Barbecue Extractable Cooking Surface for Hood-Closed Food Management

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Solution Overview

Problem

Barbecue appliances with hoods experience temperature fluctuations due to frequent hood openings, reducing the efficiency of catalytic conversion processes and posing safety risks during food management.

Innovation Solution

A barbecue design featuring a hood with a fixed and movable part, where the cooking surface is extractable without opening the hood, maintaining a stable temperature within the cooking cavity and improving catalytic filter efficiency, while allowing safe and convenient food inspection and management.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If the hood is opened frequently to inspect and manage food items, then the user can monitor and handle the cooking process, but the temperature within the cooking cavity fluctuates significantly, reducing catalytic conversion efficiency

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefood inspection and managementVSAvoidcooking cavity temperature stability
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSTemperature

Solution Approach 1:

The cooking surface is segmented from the hood structure, allowing it to be independently extracted and retracted. This segmentation enables food inspection and management without requiring the entire hood to be opened, thus maintaining temperature stability while providing operational access.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The cooking surface is extracted as a separate movable component that can be removed from the lower housing for food inspection and management. This extraction allows users to access food items without opening the hood, preventing temperature fluctuations and maintaining catalytic conversion efficiency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Ease of operation

If the hood is opened to handle food items, then the user can access and manipulate the food, but the risk of accidental hood downfall onto user hands increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefood handlingVSAvoidsafety during food management
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The cooking surface is separated from the heavy hood structure, allowing food handling operations to be performed on the lightweight, movable cooking surface. This eliminates the safety hazard of heavy hood downfall while maintaining full functionality for food inspection and manipulation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The cooking surface is extracted as an independent movable element that can be safely handled for food management tasks. By performing all food handling operations on this lightweight extracted component rather than opening the heavy hood, user safety is significantly improved.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

3Ease of operation

If the cooking surface is made extractable for convenient food management, then the user can inspect and handle food easily, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefood inspection convenienceVSAvoidcooking surface coupling mechanism
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The coupling mechanism between the cooking surface and lower housing is designed with localized sliding features and guide rails at specific positions. This localized quality approach provides the necessary extraction and retraction functionality while keeping the overall structure simple and avoiding excessive complexity throughout the entire device.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

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

The solution stabilizes the cooking temperature, enhances catalytic conversion efficiency, and reduces the risk of hood accidents, enabling efficient and safe food handling and cooking.

Implementation Method 1

the barbecue appliance (1) comprises a catalytic filter assembly (40) positioned in the hood (20), configured to catalytically oxidize grease, fats, oils and/or other hydrocarbons in an air stream emanating from a cooking grill

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectCatalytic oxidation: Catalysis

Implementation Method 2

The Applicant further observes that the temperature required to support a catalytic reaction can be provided, at least in part, by the heat released from hot gases (combustion smoke and food cooking smoke/odours) passing through the catalytic filter from the grill cavity

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectHeat transfer: Convection

Data Source

PatentEP3287050B1Barbecue appliance
Publication Date: 2019.06.12 ELECTROLUX APPLIANCES
  • EP3287050B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3287050B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP3287050B1 patent drawingFigure 5~6

AI summary

Barbecue appliance (1) comprising a lower housing (10), a cooking surface (30) located in the lower housing (10), a hood (20) positionable over the lower housing (10) to define a cooking cavity (50), wherein the cooking surface (30) is coupled to the lower housing (10) so as to be extracted from and retracted into the lower housing (10) during operation of the barbecue appliance (1).