Collector Box Grease Separation During Closed-Open Cooking Cycles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooking devices face challenges in efficiently and effectively separating grease from other cooking fluids during the cooking cycle, leading to contamination and maintenance issues, with previous solutions being complex, inefficient, and not adaptable to different cooking products.
Innovation Solution
A cooking device with a collector box system that uses water to create a closed system initially, then converts to an open system to separate grease by adjusting water levels and using sensors and pumps to collect and remove grease, allowing for real-time and flexible grease removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If grease is allowed to drain away from cooking food, then grease removal occurs, but the grease combines with other cooking fluids and causes contamination and clogging in public waste disposal systems
Solution Approach 1:
The system separates grease collection from other cooking fluids by using a collector box positioned beneath the cooking chamber that receives drainage through a drain pipe. The collector box creates a separate containment space for grease, preventing it from mixing with other cooking fluids that drain through the same system. This segmentation allows grease to be isolated and removed independently.
Solution Approach 2:
The drain pipe acts as an intermediary component that channels grease from the cooking chamber to the collector box. The collector box serves as an intermediate containment structure that temporarily holds and separates grease before disposal, preventing direct contamination of public waste systems with separated grease.
2Loss of substance
If a grease collection system operates during the entire cooking cycle with a collection chamber beneath the oven, then grease is continuously collected, but efficient stacking of cooking ovens is precluded
Solution Approach 1:
The collector box is positioned in the vertical dimension beneath the cooking chamber, utilizing downward drainage through a drain pipe. This vertical arrangement allows grease collection without occupying horizontal space that would interfere with oven stacking. The system transforms the collection approach from horizontal expansion to vertical utilization.
3Loss of substance
If a water-filled condenser with a baffle system is used to separate grease from steam, then grease segregation is attempted, but substantial contamination of grease with water and vice versa occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts grease from the drainage stream by channeling all drainage through the collector box beneath the cooking chamber. The collector box design allows grease to be taken out and contained separately, while other cooking fluids can be managed independently. This extraction approach avoids the contamination problems of mixed separation systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The collector box system allows grease to naturally separate and accumulate based on its properties, requiring minimal active separation mechanisms. The system leverages the natural behavior of grease to float and accumulate in the collector box, reducing the need for complex active separation devices that cause contamination.
4Quantity of substance
If a drip pan is used in the interior of the cooking chamber to accumulate fluids, then fluid collection occurs, but the device becomes more complex and harder to clean
Solution Approach 1:
The drain pipe extracts drainage fluids from the cooking chamber and channels them to the collector box located beneath the oven. This removes the need for a drip pan inside the cooking chamber, eliminating the cleaning difficulty associated with internal drip pans while still achieving fluid accumulation and grease separation in the external collector box.
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 achieves efficient and effective grease separation, reducing contamination and maintenance issues, and is adaptable to various cooking products, with a simpler design compared to previous systems.
Implementation Method 1
the volume of the collector box is filled with water to provide a water level that contacts and seals the end of the drain pipe disposed in the collector box during a first portion of the cooking cycle
Implementation Method 2
the pump associated with the lower collector box drain line is activated to remove the water from the collector box through the drain line associated with the lower collector box drain
Implementation Method 3
primarily grease emanating from the cooking food product will be collected in the collector box
Implementation Method 4
the at least one sensor detects a grease/cooking fluid interface, and wherein the at least one sensor activates the pump associated with the upper drain line when the grease/cooking fluid level is detected
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed are methods and apparatuses for grease separation during a cooking cycle of a food product in a cooking device. The methods and apparatuses perform grease separation by bifurcating the cooking cycle. In a first portion of the cooking cycle, in which the system is closed to ingress of the atmosphere by creating a water barrier in a collector box (112) to seal a cooking chamber in which the food product is cooking, all cooking fluids exiting the cooking device pass into the water barrier. In a second portion of the cooking cycle, the collector box (112) is emptied and the system is opened to capture all cooking fluids exiting the cooking device in the collector box (112). During the open portion, a grease (115) /cooking fluid (116) interface (124) is monitored and the captured cooking fluids, containing a high percentage of grease, are pumped out of the collector box (112).