Stove Burner Shaft Rotation for Automatic Fire Shutdown
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Solution Overview
Problem
Residential and commercial fires often originate in the kitchen due to unattended stove top burners, particularly when overheated cooking oils or greases ignite, and existing solutions fail to automatically shut off the burner power in the absence of a user.
Innovation Solution
An automated safety device that uses sensors to detect hazardous conditions and automatically rotates the burner's operational shaft to the Off position, incorporating a motor member with a gear train and a controller to respond to signals from sensors, ensuring power shutdown during safety events.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual shutdown is used, then user control is maintained, but automatic safety shutdown is not achieved when user is absent
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automatic safety shutdown through sensors that detect user presence and automatically actuate the operational shaft to turn off the burner when no user is detected, eliminating the need for manual intervention while maintaining safety
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors user presence through sensors and provides feedback to the control mechanism, which automatically adjusts the operational shaft position based on detected conditions, creating a closed-loop safety system
2Reliability
If automated safety device is added, then fire safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The operational shaft serves dual functions: manual rotation for user control and automated rotation for safety shutdown, eliminating the need for separate actuation mechanisms and reducing overall device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The safety device integrates the motor, gear train, and control sensors into a unified system that combines with the existing burner control, sharing common components like the operational shaft and housing to minimize additional complexity
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
Effectively prevents kitchen fires by automatically shutting off the burner when no user is present, reducing fire risk and damage without requiring manual intervention.
Implementation Method 1
the system may be regulated by at least a motion detector, which senses the presence or absence of a user
Implementation Method 2
a motor member configured to be attached to an operational shaft of the burner... a motor connected to the gear train
Data Source
AI summary
Device and method are described for operational control of a knob on a stove or range. In some examples, a safety device, a sensor relay device, and method are described for automatically positioning an operational shaft of a burner to an Off position such that the power supplied to the burner is terminated upon the occurrence of a safety event.