Zonal electric grill
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional electric grills lack accuracy in achieving and maintaining desired temperatures, especially in larger cooking volumes, and cannot create or control different temperature zones, leading to uneven cooking and reliance on user guesswork.
Innovation Solution
An electric grill with a firebox divided into multiple zones, each equipped with an electric heating element and temperature probe, controlled by a system that can operate in synchronized, desynchronized, or indirect cycles to maintain precise temperature settings across zones, using a controller to adjust power based on temperature readings from multiple probes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single-point-controlled system is used to simplify the control structure, then the device complexity is reduced, but the temperature uniformity and measurement precision deteriorate across the cooking surface
Solution Approach 1:
The cooking chamber is divided into multiple zones, each with its own temperature probe and heating element. This segmentation allows independent temperature control and accurate measurement in each zone, resolving the contradiction by distributing control points rather than using a single control point for the entire chamber.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from single-point control to multi-point zonal control, adding spatial dimensionality to the control system. Multiple probes are positioned at different locations (top, bottom, sides) within each zone to capture temperature gradients, thereby improving measurement precision without excessive complexity.
2Productivity
If the cooking chamber volume is increased to provide more cooking space, then the productivity and cooking capacity are improved, but the temperature uniformity deteriorates due to natural temperature gradients
Solution Approach 1:
The larger cooking chamber is divided into multiple zones, each with independent temperature control. This allows different regions to be optimized for different cooking requirements, maintaining temperature uniformity within each zone while providing overall large cooking capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
Each zone is equipped with its own heating element and temperature probe, allowing localized temperature adjustment. This enables different parts of the large chamber to have different temperature characteristics suitable for different cooking tasks, maintaining local temperature uniformity while providing global cooking capacity.
3Device complexity
If traditional electric grill heating elements are used to simplify the device structure, then the device complexity is reduced, but the temperature control accuracy and reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
Each zone has its own dedicated heating element positioned to provide localized heating. This allows precise control of temperature in each zone independently, improving temperature control accuracy and reliability without requiring complex centralized heating systems.
Solution Approach 2:
Each heating zone is equipped with a temperature probe that provides feedback to the control system. The controller adjusts power to each heating element based on real-time temperature readings, creating closed-loop control that improves temperature control accuracy and reliability while maintaining relatively simple device structure.
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
Enables precise temperature control across multiple zones, allowing for uniform cooking and indirect cooking methods, improving cooking efficiency and reducing user intervention by maintaining consistent temperatures despite ambient changes.
Implementation Method 1
Each zone includes an electric heating element
Implementation Method 2
A temperature probe in each zone provides a reading of the temperature in that zone to the control system
Data Source
AI summary
An electric grill includes a firebox divided into a plurality of zones. Each zones has an electric heating element, and a temperature probe. A controller having operative control to detect temperatures using the temperature probes adjusts power to the electric heating element for each of the plurality of zones.