Modular Kitchen Worktop with Detachable Functional Panel Parts
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing kitchen furniture worktops or table tops are rigid and cannot be variably configured to meet specific customer needs without resorting to expensive custom-made products, limiting adaptability and flexibility.
Innovation Solution
A modular design featuring detachable connections between plate parts, allowing non-functional and functional elements to be combined, including temperature control, water supply, lighting, and guide rails, with Peltier elements for temperature control and reversible dovetail grooves for assembly, enabling flexible configuration and material choice.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a fixed worktop design is used, then the structure is simple and stable, but the kitchen cannot adapt to changing storage needs or workflow requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The worktop is designed with movable sections that can be shifted along the longitudinal axis between fixed sections. This dynamic configuration allows the workspace to adapt to different storage needs and workflow requirements while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure. The movable sections are guided by rails and positioned using straightforward mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The worktop is divided into multiple fixed sections and movable sections along its longitudinal axis. This segmentation allows independent movement of specific sections to create different workspace configurations. Each section can be adjusted separately, providing flexibility without requiring complete reconstruction of the entire worktop.
2Adaptability or versatility
If standard-sized worktops are used, then manufacturing is simple and cost-effective, but the workspace cannot be optimized for different user needs or kitchen layouts
Solution Approach 1:
The worktop is manufactured as an assembly of standardized fixed sections and movable sections. Each section can be produced using standard manufacturing processes, and then assembled together in different configurations. This approach maintains manufacturing simplicity while enabling customization of the overall workspace dimensions and layout.
Solution Approach 2:
The movable sections are designed with universal interfaces that can connect to different fixed sections. The same movable section can be positioned at various locations along the worktop, allowing a single manufactured component to serve multiple functions in different configurations, thereby reducing the need for custom-manufactured parts.
3Ease of operation
If the worktop surface is made continuous and seamless, then cleaning is easier and aesthetics are improved, but adjusting the workspace configuration becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The worktop maintains a continuous seamless surface appearance while incorporating movable sections that can be shifted to different positions. The seamless design is achieved through careful joint design between sections, allowing the surface to be easily cleaned without gaps or crevices, while the underlying movable mechanisms enable configuration changes when needed.
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
Enables a high-quality, adaptable kitchen furniture system that can be customized to individual needs, allowing for easy assembly and reconfiguration as requirements change, providing a flexible and versatile work or dining surface.
Implementation Method 1
This module comprises a Peltier element that can be operated both for heating and for cooling the plate
Implementation Method 2
the module can further comprise a sensor, which is designed, for example, to detect the presence of a magnet in a detection area of the work surface
Implementation Method 3
The T-nuts can be spread apart, for example, using a screw in a direction essentially perpendicular to the panel plane, reversibly clamping the panel parts
Data Source
Figure 1a~1d
Figure 2a~3b
Figure 4a~5b
AI summary
The invention relates to a kitchen furniture item having a horizontal worktop or tabletop and a substructure which holds the worktop, wherein the worktop or tabletop is built up in modular fashion from at least two panel parts which are releasably connected to one another along common lateral edges, wherein at least one of the panel parts is a functional panel part which is provided with a treatment. The invention further relates to a method for integrating a functional panel part into a worktop or tabletop of such a kitchen furniture item and to a method for replacing one panel part of a worktop or tabletop of such a kitchen furniture item with another panel part.