GR1010352B - Smart electronic liquid gas grill potentially handled via independent application - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a grill made of stainless steel which uses liquid gas as fuel. It has some electromechanical-kinematic arrangements such as the grill rotation mechanism, the automatic hob cleaning mechanism, the integrated heat chamber as well as the liquid gas consumption and management control system. Additionally, inside there is a multitude of electronic arrangements made of input and output arrangements which work together by receiving and giving the corresponding commands for each cooking case to the central control unit which is adequately structured in order to communicate with an independent application. Thus, the user is given the possibility to interact with the smart grill, setting various grilling conditions according to his wishes for grilling various edible products without him being involved at all in the grilling process.

Description

SMART GRILL - ELECTRONIC GAS GRILL WITH INDEPENDENT APP CONTROL

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a smart grill which uses gas for grilling the edible products and electric current through accumulators for the operation of the electric part. The term smart grill is attributed to the fact that it enables the user to remotely and fully control the grill through an independent mobile phone application, as well as its fully autonomous operation without any manual intervention from the user from the moment of placing the edible products until the completion of baking under specific conditions. Its electrical part consists of temperature sensors, flame sensors, flow meter, thermostats, stepping electric motors, electric valves and indicator lights. The construction of the outside of the grill is entirely stainless steel so that it can withstand the weather and meet the specifications as a device of sanitary interest.

STATE OF THE PRIOR ART

Conventional grills that we have seen so far only work with LPG and an AA battery or similar for sparking and without any other automatic system for the convenience of the user. As a result of the prior art is the requirement for continuous manual intervention to clean the grill so as to avoid unwanted flame outbreaks from the solvents of the edible products, the regular and manual rotation of the edible products and the fluctuation of the temperature inside it grill, as a result of which constant supervision by the user is deemed necessary to judge that the edible products are ready for consumption. The way in which he cooks the edible products is different every time, that is, there is no repeatability of the execution of a particular recipe as there is also the error of the observer. In addition, the user needs to know many different baking techniques depending on the products to be baked. Also, the user ran the risk of incomplete cooking as there is no accurate measurement of the remaining gas. Another area where conventional grills fall short is that they do not have any temperature-controlled space for storing ready-to-eat edible products outside the grilling chamber, making the grilling process more unpleasant and difficult for the user.

ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION

The purpose of this invention is to facilitate the griller by using "smart" functions such as the automatic cleaning of food residues (55), the automatic rotation of the grill (54), the needle-type temperature sensors as well as the adjustable flame burners ( 30). With the above functions, the user can set an automatic cooking program which completely takes over the cooking of the edible products and informs the user through the app and the central control unit when they are ready and at the desired cooking temperature. Another advantage resulting from the automatic baking functions is that the user has the possibility to repeat the same baking process having the exact same results as before. The user is also given the possibility to perform already saved cooking techniques. Furthermore, this invention is also addressed to more experienced users as they are given the possibility to create their own baking techniques through an independent application and to repeat them with the exact same results every time. Also, the gas consumption and management system helps the user to check the exact level of the gas bottle at any time and to inform him when it is almost empty and to be replaced, as a result, before the griller uses an automatic grilling program, he is informed of the if the rest of the bottle is enough to run this program. Then, upon completion of baking, the user can temporarily store his edible products in the specially designed chamber (50) which is also temperature controlled.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention concerns a portable grill made entirely of stainless steel and electronic parts for the control of the grilling conditions by the user either conventionally or through some application. More specifically, it uses an arrangement of electronic input (sensors) and output devices connected to the central control unit that communicates wirelessly with any user device that has an application to control the grill. In addition, it has components to operate it, like a conventional grill without the use of an application. The input devices receive useful information from the conditions that prevail and send them to the central control unit. There the information is processed, and according to the conditions defined by the user (each time) through an application, the central control unit gives signals to the output devices to perform the corresponding action. At the same time the information from the input devices are sent to the device that is connected wirelessly, so that the user has a complete picture remotely and at any time, of the conditions prevailing in the grill. The main advantage of this invention is to be able to receive commands through the central control unit to set the operating conditions either for automated baking (without user intervention) or for conventional baking. In order to achieve this, there are ready-made (suggested) baking recipes for certain products, which can be applied at the user's command. In addition, the user will have the possibility to create his own grilling recipe. The patent consists of three basic elements that make up the automation (input devices, central control unit, output devices) and the framework of the grill. When the gas exits the gas bottle, it is led through a pipe to a flowmeter (wired to the central control unit) which will measure the n amount of LPG in volume and the value will be sent to the central control unit where it will be recorded after replacing the bottle and consequently after pressing the corresponding command button (53) to reset the remaining quantity of LPG from the previous bottle and it will now start to the new balance of LPG remaining in the new bottle is calculated. From there, the LPG will be led to five electrovalves which will distribute the LPG to five different flame burners (30), (31) of which the last one is for a frying pan eye or pot (31). Each electric valve will be activated either through an application (with a cooking program or by using virtual thermostats that have been put into operation) or by the conventional cooking method with five corresponding thermostats (35), (43) (one for each solenoid valve) that will be located on the front of the middle part (57) of the grill. When the liquid gas reaches the flame (30), (31), it will ignite with the help of an electronic sparking device that will be activated by the central control unit. Inside the grill there is a temperature sensor (24) which will take the measurement of the temperature inside the grill and send the value to the central control unit. In addition , the temperature can also be measured inside the products to be baked as it is possible to connect independent wireless needle-type temperature sensors that will be placed on the products to be baked for accurate temperature control by the central control unit. there are five indicator lights (41), (42) (above each dimmer) and they will indicate the opening indication of the corresponding electric valve (from 1 to 9). In addition, the front of the middle part of the grill will have three indicator lights (from 0 to 999) for the temperature inside the grill (38), for the n residual amount in percentage of the liquid gas in the bottle (39) and for the remaining level in percentage of the battery (40) respectively. Inside the grill there will be a photocell (44) which will detect the development of unwanted flame from the residues created when cooking edible products. When this unwanted flame is detected, the photocell (44) will signal the central control unit, which will activate two stepper motors (6) that convert rotary to linear motion and move a device (55 ) (in the direction from the front to the back and vice versa ) which will carry a wire brush (1) and fireproof cloth over each flame source (30) in order to remove unnecessary debris and consequently extinguish unwanted flame sources which are created because of them. The fixed part of the upper part - lid of the grill (58) has a support base for fitting an electric motor (2 3) variable rate of rotation - activated either by the central control unit or by pressing a command button (34) - for the addition of a cooking spit (27) which rests on the supports (28), (29). This arrangement , is designed so that it can be detached in case the user does not wish to use it, gaining space inside the grill for grilling. rotating the grill by 180 degrees for grilling the products from both sides. The rotating grills (54) which are activated either by pressing the command buttons (36), (37) or through an independent mobile phone application. The user has the ability to rotate the racks (15) remotely via a standalone application or to rotate them automatically during a save run. of a recipe. During the rotation of the grid (15) the first electric motor (22) is initially activated which rotates the drive screw (18) through a link (21) and which is supported with an axial load rolling bearing (19) on the support base (20) and linearly, vertically and upwardly moves the rack (15) to raise it by means of the drive nut (17) which is seated on the electric motor support base (11) by means of a square cross-section perforated rod welded to it .The linear-vertical movement of the electric motor support base (11) is achieved with the assembly of two parallel sliding rails (13) that are based on the system support base (16) and two corresponding linear sliding bearings (14) that are based on the electric motor support base ( 11).The grill (15) is mounted on the electric motor support base (11) by means of a rolling bearing (12), which then rotates by 180 degrees when it is put into operation the second electric motor (9) as it is connected to it through a link (10). Then the first electric motor (22) rotates in the opposite direction to the first time and lowers the grill (15) to the grilling position. At the bottom of the grill (56) is the warming chamber (50) in which the user can temporarily store the baked products. After activating it with the corresponding command button (52), the air thruster (49) is activated which sucks air from the external environment through an air filter (47). This air is then led to a flexible metal tube (48) which is heated by a nearby flame and then transports this hot air to the warming chamber (50). air thruster (49), continues to operate until the hot chamber (50) has the desired temperature and receives the corresponding command from the temperature sensor (51) through the central control unit. On the front view t th of the middle part of the grill (57) there are three command buttons. The first button (32) will start the grill and turn it off, the second button (33) will give a signal to ignite the gas emitted by the flame burners for conventional grilling, and the third button (34) for activating the spit rotation electric motor (23). In addition to the front of the middle part (57) there will be two additional command buttons (36), (37) (a button for each grill) which, after pressing them, rotates the corresponding grill (15) with a subprogram from the central control unit for conventional grilling. The cooking chamber of the smart grill has the ability to close and seal airtight, closing the movable part from the lid with the adapted handle (25) and to operate like an oven with absolute control of the temperature prevailing inside it, while at the same time giving the allowing the user to supervise the grilling process from the fireproof glass (26) placed on the movable part from the lid (58) of the grill.

To further clarify the basic principle, as well as to explain how the individual parts are connected, the invention is illustrated in drawings 1 to 21. The drawings show:

Fig. 1 Illustration - development of the automatic food residue cleaning system (55)

Fig. 2 Illustration of the automatic food residue cleaning system (55)

Fig. 3 Front view of the automatic food residue cleaning system (55)

Fig. 4 Plan - deployment of the automatic food residue cleaning system (55)

Fig. 5 Illustration - development of the automatic grill rotation system (54)

Fig. 6 Illustration of the automatic grill rotation system (54) Fig. 7 Illustration of the automatic grill rotation system (54) Fig. 8 Side view of the automatic grill rotation system (54) Fig. 9 Rear view of the automatic grill rotation system grill (54) Fig. 10 Illustration - development of the upper part - lid of the grill (58) Fig. 11 Illustration - development of the middle part of the grill (57) Fig. 12 Illustration of the middle part of the grill (57)

Fig. 13 Illustration - development of the middle part of the grill (57) Fig. 14 Illustration of the lower part of the grill (56)

Fig. 15 Illustration of the lower part of the grill (56)

Fig. 16 Illustration - development of the grill with the individual main parts Fig. 17 Illustration - development of the grill with the individual main parts Fig. 18 Front view of the grill

Fig. 19 Illustration of the grill

Fig. 20 Rear view of the grill

Fig. 21 Rear view of the grill

Fig. 1 shows how to connect the individual components that make up the automatic food residue cleaning system (55). More specifically, the spherical bearings that slide on the sliding rail are shown in magnification. In addition, the method of holding the wire cleaning brushes (1) is shown.

Fig. 2 shows the complete automatic food residue cleaning system (55) from a different perspective.

Fig. 3 shows the front view of the integrated automatic food residue cleaning system (55) and emphasizes (with magnification) the wire cleaning brush (1).

Fig. 4 shows how to connect some individual components of the automatic food residue cleaning system (55). In more detail, the drive screws (5) connected to the stepper motors (6) through the links (8) can be distinguished. In addition, the assembly of the drive nuts (4) with the drive screws (5) is shown on a larger scale.

Fig. 5 shows how to connect the individual components that make up the rotating grill (54). More specifically, it shows the connection of all the required parts that serve to lift and rotate the grill. Zooming in, you can see an axial load ball bearing which essentially takes the weight of all the moving parts of the rotating rack.

Fig. 6 shows the completed rotatable grill system (54) from a different perspective.

Fig. 7 shows the completed rotating grill system (54) from a different perspective.

Fig. 8 shows the side view of the complete rotatable grill system (54) from a different perspective.

Fig. 9 shows the side view of the complete rotatable grill system (54) from a different perspective.

Fig. 10 shows how to connect the parts that make up the upper part - lid of the grill (58). In more detail, the base to which the electric motor (23) is adapted to rotate the grill, the grill's internal temperature sensor (24) and the way to connect the mobile part (port) from the grill's lid can be distinguished. In addition, the way of holding the handle (25) is shown.

Fig. 11 shows the middle part of the grill (57) in a front view where the supports (28), (29) of the grilling spit, the plates that make up the housing of the middle part of the grill and the grilling spit can be seen ( 27).

Fig. 12 shows the middle part of the grill (57) and the basic electronic parts attached to it. Among them are the LED indicator lights, the dimmers, the command buttons and the fire detection sensor (44).

Fig. 13 shows the middle part of the grill (57) in a different perspective. In this view, the plates that make up the housing of the middle part of the grill can be seen, as well as the support bases for the stepper motors and the rolling bearings (46) on which the drive screws of the automatic food residue cleaning system (55) are located.

Fig. 14 shows the lower part of the grill (56) in a front view. In more detail, the thermochamber (50) and the components of which it consists and which are located at the top of it can be distinguished. In addition, the location of the gas bottle, the internal temperature sensor of the thermochamber (51) and two command buttons (52), (53) whose meaning is described above are shown.

Fig. 15 shows the rear view of the lower part of the grill (56).

Fig. 16 shows how to connect the main parts that make up the grill. In more detail, the middle part of the grill (57), the upper part - lid of the grill (58), the automatic cleaning system for food residues (55), the rotating grill system (54) and the lower part of the grill (56) can be distinguished.

Fig. 17 shows the main parts that make up the grill and how they are connected in a rear view.

Fig. 18 shows the complete front view of the grill.

Fig. 19 shows the complete grill in a different perspective.

Fig. 20 shows the complete rear view of the grill.

Fig. 21 shows the complete grill in a different perspective.

EXAMPLES OF APPLICATION OF THE INVENTION

EXAMPLE 1st

Let's say for example that the user wants to cook a total of twenty pieces of pancetta that are all the same volume and only fit ten of them (on both racks) to cook at the same time. So the user puts the smart grill into operation by pressing the corresponding activation button (32) from the control panel. He then opens an independent application from his mobile device, selects, for example, the pancetta recipe and activates the application of the corresponding recipe on both grids (15) of the smart grill. To activate this program even if the remainder of the bottle is not enough to complete the program and the central control unit sends a signal to the independent application and this in turn informs the user that the remaining gas is not sufficient to complete the program specific program. Suppose the user skips it and the start of baking is selected nevertheless. This recipe for example, activates the baking program with the following parameters in order:

1. Activate all flame burners (30) to preheat the smart grill.

2. Informing the user with a "notification" through an application as soon as the sensor inside the grill (24) detects the desired temperature (for example 200 Degrees Celsius), to place the pieces to be grilled and waiting for confirmation of the placement of the products.

3. After placing the ten pieces of pancetta on the racks (15), let the specific cooking program rotate them after fifteen minutes of cooking with the intensity of the flame on the burners (30) at position 4/9.

4. After fifteen minutes of cooking with the same flame intensity at 4/9 and on the other side let the program rotate the grates (15) again, bringing them to the initial position and then increase the flame intensity to 9 /9 for five minutes.

5. At the end of five minutes of cooking, let the racks (15) be rotated to finish cooking on the second side.

6. Finally, after the cooking has finished and on the second side with the flame intensity at 9/9, the central control unit sends a command to the independent application, and it informs the user with a "notification" that the cooking is complete. At the same time, all solenoid valves close and put the system on standby.

During cooking even if fat has collected and unwanted flames have been created. Then, the flame detector (44) detects the unusual flames and then the automatic cleaning of the burners (30) is activated, while at the same time the central control unit informs the user through an application with a "notification". At the same time, the central control unit activates the stepping electric motors (6) so that they set in motion the automatic hob cleaning device (55). This process remains activated until the burners (30) are thoroughly cleaned of debris and the unwanted flames are completely extinguished. As soon as the unwanted flames subside, the automatic cleaning device (55) returns to its original position. Just before the end of cooking, for example during the execution of the fourth parameter in a row, the central control unit sends a command to the independent application and it informs the user through a "notification" that the replacement of the bottle is necessary to complete the cooking program and at the same time and sets all solenoid valves to position 0/9. Then even if the user replaces the bottle with a new one, and presses the corresponding button in the independent application to continue the baking program. Then the application prompts him to press the command button (53) inside the grill or the corresponding virtual one through the application, to reset the record of the amount of LPG consumed from the previous bottle. After the measurement is reset, the user is then given the option to continue the cooking program by pressing the corresponding virtual button from the standalone application. As soon as the specific cooking program is completed, that is, when it reaches, for example, its sixth stage in a row, let the user remove the ten cooked pancetta from the racks (15) and place them in the warming chamber (50). It can then activate the warming chamber function (50) to keep the cooked meats at its preset operating temperature. Thus, the user can place the remaining ten pancetta on the racks (15) and choose the same cooking recipe again or make some variation in the cooking program to reach the desired result. Thus, while the ten new pancettas are being prepared, the first ones are kept warm inside the warming chamber (50). Finally, the user can turn off the smart grill by pressing the corresponding command button (32) located on the control panel.

EXAMPLE 2

Suppose for example that the user wishes to cook a large piece of meat on the spit (27). So the user puts the smart grill into operation by pressing the activation button (32) from the control and operation panel. He then opens the standalone app from his mobile device. It then selects, for example, the recipe for spit roasting using the internal temperature sensor of the needle-type products. Suppose this recipe for example, activates the baking program with the following parameters in order:

1. Activate all flame burners (30) to preheat the smart grill.

2. Informing the user with a "notification" through an application as soon as the sensor (24) inside the grill detects the desired temperature (for example 200 Degrees Celsius), informing him to place the pieces to be grilled and waiting for confirmation to place the products.

3. After placing the meat on the spit (27) and the internal temperature needle on it, even if the program is set for intensity on all flame points (30) in position 3/9.

4. Once the internal temperature of the meat reaches the preset desired temperature (80 degrees Celsius for example), the central control unit sends a command to the independent application, and it informs the user with a "notification" that the cooking is complete. At the same time, all solenoid valves close and put the system on standby.

As soon as the specific cooking program is completed, i.e. when it reaches, for example, the fourth stage in a row, the user can now remove the spit (27) with the cooked meat and then, if he wishes, he can place it in the warming chamber (50) since activate it first. Finally, the user can turn off the smart grill by pressing the corresponding command button (32) located on the control panel.

Claims (8)

SMART GRILL - ELECTRONIC GAS GRILL WITH INDEPENDENT APP CONTROL CLAIMS 1. The smart electronic gas grill consists of a cooking chamber, grill grates, frying eye, storage cabinet for various items, gas management system, and is used to grill edible products, and is characterized by the ability to interact with the user through mobile phone application for full remote control and use of the grill, the rotating grill grates (54), the automatic burner cleaning system (55), the integrated automatic warming chamber (50), the temperature-controlled cooking chamber, the automatic gas consumption and management monitoring system and the central control unit, thus offering its fully autonomous operation without any manual intervention by the user from the moment of placing the edible products until the end of cooking under specific conditions which the user can change at will. 2. The intelligent gas grill according to claim 1, characterized by the central control unit which is connected to the input and output units, and carries a wireless antenna for connecting to the internet and combined with the ability to interact with an application, is responsible for running the automatic grilling programs, processing data and enabling the user to interact with the smart grill. 3. The intelligent gas grill according to claim 1 and 2 is characterized by the automatic cleaning system of the flame burners (55) which consists of a fire detection sensor (44), a kinematic mechanism consisting of stepper motors (6), drive screws (5), drive nuts (4) and carries stainless steel brushes (1) on the top of the burners. This system detects unwanted flames using a fire detection sensor (44) and then the central control unit activates the stepper motors (6) which are located on the corresponding supports (45) and are connected through connectors (8) to the drive screws ( 5) which are based at each end on rolling bearings (46) and are placed parallel to each other. The drive screws rotate and move linearly through the drive nuts (4), the wire brush support base (7) where the cleaning wire brushes (1) are located, which finally slides through the roller bearings (3) on the rail slide (2) making a reciprocating motion. 4. The intelligent gas grill according to claim 1 and 2, characterized by the ability to inform the user in real time of the remaining time of completion of the automatic grilling program, resulting from user-defined variables such as the number of activated flame burners, the flame intensity in them for certain periods of time, the internal temperature of the grill as well as the internal temperature of the edible products. 5. The intelligent gas grill according to claim 1, 2 and 4 is characterized by the gas consumption monitoring and management system which consists of a volumetric flow sensor, diode electrovalves with the corresponding thermostats (35) and indicator lights for each flame (30), a command button (53) and an indicator lamp (39) which indicates the instantaneous percentage of the gas remaining. The gas monitoring and consumption/management system has a volumetric supply sensor which, through the central control unit, records the amount of gas that passes to the solenoid valves after pressing the command button (53). The liquid gas is led to the solenoid valves which are put into operation either through an automatic cooking program or through the corresponding thermostats (35) and the opening of each solenoid valve is indicated in each case on the corresponding indicator light (41). The central control unit, based on the consumption made after pressing the command button (53) and the specific quantity of LPG contained in the standard bottles, calculates the instantaneous balance in volume times one hundred which is also indicated on the corresponding indicator light (39 ). 6. The intelligent gas grill according to claim 1 and 2 is characterized by the automatic heating chamber built into the grill which consists of a command button (52), a temperature sensor (51), an air filter (47), a heat-insulated chamber ( 50) and an air thruster (49). The controllable thermal chamber is also characterized by the fact that after its activation with the corresponding command button (52), the air thruster (49) is activated which sucks in air from the external environment through an air filter (47). This air is then directed into a flexible metal tube (48) which is heated by a nearby flame and then carries this hot air to the hot chamber (50). The air pusher (49) continues to operate until the hot chamber (50) has the pre-set temperature and receives the corresponding command from the temperature sensor (51) through the central control unit. 7. The smart gas grill according to claim 1 and 2, characterized by the rotating grill grates (54) each of which is made up of stepper motors (9), (22) a screw (18) and drive nut (17) ), linear support rails (13) and linear slide bearings (14), a command button (36), (37) and the baking rack (15). The rotating grates are activated either by pressing the command button (36), (37) or via a mobile phone application. The user has the ability to rotate the racks (15) remotely via an app or to rotate automatically during the execution of an automatic baking program. During the rotation of the rack (15) the first electric motor (22) is first activated which rotates the drive screw (18) through a link (21) and which is supported by an axially loaded rolling bearing (19) on the support base ( 20) and moves linearly, vertically and upwards the rack (15) to raise it by means of the drive nut (17) which is located on the electric motor support base (11) by means of a perforated square cross-section rod welded to it. The linear-vertical movement of the electric motor support base (11) is achieved by the assembly of two parallel sliding rails (13) that are based on the system support base (16) and two corresponding linear sliding bearings (14) that are based on the electric motor support base (11) ). On the support base of the electric motor (11) the grill (15) is also located by means of a rolling bearing (12), which then rotates by 180 degrees when the second electric motor (9) is put into operation as it is connected to it by means of a link ( 10). Then the first electric motor (22) rotates counter to the first time and lowers the grill (15) to the cooking position. 8. The intelligent gas grill according to claim 1 and 2 is characterized by the possibility of connecting to compatible wireless needle-type temperature sensors which, after entering the products to be baked and in combination with an application through which the conditions of each baking are defined, constitute a key factor for more efficient cooking since the central control unit gives the corresponding commands either to rotate the grill (15) or to increase or decrease the flame intensity of certain burners (30). In addition, the needle-type temperature sensors are necessarily wireless in order to allow the free rotation of the grill (15) and in some cases give an order to the central control unit in order to complete the cooking at the user's desired temperature through an application.