Refrigerator Door Ice Bin Layout to Reduce Door Thickness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing refrigerators have thick refrigerator doors due to the placement and structure of the ice bin and ice making assembly, which limits design flexibility and user convenience.
Innovation Solution
The refrigerator design features a slim refrigerator door by reconfiguring the ice bin and ice making assembly, allowing the ice bin to be positioned below the ice maker and utilizing a rotation blade mechanism for efficient ice discharge, thereby reducing the overall thickness of the door.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the ice bin and ice making assembly are placed in the refrigerator door, then ice storage and dispensing functions are integrated, but the door thickness increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ice bin is positioned below the ice making assembly within the door structure, with the ice maker disposed in the door and the bin nested underneath it. This vertical stacking arrangement allows both ice production and storage functions to be integrated in the door while minimizing the overall thickness by utilizing the vertical space efficiently.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a horizontal arrangement to a vertical arrangement by positioning the ice bin below the ice making assembly. This dimensional change allows the ice storage and dispensing functions to be integrated in the door without significantly increasing the door's horizontal thickness, as the components are stacked vertically rather than placed side-by-side.
2Length of stationary object
If the door thickness is reduced, then design flexibility and storage capacity increase, but the ice bin and ice making assembly placement becomes more constrained
Solution Approach 1:
The ice making assembly is divided into separate functional components: the ice maker unit disposed in the door, the ice bin positioned below it for storage, and the dispenser mechanism. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently for space efficiency while maintaining the overall functionality of ice production, storage, and dispensing within the constrained door thickness.
Solution Approach 2:
By arranging the ice bin vertically below the ice making assembly rather than horizontally alongside it, the patent reduces the door thickness while preserving all necessary placement flexibility. This vertical stacking in another dimension allows the system to fit within thinner doors while maintaining adaptability for different door designs and configurations.
3Productivity
If a rotation blade mechanism is used for ice discharge, then ice dispensing efficiency improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rotation blade mechanism is designed to be driven by the weight of the ice itself. As ice accumulates in the bin, the weight of the ice automatically rotates the blade, which then dispenses the ice without requiring external power or complex control systems. This self-service mechanism achieves efficient ice dispensing while minimizing device complexity by utilizing the ice's own weight as the driving force.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex powered mechanical dispensing systems with a simpler gravity-based rotation blade mechanism. Instead of using motors, gears, or electronic controls to rotate the blade for ice discharge, the system uses the natural weight of accumulated ice to automatically rotate the blade and trigger dispensing, thereby improving efficiency while reducing overall system complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided is a refrigerator including a slim refrigerator door (11). The refrigerator includes a storage compartment; a refrigerator door (11) opening and closing the storage compartment; an ice maker (210) configured to generate ice cubes; an ice bin (300) provided at the refrigerator door to receive the ice cubes generated in the ice maker and having a discharge opening (510) through which the ice cubes are discharged; a motor provided at the refrigerator door; and at least one blade (410) within the ice bin, the at least one blade being operably connected to the motor, wherein at least one ice cube generated in the ice maker directly drop onto the at least one blade, and the at least one blade moves at least one ice cube stored in the ice bin to the discharge opening to discharge the at least one ice cube from the ice bin by an operation of the motor.