Oven for cooking foods
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ovens lack reproducibility and adaptability for optimal cooking, especially when transitioning between foods requiring different temperatures, and are not user-friendly for non-professionals due to insufficient temperature feedback and high thermal inertia issues.
Innovation Solution
An oven with a remote temperature sensor for measuring the cooking surface temperature, a logic control unit, and user interface that compares surface temperature to thresholds, providing warnings for precise cooking and automatic power adjustments, allowing for optimal cooking surface temperature management and user guidance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the cooking surface is made of refractory material with high thermal inertia, then the oven can maintain stable temperature, but the surface temperature lags significantly behind the chamber temperature, reducing cooking precision
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary device - a remote temperature sensor - that measures the chamber temperature without being in direct contact with the cooking surface. This sensor acts as a mediator between the heating elements and the food, providing accurate temperature data without being affected by the thermal inertia of the refractory cooking surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the remote temperature sensor continuously monitors the chamber temperature and sends signals to the control unit, which adjusts the heating element power accordingly. This closed-loop feedback system compensates for the thermal lag inherent in refractory materials, maintaining both stability and measurement accuracy.
2Ease of operation
If the oven uses conventional chamber temperature monitoring only, then the structure remains simple, but the cooking quality and reproducibility are insufficient for non-professional users
Solution Approach 1:
The patent provides real-time temperature feedback through the user interface, displaying both chamber and surface temperatures. This feedback enables non-professional users to understand the actual cooking conditions and make informed decisions, improving both ease of operation and cooking reproducibility without significantly increasing system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the need for user expertise (human judgment) with an automated control system that uses temperature sensors and control algorithms to manage the cooking process. This substitution of mechanical/human judgment with automated sensing and control improves reliability while maintaining simplicity for the user.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the oven provides only basic temperature indication, then the device complexity remains low, but it cannot support optimal cooking for foods requiring different temperatures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal control system that can handle multiple cooking programs with different temperature requirements through a single integrated control unit. This unit processes inputs from both the remote temperature sensor and surface temperature sensor, adapting its control strategy based on the selected program, thereby providing versatility without proportionally increasing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables different cooking programs by changing control parameters such as target temperatures, heating rates, and power levels. The control unit adjusts these parameters dynamically based on the selected program and actual temperature measurements, allowing the same hardware to support diverse cooking requirements without additional physical components.
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
Ensures precise and reproducible cooking by ensuring the cooking surface reaches the optimal temperature, making the oven suitable for both professional and home use, with reduced energy consumption and improved cooking quality.
Implementation Method 1
a remote temperature sensor for measuring the cooking surface temperature
Implementation Method 2
one or more electrical heating elements placed within the cooking chamber, usually on the upper wall and on the base wall delimiting the cooking chamber
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
Oven for cooking foods, which comprises a support structure (2) internally delimiting a cooking chamber (3), and a cooking surface (4), placed within the cooking chamber (3). In addition, the oven comprises heating means (5), mechanically connected to the support structure (2) and placed to heat at least the cooking surface (4). The oven also comprises a measurement instrument (6), placed outside the cooking chamber (3) and manually actuatable by a user in order to detect at least one first surface temperature value (Ts) of the cooking surface (4). In addition, the oven is provided with a logic control unit (7), mechanically connected to the support structure (2) and comprising a first comparison module (Cl) configured for comparing at least the first surface temperature value (Ts) with a threshold surface temperature value (Tss), and at least one user interface (8), configured for receiving a comparison signal from the first comparison module (Cl) and emitting a warning signal based on the comparison signal.