Commercial Oven Program Matching for Mixed-Batch Cooking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Commercial cooking equipment, such as hot-air steamers or fan ovens, are not suitable for Fast-Food or Quick-Service restaurants due to the need for skilled personnel to manually set cooking times and the inability to efficiently handle small quantities of different products, leading to underutilization of equipment capacity.
Innovation Solution
A method that groups products with similar cooking parameters, allowing additional products with the same or similar cooking parameters to be inserted quickly and safely during the cooking process, optimizing equipment capacity by using a touch panel interface and barcoding for easy operation, preventing incorrect loading and enabling central programming of cooking programs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual selection and entry of cooking parameters is used, then cooking equipment can be operated, but unskilled personnel cannot correctly operate the equipment leading to errors
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs automatic self-service by reading the product code automatically when placed in the cooking chamber and autonomously selecting and executing the appropriate cooking program, eliminating the need for manual parameter entry by unskilled personnel while ensuring reliable operation
Solution Approach 2:
The manual mechanical system of selecting and entering cooking parameters is replaced with an automatic electronic identification system that reads product codes and retrieves cooking programs from memory, substituting human operation with automated electronic control
2Productivity
If cooking equipment is designed for full capacity utilization, then equipment capacity is maximized, but small quantities of different products cannot be efficiently produced
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adapts to varying production needs by allowing independent programming and execution of multiple different cooking programs simultaneously, enabling flexible adjustment from small quantities of one product to mixed products without requiring full capacity utilization
Solution Approach 2:
The cooking equipment achieves multi-functionality by being capable of running multiple different cooking programs at the same time with independent control for each level, making it universally adaptable to various product types and quantities without sacrificing productivity
3Productivity
If multiple products with different cooking parameters are cooked simultaneously, then equipment capacity is utilized, but incorrect loading and mixing of cooking programs occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The cooking equipment is divided into multiple independent levels, each with its own code reader and program execution system, allowing simultaneous cooking of different products with different parameters while preventing mixing through physical and electronic segmentation of each cooking zone
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure is a method of operating a commercial cooking equipment, in particular a hot-air steamer or fan oven, comprising the following method steps:a) selecting a product requiring cooking having an assigned cooking program or selecting at least one cooking parameter having assigned selectable products;b) loading the cooking equipment with a selected product;c) starting the associated cooking program;d) displaying the name of the program and at least the remaining cooking time;e) associating in automated manner further products or cooking programs that fit in with the cooking program of the first selected product in dependence on cooking parameters, in particular, the cooking temperature and/or the cooking humidity and/or the fan speed;f) displaying the selectable products or selectable cooking programs;g) selecting, on demand, a further product which matches the first product in accordance with the associating process;h) loading the cooking equipment with the further product;i) starting the assigned cooking program;j) displaying the name of the program and at least the remaining cooking time for the further product;k) if necessary, repeating the steps g) to j); andl) removing the product from the cooking equipment at the expiry of the respective cooking time.