Refrigerator Inner Door Structure for Full Door Guard Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional refrigerators limit access to all door guards at the main door, requiring the main door to be opened, which leads to partial exposure of cold air and restricted access.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator design featuring an inner door with an opening and an outer door that allows access to all door guards without opening the main door, utilizing an inner panel with a constant distance between side walls for maximum access and a gasket assembly for sealing, with injection-molded and extrusion-molded components for efficient assembly and reduced cold air leakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the main door is opened to access door guards, then all door guards are accessible, but cold air is exposed and energy loss occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The door system is segmented into an outer door and an inner door, allowing independent operation. The inner door can be opened to access door guards while the outer door remains closed, preventing cold air leakage. This segmentation enables selective access to different functional zones without exposing the entire interior.
Solution Approach 2:
The inner door is nested within the outer door structure, creating a door-within-a-door configuration. This nested arrangement allows the inner door to provide access to door guards while the outer door maintains the primary seal, enabling hierarchical access control and energy conservation.
2Loss of energy
If a subsidiary door is provided for accessing door guards, then cold air leakage is reduced, but only some door guards are accessible
Solution Approach 1:
The inner door is designed as a full-width opening that spans the entire door assembly, segmented only by the door guards themselves. This allows all door guards to be accessible through the inner door opening, unlike traditional subsidiary doors that are limited in size and position.
Solution Approach 2:
The inner door creates an additional dimensional layer of access, allowing users to reach door guards at different positions (including rear surface door guards) by opening the inner door while keeping the outer door closed, effectively adding a new access dimension without compromising thermal insulation.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the inner panel side walls are made flat with constant distance, then door guard support is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The inner panel side walls are designed with specific geometric parameters (flat configuration and constant distance), transforming the structural parameters to provide stable door guard support. This parameter optimization ensures uniform load distribution and stable door guard positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The inner door assembly uses composite construction combining the inner panel with insulation material and gasket assemblies, creating a multi-layer composite structure that provides both structural stability for door guard support and thermal insulation functionality.
Data Source
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AI summary
A refrigerator provided with an inner panel molded through injection molding while an accommodation groove in which an installation member is accommodated is formed at the inner panel, and as a gasket is installed at an installation groove of the installation member, the use of a complex mold such as a slide core is minimized while making it easy to install the gasket at the inner panel.