Home Appliance Door Hinge Deceleration to Reduce Closure Impact
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Solution Overview
Problem
Home appliances with thinner doors face issues such as impact during closure, loss of cold air due to incomplete door closure, and the need for bulky auto-closing devices that compromise appearance and insulation.
Innovation Solution
A home appliance with a deceleration part in the guide member that reduces door closing speed, combined with an auto-closing device that provides closing force when the door is below a certain angle, ensuring smooth closure without compromising appearance or insulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the door is made thinner to match furniture depth, then the appearance and space utilization are improved, but the impact during closure increases and structural strength decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies beforehand cushioning by introducing a damping element between the door and cabinet that activates before the door completes its closure. This damping element absorbs impact energy and reduces the harmful impact force, allowing the door to be made thinner without compromising the impact problem. The cushioning is prepared in advance within the hinge structure rather than adding external buffers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses an intermediary approach by introducing a damping element as a mediator between the door and cabinet. This damping element serves as an intermediate component that absorbs and dissipates impact energy, enabling the door to be thinner while maintaining acceptable impact levels. The intermediary damping structure transfers and reduces the impact force before it reaches the cabinet.
2Reliability
If an auto-closing device is attached to the hinge shaft to provide closing force, then the door closure reliability is improved, but the device becomes bulky and compromises appearance and insulation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the auto-closing function with the existing hinge structure by integrating the damping element into the hinge assembly. Instead of adding a separate bulky auto-closing device, the closing force is generated through the damping mechanism that is combined with the hinge shaft and guide member. This integration eliminates the need for additional external components, maintaining a compact and aesthetically pleasing design while ensuring reliable door closure.
Solution Approach 2:
The damping element serves multiple functions: it provides the closing force for the door, absorbs impact during closure, and integrates with the hinge structure. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate auto-closing devices, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining closure reliability. The single damping component performs both the closing action and the impact mitigation.
3Productivity
If the door closing speed is high to improve productivity, then the closure time is reduced, but the impact between door and cabinet increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies beforehand cushioning by positioning the damping element to activate before the door completes its closure trajectory. The damping mechanism is pre-positioned within the hinge structure to engage during the closing motion, absorbing impact energy that would otherwise result from high-speed closure. This allows the door to close quickly while the damping element mitigates the impact force before it reaches the cabinet.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful impact force generated by high-speed door closure into beneficial damping energy. The damping element transforms the kinetic energy of the moving door into dissipative forces through controlled deformation or friction, converting the harmful impact into a controlled energy dissipation process. This allows high closure speeds to be maintained while the impact is converted into a beneficial damping effect rather than damage.
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 effectively reduces impact between the cabinet and door, maintains insulation performance, and allows for thinner doors with variable rotation centers, while ensuring complete closure and energy efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a first deceleration part provided in the guide member and including a first protrusion protruding into the shaft insertion groove
Implementation Method 2
the shaft insertion groove has a width corresponding to a diameter of the first hinge shaft and extends such that the first hinge shaft is slidable along the shaft insertion groove based on rotation of the door with respect to the cabinet
Data Source
AI summary
A home appliance includes a cabinet providing a storage compartment that opens forward, a door rotatably provided at the front of the cabinet to open and close the storage compartment, a hinge fixed to the cabinet and rotatably supporting the door, the hinge including a first hinge shaft disposed vertically, a guide member provided in the door and including a shaft insertion groove into which the first hinge shaft is inserted, the shaft insertion groove extending in an arc shape with a width corresponding to a diameter of the first hinge shaft, a first deceleration part provided in the guide member and including a first protrusion protruding into the shaft insertion groove, wherein the first protrusion is movable in the width direction of the shaft insertion groove.