1. Yellow Team Project Mockups
Living and Working in Constrained Space

2. Yellow B

3. 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?

4. 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.

5. 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 $ 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.

6. 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?

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. Yellow Team

11. 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): inches deep
Cubic footage: 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