Partitioned Oven Door Assembly for Selective Heat-Sealed Access

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional ovens lack a flexible door structure that can efficiently open and close both the entire cooking space and individual cooking spaces, leading to inefficiencies in power consumption and safety concerns when using only a portion of the cooking space.

Innovation Solution

The oven features a detachable partition member that allows for four operational modes, with a door assembly comprising a main door and individual doors that can be opened and closed independently, ensuring hermetic sealing and efficient use of the cooking space, and includes hinge devices and sealing members for precise control and safety.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If a single door structure is used to cover the entire cooking space, then the door can open and close the whole cooking space, but it cannot selectively open and close individual cooking spaces

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveselective opening and closing of cooking spacesVSAvoiddoor structure complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The door assembly is segmented into a main door and multiple individual doors (first individual door, second individual door). Each door can be independently opened or closed to access specific cooking spaces. The main door provides access to the entire cooking chamber, while individual doors provide selective access to partitioned cooking spaces, enabling versatile operation modes without requiring a completely complex reconfiguration system.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The door assembly serves multiple functions: the main door can open the entire cooking chamber, individual doors can open specific cooking spaces, and combinations thereof provide different access configurations. This multi-functional design allows the same door structure to handle various cooking scenarios (single large dish, multiple small dishes, simultaneous cooking in different spaces) without requiring separate specialized door mechanisms for each case.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Productivity

If the entire cooking space is operated, then large food items can be cooked, but power consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecooking capacityVSAvoidpower consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The cooking space is divided into multiple individual cooking spaces by partition members, allowing users to operate only the necessary portion of the cooking chamber. When cooking small food items, only specific individual cooking spaces need to be activated and accessed through their respective individual doors, rather than heating and maintaining the entire cooking chamber, thus reducing energy consumption while preserving cooking capacity for larger items when needed.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The partition members are detachably installed, allowing the cooking space configuration to be dynamically changed based on cooking needs. Users can install partitions to create smaller cooking spaces for energy-efficient operation with small food items, or remove partitions to create a large cooking space for big food items, making the system adaptable to different productivity requirements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

3Use of energy by moving object

If individual cooking spaces are operated, then power consumption is reduced, but sealing and heat loss control become more difficult

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepower consumptionVSAvoidsealing performance
Core Design Contradiction:
Use of energy by moving objectVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The sealing system is segmented with separate sealing members for each door type: a main sealing member for the main door and individual sealing members for each individual door. This segmentation allows each sealing member to be specifically designed and positioned to ensure hermetic sealing of its corresponding door, maintaining reliable sealing performance even when only individual cooking spaces are accessed and operated.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different sealing members are positioned at specific locations corresponding to different doors (main door, first individual door, second individual door). Each sealing member provides localized hermetic sealing at its specific position, ensuring that when individual doors are opened or closed, only the necessary sealing actions occur at those local positions, maintaining thermal efficiency and preventing heat loss effectively.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

4Ease of operation

If multiple doors are added for selective access, then individual cooking spaces can be accessed independently, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveselective access to cooking spacesVSAvoiddoor assembly complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The door assembly is segmented into a main door and multiple individual doors, each with its own hinge devices and sealing members. This segmentation provides ease of operation by allowing selective access to individual cooking spaces without opening the entire main door, reducing heat loss and improving safety. The modular nature of the segmentation keeps each component relatively simple while providing collective versatility.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The individual doors are nested within or attached to the main door structure, with each individual door providing access to its specific cooking space while being part of the overall door assembly. This nesting arrangement allows multiple doors to be integrated in a space-efficient manner, providing selective access functionality without proportionally increasing the overall complexity or space requirements of the door system.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

Data Source

PatentEP2716977B1Cooking oven
Publication Date: 2021.04.07 SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD
  • EP2716977B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2716977B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2716977B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

An oven (1) in which a cooking space (30) in a cooking chamber (20) is dividable into a plurality of individual cooking spaces (31, 32) by a partition member (40). The oven includes a door assembly (90) including a main door (100) rotatably combined with a main body (10) and provided with a plurality of openings (110, 120) corresponding to the respective plurality of individual cooking spaces and a plurality of individual doors (210, 220) rotatably combined with the main body to open and close the respective plurality of openings. The door assembly (90) may selectively open and close the entirety of the cooking space (30) or the respective plurality of individual cooking spaces (31, 32), and thus a heat loss or danger of burn generated due to opening of the main door (100) when only the individual cooking space (30) is used may be prevented.