Split Refrigerated Display Doors With Inter-Door Support Hinge
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Solution Overview
Problem
Refrigerated sales furniture with full-height doors is inefficient due to the large and heavy doors requiring significant effort to open, leading to excessive thermal exchange and increased energy consumption.
Innovation Solution
A hinge mechanism allowing two vertically aligned doors to pivot independently, where the upper door is supported by the lower door, reducing the weight borne by the frame and enabling a smaller gap for improved access and reduced thermal exchange.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If full-height doors are used in refrigerated sales furniture, then the thermal insulation is improved, but the door weight increases and energy consumption increases due to extensive thermal exchange when opened
Solution Approach 1:
The front side of the refrigerated sales furniture is divided into upper and lower doors that can be opened independently, allowing selective access to different portions of the refrigerated goods storage space. This segmentation reduces the weight of each individual door compared to a single full-height door, while minimizing thermal exchange by opening only the necessary section.
2Stability of the object's composition
If upper door is supported by the frame, then the structural stability is improved, but the frame complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The upper door is supported by the lower door through a hinge mechanism with pins, merging the support function into the door assembly itself rather than requiring separate frame support structures. This reduces frame complexity and manufacturing costs while maintaining stability.
3Ease of operation
If a gap is provided between upper and lower doors for hinge mechanism, then the ease of operation is improved, but the access area is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge mechanism is arranged within a gap between the upper and lower doors, with the upper pin nested within the lower pin structure. This compact arrangement provides the necessary operational clearance while minimizing the gap width to preserve access area.
Data Source
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AI summary
A refrigerated sales furniture (1) comprises at least one refrigerated goods storage space (2); at least two doors (3, 5) providing access to the refrigerated goods storage space (2), the at least two doors (3, 5) comprising a lower door (5) and an upper door (3) arranged on top of the lower door (5). The refrigerated sales furniture (1) further comprises a hinge (4), which is arranged between the upper door (3) and the lower door (5) for supporting the upper door (3) on the lower door (5) and allowing the doors (3, 5) to pivot around a vertical axis (A) independently from each other. The hinge (4) includes an upper pin (13) attached to or integral with the upper door (3) and a lower pin (11) attached or integral with to the lower door (5), the upper pin (13) is supported by the lower pin (11) and the two pins (11, 13) are rotatable with respect to each other around the vertical axis (A).