A smart and quiet liquid heater
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional liquid heaters consume excessive energy when heating small amounts of liquid and pose safety risks due to inefficient heat transfer and noise generation, as heating elements are often arranged on lateral surfaces or at the base, leading to uneven heating and loud operation.
Innovation Solution
A smart liquid heater with a control unit that adjusts the number and power of heating elements based on liquid level, using a movement mechanism to position heating elements optimally for efficient and quiet operation, ensuring homogeneous heating regardless of liquid volume.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If heating elements are arranged on the lateral surface of the receptacle to enable homogeneous heat dissipation and reduce noise, then the sound level is decreased and heat distribution is improved, but the minimum amount of liquid that can be heated increases and safety problems occur when heating smaller amounts
Solution Approach 1:
The heating system is divided into multiple independent heating elements arranged at different positions (base and lateral surfaces) of the receptacle. The control unit selectively activates specific heating elements based on the detected liquid level, ensuring safe operation for small liquid amounts while maintaining low noise operation for larger amounts.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the receptacle are equipped with heating elements having different functions: base heating elements provide intense localized heating for small liquid volumes, while lateral surface heating elements provide distributed heating for larger volumes. The control unit selects which region to activate based on liquid level detection.
2Productivity
If multiple heating elements are used and arranged on the lateral surfaces to heat different amounts of liquid in the same time, then heating speed is improved, but energy consumption increases when heating relatively small amounts of water
Solution Approach 1:
The heating system dynamically adapts its configuration based on liquid level. The control unit detects the liquid level and selectively activates the appropriate number and position of heating elements, transitioning between different heating modes (base-only, base+lateral, or multiple lateral elements) to optimize the balance between heating speed and energy consumption for each specific liquid volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes operational parameters (which heating elements are active, how many elements are active) based on the liquid level parameter. This allows the heating capacity to be matched to the actual liquid volume, maintaining high heating speed for large volumes while reducing energy consumption for small volumes.
3Reliability
If heating elements are provided only at the base of the receptacle to minimize the minimum liquid amount, then safety is improved for small amounts, but the heating time increases for larger amounts of liquid
Solution Approach 1:
The heating system is segmented into base heating elements and lateral surface heating elements. For small liquid volumes, only base elements are activated to ensure safety. For larger volumes, lateral elements are additionally activated to increase heating capacity and reduce heating time, achieving both safety and efficiency.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If heating elements are arranged on lateral surfaces to enable homogeneous heat dissipation, then noise is reduced, but the minimum amount of liquid that can be heated increases
Solution Approach 1:
Different regions are equipped with heating elements suited to different liquid volumes. Base heating elements handle small volumes with concentrated heating, while lateral surface elements handle larger volumes with distributed heating. This local specialization allows the system to maintain low noise operation for large volumes while supporting small volume heating without increasing the minimum liquid requirement.
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
Enables heating or boiling of different liquid amounts in the same time without increasing energy consumption or safety risks, while reducing noise and ensuring efficient heat transfer through adaptive control of heating element positions and power.
Implementation Method 1
the heating elements are arranged on the lateral surface and preferably also on the base of the body... heating elements (3) that are arranged on the side walls and preferably also at the base of the body (2)... enables at least two of a plurality of heating elements arranged on the lateral surface
Implementation Method 2
at least one level sensor (4) that enables the liquid level (h) in the body (2) to be measured
Implementation Method 3
the control unit (5) increases the power supplied to the heating elements (3) if the liquid level (h) is above a predetermined second limit level (lim2)
Implementation Method 4
a movement mechanism (6) that is controlled by the control unit (5) and that enables the heating elements (3) on the lateral surfaces of the body (2) to be moved up and down
Implementation Method 5
The heating element enables the formation of small vapor bubbles by providing a plurality of nucleation areas for the formation of bubbles
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a liquid heater (1 ) comprising a body (2) wherein the heating/boiling process is performed; a plurality of heating elements (3) that are arranged on the side walls or the base of the body (2), and at least one level sensor (4) that enables the liquid level (h) in the body (2) to be measured.