Cooker Gasket Structure for Sealing the Top Plate Gap
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cookers face issues with foreign substances penetrating the gap between the top plate and manifold panel, leading to contamination and maintenance challenges due to inadequate sealing.
Innovation Solution
A gasket with a support plate and close-contact member, formed from metal and elastic materials respectively, is used to hermetically seal the gap between the top plate and manifold panel, featuring fixing units and a drain-pan bracket to direct substances away from the oven unit.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional connection unit is used between the control unit and cooktop unit, then the structure is simple, but foreign substances can penetrate through the gap into the oven chamber
Solution Approach 1:
The gasket is divided into two functional parts: a support plate made of metal material that provides structural stability, and a close-contact member made of elastic material that provides sealing function. This segmentation allows each part to optimize its properties for its specific function, resolving the contradiction between sealing performance and structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The gasket combines metal material (support plate) and elastic material (close-contact member) into a composite structure. The metal provides rigidity and shape maintenance, while the elastic material provides deformation capability for hermetic sealing, thus achieving both structural stability and sealing performance without excessive complexity.
2Reliability
If a long gasket is used to seal the gap between top plate and manifold panel, then sealing coverage is improved, but the gasket may be torn or bent during assembly
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the support function (metal support plate) from the sealing function (elastic close-contact member), the long gasket structure gains structural reinforcement that prevents tearing and bending, while maintaining full sealing coverage along the entire gap between top plate and manifold panel.
Solution Approach 2:
The metal support plate provides localized structural strength at critical points along the long gasket, preventing deformation and tearing in those specific areas, while the elastic close-contact member maintains flexibility for sealing throughout the entire length, thus resolving the contradiction between sealing coverage and durability.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the gap between top plate and manifold panel is sealed hermetically, then foreign substance penetration is prevented, but assembly and maintenance difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The segmented gasket structure with metal support plate and elastic close-contact member allows the sealing component to be independently replaced or adjusted without replacing the entire assembly, thus maintaining hermetic sealing while improving assembly and maintenance ease.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic close-contact member acts as an intermediary sealing element that can be independently installed or replaced between the metal support plate and the mating surfaces, facilitating easier assembly and maintenance while maintaining the hermetic seal against foreign substance penetration.
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
The gasket effectively prevents foreign substances from entering the oven unit, maintains stable sealing, and facilitates easy cleaning, ensuring improved air-tightness and durability.
Implementation Method 1
a close-contact member formed of an elastic material and formed along a portion of the circumference of the support plate
Implementation Method 2
an adhesive portion adhered to the support plate
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided is a cooker with a gasket, including a top plate on which burners are placed; a manifold panel provided in front of the top plate and including thereon knobs for controlling output power of the burners; and a gasket extending along a front end of the top plate, and compressed between the top plate and the manifold panel to hermetically seal between the top plate and the manifold panel.