Pivotable Domestic Appliance Door With Opening-Limit Linkage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Household appliance doors often collide with adjacent devices or furniture when opened beyond 180°, causing damage, and existing solutions either require complex hinges or fail to protect electrical cables from fraying or kinking.
Innovation Solution
A household appliance design featuring a connecting arm that serves as a mechanical coupling between the door and housing, providing a protected cable route, limiting the door's opening angle, and incorporating a movement damper and motorized drive unit, which also acts as a cable holder and impact absorber.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the door is allowed to open indefinitely without restriction, then the door can be opened fully, but the door may collide with adjacent devices or furniture causing damage
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting arm is configured to limit the door opening angle before collision can occur. The arm acts as a mechanical stop that prevents the door from reaching positions where it could strike adjacent objects, thereby applying preliminary anti-action to prevent harmful collisions before they can happen.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If complex hinges are used to limit door opening angle, then collision damage is prevented, but the device complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The limiting function is extracted from the hinge mechanism itself and implemented as a separate, simple connecting arm. This allows the hinge to remain simple while the connecting arm provides the angle limitation function, thereby reducing overall device complexity compared to using complex hinges with integrated limiting mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The connecting arm serves multiple functions: it acts as a mechanical coupling between door and housing, provides cable routing protection, and limits the door opening angle. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate components, reducing device complexity while achieving collision prevention.
3Ease of operation
If cables are routed along the door rod, then electrical connections are made, but the cables are exposed to fraying and kinking
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting arm serves as an intermediary structure that provides a protected pathway for cables. Instead of routing cables directly along the exposed door rod, the cables are channeled through the connecting arm, which shields them from mechanical damage such as fraying and kinking while maintaining electrical connectivity.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If heavy hinges are used to provide mechanical coupling and angle limitation, then collision prevention is achieved, but the weight of the door assembly increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanical coupling and angle limitation functions are segmented from the hinge and implemented as a separate connecting arm. This allows the hinge to remain lightweight while the connecting arm, positioned to provide leverage, achieves the angle limitation function without requiring heavy construction, thereby reducing overall door assembly weight.
Data Source
Figure 1~4
AI summary
The domestic appliance (1) has a receiving space and a door (4) for closing of the receiving space. The door is chipped with a pivot device (5) at a housing (6) of the household appliance. A connecting arm (7) is arranged between the door and the housing in addition to the pivot device. The connecting arm is connected with the door and the housing. The connecting arm is formed as a clipper for an opening angle of the door.