Retractable Oven Door Guide With Spring-Assisted Motion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing household appliances with pivotable doors lack ease of use and efficient energy utilization, often experiencing undesirable engagement and disengagement of guide mechanisms during operation, leading to uncomfortable transitions between pivoting and sliding movements.
Innovation Solution
A household appliance with a pivotably mounted door featuring a guide system where the guide means is firmly coupled to the door, forming a lever arm for an energy storage unit, allowing smooth transitions and providing a space-saving design. The energy storage unit, such as a mechanical spring unit, assists in opening and closing processes by utilizing the door's weight force and stored energy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a guide system with guide means is used to lower the door into a storage space, then the door movement is guided, but undesirable engagement and disengagement of the guide means occurs during operation
Solution Approach 1:
The guide means is made movably coupled to the door in at least one surface extent of the door, allowing it to adapt dynamically to the door's position and movement, preventing rigid engagement and disengagement while maintaining reliable guidance throughout the door's range of motion
2Reliability
If the guide means is firmly coupled to the door, then the door movement is controlled, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling between the guide means and the door is divided into two independent functional aspects: firm coupling in the pivoting direction for control, and movable coupling in the surface extent for adaptability. This segmentation allows each aspect to be optimized independently without increasing overall complexity
3Ease of operation
If an energy storage unit is added to assist door opening and closing, then ease of use is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The energy storage unit is integrated with the existing guide means, which serves dual functions: guiding the door movement and transmitting the force from the energy storage unit. This merging allows the energy storage function to be added without requiring a completely separate mechanical structure
4Force
If the guide means forms a lever arm for the energy storage unit, then force is amplified, but the guide system becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The guide means serves multiple functions simultaneously: it guides the door's pivoting and sliding movements, couples the door to the energy storage unit, and forms a lever arm for force amplification. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate components for each function, reducing overall complexity while achieving force amplification
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
This configuration enhances user convenience by ensuring a gentle opening and supported closing, reducing friction and improving the door's movement harmony, while maintaining a cost-effective and structurally simple design.
Implementation Method 1
the device has an energy storage unit coupled to the door, which is coupled to the guide means
Implementation Method 2
particularly advantageously by a mechanical storage unit, such as a spring unit in particular
Implementation Method 3
The guide system has a rolling element coupled to the door and a pivot axis fixed to the housing
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
AI summary
The invention relates to a device comprising a door (14), especially the door of a cooking appliance, which is received so as to pivot in a pivoting direction (10, 12), by means of which a usable space (16) can be closed, and further comprising a guide system (20) by means of which the door (14) can at least partially be lowered into a storage space (18) in a guided manner. The aim of the invention is to increase ease of operation of the generic device. For this purpose, the guide system (20) comprises at least one guide means (24) which is coupled to the door (14) in a stationary manner in the pivoting direction (10, 12) and in a mobile manner in at least one plane surface (22) of the door (14).