Hinge Mechanism for Appliance Door Panel Upward Movement

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Solution Overview

Problem

Decorative hanging boards on revolving doors of electrical appliances, such as dishwashers, often interfere with the ground or other structures when opened, requiring complex transmission structures that are difficult to process, costly, and prone to reliability issues.

Innovation Solution

A hinge mechanism that connects the door body and main body, featuring a rotating shaft, hinge arm, drive arm, mounting member, first guide mechanism, and moving member, allowing the outer panel to move upward relative to the door body during rotation, using simple and reliable transmission with low production costs.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a complex transmission structure is used to prevent interference between the decorative hanging board and the ground, then the reliability of the door opening operation is improved, but the device complexity and manufacturing cost increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedoor opening operation reliabilityVSAvoidtransmission structure complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The hinge mechanism is divided into multiple functional components: a hinge arm connected to the door body, a drive arm with guide mechanisms, and a moving member connected to the decorative hanging board. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently, simplifying the overall transmission structure while maintaining operational reliability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The drive arm acts as an intermediary element between the hinge arm and the moving member. It translates the rotational motion of the hinge arm into the upward movement of the decorative hanging board through guide mechanisms, eliminating the need for complex transmission structures while ensuring reliable operation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Manufacturing precision

If guide mechanisms are added to control the movement of the drive arm, then the manufacturing precision and movement control are improved, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedrive arm movement controlVSAvoidguide mechanism complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Guide mechanisms are selectively applied only at critical locations where precise movement control is needed. The first guide mechanism controls the drive arm's movement relative to the hinge arm, while the second guide mechanism controls the moving member's movement relative to the drive arm. This localized approach ensures manufacturing precision without unnecessarily increasing overall device complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of using complex transmission structures to achieve movement control, the patent uses simple guide mechanisms that constrain motion in specific directions. The guide grooves and guide pins work together to automatically guide the drive arm and moving member through their respective movement paths, achieving precision through geometric constraints rather than complex actuation mechanisms.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Data Source

PatentEP4242404A1Hinge and electrical device
Publication Date: 2023.09.13 FOSHAN SHUNDE MIDEA WASHING APPLIANCES MANUFACTURING CO LTD
  • EP4242404A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4242404A1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP4242404A1 patent drawingFigure 4~5

AI summary

Disclosed are a hinge and an electrical device. The hinge includes a rotating shaft; a hinge arm provided on the rotating shaft and being rotatable relative to the main body, the hinge arm being connected the door body to the main body; a drive arm rotatably connected to the hinge arm; a mounting member, a first guide mechanism being provided between the mounting member and the drive arm; and a moving member connected to the panel and being movable relative to the door body, a second guide mechanism being provided between the moving member and the drive arm. The first guide mechanism and the second guide mechanism guide the drive arm to drive the panel to move relative to the door body in response to the door body being rotated.