Kitchen Appliance Lid Locking with Guided Rod-and-Bearing Closure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing household food preparation appliances with automatic lid locking mechanisms are expensive, bulky, and aesthetically unappealing, requiring a more elegant and cost-effective solution for lid immobilization that integrates well with the appliance design.
Innovation Solution
A lid holding mechanism using a rod inserted into a bearing, allowing for guided and locked lid movement, with a locking device that can be manually unlocked and integrated into the appliance's housing, ensuring secure lid immobilization and ergonomic operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a jaw-based holding mechanism is used to automatically lock the lid, then the lid can be securely immobilized in the closed position, but the device becomes bulky and aesthetically unappealing due to the frame extending on either side of the working container
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the holding function from the bulky symmetric jaw mechanism and concentrates it into a single-point bearing structure integrated into the housing, eliminating the need for extended frames on both sides while maintaining secure lid immobilization
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a two-sided symmetric jaw arrangement to a single-point bearing mechanism, changing the spatial dimension of the holding system from distributed bilateral structure to concentrated unipoint structure, thereby reducing overall device volume
2Reliability
If a jaw-based holding mechanism is used to automatically lock the lid, then the lid can be securely immobilized in the closed position, but the device becomes expensive due to the complex frame structure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential holding function from the complex jaw-and-frame mechanism and implements it through a simple bearing-rod assembly, significantly reducing manufacturing complexity and cost while maintaining reliable lid immobilization
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces expensive durable jaw mechanisms with a simpler, more economical bearing structure that achieves the same functional outcome at lower manufacturing cost
3Volume of moving object
If a single-point holding mechanism is used, then the device becomes more aesthetically pleasing and space-saving, but the lid may not be securely immobilized
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a bearing as an intermediary element that provides both guidance and secure immobilization of the lid at a single point, combining the benefits of compact design with reliable holding through the bearing's inherent friction and geometric constraints
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3A~3B
Figure 4~5
AI summary
The apparatus has a base for receiving a working vessel (2). A case contains a motor driving a rotary tool arranged in the vessel. A maintaining unit maintains a removable cover (3) in a closed position. The maintaining unit comprises a bearing into which a rod (31) is introduced, where the rod is carried by the cover. The bearing ensures guidance in rectilinear translation of the cover in receiving direction of the vessel during the closing of the cover. The maintaining unit comprises a blocking device blocking the rod in the closing position of the cover.