Refrigerator Ice Transfer Duct Layout to Prevent Ice Adherence
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing refrigerator designs with icemakers in refrigerating compartments face issues such as high power consumption, ice adherence, and prolonged ice delivery times due to large distances between icemakers and ice banks, leading to inefficient ice transfer and increased motor overload.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator design with an icemaker in the freezing compartment, featuring a semi-spherical upper and lower tray system, an ice transfer duct, and a transfer device with a pusher and wound transfer cable, allowing for independent ice transfer between compartments, reducing power consumption and preventing ice adherence.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of stationary object
If the icemaker is placed in the refrigerating compartment, then the ice transfer distance is reduced, but ice adherence occurs on the transfer path and power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigerator is divided into two functional zones: the freezing compartment houses the icemaker and provides cooling, while the refrigerating compartment contains only the ice bank. This segmentation allows ice to be produced in a cold environment and transferred to a warmer storage zone, preventing ice adherence on the transfer path while maintaining short transfer distance.
Solution Approach 2:
The transfer path acts as an intermediary channel between the freezing compartment (icemaker) and refrigerating compartment (ice bank). By positioning the transfer path to extend from the freezing compartment through the refrigerating compartment door, ice can be transported without contacting warm surfaces that would cause adherence, while the overall transfer distance remains short.
2Ease of operation
If the icemaker is placed in the refrigerating compartment, then ice production is convenient, but the distance to the ice bank increases leading to prolonged ice delivery time
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigerator structure is segmented so that the freezing compartment (containing the icemaker) and refrigerating compartment (containing the ice bank) are positioned adjacent to each other. This spatial segmentation enables both ice production convenience and short transfer distance, as the icemaker can operate independently in the freezing compartment while the ice bank is immediately accessible in the refrigerating compartment.
3Productivity
If a large transfer device is used to transfer ice over long distance, then ice can be transferred from icemaker to ice bank, but power consumption increases and motor overload occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The transfer system is segmented into a simple gravitational drop path rather than a complex mechanical transfer device. Ice is allowed to slide or drop along a guided path from the icemaker in the freezing compartment to the ice bank in the refrigerating compartment, eliminating the need for high-power motors and reducing energy consumption while maintaining effective ice transfer capability.
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
This design reduces power consumption, prevents ice adherence, and enhances ice delivery efficiency, allowing for increased ice storage capacity and user convenience by shortening ice production time and increasing storage space.
Implementation Method 1
an ice transfer device for transferring the ice collected in the ice collection part to the ice bank along the ice transfer duct, wherein the ice transfer device includes a transfer cable, a pusher connected to an end of the transfer cable, and a transfer case in which the transfer cable is wound
Data Source
AI summary
A refrigerator comprises: a cabinet including a refrigerator compartment, and a freezer compartment provided; a refrigerator compartment door rotationally connected to the front side of the cabinet to open/close the refrigerator compartment; an ice bank which is provided to the ice compartment and stores ice; an icemaker which comprises an upper tray forming a hemispherical upper cell, a lower tray forming a hemispherical lower cell, and a rotating shaft for rotating the lower tray, and which is provided in the freezer compartment; and an ice transfer device for transferring the ice collected in the ice collector to the ice bank along the ice transfer duct, wherein the ice transfer device can include: a transfer cable; a pusher connected to an end of the transfer cable; and a transfer case for accommodating the transfer cable which is wound.