Vacuum Drawer Glass Cover Structure to Prevent Implosion
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The use of a glass cover in vacuum drawers for kitchen furniture poses a risk of implosion due to pressure differences, leading to potential injury from shattered glass fragments, and existing solutions like plastic covers or anti-shatter films are inadequate in terms of safety and design compatibility.
Innovation Solution
A vacuum drawer design featuring a lid composed of two or more overlapping glass panes, where each pane can maintain the vacuum chamber's integrity if one breaks, with optional gluing or vacuum fixation, and a tubular profile for attaching rotary hinges, allowing for easy disassembly and enhanced sealing with a clamping profile.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If a glass cover is used in vacuum drawers, then aesthetic appeal and design requirements are met, but the risk of implosion and glass shattering increases due to pressure differences
Solution Approach 1:
The glass cover is divided into multiple glass panes (at least two) that are arranged overlappingly. Each pane individually closes the vacuum chamber air-tightly. If one pane breaks, the other intact panes maintain the vacuum seal, preventing implosion and glass shattering while preserving the aesthetic glass appearance.
2Reliability
If plastic cover (Plexiglas) is used instead of glass, then safety requirements are met, but design requirements and aesthetic appeal are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The cover is segmented into multiple thin glass panes rather than using thick plastic. This allows the use of glass material which provides aesthetic appeal while the segmentation into multiple panes provides safety by ensuring that if one pane breaks, the vacuum seal is maintained by the other panes.
3Reliability
If anti-shatter film is applied to glass cover, then some safety is improved, but the film adheres unsatisfactorily and dangerous splintering can still occur
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of applying anti-shatter film to a single glass pane, the solution segments the cover into multiple separate glass panes. This eliminates the adhesion problem entirely while providing superior safety, as the physical presence of multiple intact panes maintains the vacuum seal even when one pane breaks.
Solution Approach 2:
The cover uses a composite structure of multiple glass panes arranged overlappingly, which combines the aesthetic properties of glass with the safety properties of a multi-layer system, eliminating the need for additional films or coatings.
4Reliability
If enormous thickness of plexiglass is used to meet safety requirements, then safety is improved, but usable chamber volume is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The cover uses multiple thin glass panes arranged overlappingly instead of a single thick pane. Each pane can be relatively thin since the collective arrangement provides the necessary strength and safety. This maintains the vacuum seal while minimizing the thickness and preserving usable chamber volume.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design prevents uncontrolled implosion and splintering, ensuring safety while maintaining the aesthetic appeal of a glass cover, and simplifies the attachment of seals and hinge mechanisms, enhancing usability and safety.
Implementation Method 1
a vacuum pump for producing a chamber vacuum in the vacuum chamber
Implementation Method 2
the risk of the pane breaking, which can lead to implosion if there is a chamber vacuum due to the pressure difference
Data Source
Figure 1a~1d
Figure 2a~2d
Figure 3a~3d
AI summary
The invention relates to a vacuum drawer for vacuum-sealing foodstuffs, said drawer having a vacuum chamber (20) that can be sealed by an actuatable cover (21) consisting at least partially of glass. The drawer is characterised in that the glass portion of the cover comprises a sandwich structure of two or more glass sheets (23a, 23b) arranged with their surfaces at least partially overlapping.