Home Appliance Door Flange Design to Prevent Sharp Edge Exposure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional door designs for home appliances often expose sharp edges at the corner portions, posing a risk of injury to users and require additional manufacturing processes or parts like welding to mitigate this issue.
Innovation Solution
The door design incorporates a chassis with a support flange system that includes a planar support surface and a curved bending portion, where the upper flange is positioned on the boundary between the support and bending surfaces, eliminating the need for separate cap members or welding by integrating the edge coverage into the existing metal plate structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If the chassis is bent to form corner portions, then the external appearance of the door is formed, but sharp edges are created at the corner portions causing safety hazards
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the protective cap member with the chassis by forming the cap member as an integral part of the chassis through bending and welding operations. The cap member is formed from the same metal plate as the chassis, creating a unified structure that eliminates the need for separate protective components while maintaining safety by covering sharp edges at corner portions.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a separate cap member is used to shield corner portions, then sharp edges are covered, but additional parts and manufacturing complexity are required
Solution Approach 1:
The cap member is formed as an integral extension of the chassis from a single metal plate, reducing the number of discrete parts. The bending and welding process integrates the cap member into the chassis structure, simplifying assembly while maintaining protective functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The metal plate material serves multiple functions: it forms both the main chassis structure and the protective cap member. The same material and forming process create both the functional door frame and the safety protective elements, eliminating the need for separate materials or components.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If welding or separate cap members are used, then sharp edges are protected, but additional manufacturing processes and time are required
Solution Approach 1:
The cap member is formed during the initial chassis manufacturing process through bending operations before final assembly. The protective structure is created in advance as part of the chassis forming process, eliminating the need for separate protective component manufacturing and assembly steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective cap member and chassis are formed as a single integrated structure through combined bending and welding operations, reducing the total number of manufacturing steps. The integration eliminates separate assembly operations for attaching protective components, improving manufacturing efficiency.
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 design effectively prevents sharp edges from being exposed, simplifies the manufacturing process, and enhances the aesthetic appeal by eliminating the need for additional parts or processes, thereby improving user safety and production efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a support flange formed by being bent at an upper end of the side flange
Data Source
AI summary
A home appliance includes a body and a door. The body includes a chamber. The door is configured to open and close the chamber. The door includes an upper flange forming an upper surface of the door. The door also includes a side flange forming a side surface of the door. The door further includes a support flange formed by being bent at an upper end of the side flange. The support flange includes a support portion that is configured to come in contact with the upper flange and a bending portion connecting the side flange to the support portion. The upper flange is arranged on the support portion such that one end of the upper flange is located on an upper portion of the bending portion.