Cooking appliance

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Solution Overview

Problem

Cooking appliances with swivel-mounted pans face challenges in maintaining tightness at higher pressures and ease of cleaning due to external mechanical locking devices that protrude and create difficult-to-clean contours.

Innovation Solution

Integration of a motor-driven locking element within the pan or lid that extends vertically to lock the lid and pan together, eliminating the need for external locking devices and allowing for easy cleaning by retracting into the pan or lid, with a sensor system to ensure proper locking and sealing.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If external mechanical locking devices are used, then the lid and pan can be locked together to maintain tightness at higher pressures, but protruding parts are created that make cleaning difficult

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetightness at higher pressuresVSAvoidease of cleaning

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The locking element is merged with the pan body, forming an integrated structure where the locking mechanism is no longer a separate external component but part of the pan itself. This eliminates protruding locking devices that interfere with cleaning while maintaining the locking function through the integrated design.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The locking element is nested within the pan body structure, with the locking protrusion extending from the pan into the lid's locking recess only when needed for locking. When retracted, the locking element remains within the pan's internal structure, creating no external contours that would hinder cleaning.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

2Reliability

If external locking devices with locking bolts and receiving geometries are provided, then mechanical locking is achieved, but disturbing contours are created on the outside of the lid and pan

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemechanical lockingVSAvoiddisturbing contours

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSShape

Solution Approach 1:

The locking function is extracted from external locking devices and relocated to an integrated locking element within the pan body. This removes the need for external locking bolts, receiving geometries, and associated mounting structures that create disturbing contours on the appliance exterior.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of having locking elements protrude outward from the pan and lid exteriors, the locking mechanism is inverted so that the locking protrusion extends inward from the pan body into the lid, with the actuating mechanism located inside the pan rather than on the outside.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Data Source

PatentUS12114798B2Cooking appliance

Publication Date: 2024.10.15 RATIONAL WITTENHEIM SAS

AI summary

A cooking appliance having a pan and a movable lid closing a cooking chamber in the pan has a locking element which is movable by motor and is either integrated in the pan or integrated in the lid. When the pan is in its closed state, the locking element, when in its locking position, protrudes either from the top side of the pan or the lower side of the lid and extends into the respective other part to mechanically lock it.