Cooking Appliance Door Opening Using Gravity-Assisted Retraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooking appliances require large, energy-intensive electrical drives to automatically open heavy doors due to complex movement paths and thermal stability requirements, leading to space and cost inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A cooking appliance with a door opening mechanism that automatically tilts the door from a closed to an intermediate position using a motorized drive, allowing further movement into the open position solely under the force of gravity, reducing the need for powerful motorized assistance and enabling a more energy-efficient design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If a powerful electrical drive is used to automatically open the heavy door over the entire movement path, then the door can be moved automatically, but the drive requires large space, high energy consumption, and is cost-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The movement path of the door is segmented into two distinct phases: a first phase where the actuating unit provides motorized assistance to move the door from the closed position toward the open position, and a second phase where the door moves automatically under its own weight force. This segmentation allows the electrical drive to operate only during the initial phase, significantly reducing energy consumption while maintaining automatic door opening functionality.
2Extent of automation
If a powerful electrical drive is used to automatically open the heavy door over the entire movement path, then the door can be moved automatically, but the drive requires large constructional space
Solution Approach 1:
By dividing the door opening process into two phases, the actuating unit only needs to provide sufficient torque for the initial movement phase, allowing for a more compact motor design. The second phase utilizes the door's own weight, eliminating the need for a large, continuously operating electrical drive.
3Ease of operation
If manual pulling force is applied by the user to open the door, then the door can be opened, but the operation is not user-friendly due to the heavy weight and complex movement path
Solution Approach 1:
The door is designed to utilize its own weight force to complete the opening movement during the second phase. After the actuating unit initiates the movement in the first phase, the door automatically continues opening under gravity without requiring additional user input, making the operation easy and user-friendly despite the door's heavy weight.
4Use of energy by moving object
If the door is moved entirely under its own weight force, then energy consumption is reduced, but the door cannot overcome the initial resistance from the closed position
Solution Approach 1:
The actuating unit performs a preliminary action by providing motorized assistance during the first phase to overcome the initial resistance and static friction holding the door in the closed position. Once the door is in motion and the weight force becomes effective, the actuating unit can be deactivated, and the door continues opening automatically under gravity.
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
This solution reduces the size and energy requirements of the actuating unit, saving constructional space and improving user-friendliness while preventing jamming and hard impacts during door opening, with the door opening smoothly and efficiently from the intermediate position into the stowage compartment.
Implementation Method 1
a door opening mechanism for automatically moving the door and guiding the movement of the door independently of the user
Implementation Method 2
the further movement of the door from the intermediate position into the open position, in which the door is retracted into the stowage compartment, is also performed automatically but without assistance from the actuating unit and thus only under the force of gravity of the door itself
Data Source
AI summary
A cooking appliance includes a housing having a stowage compartment, a door for closing a cooking chamber, and a door opening mechanism constructed to automatically move the door at least in a section of an entire movement path between a closed position and an open position of the door, in which open position the door is retractable into the stowage compartment of the housing. The door opening mechanism includes an actuation unit which is configured to automatically tilt the door from the closed position into an intermediate position located such that any further movement of the door from the intermediate position into the open position is implemented automatically under the force of gravity of the door.