Appliance Door Bearing Locking for Coordinated Pivot Positioning

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing household appliance doors lack coordinated mobility and secure locking mechanisms, leading to inefficient operation and assembly processes.

Innovation Solution

A household appliance device with a locking unit featuring an elastic actuating means and a guide means that allows flexible operation and secure fixing of the door, incorporating a locking mechanism that can transmit spring force and engage in a recess for secure positioning, enabling coordinated mobility and easy assembly.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a locking unit with elastic actuating means is added to fix the door bearing unit, then the door mobility and positioning accuracy are improved, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedoor positioning stabilityVSAvoidlocking unit structure
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The locking means is integrated into the guide means as a tooth-like extension, combining two separate components into one unified structure. This reduces the number of parts while maintaining the locking function, thereby improving reliability without proportionally increasing device complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The elastic actuating means automatically actuates the locking means to engage with the recess in the door bearing unit. The spring-loaded mechanism self-regulates to maintain proper engagement force, reducing the need for additional control components and simplifying the overall system while ensuring reliable positioning.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

2Ease of manufacture

If the locking means is designed as an integrated tooth with guide means, then the manufacturing complexity is reduced, but the assembly flexibility may be limited

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecomponent integrationVSAvoidassembly configuration
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

While the locking means and guide means are integrated, the locking unit is designed as a separate modular assembly that can be independently positioned along the guide surface. This segmentation at the assembly level maintains manufacturing simplicity while providing flexibility in assembly configuration and adaptation to different door positions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The locking unit can be dynamically positioned at different locations along the guide surface before final assembly. The elastic actuating means allows the locking means to engage with the recess at various positions, providing adaptability in assembly configuration while the integrated tooth design maintains ease of manufacture.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

3Volume of moving object

If the door is largely incorporated into the storage space, then the space utilization is improved, but the door accessibility and operation convenience may be reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestorage space utilizationVSAvoiddoor accessibility
Core Design Contradiction:
Volume of moving objectVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The door bearing unit is designed to extend beyond the storage space in the vertical dimension while the door itself is largely incorporated horizontally. The locking unit operates in this extended dimension, allowing the door to be securely stored within the storage space volume while maintaining accessibility through the vertically extended bearing unit that protrudes for operation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

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 enhanced mobility and secure locking of the appliance door, ensuring stable operation and convenient assembly by allowing flexible actuation and secure engagement of the locking mechanism, improving user experience and component efficiency.

Implementation Method 1

the locking means is intended to transmit a spring force to the guide means

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectSpring force: Spring

Implementation Method 2

the locking unit has at least one locking means and at least one elastic actuating means, which is intended to actuate the locking means

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectMechanical locking: Mechanical Fastener

Data Source

PatentEP2093493B1Household device
Publication Date: 2016.02.17 BSH HAUSGERATE GMBH
  • EP2093493B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2093493B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP2093493B1 patent drawingFigure 4

AI summary

The invention is based on a domestic appliance device with a domestic appliance door (14) and at least one domestic appliance door bearing unit (191) which pivots the domestic appliance door (14) about an axis (193). In order to achieve coordinated mobility of the domestic appliance door, it is proposed that the domestic appliance device has at least one locking unit (161) which is intended to fix the domestic appliance door bearing unit (191) in at least one pivoted position.