Single-Piece Paper Cooking Mold with Undulated External Layer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooking molds for pastry products like panettone cakes are complex to assemble, prone to non-homogeneous cooking due to uneven glue distribution, and costly to produce, with undulated paper materials making deep-drawing and folding operations difficult, leading to potential breakage and inefficient heat distribution.
Innovation Solution
A cooking mold made from a single-piece paper material with a smooth internal layer and an undulated external layer, featuring a sinusoidal profile and troughs to enhance flexibility and ease of manipulation, allowing for correct support, containment, and homogeneous cooking, while reducing production costs through a simpler assembly process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a single-piece paper material with undulated external layer is used, then flexibility and ease of manipulation are improved, but manufacturing complexity increases due to deep-drawing and folding difficulties
Solution Approach 1:
The paper material is segmented into two distinct layers: a smooth internal layer and an undulated external layer. This segmentation allows each layer to perform its specific function - the smooth layer provides ease of manipulation and folding, while the undulated layer provides structural strength and stiffness, resolving the contradiction between flexibility and manufacturing difficulty
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a composite paper structure combining smooth and undulated layers. This composite material approach allows the mold to simultaneously exhibit flexibility (from the smooth layer) and rigidity (from the undulated layer), enabling easy manipulation during assembly while maintaining structural integrity during cooking
2Stability of the object's composition
If glue is used to assemble base and lateral wall, then structural stability is improved, but manufacturing complexity and production costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The base and lateral wall are merged into a single-piece structure formed from one continuous sheet of paper material. This eliminates the need for separate assembly operations and glue application, while the undulated layer provides the necessary structural stability to maintain the mold's shape during cooking without additional fastening materials
Solution Approach 2:
The glue assembly step is completely extracted from the manufacturing process. By designing the mold as a single-piece structure with integrated base and lateral wall, the invention removes the complexity of glue application, drying time, and associated equipment while maintaining structural integrity through the paper's inherent properties
3Strength
If undulated paper layer is used for external surface, then structural strength is improved, but heat distribution uniformity worsens due to uneven glue distribution
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the paper into smooth and undulated layers, the invention places the undulated layer on the external surface for strength while the smooth internal layer contacts the food product. This segmentation ensures that heat distribution is not compromised by glue application issues, as the smooth layer provides uniform thermal contact regardless of how the external undulated layer is assembled
4Adaptability or versatility
If separate base and lateral wall components are used, then manufacturing flexibility is improved, but production time and waste increase due to separate punching and assembly
Solution Approach 1:
The base and lateral wall are merged into a single-piece structure that can be produced in one continuous manufacturing operation. This eliminates the need for separate punching, handling, and assembly steps, significantly improving production efficiency while reducing material waste from multiple cutting operations
Solution Approach 2:
The single-piece paper structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it forms both the base and lateral wall, provides structural strength through undulations, ensures uniform heat distribution through the smooth internal layer, and eliminates the need for additional assembly materials. This multi-functionality resolves the contradiction between manufacturing flexibility and production efficiency
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 mold is highly flexible, preventing breakage during manipulation, ensuring uniform cooking, and simplifying the production process, resulting in an economical and efficient cooking solution with improved product quality and reduced waste.
Implementation Method 1
The first layer (8) defines a part of the internal surface (3a) of the housing compartment (5) and comprises at least a coating layer (15) made of a plastic material configured so as to cover the surface (3a)
Implementation Method 2
The second layer (9) defines at least a part of the external surface (3b) of the base (3). The second layer (9) comprises a plurality of undulations (10), each of which extends along a first trajectory (T1)
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~7
AI summary
A cooking mould (1) for food products comprising: a base made of a paper material, a lateral wall (4) also made of a paper sheet material, and emerging transversally from the base (3). The base (3) and the lateral wall (4) define a convex housing compartment (5) configured so as to contain one or more food products; the lateral wall (4), on the opposite side with respect to the base, defining a free edge (6) delimiting the housing compartment (5) which in turn defines an opening (7) located in an upper part of the mould (1). The paper material of the lateral wall (4) comprises: a first layer (8) made of a substantially smooth paper material; a second layer (9) made of paper material, opposite the first layer (8). The second layer (9) is an undulated surface exhibiting a plurality of undulations (10), each of which extends along a first prevalent development trajectory (T1), the second layer (9) further comprising a plurality of troughs (13) defined along the first trajectory (T1) of the undulations (10) so as to define thereon a plurality of height reductions thereof.