Grill cleaning pad
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing grill and griddle cleaning tools are ineffective in softening baked-on residue on hot surfaces as water vaporizes instantly, and they fail to continuously moisten the surface during cleaning, leaving behind a black film.
Innovation Solution
A cleaning tool with a porous head affixed to a heat-resistant handle, featuring a liquid-filled chamber and perforation for continuous moisture application, using a Kevlar cover and heat-resistant materials, allowing for effective scraping and wiping of the surface without reapplying moisture between strokes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If water is sprayed on hot cooking surface to moisten residue, then residue softening is intended, but water vaporizes instantly and cannot soften residue
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning head is pre-filled with liquid in a reservoir before use. The liquid is delivered continuously through the porous cover during the scraping action, ensuring moisture is already present when contact with the hot surface occurs, eliminating the timing issue of vaporization before effect.
Solution Approach 2:
The porous cover provides continuous liquid delivery throughout the entire scraping stroke, maintaining constant moisture at the interface between the cleaning tool and cooking surface. This continuous supply ensures the residue remains softened throughout the cleaning action without requiring reapplication.
2Productivity
If traditional brush is used to scrape residue, then some residue removal is achieved, but only thin lines of residue are contacted and water must be reapplied over and over
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning head combines multiple functions in one tool: the porous cover simultaneously performs moisture delivery, residue softening, and scraping. The integrated design eliminates the need for separate water application and scraping actions, allowing one continuous motion to accomplish the entire cleaning task.
Solution Approach 2:
The liquid reservoir, porous cover, and scraping blade are merged into a single cleaning head assembly. This integration ensures that moisture and mechanical scraping action occur simultaneously at the same location, maximizing the effectiveness of each stroke and eliminating the need for repeated applications.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If water-spraying brush is used to clean surface, then residue removal is attempted, but the surface is not fully cleaned and a black film remains
Solution Approach 1:
The cover is made of porous material that allows liquid to pass through continuously while maintaining contact with the cooking surface. This ensures thorough moisture penetration to the residue and complete coverage of the cleaning area, preventing any black film from remaining.
Solution Approach 2:
The porous cover acts as an intermediary between the liquid reservoir and the cooking surface, delivering moisture evenly across the entire contact area. This intermediate layer ensures complete and uniform coverage, preventing any areas from being missed and leaving behind a black film.
4Ease of repair
If cleaning head is made with replaceable components, then ease of replacement is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning tool is divided into distinct segments: a reusable handle and a replaceable cleaning head. The head can be easily detached and replaced by the user without tools, allowing the expensive or complex handle to be reused while only replacing the consumable head portion.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning head is designed as a disposable or easily replaceable component with a limited service life. Once the porous cover becomes worn or clogged, the entire head can be quickly replaced for a minimal cost, eliminating the need for complex maintenance or repair of the handle assembly.
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 tool effectively softens and removes residue by maintaining moisture at the point of contact, ensuring a clean surface without leaving behind a black film, and is easily replaceable.
Implementation Method 1
the cover is made of a porous material that permits the liquid to pass through the cover and continuously dampen the cover
Implementation Method 2
The base may be made of a heat-resistant rubbery material. The elongate handle may be made of a rigid and heat-resistant material.
Data Source
AI summary
A utensil for cleaning a cooking surface has cleaning head affixed to a distal end of an elongate handle. The head has a base and a porous cover. Submerging the head in a liquid enables the liquid to flow through the porous cover and perforations in the base into chambers within the base. Applying the head having the liquid-filled chambers against the cooking surface enables the liquid to flow from the chambers and through the perforations and continuously dampen the porous cover.