Dishwasher Cutlery Drawer Height Adjustment Without Guide Grooves
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cutlery drawers for dishwashers have limitations in loading flexibility and are prone to soiling due to complex and expensive mechanisms, which also reduce the clear height available for upper baskets and increase the risk of dirt accumulation in guide grooves.
Innovation Solution
A cutlery drawer design with a support frame that allows the cutlery insert to be adjusted vertically and horizontally using a simple geometric matching system, eliminating the need for complex locking mechanisms and reducing the number of components, thus enhancing flexibility and reducing soiling tendencies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a complex connecting link guide with guide grooves is used to enable cutlery insert mobility, then the cutlery insert can be adjusted horizontally and vertically, but the device complexity increases and the guide grooves are prone to soiling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the complex connecting link guide with guide grooves from the system. Instead, it uses a simplified support frame with geometric matching elements (support surfaces, guide surfaces, stopping surfaces) that directly enable cutlery insert mobility without intermediate linking components, thereby eliminating the soiling-prone guide grooves while maintaining adjustability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical guide groove system with a geometric matching system consisting of support surfaces, guide surfaces, and stopping surfaces that work together through direct geometric constraints rather than through grooves and links, simplifying the mechanical system while achieving the same mobility function
2Adaptability or versatility
If a connecting link guide is provided to enable cutlery insert movement, then the cutlery insert can be adjusted, but the depth of the cutlery drawer is reduced due to the link guide
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the connecting link guide from the system, replacing it with a more space-efficient geometric matching system that achieves the same mobility function without occupying drawer depth space, thereby increasing the usable depth of the cutlery drawer
3Ease of operation
If guide grooves are used to guide the cutlery insert, then the insert can be positioned, but dirt particles and contaminants accumulate in the guide grooves
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the guide grooves that trap dirt and contaminants. Instead, it employs open geometric matching surfaces (guide surfaces) that do not create enclosed spaces where dirt can accumulate, eliminating the soiling problem while maintaining guidance functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses open surface geometries rather than enclosed groove structures, creating a design that resists dirt accumulation by avoiding crevices and enclosed spaces where contaminants can trap, similar to how smooth open surfaces resist soiling compared to grooved surfaces
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a crockery basket, in particular a cutlery drawer, for a dishwasher with a support frame (2) which can be pulled out of the washing compartment of a dishwasher and a cutlery insert (3) which is movably arranged on the support frame (2) for receiving items to be washed, the cutlery insert (3) transverse to the extension direction (X) of the cutlery drawer (1) is held both horizontally and vertically by the support frame (2), the cutlery insert (3) extending in the extension direction (X) and facing the support frame (2) on its long side (20 ) has a holding element (21) which detachably interacts with an abutment (22) provided by the support frame (2), the abutment (22) being designed in two stages to support the holding element (21) in a first and a second height position.