Refrigerator Door Transmissive Panel for Low-Light Visibility
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Refrigerators lack an aesthetically appealing design that utilizes light emission to enhance visibility in low-light conditions, making it difficult for users to recognize patterns and positions in dark environments.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a transmissive part in the exterior member and a light-emitting unit that emits light through a decoration member, allowing the light to pass through and illuminate the exterior, thereby improving the refrigerator's aesthetic appearance and user recognition in low-light conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If a refrigerator has a simple exterior design without light-emitting components, then the device complexity is low and manufacturing is easier, but the aesthetic appearance and user recognition in dark environments deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the decoration member and exterior member into a single integrated component. The decoration member is positioned at the rear of the exterior member, creating a combined structure that eliminates the need for separate lighting components while achieving the light transmission effect. This integration resolves the contradiction by reducing device complexity while maintaining illumination functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The exterior member serves multiple functions: it provides structural coverage, enables light transmission through its transmissive part, and displays decorative patterns. By making the exterior member multi-functional, the patent eliminates the need for additional dedicated lighting components, thereby reducing device complexity while improving visibility and aesthetic appearance in dark environments.
2Illumination intensity
If a refrigerator uses opaque exterior materials, then manufacturing is simpler and material costs are lower, but the ability to transmit light and display patterns deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The exterior member is designed with a transmissive part that has different optical properties from other portions. This local quality change allows light to pass through specific areas while maintaining structural integrity and aesthetic appearance. The transmissive part can be a transparent or translucent region within the exterior member, enabling pattern display and light transmission without requiring complete transparency of the entire component.
3Ease of operation
If a refrigerator lacks light-emitting components, then energy consumption is lower and the device is simpler, but user recognition of position and handle in dark states deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The decoration member with its transmissive part serves the dual purpose of aesthetic decoration and functional illumination. When light sources inside the refrigerator illuminate the interior, the light passes through the transmissive part of the exterior member, automatically providing external illumination without requiring additional energy-consuming light-emitting components. The structure serves itself by using existing light sources for both internal illumination and external visibility.
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
The solution enhances the refrigerator's aesthetic appeal by providing a light source that illuminates patterns and improves user recognition of the refrigerator's position and handle in dark environments, serving as an indoor light source.
Implementation Method 1
a light-emitting unit for emitting light so that the decoration member can be easily recognized from the outside
Implementation Method 2
an exterior member which partially defines the appearance of the refrigerator and has a transmissive part through which light is passed
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~4
Figure 5~7
AI summary
This present embodiment relates to a refrigerator. The refrigerator includes an exterior member which defines the appearance of the refrigerator and in which a transmissive part, through which light is passed, is formed; a decoration member provided at a rear side of the exterior member; and a light-emitting unit which emits light toward the decoration member.