Cooking Top Pot-Position Interface for Intuitive Heat Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cooking tops face challenges in flexibility of use due to predefined cooking areas and lack of intuitive interfaces for controlling and indicating active heating elements, leading to user confusion and difficulty in adjusting heat.
Innovation Solution
A cooking top with a support surface, interactive touch-screen display, and control unit that detects pot position, allowing intuitive selection and adjustment of heat through a user-friendly interface, and optionally includes mobile heating elements and a movable fume suction hood.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If variable-shape cooking areas with active recognition systems are used to improve flexibility of use, then any point of the top surface can become a cooking area when a pot is laid thereon, but it is hard for the user to know if the heating elements are on in order to adjust the power
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses color changes in the user interface display to indicate the status of heating elements. The display shows different colors (e.g., red, yellow, green) corresponding to different power levels and operational states, providing immediate visual feedback to users about which heating elements are active and at what intensity, thereby resolving the issue of user awareness while maintaining flexible cooking areas
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements real-time visual feedback through the user interface that continuously displays the status of heating elements. When a pot is detected on the flexible cooking surface, the interface immediately indicates which heating element is active and allows users to see and adjust power levels, creating a closed-loop feedback system that maintains both flexibility and user awareness
2Ease of operation
If illumination elements are added around each heating unit to signal active status and indicate power levels, then user awareness is improved, but the wiring harness and control become complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the user interface display function with the existing control system architecture. Instead of adding separate illumination elements around each heating unit, the system integrates status indication and control into a unified touchscreen display that communicates with the heating element controllers through existing data buses and communication protocols, thereby providing visual feedback without proportionally increasing wiring and control complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The user interface display serves multiple functions simultaneously: it detects pot presence, indicates heating element status, displays power levels, and allows power adjustment. This multi-functional approach eliminates the need for separate dedicated illumination elements for each heating unit, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining comprehensive user awareness
3Ease of operation
If a touch-screen display reproducing the shape of the cooking top is used to show pot positions, then users can select pots to adjust heating parameters, but the association between the pot on the cooking top and its representation on the display may confuse the user
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing context-specific visual information at the location relevant to each heating element. When a user touches or interacts with a specific area on the display corresponding to a heating zone, the system provides localized feedback about that specific zone's status and controls, maintaining clear spatial association between the physical cooking area and its digital representation
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 users to easily recognize and control which pot is being heated and adjust heat levels intuitively, improving flexibility and usability while providing clear feedback on heating element status.
Implementation Method 1
a control unit (50) adapted to detect the position of the pot (4)
Implementation Method 2
heating elements (11, 13) adapted to heat the pot (4) in whatever position it may be in on the support surface (2)
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a cooking top comprising a support surface adapted to receive at least one pot, a user interface, and a control unit adapted to detect the position of the pot and to control the operation of the cooking top as a function of commands received through the user interface, wherein the control unit is adapted to position the user interface near the detected pot position.