Detachable Kitchen Surface Clamp Joint With Liquid-Tight Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing connecting devices for kitchen worktops and cooking appliances suffer from poor sealing, difficulty in cleaning, and limited user comfort due to their design, which often results in gaps that allow liquids and solids to penetrate, and are not easily detachable for maintenance or replacement.
Innovation Solution
A compact connecting device with a clamping mechanism that includes a cover leg and clamping leg with movable clamping elements, allowing for a seamless, detachable, and easily cleanable connection between kitchen covers and cooking appliances, featuring a U-shaped clamping leg and adjustable screw system for stepless tightening, and a seal to prevent liquid ingress.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a connecting element is used to seal the gap between kitchen covers and cooking appliances, then hygienic sealing is improved, but the connecting element creates a large projecting structure that forms difficult-to-clean joints and limits user comfort
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting element features a flexible sealing lip that can dynamically adapt to thermal expansion and contraction of the connected components. The sealing lip is designed to remain in contact with the cooking appliance surface while allowing for movement, maintaining sealing effectiveness without creating rigid projecting structures that would impede user access.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing function is transferred from a protruding horizontal structure to a vertical sealing lip configuration. The sealing lip extends downward from the connecting element to contact the cooking appliance surface, moving the sealing action to a different spatial dimension and eliminating the need for large horizontal projections that would create cleaning difficulties and reduce user comfort.
2Ease of operation
If individual cooking appliances or covers are welded together to achieve a smooth transition, then ease of cleaning is improved, but the individual elements can only be separated with great effort
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting device is designed as a separate modular component that segments the connection system into distinct replaceable parts. The connecting element with its clamping legs and sealing lip functions as an independent module that can be easily removed and replaced without affecting the welded or fixed structures of the cooking appliances themselves, enabling easy maintenance while maintaining clean surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The connecting element serves as an intermediary component between the kitchen cover and the cooking appliance. This mediator provides the sealing and connection functions without requiring direct welding or permanent attachment between the main components, allowing for easy separation and replacement of the intermediate connecting element while maintaining a smooth, cleanable surface.
3Ease of manufacture
If a clamping device is used to pull together the butt seam of two covers, then ease of assembly is improved, but the connection is not durable due to different thermal expansions and can leak
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting element is designed with adjustable clamping force parameters that can accommodate thermal expansion and contraction. The clamping legs can be adjusted to maintain optimal sealing pressure despite changes in the dimensional parameters of the connected components due to thermal effects, ensuring continued durability and leak-free operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The connecting device explicitly accounts for thermal expansion by designing the clamping mechanism with sufficient adjustment range and flexibility. The sealing lip and clamping legs are configured to maintain contact and sealing pressure even when the connected components expand or contract thermally, preventing leakage and ensuring long-term durability in kitchen environments with varying temperatures.
Data Source
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AI summary
The device has a connecting unit (1) comprising a connecting side piece (10) for covering surfaces of two elements i.e. kitchen coverings, standing adjacent to each other. The connecting unit has a clamping side piece (11) and a stressing unit (2) for twisting the connecting unit against the elements. The stressing unit has a clamping unit that is movable relative to the connection unit, where the clamping unit stays in engagement with clamping engagement parts of the elements. An elongated path of the connecting unit stays at an angle to the clamping engagement parts of the elements.