Coated Glass-Ceramic Worktop for Large Multifunction Surfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cooktops, particularly glass-ceramic ones, are limited in size and functionality, making it difficult to produce large, flat, and versatile surfaces for both cooking and other household activities, and they are not designed for multiple uses beyond cooking.
Innovation Solution
A worktop made from a transparent, monolithic glazing material with a specific coating and integrated heating elements and light sources, allowing for various uses such as cooking, displaying information, and serving as a multi-functional surface by projecting or transmitting light to indicate heating zones and other functions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If glass-ceramic plates are made larger for worktops, then the surface area increases, but producing large flat plates becomes difficult and problematic
Solution Approach 1:
The worktop is divided into multiple glass-ceramic plates of manageable sizes that are joined together using invisible joining techniques. This segmentation allows each plate to be manufactured within standard size limits while achieving a large overall surface area, resolving the contradiction between large area and ease of manufacture.
Solution Approach 2:
Invisible joining elements or adhesives are introduced as intermediaries to connect multiple glass-ceramic plates. These intermediaries are designed to be aesthetically imperceptible, creating the appearance of a single large plate while actually assembling multiple smaller manufactured units, thus solving the manufacturing difficulty.
2Strength
If glass-ceramic plates are made thicker for stability, then the structural strength increases, but the flatness and handling become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
By dividing the worktop into multiple thinner plates rather than using a single thick plate, the manufacturing process can maintain better flatness control during production. The segmented approach allows each individual plate to be manufactured with precise flatness requirements while achieving overall structural strength through the assembly configuration and support structure.
3Adaptability or versatility
If conventional glass-ceramic cooktops are used, then cooking function is provided, but the surface cannot be used for other activities and is limited in versatility
Solution Approach 1:
The worktop surface is designed with universal characteristics that allow it to serve multiple functions: cooking areas with heating elements, display areas for information, and general work surfaces. The large continuous surface can accommodate various objects and activities simultaneously, making the surface universally adaptable to different household needs while maintaining the benefits of glass-ceramic material.
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 provides a stable, ergonomic, and safe surface that can be used for multiple activities, including cooking, displaying information, and handling various objects, while maintaining the benefits of glass-ceramic such as high transparency and resistance to high temperatures, and overcoming the challenges of producing large, flat glass-ceramic plates.
Implementation Method 1
equipped with a coating so that the substrate equipped with the coating has a haze higher than 15%
Implementation Method 2
at least one heating element (in particular under the substrate and hidden by the latter when this heating element is not in operation/is turned off)
Implementation Method 3
at least one light source, in particular intended to light up (make visible) one or more zones (such as heated zones) or one or more elements or displays
Data Source
AI summary
An item of furniture or appliance includes at least one worktop formed from at least one substrate made of a transparent monolithic glazing material and of area larger than 0.7 m2, equipped with a coating so that the substrate equipped with the coating has a haze higher than 15%, a light transmission TL lower than 60% and an opacity indicator higher than 85. The item of furniture or appliance also includes at least one heating element, at least one light source to light up one or more zones or one or more elements or displays of the substrate, the source being located plumb with the substrate in order to form a display by projection, or under the substrate in order to form a display by transmission through the substrate, and at least one interface for communicating with at least one element of the worktop.