depth dimension behind the front plate rather than spreading components across the surface area. This vertical layering allows efficient space utilization within the door's thickness while maintaining easy access to each component for assembly and manufacturing purposes.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a refrigerator. The refrigerator includes a main body; a storage room formed in the inside of the main body; a door including a front plate which is made of a steel material and in which a plurality of through holes forming a predetermined shape are formed, the door configured to open or close the storage room; a display unit disposed in the inside of the door, and including a display member in which a display element having a shape corresponding to the plurality of through holes and facing the plurality of through holes is formed; and an input member separated from the display unit, and configured to receive an operation command for operating the refrigerator.