Removable Drip Pan Cutting Board for Spill-Free Juice Transfer

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional cutting boards face issues with liquid collection and transfer, as their narrow channels often spill liquids during use, making it difficult to manage juices from food items like fruits or roasts, and there is no efficient way to reuse these liquids without spilling them when transferring to cooking pans.

Innovation Solution

A cutting board with an integrated and removable drip pan system, featuring channels with apertures that direct liquids into a drip pan, which can be easily slid under the board and securely positioned using guides and risers, allowing for mess-free liquid collection and reuse.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conventional cutting boards with narrow channels are used, then the structure is simple, but liquids spill during transfer and cannot be collected efficiently

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveliquid containmentVSAvoidchannel structure

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The cutting board system is divided into separate functional components: the cutting board itself and a removable drip pan. The drip pan is segmented to fit within the board's channel structure, allowing liquids to be contained in a dedicated collection area rather than attempting to contain all liquids within the board's edge channels alone.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The drip collection function is extracted from the cutting board's edge channels and implemented as a separate, removable drip pan. This allows the drip pan to be removed independently for emptying or transfer, eliminating the problem of spilling during transfer while keeping the cutting board structure relatively simple.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Quantity of substance

If the cutting board channels are made larger to contain more liquids, then liquid capacity increases, but the board becomes unstable when moved

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveliquid capacityVSAvoidboard stability

Core Design Contradiction:

Quantity of substanceVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The liquid collection function is segmented into a separate drip pan component that can be removed from the cutting board. This allows the board to maintain its structural stability while the drip pan provides extended liquid capacity. The drip pan can be attached when liquid collection is needed and removed when the board needs to be moved or cleaned.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The drip pan is designed to be dynamically attachable and detachable from the cutting board, allowing the system to adapt between two states: a stable cutting board configuration and a liquid-collection configuration with the drip pan attached. This dynamic attachment resolves the contradiction between stability and liquid capacity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

3Ease of repair

If liquids are transferred from cutting board channels to cooking pans, then liquids can be reused, but most liquids are spilled during transfer

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveliquid reuseVSAvoidliquid loss

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of repairVSLoss of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The drip pan is extracted as a removable component that can be taken out from the cutting board system. This allows users to remove the drip pan containing collected liquids and transfer them to cooking pans in a controlled manner, rather than attempting to pour from the board's narrow channels, significantly reducing spillage during transfer.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The drip pan serves as an intermediary container between the cutting board channels and the final cooking pan. It collects liquids from the channels and provides a stable, controlled interface for transferring liquids to cooking pans, eliminating the need to pour directly from the board's narrow channels.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

4Adaptability or versatility

If multiple cooking pans are used to accommodate different sizes, then all liquid volumes can be accommodated, but dishwashing time increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepan size adaptabilityVSAvoiddishwashing time

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The drip pan is designed as a universal collection container that can accommodate liquids from cutting sessions of various sizes. Its standardized design allows it to collect and transfer appropriate liquid volumes to cooking pans of different sizes, eliminating the need to use multiple specialized collection containers and reducing the number of items to wash.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS10334990B2Cutting board with removable drip pan system

Publication Date: 2019.07.02 RUSSELL BRUCE P

AI summary

A cutting board with removable drip pan system includes at least one drip pan and a cutting board. The cutting board includes a top surface, a bottom surface, a front edge, a back edge, and a pair of opposing sides, and is constructed from materials suitable for direct contact with food. A pair of guides is positioned along the bottom surface of the cutting board to receive the edges of the drip pan. A plurality of channels each having at least one aperture are positioned along the top surface to direct liquids from the top surface into the drip pan.