Cooktop Detection Assembly for Consistent Heat Output
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cooktops with multiple heating elements struggle to provide a consistent total heat output across different positions of cookware, leading to inconsistent heating results when the power level is set the same, due to the dependency of heat output on the number and position of heating elements.
Innovation Solution
A cooktop with a detection assembly and control unit that determines the total heat output of a heating zone based on the detected position and size of cookware, using methods from digital image processing to accurately calculate the bottom surface area of the cookware, allowing for independent positioning of heating elements and precise edge detection to ensure consistent heat distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If the total heat output is determined based on the number of heating elements combined into a heating zone, then the heat output can be controlled as a function of power level, but the total heat output becomes dependent on the position of the cookware element on the cooktop
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter basis for determining total heat output from the number of heating elements to the bottom surface area of the cookware element. The control unit calculates the bottom surface area from detection assembly measurands and uses this area as the fundamental parameter for heat output calculation, ensuring consistent thermal performance regardless of cookware position on the cooktop surface.
2Adaptability or versatility
If heating zones are flexibly adjusted to the position and size of cookware elements, then the heating zones can adapt to different cookware configurations, but the number of heating elements in each zone varies with position leading to inconsistent total heat output
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the controlling parameter from the discrete count of heating elements to the continuous measurement of bottom surface area. This allows heating zones to be flexibly configured to match different cookware positions and sizes while the total heat output is determined by the calculated surface area rather than the variable number of heating elements, ensuring consistent power delivery across different configurations.
3Reliability
If each inductor is operated with a different heat output to simulate total heat output, then the position-dependent heat distribution can be compensated, but the calculation and regulation becomes very complicated resulting in flickers or intermodulation distortion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complexity of individual inductor power regulation by determining the total heat output first based on bottom surface area and power level, then distributing this total power to heating elements according to their coverage of the cookware base. This separates the complex position-dependent distribution problem from the total power determination, simplifying the control algorithm while maintaining heat output consistency.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the same pot covers different numbers of heating elements in different positions, then the heating zone configuration changes with position, but the total heat output varies leading to unsatisfactory heating results
Solution Approach 1:
The invention fundamentally changes the parameter used to determine total heat output from the discrete number of heating elements to the continuous bottom surface area of the cookware. Since the bottom surface area remains constant for the same pot regardless of position, the total heat output becomes position-independent while still allowing flexible heating zone assignment based on which heating elements are covered by the cookware base.
Data Source
AI summary
A cooktop includes a plurality of heating elements, a user interface for inputting a power level, a detection assembly for detecting a position and size of at least one cookware element, and a control unit designed to combine a plurality of heating elements into a heating zone depending on the detected size and position of the cookware element and to operate the heating elements of the heating zone with a total heat output. In order to ensure a reproducible total heat output, the control unit is designed to calculate a bottom surface of the cookware element from the measurands of the detection assembly and to determine the total heat output depending on power level and bottom surface.