Refrigerator with ice-making function
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing refrigerators suffer from significant refrigeration capacity loss and reduced ice making efficiency due to shared evaporators among compartments, leading to flavor transfer and complex duct structures, which affect the quality and taste of ice cubes.
Innovation Solution
The refrigerator design includes separate air intake and return ducts for the ice making compartment, with parts of these ducts located in the refrigerating compartment, and strategically positioned vents that align or separate based on the door's position, optimizing air flow and reducing refrigeration loss.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If one evaporator is shared among the ice making compartment, refrigerating compartment and freezing compartment, then the structure is simplified, but the refrigeration capacity is lost and ice making efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the single evaporator system into multiple separate evaporators: one evaporator is dedicated to the ice making compartment, while another evaporator serves the refrigerating and freezing compartments. This segmentation eliminates the refrigeration capacity loss that occurred in the shared evaporator system and prevents flavor transfer between compartments, thereby improving ice making efficiency without significantly complicating the overall structure.
2Ease of operation
If a long air duct is used to communicate the ice making compartment from the rear side of the freezing compartment, then the compartments are connected, but the refrigeration capacity loss in the air duct is great
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the ice making compartment's air supply system from the shared evaporator and long air duct arrangement, creating a dedicated evaporator and separate air duct for the ice making compartment. This eliminates the need for the long air duct extending from the freezing compartment rear side, thereby preventing the significant refrigeration capacity loss that occurred in the traditional long duct configuration.
3Device complexity
If the freezing compartment and ice making compartment share one evaporator, then the structure is simplified, but the flavors of food in the freezing compartment taint the ice cubes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements physical separation by assigning dedicated evaporators to different compartments: the ice making evaporator serves only the ice making compartment, while the freezing evaporator serves the freezing compartment. This segmentation creates independent air circulation systems that prevent flavor transfer from food in the freezing compartment to ice cubes, while maintaining relatively simple overall structure.
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
This design significantly reduces refrigeration capacity loss and enhances ice making efficiency by minimizing air leakage through the side walls, while maintaining compartment separation to prevent flavor transfer and improve ice quality.
Implementation Method 1
an ice making evaporator supplied with water to the ice making compartment through an air intake duct
Implementation Method 2
the air return duct, for returning air from the ice making compartment to the ice making evaporator
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 4
AI summary
The present invention discloses a refrigerator with an ice making function, comprising a refrigerating compartment; a door of the refrigerating compartment; a freezing compartment; and an ice making compartment provided at the door of the refrigerating compartment; a compartment for an ice making evaporator; an ice making blower and the ice making evaporator provided in the compartment for the ice making evaporator, the ice making evaporator is communicated with the ice making compartment through an air intake duct and an air return duct, and a part of one of the air intake duct and the air return duct is provided in the refrigerating compartment.