Remote Sous-Vide Cooking Control With Diagnostics and Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vacuum-sealed food cooking apparatuses, such as heat-circulators, require constant operator presence due to long cooking times, making it difficult to control cooking cycles and leading to potential food loss from anomalies like power interruptions or equipment malfunctions, and lack remote control and diagnostic capabilities for efficient energy use.
Innovation Solution
A remote-controlled cooking apparatus with a heat-circulator unit, a fixed command and control unit, and a portable mobile unit for two-directional communication, including temperature sensors and a diagnostic system, allowing real-time monitoring and intervention, and enabling efficient energy use by regulating cooking parameters remotely.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If cooking is performed using traditional heat-circulators with manual control, then the cooking process can be completed, but constant operator presence is required and remote control is impossible
Solution Approach 1:
A microcontroller unit acts as an intermediary between the manual control interface and the heating elements, enabling automated control logic. The microcontroller receives signals from the user interface, processes cooking parameters, and controls the heating elements accordingly, bridging the gap between simple manual operation and sophisticated remote control capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces purely manual mechanical control with an automated electronic control system based on a microcontroller. This substitution enables remote control via mobile devices, automated temperature regulation, and programmable cooking cycles, transforming the control mechanism from direct mechanical interaction to electronic automation while maintaining user-friendly operation.
2Reliability
If cooking cycles are extended to several hours for proper cooking, then food quality is maintained, but operator monitoring becomes impractical and food loss risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
Temperature sensors continuously monitor the cooking process and provide feedback to the microcontroller, which adjusts heating elements to maintain precise temperature control. This closed-loop feedback system ensures reliable cooking over extended periods by automatically compensating for temperature variations, eliminating the need for continuous operator monitoring while maintaining food safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The heat-circulator system performs self-monitoring and self-regulation through integrated temperature sensors and microcontroller logic. The system automatically detects temperature conditions, adjusts heating power, and manages cooking cycles without external intervention, enabling unattended operation for several hours while maintaining cooking reliability and preventing food loss.
3Temperature
If cooking is performed at low temperatures over several hours, then food quality is preserved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The microcontroller implements periodic heating cycles with adjustable duration and intensity, allowing the system to maintain target temperatures more efficiently. By alternating between heating phases and maintenance phases, the system reduces overall energy consumption compared to continuous heating, while still achieving proper cooking results over the required time period.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system dynamically adjusts heating power based on real-time temperature feedback from sensors. The microcontroller modulates the heating elements' power output to match the actual thermal conditions, increasing power when temperature drops and reducing or shutting off power when target temperature is reached. This dynamic control prevents energy waste while maintaining precise temperature control for food quality.
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
Enables constant monitoring and control of the cooking process, preventing food loss, optimizing energy consumption, and ensuring the quality of cooked food through real-time regulation and flexible parameter modulation, suitable for both professional and domestic use.
Implementation Method 1
provided with at least an electric resistance to heat the water
Implementation Method 2
A device to re-circulate the water is positioned in the receptacle, so as to make the temperature homogeneous throughout the volume of water
Implementation Method 3
provided with a sensor to detect the temperature of the cooking liquid and/or of the food
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
Apparatus (10) to regulate and control the cooking of vacuum-sealed foods, provided with at least a heat-circulator unit (21) associable with a receptacle (11) for containing cooking liquid (12) in which at least a vacuum-sealed container (19) containing the food (20) to be cooked is at least partly immersed, and one or more heating elements (16) to heat the cooking liquid (12); the apparatus also comprises a first fixed command and control unit (110) associated with the heat-circulator unit (21) and provided with at least a first remote data communication module (24) and a second mobile command and control unit (210), in the possession of a user and provided with at least a second remote data communication module (29); the first and second remote data communication modules (24, 29) are configured to allow the remote and two-directional communication between the first fixed command and control unit (110) and the second mobile command and control unit (210); the first fixed command and control unit (110) is provided with an integrated diagnostic system configured to receive from the heat-circulator unit (21) data relating to the cooking parameters of the food (20) and the functioning parameters of the heat-circulator unit (21), and to transmit them to the second mobile command and control unit (210) in the possession of the user.