Expandable Lid Venting for Automatic Boil-Over Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooking vessel lids do not effectively prevent boiling over, leading to inconvenience and potential damage, and existing solutions are not energy efficient or applicable to all types of cooktops.
Innovation Solution
A lid system with a height actuator and aperture actuator that extends the lid and creates an aperture based on content level differences and time thresholds, using sensors and actuators controlled by a controller to prevent boiling over and facilitate heat exchange.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If a lid is placed on the cooking vessel to keep heat inside, then energy efficiency is improved and boiling time is shortened, but foam accumulates and causes boiling over
Solution Approach 1:
The lid is designed with a movable membrane that dynamically adjusts its state between closed and open based on pressure conditions. The membrane remains closed during normal cooking to retain heat, but automatically opens when foam-induced pressure exceeds a threshold, preventing boiling over without requiring constant monitoring or energy input.
Solution Approach 2:
The lid system is self-regulating through the pressure-sensitive membrane mechanism. It automatically detects foam accumulation via pressure changes and opens the aperture when needed, then closes again when pressure normalizes. This eliminates the need for external control systems, sensors, or energy input while maintaining both heat retention and boil-over prevention.
2Stress or pressure
If a small aperture is provided in the lid to release pressure, then pressure control is improved, but the aperture is insufficient to prevent boiling over
Solution Approach 1:
The aperture is not a fixed small opening but a dynamic structure controlled by a pressure-sensitive membrane. The membrane remains closed under normal pressure conditions (maintaining heat retention) but automatically opens when foam-induced pressure exceeds the membrane's resistance threshold, allowing sufficient vapor and foam escape to prevent boiling over.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If manual supervision is maintained to detect boiling over, then boiling over prevention is improved, but convenience is reduced and rapid boiling over may still be missed
Solution Approach 1:
The lid system performs automatic boil-over prevention through its pressure-sensitive membrane mechanism, eliminating the need for manual supervision. The membrane continuously monitors pressure conditions and automatically opens the aperture when foam accumulation threatens to cause boiling over, providing reliable protection while maintaining full user convenience.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If the lid height is extended vertically, then the vessel capacity is increased and boiling over is prevented, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lid incorporates a movable membrane that extends vertically only when pressure differential acts upon it during foam accumulation. The membrane rises to create additional headspace when needed, then returns to its original position when pressure normalizes. This dynamic extension provides boil-over prevention capability without requiring a permanently complex extended structure.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4A~4B
AI summary
A system for detecting a possibility of boiling over and preventing said boiling over, the system comprising a vessel (101) having a lid (102), the lid (102) being characterised in that it is configured: to receive information on an initial level of a vessel content and a current level of the vessel content; and based on a difference between the initial level and the current level as well as the time of a creation of said difference: to instruct, by means of a controller (203), a height actuator (207) of the lid (102) to extend said lid (102) vertically, in order to extend the height of said vessel (101); and to instruct, by means of a controller (203), an aperture actuator (206) to create an aperture in a top of the lid (102) in order to facilitate exchange of heat.