Stackable Meat Moulding Unit with Nesting Cover
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional moulds for cooking meat, especially pork, face challenges in stacking and handling due to non-stackable designs, leading to inefficient use of oven space, poor temperature distribution, and increased risk of bag puncture, which limits weight loss and product quality.
Innovation Solution
A moulding unit with a single bottom die and sliding cover that can be stacked vertically and horizontally, allowing for efficient handling, automated transport, and improved temperature distribution, while minimizing the risk of bag damage and enabling higher weight loss performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional moulds are used for cooking meat, then the product can be cooked in vacuum bags, but the moulds cannot be stacked efficiently leading to poor oven space utilization and unstable stacking
Solution Approach 1:
The mould is divided into separate components: a bottom die and a cover, which can be assembled and disassembled. This segmentation allows for stable stacking configurations while maintaining cooking functionality, resolving the contradiction between stacking stability and oven space utilization.
Solution Approach 2:
The cover is designed to nest within the bottom die when not in use, and multiple moulds can be stacked vertically with the cover of one mould fitting into the bottom die of another. This nesting approach maximizes oven space utilization while ensuring stable stacking during the cooking process.
2Ease of operation
If non-stackable moulds are used, then the product quality can be maintained, but the handling efficiency and automated transport become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The mould design incorporates movable and adjustable components that allow for dynamic adaptation during handling and stacking operations. The modular structure enables easy assembly and disassembly for automated transport while maintaining the precise geometry needed for consistent product quality throughout the cooking process.
3Reliability
If the mould design does not allow stacking, then the temperature distribution can be uniform, but the risk of bag puncture increases due to unstable stacking
Solution Approach 1:
The mould design incorporates protective features that cushion and protect the vacuum bags from puncture risks during stacking and handling. The stable stacking configuration minimizes movement and stress on the bags, while the mould structure itself provides a protective barrier, thereby maintaining both bag integrity and temperature distribution uniformity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A moulding unit for forming and cooking meat, comprising a single recipient-shaped bottom die (2) a concavity of which faces upwards and is destined to contain meat, and a single cover (6) aligned with a mouth of the concavity of the bottom die (2), which cover (6) is joined to the bottom die (2) and positioned below the bottom die (2), such as to be destined to close a further mouth (2) of a further concavity of a bottom die (2) of a moulding unit which is identical and positioned below the moulding unit.