Pressurized Cooking Chamber Valves for Fast Food Cooking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for fast cooking foods, such as pasta, are mechanically complex, energy-intensive, and prone to food waste due to adhesion to chamber walls, with limited versatility in cooking different types of food.
Innovation Solution
A device with a pressurized boiler and cooking chambers where shut-off valves are operated by pressurized liquid, reducing external energy needs, incorporating jutting elements to prevent food adhesion, and allowing multiple parallel cooking chambers for various food types.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If shut-off valves are operated by external motors or mechanical mechanisms, then reliable sealing closure is achieved, but device complexity and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The shut-off valve utilizes the pressurized liquid already present in the cooking chamber to actuate the piston and open the valve, eliminating the need for external motors or complex mechanical mechanisms. The system serves itself by using its own operational fluid (pressurized water) to control the valve operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs hydraulic principles by using pressurized liquid to move the piston in the shut-off valve. The pressurized water from the cooking chamber directly acts on the piston to open the valve, converting hydraulic pressure into mechanical motion for valve actuation.
2Reliability
If traditional shut-off valves are used, then sealing closure is achieved, but energy consumption increases due to external power requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the pressurized liquid already present in the cooking chamber to actuate the valve, eliminating the need for external energy sources. The pressurized water serves dual purposes: cooking the food and operating the shut-off mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The pressurized liquid acts as an intermediary that transfers energy from the cooking chamber to the shut-off valve mechanism, enabling valve operation without direct external energy input. The liquid mediates between the heat source and the mechanical actuation system.
3Ease of manufacture
If smooth chamber walls are used, then easy cleaning is achieved, but food adhesion to walls occurs causing waste
Solution Approach 1:
The cooking chamber walls are provided with local protrusions that create specific local conditions for food detachment. These protrusions are strategically placed on the wall surface to prevent food adhesion at critical locations while maintaining overall chamber functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The protrusions on the chamber walls create curved surfaces that prevent food from adhering flatly to the wall. The curved geometry of the protrusions makes it difficult for food to maintain stable adhesion, facilitating easy detachment and reducing waste.
4Device complexity
If single cooking chamber is used, then device simplicity is maintained, but versatility in cooking different food types is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The cooking system is divided into multiple independent cooking chambers, each capable of processing different food types simultaneously. This segmentation allows for specialized cooking conditions in each chamber while maintaining overall system simplicity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple cooking chambers are provided, each capable of cooking different types of food (pasta, rice, vegetables, etc.). The system achieves multi-functionality through parallel chambers that can be independently operated, allowing versatile cooking capabilities without requiring complex multi-purpose mechanisms.
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 results in a more efficient, compact, and cost-effective cooking device that minimizes energy consumption, reduces food waste, and enables simultaneous cooking of multiple food types with high thermal efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
pressurizing means to pressurize the liquid
Implementation Method 2
the shut-off valve(s) is driven for opening and/or closing by the action of the liquid pressurized by the pressurizing means
Implementation Method 3
a boiler for heating a liquid
Implementation Method 4
at least one portion of the inner surface of the cooking chamber has one or more jutting-inwards elements in order to facilitate the detachment of the food from such an inner surface
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention concerns a device (1; 101; 201) for fast cooking at least one food (11). The device comprises a boiler (2) for heating a liquid (7), pressurizing means (8) to pressurize the liquid (7) and at least one cooking chamber (3) fluidically connected to the boiler (2). The at least one cooking chamber (3) is provided with at least one inlet (3a) and at least one outlet (3b) for the food (11), and at least one of the inlet (3a) and outlet (3b) is provided with a shut-off valve (4a; 4b; 204b) to selectively open and sealingly close the same inlet and/or outlet (3a, 3b). The shut- off valve (4a; 4b; 204b) is driven for opening and/or closing by the action of the liquid (7) pressurized by the pressurizing means (8).