Cooking Gap Control for Adaptive Heating Plate Pressure and Timing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional grilling apparatuses heat food unevenly due to varying food product thicknesses, as they apply a fixed gap and cooking time regardless of the food's thickness, leading to inconsistent cooking quality.
Innovation Solution
A cooking apparatus that identifies the initial thickness of a food product and calculates the difference between the initial and final gap values, controlling the pressure and rate of descent of the upper heating plate relative to the lower heating plate to adjust cooking time and pressure based on the calculated difference, ensuring even heating for food products of varying thicknesses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a fixed gap and cooking time are used for all food products, then the cooking process is simple and fast, but cooking quality varies among food products with different thicknesses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the gap between heating plates adjustable during the cooking process. The control system dynamically modifies the gap based on detected food thickness, allowing the system to adapt from a fixed gap configuration to a variable gap configuration that optimizes heat distribution for different food thicknesses, thereby resolving the contradiction between cooking speed and cooking quality consistency
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameter of the gap distance between heating plates based on food thickness detection. By detecting the actual food thickness and adjusting the gap parameter accordingly, the system optimizes heat transfer efficiency for each food item, ensuring consistent cooking quality while maintaining relatively fast cooking times
2Manufacturing precision
If the gap between heating plates is adjusted for each food thickness, then cooking quality becomes consistent, but the cooking process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service through an automated detection and control system. The system automatically detects food thickness using sensors and autonomously adjusts the gap between heating plates without requiring manual intervention. This self-service mechanism simplifies the user interface while achieving consistent cooking quality, effectively managing the trade-off between cooking precision and system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs feedback control by continuously monitoring food thickness and using this information to adjust the heating plate gap in real-time. The control system receives feedback from thickness detection sensors and automatically modifies the gap parameter to optimize cooking conditions, achieving consistent cooking quality through a closed-loop control mechanism that manages complexity through automation
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
This approach allows for improved cooking quality by adjusting cooking time and pressure to accommodate varying food thicknesses, ensuring that thicker food products are cooked for longer and thinner ones for shorter periods, resulting in more even cooking results.
Implementation Method 1
Grills for cooking apply heat from a lower heating plate and from an upper heating plate to opposite sides of a food item
Implementation Method 2
Grills for cooking apply heat from a lower heating plate and from an upper heating plate to opposite sides of a food item
Data Source
AI summary
A method of controlling a cooking apparatus includes identifying an initial thickness of a food product on a lower heating plate of the cooking apparatus and calculating a difference between an initial gap value corresponding to the initial thickness of the food product and a predefined final gap value. The method includes controlling at least one of a pressure of at least one of an upper heating plate and a lower heating plate on the food product, a rate of descent of the upper heating plate toward the lower heating plate, and a rate of ascent of the lower heating plate toward the upper heating plate based on the calculated difference between the initial gap value and the predefined final gap value.