Simpler microwaves

[mancmum]

Are the meals that bad?

MILs meals have no fibre listed in their nutritional value statement, they provide only 350 calories, and only 1 of your 5 a day. I didn't post this initially because I didn't know if fibre was zero or just not listed. Clearly they are better than not eating, but it would be good to have a nutritionalist comment on ways of eating well.

MIL now has a spinal fracture - apparently straining when constipating can cause this. MIL has had three separate bouts of constipation.

I think her meals are so bad that they should not form her main source of nutrition. Out of interest I looked at W*** F**** and their meals also don't list any fibre in them and interestingly there was no option to choose High Fibre, even though I understand constipation can be quite an issue with the elderly.

The slow cooker doesn't take long to set up. The stuff can be thrown in and there is an option to add barley etc to bulk up fibre. It does provide two meals for her.

We kept her off those meals for a week and she has appeared much better.

The problem is she thinks they are healthy because there is an advertising splash saying whooop de do One of your five a day. Her second meal of the day is usually toast and jam.

 

[nitram]

"... do you think it would be worth having the feature, would you pay extra for the feature? Just wondering...."

It would be worth having the feature.
You have to quantify the extra and then it depends on my finances and the depth of the problem I am in. I concur that the price would probably be excessive because of the set up costs and low production volume.

I got the idea by fine tuning a system I have seen in the past.
I once worked night shifts where a meal was provided, meals were either chilled or frozen, attached to each meal was a plastic token which you inserted into a microwave oven to ensure the meal was correctly heated/cooked. The same applied to hot desserts. This was in the late seventies/early eighties.

Can't remember the suppliers but it was one of the major catering firms.

 

[canary]

What about a time delay function at the back so that someone could pre-load the meal, set the timer at the back and it would come on automatically at the right time?

 

[LUCHKN]

Microwave prototype

Hi all! Since last posting I have been working on the design of the microwave and have created my first prototype of it (as pictured). as you can see its not very refined as its my first attempt! It was just to see how the microwave would look and the position needed to position the dial. Below are key features of the design and what I plan to implement:

• The black dial on the side of the microwave (pictured) has settings for low, medium, high and a defrost setting, this was intended to prevent food from being cooked wrong and allows the carers/family members to set the dial to the appropriate setting of the meal.
• The start button will have a light in it which will flash when the microwave is finished, and a beeper will sound.
• The microwave plate is sensitive to weight, so if nothing is in there it will not turn on even if "Start" is pushed.
• The colour of the buttons and handle will be red (but could be available in other colors maybe?). This is to help them contrast the body of the microwave.
• The dial only goes to 15 mins to prevent anything from overcooking.
  

*The second picture is sideways, sorry!*

I think I've mentioned everything, what are your guys thought on it? Anything you'd change or particularly like on the design? Any thoughts feel free to comment, if not thanks for reading!

 

[nitram]

Thoughts.

The carer/family member is expected to set an appropriate power, this infers they know the next meal to be cooked, why can't they set the duration at the same time?

There is a cap on the time setting but nothing to stop the time being set to 5 minutes, or less if it's continuously variable rather than clicks. This could lead to meals being seriously under cooked.

A lockable cover over the time and power settings on something like
http://www.argos.co.uk/product/4007573
would enable the carer/family member to set everything up so that the meal would be correctly cooked when the button was pushed.

This assumes that the correct meal is chosen and the door not opened before the timer pings, a modification to prevent the door being opened would prevent this. An continuous sound cancelled when the door is opened would be better than a ping. I have no suggestion about how the correct meal is chosen.

Weighing to prevent damage occurring by switching on an empty oven has problems as not all object that have weight absorb the microwave radiation.

Sorry if I seem hard on your efforts but I hope you will consider these comments better coming from me than your tutor at some time in the future, I feel that a better approach would be to design a kit that could be added to as many available simple ovens as possible.

 

[LUCHKN]

Thanks nitram for the response and feedback on the design I really appreciate the comments, it is not hard on my efforts its helpful to hear honest comments.

Regarding your response the microwave is intended to be purchased at the early stages of dementia which is why I have not concealed the timer dial as it still provides the PWD independence. And I hadnt set a minimum time setting as some frozen meals require an extra 2 mins after being in for 8 mins for example, also packet rice requires 2 mins. Good point the door would need a locking mechanism until it is fully complete I had not thought of that! I'm sorry but I dont understand what you mean on your second to last paragraph about the weight restrictive aspect?

Thanks again nitram I really appreciate the feed back on the design so far, your comments are crucial to the development of this design so thank you. I will continue posting in this thread with the latest developments if you are happy to look at them!

Thoughts.

The carer/family member is expected to set an appropriate power, this infers they know the next meal to be cooked, why can't they set the duration at the same time?

There is a cap on the time setting but nothing to stop the time being set to 5 minutes, or less if it's continuously variable rather than clicks. This could lead to meals being seriously under cooked.

A lockable cover over the time and power settings on something like would enable the carer/family member to set everything up so that the meal would be correctly cooked when the button was pushed.

This assumes that the correct meal is chosen and the door not opened before the timer pings, a modification to prevent the door being opened would prevent this. An continuous sound cancelled when the door is opened would be better than a ping. I have no suggestion about how the correct meal is chosen.

Weighing to prevent damage occurring by switching on an empty oven has problems as not all object that have weight absorb the microwave radiation.

Sorry if I seem hard on your efforts but I hope you will consider these comments better coming from me than your tutor at some time in the future, I feel that a better approach would be to design a kit that could be added to as many available simple ovens as possible.

 

[nitram]

OK
IMHO anything purchased at an early stage should preferably be usable through as many later stages as possible.

I think your weighing idea was to prevent the oven being operated when empty.
The problem with running an empty microwave is that it doesn't have anything inside to absorb the microwave energy, therefore a lot of that energy tends to get absorbed in the magnetron which can overheat. Not everything absorbs the energy so weighing is not foolproof.

As for your other comments, either everything is preset or the PWD is allowed choices which may be incorrect.

 

[LUCHKN]

Yeah I was just thinking of having a force sensitive resistor so that when a force is applied the circuit would work,but without the force it wouldnt, I'll read up on what you have said. And yes that was the issue that I was unsure about, as by providing the PWD with the timer button earlier on prolongs independace as for example f frozen meals are regularly bought by the user than the need to switch the temperature would be less as most micro meals have the same power settings, so the only dial needed really would be the timer dial. What about a dial within the hatch that controls the temp too? Which when used renders the front dial useless? Thanks again nitram, really appreciate the quick feedback.

OK
IMHO anything purchased at an early stage should preferably be usable through as many later stages as possible.

I think your weighing idea was to prevent the oven being operated when empty.
The problem with running an empty microwave is that it doesn't have anything inside to absorb the microwave energy, therefore a lot of that energy tends to get absorbed in the magnetron which can overheat. Not everything absorbs the energy so weighing is not foolproof.

As for your other comments, either everything is preset or the PWD is allowed choices which may be incorrect.

 

[nitram]

"What about a dial within the hatch that controls the temp too?"

You don't usually control the temperature when using a microwave oven.
You control the microwave energy and rely on past experience.
How are you going to measure the temperature of a, most likely rotating, object without a massive redesign?
What temperature would you attempt to measure, surface temperature or core temperature, only the later is meaningful?

 

[LUCHKN]

I think you may have mis understood what I meant, I mean that every microwave meal says to cook the meal on the "High" temperature, which is what most peoples microwaves are set to, I did not mean calculating the temperature.

"What about a dial within the hatch that controls the temp too?"

You don't usually control the temperature when using a microwave oven.
You control the microwave energy and rely on past experience.
How are you going to measure the temperature of a, most likely rotating, object without a massive redesign?
What temperature would you attempt to measure, surface temperature or core temperature, only the later is meaningful?

 

[nitram]

So is it down to just the time being set by A N Other?

Unless you are designing and manufacturing a completely new oven you may as well just go back to a standard design where access to both time and power can be preset and locked.

 

[canary]

Nitram has made some very good points, but may I say that in general I like it. It is very simple and has removed a lot of the confusing extras. Paring it down to the very basics will mean that it can be used independently for longer.
A couple of things come to mind: I never use any power settings on my microwave apart from defrost and full power. I dont think any microwavable meals use anything other than full. Is it worth adding other power settings?
What about having the power settings and the timer on the front so that they can be used as normal when the dementia is in the early stages, but having a removable cover that can be fitted over preset settings (just leaving the start button) for later stages. It could perhaps be made so that it isnt obvious that the dials would be there. Im thinking maybe the dials could be set in a recessed area so that a cover would be flush with the exterior.

 

[LUCHKN]

The power of the microwave is set in the compartment, leaving only the time to be chosen by the PWD, this product is intended to be used at the early stages, but yeah there could be two dials in the compartment which in the later stages could be used so all the user must do is press "Start" to cook their meals. Further development is needed on the product and will do more in the next few weeks, but thanks for the comments so far appreciate the feedback its helping a lot!

So is it down to just the time being set by A N Other?

Unless you are designing and manufacturing a completely new oven you may as well just go back to a standard design where access to both time and power can be preset and locked.

 

[LUCHKN]

Yeah thats exactly what it's for, as other microwaves don't supply this function so limiting choice even if its just the power could reduce the mistakes made by some. That's true actually as I too only use high or defrost anyway, so could just have the two power settings. Yeah that would be good as it would allow the product to still be used as all they would need to do is hit start. Yeah I understand so like a lid that covers flush so theres no clear raise, thats a good point! Do you think this product would be useful compared to normal microwaves on the market?

Nitram has made some very good points, but may I say that in general I like it. It is very simple and has removed a lot of the confusing extras. Paring it down to the very basics will mean that it can be used independently for longer.
A couple of things come to mind: I never use any power settings on my microwave apart from defrost and full power. I dont think any microwavable meals use anything other than full. Is it worth adding other power settings?
What about having the power settings and the timer on the front so that they can be used as normal when the dementia is in the early stages, but having a removable cover that can be fitted over preset settings (just leaving the start button) for later stages. It could perhaps be made so that it isnt obvious that the dials would be there. Im thinking maybe the dials could be set in a recessed area so that a cover would be flush with the exterior.

 

[canary]

Do you think this product would be useful compared to normal microwaves on the market?

Yes I do as a less confusing microwave could be used for a lot longer than an ordinary one. If something like this had been available when mum was living in her own home I would have bought one for her (unless it was hideously expensive)

 

[LUCHKN]

Yes I do as a less confusing microwave could be used for a lot longer than an ordinary one. If something like this had been available when mum was living in her own home I would have bought one for her (unless it was hideously expensive)

I'm surprised there hasn't been one on the market with the increase of microwave meals, and that is another issue I wish to tackle is reducing the price of the microwave enough to be similar price of ordinary ones from local supermarkets, as the price of some dementia related products are very expensive.
thank you for the feedback canary you've been very helpful, I will continue to post in this forum with my process over the next few weeks. Thanks again

 

[Raggedrobin]

Hello
I like the idea of a simple microwave, also good to make sure the dial is easily usable by people with arthritic fingers, as many elderly sufferers may have this too, so needs ti be grippable and not too fiddly to turn.
I think a maximum of 15 mins for the microwave to be on is way too long. I remember my mother microwaving something for 10 minutes and made whatever it was combust inside it.
Great idea, good to see someone thinking in this way. Sadly I think it would only be useful for a transitory period, between a person with dementia being independent but before they have got to a point where dealing with any appliances is risky.

Might be worth considering how the wall socket is made too. My mother was fond of pulling out all the sockets at night - that included the freezers. The sockets need to be as safe as possible too. Good luck.

 

[LUCHKN]

Final design

This is just a quick post to let you guys know how my project is going, I have made a prototype of the design to show the appearance of the microwave and the main features of the interface and side dials used on the design. The side dials are used to control the power so the user does not have to, a carer when in would set the dial to what they are having that day (but it will most likely be kept at high all the time as that is the only power setting required for microwave meals). There is also a timer dial on the side that the carers can use when the user starts to have trouble setting the time, this would be in the later stages, and some users may not use this function entirely. It will override the front dial so the user only presses start and the meal will cook for the time specified (the user can still operate the front timer dial but will not make a difference to the time) I have listed below key features of the microwave that add to the design too:

• The side dial controls the power setting of the microwave which can be set by carers (but will be at "High" most of the time"
• There is also an override switch to control the time from the side too which would be set by the carers in the day which would over ride the front dial so the user could still turn it but not make a difference to the time set, so all they have to do is hit start.
• The side dial compartment can be seen in the second image below.
• The colours used are so they are high contrast against each other.
• The tray in the microwave is force sensitive therefore if nothing is inside the microwave can not be turned on.
• Once the time dial has been turned the start button lights up.
• When the timer is complete the inner microwave lights will flash and the beeper will continually sound until the door is opened.

I just thought I'd let you know how it is going and show the final design I came up with as you have all provide very helpful feedback to the design, I have expressed my thanks before but would like to say thanks again I really appreciate it and hope I have not came across as insensitive in any way

(The design is a little rough around the edges)

 

[canary]

Initial reaction is that I like it.
I do hope that it can be produced at a comparable cost. So many things aimed at people with dementia are very pricey.

 

[canary]

After thought - could the arrow on the minute dial be made more prominent? I wondered whether it would help if the dial was "tear drop" shaped so that the arrow was somehow part of the shape of the switch. It would make it more intuitive to work, I feel.