Vacuum insulated door construction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing refrigerator cabinet and door constructions using vacuum insulated panels face challenges in injecting conventional foams, such as polyurethane, into the limited space between the vacuum insulated core and the wrapper/liner, leading to potential gaps and flexing issues.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a prefabricated compressible foam sheet is positioned between the vacuum insulated core and the inner/outer panels, which compresses to fill gaps and provide support, eliminating the need for conventional foam injection and reducing flexing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional foam injection is used in the limited space between vacuum insulated core and wrapper/liner, then the insulation structure can be assembled, but gaps may form and flexing issues occur
Solution Approach 1:
The foam material is pre-formed into a compressible sheet with uniform thickness before assembly. This preliminary preparation allows the foam to be positioned and compressed to fill gaps between components during assembly, eliminating the need for post-assembly foam injection and preventing structural gaps that would cause flexing issues.
Solution Approach 2:
The foam material is selected with specific compressibility parameters that allow it to deform under compression during assembly. This parameter change enables the foam to adapt to the limited space between the vacuum insulated core and wrapper/liner, ensuring complete filling of the gap space and eliminating voids that would compromise structural stability.
2Length of moving object
If the space between vacuum insulated core and wrapper/liner is made small to provide thinner door construction, then door thickness is reduced, but conventional foam injection becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of injecting foam into the limited space during assembly, a pre-formed compressible foam sheet is prepared in advance with the exact thickness needed. This preliminary action bypasses the difficulty of injecting conventional foam into the narrow gap, allowing the foam to be simply positioned and compressed into place.
Solution Approach 2:
The foam material is extracted from the injection process and provided as a separate pre-formed component. This extraction eliminates the need for complex injection equipment and processes in the limited space, simplifying manufacturing while maintaining the thin door construction by using a foam sheet that can be precisely thickness-controlled during fabrication.
3Reliability
If prefabricated compressible foam sheet is used to fill gaps, then gaps are eliminated and flexing is reduced, but additional fabrication step is required
Solution Approach 1:
The foam sheet is pre-fabricated with uniform thickness and appropriate dimensions before assembly. This preliminary fabrication ensures consistent quality and eliminates the need for complex in-situ foam injection equipment, reducing overall manufacturing complexity while achieving reliable gap filling and structural stability.
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
This approach results in a thinner, more stable door construction by eliminating gaps and reducing flexing, while ensuring effective insulation and structural integrity.
Implementation Method 1
The envelope is evacuated to form a vacuum inside the envelope
Implementation Method 2
The foam compresses to accommodate differences in spacing between the vacuum insulated core and the door wrapper and/or the door liner
Data Source
AI summary
A method of fabricating a refrigerator cabinet or door includes forming a wrapper and an inner liner. The method further includes forming a vacuum insulated core comprising a permeable core material that is disposed inside an impermeable envelope. A sheet of prefabricated compressible foam material is positioned between the vacuum insulated core between the inner door liner and/or the door wrapper. The prefabricated compressible foam material may be cut from a sheet of foam having substantially uniform thickness prior to fabrication of the refrigerator door. The foam compresses to accommodate differences in spacing between the vacuum insulated core and the door wrapper and/or the door liner.