Microwave Oven Articulating Bottom for Improved Cavity Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Typical microwave cooking appliances have fixed openings and heights, limiting user access to the cooking cavity, necessitating an articulating bottom to enhance access.
Innovation Solution
A microwave cooking appliance with a movable bottom and door, articulated via linkage members and an actuator, allowing the bottom to transition from a closed to an open position, facilitating better access by moving downward and outward, with sealing systems to maintain microwave integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the bottom is made fixed to maintain structural stability, then the structural integrity is improved, but the user access to cooking cavity is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The bottom is transformed from a fixed structure to a movable one through linkage members connected to an actuator. The bottom can dynamically transition between a closed position (defining the cooking cavity) and an open position (lowered and outwardly extended), allowing users to easily access the cooking cavity while maintaining structural integrity when closed.
2Ease of operation
If the bottom is made movable to improve user access, then the ease of operation is improved, but the device complexity is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The bottom assembly is segmented into the bottom itself and the linkage members that connect it to the actuator. This segmentation allows the bottom to be controlled independently through the linkage mechanism, enabling smooth articulation between closed and open positions without requiring the entire appliance structure to be complex.
Solution Approach 2:
Linkage members serve as intermediary components between the actuator and the bottom. These linkages translate the actuator's linear motion into the bottom's articulating motion, simplifying the overall mechanism by using intermediate mechanical elements rather than direct actuation.
3Reliability
If sealing systems are added to maintain microwave integrity with movable bottom, then the reliability is improved, but the device complexity is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
A flexible seal member is positioned between the bottom and the housing to maintain the sealed environment of the cooking cavity when the bottom is in the closed position. The flexibility of the seal allows it to accommodate the movement of the bottom while maintaining microwave integrity, avoiding the need for complex rigid sealing mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A microwave cooking appliance allowing better access into the cooking cavity. The microwave cooking appliance may include a bottom articulating from the housing. The appliance may include an actuator. The appliance may include one or more linkage members connected to the actuator and bottom. The appliance may include a linkage track guiding the one or more linkage members and/or bottom between positions.