Dishwasher Basket Rail Assembly With Spring-Biased Guide Rollers
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional rail assemblies for dishwasher baskets experience noise and uneven sliding due to play between guide rollers and rails, leading to potential blocking, and existing solutions increase complexity and cost by adding additional biasing elements.
Innovation Solution
A rail assembly with a lever element mounting guide rollers, which are rotationally biased by a spring element to maintain orientation and apply biasing force directly, eliminating the need for additional biasing rollers and minimizing parts for cost-effective manufacturing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If play is provided between guide rollers and rail to allow smooth movement, then ease of operation is improved, but noise and uneven sliding increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a spring element to dynamically adjust the contact pressure between the guide roller and rail, changing the physical parameter of force application. This maintains consistent contact without requiring excessive play, reducing noise while preserving smooth operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring element introduces a dynamic biasing force that adapts to operational conditions, allowing the guide roller to maintain optimal contact with the rail during movement. This dynamic adjustment eliminates the need for fixed play gaps that cause noise.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If biasing elements are added to reduce play between rail and guide rollers, then noise and uneven sliding are reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spring element is integrated directly into the guide roller assembly, merging the biasing function with the existing guiding mechanism. This combination approach reduces overall system complexity compared to adding separate biasing components.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring element automatically provides the necessary biasing force without requiring external control systems or additional actuators. The self-service nature of the spring mechanism simplifies the overall system while effectively reducing play and noise.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If guide rollers are mounted on spring elements, then biasing force is applied to reduce play, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The spring-mounted guide roller design allows for dynamic adjustment of roller position and orientation during operation. This flexibility compensates for manufacturing tolerances, reducing the stringency of precision requirements while maintaining smooth, even sliding.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring element enables the guide roller to adapt its contact parameters with the rail during operation, compensating for variations in manufacturing precision. This dynamic parameter adjustment reduces the impact of manufacturing tolerances on performance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides stable and smooth guiding of the dishwasher basket with reduced noise and complexity, allowing for efficient telescopic movement and enhanced basket extraction while maintaining cost efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a spring element for rotationally biasing the lever element to urge the guide roller against the rail
Implementation Method 2
at least one support roller for guiding a front portion of the rail, and a pair of guide rollers for guiding a rear portion of the rail
Data Source
AI summary
A rail assembly for a dishwasher basket that may include a rail to be connected to a side wall of the dishwasher basket; at least one support roller for guiding a front portion of the rail; a pair of guide rollers for guiding a rear portion of the rail, the pair of guide rollers may include a lower guide roller located to engage a lower guide face of the rail, and an upper guide roller located to engage an upper guide face of the rail; a lever element on which at least one of the guide rollers is mounted and which is rotatable about an axis extending generally in parallel to the axis of rotation of the at least one guide roller; and may include a spring element for rotationally biasing the lever element to urge the at least one guide roller against the rail.