Refrigerator Hinge Assembly With Deformed Insert for Stable Door Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional refrigerator hinges often experience instability and defects due to gaps between the hinge supporter and bracket, leading to reduced user convenience and increased defect rates, especially in heavier doors where additional support is needed.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator hinge design featuring a hinge supporter with a bracket support portion that surrounds the edge of the filling hole and a hinge bracket with an insertion portion that deforms to fill the fitting hole, providing double support and minimizing gaps through surface treatment and deformation processes like press working or riveting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional hinge structure is used, then manufacturing is simple, but gaps between hinge supporter and bracket cause instability and reduced reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The bracket support portion is integrated into the hinge supporter as a unified structure, merging the bracket support function directly into the supporter body. This eliminates gaps between separate components while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through stamping or bending processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge bracket is inserted into and nested within the hinge supporter structure, with the bracket support portion surrounding the fitting hole. This nested configuration ensures firm coupling and eliminates gaps while preserving structural simplicity.
2Reliability
If firm coupling is achieved through deformation processes, then reliability improves, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fitting hole is pre-formed with a non-circular shape (e.g., quadrangular) that matches the insertion portion geometry before assembly. This preliminary shaping enables straightforward insertion and deformation coupling without requiring complex manufacturing processes, achieving reliable firm coupling through simple stamping or bending operations.
3Strength
If bracket support portion protrudes to provide support, then heavier doors are supported better, but surface treatment uniformity becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The bracket support portion is designed with selective protrusion only where structural support is needed (at the fitting hole location), while other areas maintain the original surface plane. This localized quality approach provides enhanced support for heavier doors while preserving uniform surface treatment across the majority of the hinge supporter surface.
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 design enhances stability and reduces defect rates by ensuring a firm coupling between the hinge supporter and bracket, supporting heavier doors more effectively and maintaining a uniform surface treatment, thus improving user convenience and durability.
Implementation Method 1
an insertion portion that is configured to be deformed to completely fill the fitting hole and the expanding portion
Implementation Method 2
The surface treatment layer may be plated or painted on the outer surfaces of the hinge supporter and the hinge bracket
Data Source
AI summary
A refrigerator hinge includes a hinge supporter configured to be mounted on a front surface of a cabinet of a refrigerator, the hinge supporter defining a fitting hole and including a bracket support portion that at least partially surrounds an edge of the fitting hole and protrudes from a front surface of the hinge supporter, a hinge bracket configured to be perpendicularly coupled to the hinge supporter, the hinge bracket including an insertion portion that protrudes from a first end of the hinge bracket and is configured to be inserted into the fitting hole, and a hinge pin configured to be coupled to a second end of the hinge bracket opposite the first end. When the hinge bracket is coupled to the hinge supporter, an inner edge of the bracket support portion contacts an outer circumferential surface of the hinge bracket.