A dishwasher comprising an elevating means
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Solution Overview
Problem
In dishwashers, users experience strain and backaches due to the need to bend when loading or unloading lower racks, which are often unbalanced and difficult to attach to elevating mechanisms, leading to inefficiencies and potential accidents.
Innovation Solution
A dishwasher design featuring oppositely disposed lugs on the rack that can be easily switched between closed and open positions to engage with rails, allowing vertical movement and easy attachment to the elevating means, with a sliding mechanism and arm joints for simultaneous operation, ensuring balanced lifting and reduced user effort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the rack is positioned at a lower location for space efficiency, then the dishwasher structure is compact, but the user experiences strain and backaches due to bending
Solution Approach 1:
The rack is made dynamically movable in the vertical direction through the elevating mechanism with rails and lugs, allowing it to transition between lower (compact) and elevated (accessible) positions, thus resolving the contradiction between compactness and user comfort
2Reliability
If traditional retaining means extend from side walls into the body to hold the rack, then the rack is secured, but the user struggles to attach the rack properly and loses time
Solution Approach 1:
The lug mechanism automatically engages with the rail when the rack is pulled to the loading/unloading position, eliminating the need for manual attachment operations. The system serves itself by using the rack's own movement to trigger the engagement, thus reducing attachment time while maintaining reliability
3Force
If the rack is partially held during lifting, then the elevating mechanism provides support, but the rack becomes unbalanced and the front side bends downwards
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting support is segmented into multiple contact points along the rack structure through the rail-lug engagement system, distributing the lifting force across multiple locations rather than a single point, thus preventing imbalance and front-side bending
4Ease of operation
If the lug is disposed at the side of the rack rear wall to not project from side walls, then the rack moves horizontally without obstruction, but the attachment mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The lug attachment mechanism is relocated from the horizontal dimension (side walls) to the vertical dimension (rear wall), where it engages with vertically oriented rails. This dimensional change allows unobstructed horizontal movement while maintaining attachment functionality
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a dishwasher (1) comprising a body (2) having two side walls (3); a door (4) providing access into the body (2); a rack (5) whereon the items to be washed are placed, having a washing position wherein the rack (5) is entirely inside the body (2) and a loading/unloading position wherein the rack (5) is almost entirely taken outside the body (2) by being pulled forwards, and an elevating means (6) that enables the position of the rack (5) to be changed in the vertical direction in the loading/unloading position and that has two rails (7) each disposed on one of the opposite side walls (3).