refrigerator
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Solution Overview
Problem
Refrigerators face challenges in allowing users to identify internal food without opening the door, leading to increased door opening times and unnecessary cold air leakage, and existing solutions expose PCBs and cables, risking damage and interference.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator design with a transparent display assembly in the door that includes a PCB disposed inside the door, connected by flexible flat cables and a connection cable, which are routed through the door to minimize exposure and prevent damage, allowing the interior to be seen without exposing the components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a transparent display assembly is installed in the door to allow viewing of the refrigerator interior, then visibility of internal food is improved, but the risk of damage to PCBs and cables increases due to exposure
Solution Approach 1:
The PCBs and cables are nested within the door structure, specifically positioned in the space between the outer plate and inner plate of the door. The transparent display assembly is installed in a way that allows viewing of the refrigerator interior through the door, while the electronic components remain hidden and protected within the door's internal space, preventing exposure and potential damage.
2Ease of manufacture
If PCBs and cables are exposed for connection and maintenance, then ease of assembly and repair is improved, but the airtight seal of the door is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The cable connections are extracted from the door interior and routed through the hinge connection between the door and cabinet body. This allows cables to be connected and disconnected from the exterior side without opening the door, maintaining the airtight seal while providing easy access for assembly and maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge connection serves as an intermediary pathway for cable routing. Instead of exposing cables within the door or creating openings in the door seal, the cables pass through the hinge mechanism, which acts as a mediator that maintains the door's airtight integrity while enabling cable access for connection and maintenance.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple cables are routed through the door for electronic components, then connectivity is improved, but cable management complexity and risk of short-circuiting increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple cables connecting the transparent display assembly and other electronic components are merged into a single bundled cable assembly that routes through the hinge. This consolidation simplifies cable management by reducing the number of separate cable pathways needed, lowers the risk of short-circuiting through proper insulation and organization, and maintains full connectivity of all electronic components while preserving the door's airtight seal.
Data Source
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AI summary
One embodiment of the present invention relates to a refrigerator and, more specifically, comprises: a cabinet for forming a storage space; doors for opening and closing the storage space; an out plate forming an outer appearance of a front surface of the door and having a plate opening; a door liner forming an outer appearance of a rear surface of the door and having a liner opening; a transparent display assembly provided between the door liner and the out plate so as to cover the plate opening and the liner opening, and enabling the storage space to be seen therethrough and a screen to be outputted; a PCB provided on the inner side of the door and connected to the transparent display assembly; a display PCB, which is provided at the cabinet, for controlling the operation of the transparent display assembly; a cable connecting the transparent display assembly and the PCB, and formed in a flat shape so as to be disposed along a circumference of the transparent display assembly; and a connection cable connecting the PCB and the display PCB, and formed in a wire shape so as to penetrate the door.