Autonomous Yogurt Maker with Integrated Boiling, Stirring, and Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current yogurt-making processes at home require multiple devices and steps, including boiling, cooling, and fermentation, which are cumbersome and inefficient, with no single device capable of handling all these steps effectively.
Innovation Solution
An autonomous cooking device with a processor-controlled heating element, stirring mechanism, and cooling mechanism that can boil, ferment, and refrigerate yogurt in a single process, incorporating a culture container for automatic yogurt preparation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple separate devices are used for yogurt making (cooking device, heating device, mixer device, refrigeration device), then each device can perform its specific function effectively, but the device complexity increases and requires multiple appliances
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple yogurt-making functions (boiling, heating, mixing, refrigeration) into a single integrated appliance. The cooking chamber houses both the heating element for boiling milk and the refrigeration system for cooling, while the mixing mechanism is integrated into the same chamber. This merging eliminates the need for separate cooking devices, mixer devices, and refrigeration devices, directly resolving the technical contradiction by reducing device complexity while maintaining functional effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The single appliance is designed to perform multiple functions: it can boil milk, maintain fermentation temperatures, mix yogurt culture, and refrigerate the finished product. The cooking device's heating element serves both boiling and fermentation temperature maintenance, while the refrigeration system provides both cooling during fermentation and refrigeration after completion. This multi-functionality allows one device to replace multiple specialized devices, resolving the contradiction between functional effectiveness and device complexity.
2Device complexity
If a single device handles all yogurt making steps, then device complexity is reduced to one appliance, but the temperature control precision becomes challenging to maintain across different phases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the cooking chamber into distinct functional zones: a boiling zone for initial milk heating, a fermentation zone for culture incubation, and a refrigeration zone for cooling. Each zone has its own temperature control mechanisms and insulation, allowing precise temperature maintenance in each phase independently. The mixing mechanism is positioned to operate effectively in each zone during its respective phase, enabling the single device to maintain temperature control precision across different phases through spatial segmentation.
Solution Approach 2:
The appliance employs dynamic temperature control that adapts to different yogurt-making phases. The heating element and refrigeration system work in a coordinated sequence, with the heating element active during boiling and fermentation setup, then the refrigeration system taking over for cooling and refrigeration. Temperature sensors and control circuits dynamically adjust the operation of these components based on the current phase, allowing the single device to maintain precise temperature control throughout the entire process despite handling multiple temperature requirements.
3Temperature
If multiple devices are used for yogurt making, then temperature control for each device is simpler, but the overall process time increases due to transferring between devices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges all yogurt-making operations into a single cooking chamber, eliminating the need to transfer milk and culture between separate cooking devices, mixer devices, and refrigeration devices. The heating element, mixing mechanism, and refrigeration system all operate within the same chamber, allowing continuous processing without interruption for transfers. This directly reduces the overall process time by eliminating transfer time while maintaining the temperature control simplicity of dedicated systems through integrated control.
4Stress or pressure
If a cooking device is used to boil milk, then milk can be heated effectively, but the temperature reaches high levels that can destroy yogurt culture
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by maintaining the culture container at a pre-warmed temperature (around 37°C) before the milk boiling process begins. The culture is kept in a separate container within the cooking chamber that is pre-heated to the optimal culture temperature. After the milk is boiled and cooled to the appropriate temperature, the pre-warmed culture is immediately transferred to the milk, ensuring the culture is not exposed to high temperatures that would destroy it. This preliminary preparation of the culture container resolves the contradiction by protecting culture viability while maintaining effective heating capability for the milk.
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 solution simplifies yogurt preparation by automating all steps in a single device, reducing user complexity and eliminating the need for multiple appliances, while ensuring proper temperature control and consistency in yogurt production.
Implementation Method 1
a heating element, controlled by the processor, boils milk within the yogurt vessel using a temperature sensor as feedback
Implementation Method 2
a cooling mechanism, controlled by the processor, automatically provides cooling (e.g., with a Peltier block) to contents of the yogurt vessel once fermentation is complete
Implementation Method 3
A stirring device, controlled by the processor, continuously stirs boiling milk within the yogurt vessel while boiling and also while cooling down to fermentation temperature, and further, while mixing the yogurt culture into the milk
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4A~4B
AI summary
A yogurt maker device comprises an outer shell to house a yogurt vessel that receives milk and a culture container that receives yogurt culture. A processor within the outer shell controls a heating element to boil milk within the yogurt vessel using a temperature sensor as feedback and for maintaining a predefined boiling temperature for a predefined period of boiling time and a stirring device to continuously stir boiling milk within the yogurt vessel while boiling and also while cooling to a cooling predefined temperature until fermentation temperature is reached. The processor also controls a culture container base holding the culture container and having a motor to automatically pour the yogurt culture when the fermentation temperature is reached. Finally, a cooling mechanism automatically provides cooling to contents of the yogurt vessel once fermentation is complete.