Cooking appliance

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Solution Overview

Problem

Cooking appliances with sealed cooking spaces face issues with high-temperature foreign substances, such as fat, corroding or damaging the packing members, leading to reduced sealing performance and potential user injuries due to direct contact.

Innovation Solution

A bracket with multiple bent portions is integrated into the cooking appliance to redirect and prevent high-temperature foreign substances from contacting the packing member, ensuring effective sealing and protection by changing the flow direction and narrowing the gap between the bracket and door.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a packing member is provided to seal the cooking space, then sealing performance is improved, but the packing member is corroded or damaged by high-temperature foreign substances

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesealing performanceVSAvoidcorrosion and damage from high-temperature foreign substances

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

A bracket is introduced as an intermediary component between the door and the packing member. The bracket includes a blocking portion that extends toward the door to block high-temperature foreign substances from reaching the packing member, while allowing the packing member to maintain its sealing function without direct exposure to harmful substances

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Object-affected harmful factors

If the bracket closely contacts the door to suppress foreign substance flow, then protection of the packing member is improved, but the structure complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontact between foreign substances and packing memberVSAvoidbracket structure with multiple bent portions

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The bracket is segmented into multiple functional portions: a blocking portion that contacts the door to block foreign substances, a body portion that provides structural support, and a packing member receiving portion that interfaces with the packing member. This segmentation allows each portion to perform its specific function while simplifying the overall design

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP3974731B1Cooking appliance

Publication Date: 2024.11.13 LG ELECTRONICS INC

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AI summary

A cooking appliance in one embodiment may include a main body provided therein with a cooking space, a door configured to open and close the cooking space, a packing member disposed at an entrance of the cooking space and configured to seal a gap that is created in a portion where the main body contacts the door with the door closed, and a bracket coupled to a lower portion of the door and to suppress contact between the packing member and a foreign substance moving to the lower portion of the door with the door closed,