Yellow Team Project Mockups Living and Working in Constrained Space

Yellow B

Refrigerators a common problem? Refrigerators: a confined space if there ever was one. Nearly everyone has one, and nearly everyone’s looks like this. Our goal as yellow B has been to envision a refrigerator where you can just as easily access the food in the back as the food in the front. What if we made the shelves rotate?

Lazy Susan Refrigerator: concept Rotating storage shelves Narrow, deep footprint Optimizes constrained space in refrigerator LSF is not a new concept; GE built such a fridge in the 50’s. It never took off, and no similar fridge is available today. We believe the concept is still good, and we can design a fridge that consumers want.

Consumer Contract What do customers need from our refrigerator? Maximize useable space inside of a fixed footprint Safe, easy access to all food in the fridge Standard features: Crisper drawer Storage bins What do they want? We are targeting the middle of the market—fridges that cost about $2000. These fridges are feature-laden standalone units unlike high-end built-in fridges They need a refrigerator that fits into a specific space in their kitchen and makes the most of the volume inside to store food. Our fridge is inherently smaller inside (the back corners in the fridge are walled off so no food gets lost back there); but provides a more usable, easy to access volume. To compete effectively, we also must offer features that are standard on mainstream fridges, such as crisper drawers or space in the door for a gallon of milk.

Our Mockup Duplicate volume of a mini-fridge for comparison How does a consumer perceive the interior volume? Can we make a smaller, cylindrical volume more useful? We bought a large mini-fridge from Home Depot, tore it apart, and studied it. We then built our own fridge with the same interior dimensions to outfit. Sitting the two fridges side-by-side, we can directly compare the two designs. Tonight in the Pappalardo lab, people who have never seen our fridge can help us tell us whether the slight deficit of volume in our fridge is perceivable? Is the first impression positive or negative?

Key Risk: adjustable, rotating shelves Always adjustable Removable Damped rotation Many design possibilities: Lead screw Track & cam lock (second evolution) Shelf Frame Track Lazy Susan Tray

Key Risk: maximizing usable space electronics compressor Ideal: Configuration of refrigeration components to fit in corners Requires a custom compressor Current: Reuse of mini-fridge compressor in bottom corner

Key Risk: maximizing usable space 93% of original area Ideal: largest possible Lazy Susan Thermal FEA for feasibility 84% of original area Mockup: installed Lazy Susan without modifying internal geometry

Yellow Team

Product Contract Customer Need Attributes Engineering Specifications Maximize space inside fridge for certain defined footprint Organization of Refrigeration Components and usable space Most common footprint (sold): 31-35 inches deep Cubic footage: 20-25 ft^3 Ability to reach all items in fridge Organization of Components, Shelf Mechanism Length of average arm: ~29" Length of average forearm: ~14'' Number of layers of food: 3 Ability to Clean Materials, Shelf Mechanisms Non-porous materials, removable, maneuverable shelves Ability to See Items in Fridge Materials, Lighting Clear shelf material At least 60W lighting Storage Space on Door Door Shelf Dimensions Gallon of milk: 6" x 6" x 10" plus leeway