Refrigerator Machine Compartment Wall for Foam-Saving Packaging
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing packaging methods for household refrigerators require excessive material, particularly foam, due to the straight design of the wall delimiting the machine room, leading to high costs and inefficient use of packaging material.
Innovation Solution
The design features an inclined first wall section in the lower region of the machine room, forming a nose-like overhang that reduces material requirements and allows for improved coupling with packaging devices, enabling stable positioning and enhanced airflow for better cooling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a straight wall design is used to delimit the machine room, then the structure is simple to manufacture, but excessive foam material is required leading to high packaging costs
Solution Approach 1:
The wall is segmented into multiple sections: a first wall section with inclination, a second wall section, and a third wall section. This segmentation allows the wall to fulfill multiple functions - structural support, material reduction, and packaging integration - thereby reducing overall foam material consumption while maintaining manufacturability
Solution Approach 2:
The inclined first wall section serves multiple functions: it provides structural support for the machine room, reduces the volume requiring foam insulation, creates a receiving space for packaging parts, and improves airflow guidance. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate packaging materials while maintaining structural integrity
2Device complexity
If a straight wall design is used, then the machine room structure is simple, but the coupling with packaging device parts is insufficient reducing packaging stability
Solution Approach 1:
The inclined first wall section is designed in advance to create a receiving space that anticipates the insertion of wedge-shaped packaging parts. This preliminary structural feature enables stable packaging without requiring complex additional support structures, as the wall geometry itself prepares the space for packaging integration
Solution Approach 2:
The wall transitions from a symmetric straight design to an asymmetric configuration with an inclined first wall section. This asymmetry creates an irregular receiving space that provides better mechanical interlocking with the packaging device, enhancing stability while maintaining structural simplicity
3Loss of substance
If the wall is designed with an inclined first wall section, then material requirements are reduced and packaging coupling is improved, but the wall structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The wall complexity is localized only to the first wall section which requires inclination for material reduction and packaging coupling. The second and third wall sections maintain simpler geometries, ensuring that the overall manufacturing complexity increase is minimal while achieving the desired material and packaging benefits
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 2
Figure 4
AI summary
The invention relates to a household refrigeration appliance (2) with a housing (4) and a machine compartment (5) formed in a rear lower region of the housing (4), and which is bounded on a side facing a front face (11) of the housing (4) by a wall (13), wherein the wall (13) has at a lower end an inclined first wall section (13c) which extends obliquely forward from an upper wall section edge (131c) towards the front face (11) to a lower edge (13b). The invention also relates to an arrangement (1) with a household refrigeration appliance (2) and a packaging device (3).