Induction Cooker Flame Projection for Clear Heating Indication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Induction heating cookers lack a clear visual indication of the heating state, making it difficult for users to recognize the cooking vessel's heating status from a distance or without direct observation, as they do not produce flames and existing display units have poor recognition quality.
Innovation Solution
The induction heating cooker incorporates reinforced heat-resistant glass, induction coil units, LEDs, convex lenses, a light blocking film with a slit, and a heat insulating partition wall to create a virtual image of flames on the cooking vessel, enhancing visibility and realism of the heating state.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If a general display unit is used to show heating state, then the heating state can be displayed, but the recognition quality is poor and difficult to perceive from a distance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual image of real flames on the cooking vessel surface by projecting light through a flame pattern template. This optical copy replicates the visual appearance of actual flames, providing intuitive visual feedback that matches users' expectations of a gas stove, thereby resolving the poor recognition quality issue while maintaining visibility from a distance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses color-changing LEDs that emit different wavelengths of light to create the flame effect. By controlling the color and intensity of the projected light, the system simulates the dynamic appearance of real flames, enhancing visibility and recognition quality simultaneously.
2Device complexity
If LEDs are placed close to the induction coil unit, then the structure is compact, but the flame image becomes distorted and unrealistic
Solution Approach 1:
The patent positions the LEDs in a plane below the cooking surface rather than adjacent to the coil, utilizing the vertical dimension. This spatial arrangement allows light to travel upward through the flame pattern template, creating an undistorted virtual flame image on the cooking vessel while maintaining a compact overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The flame pattern template acts as an intermediary element between the LEDs and the cooking vessel. It shapes and directs the light from the LEDs to form a realistic flame image, decoupling the LED position from the flame image quality and allowing structural compactness without compromising realism.
3Illumination intensity
If the slit is made thicker to allow more light through, then the flame image is brighter, but the realism and definition of the flame reduces
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the brightness of individual LEDs to compensate for the light-blocking effect of the slit. By increasing LED intensity selectively, the system maintains flame image definition while achieving sufficient brightness, resolving the trade-off between slit thickness and image quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The LEDs are controlled to flicker periodically, simulating the natural variability of real flames. This temporal modulation enhances the perceived realism of the flame image, allowing the use of a relatively thick slit while maintaining the illusion of a realistic, dynamic flame.
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 solution allows users to intuitively recognize the heating state with a flame image that mimics real flames in height, width, and volume, improving perceived quality and usability, even when the cooking vessel is of varying sizes or positioned off-center.
Implementation Method 1
an induction coil unit provided under the cooking plate and configured to generate a magnetic field according application of an electric current
Implementation Method 2
a secondary current is induced at the cooking vessel and thus Joule's heat is generated due to resistance components of the cooking vessel
Implementation Method 3
The plurality of convex lenses are provided on front surfaces of the plurality of LEDs, respectively
Data Source
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AI summary
An induction heating cooker including reinforced heat resistant glass on which a cooking vessel is placed, an induction coil unit located under the reinforced heat resistant glass and configured to generate a magnetic field, a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) provided radially outside and vertically below the induction coil unit while being spaced apart from each other along a circumferential direction of the induction coil unit, a plurality of convex lenses provided on front surfaces of the plurality of LEDs, respectively, a light blocking film provided on a lower surface of the reinforced heat resistant glass, and a slit formed in the light blocking film and allowing light radiated from the plurality of LEDs to pass therethrough, so that light radiated from the LEDs are slantingly projected to form an image of a flame, which looks real, on a lower end portion of a side surface of the cooking vessel.