Reversible Washer Door Hinge Assembly With Detachable Pivot Bolt
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing closure arrangements for laundry treatment machines, such as washing machines and tumble dryers, face challenges in optimizing the position of the hinge and lock, particularly in confined spaces, where the fixed hinge position hinders access and requires complex conversion to change the door's swing direction.
Innovation Solution
A hinge arrangement where the pivot axis, formed by at least one bolt, is an integral part of the door ring, allowing the hinge part to be detached and reattached on the opposite side, enabling easy adjustment of the door's stop side without requiring assembly service, with detachable bolts and socket pairs providing stability and tightness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the hinge arrangement is fixed at the factory in a predetermined position, then the manufacturing process is simplified and production efficiency is improved, but the adaptability to different installation spaces and the ease of changing door swing direction deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge arrangement is divided into separate components: a hinge body fixed to the housing and a hinge arm attached to the door, connected by a detachable fastening element. This segmentation allows the hinge arm to be removed and reattached to different sides of the housing, enabling easy adaptation to different installation spaces without requiring complete hinge replacement or complex conversion work.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the hinge and lock arrangement is made detachable and convertible, then the adaptability to different spaces and ease of changing door swing direction is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fastening element is extracted as a separate, detachable component from the hinge structure. This allows the hinge arm to be easily separated from the hinge body and repositioned on different sides of the housing. The extraction of this key component enables convertibility without requiring complex mechanisms, as the detachable nature of the fastening element provides sufficient adaptability when properly designed.
3Reliability
If a complex mechanical door lock arrangement is used, then the stability and tightness of the door closure is improved, but the ease of manufacture and maintenance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The complex mechanical door lock arrangement is replaced with a simpler fastening system using a fastening element and socket pair mechanism. This substitution maintains the required stability and tightness of the door closure by ensuring secure attachment of the hinge components, while significantly simplifying the manufacturing process and reducing mechanical complexity compared to traditional multi-component lock mechanisms.
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
The locking arrangement has a feed opening, at which a door (7) is pivotally mounted by a hinge arrangement. The feed opening is arranged in a housing wall. A bolt is detachably formed at a hinge part (12) of a door ring (11), so that the hinge part of the door ring is separated from the housing-sided hinge part for mutual determination of the hinge arrangement at the feed opening.