After-run blocking device for a kitchen appliance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Kitchen appliances with collection containers and outlets face issues of juice overflow, which can lead to electrical hazards due to juice accumulation in the engine compartment, and existing solutions do not effectively manage overflow prevention and release.
Innovation Solution
An overrun locking device with a slide mechanism that controls the cross-sectional area of the outlet, allowing juice to flow in the first position and blocking it in the second position, preventing overflow and ensuring safe operation by managing liquid flow through partial or complete closure of the outlet.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the outlet is kept open to allow juice flow, then productivity is improved, but the risk of overflow and electrical hazards increases
Solution Approach 1:
The outlet closure state is made dynamic through a slide mechanism that can be manually positioned between open and closed states. This allows the system to adapt between full flow (open) and blocked (closed) conditions, resolving the contradiction between productivity and safety by enabling user-controlled transition between these extremes.
Solution Approach 2:
The slide mechanism changes the geometric parameter of the outlet cross-sectional area from fully open to fully closed. By varying this physical parameter, the system can control juice flow rate and prevent overflow, thus resolving the contradiction between maintaining productivity and preventing harmful overflow effects.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a blocking device is added to prevent overflow, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The slide mechanism serves multiple functions: it acts as both a flow control element (regulating juice flow) and an overflow prevention device (blocking the outlet when closed). This multi-functionality allows overflow protection to be achieved without adding separate dedicated components, thus limiting the increase in device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The blocking function is merged with the existing outlet structure by integrating the slide mechanism directly into the outlet pathway. This combination approach avoids adding separate blocking components, thereby achieving overflow prevention with minimal increase in overall device complexity.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the outlet is completely closed to prevent overflow, then safety is improved, but the ability to release accumulated juice is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The slide mechanism provides dynamic control of the outlet, allowing it to be positioned in open or closed states as needed. This dynamic capability enables the system to adapt between complete flow and complete blockage, maintaining versatility while achieving overflow control through user discretion rather than fixed configuration.
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 device effectively prevents juice overflow, reducing the risk of electrical hazards by allowing controlled juice release and preventing excessive liquid accumulation, ensuring safe operation and efficient filling of containers.
Implementation Method 1
Since the liquid flows through the outlet in the lower area due to gravity, this flow can be prevented at least partially, preferably completely, by moving the slider from the first to the second position
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2C
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to an after-run blocking device (100) for a kitchen appliance, wherein the kitchen appliance comprises a collecting container (200) and an outlet (1), and the after-run blocking device (100) is arranged between the collecting container (200) and the outlet (1), and furthermore the after-run blocking device (100) comprises a slide (3), which can be moved between a first and a second position, wherein the slide (3) opens a first cross-sectional area (11) of the outlet (1) in the first position, the slide (3) closes a second cross-sectional area of the outlet (1) in the second position, and the first cross-sectional area (11) and the second cross-sectional area overlap at least in a lower cross-sectional region of the outlet (1). By means of economical means having a simple design, the invention enables the provision of an after-run blocking device for a kitchen appliance in order to enable improved pouring or discharge of contents, in particular liquids such as juices from a juice extractor.