Cooking Tray Load Transfer via Guide Rod
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cooking devices, such as microwave ovens, require precise weight measurement of cooking ingredients to provide accurate recipes, but existing solutions fail to ensure reliable weight measurement due to heat damage and lack of precise load transfer mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A cooking device with a tray assembly that includes a guide roller member, load transfer member, and load cell, where the guide rod extends through the cavity bottom and is coupled with an elastic member to transfer loads vertically to the load cell, ensuring accurate weight measurement while preventing heat damage to the sensor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the load cell is placed inside the cavity to directly measure the weight of cooking ingredients, then the measurement precision is improved, but the reliability deteriorates due to heat damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a load transfer member as an intermediary component that transfers the load from the tray to the load cell. This mediator allows the load cell to be positioned outside the cavity while still accurately measuring the weight of cooking ingredients, thus preventing direct exposure to heat damage while maintaining measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The measurement system is segmented into distinct functional components: the tray for holding ingredients, the load transfer member for transmitting force, and the load cell for measurement. This segmentation allows the load cell to be isolated from the harsh thermal environment inside the cavity while maintaining its measurement function.
2Measurement precision
If a direct load transfer mechanism is used from the tray to the load cell, then the measurement precision is improved, but the device complexity increases due to heat protection requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The load transfer member serves as a simple intermediary component that bridges the tray and load cell. This single component provides both the load transfer function and the heat isolation function, avoiding the need for complex heat-resistant structures or multiple protective layers.
3Reliability
If the load cell is positioned outside the cavity, then the reliability is improved by preventing heat damage, but the device complexity increases due to additional coupling mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The load transfer member acts as a straightforward intermediary that couples the tray to the load cell. It provides a simple mechanical connection that transfers load while maintaining thermal isolation, avoiding the need for complex coupling mechanisms such as multiple joints, bearings, or active compensation systems.
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 provides reliable and precise weight measurement of cooking ingredients, preventing damage to the weight sensor from heat and ensuring accurate cooking processes by effectively transferring loads to the load cell through a controlled mechanism.
Implementation Method 1
a load cell having an upper surface in contact with a lower surface of the load transfer member, and configured to generate an electrical signal according to a load transferred through the guide rod and the load transfer member
Implementation Method 2
a guide rod extending in a vertical direction from a lower side of the receiving tray to a bottom of the cavity
Data Source
AI summary
Provided in various embodiments of the present disclosure are a device for measuring the load of food materials put on a tray in a cooking apparatus, and a control method therefor. To this end, the cooking apparatus has a stick-shaped guide rod extending in the vertical direction toward the bottom of a cavity from the lower side of an accommodation tray to which each of a plurality of rollers making roll-contact with the bottom surface of the tray can be independently mounted, has a first coupling part formed on a load-transferring member such that the lower end portion of the guide rod is fitted and fixed therein, and generates an electrical signal in a load cell due to the load transferred by the load-transferring member. Other various embodiments are possible.