Shared Weighing Apparatus for Multi-Appliance Cooking Assistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooking assistance systems increase the cost of kitchen appliances by requiring each appliance to have its own integrated weighing system for nutritional and health information calculations, leading to duplication of functions.
Innovation Solution
A cooking assistance device with a weighing apparatus, identifying unit, and communications unit that identifies kitchen appliances or utensils, calculates food weight based on their dry weight, and communicates this information to a cooking aid device for providing instructions, eliminating the need for each appliance to have its own weighing system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If each kitchen appliance is equipped with its own integrated weighing apparatus to provide weight information to the main controller, then the cooking assistance system can obtain accurate food weight data for nutritional and health information calculations, but the cost of the overall system increases due to duplication of weighing functions
Solution Approach 1:
The weighing function is extracted from individual kitchen appliances and consolidated into a separate, shared weighing apparatus. The main controller communicates with this external weighing device through a communication unit, allowing multiple appliances to share the same weighing capability without each needing its own integrated scale.
Solution Approach 2:
A single weighing apparatus serves multiple kitchen appliances simultaneously. The weighing device is designed to work with different types of containers and appliances through standardized communication protocols, providing universal weight measurement capability across the entire cooking system.
2Adaptability or versatility
If each kitchen appliance incorporates a weighing apparatus to deliver weight information to the main guided cooking controller, then the system can provide comprehensive cooking assistance and nutritional information, but the overall cost of the appliance suite increases
Solution Approach 1:
The main controller acts as an intermediary between the weighing apparatus and various kitchen appliances. It receives weight data from the weighing device and processes this information to provide cooking assistance instructions to different appliances, eliminating the need for each appliance to have direct weighing capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The weighing function is merged with the main controller's processing capabilities. Instead of distributed weighing systems, the weight measurement and data processing functions are combined into a centralized system that serves all kitchen appliances through communication protocols.
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
This solution reduces the overall cost of kitchen appliances by allowing multiple appliances to share a weighing system, enabling coordinated cooking assistance while providing accurate nutritional and health information without duplicating functions.
Implementation Method 1
a weighing apparatus for weighing a cooking appliance which contains a food item
Data Source
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AI summary
A cooking assistance device is for weighing a kitchen appliance or food container and then calculating a weight of food contained by the kitchen appliance or container based on a known dry weight. The food weight is provided to cooking aid device (which may be an integral part of the assistance device or it may be a remote device) for providing cooking instructions to a user. The device is thus able to coordinate the use of multiple kitchen appliances or utensils for example when a recipe is being followed by a user, with user instructions, information or advice being provided.