Cooking oven having an active vent
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooking ovens that combine hot air and infrared heating face challenges in maintaining optimal air temperatures due to heat transfer issues, with previous solutions like separating air streams or using glass or ceramic shields failing to provide satisfactory results, and there is a need for precise temperature and moisture control during cooking.
Innovation Solution
An oven design featuring a housing with a cavity, an air plenum, and infrared heating elements, where air channels interconnect the plenum and cavity, and temperature decoupling chambers with air as a thermal insulator, along with an active vent system controlled by a processor to manage air and moisture levels, ensuring efficient heat distribution and precise cooking conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If hot air is introduced into the oven cavity via air channels, then cooking efficiency is improved, but the air temperature cannot be maintained in the desired range due to heat transfer to the plenum
Solution Approach 1:
The oven cavity is divided into separate zones: a plenum chamber for housing the IR heating element and an oven cavity for cooking. Air channels provide thermal isolation while allowing controlled air flow, segmenting the thermal environments to maintain distinct temperature zones.
Solution Approach 2:
Air channels act as an intermediary thermal barrier between the plenum and oven cavity. These channels allow air flow while providing thermal isolation, preventing direct heat transfer from the plenum to the cooking cavity and enabling independent temperature control.
2Temperature
If glass or ceramic shields are used to isolate hot air from IR heating elements, then thermal isolation is achieved, but the shields become splattered with grease and degrade over time
Solution Approach 1:
The problematic shields are completely removed from the system. Instead of using glass or ceramic barriers that require maintenance, the design extracts this isolation function and replaces it with air channels that provide thermal isolation without being susceptible to grease splatter or degradation.
Solution Approach 2:
The air channel system replaces expensive, maintenance-prone shields with a simpler, more durable structure. The air channels are easily manufactured and require no maintenance, effectively replacing the fragile shields with a more reliable solution.
3Power
If the plenum is heated to high temperatures, then IR heating element performance is improved, but it becomes impossible to maintain optimal air temperature for cooking
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the thermal environment into two distinct zones: the plenum chamber where high temperatures (800°F or more) are maintained for IR heating element operation, and the oven cavity where optimal cooking temperatures (450°F-500°F) are maintained. Air channels provide thermal isolation between these zones.
Solution Approach 2:
Air channels serve as a thermal intermediary that allows the plenum to operate at high temperatures while preventing this heat from directly affecting the oven cavity temperature. This intermediary structure enables independent temperature optimization in both zones.
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 effectively maintains desired air temperatures between 450° F.-500° F. while allowing the infrared heating element to reach 1,200° F., providing efficient cooking and precise control over temperature and moisture levels, thus enhancing cooking efficiency and food quality.
Implementation Method 1
a thermal insulating layer placed between the infrared heating element and the air plenum, the thermal insulating layer comprising a plurality of air channels interconnecting the air plenum and the cavity and one or more temperature decoupling chambers for thermally insulating the air plenum from the infrared heating element
Implementation Method 2
Infrared ('IR') heating is another well-known cooking method, whereby electromagnetic waves emitted by a heat source (typically a heating element in the form of a resistance wire) are absorbed by food
Implementation Method 3
an air heating element for heating air in the air plenum
Data Source
AI summary
An oven comprising a housing, a cook cavity located within the housing, wherein the housing includes an opening to the cook cavity and the cook cavity is configured to receive a food item through the opening, an oven door for covering the opening, a heating element configured to heat an air within the cook cavity, an active vent interconnecting the cook cavity and an outside of the housing, and a controller operatively coupled to the active vent and the heating element is disclosed. The controller is configured to perform the steps of (a) turning on the heating element to initiate a cooking cycle, (b) keeping the active vent closed during an initial stage of the cooking cycle, (c) after the initial stage of the cooking cycle, opening the active vent, and (d) keeping the active vent open during at least a portion of a remainder of the cooking cycle.