Dishwasher Basket Rail Locking for Lift-and-Slide Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Loading and unloading the lower basket of a dishwasher is uncomfortable due to the need for users to work in a bent position, and existing mechanisms to raise the basket are complex and prone to simultaneous pivoting and sliding issues.
Innovation Solution
A dishwasher design featuring a body with a guide rail, link arm, locking piece, and locking counterpart, where the locking piece and counterpart rotate on the same axis as the link arm, preventing simultaneous pivoting and sliding, ensuring the basket can be safely pulled out and returned without shifting back into the washing compartment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a sliding/pivoting mechanism with locking mechanism is used to raise the lower basket, then the basket can be raised from lower position to upper position, but the mechanism becomes complex and prone to simultaneous pivoting and sliding movement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the pivoting movement and locking function into a single integrated mechanism. The link arm serves dual purposes: it enables the pivoting motion that raises the basket while simultaneously providing the locking function through its geometric constraints, eliminating the need for separate locking components
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a locking mechanism to prevent simultaneous movements, the patent inverts the approach by designing the link arm geometry and pivot axis location such that simultaneous pivoting and sliding is mechanically impossible. The constraint is built into the motion mechanism itself rather than being imposed by a separate locking device
2Device complexity
If the locking piece and locking counterpart are arranged to prevent simultaneous pivoting and sliding, then the mechanism is simplified, but the structure requires precise alignment of rotation axes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the pivot axis of the link arm with the rotation axis of the locking piece, creating a single axis that serves both functions. This integration means that the same rotational movement that raises the basket also operates the locking mechanism, eliminating the need for separate alignment of multiple axes
Solution Approach 2:
The link arm's pivoting motion automatically operates the locking mechanism through the shared axis. The single pivoting movement simultaneously achieves both the basket elevation and the locking/unlocking action, making the system self-operating without requiring precise coordination of multiple independent axes
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a dishwasher (1), in particular a domestic dishwasher, having a basic structure (2), having at least one loading-level element (10), having at least one guide rail (12), along which the at least one loading-level element (10) can be displaced in a linear manner, having at least one control arm (14), which retains the at least one guide rail (12) in a pivotable manner on the basic structure (2), the control arm (14) being articulated on the guide rail (12) such that it can be pivoted about a pivot axis (22), having a blocking part (26), which is arranged on the at least one loading-level element (10), and having a blocking counterpart (27), which is arranged on the control arm (14), wherein the blocking part (26) and the blocking counterpart (27), when in an enabling state, enable linear displacement of the at least one loading-level element (10) along the at least one guide rail (12) and, when in a blocking state, block linear displacement of the at least one loading-level element (10) along the at least one guide rail (12), wherein the blocking part (26) or the blocking counterpart (27), in order to be adjusted between the blocking state and the enabling state, can be rotated about an axis of rotation (30) in the blocking counterpart (27) or the blocking part (26), respectively, the axis of rotation (30) being equiaxial with the pivot axis (22) of the at least one control arm (14).