Oven Door Hinge-Slide Assembly for Compact Upper-Chamber Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Double oven range appliances face difficulties in accessing and monitoring food items in the upper cooking chamber due to its smaller size and poor visibility, making it inconvenient for users to handle and observe cooking progress.
Innovation Solution
The oven appliance features a hinge assembly that couples the door to slide assemblies, allowing it to pivot between vertical and peak positions, enabling easier access and visibility by moving the door along a transverse direction and pivoting it on a lateral axis, facilitating the removal and observation of food items without reaching into the chamber.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the upper cooking chamber is made smaller to accommodate dual-oven configuration, then the appliance can provide multiple cooking zones, but accessing and handling cookware becomes difficult and awkward
Solution Approach 1:
The door assembly is made dynamically movable along the transverse direction rather than being fixed in position. The slide assemblies enable the door to move between retracted and extended positions, allowing the user to access cookware without reaching into the confined upper chamber space.
Solution Approach 2:
The door assembly acts as an intermediary mechanism between the user and the cookware in the upper cooking chamber. By moving the door along the transverse direction, the user can manipulate cookware through the door's movement rather than directly reaching into the chamber, solving the access difficulty.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the upper cooking chamber is made smaller, then the appliance achieves compact dual-oven design, but visibility of food items becomes poor even when door is open
Solution Approach 1:
The door assembly can be dynamically positioned at multiple angles (transverse direction movement and pivoting), allowing the user to open the door wide enough to see food items clearly while maintaining the compact upper chamber design.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of increasing the chamber size for better visibility, the solution moves the door assembly along the transverse direction and allows pivoting, creating additional spatial dimensions for door movement that enable visibility without expanding the cooking chamber volume.
3Device complexity
If traditional hinges are used to mount the door, then the structure is simple, but the door cannot move along the transverse direction to facilitate access
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge assembly is merged with the slide assemblies to create a combined mechanism. The hinge provides pivoting capability while the slide assemblies provide transverse direction movement, combining multiple functions into an integrated door mounting system.
Solution Approach 2:
The door assembly serves multiple functions: it seals the cooking chamber when closed, moves along the transverse direction via slide assemblies for access, and pivots via the hinge assembly for opening/closing. This multi-functional design enables both simple structure and enhanced operation.
Data Source
AI summary
An oven appliance includes features for permitting movement of a door of the oven appliance relative to a cabinet of the oven appliance. The oven appliance also includes a hinge assembly that couples the door to at least one of the first and second slide assemblies such that the door is pivotable. The hinge assembly is coupled to a front panel of the door and extends through a liner of the door. A related double oven range appliance is also provided.