Glass Ceramic Worktop Hob Integration for Moisture-Tight Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing kitchen worktop arrangements with cooking hobs integrated into the countertop face challenges in maintaining humidity tightness, ease of maintenance, and aesthetics, as profile and frame elements used to secure the hob often fail to prevent moisture and dirt ingress and disrupt the design's appearance.
Innovation Solution
A kitchen worktop arrangement featuring a glass ceramic plate with a cooking hob assembly embedded in a cut-out, utilizing a bearing section and mounting interfaces for secure and releasable coupling, allowing for easy maintenance and a flush, easy-to-clean surface while maintaining humidity tightness without disturbing the design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If profile and frame elements are used to secure the cooking hob and prevent moisture ingress, then the cooking hob is secured and moisture protection is improved, but the overall appearance is disturbed and the design uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the traditional profile and frame elements that disturbed the appearance. Instead, it extracts only the essential sealing function and integrates it directly into the cut-out structure of the worktop plate, creating a flush-mounted appearance while maintaining moisture protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the sealing function with the structural cut-out itself. The recess in the worktop plate serves dual purposes: it provides the mounting structure for the cooking hob and simultaneously creates the moisture barrier, eliminating the need for separate profile elements.
2Stability of the object's composition
If profile and frame elements are used to secure the cooking hob, then the cooking hob is stabilized, but moisture and dirt still enter the interspace and accumulate along the profile elements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a sealing bead as an intermediary element between the cooking hob and the worktop plate. This sealing bead prevents moisture and dirt from reaching the interspace while allowing the cooking hob to remain securely mounted.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using profile elements that extend outward to prevent moisture ingress, the patent inverts the approach by creating a recess that directs moisture away from the interspace. The sealing is achieved by preventing moisture access rather than blocking it with protruding elements.
3Shape
If the cooking hob is flush-mounted without profile elements, then the appearance is improved and cleaning is easier, but the cooking hob becomes difficult to secure and maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the cooking hob assembly into separable components that can be independently accessed. The mounting interfaces are designed to allow removal of the cooking hob from the recess without damaging the worktop plate or requiring complete disassembly of the worktop structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a mounting system where the cooking hob can be easily inserted and removed from the recess through simple mechanical interfaces. The recess geometry and mounting interfaces are designed to provide equal ease of access for both installation and maintenance operations.
4Ease of repair
If the entire cooking hob is dismounted for maintenance, then the components can be accessed, but the worktop structure is compromised and reassembly is complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables segmentation of the cooking hob from the worktop plate through designed mounting interfaces. This allows the cooking hob to be removed as a complete assembly for maintenance while preserving the integrity of the worktop plate and recess structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates preliminary design features in the mounting interfaces that facilitate easy removal and reinstallation. The mechanical interfaces are pre-configured to guide the cooking hob into and out of the recess without requiring complex alignment procedures or specialized tools.
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 2
AI summary
A kitchen worktop arrangement (1), comprising - a glass ceramic worktop plate (3) having a top side (81), and a bottom side (82) averted from the top side (81), and being attached with its bottom side (82) to the top side of a supporting plate (2); - the supporting plate (2) comprising at least one cut-out (E) for arranging a cooking hob assembly (7),- the cooking hob assembly (7) being arranged at the bottom side (82) of the glass ceramic worktop plate (3) in a section of the cut-out (E), the cooking hob assembly (7) defining a cooking section (6) of the glass ceramic worktop plate (3),wherein the worktop plate (3) comprises at least one bearing section (10) projecting beyond the cooking section (6) of the worktop plate (3), the bottom side of the bearing section (10) being attached to the top side of the supporting plate (2); andwherein at least one mounting interface (12) is secured at or to the bottom side (82) of the glass ceramic worktop plate (3) within or in the area of the cooking section (6) for releasable coupling one or more components (7, 22) of the hob assembly (7) to the bottom side (82).