Telescopic Cooking Tray Handle for Burn-Free Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cooking devices, such as hot air and steam cookers, often pose difficulties in removing food trays due to their design, which can result in burns from steam or the hot device.
Innovation Solution
A tray with moveable handles that can extend and retract, biased by a torsion spring mechanism, allowing for easy removal and retraction, and a cooking device with a cover that automatically moves the handle to the extended position when opened, facilitating safe tray handling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the tray has a fixed handle design, then the structure is simple, but the tray is difficult to remove and causes burn risks
Solution Approach 1:
The handle is designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing it to extend when the tray is removed from the cooking device and retract when the tray is inserted. This dynamic adjustment enables users to grip the handle from a safe distance, reducing burn risk while maintaining simple structural operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The handle is divided into multiple sections that can telescope relative to each other, allowing the handle length to change. This segmentation enables the handle to extend outward for safe gripping during removal and retract for compact storage during cooking, resolving the contradiction between ease of removal and burn prevention.
2Ease of operation
If the handle extends outward for easy gripping, then accessibility is improved, but the handle occupies more space in the cooking chamber
Solution Approach 1:
The handle sections are nested within each other when retracted, with inner sections fitting inside outer sections. This nesting allows the handle to occupy minimal space within the cooking chamber while still providing full extension capability for easy gripping during removal operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The handle dynamically adjusts its volume by extending only when needed for tray removal and retracting when the tray is in the cooking chamber, optimizing space utilization while maintaining accessibility when required.
3Ease of operation
If the handle is always extended for easy removal, then tray removal is easy, but the handle cannot be received within the cooking chamber
Solution Approach 1:
The handle transitions between extended and retracted positions based on operational needs, providing stability in both states through appropriate positioning mechanisms that ensure the handle remains in the desired position whether extended for removal or retracted for cooking.
Solution Approach 2:
The segmented telescopic structure allows the handle to achieve both extended and retracted stable positions, with each section capable of independent movement to accommodate the full range of positions required for different operational phases.
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
Enhances user safety by allowing for easy and burn-free removal of the tray from the cooking device, improving accessibility and reducing the risk of burns.
Implementation Method 1
A biasing mechanism may be disposed at, and act on, the proximal end of each handle to bias the respective handle to the extended position. The biasing mechanism may be a torsion spring.
Data Source
AI summary
A tray for receiving food for a cooking device is described. The cooking device includes a housing defining a cooking chamber, the housing having an opening providing access to the cooking chamber. The cooking device further includes a tray including a body defining a base, and a handle attached to the body. The tray may be received in the housing through the opening, and may be removable from the housing through the opening. When the tray is received in the housing, the handle is moveable with respect to the housing between an extended position, in which the handle extends out of the cooking chamber, and a retracted position, in which the handle is received within the cooking chamber. The cooking device furthermore includes a moving mechanism for moving the handle to the extended position. The handle of the tray may be biased to the extended position.