Oven Water Drawer Pipe Guidance to Prevent Pinching and Jamming
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooking ovens with a water-filling drawer connected to a water tank via a hydraulic circuit often experience pinching, jamming, and friction noise due to the absence of guidance for the water circulation pipe, leading to reliability issues and difficulty in moving the drawer between retracted and extended positions.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a guide device within the water tank to channel the water circulation pipe, allowing it to move freely during the drawer's movement, preventing pinching and jamming while maintaining a constant water flow and optimizing space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the water circulation pipe is made from rigid material to avoid pinching and jamming, then the pipe reliability is improved, but the force required to move the water filling drawer increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The water circulation pipe is made from flexible material instead of rigid material, allowing it to bend and move with the drawer while maintaining hydraulic connection. This eliminates the pinching and jamming issues that would occur with rigid piping, while requiring minimal force to move the drawer.
2Ease of operation
If the water circulation pipe is made from flexible material to ease drawer movement, then the ease of operation is improved, but the risk of pinching and jamming increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible pipe is routed through a guide channel that provides lateral support and约束, preventing the pipe from pinching or jamming while still allowing the necessary flexibility for drawer movement. The guide channel adds a spatial dimension of constraint that protects the flexible pipe.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide channel acts as an intermediary structure between the flexible pipe and the drawer movement mechanism. It provides a controlled path for the pipe, preventing direct contact with moving parts that could cause pinching or jamming.
3Device complexity
If no guidance is provided for the water circulation pipe, then the device complexity is reduced, but friction noise occurs on oven elements
Solution Approach 1:
The guide channel serves as an intermediary structure that directs the water circulation pipe along a predetermined path, preventing the pipe from contacting and rubbing against oven elements. This eliminates friction noise while adding minimal structural complexity.
4Reliability
If the water circulation pipe is guided within a channel in the water tank, then the reliability of hydraulic connection is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guide channel is integrated directly into the water tank structure, combining two functions (water storage and pipe guidance) into a single component. This reduces the total number of parts and simplifies manufacturing, while maintaining reliable hydraulic connection through proper pipe routing.
Data Source
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AI summary
The oven has a cooking cavity formed in a cabinet, and a water reservoir (18) comprising a water circulation pipe guiding device (23) hydraulically connecting a water filling slide (16) to the water reservoir. The guiding device guides the water circulation pipe to interior of a channel (24) provided in the water reservoir during movement of the water filling slide between a retracted position and an extended position and vice versa, with respect to an outer surface of the oven and the water reservoir.