refrigerator
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional refrigerator valve structures face challenges in precisely controlling refrigerant flow rates due to burst releases and manufacturing variations, leading to issues with cooling performance and increased power consumption.
Innovation Solution
The valve structure deviates the center of the outlet from the rotation trajectory of the regulation recess's front end portion, allowing for a smaller overlapping area and gradual flow rate increase, and incorporates a design with a narrow and expanding portion to manage variations in assembly, ensuring precise control and preventing sudden flow rate changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the valve body is rotated such that the front end portion of the regulation recess passes by the center of the outlet, then the valve structure can control the flow rate by changing the overlapping area, but the refrigerant flows in a burst making it difficult to control the flow rate with high precision
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by deviating the center of the outlet from the rotation trajectory of the front end portion of the regulation recess. This asymmetric arrangement ensures that the front end portion overlaps the outlet at an angle rather than passing directly through the center, creating a gradual increase in overlapping area from a smaller initial value. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining flow rate control capability while eliminating the burst flow issue that prevents precise control.
2Measurement precision
If the center of the outlet is deviated from the rotation trajectory of the front end portion of the regulation recess, then the flow rate control precision is improved, but the overlapping area becomes very small which may prevent foreign materials from being released
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating different overlapping area characteristics at different portions of the regulation recess. The front end portion has a smaller overlapping area for precise flow control, while the rear end portion has a larger overlapping area that can accommodate and release foreign materials. This resolves the contradiction by addressing the foreign material release issue in one local region while maintaining precise flow control in another region.
3Manufacturing precision
If the regulation recess and outlet are positioned according to design specifications, then the flow rate control is optimized, but manufacturing and assembly variations cause deviations leading to inconsistent flow rates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies beforehand cushioning by designing the outlet position to be deliberately deviated from the rotation trajectory of the front end portion of the regulation recess. This pre-planned positional offset creates a buffer that compensates for manufacturing and assembly variations, ensuring that the overlapping area between the regulation recess and outlet remains consistent despite deviations in component positions. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining flow rate consistency even when manufacturing precision is limited.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 1B
Figure 2
AI summary
A valve structure that may control the flow rate of a fluid with high precision when the fluid starts to be released is provided. In a valve structure 20 including a valve sheet 3 having two outlets 3a to release a fluid and a valve body 4 arranged to be rotational against the valve sheet 3 to regulate a degree of opening of the outlet 3a, the valve body 4 has a fluid control recess 4d formed in the circumferential direction whose area overlapping the outlet 3a is changed by rotation of the valve body 4, and the center O of the outlet 3a is forced to deviate from a rotation trajectory of a front end portion 4b of the fluid control recess 4d that starts to overlap the outlet 3a by the rotation of the valve body 4.