Refrigerator Door End Cap Structure for Foam-Tight Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing household cold device doors face challenges in achieving high foam tightness due to leakage at interfaces between door components, especially at complex and difficult-to-access areas.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a final bar with an elongated, bar-shaped base part and a coupling structure that includes a facility wall extending upwards from the base part. This structure forms a high investment wall that overlaps with the final profile, creating a compact interface to prevent foam leakage. Additionally, a freely cantilevered wall part is included to enhance foam tightness and stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a low contact wall is used in the coupling structure, then the device complexity is reduced and ease of manufacture is improved, but foam tightness deteriorates due to leakage at interfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The contact wall is extended in the vertical dimension to create a high contact wall that overlaps with the end profile in the vertical direction. This dimensional extension transforms the coupling interface from a low-contact configuration to a high-contact configuration, preventing foam leakage paths that would exist with low contact walls.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling structure is designed with a high contact wall that preliminarily overlaps with the end profile before foam injection. This preliminary geometric arrangement creates a foam-tight interface that prevents foam from escaping during the injection process, eliminating the need for additional sealing measures.
2Reliability
If adhesive tape or manufacturing aids are used to seal interfaces, then foam tightness is improved, but device complexity increases and ease of manufacture deteriorates due to difficult access and additional installation steps
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing function is extracted from external adhesive tapes or manufacturing aids and integrated directly into the coupling structure itself. The high contact wall of the finishing strip forms an integral part of the coupling structure that provides sealing, eliminating the need for separate sealing components.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling structure performs its own sealing function through the high contact wall that overlaps with the end profile. This self-sealing mechanism eliminates the need for external sealing aids, making the system self-sufficient and reducing overall device complexity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If separate components are used for the finishing strip and end profile, then adaptability and versatility are improved, but foam tightness deteriorates due to leakage at interfaces between separate components
Solution Approach 1:
The high contact wall of the finishing strip and the end profile are designed to merge and overlap in the vertical direction, creating a continuous foam-tight interface. This merging of separate components at the interface level maintains the advantages of modularity while eliminating leakage paths between components.
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 4~5
AI summary
The invention relates to a door (4) for a household refrigeration appliance (1), comprising an outer wall (5), an edge-side end profile (10), and an end strip (14), wherein a coupling structure (20) is formed at at least one end (16, 17), the coupling structure (20) having a support wall (22) extending from the base part (15) in the vertical direction (y) of the door (4) and being provided for positioning the end profile (10) at least partially adjacent to it, the end strip (14) having a shaft (21), a front wall (23) of the shaft (21) forming a first wall part (27) of the support wall (22), and the shaft (21) having a rear wall (24), the support wall (22) having a second wall part (28) that terminates directly at the rear wall (24), the second wall part (24) having a vertical direction (y) measured height (h2) which is at least 60%, in particular between 60% and 100%,the height (h1) of the shaft (21) is.