FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to a hybrid cooking system that uses different sources of heat for storage and cooking.

BACKGROUND

Cooking is a thermal energy-consuming process which happens regularly time in varying scales and at different geographies. Generally, the cooking energy demand is met by direct fossil fuel such as LPG or indirectly through electrical energy generated through coal etc. Considering the remote geographies where accessibility to these energy sources is difficult and sometimes not economically viable given the difficult geographic terrain or low -income demographic.

Use of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, ocean, etc for generating electric power and sources like Solar to directly generate thermal energy has made possible cooking solutions which may be cheap and accessible in some of the difficult geographic locations.

Most of the prior art concepts have Solar as the energy source for the cooking system and the energy collection is either through Solar thermal or Solar PV route. Prior arts utilizing Solar PV have some sort of electric induction-based cooktops with a battery system for energy storage, these systems although versatile for use in all sorts of cooking operations but are not economically viable and scalable. Solar thermal-based concepts have energy collection to a thermal storage medium which supplies heat energy to the cooktop which only meets the cooking energy demand at a smaller scale. Some Solar thermal concepts which use water/steam as the thermal energy storage medium can meet community cooking requirements but only for cooking operations such as boiling and steaming. Other concepts which use heat exchangers for heating cooking oil in large quantities can be utilized only for frying operations, although at an industrial scale but lacks energy storage and requires high power electric heating from the grid.

The different concepts and designs of cooktops and cooking systems based on renewable energy sources used in prior arts are described in U.S. Patent No. 8950181, World Intellectual Property Organization - International Publication No. WO 2017/205864, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0106172, European Patent No. EP 1685762, U.S. Patent Application No. 2020/0340677.

U.S. Patent No. 8950181 discloses the solar heat collector cum storage (an Evacuated tube collector in one of the embodiments) connected to a cooking range which is also filled with heat storage material and the transfer from the collector to the cooking range is via hot oil/fluid. The cooking range has various pre-carved cavities/chambers in the shape of specific utensils used for different cooking applications such as baking in an oven, frying operations in deep round metal pots, steaming operations in a narrow cylindrical vessel as a pressure cooker etc. This prior art lacks in providing heat control for all the different cooking applications and also is very cumbersome and restrictive to use only chamber- specific shaped utensils taking away the user convenience. Also, the heat collection, transfer and storage technology described are also not capable of operating at high temperatures which are actually required for all sorts of cooking i.e., 200- 350 C. The energy source used is only solar thermal.

WO 2017/205864 discloses the portable vessel having a good structure with an open top, filled with phase change material (PCM) and having fins like structure submerged in the PCM extend to the open top and attached to a heat transfer plate which sits on the open top sealing the vessel completely. The heat transfer plate can be directed toward a solar energy concentrator like a parabolic dish where it receives the solar energy and stores it within the thermal energy in the high- temperature range of up to 6 hours. The vessel with the heat transfer plate is claimed to do all sorts of cooking using regular flat bottom utensils but only for a small quantity of food. This prior art although convenient to use and can perform all sorts of cooking operations, does not provide scalability where on a community scale cooking can be performed, also the thermal storage is not sufficient to provide practical usability in scenarios of non-availability of energy source. It also fails to exploit different renewable energy sources available and thus seems to be less reliable.

US No. 2021/0106172 provides the design for performing elevatedtemperature cooking using synthetic thermal fluid and heat exchangers. It has a closed chamber with a supply of high-temperature thermal fluid up to 400 C and arrangements of conveyor belts passing through an oven-like enclosure receiving hot air from heat exchangers, a fryer with cooking oil being heated by the heat exchanger and a heated platen, all of which receives heat from the common synthetic thermal fluid. The design mentioned in this prior art is for large-scale batch cooking but is only capable of performing certain cooking operations such as baking and frying. Moreover, this prior art only explains cooktop design which works only on synthetic heat transfer fluid and does not talk about the source of thermal energy and means of thermal storage.

EP1685762 discloses an apparatus having a base and lid containing thermal fluid capable of making a closed chamber as ovens and to be used for low- temperature cooking operations only and on a small scale. This prior art does not discuss the thermal energy source and technologies for thermal storage.

U.S No. 2020/0340677 discloses the use of electric power generated from any renewable energy source to transfer energy to one or more heat storages (using electrical heating), one or more hot water storing compartments and a controller to smartly select the source of electricity and continuously maintain energy storage in the different compartments. A cooking system said to be in a heat exchange relationship with the thermal storage can be used for cooking food and also the hot water can be readily supplied from the storage. This prior art does not utilize electricity as a source of thermal energy in the storage and fails to utilize other readily available sources like solar thermal, geothermal etc.

The aforesaid various shortcomings and limitations of the prior arts are; inability to perform all sorts of cooking operations like frying, boiling, steaming, temperature varying operations as in Indian cooking, Roti making etc.; limitations towards the use of type & shape of cooking vessels; lack of suitably larger energy storage for conducting at least a whole day of cooking during unavailability of supply from energy source; difficulty towards scalability of the system for large scale community cooking; not able to exploit different renewable energy sources available to different geographic locations and rely only on a single source like Solar.

As evident from the shortcomings and limitations of prior art there is a need to develop a cooking system which is powered from renewable energy sources suitable to geographic location, is capable of performing all sorts of cooking operations, have energy storages for longer off-time period (when the energy sources are not available) operations and is economically scalable for large scale community cooking.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, in a simplified format, that are further described in the detailed description of the invention. This summary is neither intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the invention and nor is it intended for determining the scope of the invention.

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, in a simplified format, that are further described in the detailed description of the invention. This summary is neither intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the invention nor is it intended for determining the scope of the invention.

The proposed system relates to the aspect of a heating system that relies on different sources of energy to store heat in a thermal energy collector and discharge the heat therefrom based on the requirement.

A system is disclosed that includes at least one cooktop unit adapted to receive a utensil. In addition, the system includes a thermal storage unit having a heat storage material adapted to store and discharge heat. The system also includes a first energy source thermally coupled to the thermal storage unit and adapted to generate and supply a first predefined amount of heat to the thermal storage unit for storage thereof. In addition, the system includes a second energy source thermally coupled with thermal storage unit and adapted to generate and supply a second predefined amount of heat to the thermal storage unit for storage thereof. Further, the thermal storage unit is capable of receiving the first predefined amount of heat and the second predefined amount of heat simultaneously.

According to the present disclosure, the cooktop unit and the thermal storage unit can receive heat energy from different energy sources simultaneously thereby ensuring that adequate energy is always available for cooking. Moreover, the simultaneous supply of heat also enables heat consumption as well as storage whenever the heat is available thereby enabling usage of heat whenever available from the heat sources.

To further clarify the advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail in the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 illustrates a system for cooking purposes, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 2 illustrates an arrangement of a plurality of cooktop unit, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 3 illustrates different views of the cooktop unit, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 4 illustrates another type of cooktop unit, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 5 illustrates a schematic of a thermal storage unit, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

Figure 6 illustrates the thermal storage unit and a graph indicating the storage of heat therein, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Further, skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the drawings are illustrated for simplicity and may not have necessarily been drawn to scale. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skilled in the art to which invention belongs. The system and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.

For example, the term “some” as used herein may be understood as “none” or “one” or “more than one” or “all.” Therefore, the terms “none,” “one,” “more than one,” “more than one, but not all” or “all” would fall under the definition of “some.” It should be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that the terminology and structure employed herein is for describing, teaching, and illuminating some embodiments and their specific features and elements and therefore, should not be construed to limit, restrict, or reduce the spirit and scope of the present disclosure in any way.

For example, any terms used herein such as, “includes,” “comprises,” “has,” “consists,” and similar grammatical variants do not specify an exact limitation or restriction, and certainly do not exclude the possible addition of one or more features or elements, unless otherwise stated. Further, such terms must not be taken to exclude the possible removal of one or more of the listed features and elements, unless otherwise stated, for example, by using the limiting language including, but not limited to, “must comprise” or “needs to include.”

Whether or not a certain feature or element was limited to being used only once, it may still be referred to as “one or more features” or “one or more elements” or “at least one feature” or “at least one element.” Furthermore, the use of the terms “one or more” or “at least one” feature or element do not preclude there being none of that feature or element, unless otherwise specified by limiting language including, but not limited to, “there needs to be one or more...” or “one or more elements is required.”

Unless otherwise defined, all terms and especially any technical and/or scientific terms, used herein may be taken to have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person ordinarily skilled in the art.

Reference is made herein to some “embodiments.” It should be understood that an embodiment is an example of a possible implementation of any features and/or elements of the present disclosure. Some embodiments have been described for the purpose of explaining one or more of the potential ways in which the specific features and/or elements of the proposed disclosure fulfil the requirements of uniqueness, utility, and non-obviousness. Use of the phrases and/or terms including, but not limited to, “a first embodiment,” “a further embodiment,” “an alternate embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “multiple embodiments,” “some embodiments,” “other embodiments,” “further embodiment”, “furthermore embodiment”, “additional embodiment” or other variants thereof do not necessarily refer to the same embodiments. Unless otherwise specified, one or more particular features and/or elements described in connection with one or more embodiments may be found in one embodiment, or may be found in more than one embodiment, or may be found in all embodiments, or may be found in no embodiments. Although one or more features and/or elements may be described herein in the context of only a single embodiment, or in the context of more than one embodiment, or in the context of all embodiments, the features and/or elements may instead be provided separately or in any appropriate combination or not at all. Conversely, any features and/or elements described in the context of separate embodiments may alternatively be realized as existing together in the context of a single embodiment.

Any particular and all details set forth herein are used in the context of some embodiments and therefore should not necessarily be taken as limiting factors to the proposed disclosure.

Figure 1 illustrates a system 100 for cooking purposes, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The system 100 of the present disclosure is designed in such a way that the system 100 can utilise heat from various heat sources simultaneously to provide adequate heat for cooking purposes. The system 100 can also be utilised for other purposes that require heat, such as water heating or space heating. The system 100 is designed in such a way that the system 100 can utilise the heat whenever available thereby making the system 100 usage beyond the time when the heat is not available. The system 100 of the present disclosure has multiple components that can receive and store heat from different sources simultaneously thereby making the heat storage decentralized. The details of such and other components of the system 100 will be explained later.

The system 100 may include, but is not limited to, one or more cooktop unit 102, a thermal storage unit 104, a first energy source 106, and a second energy source 108. The system 100 is designed in such a way that the heat energy from the first energy source 106 and the second energy source 108 can be stored in either the heat storage unit 104 or the cooktop units 102 simultaneously thereby making the system 100 hybrid in terms of usage of heat. The thermal storage unit 104 is the component of the system 100 adapted to store the heat therein. In addition, the thermal storage unit 104 is adapted to regulate the amount of heat supplied to the cooktop unit 102. On the other hand, the cooktop unit 102 is adapted to provide heat to a utensil for cooking. Details of each of the thermal storage unit 104 and the cooktop unit 102 will be explained later with respect to Figure 2 and 5 respectively.

In one example, the first energy source 106 is a device adapted to generate heat using sunlight and is configured to supply the heat energy to the thermal storage unit 104 for storage. The first energy source 106 can be a solar heat collector, such as an evacuated heat collector or parabolic dish/trough collector which can collect heat from sunlight. Alternatively, the first energy source 104 can be a geothermal energy source. In any case, the first energy source 106 generates heat from a natural energy source and transfers a first predetermined amount of heat to the thermal storage unit 104.

On the other hand, the second energy source 108 is coupled to the thermal storage unit 104 to provide a second predefined unit of heat energy to the thermal storage unit 104. The second energy source 108 can be an electrical heating element which can be powered by a renewable energy 112. The renewable energy 112 can be, in one example, a solar electric generation unit which includes PV panels 114 and a battery 116 which are adapted to be charged by the PV panels 114. Further, battery 116 is configured to send the electric power to the second energy source 108. Alternatively, the renewable energy 112 can be a wind power electricity generation unit having wind power generation. The battery 116 can also receive charge from a grid supply or alternative current (AC) power supply 118. The second energy source 108 is coupled to a resistance of a resistance value optimized value of resistance to minimize the conversion power loss during power extraction from the renewable energy source 112 or alternative current (AC) power supply 118.

According to the present disclosure, the heat transfer may occur between the aforementioned components by a heat transfer fluid (HTF). The HTF can be a synthetic oil. Accordingly, the aforementioned components are configured to receive and discharge the HTF, such that the HTF can be circulated from such components and transfer heat between each other. In one example, the system 100 has different energy circuits that allow the HTF to flow, namely a first energy circuit and a second energy circuit.

The first energy circuit is in communication with the thermal storage unit 104 and the first energy source 106, which comprises an arrangement of transfer of a first predetermined amount of heat from the first energy source 106 to the thermal storage unit 104. The first energy circuit may also be called the charging loop as the first energy circuit enables the transfer and storage of heat in the thermal storage unit 104. The first energy circuit may include a first hose 120A adapted to fluidically couple an outlet port 106B of the first energy source 106 and a first inlet port 104 A of the thermal storage unit 104. In addition, the first energy circuit may also include a second hose 120B adapted to fluidically couple a first outlet port source 106. Further, the first energy circuit may include a first pump 122 disposed between the first outlet port 104B of the thermal storage unit 104B and the inlet port 106 A of the first energy source 106. The first pump 122 is operated to pressurize and pump the HTF through the first energy circuit. The first energy circuit also includes a first valve 128 fluidically coupled to the second hose 120B and upstream to the first pump 122. The first valve 128, in operation, regulates the volume of HTF flowing towards the first energy source 106.

On the other hand, the second energy circuit may also be called the cooking loop as the second energy circuit enables the transfer of the heat from the thermal storage unit 104 to the cooktop unit 102 for cooking. The second energy circuit may also include a first hose 124A adapted to fluidically couple a second outlet port 104C of the thermal storage unit 104 to an inlet port 102 A of the cooktop unit 102. The second energy circuit also includes an inline heater 110 thermally coupled to the first hose 124A and adapted to heat the HTF flowing through the first hose 124A. In one example, the inline heater 110 can be a heating element that is adapted to provide heat to the cooktop unit 102. The inline heater 110 can be powered by the AC power supply 118. The second energy circuit includes a second hose 124B adapted to fluidically an outlet port 102B of the cooktop unit 102 and the first outlet port 104B of the thermal storage unit 104. Further, the second energy circuit includes a second pump 126 having disposed between the outlet port 102B of the cooktop unit 102 and the first outlet port 104B of the thermal storage unit 104. The second energy circuit also includes a second valve 130 fluidically coupled to the second hose 124B and downstream to the second pump 126. The second valve 130, in operation, regulates the volume of HTF flowing towards the thermal storage unit 104.

In one example, the system 100 includes a diverting valve 132 that fluidically couples the first energy circuit and the second energy circuit. The diverting valve 132 may be fluidically coupled to the first hose 120A of the first energy circuit and the first hose 124A of the second energy circuit, such that the diverting valve 132 diverts a portion of the HTF from the first energy circuit to the second energy circuit. The diverting valve 132 may divert the heated HTF coming from the first energy source 106 based on various scenarios. For instance, the diverting valve 132 may divert the heated HTF when the first predetermined amount of heat is already stored in the thermal storage unit 104 and surplus heat can be used by the cooktop unit 102 for either consumption or storage. In another instance, the diverting valve 132 may divert the heated HTF when additional heat is needed for heating cooking. In such a case, both the heat from the thermal storage unit 104 and the first energy source 106 can be carried via the HTF to cooktop unit 102. At the same time, the heat discharge from the thermal storage unit 104 can be replenished by the portion of the HTF flowing into thermal storage unit 104.

In one example, the first pump 122 and the second pump 126 are powered either by the renewable energy 112 or the AC power supply 118 whichever is available thereby making the operation easy. Further, the first valve 128, the second valve 130, and the diverting valve 132 are electronically controlled valves and can be controlled by a controller (not shown) to precisely regulate the volume of the HTF therethrough. Further, all such components are connected electrically as shown by dotted lines.

As mentioned before, the cooktop unit 102 is designed in such a way that the cooktop unit 102 can receive heat energy from different sources. Exemplary embodiments showing different kinds of cooktop unit is explained in conjunction with Figures 2 and 3. Specifically, Figure 2 illustrates an arrangement 200 of a plurality of cooktop unit 102 while Figure 3 illustrates different views of a single cooktop unit 102, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As mentioned before, the system 100 can have multiple cooktop units 102 that are arranged in a parallel arrangement that can receive HTF simultaneously. Each cooktop unit 102 may include a cooktop plate 202 adapted to receive the utensil thereon. Further, the cooktop plate 202 is adapted to release the heat to the utensil to heat the utensil uniformly. The cooktop plate 202 is made of a metal with high thermal conductivity, such as Aluminum or Copper. As a result, the heat discharge via the cooktop plate 202 to the utensil is uniform, thus making the time of cooking short while maximizing efficiency. In other words, a cooktop design of the cooktop unit 102 is such that the cooktop design maximizes the heat transfer efficiency to utensil while cooking

The cooktop unit 102 also includes a spiral-shaped hose 204 installed underneath the cooktop plate 202 and adapted to receive the HTF. Alternatively, the spiral-shaped hose 204 can be formed as a spiral cavity within the cooktop plate 202. In either case, the spiral-shaped hose 204 is thermally coupled to the cooktop plate 202, such that the heat of the HTF flowing through the spiral-shaped hose 204 is transferred to the cooktop plate 202. The spiral- shaped hose 204 has a central port 204 A which is fluidically coupled to the inlet port 102 A of the cooktop unit 102. In addition, the spiral shaped hose 204 has a radial port 204B which is fluidically coupled to the outlet port 204A. The cooktop unit 102 may also include a control valve 208 installed upstream to the central port 204A to regulate the volume of HTF flowing through the spiral shaped hose 204 and consequently the amount of heat discharged to the cooktop unit 102.

The cooktop unit 102 also has insulation covering 206 underneath the spiral shaped hose 204 to prevent the heat loss therethrough. In one example, the covering 206 has a bucket shape, such that both the spiral shaped hose 204 and the cooktop plate 202 are housed within the bucket. Such an arrangement prevents heat loss from the spiral shaped hose 204 as well as the sides of the cooktop plate 202. In one example, the cooktop unit 102 includes a coil heater 210 disposed inside the spiral shaped hose 206 and adapted to heat the HTF flowing through the spiral shaped hose 206. In addition, the coil heater 210 may provide the heat to the cooktop plate 202 via the body to the spiral shaped hose 206. Accordingly, the cooktop unit 102 can receive heat both from the HTF and the coil heater 210 simultaneously. In one example, the coil heater 210 can be powered by the AC power supply 118 shown in Figure 1.

Referring specifically to Figure 2, the inlet port 102A is fluidically coupled to the central port 204 A of the spiral shaped hose 204 of each cooktop unit 102, such that the control valve 208 of each cooktop unit 102 can regulate to an inflow of the HTF independently. On the other hand, the radial port 204B is fluidically coupled to the outlet port 102B of the cooktop unit 102. As may be understood, in the case of a single cooktop unit 102, the central port 204A would be the inlet port 102 A and the radial port 204B would be the outlet port 102B.

The cooktop unit 102 can have different configurations, such that the cooktop unit 102 may store the heat locally. Such an exemplary embodiment is explained in conjunction with Figure 4. Specifically, Figure 4 illustrates another type of cooktop unit 400, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The cooktop unit 400 may be configured to receive heat from various sources simultaneously. Further, the cooktop unit 400 may have similar components as the cooktop unit 102 shown in Figure 2 and 3 albeit in a different configuration. In addition, the cooktop unit 400 has additional components that enable the cooktop unit 400 to store heat for a longer duration of time. For instance, the cooktop unit 400 has a thermal storage 402. Further, the solar cooking device 102 is analogous to the cooktop plate 202 shown in Figure 2. The cooktop unit 400 may include a detachable cover lid 410 adapted to cover a sub-assembly of a housing 404 (analogous to the insulation covering 206). In addition, the system includes a first heater 406 (analogous to the coil heater 210) and a second heater 408 disposed to be in contact with the thermal storage 402. In the illustrated embodiment, the first heater 406 and the second heater 408 may be disposed to contact a bottom surface and a top surface of the thermal storage 402 respectively. In another example, the first heater 406 and the second heater 408 may be embedded with the thermal storage 402. In one example, the detachable cover lid 410 includes one or more of an insulation layer and is adapted to cover a subassembly of the housing 404, the thermal storage 402, the first heater 406, the second heater, and a heat control assembly 412. The heat control assembly 412 translates a vertical movement, thus varying the contact area between the thermal storage 402 and the lid 410, and in turn the utensil.

In an embodiment, the first heater 406 may be coupled to the second energy source 108 namely through the PV panels 114 (shown in Figure 1) and the battery 116 (shown in Figure 1) and adapted to receive solar energy for charging the thermal storage 402. On the other hand, the second heater 408 may be coupled to AC power supply 118. The second heater 408 may be adapted to charge the thermal storage 402 during an emergency and non-Sunny days. Therefore, when solar arrays are not able to collect any solar energy, for example, due to cloudy weather, the thermal storage 402 can be charged and therefore the cooktop unit 400 can be operated based on the AC power supply 118. On the other hand, the first heater 406 may heat the thermal storage on sunny days. In an embodiment, the second heater 408 may be adapted to operate at different values of electrical resistance to draw a defined range of electrical power from the main supply. Therefore, the thermal storage 402 is adapted to be charged through either the solar arrays or the mains supply for cooking purposes, depending on the presence of sunlight. In an embodiment, when the solar energy is not available, the second heater 408 may directly accept energy from the electric grid and can cook food without charging the thermal storage 402. Therefore, the second heater 408 may also directly be used for cooking.

In one example, the thermal storage 402 includes one or more a thermal storage material, a sensible heat material, a petroleum derivative, and a phase change material. Further, the thermal storage 402 can have a cylindrical profile, a cuboidal profile, a conical profile, and a pyramidical profile. Further, an outer surface of the thermal storage 402 is insulated in a graded manner, by a first layer of a high temperature heat resistant paint, a second layer of a reflector formed on the first layer and a third layer of another insulation material formed on the second layer. Further, the thermal storage 402 and an inner surface of the housing 404 are insulated with at least one of Asbestos, Fiberglass, Ceramic fiber, and Poly crystalline fiber. Further, the thermal storage 402 is adapted to be split open to form multiple cooktops to receive multiple utensil.

As mentioned before, the thermal storage unit 104 works in conjunction with the cooktop unit 102 to provide right amount of heating for cooking. Moreover, the thermal storage unit 104 is designed to control the discharge of heat to the cooktop unit 102. An exemplary embodiment of the thermal storage unit 104 is explained in conjunction with Figures 5 and 6. Specifically, Figure 5 illustrates a schematic of the thermal storage unit 104. Figure 6 illustrates the thermal storage unit 104 and a graph indicating the amount of stored heat, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The thermal storage unit 104 has a cylindrical body 502 which is thermally insulated from the outside to prevent heat loss. The body 502 may house a heat storage material. In one example, the heat storage material 504 is filled along the complete height of the thermal storage unit 104. The heat storage material can be but is not limited to, a phase change material. Further, the heat storage material 504 is arranged inside the body 502 in such a way that the thermal storage unit 104 is rendered as a thermocline-based thermal energy storage in which the heat is stored as sensible heat.

In addition, the body 502 houses the second energy source 108 in the predefined arrangement. For instance, the second energy source 108 is arranged along the height, the top end, and the bottom end of the second energy source 108. The second energy source 108 is arranged in such a way that a thermocline temperature profile is maintained inside the thermal storage unit 104 while simultaneously adding the energy. Maintaining the thermocline profile reduces the thermocline degradation resulting in prolonged the heat storage. Referring now specifically to Figure 6, the thermocline -based thermal storage unit 104 has a hot zone 506, a thermocline zone 508, and a cold zone 510. The hot zone 506 is formed towards a top end of the body 502 of the thermal storage unit 104. On the other hand, the cold zone 510 is formed towards a bottom end of the body 502 of the thermal storage unit 104. Further, the thermocline zone 508 is formed between the hot zone 506 and the cold zone 510.

In one example, temperatures of the hot zone 506, the thermocline zone 508, and the cold zone 510 vary within their respective range represented by the curves 602, 604, and 606 in the graph 600 respectively. The temperature inside the hot zone 506 is greater than the temperature inside the cold zone 510. Further, the temperature inside the thermocline zone 508 is greater than the temperature in the cold zone 510 and less than the temperature in the hot zone 506. Such a temperature profile allows for reduced thermocline degradation.

Although not shown, the thermal storage unit 104 has heat exchanger that enables the flow HTF and transfer of heat therethrough. The heat exchanger may have different inlet ports 104A, and the outlet ports 104B, 104C for ingress and egress of the HTF. The heat exchanger is also arranged inside the body 502 in such a way that the heat exchanger helps in maintaining the thermocline temperature profile.

The present disclosure also relates to a control system for controlling the operation of the system 100. The control system can be a single processing unit or several units, all of which could include multiple computing units. The control system may be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processor, central processing units, state machines, logic circuitries, and/or any devices that manipulate signals based on operational instructions. Among other capabilities, the control system is configured to fetch and execute computer-readable instructions and data stored in a memory.

During the operation, the control system is adapted to operate the first energy circuit and the second energy circuit to charge and discharge the thermal storage unit 104. In one example, the first pump 122 is actuated so that the HTF in the first energy circuit can into the first energy source 106. The HTF, upon absorbing the first predetermined amount of heat from the first energy source 106 flows back into the thermal storage unit 104 to charge the thermal storage unit 104. The first predetermined amount of heat is stored at the hot zone 506. Further, the thermocline zone 508 tank keeps the hot and cold HTF separated within the body 502 of the thermal storage unit 104. Simultaneously, the second energy source 108 powered by the renewable energy 112 keeps the thermocline temperature profile stable to reduce thermocline degradation and enhance the heat discharge time.

During the discharge of heat, the thermal storage unit 104 discharges the heat to the cooktop unit 102, such that the HTF carrying the heat is supplied at a constant high temperature. Further, based on the requirement, the flow rate of the refrigerant can be changed by the control system by controlling the second pump 126 and the second valve 130. In addition, the heat may be added either by the first heater 406 (coil heater 210) or by the thermal storage or both. Furthermore, the heat can be added by the inline heater 110. Such an approach ensures that an adequate amount of heat is always available for cooking.

According to the present disclosure, the system 100 uses two different types of energy sources simultaneously to ensure that an adequate amount of heat is available for use irrespective of the availability of the renewable energy source. The use of different kinds of heat sources renders the system 100 hybrid. Moreover, the unique design of single tank thermal storage unit 104 and the HTF based cooktop unit 102 with inbuilt second energy source 108 further enhances the hybridization of the system 100. Moreover, electrical heating is logically controlled to enhance the performance of storage as well as cooktop unit 102 continuously throughout the operation. The system 100 uses a single tank packed bed thermal energy storage unit with an inbuilt jacket/mantle second energy source 108. Moreover, the thermal storage unit 104 uses filler materials in the packed bed single tank for increasing the storage system energy density. Moreover, the cooktop unit 102 with casted-in spiral shaped hose 204 for the HTF and in-built cable coil heaters 210 makes for a cooktop unit 102 as local heat storage. Further, the system 100 enables the integration of the thermal energy Collector, the electrical energy generation system, the hybrid single tank thermal storage unit and the hybrid cooktop unit. As a result, the cooktop unit is scalable for allowing large-scale community cooking. Moreover, the system 100 has the ability to exploit different renewable energy sources available in different geographies.

While specific language has been used to describe the present disclosure, any limitations arising on account thereto, are not intended. As would be apparent to a person in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein. The drawings and the foregoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment.