Refrigerator Door With Transparent Panel and Separated Wire Routing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Refrigerators face challenges in identifying stored food without opening the door, leading to increased door opening times and unnecessary cold air loss, and existing transparent door designs require large-scale displays for information transmission.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator design featuring a transparent panel assembly with independent displays on the door, allowing visibility into the refrigerator and separate information display without affecting insulation, with improved assembly and maintenance through wire separation from the insulator.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a transparent panel assembly with display is provided on the refrigerator door, then information transmission and visibility are improved, but the door structure becomes more complex and assembly difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The door assembly is segmented into multiple independent components: outer door, inner door, transparent panel assembly, and display unit. Each component can be manufactured and assembled separately, reducing overall complexity while enabling information display functionality through the transparent panel.
Solution Approach 2:
A wire guide structure is introduced as an intermediary component to manage the connection wires between the display unit and control board. This mediator organizes wire routing through dedicated channels and grooves, simplifying the complex wiring arrangement while maintaining display functionality.
2Reliability
If wires are embedded in insulator for display connection, then insulation is improved, but assembly and maintenance difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The wire management system is segmented into distinct functional zones: wire guide channels in the insulator for insulation, separate wire grooves in the inner door for routing, and accessible wire paths near the control board. This segmentation maintains insulation reliability while enabling easier wire access for maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
Wires are extracted from direct embedding in insulator and routed through dedicated wire guide channels and grooves. This extraction allows wires to maintain electrical insulation through structured pathways while being more accessible for connection and maintenance operations.
3Loss of information
If a large-scale display is used to transmit information, then information visibility is improved, but energy consumption and insulation performance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The transparent panel serves as a localized display area with specific optical properties, allowing information to be displayed only in the required region rather than requiring a large-scale display across the entire door. This localized approach maintains insulation performance while achieving adequate information visibility.
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided is a refrigerator. The refrigerator includes a cabinet in which a storage space is defined and a door configured to open and close the storage space. The door includes an outer plate which defines a front surface of the door and in which a plate opening is defined, a door liner which defines a rear surface of the door and in which a liner opening is defined, a panel assembly configured to shield the plate opening and the liner opening, the panel assembly including a first display through which the inside thereof is visible, and a screen is output, a second display disposed at a position that is spaced apart from the first display, and a frame provided between the outer plate and the door liner. The frame includes a first mounting part on which the panel assembly is mounted, a second mounting part on which the second display is mounted, and a wire guide part which connects the first mounting part to the second mounting part and in which a wire connected to the second display is accommodated.