Multi-bottle thermal modulation assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices are impractical for simultaneously cooling and warming multiple baby bottles, often requiring separate assemblies and delaying delivery times, and are inefficient for flexible feeding schedules.
Innovation Solution
A multi-bottle thermal modulation assembly with a housing containing heating coils and a mechanical refrigeration unit, controlled by a controller, allows for simultaneous cooling of multiple bottles and selective warming of one bottle to a desired temperature range of 95-104°F.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a single bottle is warmed using a known device, then the bottle reaches the desired temperature, but multiple bottles cannot be cooled simultaneously and delivery time is delayed
Solution Approach 1:
The device divides the warming/cooling function into separate heating coils and cooling elements, each capable of independently processing one or more bottles. This segmentation allows simultaneous cooling of multiple bottles while one is being warmed, eliminating delivery delays.
Solution Approach 2:
The device integrates both heating and cooling functions in a single unit, with multiple heating coils and cooling elements that can handle multiple bottles simultaneously. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate warming and cooling devices, improving productivity.
2Productivity
If multiple bottles are cooled simultaneously, then preservation efficiency is improved, but selective warming capability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The device employs dynamic control through a controller that can selectively activate specific heating coils while maintaining cooling across multiple bottles. This dynamic switching capability allows users to warm any desired bottle from the cooled set, combining high cooling efficiency with selective warming capability.
3Reliability
If separate assemblies are used for cooling and warming, then functional precision is maintained, but device complexity and delivery time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The device merges multiple heating coils and cooling elements into a single integrated assembly with a unified controller. This consolidation maintains the functional precision of separate assemblies while reducing overall device complexity and enabling simultaneous multi-bottle processing, thereby improving delivery time.
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
Efficiently cools multiple bottles while allowing selective warming of one bottle to the desired temperature, preserving the contents and accommodating flexible feeding schedules.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of heating coils each surrounding one of the plurality of housing channels in a helical configuration and operably configured to have a warming mode configured to generate an ambient temperature in a range of 100-350° F.
Implementation Method 2
a mechanical refrigeration unit operably configured to have a cooling mode configured to generate a temperature within the chamber in a range of 32-40° F.
Data Source
AI summary
A multi-bottle thermal modulation assembly that has a housing defining a chamber and a plurality of housing channels each spanning into the chamber for receiving a bottle, a plurality of heating coils each surrounding one of the plurality of housing channels in a helical configuration and operably configured to have a warming mode configured to generate an ambient temperature in a range of 100-350° F., a mechanical refrigeration unit operably configured to have a cooling mode configured to generate a temperature within the chamber in a range of 32-40° F., and a controller communicatively coupled each of the plurality of heating coils and the mechanical refrigeration unit and operably configured to selectively cause the warming mode of one of the plurality of heating coils while the mechanical refrigeration unit is in the cooling mode.