Pull-Down Door Hinge Damper for Controlled Automatic Opening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automatic door opening structures for cooking appliances, particularly pull-down doors, face challenges such as the need for linked latches, high power drivers, exposure to heat, and complex designs, which hinder smooth operation and reliability.
Innovation Solution
A low-power automatic door opening system with independently moving latches, utilizing a lever mechanism to release the latch using self-weight and a damper to control opening speed, ensuring smooth operation and neat appearance, without the need for complex linkage or high-power drivers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If a high output power driver is used to open the door, then the door can overcome the closing force elasticity, but the driver requires more space and generates more heat
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a spring mechanism that stores potential energy when the door is closed, providing the necessary force to overcome the closing force elasticity during door opening. This counterweight approach replaces the high-power driver, reducing both space requirements and heat generation while maintaining sufficient opening force.
2Ease of operation
If latches are linked with each other, then one latch can be lifted to open the door, but the structure becomes complex and difficult to apply to pull-down doors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the door opening function into two independent latch mechanisms, each capable of operating separately. This segmentation eliminates the need for complex linkage between latches, simplifying the overall structure while maintaining ease of operation. Each latch can be independently actuated by its own cam mechanism.
3Ease of operation
If a cam directly connects to a driving means, then the latch can be lifted, but the driving system becomes heavy and is greatly affected by inertial force
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a cam mechanism that converts rotational motion into periodic linear motion to lift the latch. The cam's profile is designed to provide the necessary lifting force only during the specific phase when door opening is required, reducing the overall weight of the driving system while maintaining effective latch actuation. The periodic action allows the system to be lighter compared to continuous force application.
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
The system allows for reliable, efficient, and aesthetically pleasing automatic door opening with controlled speed, using low-power components and avoiding heat exposure, while simplifying the design and operation of the door opening mechanism.
Implementation Method 1
a damper to control opening speed
Implementation Method 2
the elasticity of which is applied by a spring in the direction where the door is closed
Implementation Method 3
utilizing a lever mechanism to release the latch using self-weight
Data Source
AI summary
An appliance includes a hinge module between a main body and a pull-down door. The hinge module includes a housing, a rotational axis member disposed in the housing serving as a center of rotation between the pull-down door and the main body, an inner link housing movably disposed in the housing that moves with the opening of the pull-down door in a direction of the rotational axis member, and a damper installed in the inner link housing, the damper including a piston and a cylinder and providing damping force according to a relative movement of the piston and the cylinder. Any one of the piston and the cylinder of the damper moves with the inner link housing and the other of the piston and the cylinder of the damper moves by a predetermined distance as the inner link housing moves and then is interfered by the housing so as not to move further, and the piston and the cylinder of the damper starts damping, wherein the predetermined distance corresponds to an opening angle of the pull-down door in which the damping is started.