Chest freezer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing chest freezers with covering hoods do not provide adequate access to the cooling chamber from above, limiting user access and operational safety.
Innovation Solution
A chest freezer design featuring a triple sliding lid arrangement with two parallel three-track rail profiles and three transparent sliding lids, where the central lid is slidable in the lower track, allowing access from above and enhancing operational safety by preventing accidental opening.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a central pane is fixed in a stationary manner at the rail profile, then the sliding lids can be slid to the center below the central pane, but access to the cooling chamber in the middle between the two access sides is not possible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the central sliding lid movable instead of fixed. The central lid is now guided in the lower track and can be slid open along with the side lids, transforming the static configuration into a dynamic one that enables access from the middle while maintaining the ability to close all lids together for thermal insulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the sliding lid system into three independently controllable lids (left, center, right) that can operate separately or together. Each lid is associated with its own track, allowing the central lid to be opened for access while the side lids remain closed, or all to be closed together for thermal efficiency.
2Ease of operation
If two transparent sliding lids are slidably supported in two tracks offset in height, then the lids can be slid in parallel with the access sides, but the cooling chamber below the sliding lids that are slid over each other is not accessible from above
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves the contradiction by adding a vertical dimension to the lid arrangement. The three tracks are offset in height, creating a stacked configuration where lids can slide past each other vertically while maintaining horizontal alignment. This dimensional arrangement allows the central lid to be accessible from above without compromising the overlapping seal between side and central lids for thermal insulation.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the central sliding lid is guided in the lower track, then the lid can be slidable transversely to the access sides, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple functions into the single lower track for the central lid. This track simultaneously provides guidance for transverse sliding motion, supports the vertical offset arrangement, and enables the central lid to operate independently or in coordination with the side lids. This consolidation reduces the number of separate guidance mechanisms needed while maintaining access flexibility.
Data Source
AI summary
A chest freezer includes a chest body which includes a cooling chamber which is accessible from above, a covering hood which covers a top of the chest body, and two access sides arranged opposite to each other from which an access to the cooling chamber exists when the covering hood is in an open position. The covering hood includes a triple sliding lid arrangement which includes two three-track rail profiles arranged parallel to each other and transversely to the two access sides, each of the two three-track rail profiles include a lower, a middle and an upper track, two side sliding lids which, in a closed position, are arranged at the two access sides, and a central sliding lid which, in a central position, is arranged approximately centrally between the two side sliding lids. The central sliding lid is guided in the lower track of the two three-track rail profiles.