Movable rack assembly for a wood burning grill
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional grills lack a reliable mechanism for adjusting the height of cooking racks, leading to inconsistent cooking due to fixed positions, and existing height-adjustable assemblies often fail to provide clear feedback on maximum or minimum height, risking damage to the rack assembly.
Innovation Solution
A movable rack assembly with an input shaft, driven gear, adjustable rack, interference plate, and contact tab, featuring a worm gear segment and radial arms to provide precise height adjustments and discernible physical feedback through predefined travel limits, preventing over-straining and damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If physical stops or barriers are mounted at predetermined maximum and minimum heights to contact the movable rack, then height adjustment limits are established, but the feedback to the user is gradual or dull making it difficult to discern when the rack has hit the stop
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies visual feedback mechanisms (such as color-coded indicators or visual markers) to clearly indicate when the rack assembly has reached its maximum or minimum height limits. This allows users to easily discern the travel limits without relying on gradual or dull physical contact feedback, thereby resolving the contradiction between reliable height limiting and clear user feedback.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements enhanced feedback mechanisms that provide clear, immediate notification to the user when travel limits are approached or reached. This could include visual indicators, auditory signals, or tactile feedback that is distinct and easily recognizable, improving upon the gradual feedback of conventional physical stops while maintaining reliable height adjustment limiting.
2Ease of operation
If high gearing is provided to magnify the user's input force for moving the rack assembly, then ease of operation is improved, but the risk for damage to the rack assembly increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates cushioning or damping mechanisms within the rack assembly that absorb excess force or shock before it can cause damage. This allows the use of high gearing for force magnification while protecting the assembly from damage by preemptively cushioning against potential overload conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary protective measures such as overload relief mechanisms, shear pins, or fusible elements that prevent damage before it occurs. These components are designed to fail safely or disengage under excessive load conditions, allowing the high gearing to provide force magnification while maintaining reliability through preemptive protection.
3Device complexity
If conventional grills use fixed position racks, then device complexity is reduced, but cooking consistency deteriorates due to inability to adjust height relative to coals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the static, fixed-position rack system into a dynamic, adjustable system that allows users to change rack height relative to the coal bed. This dynamic capability enables cooking consistency to be maintained while accepting the necessary increase in device complexity, as the adjustability mechanism is integrated into the grill's existing structure.
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 reliable and precise height adjustment of cooking racks, reducing the risk of damage and providing clear feedback on maximum or minimum height, ensuring consistent cooking and user safety.
Implementation Method 1
The input shaft may include a worm gear segment disposed along the input axis between a first end and a second end. The driven gear may be enmeshed with the worm gear segment.
Implementation Method 2
The driven gear may be enmeshed with the worm gear segment. The driven gear may define a maximum outer circumference and be rotatable about a driven axis nonparallel to the input axis.
Implementation Method 3
The adjustable rack may be in mechanical communication with the driven gear to move therewith.
Data Source
AI summary
A movable rack assembly may include an input shaft, a driven gear, an adjustable rack, an interference plate, and a contact tab. The input shaft may extend along an input axis. The input shaft may include a worm gear segment disposed along the input axis between a first end and a second end. The driven gear may be enmeshed with the worm gear segment, define a maximum outer circumference, and be rotatable about a driven axis nonparallel to the input axis. The interference plate may be fixed to the driven gear. The interference plate may include a radial arm extending past the maximum outer circumference of the driven gear. The contact tab may extend from the input shaft and be axially offset from the worm gear segment in selective engagement with the radial arm at a predefined travel limit of the driven gear to halt rotation at the input shaft.