Bonfire grilling appliance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tabletop grills for indoor use face issues such as reliance on pressurized propane tanks, noisy exhaust systems, difficulty in temperature control, weight, and lack of portability, as well as inefficient cleaning due to electric resistance heating and inadequate simulation of outdoor grilling experience.
Innovation Solution
A tabletop grill design utilizing quartz halogen tube heaters that provide direct, radiant, and convection heat, combined with a slotted platen for infrared emission, and a temperature control system to simulate outdoor grilling aesthetics and enhance cooking efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If electric resistance heating is used under a platen or corrugated cooking surface, then the appliance can provide heating function, but it becomes difficult to clean since food particles and grease collect while cooking
Solution Approach 1:
The cooking surface is segmented into a slotted platen design where the heating element is separated from the cooking surface. The slots allow heat penetration while preventing food particle accumulation, enabling the heating function to be maintained while significantly improving cleanability through the gap between the platen and heating element.
2Productivity
If quartz halogen tube heaters are used to provide direct and radiant heat, then cooking speed and temperature increase, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional electric resistance heating with quartz halogen tube heaters that emit infrared radiation. This substitution enables direct radiant heat transfer to the food, significantly reducing cooking time and increasing temperature capability, while the modular tube design keeps the added complexity manageable.
3Productivity
If a slotted platen is used to allow infrared emission, then cooking efficiency improves, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The platen is designed with a slot pattern that provides localized openings in specific areas to allow infrared transmission while maintaining structural integrity and heat distribution in other areas. This selective local modification enables improved cooking efficiency through IR emission without requiring complete redesign of the entire platen structure.
4Productivity
If the grilling chamber has a highly reflective inner surface, then radiant energy reflection improves cooking, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The inner surface of the grilling chamber is treated with a highly reflective coating that changes the optical parameters of the surface. This coating enables efficient radiant energy reflection and heat distribution throughout the chamber, improving cooking uniformity and speed while the coating application process manages the manufacturing precision requirements.
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 design achieves quicker and hotter cooking, efficient heat utilization, and a more authentic outdoor grilling experience with variable heat intensity and visual feedback, while being portable and easier to clean.
Implementation Method 1
a radiant energy generating assembly emitting a substantial portion of energy in the visible light range of the electromagnetic spectrum
Implementation Method 2
This same IR emission provides a visual glow and warmth to the grill that replicates current outdoor grills
Implementation Method 3
a highly reflective and low heat absorption inner surface for reflecting radiant energy to a food item positioned therein
Implementation Method 4
the grilling chamber being configured to direct emitted radiant energy in a convection manner about the food item
Implementation Method 5
a grill member for supporting the food item that is disposed within the grilling chamber, the grill member being formed of heat conducting material that emits direct heat energy absorbed from the radiant energy assembly to the food item
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided an indoor/outdoor tabletop grill appliance which uses quartz halogen tubes as radiant heating elements to provide cooking functionality combined with the aesthetics of the outdoor grilling experience. The invention provides the advantage of various forms of cooking that also speed up the cooking process: direct heat on the food item from the quartz halogen tubes, heat reflected back from the inner surfaces of the grilling chamber and onto the food item, convection heat directed about the food item due to the grilling chamber configuration and directed heat from the slotted platen this in contact with the food item received from the halogen tubes.