Refrigerator Door Opening Mechanism for Hands-Free Wider Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing refrigerator designs make it difficult to increase the opening angle of the door when both hands are occupied, as the gap between the doors is insufficient, limiting the user's ability to open the door using their elbow or feet.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator with a door opening device that includes a motor, push rod, and gear system, where the push rod moves to position the rear surface of one door in front of the other, allowing for a larger opening angle even when hands are not free, utilizing a rack gear with a curved shape to reduce the push rod's length and enhance the opening mechanism.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the door opening device uses a conventional linear push rod mechanism, then the structure is simple, but the opening angle is insufficient and the rear surface of the opened door cannot reach the front side of the closed door
Solution Approach 1:
The push rod is designed with a curved shape instead of a straight linear form. This curvature allows the push rod to effectively transfer the motor's linear motion into rotational motion that achieves a larger door opening angle, enabling the rear surface of the opened door to reach the front side of the closed door while maintaining structural efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
A gear system is introduced as an intermediary mechanism between the motor and the push rod. The gear system converts the motor's rotational motion into linear motion that drives the curved push rod, enabling the complex motion required to achieve the desired opening angle while keeping the motor itself simple and compact
2Ease of operation
If the push rod is made long to achieve sufficient door opening angle, then the opening angle increases, but the device size and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The curved shape of the push rod allows it to achieve a longer effective lever arm and greater angular displacement without requiring a proportionally longer physical structure. The curvature optimizes the mechanical advantage at different points in the opening sequence, enabling sufficient opening angle with a more compact overall dimension
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of extending the push rod length in a single linear dimension, the solution uses curvature to utilize spatial arrangement in multiple dimensions. The curved path allows the push rod to sweep through a larger angular range while maintaining a compact footprint, effectively trading linear length for curved spatial efficiency
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
Enables the user to easily increase the opening angle of the refrigerator door using their elbow or foot, even when hands are occupied, by creating a sufficient gap between the doors, improving usability and accessibility.
Implementation Method 1
a gear for transferring the driving force of the motor to the push rod
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a refrigerator. A refrigerator according to an aspect includes a cabinet in which a storage compartment is formed; a first refrigerator door which is capable of opening and closing the storage compartment; second refrigerator door which is disposed along with the first refrigerator door in a lateral direction; and a door opening device which is capable of operating in order to open and close at least one of the first refrigerator door and the second refrigerator door, wherein the door opening device includes a motor for generating a driving force; a push rod which operates by receiving the driving force generating from the motor; a gear for transferring the driving force of the motor to the push rod.