Handheld vacuum marinator device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vacuum marination methods require bulky machines or difficult-to-use manual pumps, making them inefficient for consistent vacuum levels and user-friendly operation.
Innovation Solution
A handheld cordless vacuum device with a charging cradle, featuring a housing with a suction inlet and removable reservoir, allowing for controlled vacuum cycles and marinade procedures through a suction function button and marinade function button, enabling efficient marination of food in containers or bags.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional vacuum marination methods use bulky vacuum sealing machines or manual hand pumps, then vacuum marination function is achieved, but device portability and ease of operation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The vacuum marination system is divided into separate functional modules: a handheld vacuum device with battery power, a separate marinator unit with food containers, and an optional charging cradle. This segmentation allows the vacuum function to be portable and easy to operate while the marination process occurs automatically in the separate unit, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual mechanical hand pump system is replaced with an electric vacuum device powered by rechargeable batteries. This substitution eliminates the need for manual pumping operations, providing consistent vacuum levels automatically and significantly improving ease of operation while reducing the complexity of user interaction with the system.
2Weight of moving object
If manual hand pumps are used for vacuum marination, then portability is improved, but vacuum consistency and reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The unreliable manual mechanical pumping system is replaced with an electrically-powered vacuum device that uses an electric motor to drive the vacuum pump. This provides consistent and reliable vacuum levels every time, eliminating the variability and inconsistency associated with manual operation while keeping the device portable through battery power.
Solution Approach 2:
The vacuum device incorporates feedback mechanisms including vacuum level sensors and automated control systems that monitor and adjust the vacuum pumping process in real-time. This ensures consistent vacuum levels are achieved and maintained, significantly improving reliability compared to manual pumps where the operator must estimate when vacuum level is sufficient.
3Productivity
If traditional marination processes are used without vacuum, then simplicity is maintained, but marination time and productivity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The marination process uses periodic vacuum cycles where the vacuum is applied for a set time, then released, then reapplied in repeated cycles. This periodic action dramatically accelerates marinade penetration into food products compared to static marination, improving productivity by reducing marination time from hours or days to minutes or hours, while the automated cycling minimizes the complexity of user operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system maintains continuous marination action through automated vacuum cycling and includes features like automated liquid dispensing that continuously introduces fresh marinade during the process. This continuous useful action ensures maximum productivity and marination effectiveness without requiring continuous user intervention or monitoring, resolving the contradiction between improved productivity and device complexity.
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
Facilitates faster and more consistent food marination by providing a portable, user-friendly device that can be easily charged and operated, reducing marination time while ensuring effective penetration of marinades into food products.
Implementation Method 1
activating a vacuum device contained within the housing to pull the vacuum through the suction inlet
Data Source
AI summary
A handheld vacuum marinator device is provided. The device can include a suction function button configured to activate a suction procedure when depressed and a marinade function button configured to activate a marinade procedure when depressed. The suction procedure includes activating a vacuum device to pull a vacuum through a suction inlet and deactivating the vacuum device when a first vacuum level is detected, and the marinade procedure includes initiating a plurality of cycles of activating the vacuum device to pull the vacuum through the suction inlet, deactivating the vacuum device when a second vacuum level is detected, holding the second vacuum level for a first preset amount of time, releasing the vacuum after the first preset amount of time, and waiting a second preset amount of time to reactivate the vacuum device for a start of a next one of the plurality of cycles.