Two-sided cooking device with upper platen position locking mechanism for high compression precision positioning controlled cooking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current two-sided cooking devices cannot apply sufficient pressure to compress food products beyond the weight of the upper platen while maintaining parallelism between the upper and lower cooking surfaces, leading to uneven cooking and potential undercooked food.
Innovation Solution
A locking mechanism, comprising a locking pin and drive mechanism, is used to lock the upper platen parallel to the lower platen, allowing for controlled application of greater pressure through an actuator, preventing rotation and ensuring parallelism during cooking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If the upper platen relies only on its weight to maintain parallelism, then the device structure remains simple, but the maximum applicable pressure is limited to the platen's weight
Solution Approach 1:
The positioning mechanism is segmented into multiple independent components: a locking pin that engages with positioning holes, a drive shaft with staged movement capability, and an actuator. This segmentation allows the system to achieve high compression force through the locking mechanism while maintaining structural simplicity, as each component performs a specific function without requiring complex integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking pin is extended in advance to engage with the positioning holes before the upper platen applies compression force to the food product. This preliminary locking action ensures that the platen maintains parallelism with the lower platen throughout the compression process, enabling the application of forces greater than the platen's own weight without causing rotation or misalignment.
2Force
If the upper platen applies pressure greater than its weight, then food compression capability improves, but the platen rotates around the rear pivot point causing uneven cooking
Solution Approach 1:
The locking pin is extended in advance to engage with the positioning holes before the upper platen applies compression force to the food product. This preliminary locking action ensures that the platen maintains parallelism with the lower platen throughout the compression process, enabling the application of forces greater than the platen's own weight without causing rotation or misalignment.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking pin acts as an intermediary element between the upper platen and the positioning holes. It transfers and stabilizes the positional relationship, allowing the platen to withstand compression forces greater than its weight while maintaining parallelism. The drive shaft serves as another intermediary, providing staged movement control to achieve precise positioning.
3Manufacturing precision
If a locking mechanism is added to maintain parallelism under high pressure, then cooking uniformity improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The positioning mechanism is segmented into multiple independent components: a locking pin that engages with positioning holes, a drive shaft with staged movement capability, and an actuator. This segmentation allows the system to achieve high compression force through the locking mechanism while maintaining structural simplicity, as each component performs a specific function without requiring complex integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking mechanism uses simple, inexpensive components such as a pin and positioning holes rather than complex mechanical linkages or electronic control systems. These components are easily manufactured and replaced if needed, providing a cost-effective solution for maintaining platen parallelism under high compression forces.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a grill having a movable upper platen and a lower platen, the latter of which holds food products that are cooked by between the platens. The upper platen has a platen arm, locking drive, and locking pin connected thereto. An actuator, drive shaft, and drive shaft head are operably connected to the platen arm. During operation of the grill, the locking drive drives the locking pin into the drive shaft head, holding the upper platen parallel to the lower platen, even when greater downward pressure is applied by the actuator than the weight of the upper platen. In prior art devices, applying this kind of pressure would cause the upper platen to become nonparallel to the lower platen, causing uneven cooking. Locking the upper platen horizontally ensures that the upper platen will not go out of horizontal level when it comes into contact with food products on the lower platen.