Grill with Pull-Out Tray Access to Reduce Heat Loss and Uneven Cooking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing grills face challenges with uneven cooking, heat loss when checking on food, difficult clean-up, and limited space for utensils and serving dishes, particularly with charcoal grills.
Innovation Solution
A grill device with a base having wheels and an ash collector, featuring a durable metal body with a pull-out tray and lid that allows access to food without opening the lid, minimizing heat loss and providing additional storage and preparation space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the lid is opened to check on food, then the user can see and access the food, but a large amount of heat is lost to the atmosphere
Solution Approach 1:
The grill body is divided into multiple pull-out trays that can be independently accessed. Users can slide out a tray to check or access food without opening the main lid, thus segmenting the access function from the heat retention function. This resolves the contradiction by allowing food access while maintaining the closed lid state to prevent heat loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The pull-out trays serve as intermediaries between the user and the food. Instead of directly opening the lid to access food, users interact with the trays that can be extended outward. This intermediary mechanism enables food access while the lid remains closed, preventing heat loss to the atmosphere.
2Productivity
If food is cooked in a traditional grill, then cooking can be performed, but heat distribution is uneven leading to uneven cooking and longer cook times
Solution Approach 1:
The cooking space is segmented into multiple pull-out trays that can be positioned at different depths and angles. This segmentation allows food items to be distributed across different trays, each receiving optimized heat exposure. The segmented structure enables better heat distribution and more uniform cooking across different food items, resolving the contradiction between cooking efficiency and cooking uniformity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a charcoal grill is used, then grilling can be performed, but clean-up is frustrating due to food remnants dropping into the bottom
Solution Approach 1:
The grill interior is segmented into multiple removable pull-out trays. These trays can be easily removed and cleaned separately, preventing food remnants from accumulating in hard-to-reach areas at the bottom. This segmentation makes clean-up much easier while maintaining full grilling capability, resolving the contradiction between grilling versatility and clean-up ease.
Solution Approach 2:
The pull-out trays can be completely extracted from the grill body for cleaning. This extraction function allows users to remove the trays and clean them easily, preventing the frustration of having to clean difficult-to-access areas inside the grill. The extraction mechanism resolves the contradiction by enabling easy removal and cleaning of food-contact surfaces while maintaining grilling functionality.
4Area of stationary object
If space is allocated for cooking, then grilling can be performed, but there is limited space for plates or serving dishes near the grill
Solution Approach 1:
The pull-out trays are designed to be multi-functional, serving both as cooking surfaces and as preparation or serving areas. The trays can be extended outward to provide workspace for food preparation or to serve cooked food directly. This multi-functionality resolves the contradiction by providing additional functional space without increasing the overall grill footprint, allowing both cooking and serving functions within the same area.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates generally to the field of grills. More specifically, the present invention relates to a grill device that is primarily comprised of a base with at least one wheel and an ash collector, as well as a body further comprised of at least one pull out tray and at least one lid. The device is durable such that it can withstand high temperature differences between its inner and outer surfaces. The device is also comprised of a pull out tray that allows the contents inside the device to be pulled from the device to be flipped, turned, or generally checked on without opening the lid, losing minimal heat to the atmosphere. In this manner, the device can be applied to any grilling or barbecuing setting such that the heat within the device may be evenly distributed to the contents, preventing longer cook times and uneven cooking.