Side-by-Side Refrigerator Rotatable Pillar Design for Storage Capacity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional refrigerators with side-by-side doors face issues such as reduced storage capacity and user inconvenience due to a protruding pillar that obstructs drawer movement and requires different drawer widths, as well as reduced basket capacity from curved corners to avoid pillar contact.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator design where the pillar is rotatable and spaced from the inner case walls, allowing it to fold when one door opens, preventing interference with drawers and baskets, and using magnetic forces for rotation without physical protrusions, enabling same-width drawers and increased storage capacity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a pillar is provided at one of the two doors to enhance sealability, then the sealability of the storage compartment is improved, but the pillar obstructs the path of drawers and reduces storage capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The pillar is designed to be rotatable rather than fixed, allowing it to dynamically change its position between an extended state (when both doors are closed) and a retracted state (when one door is open). This dynamic behavior enables the pillar to maintain sealability when needed while clearing the drawer path when a door is opened, resolving the contradiction between sealability and storage accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The pillar rotates about an axis that is offset from its contact point with the door, causing it to move in a circular arc rather than linearly. This dimensional change allows the pillar to clear the drawer path by rotating upward and backward, effectively moving out of the way without requiring linear retraction that would compromise sealability.
2Ease of operation
If a structure including a protrusion and guide groove is provided at an inner case to guide rotation of the pillar, then the pillar rotation is guided, but the protruding structure reduces storage compartment capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The guide groove is extracted from the inner case and relocated to the pillar itself. This extraction eliminates the need for a protruding structure on the inner case, thereby preserving storage compartment capacity while still providing the necessary guidance for pillar rotation through the groove formed on the pillar's surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide groove acts as an intermediary element that is integrated into the pillar rather than protruding from the inner case. This intermediary structure provides rotation guidance while occupying minimal space within the pillar itself, avoiding the storage capacity loss that would result from a protruding guide structure on the inner case.
3Reliability
If the pillar is in an unfolded state to seal the storage compartment, then sealability is enhanced, but baskets must have smoothly curved corners which reduces storage capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The pillar dynamically transitions between extended and retracted positions based on door state. When one door is open, the pillar rotates to a retracted position where it no longer interferes with basket corners, allowing baskets to have sharp corners and maximize storage capacity while maintaining sealability when both doors are closed.
Data Source
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AI summary
A refrigerator is disclosed. The refrigerator includes a cabinet provided with a storage compartment, an inner case to define an appearance of the storage compartment, a first door (20) pivotally mounted to the cabinet, to open or close one side of the storage compartment, and a second door (40) pivotally mounted to the cabinet, to open or close the other side of the storage compartment. The second door (40) is provided with a pillar (100) rotatable to come into contact with the first door (20). The pillar (100) is spaced apart from a top wall of the inner case and a bottom wall of the inner case, to be prevented from coming into contact with the inner case when the second door (40) is maintained to seal the storage compartment.