Component and tool for a kitchen appliance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing kitchen appliances lack efficient and user-friendly mechanisms for attaching and detaching tools, which can lead to damage due to material lodgment and require careful alignment, complicating tool replacement and maintenance.
Innovation Solution
A kitchen appliance component with a multiple-thread coupling that allows for easy attachment and detachment of tools without rotation, featuring a high pitch thread and locking mechanism, enabling secure snap-in connections and preventing damage from material lodgment during operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a traditional single-thread coupling is used for attaching tools, then the attachment mechanism is simple in structure, but the tool attachment and detachment process is time-consuming and requires careful alignment
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling is divided into a first coupling part with external threads and a second coupling part with internal threads. The multiple threads on the first coupling part enable simultaneous engagement points, allowing the tool to be attached or detached with a single axial movement without requiring precise rotational alignment, thus resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and structural complexity.
2Reliability
If a traditional coupling mechanism is used, then the structure is simple, but material can lodge between components causing damage during operation
Solution Approach 1:
The locking means (latching protrusion and latching recess) are pre-configured in the coupling structure to automatically engage when the tool is attached. This preliminary arrangement prevents material from lodging between components during operation by ensuring proper positioning and secure locking before the tool begins operation, thereby improving reliability without significantly increasing structural complexity.
3Productivity
If a high pitch multiple thread is used for coupling, then the tool can be attached and detached quickly with minimal rotation, but the thread structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling employs a multiple thread design with a high pitch parameter, where the pitch is at least twice the axial length of the coupling. This parameter change allows the tool to be attached or detached with minimal rotational movement (or even purely axial movement), dramatically increasing productivity. The complexity increase is localized to the thread geometry rather than the overall coupling mechanism.
4Strength
If a locking mechanism is added to secure the tool, then the connection becomes more secure and damage is prevented, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking means are integrated into the coupling structure itself, merging the locking function with the attachment mechanism. The latching protrusion on the first coupling part engages with the latching recess on the second coupling part, providing secure locking as an inherent part of the coupling assembly rather than as a separate added component, thus minimizing the increase in device complexity while achieving strong, secure connections.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a component of a kitchen appliance with a coupling for attaching a tool, wherein the coupling has a multi-start thread. The invention further relates to a tool for attaching to a coupling of a component of a kitchen appliance, wherein the tool has a multi-start thread. The invention also relates to a kit comprising such a component and such a tool. Finally, the invention relates to a kitchen appliance with said component. The tool according to the invention can advantageously be attached to and detached from the coupling of the component with particular ease.