Appliance Door Spring Monitoring With Fail-Safe Braking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Household appliance doors with spring-loaded mechanisms often experience uncontrolled swinging due to broken or improperly adjusted door springs, posing safety risks, especially for children, and can result in damage to the appliance.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a sensor system to monitor the functionality of door springs and activate an additional braking mechanism, such as an electromagnetically actuated brake, when a failure is detected, to prevent uncontrolled movement and ensure safe operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If door springs are used to slow down door movement, then the door closing function is improved, but the reliability deteriorates due to spring breakage and uncontrolled door swinging
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system continuously monitors door spring functionality in advance before failure occurs. By detecting parameters such as spring tension, rotation angle, and door position, the system identifies potential spring breakage or malfunction before it happens, allowing preventive action to be taken to avoid uncontrolled door swinging
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring system provides continuous feedback on door spring status by measuring physical parameters (tension, angle, position) and comparing them against expected ranges. This feedback loop enables real-time detection of spring degradation or failure, allowing the system to respond appropriately to maintain reliable door operation
2Shape
If heavy decorative panels are attached to the door for aesthetic reasons, then the appearance is improved, but the safety risk increases due to uncontrolled door falling
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system detects door spring status and door position in advance before uncontrolled movement occurs. By monitoring the combined weight effect of the door and decorative panel along with spring tension, the system identifies potential failure conditions before they result in dangerous uncontrolled door falling
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring system continuously provides feedback on door position, spring tension, and movement characteristics. This feedback enables real-time detection of abnormal conditions caused by the heavy decorative panel, allowing the system to alert users or activate safety mechanisms before injury can occur
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
Enhances operational reliability and safety by immediately stopping the door's pivoting movement upon detecting a malfunction, reducing the risk of injury and damage, and providing users with a visual or acoustic warning to manage the door opening process.
Implementation Method 1
the sensor is able to detect changes in the inclination of the door relative to the vertical with respect to the starting position of the door
Implementation Method 2
The braking means acts on the door or its door hinge in such a way that the door is prevented from swinging down freely
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
Household appliance (100), in particular dishwasher, steam cooker or oven, with a door (1) pivoting about a horizontal axis for closing a treatment chamber, which is provided with a door spring (5) that serves to slow down the movement of the door (1) when pivoting downwards, and with a sensor (10) with which the functionality of the door spring (5) can be monitored, and an additional deceleration device (11) which is activated in the event of a failure of the door spring (5) detected by the sensor (10) and is suitable for slowing down the movement of the door (1) when pivoting downwards.