Cooking appliance for processing food
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cooking appliances require users to operate them with both hands, necessitating additional assistance for controlling speed and safety concerns due to dirt accumulation from traditional button and dial controls.
Innovation Solution
A sensor-based control system utilizing acceleration and gyroscopic sensors to interpret user movements, such as inclination and rotation, to control the motor, eliminating the need for manual pressure on buttons or dials, and incorporating a microcontroller to filter signals for intentional movements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional button and dial controls are used, then the appliance can be operated, but the user must use both hands and additional assistance may be necessary
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical button and dial controls with a sensor-based control system that detects movements of the processing tool to operate the motor. This eliminates the need for separate control elements, allowing one-handed operation while reducing device complexity by integrating control functions into the motion detection system.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system uses the natural movements of the processing tool during operation as the control input. The sensor system automatically detects these movements and translates them into motor control commands, making the system self-regulating and eliminating the need for manual intervention on separate control elements.
2Ease of operation
If pressure elements or dials are used for control, then the appliance can be operated, but dirt accumulates on these moving parts making cleaning difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes traditional button and dial control elements from the appliance design. By eliminating these separate control components, the system prevents dirt accumulation on moving control parts while maintaining full operational functionality through motion-based sensor control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical control elements with a sensor-based system that detects motion without requiring physical contact with control surfaces. This substitution eliminates the creation of dirt-prone moving parts while preserving operational capability through non-contact motion detection.
3Ease of operation
If acceleration and gyroscopic sensors are used to detect movements, then one-handed operation is enabled and safety is enhanced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system serves multiple functions simultaneously: it detects user intent for starting/stopping the motor, determines directional movements for speed control, and provides safety monitoring. This multi-functionality consolidates what would otherwise require separate control mechanisms, managing device complexity while enabling one-handed operation and enhanced safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines start/stop control and speed regulation functions into a single sensor-based system. The same acceleration and gyroscopic sensors that detect start/stop intent also detect directional movements for speed control, merging multiple control functions into one integrated system rather than requiring separate control elements for each function.
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
Enables one-handed operation of cooking appliances, enhances safety by preventing accidental starts/stops, and simplifies cleaning by eliminating dirt-prone control elements.
Implementation Method 1
A sensor-based control system, hereinafter referred to as the sensor control system, includes acceleration and gyroscopic sensors that capture parameters of the device movement performed by the user
Implementation Method 2
acceleration and gyroscopic sensors that capture parameters of the device movement performed by the user, specifically changes in the acceleration time and angular velocity in three spatial axes
Data Source
AI summary
A cooking appliance for processing food, more specifically a cooking appliance of the type that include a body housing an electric motor, a shaft for actuating a processing tool, and an integral handle, the various processing tools being coupled to the body by means of an arm that comprises an implement, such as a grinding, whisking or mixing implement, where the operating control of the appliance (on, off, rotating speed of the implement, etc.) is carried out by means of a sensor system that can detect a characteristic or predetermined movement performed on the appliance and can interpret said movement as an operating instruction, for example, turning the implement on, turning it off, and establishing and controlling the rotating speed thereof, etc.