Folding Door Unit with Damper Control for Top-Loading Washers
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Solution Overview
Problem
In top loading clothes treating apparatuses, large doors are difficult to control due to exposed hinges, leading to aesthetic and safety issues, as well as a cheap product image, and existing folder type doors lack control over folding speed and expose hinges, causing physical injury and design concerns.
Innovation Solution
A door unit with a first and second door, where the second door is pressed in the opposite direction by a damper when rotated, allowing smooth operation and hiding the hinge elements, thus preventing exposure and enhancing control over folding speed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a large door is used to accommodate increased washing capacity, then the washing capacity is improved, but the door becomes difficult to control and creates safety issues
Solution Approach 1:
The door is divided into multiple segments (first door and second door) that can fold relative to each other. This segmentation allows the large door to be controlled in sections, with each segment being easier to manage individually while collectively providing the large opening area needed for washing capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The door structure transitions from a static rigid door to a dynamic folding door system. The door can change its configuration between open and folded states, allowing it to adapt to different operational requirements and be controlled more easily during the folding process.
2Ease of operation
If a folder type door with exposed hinge elements is used to enable folding, then the door can be folded to improve control, but the exposed hinge elements degrade aesthetic sense and create a cheap product image
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge elements are extracted from the visible exterior surface and repositioned to the interior side of the door structure. This allows the folding function to be maintained while the aesthetic appearance is preserved, as the hinge elements are no longer exposed to external view.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge elements are moved from the external two-dimensional surface to the internal three-dimensional space of the door structure. This dimensional relocation allows the folding mechanism to function internally without compromising the external aesthetic appearance.
3Device complexity
If a simple hinge structure is used to couple the doors, then the device complexity is reduced, but the folding speed cannot be controlled and may cause physical injury
Solution Approach 1:
A damper is introduced as an intermediary element between the hinge structure and the door. This damper acts as a mediator that controls the folding speed by providing damping force, preventing the door from folding too quickly and potentially causing physical injury, while the hinge structure itself remains relatively simple.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the hinge elements are exposed on the door surface, then the folding mechanism is visible, but the product design appears complicated and aesthetic sense is degraded
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge elements are extracted from the visible exterior surface and repositioned to the interior side of the door structure. This allows the folding function to be maintained while the aesthetic appearance is preserved, as the hinge elements are no longer exposed to external view.
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 a safe, aesthetically pleasing, and controlled folding mechanism that prevents physical injury and maintains a luxurious feel during operation, while maintaining a simple design appearance by hiding the hinge elements and reducing the overall thickness and material cost.
Implementation Method 1
a damper configured to press the second door to a second direction opposite to a first direction in response to the second door being rotated to the first direction with respect to the first door
Data Source
AI summary
A folder type door unit and a clothes treating apparatus having the same are provided. The clothes treating apparatus includes a main body in which an internal space configured to receive clothes is formed and a door unit configured to open and close an opened upper portion of the internal space. The door unit includes a first door rotatably disposed about a first hinge shaft with respect to the main body, a second door coupled to the first door and configured to be rotatable about a second hinge shaft with respect to the first door, and a damper configured to press the second door to a second direction opposite to a first direction in response to the second door being rotated to the first direction with respect to the first door.