Rotating Ice Tray Assembly to Prevent Overflow and Cold Air Loss
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional refrigerators face issues with water overflow and cool air leakage during the ice-making process, and the separation of ice cubes is inconvenient, leading to contamination and increased power consumption.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator design featuring a tray accommodation portion with a locking mechanism and ice tray pockets that prevent water overflow and facilitate easy ice cube separation, combined with a tray rotation unit and an ice-cube storage container integrated into the door to minimize cool air leakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the ice tray is separated from the housing for mounting, then the ice tray can be easily installed, but water may overflow due to inclined state or hand trembling
Solution Approach 1:
The ice tray is pre-filled with water inside the housing before freezing begins, eliminating the need to carry and mount the tray externally. This preliminary positioning prevents water overflow during installation while ensuring the tray is properly aligned and stable from the start
2Productivity
If multiple ice trays are provided, then ice production capacity increases, but the complexity of mounting and handling increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple ice trays are combined into a single integrated assembly that is mounted together as one unit inside the housing. This merging approach maintains high ice production capacity while simplifying the mounting process, as users only need to install one unified structure rather than handling multiple separate trays
3Ease of operation
If the ice tray is mounted externally and needs to be separated for ice cube removal, then ice cubes can be accessed, but cool air leaks from the storage chamber
Solution Approach 1:
The ice tray assembly is extracted as a separate, independently accessible component that can be removed through a dedicated opening without requiring the main storage chamber door to be opened. This extraction design allows users to access ice cubes while the rest of the refrigerator remains sealed, preventing cool air leakage and energy loss
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
The design minimizes water overflow, ensures uniform ice cube formation, reduces the need for manual handling of ice trays, and decreases cool air leakage when removing ice cubes, thereby enhancing user convenience and energy efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a tray rotation unit for rotating the ice tray upside down so that ice cubes can be separated from the ice tray
Data Source
AI summary
A refrigerator having an ice making device, comprises: a case having an opening at one side thereof; a tray accommodation portion having opened upper and lower surfaces, and configured to be inserted into or withdrawn from the case through the opening; an ice tray accommodated in the tray accommodation portion, and containing water to be frozen to ice cubes; and an accommodation portion coupling unit for coupling the tray accommodation portion to the case. Water is poured onto the ice tray in a state that the ice tray has been accommodated in the tray accommodation portion, and then the ice tray is carried to be mounted to the case. This may solve the conventional problem that each ice tray has to be carried. Furthermore, since an external force such as hand trembling is transmitted to the ice tray via the tray accommodation portion, overflow of water is minimized.