Device for heating filled brioches
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for heating filled brioches, such as waffle irons, face issues with non-uniform heat distribution due to fixed heating plates lacking a rocking mechanism, leading to variable heat transfer and potential leakage of frozen fillings.
Innovation Solution
The device features removable heating plates with releasable elastic fastening elements and thermal contact with heat transfer plates housed in elastic enclosures, ensuring optimal contact and adjustable temperature control, along with a peripheral channel to contain fillings and prevent leakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If fixed heating plates are used without a rocking mechanism, then the device structure is simple, but the heat transfer is variable and heating is non-uniform
Solution Approach 1:
The heating plates are designed with a rocking mechanism that allows them to move dynamically during closing. This dynamic movement enables the plates to self-adjust and rock back and forth, ensuring uniform contact and heat distribution across the entire heating surface, thereby resolving the heating uniformity issue without requiring complex active control systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The rocking mechanism is designed to be passive and self-operating. When the upper and lower subassemblies are closed, the heating plates automatically rock due to the mechanical interaction between the plates and the subassembly structures. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for external actuators or control systems, maintaining device simplicity while achieving uniform heating.
2Reliability
If heating plates are fixed without rocking movement, then the device structure is simple, but contact between heating plates is suboptimal causing variable heat transfer
Solution Approach 1:
The heating plates incorporate a rocking mechanism that transforms the static fixed structure into a dynamic system. During operation, the plates rock back and forth, continuously adjusting the contact points and pressure distribution. This dynamic adjustment ensures consistent and reliable heat transfer across the entire heating surface, eliminating the variability caused by fixed plate positions.
Solution Approach 2:
The rocking mechanism operates automatically through the mechanical closing action of the device. The interaction between the heating plates and the subassembly structures creates the rocking motion without requiring external control. This self-service approach ensures reliable heat transfer while avoiding the complexity of controlled mechanisms.
3Reliability
If heating plates lack a rocking mechanism, then the device is simpler, but frozen filling may leak out of the brioche
Solution Approach 1:
The rocking mechanism ensures that the heating plates maintain optimal contact pressure throughout the heating process. By rocking back and forth, the plates distribute pressure uniformly across the brioche and sealing surfaces, preventing gaps that could allow frozen filling to leak. This dynamic pressure distribution enhances filling containment reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing and containment function is achieved through the passive rocking motion generated during normal device operation. The mechanical closing action automatically creates the necessary contact pressure and sealing without requiring additional active control systems or complex mechanisms, thereby preventing leakage while maintaining device simplicity.
4Ease of repair
If heating plates are removable with fastening elements, then cleaning and replacement is easier, but the attachment mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The heating plates are designed as separate, removable components from the main device body. This segmentation allows the plates to be easily detached for cleaning or replacement by simply releasing the fastening elements. The modular design enables independent maintenance of the heating plates without disassembling the entire device, significantly improving ease of repair and cleaning.
Solution Approach 2:
The fastening elements are designed with a universal attachment mechanism that secures the heating plates during operation but allows easy release for maintenance. The same fastening system serves both the function of secure attachment during heating and the function of easy release for cleaning and replacement, achieving multi-functionality without increasing overall complexity.
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 configuration ensures uniform heating of filled brioches, maintains the frozen state of the filling, and facilitates easy cleaning and replacement of heating elements, enhancing the device's efficiency and versatility.
Implementation Method 1
two or more heating plates, each one provided with a cavity to receive the product... thermal contact with heat transfer plates... uniform heating of filled brioches
Data Source
AI summary
A device (1) for heating filled brioches preferably filled with ice-cream, comprising an upper subassembly (3) and a lower subassembly (4) linked by one or more joints or hinges (10). Each one of the subassemblies (3, 4) includes a heating plate (14) with a cavity (14a) intended to receive the filled brioche, or other similar product, in order to heat it, arranged so that in an operative position they overlap one another. Each heating plate (14) is positioned on top of a heat transfer plate (16) enclosed in a thermo-insulating layer (13), except for an opening to allow contact between the heating plate (14) and the heat transfer plate (16). The heating plates (14) are releasable from the subassembly by means of one or more releasable fastening elements protruding from the heating plate (14) and inserted in one or more slots (3c, 4c) of either casing of the subassemblies.