Cooktop Overflow Detection Using Multi-Zone Temperature Sensors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cooktops lack effective overflow detection systems, leading to food waste and increased cleaning difficulties due to fluid spills, and existing systems are not intelligent enough to adjust gas output based on user presence or temperature changes.
Innovation Solution
A cooktop with multiple overflow sensors around the burner, a temperature sensor system, and a controller that adjusts gas output based on temperature differences and user presence, preventing continuous overflow and improving user experience by reducing manual interference.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If no overflow detection system is installed, then the cooktop structure remains simple, but fluid spills cause food waste and increased cleaning difficulties
Solution Approach 1:
The overflow detection system is segmented into multiple independent temperature sensors positioned at different locations around the burner. Each sensor independently monitors temperature changes in its specific zone, allowing the system to detect overflows from different directions without requiring a single complex detection mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The temperature sensors serve dual functions: they monitor both cooking temperature for normal operation and temperature changes indicating overflow conditions. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate dedicated overflow sensors, reducing system complexity while maintaining reliable overflow detection capability.
2Measurement precision
If a single overflow sensor is used, then the device complexity is low, but overflow detection accuracy and reliability are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The detection system is divided into multiple spatial zones with individual temperature sensors in each zone. This segmentation enables the system to detect overflows from different directions and locations, significantly improving measurement precision and detection reliability compared to a single sensor approach.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a single-point detection approach to multi-dimensional spatial detection by positioning sensors at different locations around the burner. This dimensional expansion allows comprehensive coverage of potential overflow paths, enhancing detection accuracy without merely increasing sensor count linearly.
3Reliability
If the overflow sensor is exposed above the panel assembly, then overflow detection is direct, but the panel assembly becomes difficult to clean and the sensor is vulnerable to damage
Solution Approach 1:
The temperature sensors are nested within cavities or recesses in the panel assembly structure. This nesting arrangement allows the sensors to remain protected and functional while maintaining a flat, cleanable panel surface. The sensors are positioned to detect temperature changes through the panel material without being exposed above it.
Solution Approach 2:
The panel assembly material itself acts as an intermediary between the hidden sensors and the cooking environment. Temperature changes from overflows are transmitted through the panel material to the concealed sensors, enabling detection without direct sensor exposure, thus preserving both cleaning ease and sensor protection.
4Speed
If the gas valve acts automatically on temperature change, then overflow response is fast, but user cooking operations may be interfered with
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback control where temperature sensor data is continuously monitored and fed back to the controller. The controller analyzes temperature change patterns and only triggers gas valve adjustment when overflow is confidently detected, avoiding false responses to normal cooking variations and maintaining user operational freedom while ensuring fast response to actual overflows.
Solution Approach 2:
The gas valve control system transitions from static automatic response to dynamic adaptive response. The controller adjusts system behavior based on real-time temperature patterns and cooking context, enabling fast response to genuine overflows while accommodating normal cooking operations, thus balancing response speed with operational freedom.
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 system accurately detects overflows from different directions, reduces food waste and cleaning difficulties, and intelligently manages gas output based on user presence, ensuring efficient cooking and minimizing overflow occurrences.
Implementation Method 1
the temperature sensor is configured to detect temperature information of N temperature measurement points of the panel assembly
Implementation Method 2
calculate a temperature difference of a temperature change of each temperature measurement point
Data Source
AI summary
An embodiment of the present utility model relates to a cooktop with overflow detection. The cooktop includes: a burner; a panel assembly; a gas valve for adjusting a flow rate of gas supplied to the burner; an overflow sensor, configured to detect an overflow state of a cooking utensil, where a quantity of overflow sensors is N, and the overflow sensors are disposed around the burner. In this way, overflows from different directions can be detected, thereby improving the accuracy and reliability of overflow detection.