Griddle with adjustable space between upper and lower pans
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional griddles with adjustable space between upper and lower pans are inadequate for cooking thick food, fail to maintain parallel alignment, and are not suitable for single-sided cooking or heat preservation due to complex and costly mechanisms that are prone to failure under the weight of the upper pan.
Innovation Solution
A griddle design featuring adjustable hinges with upper and lower hinge seats, joint arms, and a sliding groove system that allows for adjustable spacing between the pans, enabling secure and stable adjustment for cooking thick food, single-sided cooking, and heat preservation, while being simpler, cost-effective, and durable.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the space between upper and lower pans is increased to cook thick food, then the upper pan offsets backwardly with respect to the lower pan, but the upper and lower pans cannot be aligned in vertical direction
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge connection allows the upper pan to rotate dynamically around the hinge axis, enabling the pan to adapt its position while maintaining parallel alignment with the lower pan even when the space between them is increased. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction between increased spacing and vertical alignment.
2Length of moving object
If a lifting mechanism is used to adjust the space between upper and lower pans, then the space can be adjusted, but the mechanism has relatively complex structure and high manufacture cost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex lifting mechanism from the system and replaces it with a simple hinge connection. The hinge allows natural rotation and positioning of the upper pan without requiring additional adjustment components, thereby eliminating the complexity and high manufacturing cost while still enabling space adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
The upper pan utilizes its own weight and the hinge's rotational capability to automatically adjust and maintain the desired space between pans. The system serves itself through gravity-assisted positioning rather than requiring an external lifting mechanism, simplifying the overall structure.
3Temperature
If the upper pan is made heavy to provide sufficient heat, then the lifting mechanism is easy to be broken down by the weight of the upper pan
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the vulnerable lifting mechanism that could break under the upper pan's weight. The hinge connection is designed to naturally support the upper pan's weight through its rotational joint, eliminating the risk of mechanism failure while preserving the pan's heating capability.
4Shape
If a U-shaped pan support is used to maintain parallel position of upper and lower pans, then the pans can be maintained in parallel, but the upper pan swings relative to the pan support, thus the pans are not easy to be adjusted in a completely parallel position
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge connection provides dynamic adjustability, allowing the upper pan to be easily positioned at any angle including perfectly parallel to the lower pan. The rotational freedom of the hinge eliminates the swinging instability of the U-shaped support while maintaining parallel alignment capability.
Data Source
AI summary
Griddle with adjustable space between upper and lower pans, including an upper shell, a lower shell, rear sides of the upper and lower pans connected through adjustable hinges, the bottom of the upper hinge seat extending downwardly and the top of the lower hinge seat extending upwardly to form upper and lower joint arms, a groove extending along the side of the lower joint arm, the top of the groove extending forward, a protrusion mounted at the side of the lower joint arm and in front of the groove; the bottom of the upper joint arm extending to one side to form a pintle which can move in the groove, and a supporting portion formed at the bottom of the upper joint arm and in front of the pintle, to keep a space between the upper pan and the lower pan by abutting against the protrusion.