Electric domestic appliance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Household refrigeration appliances have cuboid housings with expensive material requirements and time-consuming installation due to complex structures involving molded plastic panels and angled outer wall panels, which increase manufacturing costs and installation time.
Innovation Solution
A household refrigeration appliance with a machine compartment housed in a flat material outer skin, where elements are snapped onto edge strips with grooves that allow for elastic bending and frictional connection, enabling quick and efficient assembly, and additional latching and screwing mechanisms for secure fixation, reducing material usage and installation time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If molded plastic inner wall panels with grooves and U-shaped outer wall panels are used, then the machine compartment structure is stable and secure, but the material consumption increases significantly and manufacturing cost rises
Solution Approach 1:
The wall panels are divided into a flat outer skin and separate elements that can be assembled together. The outer skin remains flat and simple, while elements with grooves are added only where needed to secure machine components, avoiding the need for complex molded structures throughout.
Solution Approach 2:
Grooves are provided only in specific locations where elements need to be secured to the outer skin, rather than throughout the entire structure. This localized approach reduces material consumption while maintaining structural stability where required.
2Reliability
If U-shaped outer wall panels with bent edges are used, then the machine compartment structure is secure, but the installation process becomes time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
Elements are designed with pre-formed grooves and attachment features that facilitate quick assembly. The flat outer skin and elements can be rapidly connected without time-consuming bending or complex assembly operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The attachment mechanism allows for flexible assembly and disassembly. Elements can be quickly secured to the outer skin using simple attachment means, enabling rapid installation and maintenance operations.
3Ease of manufacture
If flat material outer skin with snapped-on elements is used, then material usage is reduced and assembly is efficient, but dimensional accuracy requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment mechanism uses elastic deformation of the outer skin to accommodate dimensional variations. The snap-on connection allows the outer skin to flex elastically during assembly, compensating for tolerances and reducing the need for high dimensional accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The outer skin is designed to exhibit elastic flexibility, allowing it to deform during the snap-on attachment process. This elastic behavior accommodates dimensional variations in the elements and outer skin, enabling assembly without requiring tight tolerances.
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 solution allows for a cost-effective and efficient assembly of the appliance housing, reducing material costs and installation time while providing a secure and noise-dampening fit, accommodating various machine components within the machine room.
Implementation Method 1
the attached element can force the edge strip into an alternately elastically bent shape in different directions, ensuring a frictional fit between the edge strip and the side wall sections on both sides of the groove
Implementation Method 2
A positive locking connection between the element and the edge strip can be expediently achieved by the element having locking lugs that engage in locking openings of the edge strip
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~7
AI summary
In a domestic appliance, in particular a domestic refrigeration appliance, having an appliance housing which has an outer shell (7) formed from flat material, and a machine space (4) which is kept free in the appliance housing and accommodates machine components (15, 16, 17, 18, 38, 44), at least one element (11; 14) which is in the form of a component carrier and/or as a wall panel that lines one side of the machine space (4) is fastened in the machine space (4) in that it is latched onto at least one peripheral strip (10) of the outer shell (7).