Kicker Mechanism for Dough Transfer in Compact Food Appliances
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conveyor belts are not feasible in portable food preparation appliances due to design compactness and cleaning constraints, as dough products tend to stick, necessitating a compact and efficient dough transfer solution.
Innovation Solution
A kicker unit comprising a curved heat-resistant kicker, encoder, sensor, and motor, along with dual platens and a linear system, detects stickiness and adjusts movement force to transfer flattened dough from one platen to another, using software control and heating to manage stickiness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conveyor belts are used to transfer dough products, then the dough transfer is effective, but the device complexity and cleaning requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential function of dough transfer from the complex conveyor belt system and implements it using a simple kicker mechanism that pushes the dough from one platen to another, eliminating the need for elaborate belt systems while maintaining transfer effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a conveyor belt to pull or carry the dough, the invention uses a kicker to push the dough forward, inverting the conventional approach of dough transfer and achieving simpler mechanics with fewer moving parts
2Productivity
If conveyor belts are used to transfer dough products, then the dough transfer is effective, but the cleaning requirements increase due to dough sticking
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the conveyor belt component that causes sticking and cleaning issues, replacing it with a kicker mechanism that has minimal contact with the dough surface, thereby reducing cleaning requirements while maintaining transfer effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The kicker acts as an intermediary that transfers the dough between platens without the dough sticking to it, using a non-stick coating or material that prevents adhesion and simplifies cleaning operations
3Speed
If the kicker applies more force to move the flattened dough, then the transfer speed increases, but the stickiness detection accuracy decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs stickiness detection before applying full transfer force, using the initial gentle contact phase to measure resistance and determine the appropriate force level for the subsequent transfer action, ensuring both accuracy and speed
Solution Approach 2:
The kicker mechanism dynamically adjusts its force application based on real-time feedback from the stickiness detection phase, optimizing the balance between transfer speed and detection accuracy by modulating the force profile during the transfer operation
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
Effectively transfers flattened dough with minimal design compromise and cleaning requirements, ensuring efficient and compact operation by detecting and mitigating stickiness through controlled movement and heating.
Implementation Method 1
The curved part of the kicker touches the outer ridge of the flattened dough to measure the first resistance
Implementation Method 2
In one embodiment, the encoder, measures the distance traveled by the kicker
Implementation Method 3
The kicker also houses an encoder, sensor, and a motor to control the movements of the kicker
Implementation Method 4
the heat of the first platen is modulated to decrease the stickiness of the flattened dough
Data Source
AI summary
A kicker unit and the method of using the kicker unit are described. The kicker unit along with its sensor, motor and embedded software makes this novel invention to self-guide the movement of the flattened dough from flattening platen to cooking platen. The sensor and motor based movement control of the kicker enables the flattened dough to successfully move without being disfigured and remain round and flat. The curved shape of the kicker base enables the flattened dough to be transported in good shape.