Refrigerator Door Hinge Wire Routing for Thin Door Designs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Refrigerators face challenges in guiding multiple electric wires through the hinge shaft due to thickness restrictions, leading to wire exposure, interference, and damage when the door is open, especially with thinner doors and increased wire counts.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a sub-door with a sub-hinge cover that shields both the sub-hinge and main hinge shafts, using a sub-cover and main hinge cover to guide wires through the hinge shafts internally, preventing exposure and interference by using a connector structure that allows wires to pass through the sub-hinge and main hinge shafts without changing length, and includes a wire entrance part for additional wires.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If electric wires are guided through the hinge shaft, then wires are protected from exposure and damage, but the hinge shaft inner diameter is restricted by door thickness making it impossible to guide all wires when door is thin or wire count is high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the wire guidance system into two separate paths: wires that can fit through the hinge shaft are guided through it for protection, while wires that cannot fit are routed through alternative pathways (such as along the door edge or through dedicated wire channels). This segmentation allows the system to protect as many wires as possible through the hinge shaft while accommodating additional wires through other means, resolving the contradiction between protection reliability and adaptability to high wire counts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes three-dimensional space within the door structure by creating wire channels and pathways that extend along the door edge and through various compartments. This dimensional approach allows wires to be routed through available spaces that are not constrained by the hinge shaft's limited inner diameter, enabling accommodation of more wires while maintaining door thickness requirements.
2Shape
If door thickness is reduced for design flexibility, then refrigerator appearance and integration are improved, but the hinge shaft inner diameter becomes too small to guide all necessary electric wires
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the wire routing into multiple pathways: critical wires that require rotation protection are guided through the hinge shaft, while other wires are routed through alternative channels along the door structure. This allows the door to maintain thin profile while still accommodating all necessary wires through distributed routing paths rather than relying solely on the hinge shaft's limited capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the third dimension by creating wire channels that extend along the door's length and depth, utilizing available internal spaces and structural voids. This allows wires to be routed through the door's volumetric space rather than being constrained to the two-dimensional cross-section limited by door thickness, enabling thin door design while maintaining wire guidance capability.
3Reliability
If multiple wires are routed through the hinge shaft, then wire protection is improved, but wire interference and damage risk increase when door is open
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments wires into different routing groups: wires that must rotate with the door are carefully guided through the hinge shaft with adequate spacing, while other wires are routed through fixed pathways that do not require rotation. This segmentation reduces wire interference by separating rotating and non-rotating wire groups, minimizing tangling and damage risk while maintaining protection for essential wires.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces protective elements such as wire conduits, routing channels, and spacing structures that act as intermediaries between wires and the hinge shaft. These intermediary structures maintain proper wire spacing, prevent wire-to-wire contact and interference, and protect wires from mechanical damage while allowing necessary rotation and movement.
Data Source
AI summary
A refrigerator includes a cabinet, a control unit provided in the cabinet and controlling an operation of the refrigerator, a main door that opens or closes the cabinet and has an opening formed therein, a main hinge that couples the cabinet to the main door and allows the main door to be pivotably mounted, a sub-door formed on a front surface of the refrigerator and opens or closes the opening, a sub-hinge that couples the main door to the sub-door and allows the sub-door to be pivotably mounted, a sub-hinge cover that simultaneously shield a main hinge shaft of the main hinge and a sub-hinge shaft of the sub-hinge, and a wire disposed to extend from an inside of the sub-door, to be connected with the control unit, and to sequentially pass through the sub-hinge shaft and the main hinge shaft along an inside of the sub-hinge cover.