Cooking appliance for cooking whole grains such as whole grain rice
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cooking whole grains, such as bran-covered rice, requires specific cooking profiles that vary by grain type and pre-soaking conditions, making it inconvenient for users who need to manually input or select settings, especially when cooking mixed grains or refined grains.
Innovation Solution
A cooking appliance with a memory that stores cooking profiles for different grains, including pre-soaked and non-pre-soaked conditions, and allows user input or automatic identification via camera image processing, to implement tailored temperature-time profiles based on grain type and pre-soaking status, with optional weight sensor for nutritional monitoring.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If cooking profiles are stored for different grain types and pre-soaking conditions, then cooking precision and adaptability are improved, but device complexity increases due to memory and multiple input requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-stores multiple cooking profiles in memory for different grain types and pre-soaking conditions. This preliminary preparation of cooking parameters eliminates the need for complex real-time calculations, resolving the contradiction by having precision ready in advance while keeping the actual cooking process simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The appliance automatically selects the appropriate cooking profile based on user inputs about grain type and pre-soaking status. This self-service selection mechanism provides precise cooking control without requiring the user to manually configure complex settings, thus improving precision while maintaining ease of operation.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple cooking profiles are stored for different grains, then adaptability is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to requiring user input for grain type and pre-soaking status
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the cooking control into distinct input parameters: grain type selection and pre-soaking status. This segmentation allows the complex adaptability requirements to be broken down into simple, manageable user inputs, resolving the contradiction by providing versatility through structured simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system prepares multiple cooking profiles in advance for different grain types and pre-soaking conditions. By having these profiles pre-configured in memory, the appliance can adapt to different grains automatically once the user provides basic information, thus achieving high adaptability with minimal user effort.
3Productivity
If cooking time is reduced for whole grains, then productivity is improved, but cooking quality may deteriorate without proper pre-soaking penetration
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes cooking parameters (temperature, time, power levels) based on the selected grain type and pre-soaking status. For pre-soaked grains, it uses higher power and shorter times; for non-pre-soaked grains, it uses lower power and longer times. This dynamic parameter adjustment resolves the contradiction by optimizing both speed and quality for each condition.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooking process is made dynamic through multiple power phases and temperature adjustments. The controller can switch between different heating power levels during cooking, allowing rapid cooking of pre-soaked grains while ensuring thorough cooking of non-pre-soaked grains. This dynamic control enables both high productivity and reliable cooking quality.
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 appliance simplifies the cooking process by automatically selecting the optimal cooking profile for various whole grains and mixed grain compositions, reducing cooking time and enhancing nutritional monitoring, making whole grain cooking more convenient and efficient.
Implementation Method 1
a heating element arrangement thermally coupled to the cooking chamber
Implementation Method 2
a temperature sensor arrangement thermally coupled to the cooking chamber
Implementation Method 3
a controller adapted to control the heating element arrangement, responsive to the temperature sensor arrangement, to implement a selected cooking profile
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A cooking appliance for is cooking whole grains. A first input (IN1) receives an indication of whether grains to be cooked have been pre-soaked or not and a second input (IN2) receives an indication of the type of grains to be cooked. A selected cooking profile is selected from a memory (26) based on these inputs. This provides an automated cooking profile selection, to make the cooking process easier for the user.