Removable Freezer Door With External Bearings for Cold Lubrication
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Solution Overview
Problem
The low temperature environment in bottom-mount freezer compartments affects lubricant viscosity, making lubrication problematic, and the existing door removal and reassembly process is costly and labor-intensive due to the need for disassembly and reassembly by delivery personnel.
Innovation Solution
An external bearing support system for the freezer basket and door, using parallel round tubes with linear bearings and wedge-shaped stanchions that allow easy removal and installation without tools, ensuring lubricant effectiveness and minimizing labor requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If bearings are located inside the freezer compartment to support the basket sliding action, then the sliding function is achieved, but the lubricant effectiveness deteriorates due to low temperature increasing viscosity
Solution Approach 1:
The bearing support system is extracted from the freezer compartment interior and relocated to the exterior base of the appliance. The horizontal slides are mounted on the outer surface of the cabinet base, allowing the basket to slide on bearings that are not exposed to the cold freezer environment, thus maintaining lubricant effectiveness while still enabling smooth basket movement.
2Strength
If the door is permanently assembled to the appliance for structural integrity, then the structural strength is maintained, but the door removal and reassembly becomes labor-intensive and costly requiring specialized personnel
Solution Approach 1:
The door support system is segmented into removable components. The door is supported by vertical posts with wedge-shaped stanchions that can be independently removed from the horizontal slides. This segmentation allows the door to be easily detached by removing the stanchions without requiring disassembly of the entire door assembly or specialized tools, while the remaining structure maintains its strength.
3Volume of moving object
If the bearing support system is mounted inside the freezer compartment to save external space, then the appliance compactness is improved, but the lubricant is adversely affected by low temperatures
Solution Approach 1:
The bearing support system is relocated from the interior three-dimensional space of the freezer compartment to the exterior surface of the cabinet base. By utilizing the external surface area of the appliance rather than interior volume, the system maintains appliance compactness without compromising lubricant effectiveness, as the external mounting location is not exposed to cold temperatures.
4Ease of operation
If the door is directly supported on external horizontal slides independently of the basket, then the door removal is simplified, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The horizontal slides serve multiple functions: they support both the basket sliding action and the door support system. The vertical posts with wedge-shaped stanchions provide universal support that can accommodate both the basket and door components. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated support mechanisms, thereby simplifying the overall device despite the independent door support requirement.
Data Source
AI summary
A refrigerator including a cabinet having a bottom mounted freezer container, a separate bearing on left and right sides of the refrigerator cabinet adapted to support the container for movement in and out of a freezer compartment of the cabinet, the container bearings being disposed outside of a freezer liner forming the freezer compartment.