Heating cooker and heating cooking method
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional heating cookers face challenges in appropriately managing the surface temperature and inside temperature of food materials, leading to issues such as excessive drying or burning, due to difficulties in controlling temperature gradients during heating phases.
Innovation Solution
A heating cooker with a multi-heater system and temperature control mechanism, including a controller that adjusts the output of multiple heaters (first, second, and third heaters) and switches between continuous and intermittent driving states, along with steam generation control, to manage surface and inside temperatures by transitioning between low-temperature and high-temperature heating phases based on predetermined conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If low-temperature heating is continued to heat food material at relatively low heating temperature, then the inside temperature can be increased sufficiently, but the heating time becomes excessively long causing excessive drying of the surface
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamic heating control by switching between low-temperature and high-temperature heating modes based on real-time temperature monitoring. The controller dynamically adjusts the heating temperature in multiple phases: initial low-temperature heating to prevent surface burning, followed by high-temperature heating to rapidly increase inside temperature, and finally returning to low-temperature heating to maintain quality. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction between heating time and inside temperature increase.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements periodic heating cycles with alternating low-temperature and high-temperature phases. The heating process is divided into multiple periods: a first low-temperature heating period, a high-temperature heating period, and a second low-temperature heating period. This periodic action allows the system to achieve sufficient inside temperature increase while limiting excessive surface drying by periodically reducing heating intensity.
2Productivity
If high-temperature heating is continued to heat food material at relatively high heating temperature, then the heating time is reduced, but the surface may be burned or the food material may become excessively hardened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary low-temperature heating before high-temperature heating to prepare the food material for subsequent high-temperature treatment. This preliminary action gradually increases the inside temperature to a threshold level while keeping the surface temperature controlled, preventing surface burning before the high-temperature phase begins. The controller monitors temperature changes to determine when to transition to high-temperature heating.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback control by continuously monitoring temperature changes during heating and using this information to control the heating temperature. The controller receives temperature data from sensors and adjusts the heating power accordingly, switching between low-temperature and high-temperature modes based on whether the inside temperature has reached the threshold. This feedback mechanism prevents surface burning by reducing heating intensity when appropriate.
3Device complexity
If single heating mode is used, then the device complexity is reduced, but the ability to appropriately manage surface and inside temperatures is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the heating process into multiple distinct phases with different temperature levels: initial low-temperature heating, high-temperature heating, and final low-temperature heating. Each phase serves a specific purpose in managing the temperature gradient between surface and inside. This segmentation allows precise temperature control without requiring complex hardware, using only a controller that switches between heating modes based on temperature monitoring.
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
This approach allows for precise control of surface and inside temperatures, preventing quality deterioration and ensuring that food is cooked uniformly without burning or excessive drying, effectively managing temperature gradients throughout the cooking process.
Implementation Method 1
a heating portion (20) that heats the heating space (S)
Implementation Method 2
a steam generator (25) that generates steam
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5
AI summary
A heating cooker to manage surface and inside temperatures of food. A heating portion heats inside of a heating space where the food material is placed. At least one processor controls the heating portion to perform driving for high-temperature heating after performing driving for low-temperature heating. During the driving for low-temperature heating, the heating portion may heat the inside of the heating space such that an average increase velocity of a reference temperature of the food material is lower than an average increase velocity of the reference temperature of the food material during the driving for high-temperature heating. During the driving for high-temperature heating, the heating portion may heat the inside of the heating space such that an average increase velocity of the reference temperature of the food material is higher than the average increase velocity of the reference temperature of the food material during the driving for low-temperature heating.