Reversible Rotary Food Tool With Sliding Drive Hub for Compact Force Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Reversible rotary work tools used in food preparation face challenges in minimizing overall height while effectively transmitting forces, particularly when working with cooked or crumbly foods, due to the axial height of the drive hub limiting the thickness of the main body.
Innovation Solution
A reversible rotary work tool design where the drive hub has a greater height than the main body, allowing it to move relative to the main body along the axis of rotation, with a drive window providing a passage, enabling efficient force transmission and compact size, and featuring a splined shape for simplified installation and cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the drive hub axial height corresponds to the thickness of the peripheral edge, then the main body thickness can be minimized, but the drive hub cannot effectively transmit forces and requires force mounting on the drive axle
Solution Approach 1:
The drive hub extends in the axial direction (height dimension) beyond the main body thickness, creating a protruding drive hub that can effectively engage with the drive axle and transmit forces. This dimensional extension resolves the contradiction by allowing effective force transmission while maintaining a thin main body for compactness.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotary working tool is segmented into distinct functional parts: the main body containing working members, and the drive hub extending axially for force transmission. This segmentation allows each part to be optimized independently - the main body can be thin for compactness while the drive hub can be sufficiently tall for effective force transmission and easy mounting.
2Reliability
If the drive hub axial height is increased to improve force transmission, then the overall height of the rotary working tool increases, but compactness is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The drive hub is designed with localized axial extension only where needed for force transmission and engagement with the drive axle, while the main body maintains minimal thickness. This local quality approach allows the overall height to be minimized while still providing sufficient drive hub height for effective force transmission in the critical engagement zone.
3Ease of manufacture
If the drive hub is made integral with the main body, then manufacturing is simplified, but cleaning access is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The drive hub is made removable from the main body, creating separable components. This segmentation allows the drive hub to be detached for easy cleaning access to the main body's working members, while still allowing for simplified manufacturing through potential integral construction when needed. The removable connection provides flexibility to prioritize cleaning accessibility.
4Reliability
If the drive hub protrudes from the peripheral edges, then force transmission is improved, but the tool cannot rest stably on the peripheral edges
Solution Approach 1:
The drive hub is designed to be removable and mountable in a dynamic fashion, allowing the tool to be stable when resting on the peripheral edges during storage or transport, and then easily engaged with the drive axle during operation. The removable connection allows the system to adapt between stable resting state and active force transmission state.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a reversible rotary processing tool (200) comprising a hub (220) for driving about an axis of rotation (Δ) and a main body (210) rotationally driven by the drive hub (220) about the axis of rotation (Δ), the main body (210) extending about the drive hub (220), the main body (210) having two opposite faces (211, 212) each one having a peripheral rim (213, 214) and at least one processing member (231, 232) arranged between the drive hub (220) and the peripheral rim (213, 214). According to the invention, the drive hub (220) has, along the axis of rotation (Δ), a height (h) greater than a thickness (e) of the main body (210) along the axis of rotation (Δ), and the drive hub (220) is mounted with the ability to move with respect to the main body (210) in the direction of the axis of rotation (Δ). The invention also relates to a food preparation device and to a household electrical food preparation appliance comprising such a reversible rotary processing tool.