Sideways-Opening Mini Oven Door for Narrow-Space Access
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Mini ovens with downward opening doors face challenges such as difficulty in opening and closing in narrow spaces, risk of falling due to biased center of mass, limited passage for shelf insertion and withdrawal, and inconvenience in checking cooking state, especially when installed at low places, leading to safety hazards and reduced usability.
Innovation Solution
A cooking appliance design featuring a door that rotates to open both the upper and front surfaces, incorporating a see-through window with spaced glasses for easy viewing, and a tray that can be withdrawn forward by interlocking with the door's operation, reducing the risk of falling and enhancing usability by providing a larger passage for food and tray insertion/withdrawal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the door is designed to open downward in a mini oven, then the cooking compartment can be sealed effectively, but the door protrudes to the front when opened making it difficult to operate in narrow spaces and causing the center of mass to bias toward the front increasing fall risk
Solution Approach 1:
The door is designed to rotate about a horizontal axis parallel to the rear side of the door upper surface part, changing the opening direction from downward to sideways. This dimensional change allows the door to open in a direction that does not protrude forward, solving the problem of operating in narrow spaces while maintaining sealing effectiveness.
2Reliability
If the door opens downward, then the cooking compartment can be sealed, but the center of mass biases toward the front increasing the risk of the appliance falling
Solution Approach 1:
By changing the door opening direction to rotate about a horizontal axis at the rear side rather than downward, the door weight distribution during operation is optimized, preventing the center of mass from biasing toward the front and reducing fall risk while maintaining sealing.
3Reliability
If the door opens downward, then the cooking compartment can be sealed, but the passage for shelf insertion and withdrawal is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The door opening direction is changed to rotate sideways about a horizontal axis, creating a larger passage space for shelf insertion and withdrawal while maintaining the sealing function of the cooking compartment.
4Reliability
If the door opens downward, then the cooking compartment can be sealed, but viewing the cooking state is inconvenient when the appliance is installed at low places
Solution Approach 1:
The door opening direction is changed to rotate sideways, allowing the see-through window to be positioned at a more convenient viewing height when the appliance is installed at low places, improving ergonomics while maintaining sealing.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
Disclosed herein is a cooking appliance including a door formed including a door upper surface part which covers an upper surface of a housing and a door front surface part which is connected to a front side of the door upper surface part and covers a front surface of the housing, wherein an input part is disposed in the door front surface part.