Pressure Cooker Safety Valve With Retained Steam-Release Body
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pressure cooking appliances face challenges with complex and costly safety valve designs that are difficult to modify for adjusting safety pressure levels, pose food safety risks, and can be irreversibly damaged during overpressure events, leading to user safety concerns and high maintenance costs.
Innovation Solution
A safety valve with a flexible body and shutter that allows steam escape when pressure reaches specific safety levels, featuring a retaining member to prevent separation and ensure a unitary assembly, made from non-metallic materials for easy sealing and cleaning, and designed for simple, compact, and inexpensive construction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If complex safety valve designs (spring-loaded, ejectable finger, fuse valves) are used to ensure overpressure safety, then safety reliability is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The safety valve is divided into two independent functional components: a first safety valve with a shutter mechanism for primary overpressure protection, and a second safety valve with a flexible body for ultimate safety protection. Each component operates independently at different pressure thresholds, providing layered safety without requiring a single complex mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible body of the second safety valve is designed as a sacrificial component that deforms permanently after activation. Once the flexible body deforms to release pressure, it cannot return to its original sealing position and must be replaced, providing ultimate safety at low cost without compromising the reusable main valve.
2Reliability
If fusible material is used in safety valves to achieve predetermined pressure release, then safety function is improved, but food safety risk increases due to material residues
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible body is designed as a disposable component made from food-safe materials that can be replaced after activation. Unlike fusible materials that leave residues, the flexible body simply deforms and can be removed and replaced, eliminating contamination risks while maintaining safety functionality.
3Reliability
If metal components are deformed to create ultimate safety release, then overpressure protection is improved, but the pressure cooker becomes irreparably damaged and unusable
Solution Approach 1:
The safety system separates the ultimate protection function from the main cooking chamber structure. The flexible body of the second safety valve is a dedicated sacrificial component that absorbs the deformation, while the main pressure cooker components remain intact and reusable after the flexible body is replaced.
4Reliability
If spring-loaded safety valves are used for overpressure protection, then safety function is provided, but manufacturing cost and complexity increase while cleaning becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The second safety valve uses a simple flexible body without complex springs or mechanisms. This simplified design reduces manufacturing cost and allows easy cleaning or replacement of the flexible body, while still providing ultimate safety protection through pressure-induced deformation.
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 solution provides a safe, reliable, and reversible safety valve that prevents overpressure and allows air purging, ensuring user safety while being easy to assemble and maintain, with a design that prevents incorrect reassembly from causing pressure buildup.
Implementation Method 1
said flexible body is designed to leave its sealing position in order to allow steam to escape through said orifice when the pressure prevailing in the apparatus reaches a second safety level
Implementation Method 2
said shutter being designed to leave its closed position in order to allow steam to escape through said opening when the pressure prevailing in the device reaches a first level of safety
Data Source
Figure 1~5
Figure 6~12
Figure 13~18
AI summary
The valve (1) has a flexible body including an opening (5), and a closing element (6) embedded in the body for occupying a closing position of the opening. The body is designed to leave from a sealing position so as to allow escape of steam through an orifice of a cooking appliance when pressure in the appliance reaches a safety level. A retaining unit (8) is formed of a part of the body, and prevents separation of the appliance and the body once the body is left from the sealing position.