Residual-Heat Cooking Control for Automatic Food Keep-Warm
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cooking apparatuses require manual intervention to maintain food warmth, risking overcooking due to residual heat, and users struggle to maintain the correct temperature without overcooking food after cooking is completed.
Innovation Solution
A cooking apparatus with an automatic keep warm function that utilizes a control unit, temperature sensor, and timer to transition from normal cooking to residual heat cooking mode, then to keep warm mode, adjusting temperatures stepwise to prevent overcooking and ensure food remains warm for an extended period.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If the user manually switches to keep warm function after cooking, then food warmth is maintained, but food may be overcooked due to residual heat
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit automatically switches from cooking mode to keep warm mode after detecting cooking completion, performing the temperature reduction action before the user can manually intervene. This preliminary automatic action prevents the user from mistakenly switching to keep warm during cooking, which would cause overcooking from residual heat
Solution Approach 2:
The temperature sensor continuously monitors the cooking chamber temperature and provides feedback to the control unit. Based on this feedback, the control unit automatically adjusts the heating source operation to maintain appropriate temperature for keep warm function, preventing both overcooking and underheating
2Reliability
If the user waits for the cooking chamber temperature to drop below keep warm temperature, then food will not be overcooked, but the user cannot maintain proper food temperature without manual intervention
Solution Approach 1:
The cooking apparatus performs self-service by automatically monitoring its own temperature through the temperature sensor and autonomously switching between cooking mode and keep warm mode. The control unit processes temperature feedback and automatically controls the heating source, eliminating the need for user judgment and manual switching
Solution Approach 2:
The system establishes a closed-loop feedback mechanism where the temperature sensor continuously monitors the cooking chamber temperature and feeds this information back to the control unit. The control unit automatically adjusts the heating source based on this feedback to maintain the cooking chamber at the appropriate temperature for keep warm function
3Temperature
If the heating source remains on after cooking, then the cooking chamber stays hot, but the food becomes overcooked
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the heating source operation based on the cooking stage. During cooking, the heating source operates at high power to reach cooking temperature. After cooking completion, the control unit automatically transitions to keep warm mode where the heating source operates at reduced power or intermittent cycles, dynamically adapting to maintain the cooking chamber temperature without overcooking the food
Solution Approach 2:
In keep warm mode, the heating source operates periodically rather than continuously. The control unit cycles the heating source on and off based on temperature feedback, providing periodic heating to maintain the cooking chamber temperature at the keep warm level, preventing both overcooking and excessive cooling
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 apparatus effectively maintains food warmth automatically, preventing overcooking and ensuring food remains edible for a longer duration without manual intervention, by using residual heat and controlled temperature adjustments.
Implementation Method 1
a cooking apparatus has an electric heater, which is a heating source, embedded therein and performs a cooking operation by a direct heating method which heats food using heat generation from the electric heating source
Implementation Method 2
The control unit may use the temperature sensor to determine whether the temperature of the cooking chamber reaches the residual heat cooking temperature
Data Source
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AI summary
A cooking apparatus having an automatic keep warm function is provided. The cooking apparatus having an automatic keep warm function includes: a heating source heating a cooking chamber; a temperature sensor measuring a temperature of the cooking chamber; and a control unit controlling the heating source to set a temperature of the cooking chamber to be a keep warm temperature, when cooking of food is completed by cooking the food at a normal cooking temperature for a first cooking time and cooking the food in a residual heat cooking mode, in which the food is cooked by residual heat of the heating source and at a residual heat cooking temperature lower than the normal cooking temperature, for a second cooking time.