Foldable Pan Handle Mechanism for Vertical Stacking Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cooking pans with fixed handles occupy large storage space and hinder vertical stacking, making them inconvenient for kitchen storage and table use.
Innovation Solution
A cooking pan system with a foldable handle mechanism, featuring a support with a ball and pin rod system, elastic media, and a cover unit that allows the handle to be rotated and folded sideways for storage, enabling vertical stacking and minimizing storage space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the handle is fixed to the pan, then the handle provides stable support for cooking, but the pan occupies large storage space and cannot be vertically stacked
Solution Approach 1:
The handle is designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing it to rotate between a horizontal cooking position and a vertical storage position. The rotation mechanism includes a pin rod passing through the ball and cover unit, enabling dynamic reconfiguration of the handle position to adapt between cooking and storage modes.
Solution Approach 2:
The handle transitions from a two-dimensional horizontal plane (parallel to pan surface) to a three-dimensional vertical configuration (perpendicular to pan surface). This dimensional change allows the handle to fold upward, reducing the horizontal footprint and enabling vertical stacking of multiple pans.
2Device complexity
If the handle is fixed to the pan, then the handle structure is simple, but vertical stacking and convenient storage are prevented
Solution Approach 1:
The handle incorporates a rotation mechanism with a pin rod, ball, and cover unit that allows smooth transition between cooking and storage positions. This dynamic design maintains operational simplicity while enabling convenient vertical stacking and storage.
3Volume of moving object
If the handle is folded upward, then storage space is reduced, but the elastic media must maintain the handle in cooking mode
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic media (spring) automatically maintains the handle in the horizontal cooking position without user intervention. When the handle is released, the spring's elastic force returns it to the stable cooking position, providing self-service functionality that simplifies operation.
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 foldable handle system reduces storage space requirements, allows for easy stacking, and provides user control over handle placement, enhancing storage convenience and usability.
Implementation Method 1
an elastic media provided between the first and second covers to elastically contain the rod in the elongate opening of the ball so as to maintain the cooking system in a cooking mode
Implementation Method 2
the first cover has an arc opening to receive and rotatably guide the protrusion in the arc opening
Data Source
AI summary
A cooking system comprises: a pan; a support having a neck and a ball attached through the neck to the pan, the ball having a protrusion and an elongate opening to receive a pin rod having inflated ends; a cover unit rotatably covering the ball and having a first and second cover, the first cover having an arc opening to receive and rotatably guide the protrusion in the arc opening; an elastic media provided between the first and second covers to elastically contain the rod in the elongate opening of the ball; and a handle extending from a selected one of the first and second covers, the rod ends being manually pulled out of the ball against elastic pushing of the elastic media.