Appliance Door Hinge Extraction for Compact Actuation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing door hinges for household appliances are bulky and heavy due to the arrangement of subcomponents within the door, which occupies space and restricts the movement of external components, and there is a need for a compact and lightweight hinge design that ensures reliable and safe actuation of the door handle.
Innovation Solution
A hinge design featuring a separate actuator and transmission element connected to the hinge base body and hinge sword, allowing for precise movement transmission to external components, with the hinge sword being lightweight and compact, and the hinge base body positioned outside the door for better force distribution and space-saving configuration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If subcomponents of the hinge are arranged within the door, then the hinge can be constructed, but the hinge area in the door becomes bulky and heavy, occupying space
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the heavy hinge base body from the door and positions it on the appliance housing instead. Only the lightweight hinge sword remains in the door, which is connected to the base body via a connecting rod. This extraction principle directly resolves the contradiction by removing the bulk and weight from the door while maintaining the hinge's structural integrity and functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge is segmented into separate components: the hinge base body, hinge sword, and connecting rod. This segmentation allows the heavy base body to be positioned outside the door on the housing, while only the lightweight sword remains in the door. The connecting rod bridges these separated components, enabling the hinge to function as a complete system without concentrating all mass in the door.
2Reliability
If subcomponents of the hinge are arranged within the door, then the hinge can be constructed, but the hinge area occupies a lot of space
Solution Approach 1:
The heavy hinge base body is extracted from the door and positioned on the appliance housing. This extraction dramatically reduces the volume occupied within the door, as only the slender hinge sword and connecting rod remain inside the door structure, freeing up significant space while maintaining hinge functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge base body is relocated to a different spatial dimension - from inside the door to the exterior housing structure. This dimensional relocation allows the hinge system to maintain its structural requirements while minimizing the volume footprint within the door assembly.
3Reliability
If a separate actuator and transmission element are used, then movement transmission to external components is reliable and precise, but the hinge structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
A transmission element acts as an intermediary between the hinge sword and the actuator. This intermediary component enables reliable and precise movement transmission to external components like the door handle, while the actuator itself remains separate from the hinge structure. The transmission element serves as a mediator that connects the hinge's movement to external components without requiring the actuator to be integrated into the hinge body.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~7
AI summary
The hinge (5) comprises a hinge body (18), which corresponds to an associated pivotable hinge blade (20). A transmission element is rotatably mounted on the hinge body, which is connected to an actuating sensor (24). The actuating senor depends on the relative movement of the hinge blade and hinge body. The hinged blade has a guide (30), in which the actuating sensor is arranged to carry out the movement of the actuating senor relative to the hinge blade. The actuating sensor is dependent on the movement of a door-side functional unit. An independent claim is included for a method for operating a door handle.