Rotatable Cooking Tray Layout for Stirring and Steam Cooking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing food cooking appliances with stirring paddles are limited to a single type of cooking method, restricting the variety of recipes that can be prepared.
Innovation Solution
A cooking appliance with a housing, cooking tank, tray, heating means, and a rotating stirring blade that allows for multiple cooking modes, including steam cooking, heating by radiation, conduction, or air flow, and optional stirring, enabling four distinct cooking methods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a stirring blade is added to a cooking appliance, then the functionality for stirring food is improved, but the device becomes dedicated to a single type of cooking, limiting versatility
Solution Approach 1:
The plate is made rotatable relative to the fixed bearing, allowing the stirring blade to be positioned in different orientations. This dynamic adjustment enables the same stirring mechanism to work effectively for different cooking methods (steam cooking, radiation heating, conduction heating, air flow heating) without dedicating the device to a single cooking type.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooking appliance is designed with a universal stirring mechanism that can function across multiple cooking modes. The rotatable plate with locking means allows the stirring blade to adapt to various cooking configurations, making the device versatile enough to perform steam cooking, radiation heating, conduction heating, and air flow heating, all with the same stirring capability.
2Ease of operation
If the plate is fixed in position, then the stirring blade can effectively stir food, but no free space is available under the tray for water storage needed for steam cooking
Solution Approach 1:
The plate is designed to be rotatable on the fixed bearing rather than completely fixed. This dynamic positioning allows the plate to be rotated to a horizontal position during steam cooking to create space for water storage underneath, while still maintaining the ability to be positioned vertically for effective stirring when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution moves the plate from a purely vertical fixed position to a rotatable configuration that utilizes the horizontal dimension. By rotating the plate around the fixed bearing, space is created underneath the tray for water storage without compromising the stirring functionality, effectively using spatial reconfiguration to resolve the volume conflict.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the plate is made rotatable to enable steam cooking, then versatility is improved, but additional locking mechanisms are required, increasing device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The plate is designed with rotatable capability supported by a fixed bearing, allowing it to rotate between vertical (stirring) and horizontal (steam cooking) positions. This dynamic design provides versatility for multiple cooking modes while using a relatively simple fixed bearing mechanism rather than complex multi-position adjustment systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking mechanism is designed to be simple and self-contained, with locking means that can be easily engaged and disengaged by the user. The fixed bearing with integrated locking features allows the plate to be locked in position during operation without requiring complex external locking systems, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining versatility.
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 versatile food preparation by allowing users to choose between steam cooking, stirring, and different heating methods, expanding the range of recipes that can be prepared with the same device.
Implementation Method 1
the heating means are arranged to heat the food directly (by radiation for example)
Implementation Method 2
or indirectly (by conduction through the cooking tank, or via a vector such as air or steam of water)
Implementation Method 3
a fixed bearing arranged on the cooking tank to support and guide the stirring blade in rotation
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 4
AI summary
Food cooking apparatus comprising: - a housing (10), - a cooking tank (20), - a tray (30), - heating means (71, 72), - a stirring paddle (40), - a fixed bearing (50) arranged to support and guide the stirring paddle (40) in rotation, - drive means (60), the cooking tank (20) comprising a tank orifice, characterized: in that the stirring paddle (40) is arranged to stir food placed on the tray (30), in that the tray (30) comprises a tray orifice (31) for the passage of the drive means (60) and/or the stirring paddle (40), and in that the cooking apparatus comprises means for blocking the rotation of the tray (30) around the fixed bearing (50).