Ladle With Flexible Guide and Deformer to Minimize Food Overflow
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing ladle designs with lids face difficulties in moving food efficiently due to the lid interfering with the movement and failing to return to the opening position, leading to food overflow issues during transfer.
Innovation Solution
A ladle with a flexible guide and a deformer mechanism that changes the shape of the guide to minimize overflow, featuring a disc-shaped flexible guide that can be transformed into a funnel shape using magnets or motors to facilitate smooth food transfer, integrated with a robot arm for controlled movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a lid is provided on the ladle to minimize food overflow, then food containment is improved, but the lid interrupts the movement of the ladle and fails to return to the opening position
Solution Approach 1:
The lid is changed from a fixed structure to a flexible guide that can dynamically change its shape and position. The flexible guide can be deformed between different states (open and closed positions) to adapt to different operational requirements, allowing it to contain food when needed and not interfere with movement when not needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The physical state and shape of the lid are changed by applying magnetic fields. The deformer uses electromagnetic attraction to alter the shape of the flexible guide, transforming it from a state that interferes with movement to a state that contains food, and vice versa. This parameter change resolves the contradiction by making the lid's properties adaptable rather than fixed.
2Reliability
If the flexible guide is changed to a funnel shape to guide food back into the ladle, then food overflow is minimized, but the device complexity increases due to the deformer mechanism
Solution Approach 1:
The traditional mechanical deformation mechanism (such as motors, linkages, or actuators) is replaced with a magnetic field-based deformer. Electromagnets or permanent magnets are used to exert forces on the flexible guide material, causing it to change shape without complex mechanical components. This substitution reduces device complexity while achieving the desired shape transformation for food guidance.
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 ladle effectively minimizes food overflow and enables rapid, efficient transfer of food by changing the shape of the flexible guide to guide food back into the ladle, allowing for increased capacity and rapid movement, while the robot arm ensures precise control during the cooking process.
Implementation Method 1
the deformer may include a permanent magnet installed in the flexible guide. In addition, the deformer may further include an electromagnet installed on in the handle or the main body to exert attraction force or repulsive force on the permanent magnet
Implementation Method 2
the deformer may further include an electromagnet installed on in the handle or the main body to exert attraction force or repulsive force on the permanent magnet
Data Source
AI summary
The ladle includes a ladle body including a main body having a handle and a space for containing food, a flexible guide having a connection end connected with an upper portion of the main body, and a deformer to change a shape of the flexible guide such that an angle of a top surface of the flexible guide is varied.