Crockery system comprising thermal buffer material and phase- change material
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Crockery systems without domes struggle to maintain consistent temperatures across the surface of serving dishes, leading to temperature variations that compromise food safety, especially for meat and fish, and are material-dependent.
Innovation Solution
A crockery system comprising a thermal buffer material and phase-change material, where form-flexible packages with liquid thermal buffer material make contact with serving dishes and form-retaining packages with phase-change material, ensuring consistent temperature distribution across the surface, with the thermal buffer material having a conductivity of at least 0.1 W/(m·K) and a melting point difference of less than 10°C from the phase-change material.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a crockery system uses cooling elements with phase-change material in a carrier vessel, then the food can be kept cool, but great temperature differences occur across the serving dish surface and over time
Solution Approach 1:
A thermal buffer material is introduced as an intermediary substance between the phase-change material cooling element and the serving dish. This buffer material absorbs and redistributes thermal energy, acting as a mediator that smooths out temperature fluctuations and ensures uniform temperature distribution across the serving dish surface, thereby maintaining food safety without requiring a dome.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the thermal parameters of the system by selecting a thermal buffer material with specific thermal conductivity and heat capacity properties. The buffer material's thermal characteristics are optimized to absorb excess heat during phase transition and release it gradually, maintaining temperature consistency within the 3-6°C range over extended periods.
2Device complexity
If cooling elements are used without a dome, then the setup is simpler, but temperature variations compromise food safety for meat and fish
Solution Approach 1:
The thermal buffer material serves as a compensating intermediary that makes the simpler dome-less configuration reliable for food safety. By placing this material between the cooling element and serving dish, the system achieves uniform temperature distribution without the structural complexity of a dome, while still meeting food safety requirements.
3Reliability
If the crockery system maintains optimal temperature range, then food safety is ensured, but the temperature range is limited to specific positions without a dome
Solution Approach 1:
The thermal buffer material creates local thermal equilibrium across different areas of the serving dish. By distributing thermal energy uniformly throughout the buffer material, the system achieves consistent temperature quality across the entire serving surface, not just at specific positions, thereby expanding the effective cooled area while maintaining food safety.
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 maintains a temperature range of 3 to 6°C across the surface of the serving dish for over 2 hours, ensuring food safety and minimizing temperature variations, regardless of the serving dish material.
Implementation Method 1
the latent energy which can be activated by respective solidification or melting of the phase-change material contained in the crockery and which can be transferred through a surface of the crockery after activation of the phase-change material
Implementation Method 2
the phase transition from liquid to solid state
Implementation Method 3
transfer via conduction of the thermal energy, to the food to be kept cooled or hot
Data Source
AI summary
Crockery system comprising at least one serving dish (130), at least one form-flexible package comprising liquid thermal buffer material (120), and at least one optionally form-retaining package comprising phase-change material (110), wherein the at least one package comprising thermal buffer material is in thermal contact on the upper side thereof with the at least one serving dish and is in thermal contact on the underside thereof with the at least one package comprising phase-change material.