Magnetic method for determining a cooking appliance characteristic
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooking appliances require users to manually select cooking temperatures or hob settings, which can be inconvenient, especially when hands are wet or contaminated with food residue, and existing solutions with radio transmitters are expensive and prone to moisture damage.
Innovation Solution
A cooking appliance with a plurality of magnets that provide a magnetic code identifying its characteristics, allowing the cooking hob to automatically set the necessary settings without the need for radio transmitters, using magnetic field sensors to decode the orientation of the magnets for determining the appliance's type and cooking profile.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a radio transmitter is used to communicate appliance characteristics to the cooking hob, then wireless communication capability is achieved, but the device complexity and cost increase due to additional circuitry and battery requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the communication function from electronic circuitry to magnetic field interaction. Instead of using a radio transmitter with battery and circuit board, the appliance uses permanent magnets embedded in its base that generate magnetic field patterns detectable by the hob's sensors, eliminating the need for power sources and complex electronics in the appliance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the electromagnetic radio communication system with a magnetic field-based detection system. The cooking hob uses magnetic field sensors to detect the orientation and presence of magnets on the appliance, translating magnetic field patterns into appliance characteristic data without requiring electronic transmitters.
2Ease of operation
If a radio transmitter is installed in the cooking appliance, then communication with the cooking hob is enabled, but reliability decreases due to moisture exposure risk during washing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes all electronic communication components from the appliance that could be exposed to moisture. The magnetic magnets are sealed within the appliance structure, and the communication function is achieved through their magnetic field interaction with the hob's sensors, completely eliminating moisture exposure risks for circuitry.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces magnetic field as an intermediary medium between the appliance and the cooking hob. The magnets on the appliance communicate characteristics to the hob through magnetic field patterns that can penetrate non-magnetic materials, providing reliable communication without direct electrical or electronic contact that could be compromised by moisture.
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 convenient and accurate automatic setting of cooking parameters, eliminating the need for user interaction when hands are wet or contaminated, and reduces costs by eliminating the requirement for radio transmitters, while ensuring robustness against moisture.
Implementation Method 1
a magnetic code is determined by the orientation of the poles of said plurality of magnets (106), wherein said magnetic code identifies at least one characteristic of the cooking appliance
Data Source
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AI summary
A cooking appliance, an induction cooking hob (400) and a method (1000) of determining a characteristic of the cooking appliance. The cooking appliance (100) has vessel (102) containing a chamber (104). There are magnets (106) mounted to the vessel (102), the magnets (106) provide a code that identifies a characteristic of the cooking appliance (100). There is an appliance positioning interlock (110) for operatively coupling with an appliance positioning interlock engagement member (406) of the cooking hob (400) to thereby position the cooking appliance (100) on the cooking hob (400) In a predefined location. The cooking hob (400) has sensors (414) so that when the appliance (100) is at the predefined location the sensors (414) can detect and decode the magnetic field code to identify the characteristic This characteristic is used to define a cooking profile to heat of the appliance to a desired temperature and optionally the appliance is heated for a predefined time.