Bread maker
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional bread makers lack safety measures to prevent components from falling into the mixing or auxiliary-ingredient containers when the stopper deteriorates and cracks, posing a risk to consumers.
Innovation Solution
The bread maker incorporates cover members that cover the stopper at both ends, preventing any cracked parts from falling into the auxiliary-ingredient or mixing containers, ensuring safety by designing a structure where the cover members overlap the stopper's engagement points with the opening-closing lid, and the lid is made of metal to reflect heat and prevent component deterioration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the stopper is used to open and close the bottom opening without additional protective structures, then the device complexity is reduced, but the reliability deteriorates because cracked parts can fall into the containers
Solution Approach 1:
A cover member is introduced as an intermediary component between the stopper and the container interior. The cover member has a cover opening that allows the stopper to move freely for opening/closing operations, while simultaneously having a cover rib that prevents cracked stopper parts from falling into the container, thus mediating between operational freedom and safety protection
Solution Approach 2:
The protective function is segmented into two distinct structural elements: the cover opening for stopper movement and the cover rib for crack prevention. This segmentation allows the cover member to perform multiple functions - enabling stopper operation while preventing cracked parts from entering the container
2Reliability
If the lid is made of metal to reflect heat and prevent deterioration, then the reliability improves, but the weight of the moving object increases
Solution Approach 1:
The material parameter of the lid is changed from conventional materials to metal, which has superior heat reflection properties. This parameter change enables the lid to reflect heat from the heating chamber, preventing auxiliary ingredients from deteriorating due to heat exposure, while accepting the trade-off of increased weight
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 the falling of cracked stopper parts into the containers, enhancing the safety of the bread maker by securely containing any damage, thus ensuring user safety and preventing accidental ingestion of damaged components.
Implementation Method 1
the lid is made of metal to reflect heat and prevent component deterioration
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 3
AI summary
A bread maker according to a first exemplary embodiment includes auxiliary-ingredient container (20) that contains auxiliary ingredients and feeds the auxiliary ingredient to a mixing container. Auxiliary-ingredient container (20) includes container body (30), opening-closing lid (40), stopper (50), and cover members (34, 60). Container body (30) includes a bottom opening. Opening-closing lid (40) opens and closes the bottom opening of container body (30). Stopper (50) engages with opening-closing lid (40), and is configured to open the bottom opening of container body (30) by releasing the engagement with opening-closing lid (40). Cover members (34, 60) are disposed covering first end (E11) and second end (E12) of stopper (50).