Yogurt Maker Liquid Bath Heating for Rapid Temperature Rise
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional yoghurt makers require a lengthy manufacturing time of around eight hours, making it difficult for consumers to produce yoghurt on the same day and lacking flexibility in the process.
Innovation Solution
A yoghurt manufacturing process using a heating means that raises the temperature of a milk-based preparation to the yoghurt-making range within thirty minutes, followed by a temperature regulation phase of up to four hours, utilizing a liquid bath or steam for efficient and homogeneous heating, and allowing for reduced heating power during the regulation phase.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional heating methods (paraffin or low-power heating element) are used, then the heating is gradual and homogeneous, but the manufacturing time is very long (around eight hours)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a liquid intermediary substance placed in the enclosure that absorbs heat from a high-power heating element and transfers it to the pot containing the milk-based preparation. This liquid mediator enables rapid heating while maintaining temperature homogeneity, resolving the contradiction between heating speed and temperature uniformity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the heating parameters by using a high-power heating element (contrasting with conventional low-power elements) and controlling the liquid intermediary's temperature to optimize heat transfer. This parameter change enables the heating process to be completed in 30 minutes or less while maintaining homogeneous temperature distribution.
2Productivity
If high-power heating is used to reduce manufacturing time, then the heating speed increases, but temperature homogeneity deteriorates and overheating occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The liquid intermediary acts as a thermal buffer that absorbs excess heat from the high-power heating element and distributes it uniformly to the preparation, preventing localized overheating while maintaining rapid overall heating.
Solution Approach 2:
The heating process uses periodic heating cycles with controlled duration, where the high-power element operates intermittently to heat the liquid intermediary, which then continuously distributes heat to the preparation, maintaining both speed and homogeneity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the manufacturing cycle is shortened to enable same-day consumption, then the flexibility improves, but the temperature control precision during the process deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates temperature sensing and control mechanisms that continuously monitor the temperature of the liquid intermediary and the preparation, adjusting the heating power in real-time to maintain precise temperature control throughout the accelerated manufacturing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The heating system dynamically adjusts its operation during the manufacturing process, transitioning from high-power rapid heating to controlled maintenance heating, enabling both speed and precision in the shortened cycle.
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
This approach significantly reduces the yoghurt production time, allowing for same-day consumption and improved quality while maintaining the yoghurt within the optimal temperature range of 37-52°C.
Implementation Method 1
a first phase lasting less than or equal to thirty minutes consisting in heating a liquid placed in the enclosure near the pot so as to bring the temperature of said milk-based preparation within a yoghurt manufacturing temperature range
Implementation Method 2
The heating of the liquid allows a more gradual and more homogeneous rise in temperature than the heating of a pot by contact or by direct gaseous convection
Implementation Method 3
The heating of the liquid allows a more gradual and more homogeneous rise in temperature than the heating of a pot by contact
Implementation Method 4
said first phase consisting in raising the temperature of a gaseous fluid in contact with the pot by heating said liquid. Compared to a pot arranged in the liquid, the gaseous fluid makes it possible to produce a thermal brake between the liquid and the pot, which further promotes the obtaining of a uniform temperature in the pot, and makes it possible to avoid overheating of the preparation
Implementation Method 5
the first phase consists of the evaporation in the enclosure of a predefined quantity of water and of a circulation of the vapor obtained around the pot. The steam makes it possible to obtain a particularly effective and homogeneous heat transfer with the pots
Implementation Method 6
the first phase consists of intensive heating of a bath of liquid placed in the enclosure to a temperature above 50° C. but below the evaporation temperature of said liquid. The use of a liquid bath, advantageously a water bath, brought to a temperature higher than the temperature necessary for the manufacture of yogurt makes it possible to obtain a large hot thermal mass, which gradually diffuses the calories from the means of heated
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to an electric home yogurt maker that comprises at least one location (28) for a pot (3), and a heating means (15). According to the invention, the electric home yogurt maker includes a tank for a liquid, the heating means (15) being adapted to transmit a heating power to the liquid for increasing, by means of heat transfer, the temperature of the preparation contained in the pot (3) within a yogurt-production temperature range and within a time of less than or equal to thirty minutes. The invention also relates to a method for preparing a yogurt that includes a step of raising the temperature of a pot (3) containing a milk-based preparation with a first phase, the duration of which is less than or equal to thirty minutes for heating a liquid provided near the pot (3) so as to raise the temperature of the milk-based preparation within a yogurt-preparation temperature range.