Multi-Faceted Support Block for Precise Appliance Height Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing appliance height-adjustment mechanisms lack the ability to provide precise and versatile height adjustments to accommodate different appliance installations within varying kitchen and residential settings, often resulting in inadequate spacing and alignment with surrounding fixtures.
Innovation Solution
A multi-faceted appliance height-adjustment mechanism featuring a support block with multiple support faces, height-adjustment surfaces, and lateral spacing flanges that allow for adjustable installation heights and minimal spacing from adjacent objects, enabling precise positioning and alignment of appliances.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a single-height support block is used, then the structure is simple, but the appliance height adjustment capability is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The support block is divided into multiple segments with different height levels. Each segment provides a specific height adjustment surface, allowing the appliance to be positioned at multiple predetermined heights. This segmentation enables height versatility while maintaining a relatively simple monoblock structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The support block incorporates vertical dimensionality by creating stepped surfaces at different elevations. Instead of a flat single-height surface, the block features multiple terraced levels that provide varied appliance positioning heights, transforming a one-dimensional support into a multi-level vertical structure.
2Adaptability or versatility
If height-adjustment surfaces are added to provide multiple heights, then height versatility is improved, but the number of components and complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple height-adjustment surfaces and lateral spacing flanges are integrated into a single monoblock support structure. Instead of using separate adjustable components or multiple individual blocks, all height positions and spacing features are merged into one unified support block, reducing the total number of components while providing multiple adjustment options.
3Ease of operation
If lateral spacing flanges are included, then spacing from adjacent objects is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lateral spacing flanges serve multiple functions: they provide lateral spacing from adjacent objects, define the position of the appliance, and work in conjunction with the height-adjustment surfaces to establish precise installation positions. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate spacing components.
Solution Approach 2:
The lateral spacing flanges are integrated directly into the support block structure rather than being separate components. This merging of spacing features with the main support structure provides spacing functionality without requiring additional parts, maintaining structural simplicity while achieving the spacing objective.
4Adaptability or versatility
If multiple support faces are created for different heights, then installation flexibility is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The support block is manufactured as a segmented structure with distinct height levels and surfaces. Each segment corresponds to a specific appliance height position, allowing for standardized manufacturing of modular components that can be produced using conventional machining or molding processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The support block design utilizes parameter variations in height and surface positioning to achieve multiple installation configurations. By changing the vertical parameters of the support surfaces and lateral dimensions of the flanges, the same basic block structure can accommodate different appliance heights and spacing requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
An appliance height-adjustment mechanism includes a support block having a plurality of supporting faces, a plurality of height-adjustment surfaces defined by at least a portion of the supporting faces of the support block, each height-adjustment surface being further defined by a lateral spacing flange extending perpendicularly from each height-adjustment surface and a plurality of support surfaces defined by at least a portion of the plurality of supporting faces, wherein each support surface corresponds to a cooperating height-adjustment surface of the plurality of height-adjustment surfaces, wherein the support block includes a plurality of support positions, and wherein each of the plurality of support positions is defined by one of the support surfaces being a respective base of the support block and the corresponding height-adjustment surface defining a dedicated appliance height above the respective base.