Modular multi-cooker
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing multi-cookers are complex, costly, and difficult to clean due to their non-modular design, with passive and active components that are not easily separated or disassembled for cleaning.
Innovation Solution
A modular cooking appliance with separable parts, including a cooking vessel and base unit that can be completely separated from the control and power units, allowing for easy cleaning by submersion in liquid or dishwasher use, featuring a bowl unit, heating unit, and control unit with removable components for simplified maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If existing multi-cookers integrate all components (cooking vessel, control unit, power unit, heating unit) into a single non-modular device, then maximum functionality is achieved, but cleaning becomes difficult and device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cooking appliance is divided into separable modules: a cooking vessel (bowl unit) that can be detached from the base unit containing the control and power components. This segmentation allows the cooking vessel to be easily cleaned and submerged in liquid without exposing the control components, directly resolving the contradiction between ease of cleaning and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit and power unit are extracted from the cooking vessel and placed in a separate base unit. This extraction allows the cooking vessel to be completely separated for cleaning purposes, eliminating the problem of control components being exposed to cleaning liquids while maintaining full functionality when assembled.
2Ease of operation
If existing multi-cookers use integrated passive and active components, then functionality is maintained, but disassembly for cleaning becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The appliance is segmented into a cooking vessel portion and a base unit portion that can be easily separated. This segmentation enables the cooking vessel to be cleaned independently by submersion or dishwasher without affecting the base unit containing the control components, while the modular design actually simplifies manufacturing and assembly compared to integrated designs.
3Ease of operation
If control components are integrated into the cooking vessel, then compact design is achieved, but the cooking vessel cannot be submersed for cleaning
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit is taken out from the cooking vessel and relocated to the base unit. This extraction enables the cooking vessel to be completely submersed in liquid for cleaning without any control components exposed, while the separable connection between the cooking vessel and base unit provides the necessary component separability.
Solution Approach 2:
The appliance is segmented into electrically isolated portions: the cooking vessel (bowl unit) and the base unit containing control components. This segmentation with electrical isolation allows the cooking vessel to be safely submersed for cleaning while maintaining full control functionality when the units are reconnected.
4Ease of operation
If existing multi-cookers have fixed control components, then structural simplicity is maintained, but cleaning requires exposure of control components to liquids
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit is extracted from the cooking vessel and placed in the base unit, which remains outside the cleaning liquid. This extraction allows the cooking vessel to be cleaned by submersion without exposing the control components to liquids, thereby maintaining control component reliability while improving cleaning convenience.
Solution Approach 2:
The appliance is segmented into cleaning-safe portions (cooking vessel) and control portions (base unit). This segmentation allows the cooking vessel to be cleaned by submersion in liquid or placement in a dishwasher without any control components being exposed to water, protecting the control components while enabling convenient cleaning.
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 modular design reduces production costs, enhances ease of cleaning, and maintains maximum functionality by allowing users to clean specific parts without affecting others, improving user convenience and appliance longevity.
Implementation Method 1
a heating unit having an electrical connection... the control unit is configured to interface with and selectively provide power to the heating unit via the electrical connection such that the bowl unit of the cooking vessel is selectively heatable by the heating unit
Data Source
AI summary
A modular cooking appliance includes a cooking vessel having a bowl unit, a lower portion of the bowl unit in contact with a heating unit having an electrical connection, a base unit attachable to and configured to support the cooking vessel, and a control unit operatively connected to the electric connection of the heating unit. The control unit includes one or more controls, and the control unit is configured to interface with and selectively provide power to the heating unit via the electrical connection such that the bowl unit of the cooking vessel is selectively heatable by the heating unit.