Disposable Vertical Cooking Support for Kebab Hygiene Control

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing vertical spit cooking devices for exotic foods like kebabs face hygiene issues due to reuse of the spit, which can lead to contamination and quality alteration of meat, as the product remains exposed and subject to external aggressions, including bacteria, microbes, and temperature changes.

Innovation Solution

A domestic vertical cooking appliance with a single-use tubular cooking support and lower plate fixing means that irreversibly separate after first use, ensuring each support is only used once and maintaining optimal hygiene by being pre-fitted with food under vacuum, preventing reuse and contamination.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Device complexity

If the spit is reused multiple times for different food loads, then the device complexity and cost are reduced, but hygiene conditions deteriorate due to contamination risks and quality alteration

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedevice complexityVSAvoidhygiene conditions
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a disposable cooking support (spit) that is used once and then discarded. The support includes destructible fixing means that irreversibly separate after first use, ensuring the support cannot be reused. This eliminates contamination risks associated with reusable spits while keeping the device itself simple and reusable.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

Solution Approach 2:

The invention segments the cooking system into a reusable device body and a disposable support component. The support with its food load becomes a separate, single-use element that is easily replaced, while the main device structure remains intact for repeated use. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by isolating the hygiene-critical component as disposable.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Productivity

If the food remains on the spit for extended periods or is reused across multiple cooking cycles, then productivity is improved, but food quality and safety deteriorate due to external aggressions and temperature changes

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveproductivityVSAvoidfood quality
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The disposable support ensures each food portion is cooked in a fresh, uncontaminated environment. Even though the support is used only once, this enables continuous productivity by allowing rapid replacement of used supports with new ones, each carrying fresh food portions, thereby maintaining both high productivity and food quality.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

Solution Approach 2:

The system discards the used support after a single cooking cycle, preventing any accumulation of contamination or quality degradation. The reusable device body is recovered and prepared for the next cycle with a new support, ensuring continuous productivity without compromising food safety.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #34Discarding and recovering

3Ease of operation

If the fixing means allow easy separation of the support from the plate, then ease of operation is improved, but the support could be reused which worsens hygiene conditions

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveease of operationVSAvoidhygiene conditions
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The fixing means are designed to be easily activated for separation (pulling or twisting) but irreversibly destroyed in the process. This provides ease of operation for removing used supports while the destruction of the fixing means prevents reuse, thereby maintaining hygiene conditions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

Solution Approach 2:

The fixing means are pre-designed with breakable zones that are intended to fail after first use. This preliminary design ensures that the easy separation action automatically leads to irreversible destruction of the fixing capability, preventing reuse before it can cause hygiene problems.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP2536320B1Domestic appliance for the vertical cooking of a foodstuff, for example kebab meat
Publication Date: 2014.07.02 LECLIPSE
  • EP2536320B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2536320B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2536320B1 patent drawingFigure 3~7

AI summary

The present invention relates to a domestic appliance (1) for the vertical cooking of a foodstuff, for example kebab meat, having: an external protective frame (10), a heat source (20) that extends vertically along and inside the protective frame when the appliance is placed down flat on a work surface, a lower plate (30) that is able to move at least in rotation about an axis parallel to the heat source, a vertical tubular cooking support (40) around which a foodstuff (45) to be reheated/cooked/grilled is placed, the cooking support (40) and the lower plate (30) having respectively securing means (50), characterized in that said securing means (50) are designed to be destroyed in an irreversible manner once they have been used for the first time, when the support and plate are taken apart, such that the cooking support (40) is single-use and can only be positioned once on the lower plate (30).