Commercial Oven Energy Monitoring for Malfunction Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Professional cooking equipment lacks the ability to detect minor malfunctions in sensors and electromechanical components, leading to systematic errors and increased power consumption, despite the importance of accurate control and energy efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A cooking equipment with sensors, a control device, and a processing unit that compares expected and actual energy consumption levels to detect malfunctions, using stored data patterns to identify deviations and locate faulty components, thereby enabling timely maintenance actions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If professional ovens use complex control systems with multiple sensors and components, then cooking parameter control quality improves, but device complexity increases and maintenance difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the control unit continuously monitors energy consumption data from the energy source and compares it against expected values stored in memory. When deviations indicate potential malfunctions, the system generates alerts for maintenance. This feedback loop enables proactive detection of sensor drift and component degradation without increasing operational complexity during cooking.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-diagnosis by automatically monitoring its own energy consumption patterns and comparing them against predetermined thresholds. The control unit acts as both the operational controller and the diagnostic system, eliminating the need for separate monitoring hardware and reducing overall system complexity while maintaining high measurement precision.
2Device complexity
If professional ovens operate without malfunction detection, then device complexity remains low, but power consumption increases due to undetected sensor drift and component failures
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring of energy consumption occurs continuously during normal cooking operations without interrupting the cooking process. The control unit simultaneously manages cooking parameters and monitors energy usage, ensuring continuous detection of malfunctions while maintaining uninterrupted useful action of food preparation.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit serves multiple functions: it controls cooking parameters, manages energy sources, stores expected energy consumption data, performs real-time monitoring, and generates maintenance alerts. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate dedicated monitoring hardware, keeping the detection system simple while effectively reducing energy loss through timely malfunction detection.
3Reliability
If professional ovens lack malfunction detection capabilities, then ease of operation is maintained, but reliability decreases due to undetected sensor drift and component failures
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides automatic feedback through alerts when malfunctions are detected, eliminating the need for operators to manually monitor sensor performance or interpret cooking quality issues. This feedback mechanism enhances reliability by ensuring timely detection of sensor drift and component failures while maintaining ease of operation through automated monitoring and alerting.
Solution Approach 2:
The oven performs self-monitoring and self-diagnosis of its components, automatically detecting when sensors drift or components fail. This self-service capability improves reliability without burdening the operator with additional monitoring tasks, thereby maintaining operational simplicity while significantly enhancing system reliability.
4Productivity
If professional ovens implement comprehensive malfunction detection and monitoring, then productivity improves through timely maintenance, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The feedback mechanism provides timely alerts about potential malfunctions, enabling preventive maintenance before actual failures occur. This allows kitchen staff to schedule maintenance during off-peak hours rather than experiencing unexpected breakdowns during service, thereby improving productivity through better maintenance planning while keeping the monitoring system relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically monitors and diagnoses its own components, generating maintenance alerts without requiring external monitoring equipment or complex diagnostic procedures. This self-service approach improves maintenance efficiency by providing early warnings that enable proactive scheduling, while avoiding the complexity of elaborate monitoring systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A cooking equipment includes an oven cavity (2); at least one energy source (3), operable to provide energy to food placed inside the oven cavity (2); a plurality of sensors (5), configured to provide respective measurement signals (STC, STWR, STWI, STE, STF1, . . . , STFN, SH), indicative of respective quantities relating to a cooking process for cooking food in the oven cavity (2); and a control device (8), having at least one cooking program stored therein and configured to drive the at least one energy source (3) in accordance with the cooking program, based on the measurement signals (STC, STWR, STWI, STE, STF1, . . . , STFN, SH) from the sensors (5). The cooking equipment also includes a storage unit (13), which contains first data (14, 15) indicative of energy required to carry out the at least one cooking program; and a processing unit (11), configured to determine, for the cooking program, an expected energy consumption level (EECL) from the first data (14, 15) and an actual energy consumption level (AECL) and to detect the presence of a malfunction based on a comparison of the expected energy consumption level (EECL) and of the actual energy consumption level (AECL).