Adjustable Food Processor Blade Assembly for Variable Slice Thickness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Food processors lack an effective mechanism to adjust the cutting thickness of food items, limiting their versatility in producing varying thicknesses of cut food.
Innovation Solution
A food processor design featuring a rotating disk that is upwardly and downwardly movable relative to a cutting blade, with a user-operated pin and lever mechanism allowing for adjustable cutting positions, enabling the production of thicker or thinner pieces of food by altering the distance between the cutting blade and the rotating disk.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a fixed cutting blade assembly is used, then the structure is simple and reliable, but the cutting thickness cannot be adjusted, limiting versatility
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting blade assembly is designed with movable components that allow dynamic adjustment of cutting thickness. The rotating disk can move vertically relative to the cutting blade, and the locking mechanism transitions between locked and unlocked states, enabling the system to adapt between fixed and adjustable modes.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking pin is positioned within the rotating disk structure, and the lever mechanism is integrated into the blade assembly. These nested components allow the locking and adjustment functions to be incorporated without significantly increasing the overall device footprint or complexity.
2Reliability
If a locking mechanism is added to prevent rotating disk movement, then cutting thickness is stabilized, but the mechanism complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism is designed to be self-locking through the engagement of teeth on the locking pin with corresponding teeth on the rotating disk. Once the desired cutting thickness is adjusted, the mechanism automatically locks in place without requiring additional fastening operations, maintaining reliability while minimizing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The lever acts as an intermediary component that translates user input into the locking or unlocking of the cutting thickness adjustment. This mechanical mediator provides a simple interface between the user and the locking mechanism, avoiding the need for complex control systems.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the rotating disk is made movable to adjust cutting positions, then versatility improves, but the risk of unintended movement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically transitions between two states: locked (for stable cutting) and unlocked (for adjustment). The locking mechanism engages disengageable teeth that prevent unintended movement during operation while allowing deliberate repositioning when needed, resolving the contradiction between stability and adjustability.
4Ease of operation
If a user-operated pin and lever mechanism are implemented, then ease of operation improves, but the number of components increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking pin and lever mechanism are integrated into the rotating disk assembly as a unified adjustment system. The pin and lever work together as a coordinated mechanism rather than separate independent components, reducing the overall complexity while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring-loaded locking pin automatically engages with the rotating disk teeth when the lever is released, providing self-locking functionality without requiring additional user actions. This self-service feature simplifies operation by eliminating manual locking steps while using minimal components.
Data Source
AI summary
A food processor includes a bowl with a removable lid. Food items are advanced into the bowl through a feed tube formed in the lid where they are cut by a blade assembly. A rotating disk is adjustable relative to the blade assembly to vary the thickness of the food items cut by the blade assembly.