Glass Cooktop Burner Reflector for Uniform Heating Perception
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooktops suffer from uneven heating perception due to illuminated and dark portions of the glass plate, leading to user safety risks and inefficiencies, as well as overheating issues with the heater from concentrated heat reflection.
Innovation Solution
A cooking apparatus with a reflector positioned below the heater that forms multiple images of the heater on the glass plate, using reflective surfaces with different curvatures to ensure uniform heating and includes overheating protection to prevent direct heat reflection back to the heater.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If a reflector is used to concentrate heat and light from the heater, then thermal efficiency is improved, but localized overheating of the glass plate and heater occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The reflector is divided into multiple reflective sections (first, second, third reflective surfaces) with different orientations and curvatures. Each section reflects heat and light to different areas of the glass plate, segmenting the concentrated energy distribution into multiple dispersed paths, thereby preventing localized overheating while maintaining thermal efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the reflector are designed with different reflective properties (different curvatures and orientations) to achieve uniform heat distribution across the glass plate. The first reflective surface has a first curvature, the second has a second curvature, and the third has a third curvature, creating local variations in reflection patterns that collectively prevent hot spots.
2Loss of energy
If heat and light are reflected back to the heater, then thermal efficiency is improved, but the heater overheats and breaks
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of allowing heat to reflect directly back to the heater, the reflector is designed to redirect heat and light away from the heater's direct path. The reflective surfaces are oriented to send energy toward the glass plate and cooking area, inverting the conventional approach of returning energy to the source, thereby preventing heater overheating while maintaining efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The reflector design extracts the harmful direct reflection path back to the heater and redirects it toward useful areas (glass plate and cooking area). By taking out the problematic direct reflection and replacing it with redirected paths, the system maintains thermal efficiency without compromising heater reliability.
3Temperature
If the glass plate is heated by the heater, then cooking function is achieved, but the glass plate appears non-uniformly heated to the user
Solution Approach 1:
The reflector creates multiple reflected images of the heater on the glass plate through its multiple reflective sections. These images act as visual copies of the heat source, distributed across different areas of the glass plate, creating the perception of uniform heating even though a single heater is providing the thermal energy.
Solution Approach 2:
The reflector uses spatial arrangement of multiple reflective surfaces at different positions and angles to project heater images to different locations on the glass plate. This transforms the single-point heat source visualization into a distributed multi-point visualization, creating visual uniformity across the two-dimensional glass plate surface.
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 a broader thermal spectrum for more efficient heating, enhances user perception of uniform heating, prevents overheating of the heater, and allows better control of heat distribution, improving safety and consumer satisfaction.
Implementation Method 1
the reflector reflects heat and light emitted from the heater toward the glass plate
Implementation Method 2
the reflector causes multiple images of the heater to be formed on the glass plate
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
A burner for a glass top stove includes a heating element (320), and a reflector (300). The reflector (300) is shaped to reflect heat and light emitted down and to the sides of the heater back up to the glass top of the burner. The reflector (300) is shaped to form multiple images of the heater on the glass plate. This ensures uniform heating of the glass plate. It also causes a user to believe that there are more heaters than are actually mounted on the burner.