Transparent LCD Refrigerated Display Door With Hinge Power And Data Routing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing refrigerator and freezer doors face challenges in providing reliable DC power and data communications to components like LED light fixtures, LCD displays, and transparent LCD panels due to space limitations and reliability issues with traditional electrical cables in cold environments, as well as the need for bulky transformers for AC power conversion.
Innovation Solution
A three-pane insulated glass door design incorporating a transparent LCD panel as the center pane, with associated electronics and wiring housed within a hermetically sealed glass unit or in the door rail, utilizing low-voltage DC power and data transmission through a modified electrical hinge pin, and employing selective opaque areas on the glass panes to conceal circuitry and media player hardware.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional electrical cables are used to supply power and data to door components, then power and data transmission is achieved, but reliability deteriorates due to copper conductor fatigue and insulation cracking from cold environment flexing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the power and data transmission function from traditional flexible cables and relocates it to rigid conduits integrated into the hinge assembly. This eliminates the problematic flexible cable portion that suffers from cold-temperature fatigue while maintaining the essential power and data transmission capabilities through the hinge mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a hinge-integrated conduit system as an intermediary between the fixed door components and the swinging door. This intermediary structure provides a protected pathway for conductors that accommodates hinge movement without subjecting the conductors to damaging flexing, thus improving reliability while managing complexity through functional integration.
2Reliability
If high voltage conductors are passed through the hinge pin to improve reliability, then conductor fatigue is minimized, but device complexity increases due to insulation and spacing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the hinge mechanism with the conductor protection system by integrating conduits directly into the hinge assembly. This combination allows high voltage conductors to pass through the hinge pin area without requiring separate insulation and spacing arrangements, as the hinge-integrated conduits provide both mechanical support and electrical protection in a unified structure.
3Ease of operation
If all conductors are run through a traditional cable to simplify installation, then ease of operation improves, but reliability deteriorates due to flexing damage in cold environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the conductor pathway into rigid conduit sections integrated into the hinge assembly, replacing the single continuous flexible cable. This segmentation allows each conductor to be individually routed through protected pathways that accommodate hinge movement without flexing, maintaining ease of installation through modular conduit sections while dramatically improving reliability.
4Power
If bulky transformers and capacitors are used to convert AC power for low voltage devices, then power conversion is achieved, but device complexity increases and space requirements exceed available door rail space
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/electromagnetic power conversion system (transformers and capacitors) with an electronic switching system using solid-state components such as MOSFETs or IGBTs controlled by microcontrollers. This substitution eliminates bulky magnetic components while achieving the same AC-to-DC power conversion function, reducing both complexity and space requirements to fit within door rail constraints.
Data Source
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AI summary
A door assembly that includes a single glass unit having at least first, second and third panels, a front surface, a rear surface, and an outside edge. At least one of the first, second or third panels is a transparent LCD panel on which media can be displayed. The single glass unit also includes a frame that at least partially surrounds the outside edge of the single glass unit, and electronic components in electrical communication with the LCD panel.