Cookware Thermal Classification for Feedback-Controlled Heating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cooking appliances face challenges in achieving optimal heating behaviors due to varying thermal properties of cookware items, leading to issues like excessive temperature overshoots and long heat rise times, as single feedback control algorithms fail to account for different cookware characteristics.
Innovation Solution
A cooking appliance with a temperature sensor and controller that performs feedback-controlled heating, using a PID algorithm to determine thermal behavior over a classification time, adjusting parameters such as proportional, integral, and derivative gain values to optimize heating operations based on cookware-specific thermal properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a single feedback control algorithm is used for all cookware items, then the control system remains simple, but temperature control precision deteriorates due to varying thermal properties of different cookware
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by adjusting PID controller parameters (proportional gain, integral gain, derivative gain) based on the thermal properties of different cookware items. The system determines thermal behavior through classification and then modifies control parameters accordingly, allowing the same control algorithm structure to achieve precise temperature control for various cookware types without requiring fundamentally different control strategies for each item.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the control approach by classifying cookware items into different thermal behavior categories and applying different control parameter sets for each category. This segmentation allows the system to handle the diversity of cookware thermal properties through discrete parameter adjustments rather than requiring a completely complex adaptive control system, thus resolving the contradiction between precision and simplicity.
2Productivity
If heating power is increased to reduce heat rise time, then cooking efficiency improves, but temperature overshoot increases due to thermal inertia of cookware
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the controller parameters dynamic rather than static. The PID parameters are adjusted based on the determined thermal behavior of the cookware item, allowing the control system to adapt its response characteristics in real-time. This dynamic adjustment enables the system to achieve both fast heating (high productivity) and minimal overshoot by optimizing control parameters according to each cookware item's thermal properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs feedback mechanisms where the controller monitors temperature and thermal behavior, determines cookware characteristics, and then adjusts control parameters based on this feedback. The feedback loop allows the system to learn from the thermal response and modify heating power accordingly, preventing overshoot while maintaining efficient cooking by continuously adapting to the actual thermal state of the cookware.
3Stability of the object's composition
If heating power is reduced to prevent temperature overshoot, then temperature control stability improves, but heat rise time increases reducing cooking efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing thermal behavior determination and controller parameter adjustment before the main heating process begins. The system classifies the cookware item and pre-configures the appropriate PID parameters during an initial phase, so that when full heating power is applied, the control system is already optimized for that specific cookware type. This preliminary configuration prevents both overshoot and excessive rise time by having the correct parameters ready in advance.
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
This approach allows for precise adjustment of heating parameters, improving temperature control and reducing overshoots and heat rise times, ensuring optimal cooking conditions for different cookware items by classifying their thermal behavior and adjusting the feedback loop accordingly.
Implementation Method 1
a temperature sensor configured to selectively monitor a temperature of the cookware item
Implementation Method 2
at least one heating element to selectively supply heat to a cookware item
Implementation Method 3
a controller operably connected with the at least one heating element and the temperature sensor, the controller configured to perform a feedback controlled heating operation
Data Source
AI summary
A cooking appliance includes at least one heating element; a temperature sensor configured to selectively monitor a temperature of a cookware item; and a controller operably connected with the at least one heating element and the temperature sensor, the controller configured to perform a feedback controlled heating operation. The feedback controlled heating operation includes determining a temperature setpoint; retrieving a default set of controller gain values of the feedback controlled heating operation, the set of controller gain values including a proportional gain value, an integral gain value, and a derivative gain value; directing the at least one heating element over a thermal classification length of time; determining a thermal behavior of the cookware item after an expiration of the thermal classification length of time; and adjusting one or more parameters of the feedback controlled heating operation in response to determining the thermal behavior of the cookware item.