Oven with split doors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional oven doors, especially in larger ovens, are heavy, slow to operate, and require significant space, limiting efficiency and functionality due to their size and operation mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a split door oven design where multiple doors can move independently, using a lift assembly with grooves and projections to guide their movement, allowing for parallel operation and reduced space requirements, enabling faster operation and reduced weight compared to conventional single-door designs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a single large door is used in conventional ovens, then the oven can maintain structural simplicity, but the door becomes heavy and slow to operate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the single large door into multiple smaller doors (at least two doors) that can operate independently. Each door is lighter and can be opened or closed separately, improving operation speed and reducing the weight of individual moving parts while maintaining the overall enclosure integrity.
2Area of stationary object
If a single large door is used in conventional ovens, then the door structure can be simple, but the space required for door operation increases
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the door system into multiple smaller doors, the patent reduces the clearance space each door requires during operation. The smaller doors can traverse shorter arcs and occupy less lateral space, allowing the oven to be installed in tighter spaces while maintaining operational efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent describes door movement along complex paths that utilize both lateral and vertical dimensions. The doors can move sideways and vertically in combination, allowing them to clear obstacles and open fully within a smaller footprint by utilizing three-dimensional space rather than requiring large clearances in a single plane.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple independent doors are implemented, then operational efficiency and functionality are improved, but the mechanism complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the door system into multiple independently operable doors, each with its own drive mechanism. This segmentation allows different doors to be opened or closed based on specific needs (e.g., accessing different compartments), improving versatility and functionality while managing complexity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs dynamic guidance mechanisms where the grooves in the panels automatically guide the door projections through complex movement paths. This dynamic guidance system allows the doors to traverse complicated trajectories (including lateral and vertical movements) without requiring complex external control mechanisms for each degree of freedom, thereby managing system complexity while achieving versatile operation.
Data Source
AI summary
An oven door operating apparatus is provided. In one example, the oven door operating apparatus can comprise a first panel having a first plurality of grooves that traverse a side surface of the first panel. The oven door operating apparatus can also comprise a second panel having a second plurality of grooves that traverse a side surface of the second panel, wherein the side surface of the first panel faces the side surface of the second panel. Further, the oven door operating apparatus can include an oven door positioned between the side surface of the first panel and the side surface of the second panel. In one or more embodiments, the oven door can have a plurality of projections that extend from the oven door into the first plurality of grooves and the second plurality of grooves. Also, in various embodiments the first plurality of grooves and the second plurality of grooves can extend in a first direction and then turn to extend in a second direction.