Flexible Induction Cooktop Coil Control for Accurate Load Curves
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flexible induction cooktops face challenges in controlling power delivery due to excessive interactions between numerous coils, leading to increased memory requirements and acquisition time for load curves, making it difficult to adapt quickly to changes in cookware position and thermal effects.
Innovation Solution
The method involves identifying groups of coils underlying cookware items and selectively powering coils while avoiding adjacent coils to prevent interactions, using a threshold distance criterion to determine eligible coils for activation, thereby reducing the number of load curves needed and improving power control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If all possible coil combinations are tracked to ensure accurate power delivery, then power control accuracy is improved, but memory requirements and acquisition time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the unnecessary tracking of coil combinations that do not involve adjacent coils. By removing these redundant combinations from the load curve acquisition process, memory requirements are significantly reduced while maintaining accurate power delivery control for the relevant coil configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the coil control strategy into two distinct cases: adjacent coils (which require sequential activation to prevent interaction) and non-adjacent coils (which can be activated simultaneously). This segmentation allows the system to track only the necessary coil combinations, reducing memory requirements while maintaining control accuracy.
2Measurement precision
If all possible coil combinations are tracked to ensure accurate power delivery, then power control accuracy is improved, but acquisition time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes redundant load curve acquisition for coil combinations that are not needed in practice (non-adjacent coils). This extraction reduces the total number of curves that must be measured and stored, thereby significantly reducing acquisition time while maintaining sufficient accuracy for all relevant cooking scenarios.
Solution Approach 2:
By segmenting the acquisition process into essential (adjacent coil) and non-essential (non-adjacent coil) components, the patent reduces the overall acquisition time by focusing resources only on the critical measurements needed for accurate power delivery control.
3Productivity
If adjacent coils are activated simultaneously to increase power delivery speed, then cooking efficiency is improved, but coil interaction causes control inaccuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic activation of adjacent coils in a sequential manner rather than simultaneous activation. By alternating between adjacent coils in periodic cycles, the system achieves both goals: maintaining accurate power control by avoiding interaction during each individual activation, while still delivering sufficient total power over time to maintain cooking efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent dynamically adjusts the activation pattern of adjacent coils based on their spatial relationship. When coils are adjacent, the system switches to sequential activation mode to prevent interaction; when coils are non-adjacent, simultaneous activation is permitted. This dynamic adaptation optimizes both control accuracy and cooking efficiency for different coil configurations.
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 reduces memory occupation and curve acquisition time, allowing for more accurate power delivery and faster adaptation to changes, ensuring efficient cooking performance without the need to track all possible coil combinations.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of coils that are arranged adjacent to one another in a non-overlapping manner to form an array
Data Source
AI summary
A method is provided for controlling average power delivered to coils of a flexible induction cooktop having a plurality of coils that are arranged adjacent to one another in a non-overlapping manner to form an array. The method includes: a) identifying a group of the plurality of coils that are underlying one or more cookware items; b) providing power to at least one coil of the group of coils underlying one or more cookware items; and c) at the same time, not providing power to coils of the group of coils underlying the cookware items that are adjacent to the at least one coil to which power is provided to prevent interaction between adjacent coils of the group of coils.