Oven Steam Tank Welded-Shell Design to Reduce Assembly Complexity
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ovens for baking food products are complex and costly due to the number of components in the tank, lid, and gaskets, leading to long assembly cycles and potential assembly mistakes, and the separate separation chamber increases complexity.
Innovation Solution
The oven design integrates shells connected by welding, with a single-piece separation chamber and tank components, eliminating the need for gaskets and reducing assembly complexity by manufacturing key parts as a single piece, such as the coupling sleeves and level sensor connections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the tank is made with a cup-shaped container, closing lid, and gaskets to ensure fluid-tight sealing, then sealing reliability is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the tank body and lid into a single integrated component manufactured as one piece. This eliminates the need for separate gaskets and multiple assembly steps while maintaining fluid-tight sealing through the monolithic structure, directly resolving the contradiction between sealing reliability and device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses injection molding to create a precise replica of the tank geometry in a single manufacturing step. This copying process produces the complex three-dimensional shape with built-in sealing features without requiring multiple components or assembly operations, reducing both complexity and cost while ensuring reliable sealing
2Ease of manufacture
If the tank is assembled from multiple components along the assembly line, then assembly flexibility is improved, but assembling cycle time increases and assembly mistakes become more likely
Solution Approach 1:
The tank is manufactured as a single integrated piece rather than being assembled from multiple components. This eliminates the assembly line steps for the tank itself, dramatically reducing cycle time and eliminating assembly mistakes while the overall manufacturing process remains flexible through injection molding capabilities
Solution Approach 2:
Injection molding allows the tank geometry to be copied precisely in a single manufacturing operation. This eliminates the need for sequential assembly of multiple parts, speeding up production while maintaining the ability to manufacture different tank configurations by changing the mold
3Adaptability or versatility
If the separation chamber is distinct and separate from the tank, then functional separation is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional feeding ducts
Solution Approach 1:
The separation chamber is merged with the tank body into a single integrated component. The internal geometry provides both water storage and steam separation functions within one piece, eliminating the need for external feeding ducts and reducing overall device complexity while maintaining functional separation of water and steam pathways
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 simplifies assembly, reduces costs, and minimizes the risk of assembly errors while maintaining functionality, as the integrated components streamline the production process and enhance maintainability.
Implementation Method 1
a heating device (51), which is arranged inside the chamber (3), so as to provide the heat needed to bake the food products
Implementation Method 2
a steam generator (8), which communicates with the tank (7)
Implementation Method 3
a separation chamber (32), which is separate from the tank (7), is arranged between the steam generator (8) and the feeding circuit (9), and is suitable to separate the water from the steam
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The baking chamber (3) of an oven for baking food products is connected to a steam generator (8), which communicates with a water containing tank (7) defined by two shells (10a, 10b), which are permanently connected to each other along a junction line (15).