Sealed Cake Baking Pan With Flexible Lid for Ambient Shelf Life
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Cakes have a short shelf life and require refrigeration or freezing for preservation, which is costly and logistically challenging, and the use of preservatives is controversial.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a bowl-shaped aluminum foil baking pan coated with baking-stable sealing wax, where the baking mixture is baked for 40-60 minutes at 180-220°C, and a flexible lid with wave-like embossments is sealed on after cooling, creating a sterile and airtight package without refrigeration or preservatives.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of stationary object
If refrigeration or freezing is used to preserve cakes, then shelf life is extended, but storage and transport costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The cake is sealed in the baking pan immediately after baking while still hot, creating a sterile environment before contamination can occur. This preliminary sealing action eliminates the need for subsequent refrigeration to preserve the cake, thereby extending shelf life without incurring ongoing storage costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The baking pan is sealed to create a closed, inert environment that protects the cake from external contamination and degradation. This inert sealed environment allows the cake to be stored at ambient temperatures for extended periods without refrigeration, resolving the contradiction between shelf life extension and energy cost reduction.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If preservatives are added to extend shelf life, then storage duration increases, but food safety and health concerns arise
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing operation is performed immediately after baking while the cake and pan are still hot, creating a sterile barrier before the cake can be contaminated. This preliminary action of sealing in a hot state eliminates the need for chemical preservatives to maintain food safety during extended storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The aluminum foil baking pan with sealing wax serves as a disposable barrier that provides long-term protection without requiring chemical additives. The pan itself becomes the preservation mechanism, replacing the need for harmful preservatives while maintaining food safety.
3Reliability
If the baking pan is sealed immediately after baking, then sterilization is achieved, but cake deformation occurs due to shrinkage
Solution Approach 1:
The pan is sealed immediately after baking while the cake is still hot and expanding, trapping the cake in its expanded state before shrinkage occurs. This preliminary sealing action ensures sterilization while the subsequent cooling and shrinkage create negative pressure that pulls the lid down, preventing deformation.
Solution Approach 2:
The cake undergoes phase transition from hot expanded state to cool contracted state. By sealing the pan during the hot phase, the cake is locked in place, and the subsequent cooling contraction creates negative pressure that actually helps secure the lid rather than causing deformation.
4Stability of the object's composition
If the lid is made rigid to maintain shape, then structural stability improves, but negative pressure from cake shrinkage causes deformation
Solution Approach 1:
The lid is designed with wave-like embossments that allow it to flex and move dynamically in response to pressure changes. As the cake shrinks and creates negative pressure, the lid flexes inward slightly, accommodating the pressure change without causing rigid structural failure or pan deformation.
Solution Approach 2:
The aluminum foil lid with wave-like embossments acts as a flexible shell that can accommodate pressure changes from cake shrinkage. This flexibility allows the lid to move with the pressure changes rather than resisting them, preventing deformation of the rigid baking pan while maintaining the seal.
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 cakes to be stored and transported at normal temperatures with a shelf life of up to 24 months, reducing costs and energy consumption while ensuring food safety and convenience.
Implementation Method 1
seal the baking tin with the Cover by means of pressure and heat in a sealing machine
Implementation Method 2
fusing the sealing wax
Implementation Method 3
The remaining air in the packaging is also sterilized by the residual heat of the cake
Implementation Method 4
the shrinking process continues for a long time until the cake has completely cooled and solidified. During this time, a negative pressure is created in the packaging
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~7
AI summary
The invention relates to packaging (1) for foodstuffs to be baked, in particular cakes. This essentially consists of a bowl or pot-shaped baking mold (2) and a flexible lid (3) made of aluminum foil, both of which are coated with baking-stable sealing wax. The cover (3) has one or more wave-like embossments (7) extending concentrically around the center in a ring shape. Immediately after the baking process, the baking mold (2) is sealed airtight and sterile with the lid (3) by applying pressure and heat by fusing the sealing wax.