Adjustable Heating for Jam Brewing With Foam Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing household appliances for food preparation, particularly those used for making jams, struggle to prevent excessive foam formation, leading to raw material loss and compromised product quality due to inadequate temperature control and heating power management.
Innovation Solution
A household food preparation appliance with a controlled cooking cycle comprising multiple phases, where the electric heating element and motor operate at varying power levels to manage temperature and reduce foaming, including a high-power initial phase for rapid heating, followed by lower power phases to control boiling and evaporate water, ensuring optimal cooking conditions for jams and other viscous preparations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If high heating power is used throughout the cooking process, then rapid heating and short cooking time are achieved, but excessive foam formation and raw material loss occur
Solution Approach 1:
The cooking process is divided into multiple phases with different heating power levels. The first phase uses high power (≥200W/L) for rapid heating, while the second phase uses lower power (<200W/L, preferably <160W/L) to control foam formation. This segmentation of the heating process resolves the contradiction between cooking speed and raw material loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The heating power is dynamically adjusted during the cooking process based on the phase. The control means automatically transitions from high power in the first phase to lower power in the second phase, making the heating system adaptive rather than static. This dynamic adjustment allows rapid initial heating while preventing excessive foaming in later stages.
2Loss of substance
If heating power is reduced to control foaming, then raw material loss is minimized, but cooking time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The high-power first phase performs the preliminary action of rapid heating and water evaporation before the lower-power second phase begins. By quickly reducing water content in the initial phase, the subsequent phase can operate at lower power without extending total cooking time significantly, as the bulk of the heating work is already done.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooking process uses periodic action with distinct phases. The first phase provides intense heating for a limited period to achieve rapid temperature rise, then transitions to a second phase with reduced power for the remaining duration. This periodic variation in power delivery optimizes both cooking time and foam control.
3Stability of the object's composition
If continuous stirring is maintained at high power, then homogeneous cooking is achieved, but foam formation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stirring operation is segmented to match the heating phases. During the first high-power phase, continuous stirring ensures homogeneous heating. During the second lower-power phase, stirring is maintained but at reduced intensity, which continues to promote homogeneity while minimizing foam generation from aggressive agitation combined with low-power heating.
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 appliance effectively minimizes foam formation and raw material loss by precisely managing heating power and temperature, ensuring consistent and high-quality cooking results for jams and other viscous preparations.
Implementation Method 1
means for heating the cooking tank comprising at least one electric heating element
Implementation Method 2
a second cooking phase whose duration is determined according to the chosen duration and during which the electric motor operates and the average power delivered by the heating element is lower to 200W per liter
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 3
AI summary
The appliance has an electrical heating element for delivering an average power equal to 200 watt per liter of contents of a cooking vessel (5) during operating of an electrical motor in a cooking phase of a cooking cycle. Temperature is measured in for determining an end of the cooking phase relative to a cooking setpoint temperature. Duration of an extraction phase of the cycle is determined with respect to a duration selected by a user. The element delivers the power less than 160 watt per liter of contents of the vessel during operating of the motor in the extraction phase.