Oven Door Hinge Assembly for Auto-Extending Tray Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mini ovens with downward opening doors face challenges such as difficulty in opening and closing in narrow spaces, risk of falling due to biased center of mass, limited passage for shelf insertion and withdrawal, and inconvenience in checking cooking state, especially when installed in low places, leading to safety hazards.
Innovation Solution
A cooking appliance design with a door that rotates about a horizontal axis, allowing simultaneous opening of the upper and front surfaces, featuring a hinge assembly that converts door rotation into linear motion for tray insertion and withdrawal, and a see-through window for safe cooking state monitoring without opening the door.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the door is opened downward to allow shelf insertion and withdrawal, then the cooking compartment can be accessed, but the door protrudes to the front causing difficulty in narrow spaces and biasing the center of mass forward
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional downward door opening direction to an upward opening direction. The door is rotatably coupled at its lower end portion to the outer case, causing it to rotate upward when opened. This inversion moves the door away from the front projection problem and shifts the center of mass backward, eliminating the falling risk while maintaining cooking compartment accessibility.
2Ease of operation
If the door opens downward by rotating about the lower end portion, then the cooking compartment can be opened, but the door protrudes to the front as much as the door height making shelf insertion and withdrawal difficult in narrow spaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent reverses the door opening direction from downward to upward rotation. The door is coupled at its lower end portion to rotate upward about a horizontal axis, which eliminates the front protrusion issue and reduces the space occupied during door opening, making it suitable for narrow installation spaces.
3Loss of information
If the door is opened to check cooking state, then the cooking progress can be monitored, but the hot air escapes and heat loss occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a transparent window in the door that allows visual monitoring of the cooking state without opening the door. This creates a visual copy or observation path through the transparent material, enabling users to check cooking progress while the door remains closed, thus preventing heat loss and energy waste.
4Ease of operation
If the door opens downward, then the cooking compartment can be accessed, but the passage for shelf insertion and withdrawal is limited to the front surface
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the door opening direction to upward rotation, which changes the spatial relationship between the door and the cooking compartment. This inversion allows shelves to be inserted and withdrawn from the front surface without the door blocking the path, as the door opens upward rather than downward. This enhances adaptability for various installation locations including narrow spaces and low places.
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed herein is a cooking appliance including a hinge assembly which withdraws a tray forward from inside a cooking compartment by interlocking with rotation of a door when the door is opened and inserts the tray rearward toward the inside of the cooking compartment by interlocking with rotation of the door when the door is closed.