Induction Cooking Tray Connector With Last-Break Ground Contact
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing connectors for induction cooking appliances lack safety features that ensure power supply cutoff during insertion or extraction, posing a risk of electric arcing and potential breakdown of the insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) associated with the electronic driving circuit.
Innovation Solution
A connector design with five male terminals, including two for power, two for temperature sensors, and one ground connection, where the ground terminal disconnects last during extraction, ensuring safe and reliable insertion and extraction by automatically cutting off power supply when the induction tray is removed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional connectors with equal-length terminals are used, then the device complexity is reduced, but safety is compromised due to risk of electric arcing during extraction
Solution Approach 1:
The connector employs asymmetric terminal lengths where the ground terminal extends further than the power terminals. This asymmetric design ensures that during extraction, the ground connection disconnects last, preventing electric arcing and enhancing safety without requiring complex control systems.
2Reliability
If the ground terminal disconnects last during extraction, then safety is improved by preventing electric arcing, but the ease of operation is reduced due to abnormal disconnection sequence
Solution Approach 1:
The ground terminal is designed to maintain connection during the entire extraction process until all other terminals are disconnected. This preliminary action of maintaining ground connection prevents electric arcing and ensures safety during the power cutoff process, making the abnormal disconnection sequence inherent to the design rather than an operational complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A movable cooking appliance comprises a structure which is adapted to be placed on a kitchen worktop appliance or inside a cooking oven appliance and includes a heating element and releasable connector assembly for making electrical connection with power supply connectors. The heating element is an induction heating element and an electronic driving unit is mounted on the appliance. The releasable connector assembly comprising a plug connector having a plurality of terminals designed in order to provide a disconnection signal to the electronic unit before the power supply connectors are fully extracted.