Knob Assembly With Movable Valve Shaft for Alignment Errors
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing knob assemblies in cooking apparatuses suffer from manufacturing and assembly errors, leading to positional deviations and malfunctions, which result in external defects and impaired operation due to the inability to maintain precise alignment between the knob handle and knob ring.
Innovation Solution
A knob assembly design where the valve shaft is movable in multiple directions, allowing the knob handle to be fixed at a precise position relative to the front panel, and the knob ring supports the handle to maintain alignment and prevent positional changes, ensuring smooth operation and improved aesthetics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the knob handle and knob ring are rigidly fixed together, then the assembly structure is simple, but manufacturing and assembly errors cause positional deviations and malfunctions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the valve shaft movable relative to the valve body through a guide groove structure. The valve shaft can shift position within the guide groove to compensate for manufacturing and assembly errors, allowing the knob handle to be precisely aligned with the knob ring while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure. This dynamic adjustment mechanism resolves the contradiction between structural simplicity and alignment precision.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the valve shaft is fixed in position, then the assembly is stable, but assembly deviations cause malfunction and external defects
Solution Approach 1:
The valve shaft is designed to be movable within the valve body through the guide groove, enabling it to dynamically adjust its position to compensate for assembly deviations. This dynamic capability ensures operational reliability by preventing malfunctions caused by fixed-position misalignment, while the guide groove structure maintains sufficient stability for normal operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide groove structure provides beforehand cushioning by pre-establishing a tolerance zone that absorbs assembly deviations before they can cause malfunction. The groove allows the valve shaft to shift within acceptable limits, cushioning the impact of manufacturing errors and preventing external defects and operational failures.
3Ease of manufacture
If the knob handle position is not precisely controlled, then the assembly process is easier, but external appearance is spoiled and malfunction occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The movable valve shaft design allows assembly personnel to easily position the knob handle at the correct location, as the valve shaft can automatically adjust within the guide groove to accommodate position variations. This dynamic adjustment ensures precise external appearance and proper alignment without making the assembly process more difficult, resolving the contradiction between assembly ease and external appearance quality.
Data Source
AI summary
A knob assembly and a cooking apparatus including a knob assembly are provided. The knob assembly may reduce defects in assembly and operation of the knob assembly caused by a tolerance of a valve shaft. The knob assembly may include a valve in which a valve shaft may be movable, a knob connected to a knob shaft coupled with the valve shaft, a knob ring that surrounds a periphery of the knob and supports the knob shaft, a support ring coupled with the knob ring, a support frame that supports an outer circumferential surface of the support ring, and a fixing frame coupled with the support frame to prevent the support ring from separating from the support frame.