Portable Collapsible Cooker with Integrated Drip Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooking devices lack portability, stability, and efficient debris management, making them inconvenient for outdoor use and food warming/canning applications.
Innovation Solution
A portable combination cooker with a collapsible design featuring a mechanically coupled top and bottom, retractable legs, a handle for safe lifting, and a drip-cup for debris collection, allowing for stable operation and easy disposal of waste.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If a portable cooker is designed to be collapsible for easy storage and transport, then portability is improved, but structural stability during operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The cooker is divided into collapsible walls that can be folded flat for portability, while the bottom remains as a separate stable base with support structures. This segmentation allows the moving walls to be compact while the stationary bottom provides operational stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The walls are designed to be dynamically collapsible and expandable, transitioning between a compact flat state for transport and an expanded three-dimensional structure for cooking. The mechanical coupling allows smooth transition while maintaining stability in the operational state.
2Ease of manufacture
If the top cooking surface is mechanically coupled to the walls for easy assembly, then ease of manufacture is improved, but structural integrity deteriorates when collapsed
Solution Approach 1:
The top cooking surface is merged with the wall structure through mechanical coupling, creating a unified assembly that simplifies manufacturing and assembly. The coupling mechanism ensures the top remains securely attached to the walls during both collapsed and operational states.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the bottom is counter-recessed to add support stability, then structural stability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bottom is designed with a counter-recessed feature that extends downward, adding vertical dimension to the base structure. This dimensional change provides enhanced support stability by lowering the center of gravity and increasing the base footprint, while the recessed design integrates smoothly with the wall structure.
4Ease of operation
If a handle is added for safe lifting, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
A handle is introduced as an intermediary component between the user and the cooker body. The handle serves as a dedicated gripping interface that allows safe lifting and handling without requiring direct contact with the cooking surfaces or structural components, thereby improving ease of operation with minimal added complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, a portable combination cooking apparatus that has a collapsible unit with at least four walls, a top, and a bottom that are all mechanically coupled together. The top includes a groove for draining undesirable elements such as grease from a cooking surface. Other embodiments are also disclosed.