Single Chamber Air Popper Popping Flange Redirection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Hot air popcorn poppers often blow unpopped kernels into the serving bowl along with popped kernels, leading to inefficiency and waste, as existing solutions like discharge chutes or baffles are costly and difficult to clean.
Innovation Solution
A popcorn popper design featuring a base and inverted container with a popping flange that directs unpopped kernels back into the popping chamber for continued exposure to hot air, ensuring all kernels are popped before being retained in the container.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If hot air is used to pop popcorn, then fat content is reduced, but unpopped kernels are blown into the serving bowl
Solution Approach 1:
The serving bowl is segmented from the popping chamber by a discharge chute that creates a separate path for popped kernels, while unpopped kernels are redirected back into the popping chamber through a return flange. This segmentation allows fat-free popping while preventing unpopped kernels from contaminating the serving bowl.
Solution Approach 2:
The discharge chute and return flange act as intermediary structures that mediate between the popping chamber and serving bowl. These intermediaries redirect unpopped kernels back into the heating zone while allowing popped kernels to reach the serving bowl, resolving the contradiction between fat reduction and popping efficiency.
2Productivity
If discharge chutes or baffles are used to prevent unpopped kernels from entering the serving bowl, then popping efficiency improves, but device complexity and cleaning difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The discharge chute and return flange are merged into an integrated assembly that combines the functions of kernel separation and redirection. This merged structure achieves improved popping efficiency without the complexity of multiple separate baffles or discharge mechanisms, as the entire assembly can be removed and cleaned as a single unit.
3Productivity
If discharge chutes or baffles are used to prevent unpopped kernels from entering the serving bowl, then popping efficiency improves, but cleaning difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The discharge chute and return flange assembly is designed to be extractable from the serving bowl, allowing easy removal for cleaning. This extraction capability maintains high popping efficiency while significantly improving cleaning ease, as the complex internal structures can be easily accessed and washed without disassembling the entire popper.
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 effectively increases the number of unpopped kernels that are re-exposed to heat, reducing waste and improving the popping efficiency by ensuring all kernels are fully popped before being retained in the container.
Implementation Method 1
a blower configured to force air through the heater and diffuser
Implementation Method 2
causing heated air to flow through the vent slots of the diffuser such that the unpopped corn is subjected to sufficient heat that the unpopped corn pops
Implementation Method 3
heating kernels of corn until the moisture within the corn turns to steam causing the shell of the kernel to crack and the starchy contents to rapidly expand
Implementation Method 4
the moisture within the corn turns to steam causing the shell of the kernel to crack and the starchy contents to rapidly expand into a crunchy snack
Implementation Method 5
the popcorn is retained in the bowl portion by the force of gravity
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is single chamber hot air corn popper that includes a base with a blower and heater that blows air into a recessed popping chamber in which popcorn is present. The hot air corn popper is configured so that as the popcorn pops it is retained in a bowl assembly that facilitates the return of unpopped popcorn kernels present in the popped corn to the popping chamber for continued exposure to the hot air to improve the popping efficiency of the hot air popper as compared to conventional hot hair corn poppers.