Shared Drive Lid and Pot Linkage for Collision-Free Pivoting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooking appliances with motor-driven pans and lids require complex coordination to avoid collisions and are inefficient in terms of motor usage and user effort, especially when opening and closing the lid and pan.
Innovation Solution
A common drive system is implemented for both the pan and lid, using a linear drive with a linkage mechanism that decouples their movements to prevent collisions and allows for easy, motorized operation with reduced effort and cost, while also enabling manual operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If separate motor drives are used for the lid and crucible, then each component can be controlled independently, but the device complexity and motor costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines two separate motor drives into a single common drive that controls both the lid and crucible through a shared drive shaft. This merging reduces the number of motors from two to one, thereby decreasing device complexity and motor costs while still enabling independent control of both components through the coupling mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a coupling mechanism as an intermediary between the common drive and the lid/crucible components. This coupling allows the single drive to transmit power selectively to either the lid or the crucible, enabling independent control without requiring separate motors for each component.
2Device complexity
If a common drive is used for both lid and crucible, then motor costs and device complexity are reduced, but coordination of movements becomes more difficult to avoid collisions
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling mechanism serves as an intermediary that coordinates the movement of the lid and crucible by the common drive. It ensures that power is transmitted to only one component at a time, preventing simultaneous movement that could lead to collisions, thereby maintaining reliability while using a single drive.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling mechanism dynamically adjusts the power transmission path based on the operational state of the lid and crucible. It can switch between driving the lid, driving the crucible, or neither, depending on the required operation, thereby preventing collisions while maintaining flexible control.
3Ease of operation
If the lid is motor-driven, then opening and closing is quick and effortless, but the crucible and lid may collide if not properly coordinated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the lid drive and crucible drive into a single common drive system with a coupling mechanism. This allows the lid to be motor-driven for effortless and quick operation while the coupling prevents simultaneous crucible movement, eliminating collision risk without adding separate coordination mechanisms.
Data Source
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AI summary
A cooking device with a pot (10) that can be pivoted having a pot pivot axle (12) and a lid (14) that can be pivoted having a lid pivot axle (16), has a common drive (18) for pivoting the pot (10) and the lid (14).