Refrigerator
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional refrigerator designs face complexities in mounting the display assembly and touch assembly, making alignment of through holes and LEDs difficult, leading to increased assembly time and reduced productivity.
Innovation Solution
A simplified configuration for the display assembly that includes a metal outer plate with a display part and a touch manipulation part, a display cover, an inner case, and an insulating material, where the display assembly is inserted through an opening in the door, with a display frame and frame light guide to guide light emitted from LEDs through through holes, and a touch sensor assembly to detect user input.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional mounting structure is used for the display assembly and touch assembly, then the display can be mounted on the door, but the mounting structure becomes complicated and alignment of through holes and LEDs becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The display assembly and touch assembly are merged into a single integrated unit that is mounted together on the door. The display cover serves as a common mounting structure for both the display assembly (with LEDs and through holes) and the touch assembly, eliminating the need for separate mounting structures and simplifying alignment procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The display cover performs multiple functions: it serves as the mounting substrate for the display assembly, provides structural support for the touch assembly, and acts as the visible interface with the door exterior. This multi-functional design reduces the overall number of components and simplifies the mounting process.
2Ease of manufacture
If the display assembly is made thicker to accommodate components, then easier assembly is achieved, but heat-insulation performance of the door deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The display assembly uses thin-film structures and compact component arrangements to minimize thickness. The display cover itself is designed as a thin structure that accommodates the display and touch assemblies without requiring excessive thickness, thereby maintaining the door's thermal insulation performance while enabling straightforward assembly.
3Manufacturing precision
If the through holes and LEDs are aligned manually, then accurate display is achieved, but assembly time increases and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The display cover is pre-formed with through holes at precise locations before assembly. The LEDs are pre-positioned and fixed on the display assembly with their positions corresponding to the through holes. This preliminary preparation eliminates the need for manual alignment during final assembly, ensuring precision while maintaining high productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The display assembly structure is designed so that the LEDs automatically align with the through holes through self-positioning features. The mounting process allows the components to self-align and lock into place without requiring external alignment tools or manual adjustment, thereby improving assembly speed and consistency.
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 configuration simplifies the assembly process, ensures accurate alignment of components, improves heat-insulation performance by reducing the thickness of the display assembly, and enhances user identification through clear display information.
Implementation Method 1
a display assembly which is inserted into the display cover through the opening formed at the peripheral surface of the door, and includes a plurality of light emitters configured to emit light which passes through the plurality of first through holes
Implementation Method 2
a display frame and frame light guide to guide light emitted from LEDs through through holes
Implementation Method 3
a touch sensor assembly mounted to the display cover at a position corresponding to the touch manipulation part and configured to detect a user's touch operation on the outer plate
Implementation Method 4
An insulating material is disposed between the outer plate and the door liner
Data Source
AI summary
A refrigerator includes a cabinet and a door. The door includes an outer plate that includes a display part having through holes and a touch manipulation part positioned at a lower side of the display part. The display part and the touch manipulation part are integrally formed. A display cover is mounted on a rear surface of the outer plate. An inner case is mounted on the rear surface of the outer plate to surround the display cover and communicates with an opening formed in a peripheral surface of the door. A display assembly can be inserted into the display cover through the opening. A touch sensor assembly is mounted onto the display cover at a position corresponding to the touch manipulation part. Light emitting members of the display assembly can be positioned above the touch sensor assembly when the display assembly has been inserted into the display cover.