Sandwich Grill Hinge Locking for Flat-Open Cooking Surfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sandwich presses and grills lack the functionality to assume a fully open grill orientation where both cooking surfaces are co-planar and horizontal, limiting their versatility in cooking various food items, especially those requiring high-temperature grilling.
Innovation Solution
A combination sandwich press and grill with a lower housing and upper housing supported by a 'U' shaped frame, featuring a locking hinge mechanism that allows the upper housing to pivot and lock in fully closed, intermediate, and fully open orientations, enabling a fully open grill position with a tilt-adjustable lower cooking surface and a drip tray for liquid collection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the upper housing is fixed in a closed orientation for sandwich pressing, then the device can maintain consistent pressure and temperature for pressing, but it cannot assume a fully open grill orientation for high-temperature grilling
Solution Approach 1:
The upper housing is transformed from a fixed structure to a dynamic one that can pivot between closed sandwich press orientation and fully open grill orientation. The hinge mechanism enables this dynamic reconfiguration, allowing the device to adapt between different cooking functions while maintaining structural integrity through controlled movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The device is designed to perform multiple cooking functions (sandwich pressing and grilling) through a single unified structure. The upper housing serves dual purposes: acting as a pressing surface when closed and forming part of the grill structure when fully open, eliminating the need for separate dedicated devices.
2Reliability
If the upper housing can pivot to fully open orientation, then the device can function as a high-temperature grill, but the hinge mechanism must reliably lock in intermediate positions to prevent accidental movement
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge locking mechanism is designed to automatically engage and lock when the upper housing reaches intermediate or fully open positions. The spring-loaded cam and toggle latch system self-activates through the natural movement of the housing, eliminating the need for manual locking operations while ensuring reliable position maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring-loaded cam mechanism provides preemptive locking by engaging the toggle latch before the housing can accidentally move from its intended position. This beforehand engagement prevents unintended movement during operation, ensuring reliability without requiring constant user intervention.
3Productivity
If the lower cooking surface is made tilt-adjustable for drainage, then cooking liquids can drain efficiently, but the mechanism for adjusting the tilt increases device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The lower cooking surface transitions from a fixed horizontal position to a dynamically adjustable tilted position. The tilt mechanism allows the surface to be reconfigured during operation to optimize drainage pathways, enabling cooking liquids to flow efficiently toward collection points while maintaining structural support.
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediary mechanical linkage connects the lower cooking surface to the housing structure, enabling tilt adjustment. This intermediary mechanism translates user input into controlled angular changes of the cooking surface, facilitating drainage while isolating the complexity of the adjustment system from the cooking surface itself.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the device assumes a fully open grill orientation with co-planar horizontal cooking surfaces, then it can grill various food items effectively, but cooking juices and fats will drip and require collection
Solution Approach 1:
The cooking liquids and fats that drip during grilling are captured by the drip tray positioned beneath the cooking surfaces. Instead of creating mess or safety hazards, the dripping is converted into a beneficial collection process where juices are gathered for potential basting or disposal, transforming a harmful byproduct into a useful resource.
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a toaster grill having a lower housing that supports a lower cooking surface and an upper housing that supports an upper cooking surface. The upper housing pivots with respect to a “U” shaped frame that is hinged with respect to the lower cooking surface. A locking hinge allows the pivoting motion of the frame to be automatically arrested in an intermediate orientation between the fully closed and fully open grill orientations. The locking hinge automatically resets when the upper housing is rotated from the fully open grill orientation to the fully closed orientation.