Pan Tilt Control for Uniform Liquid Pouring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooking appliances with tilting containers experience inconsistent pouring behavior due to manual tilting, leading to spills and safety risks, especially when handling different products and fill levels, requiring significant operator experience.
Innovation Solution
A method that determines and controls the tilt angle and its derivatives based on crucible geometry, fill level, and liquid properties to achieve a stepless and uniform pouring process, using sensors and a control device to optimize the tilting movement and prevent spills.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual tilting is used by pulsing the drive device, then the user can control the pouring process, but the pouring behavior becomes inconsistent and requires significant operator experience
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical control with an automated control system that uses sensors to detect liquid level and drive device commands to control tilting movement. This substitution eliminates the inconsistency of manual operation while maintaining pouring control capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service operation where the cooking appliance automatically controls the tilting process based on sensor feedback and pre-programmed parameters, eliminating the need for operator experience and manual intervention.
2Productivity
If the pan is tilted quickly to pour out liquid, then the pouring process is fast, but the liquid can vibrate and spill over the edge
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic control of the tilting process by adjusting the tilting speed and angle based on real-time sensor feedback. The system optimizes the pouring speed to prevent liquid vibration and spillage while maintaining efficient pouring, resolving the contradiction between speed and stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses sensor feedback to monitor the liquid level and pouring process, automatically adjusting the tilting movement to prevent spillage. This closed-loop control enables fast pouring while maintaining liquid containment.
3Reliability
If automated control is implemented to eliminate manual tilting, then pouring consistency improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control device is integrated into the existing cooking appliance architecture, serving multiple functions including heating control, safety monitoring, and pouring control. This multi-functionality approach minimizes additional complexity while achieving automated pouring consistency.
4Speed
If the drive device is made more powerful to enable faster tilting, then the pouring process becomes quicker, but the risk of liquid spilling increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the tilting speed profile based on the pouring stage and liquid characteristics. The drive device operates at high speed when appropriate but slows down when liquid vibration risk increases, achieving fast pouring without spillage.
Data Source
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AI summary
The method involves tilting a pan (1) around a tilting angle between two angular positions for pouring liquid contents. The angular positions are adjusted by a control device (35) of a cooking device. The angle and two derivatives of the angle are determined based on a geometrical dimension of the pan. Width of a pan base, height and depth of the pan, an inclination angle of a wall, cross section form, circumferential form, quantity and/or inclination of a base surface, circumferential length, balance volumes and/or standard size of an outlet and/or the pan is utilized as the dimension.