Movable Door Handle Assembly for Heavy Appliance Doors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional home appliances with large doors pose user inconvenience due to increased size and weight, requiring excessive force and awkward hand postures for opening and closing, and often result in handle damage and misalignment.
Innovation Solution
A home appliance with a movable door handle that integrates a handle link system with a rotating shaft, a distance maintenance member, and an elastic member to maintain handle alignment and stability, allowing the handle to adjust position with door rotation and apply minimal force, preventing wrist strain and handle deviation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of stationary object
If the door size and capacity are increased, then the storage capacity and functionality are improved, but the door weight increases making it difficult to open and close
Solution Approach 1:
The handle is designed to move dynamically relative to the door during opening and closing operations. The handle link mechanism allows the handle to change its position and orientation automatically as the door rotates, providing mechanical advantage at different door angles and reducing the effort required to move heavy doors
2Device complexity
If a fixed handle is used on a large door, then the structural simplicity is maintained, but the handle deviates from user visual field and causes operational inconvenience
Solution Approach 1:
The handle is coupled to the door through a handle link mechanism that allows the handle to move automatically as the door opens and closes. This dynamic positioning keeps the handle within the user's visual field throughout the operation while maintaining relatively simple structural components
Solution Approach 2:
A handle link mechanism serves as an intermediary between the fixed door structure and the movable handle. This intermediate component translates door rotation into handle movement, solving the visual field problem without requiring complex active control systems
3Ease of operation
If the user grips the handle with fixed hand posture, then the操作简单性 is maintained, but wrist strain and discomfort occur during door operation
Solution Approach 1:
The handle's dynamic movement automatically adjusts to different door opening angles, allowing the user to maintain a consistent, ergonomic hand posture throughout the entire opening and closing process. The handle position changes in coordination with door rotation, preventing wrist bending and strain
4Force
If excessive force is applied to open heavy doors, then the door can be opened, but the handle may be damaged or misaligned
Solution Approach 1:
The handle link mechanism provides dynamic mechanical advantage that varies with door angle. As the door begins to move, the mechanism optimizes force transmission, allowing heavy doors to be opened with minimal force while preventing excessive forces that could damage the handle or misalign it on the door surface
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed is a home appliance having a door (300), and more particularly to a home appliance configured to assist a user in easily opening or closing a door. The home appliance includes a cabinet having a chamber for reception of an object, a door (300) configured to open or close the chamber by being rotated about a door rotating shaft, and a handle assembly provided at the exterior of a front surface of the door, the handle assembly including a handle (410) configured to assist a user in opening or closing the door (300). The handle assembly further includes a handle link (420) configured to be rotated integrally with the handle (410), the handle link being exposed out of the door by an increasing length as an opening angle of the door increases, a handle link rotating shaft (422) forming a center of rotation of the handle link (420), and a distance maintenance member (480) provided between the handle link and the handle link rotating shaft (422) to maintain a distance between the handle link (420) and the handle link rotating shaft (422).