Refrigerator Door UI and Handle Layout for Compact Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing refrigerator designs lack an integrated and compact operation center that allows for easy user interaction and efficient use of space, particularly in the door area, where the user interface and handle groove often overlap or are not optimally sized.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator door design featuring a user interface electrical module, handle groove, and concave portion located within a boundary frame, allowing them to be successively disposed along the depth direction of the handle groove, thus providing a larger operational area without overlapping, and integrated into a shared housing to reduce the number of components and prevent foaming liquid leakage during the insulation process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the user interface electrical module and handle groove are disposed separately in conventional refrigerator doors, then each component can be independently designed and manufactured, but the available space for both components is limited and they may overlap or not be optimally sized
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a two-dimensional planar arrangement to a three-dimensional spatial arrangement by utilizing the depth direction of the door. The user interface electrical module is disposed in the accommodating space at a first depth position, while the handle groove is disposed at a second depth position along the depth direction, allowing both components to coexist without overlapping and maximizing the use of available door space.
Solution Approach 2:
The accommodating space that houses the user interface electrical module is nested within the door structure, and the handle groove is integrated into the same door body at a different depth level. This nesting approach allows multiple functional components to be compactly arranged within the limited door volume, with each component occupying its own spatial zone along the depth direction.
2Ease of manufacture
If multiple components (user interface module, handle groove, concave portion) are integrated into a shared housing within the door, then the number of components is reduced and manufacturing is simplified, but the structural complexity increases and assembly becomes more challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the user interface electrical module, handle groove, and concave portion into a single integrated door structure. The accommodating space containing the user interface module and the handle groove are both formed within the door body, reducing the total number of separate components and simplifying the manufacturing process while maintaining functional independence of each element.
Solution Approach 2:
While integrating multiple components, the patent maintains clear spatial segmentation along the depth direction. The accommodating space for the user interface module is separated from the handle groove by different depth positions, and the concave portion is distinctively formed on the front surface. This segmentation allows each component to be independently designed and assembled while being part of the integrated door structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A refrigerator includes a door having a user interface electrical module, an accommodating space accommodating the user interface electrical module, a handle groove, and a concave portion being open towards a front surface and a side surface of the door in such a way that the handle groove is accessible to a user through the concave portion. The door includes a user interface housing. The accommodating space, the handle groove and the concave portion are located within the user interface housing and are successively disposed side by side along a depth direction of the handle groove.