Refrigerator having a cabinet door with a transparent display
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional refrigerators lack an efficient way to identify stored food without opening the door, leading to unnecessary cold air loss and increased door opening times, as they do not provide clear visibility into the storage space without compromising the transparency of the viewing area.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator design that incorporates a see-through panel with a light guide plate and diffuser, adjustable bezels, and strategically positioned lights to allow clear visibility of the interior while maintaining transparency and preventing cold air loss, using a combination of display and internal lights to illuminate the storage space without directly interacting with the light guide plate.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a transparent door panel is used to allow viewing of the refrigerator interior, then visibility of stored food is improved, but the panel may become opaque when display information is shown
Solution Approach 1:
The door panel is segmented into distinct functional zones: a transparent region for viewing stored food and a display region for showing information. This segmentation allows each zone to perform its specific function without interfering with the other, maintaining overall transparency while enabling information display.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the door panel have different optical properties. The viewing region maintains high transparency to allow clear viewing of stored food, while the display region can become opaque when information is displayed. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction by allowing opacity only where necessary for information display.
2Loss of information
If internal lights are positioned to illuminate the storage space, then visibility is improved, but light may directly interact with the light guide plate causing display blur
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful interaction between internal lights and the light guide plate is extracted and eliminated by strategically positioning lights to illuminate the storage space without directing light toward the display assembly. This separation prevents light from entering the light guide plate and causing display blur.
Solution Approach 2:
The spatial arrangement and angular positioning of internal lights act as an intermediary solution, allowing light to illuminate the storage space while preventing direct interaction with the light guide plate. The geometric configuration serves as a mediator that enables both illumination and display clarity.
3Ease of operation
If the door is opened frequently to identify stored food, then access to food is improved, but cold air loss increases
Solution Approach 1:
The transparent door panel with integrated display provides preliminary information about stored food contents before the door is opened. Users can identify food items, check storage status, and receive notifications without opening the door, enabling informed decisions about whether door opening is necessary and reducing unnecessary openings.
Solution Approach 2:
The transparent panel with display information serves as an intermediary that provides food access information without requiring physical door opening. This intermediary layer allows users to obtain necessary information while keeping the door closed, preventing cold air loss.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If a fixed-width bezel is used to shield constituents around the transparent assembly, then shielding is improved, but the visible area is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The bezel width is made variable rather than fixed. The bezel can dynamically adjust its width to provide adequate shielding of constituents when needed while minimizing the reduction of visible area. This dynamic adjustment allows the system to optimize between shielding effectiveness and visible area based on operational requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The bezel's physical parameter (width) is changed from a fixed value to a variable parameter. By adjusting the bezel width, the system can optimize the balance between shielding constituents and maximizing the visible transparent area, resolving the contradiction between these two requirements.
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
Enables clear visualization of the interior without compromising the transparency of the panel assembly, reducing cold air loss and door opening times, while maintaining efficient cooling and user convenience.
Implementation Method 1
A light diffuser may be provided on the light guide plate to easily induce scattering of light, thereby uniformly diffusing the light toward a display
Implementation Method 2
A light diffuser may be provided on the light guide plate to easily induce scattering of light, thereby uniformly diffusing the light toward a display
Implementation Method 3
the light emitted from the lights and the light guide plate may be aligned in parallel to each other to prevent the light from having an influence on the light guide plate
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a refrigerator. The refrigerator includes a cabinet, a door configured to open and close the cabinet and having an opening, a panel assembly configured to shield the opening and including a see-through part, and a light provided further inward from the refrigerator than the panel assembly to illustrate a rear side of a door so that the inside of the refrigerator is visible through the see-through part. The wherein the panel assembly includes a transparent front panel defining a front surface thereof, a display disposed on a rear surface of the front panel, a light guide plate disposed to be spaced apart from the display, a backlight configured to emit light toward an end of the light guide plate, and a rear panel made of a transparent material, spaced apart from the front panel to define a heat insulation space in which the display, the light guide plate, and the backlight are accommodated. The light may emit light to a rear region of the light guide plate from the outside of the light guide plate and be disposed at an angle between a direction parallel to the light guide plate and a rear side crossing the light guide plate.