Damper Gear Lock Geometry for Quiet Baffle Release
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Solution Overview
Problem
In damper devices used in refrigerators, abnormal noise occurs due to rapid release of teeth contact between the sector gear and drive gear when the baffle is driven from a closed to an open position, causing strong collisions and noise.
Innovation Solution
A damper device with a first lock mechanism that restricts the sector gear's turning by using a circular arc-shaped outer peripheral part of the drive gear to gradually release pressure contact with the sector gear's teeth, preventing rapid turning and reducing noise, and additional stopper mechanisms to control the baffle's movement and prevent gear reversal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the lock mechanism uses a circular arc-shaped outer peripheral part of the drive gear to restrict the sector gear, then the baffle can be held in a stopped state, but the teeth are rapidly released when driving starts causing abnormal noise
Solution Approach 1:
The tooth face of the sector gear is designed with a curved surface instead of a flat surface. Specifically, the tooth face includes a first curved surface and a second curved surface with different curvatures, allowing the contact point between the drive gear and sector gear to move gradually along the curved path during release, thereby reducing impact and abnormal noise while maintaining locking stability
Solution Approach 2:
The curvature of the tooth face is changed to control the release characteristics. By designing the tooth face with varying curvature (first curved surface with one curvature and second curved surface with another curvature), the patent controls the gradual release of the sector gear from the locked state, preventing rapid movement and noise generation
2Reliability
If the sector gear is restricted by pressure contact with the drive gear, then the baffle maintains its position, but strong contact between members occurs when the lock is released
Solution Approach 1:
The curved tooth face design ensures that when the lock mechanism releases, the contact force between the drive gear and sector gear is distributed and reduced through the curved contact path, preventing strong impact while maintaining reliable position holding during the locked state
Data Source
AI summary
A damper apparatus possible to suppress abnormal sounds immediately after the locking of gears has been released is provided. In a first lock mechanism of the damper apparatus, a first arcuate outer-peripheral part peripherally adjacent to a teeth-missing gear in a drive gear enters a portion of a plurality of teeth in which some teeth are narrowed in the axial direction to restrain a sector gear, the teeth being meshed with the drive gear in the sector gear. In the tooth nearest to the first arcuate outer-peripheral part in the teeth-missing gear, the curvature of a first tooth flank on the side opposite the first arcuate outer-peripheral part is less than the curvature of a second tooth flank on the first arcuate outer peripheral part side, and the tooth has a curved surface continuous from the first tooth flank to the second tooth flank.