Contoured Susceptor Tray for Crisping Irregular Frozen Foods
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Solution Overview
Problem
Microwave ovens struggle to evenly heat and crisp food items with irregular shapes, as existing packages fail to maintain contact and achieve the desired balance of heating and browning due to shape distortion during freezing.
Innovation Solution
The development of microwave energy interactive trays with elevated portions and venting channels that accommodate irregular food surfaces, using susceptor materials to enhance heating and browning, and featuring contoured designs to maintain contact and reduce heat loss.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If food items are frozen, then they can be stored and transported conveniently, but they bow or dome during freezing which creates irregular surfaces that prevent proper contact with heating surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies curvature by doming the entire tray surface to match the bowed shape of frozen food items. This curved heating surface ensures continuous contact with the irregular food topography, allowing microwave energy to be effectively transferred across the entire food surface despite the bowing that occurs during freezing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by creating elevated portions at specific locations on the tray surface. These raised areas concentrate microwave energy interaction at critical zones where food contact is needed most, while allowing other areas to accommodate the natural bowing pattern of the frozen product.
2Device complexity
If flat trays are used, then they are simple in design and easy to manufacture, but they fail to maintain contact with irregularly shaped food surfaces during heating
Solution Approach 1:
The tray surface is domed to create a curved geometry that conforms to the shape of frozen food items. This curvature ensures that the microwave energy interactive surface maintains contact with the irregular food topography, significantly improving heating effectiveness and browning while preserving relatively simple manufacturing processes.
3Reliability
If elevated portions are added to the tray, then microwave energy contact with food surface is improved, but the tray structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than complicating the entire tray structure, the patent applies complexity locally by adding elevated portions only at specific strategic locations. This targeted approach improves microwave energy contact where needed most while keeping the overall tray design and manufacturing process relatively simple.
4Device complexity
If moisture is not vented during heating, then the structure remains simple, but browning and crisping are inhibited by trapped steam
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates venting channels that create a porous-like structure in the tray, allowing trapped moisture and steam to escape during heating. This porosity enables proper browning and crisping by removing excess moisture while maintaining a relatively simple overall tray design.
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 trays effectively heat and crisp food items with irregular shapes by maintaining microwave energy proximity and venting moisture, resulting in improved browning and crisping while reducing heat loss, thus addressing the challenge of shape distortion.
Implementation Method 1
a microwave energy interactive element overlying at least a portion of the central portion... a layer of microwave energy interactive material that converts at least a portion of impinging microwave energy to thermal energy
Implementation Method 2
The various constructs may include one or more elevated or raised portions that bring the microwave enhancing features into closer proximity to the surface of the food item
Implementation Method 3
the various constructs may include one or more features that allow moisture generated during the heating process to be vented away from the food item, thereby further enhancing browning and/or crisping
Implementation Method 4
such depressions may provide an insulating air gap that reduces heat loss from the microwave energy interactive element to the microwave oven floor
Data Source
Figure 1A~1D
Figure 1E~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
A tray for heating, browning, and/or crisping a food item in a microwave oven comprises a substantially planar base, a platform extending upwardly from the base, and a microwave energy interactive element overlying at least a portion of the platform.