Kitchen Appliance Coupling with Flexible Walls for Vibration Damping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing clutches in electromotive kitchen appliances face challenges in transmitting rotary movements with low noise while being easy to manufacture and less susceptible to damage, as they often require multiple materials which are expensive and prone to defects.
Innovation Solution
A coupling design featuring an inner and outer ring connected by flexible retaining and connecting walls, which absorb vibrations without the need for multiple materials, using a monolithic structure made of a single material like plastic, allowing for radial and circumferential flexibility to dampen noise effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If couplings are made of hard materials to efficiently transmit rotary motion, then transmission efficiency is improved, but noise increases due to vibrations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the coupling by introducing flexible retaining walls with specific geometric features (waves, corrugations, or undulations) that allow the structure to deform elastically. This enables the coupling to absorb vibrations while maintaining rotational force transmission, resolving the contradiction between transmission efficiency and noise reduction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs flexible retaining walls with wave-like or corrugated structures that act as vibration-dampening elements. These flexible structures allow the coupling to maintain structural integrity for force transmission while absorbing vibrational energy, thereby reducing noise without sacrificing transmission efficiency.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If couplings are made of multiple materials to dampen vibrations and reduce noise, then noise is reduced, but manufacturing complexity increases and defect susceptibility increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a single homogeneous material for the entire coupling structure, including the flexible retaining walls. This eliminates the complexity of joining multiple materials and reduces the risk of interface defects, while the geometric design of the retaining walls provides the necessary vibration dampening functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling is segmented into functional zones: rigid portions for force transmission and flexible retaining walls with wave-like structures for vibration absorption. This segmentation within a single material allows the coupling to simultaneously achieve noise reduction and manufacturing simplicity.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If couplings are made of multiple materials to dampen vibrations and reduce noise, then noise is reduced, but reliability decreases due to defects in contact areas
Solution Approach 1:
By using a single material throughout the coupling structure, the patent eliminates material interfaces where defects commonly occur. The homogeneous structure ensures consistent mechanical properties and reduces the risk of failure at material boundaries, thereby improving reliability while maintaining noise reduction capabilities through the flexible retaining wall design.
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
The design achieves low noise development during operation with enhanced stability and durability, reducing manufacturing costs and susceptibility to defects, by utilizing a single material structure that effectively absorbs vibrations through flexible retaining and connecting walls.
Implementation Method 1
The retaining walls and/or the connecting walls are designed to be flexible; the retaining walls in the radial direction, and the connecting walls in the circumferential direction
Implementation Method 2
The geometry of the coupling and the retaining/connecting walls absorb and thus dampen vibrations during operation
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
A coupling (10, 20, 30) according to the invention comprises an inner ring (101, 201), an outer ring (102, 202) which coaxially surrounds the inner ring and is connected thereto by means of connecting walls (104, 105), and a plurality of force transmission elements (103, 203). The force transmission elements (103, 203) are connected to the outer ring by holding walls (105, 205) and are designed to enter into operative connection with respective mating elements, which are driven by an electric motor, in order to transmit a rotational movement. The holding walls (105, 205) are formed flexibly in the radial direction and/or the connecting walls (104, 204) are formed flexibly in the circumferential direction. A kitchen appliance component (2) according to the invention comprises a coupling according to the invention. A kitchen appliance (1) according to the invention comprises an electric motor (4) and a kitchen appliance component according to the invention.