Curved Heating Assembly for Toaster Infrared Radiation Efficiency
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cooking appliances, such as toasters and toaster ovens, suffer from slow cooking times and poor cooked food quality due to inefficient heating mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A heating assembly with a curved shape and electrical resistance heating elements that emit infrared radiation directly into the cooking cavity, minimizing heat loss and optimizing radiation distribution for faster and more efficient cooking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional heating mechanisms are used in toasters and toaster ovens, then the heating process is simpler and less complex, but cooking times are slow and food quality is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The heating element is formed into a curved shape with a concave side facing the cooking cavity. This curvature focuses infrared radiation onto the food, improving heating efficiency and cooking speed without requiring complex multi-element heating systems
Solution Approach 2:
The heating element is extracted from conventional enclosures and positioned to be directly exposed to the cooking cavity, eliminating intermediating components that would block or diffuse heat radiation. This direct exposure maximizes infrared radiation transfer to the food
2Loss of energy
If heating elements are enclosed with guards, screens, or protective covers, then the heating element is protected, but infrared radiation is blocked and cooking efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The heating element is extracted from protective enclosures and positioned with direct line-of-sight to the cooking cavity. This eliminates guards, screens, and covers that would block infrared radiation, maximizing energy transfer to the food while the element remains thermally managed through its curved geometry and material properties
3Productivity
If heating elements are positioned flat and planar, then the structure is simpler, but radiation distribution is inconsistent and heat loss to the support increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heating element is curved into a concave shape facing the cooking cavity. This curvature serves dual purposes: focusing infrared radiation onto the food for improved heating efficiency, and creating thermal management gaps between the element and support structure to reduce conductive heat loss
Solution Approach 2:
The curved heating element creates varying distances between different portions of the element and the support structure. Gaps are formed at portions between longitudinal ends, providing localized thermal management that reduces heat loss to the support while maintaining structural integrity
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 faster cooking times and improved food quality by focusing infrared radiation directly onto the food, reducing heat loss and maintaining consistent radiation distribution during thermal expansion and contraction.
Implementation Method 1
an electrical resistance heating element coupled to the support... when electrical current is passed through the metal material
Implementation Method 2
The heating element may include a metal material that emits infrared and other electromagnetic radiation... infrared radiation emitted by the heating element may travel directly from the heating element to the cooking cavity
Data Source
AI summary
A cooking appliance, such as a toaster or oven, has a lifting arm including ribs that form a support surface for a food product in a cooking cavity of the appliance. Each rib can include an opening configured to permit infrared radiation from a heating assembly to pass through the rib to the food product supported by the lifting arm and/or to reduce a thermal mass and capacitance of the lifting arm. The heating assembly can include a support and/or heating element with a curved shape having a concave side facing a cooking cavity. The support and/or heating element can have a planar shape when unstressed and a curved shape when stressed. The heating element may be coupled to the support so as to be slidably movable relative to the support, e.g., so the heating element can slide relative to the support.