Built-In Oven Door Handle Venting With Minimal Front Gap
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing ventilation system design in built-in ovens, with inlet/outlet locations between the oven door and control panel, results in large gaps that can allow small objects to enter, block airflow, and facilitate dirt and liquid ingress, leading to maintenance issues and aesthetic concerns.
Innovation Solution
A handle design integrated into the door thickness creates a ventilation system inlet point without the need for significant gaps between the door and control panel, using a U-shaped frame with a rectilinear upper hollow element and comb-shaped portions to maintain airflow while minimizing the gap.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the ventilation system inlet/outlet is located between the oven door and control panel, then the ventilation function is achieved, but a large gap is created causing aesthetic issues and allowing dirt/liquid ingress
Solution Approach 1:
The ventilation inlet is nested within the handle structure itself. The handle contains internal channels that guide airflow, embedding the ventilation function within the handle rather than requiring a separate gap between door and control panel. This eliminates the harmful gap while maintaining ventilation functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The handle and ventilation inlet are merged into a single integrated structure. The handle serves dual purposes: as a user interface component and as the ventilation inlet housing. This combination eliminates the need for a separate ventilation opening that would create aesthetic and contamination issues.
2Quantity of substance
If a large gap is provided between door and control panel for ventilation, then airflow is sufficient, but the gap allows small objects to enter and block the cooler fan
Solution Approach 1:
The handle structure incorporates localized airflow channels with specific geometries that control air flow characteristics. These channels provide sufficient airflow quantity while their structured design prevents small objects from entering and blocking the cooler fan, addressing both airflow requirements and reliability concerns.
3Shape
If the gap between door and control panel is reduced for aesthetic purposes, then the front surface continuity is improved, but the ventilation inlet area is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of relying on a large gap in the vertical dimension between door and control panel, the ventilation inlet area is created within the horizontal dimension of the handle structure. The handle's internal channels provide sufficient inlet area while maintaining a minimal gap that preserves front surface continuity and aesthetic appearance.
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
This design ensures efficient airflow with minimal pressure drop, maintains a low temperature handle, and provides an aesthetically pleasing, easy-to-clean surface by reducing the gap between the control panel and door, preventing object ingress and dirt accumulation.
Implementation Method 1
the upper hollow element 12b of the frame 12 presents a lower portion 34 with a curved surface 34a which has the function not only of defining an hollow space H for the fingers of the user when he/she wants to open the door 10, but also as part of the ventilation system for conveying an air flow towards the inlet opening V without a sensible pressure drop
Implementation Method 2
conveying an air flow towards the inlet opening V without a sensible pressure drop
Data Source
AI summary
A built-in oven comprises a door and a ventilation system. The door structure comprises two vertical frame elements and an upper hollow frame element mounted on the vertical elements and on upper edges of two or more glass plates and having a front aperture adapted to be used as an handle of the door flush with the front surface thereof, the upper hollow frame element being used as part of the ventilation system of the oven.