Refrigerator Sub-Door Transparency Design to Reduce Cooling Air Loss
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional refrigerators require opening the main door to check the contents of a separate accommodation space, leading to unnecessary cooling air leakage and inconvenience in accessing frequently used items.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator design featuring a rotatable sub-door within the main door that can be transparent or opaque, allowing users to view the contents without opening the main door, while maintaining insulation and minimizing cooling air loss.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If the main door is opened to check the contents of the separate accommodation space, then the user can see what food is stored, but cooling air leaks out causing energy loss
Solution Approach 1:
The door assembly is segmented into a main door and a separate auxiliary door (or home-bar door). The auxiliary door can be opened independently to access the separate accommodation space, allowing users to check or retrieve frequently used items without opening the main door, thus preventing cooling air leakage while maintaining visibility and access functionality.
2Ease of operation
If the auxiliary door or home-bar door is opened to check for desired food, then access to the separate accommodation space is enabled, but if the food is not found the main door must be opened causing unnecessary cooling air loss
Solution Approach 1:
The door system is divided into independent auxiliary door and main door components. The auxiliary door provides access to a dedicated separate accommodation space for frequently used items, allowing users to check contents without opening the main door. This segmentation enables targeted access, reducing the frequency and extent of main door openings and thereby minimizing unnecessary cooling air loss.
3Ease of operation
If a separate accommodation space is provided at the door, then frequently used food can be accessed without opening the main door, but the user still cannot check the contents without opening the auxiliary door
Solution Approach 1:
The auxiliary door incorporates a transparent panel or transparent portion that allows users to visually check the contents of the separate accommodation space without opening the door. This transparency feature provides visibility of stored items while maintaining the door's closed state, preventing cooling air leakage while enabling users to confirm the presence of desired food before opening the auxiliary door.
Data Source
AI summary
A refrigerator includes a cabinet forming a storage space, a main door that opens and closes the storage space while defining an opening part that is in communication with the storage space, a sub-door mounted to the main door and configured to open and close the opening part, the sub-door including a panel assembly for allowing selective viewing of an inside of the opening part, the injection port is provided at a lower side of the sub-door to direct an insulating foaming solution to a space in the sub-door, a detection device for detecting an operation of a user, a lighting unit inside the refrigerator that turns on based on user operation to allow selective viewing of the inner side of the opening part, and a display unit inside the refrigerator at a position corresponding to the panel.