JP4886467B2 - Cooker - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a heating cooker provided with heating means for heating ingredients in a heating chamber and steam supply means for supplying steam into the heating chamber.

  As a conventional technique related to a cooking device for cooking food contained by heating the heating chamber, there is one that heats the food by supplying steam into the heating chamber in addition to heating by supplying hot air into the heating chamber. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1). Such a heating cooker performs so-called low-temperature steam cooking in which steam is supplied into the heating chamber while controlling the heating chamber mainly at 100 ° C. or lower. However, since the food can be uniformly heated, Have been widely used.

  By the way, the cooking device is regulated by law to have a maximum power consumption of 1500 W or less, and includes a heat source for heating water to generate steam in addition to the heater for heating the heating chamber as described above. In the heating cooker, it was difficult to keep the power consumption due to these below the regulation value. In order to improve the cooking finish of ingredients during low-temperature steam cooking, not only heating into the heating chamber but also the supply of steam must be sufficient, and it is a challenge to achieve both reduction of power consumption and finish of ingredients Met.

Here, during low-temperature steam cooking, in order to keep the power consumption of the heating cooker within the regulation value, when the steam generating heater is operating, power supply to the radiant heater for heating the heating chamber is stopped. However, there has been a conventional technique for stopping power supply to the steam generating heater when the radiation heater is operating (see, for example, Patent Document 2). This is because only one of the radiant heater and the heat source for generating steam is always operating, so that the power consumption can be suppressed below the regulation value.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-30831 (page 6, FIG. 1) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-325004 (page 12, FIG. 11)

However, in the case of the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 2 described above, the heat source for generating steam is stopped, so that the heating of the food with steam becomes insufficient, and the finished food after heating is not satisfactory. In particular, during low-temperature steam cooking, if the heat source for steam generation becomes inactive, the amount of steam in the heating chamber is extremely short, and even if the heater for steam generation is restarted, steam is replenished in a short time. It wasn't possible.
This invention is made | formed in view of the said situation, The objective is providing the heating cooker which can suppress the power consumption at the time of low temperature steam cooking, and can improve the finish of the foodstuff after a heating. There is to do.

A heating cooker according to the present invention comprises a heating chamber for storing cooking ingredients, heating means for heating the ingredients in the heating chamber, a steam generating container having a water storage chamber therein, and water in the water storage chamber. A steam heat source for generating steam, a water supply device for supplying water into the water storage chamber, steam supply means for supplying the generated steam into the heating chamber, and controlling the operation of the heating means and the steam supply means Control means, and the control means operates the heating means intermittently based on the temperature in the heating chamber so that the temperature in the heating chamber becomes constant, and inputs to the heat source for steam. The power can be controlled in a plurality of stages greater than zero, and the input power to the steam heat source is reduced when the heating means is in an operating state compared to when the heating means is in an inactive state. Set, the amount of water supplied to the water storage chamber by the water supply apparatus, when the input power to the vapor heating source is large, most than when the input power to the steam heat source is small, the control means, wherein An operation time of the water supply device can be controlled, and the water supply device is based on an average input power to the heat source for steam between an operation start time of the water supply device and a time point a predetermined time before the operation start time. The operation time is increased stepwise as the average input power increases, and the water supply device is controlled so that the time interval between the time points when the water supply device changes from the non-operating state to the operating state is always constant. Have.

The control means can control the electric power input to the steam heat source in a plurality of stages larger than zero. When the heating means is in an operating state, the input power to the steam heat source is when the heating means is in an inactive state. By setting it to be smaller than that, it is possible to keep the power consumption combined with the input power to the heating means and the heat source for the steam below the regulation value. In addition, since the steam heat source does not stop, heating of the food by supplying steam is not insufficient, and the finish of the food can be improved. Furthermore, the supply amount of water can be controlled according to the heating capacity of the heat source for steam.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, let the near side in FIG. 1 be the front of the heating cooker 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the heating cooker 1 includes a cabinet 2, and a heating chamber 3 in which a cooking (heating) food F is accommodated is provided inside the cabinet 2. A front opening of the heating chamber 3 can be opened and closed by a door 4, and an operation unit 22 (shown in FIG. 3) is formed below the front of the door 4. Moreover, in order to hold | maintain the square plate 5 for oven cooking (shown in FIG. 2) from the both side walls of the heating chamber 3, the tray receiving part 6 of the upper and lower two steps protrudes, respectively.

  In the rear wall of the cabinet 2, air heated by the internal heating heater 7 (corresponding to the heating means of the present invention) for heating the food F in the heating chamber 3 and the internal heating heater 7 is blown. A hot air fan 8 is built in. A plurality of suction holes 9 for the hot air fan 8 to suck the air in the heating chamber 3 are formed at the center of the rear surface of the heating chamber 3, and hot air from the hot air fan 8 is around the suction holes 9. A plurality of hot air holes 10 to be sent into the heating chamber 3 are formed. A thermistor 11 that detects the temperature in the heating chamber 3 is provided on one side surface of the heating chamber 3 in order to control the internal heater 7.

  A cover member 21 of a steam supply device 12 (shown in FIG. 2) that supplies steam into the heating chamber 3 is attached to the other side surface of the heating chamber 3. A plurality of steam discharge ports 21 a are formed on the cover member 21. As shown in FIG. 2, the steam supply device 12 (corresponding to the steam supply means of the present invention) includes a water tank 13 for storing water, a steam generator 16 having a water storage chamber 16a therein, and water in the water tank 13. Is provided, and a water supply pump 14 (corresponding to the water supply device of the present invention) for supplying water into the water storage chamber 16a of the steam generator 16 is provided.

  As shown in detail in FIG. 4, the steam generator 16 includes a container body 17 and a container cover 18 that closes one side of the container body 17 (the combination of the container body 17 and the container cover 18 is the present invention). Applicable to steam generation containers). A water supply hose 15 connected to the water supply pump 14 is inserted into the container body 17 so as to communicate with the water storage chamber 16a. Further, a first steam generating heater 19 (hereinafter referred to as the first heater 19) that generates 300 W of heat (300 W of input power is required) is generated in the container body 17 and 600 W that is larger than the power consumption of the first heater 19. A second steam generating heater 20 (hereinafter referred to as the second heater 20) is inserted. The container body 17 and the container cover 18 are made of a metal having a small heat capacity such as aluminum, and are heated by operating the first heater 19 or the second heater 20 to transmit heat to the water in the water storage chamber 16a. Steam can be generated. The first heater 19 and the second heater 20 correspond to the steam heat source of the present invention.

  In order to increase the area where the container main body 17 contacts the water in the water storage chamber 16a, a plurality of fins 17a are formed on the inner surface of the container main body 17 facing the water storage chamber 16a. Further, a cover boss 18 a is formed on the surface of the container cover 18 after passing through the side surface of the heating chamber 3 and then inserted into the steam discharge port 21 a of the cover member 21 described above. A steam outlet 18b is formed inside the cover boss 18a, and the steam outlet 18b is formed in a stepped shape so that the tip has a small diameter so that steam can be injected into the heating chamber 3 vigorously.

  Next, based on FIG. 3, the electrical configuration of the heating cooker 1 will be briefly described. The control unit 23 (corresponding to the control means of the present invention) of the heating cooker 1 is mainly formed by a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and is connected to the operation unit 22 and the thermistor 11 described above. The control unit 23 is connected to the above-described internal heating heater 7 and the first heater 19 and the second heater 20 of the steam generator 16 through a drive circuit 24 formed of a power transistor. The control unit 23 is also connected to the hot air fan motor 25 for driving the hot air fan 8 and the water supply pump motor 26 for driving the water supply pump 14 via the drive circuit 24. . The control unit 23 controls the operation of the internal heating heater 7, the hot air fan motor 25, and the steam supply device 12 in accordance with the cooking mode input from the operation unit 22. In particular, the control unit 23 can control the power input to the steam generator 16 in two stages by selectively operating the first heater 19 and the second heater 20.

  Next, based on FIG. 5, a control method of the internal heater 7 and the first heater 19 or the second heater 20 of the steam supply device 12 by the control unit 23 will be described. When the operator operates the operation unit 22 to specify a cooking mode, the control unit 23 performs cooking according to the input cooking mode. Based on the value detected by the thermistor 11, the controller 23 intermittently operates the internal heating heater 7 so that the temperature in the heating chamber 3 becomes constant (shown in the upper stage in FIG. 5).

  On the other hand, at the time of operation of the internal heater 7, the controller 23 operates by inputting electric power only to the first heater 19 of the steam generator 16 to heat the water in the water storage chamber 16 a as steam. It is sent into the heating chamber 3 (shown in the middle stage in FIG. 5). Since the power consumption of the internal heating heater 7 is 1000 W, the total power consumption of the internal heating heater 7 and the first heater 19 in this case is 1300 W (shown in the lower part of FIG. 5).

  In addition, when the internal heater 7 is not in operation, the control unit 23 operates by inputting electric power only to the second heater 20 of the steam generator 16 to heat the water in the water storage chamber 16a and steam. To the heating chamber 3 (shown in the middle in FIG. 5). At this time, since the power consumption of the internal heating heater 7 is zero, the total power consumption by the internal heating heater 7 and the second heater 20 in this case is 600 W (shown in the lower part of FIG. 5).

  Therefore, in any case, even if power consumption by the hot air fan motor 25 or the water supply pump motor 26 is taken into consideration, the total power consumption of the heating cooker 1 can be 1500 W or less. In the lower part of FIG. 5, only the total power consumed by the internal heating heater 7, the first heater 19, and the second heater 20 is displayed as the power consumption of the entire heating cooker 1, and the hot air fan motor 25 is displayed. Alternatively, power consumption by other devices such as the water supply pump motor 26 is omitted.

  Next, the operation control of the water supply pump 14 by the control unit 23 will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, in the first heater 19 and the second heater 20 of the steam generator 16, only the first heater 19 operates when the internal heater 7 is operated, and the input power of the steam generator 16 is small (300W). And when the internal heater 7 is not in operation, only the second heater 20 is operated, and the input power of the steam generator 16 is set to be large (600 W) (in FIG. 6). (Shown in the top).

  On the other hand, the control unit 23 operates the water supply pump 14 by intermittently driving the water supply pump motor 26 in order to adjust the amount of water supplied to the water storage chamber 16a of the steam generator 16 (FIG. 6). In the lower row). As shown in the lower part of FIG. 6, the time interval between the time points when the water supply pump 14 changes from the non-operating state to the operating state (interval between the rising times of the pulses in the time chart of the lower part of FIG. 6) is It is always constant. As can be seen in conjunction with the enlarged view of the input power to the steam generator 16 shown in the middle of FIG. 6, the control unit 23 is a water supply pump when the input power to the steam generator 16 is 300 W. 14 (corresponding to the length of the one pulse in the lower part of FIG. 6) and the input power to the steam generator 16 is 600 W, the operation time of the water supply pump 14 is 300 W. The amount of water supplied to the water storage chamber 16a by the water supply pump 14 is set longer than that at a certain time.

  More specifically, the operation time of the water supply pump 14 is determined at the time when the water supply pump 14 changes from the non-operating state to the operating state (at the rising edge of the pulse in the lower time chart of FIG. 6). When the input power to 16 is 300 W, the operation time of the water supply pump 14 is set short, and when the input power to the steam generator 16 is 600 W, the operation time of the water supply pump 14 is set long. ing.

  According to the present embodiment, the control unit 23 can control the electric power input to the steam generator 16 in two stages larger than zero, and only the first heater 19 when the internal heating heater 7 is in an operating state. And the input power to the steam generator 16 is set to be small. When the internal heater 7 is in a non-operating state, the second heater 20 is operated to reduce the input power to the steam generator 16. By setting it to be large, it is possible to keep the power consumption combined with the input power to the internal heating heater 7 and the steam generator 16 below the regulation value. Moreover, the generation of steam by the steam generator 16 does not always stop, and the food F can be sufficiently evenly heated by the internal heater 7 and the steam generator 16 to improve the finish of the food F. be able to.

  Further, the control unit 23 increases the amount of water supplied to the water storage chamber 16a by the water supply pump 14 when the input power to the steam generator 16 is large compared to when the input power to the steam generator 16 is small. Thus, the amount of water supplied to the water storage chamber 16a can be controlled according to the heating capacity of the steam generating device 16, and the steam supply to the heating chamber 3 is insufficient due to the shortage of water in the water storage chamber 16a. The overflow of the water from the water storage chamber 16a due to the overheated state of the device 16 and the excessive supply of water into the water storage chamber 16a can be prevented.

<Embodiment 2>
Next, based on FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the control method of the steam supply apparatus 12 by Embodiment 2 is demonstrated. Also in the present embodiment, as in the case of the first embodiment, the water supply pump 14 is intermittently operated, and the time interval between the time points when the water supply pump 14 is activated from the inoperative state is It is always constant. Similarly to the case of the first embodiment, the first heater 19 and the second heater 20 of the steam generator 16 are operated only when the heater 7 for heating inside the chamber operates, and the steam generator 16 Is set so that the input power of the steam generator 16 is small (300 W), and when the internal heater 7 is not in operation, only the second heater 20 is activated and the input power of the steam generator 16 is large (600 W). (It is shown enlarged in the upper part in FIG. 7).

  As shown in the lower part of FIG. 7, the operation time of the water supply pump 14 (corresponding to the length of the one pulse in the lower part of FIG. 7) is the time when the water supply pump 14 changes from the non-operating state to the operating state (FIG. 7. This is set based on the average input power Wa to the steam generator 16 between the rise time of the pulse in the lower time chart and corresponding to the start time of operation) and the time just before the predetermined time (Tc). Is done. The average input power Wa is calculated according to the formula: Wa = ΣWn / Tc (ΣWn: the sum of the input power to the steam generator 16 during Tc). The control unit 23 controls the operation (drive) time of the water supply pump 14 based on the average input power Wa to the steam generator 16 in the predetermined time (Tc) described above, according to the graph shown in FIG. The predetermined time Tc is set based on the heat capacity values of the container body 17 and the container cover 18.

  In the present embodiment, the average input power to the steam generator 16 between the time when the control unit 23 switches the water supply pump 14 from the non-operating state to the operating state and the time point before the predetermined time (Tc). The operation time of the water supply pump 14 is controlled based on Wa. For this reason, in the operation control of the water supply pump 14, the water is actually input to the steam generator 16 during the predetermined time Tc without being influenced by the temporary input power to the steam generator 16 at the start of the operation. The amount of water supplied by the water supply pump 14 can be controlled more appropriately according to the electric power. Further, by setting the predetermined time Tc based on the heat capacity values of the container body 17 and the container cover 18, the influence of the heat capacity of the steam generator 16 can be taken into account in the operation control of the water supply pump 14.

<Embodiment 3>
Next, based on FIG. 9, the control method of the steam supply apparatus 12 according to the third embodiment will be described focusing on differences from the second embodiment. In this embodiment, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 9, the operation time of the water supply pump 14 (corresponding to the length of one pulse in the lower part of FIG. 9) is a predetermined time ( It is set based on the average input power Wa to the steam generator 16 between the time point Td) before and another time point Tc before that. Here, the predetermined time Td (delay time) is set based on the thermal resistance value of the container body 17 of the steam generator 16. The calculation method of the average input power Wa and the setting method of the operation time of the water supply pump 14 based on the average input power Wa are the same as those in the second embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the steam generation between the time point when the control unit 23 is a predetermined time (Td) before the start of the operation of the water supply pump 14 and the time point that is another predetermined time (Tc) after that. The operation time of the water supply pump 14 is controlled based on the average input power Wa to the device 16. Thereby, in the operation control of the water supply pump 14, due to the thermal resistance of the container body 17 of the steam generator 16, until heat is applied to the water in the water storage chamber 16 a from the first heater 19 and the second heater 20. Therefore, the amount of water supplied by the water supply pump 14 can be controlled to a more appropriate amount in accordance with the heating state of the steam generator 16.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified or expanded as follows.
The low-temperature steam cooking to which the present invention is applied is not necessarily limited to the one in which the temperature in the heating chamber is controlled to 100 ° C. or less, and the temperature in the heating chamber is adjusted while the steam is supplied into the heating chamber. The mode is a broad concept including one that is controlled at a relatively low temperature.

A heat source for generating microwaves using a magnetron can also be used as a heat source for heating in the cabinet.
A plurality of heaters of the same power consumption may be provided for the steam generator, and the number of heaters to be operated may be controlled according to the operating state of the internal heating heater.

  Moreover, about a steam generator, when operating only a 1st heater (300W), when operating only a 2nd heater (600W), when operating both a 1st heater and a 2nd heater (900W), three modes And may be controlled so as to appropriately select these modes in accordance with the operation of the internal heating heater.

The front view of the state which opened the door of the heating cooker by Embodiment 1 of this invention 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the cooking device shown in FIG. The block diagram which shows the electric constitution of the heating cooker shown in FIG. Enlarged sectional view of the steam generator shown in FIG. The time chart which showed the input electric power to the heater for a warehouse, and a steam generator when the horizontal axis of the cooking-by-heating machine shown in Drawing 1 is time The time chart which showed the relationship between the input electric power to a steam generator, and the operation time of the water supply pump when the horizontal axis of the heating cooker shown in FIG. 1 is time The time chart which showed the relationship between the input electric power to a steam generator, and the operation time of the pump for water supply when the horizontal axis of the heating cooker by Embodiment 2 is made into time The graph used when setting the operation time of the water supply pump of the heating cooker by Embodiment 2 The time chart which showed the relationship between the input electric power to a steam generator, and the operation time of the water supply pump when the horizontal axis of the heating cooker by Embodiment 3 is time

Explanation of symbols

  In the drawings, 1 is a heating cooker, 3 is a heating chamber, 7 is a heater for heating (heating means), 12 is a steam supply device (steam supply means), 14 is a water supply pump (water supply device), and 16a is A water storage chamber, 17 is a container body (steam generating container), 18 is a container cover (steam generating container), 19 is a first steam generating heater (steam heat source), 20 is a second steam generating heater (steam heat source), 23 Indicates a control unit (control means), and F indicates a foodstuff.

Claims (2)

A heating chamber for storing cooking ingredients;
Heating means for heating the ingredients in the heating chamber;
A steam generation container having a water storage chamber inside, a heat source for steam that heats water in the water storage chamber to generate steam, and a water supply device that supplies water to the water storage chamber, and supply the generated steam to the heating chamber Steam supply means for
Control means for controlling the operation of the heating means and the steam supply means,
The control means operates the heating means intermittently based on the temperature in the heating chamber so that the temperature in the heating chamber becomes constant, and a plurality of electric powers input to the steam heat source are greater than zero. The power input to the steam heat source is set to be smaller when the heating means is in operation than when the heating means is inactive, and the water supply device The amount of water supplied to the water storage chamber is increased when the input power to the steam heat source is large compared to when the input power to the steam heat source is small ,
The control means is capable of controlling the operation time of the water supply device, the average input power to the steam heat source between the operation start time of the water supply device and a time point a predetermined time before the operation start time. Based on this, the operation time of the water supply device is increased stepwise as the average input power increases, and the time interval between the time points when the water supply device is changed from the non-operating state to the operating state is always constant. A cooking device characterized by being controlled . A heating chamber for storing cooking ingredients;
Heating means for heating the ingredients in the heating chamber;
A steam generation container having a water storage chamber inside, a heat source for steam that heats water in the water storage chamber to generate steam, and a water supply device that supplies water to the water storage chamber, and supply the generated steam to the heating chamber Steam supply means for
Control means for controlling the operation of the heating means and the steam supply means,
The control means operates the heating means intermittently based on the temperature in the heating chamber so that the temperature in the heating chamber becomes constant, and a plurality of electric powers input to the steam heat source are greater than zero. The power input to the steam heat source is set to be smaller when the heating means is in operation than when the heating means is inactive, and the water supply device The amount of water supplied to the water storage chamber is increased when the input power to the steam heat source is large compared to when the input power to the steam heat source is small,
The control means is capable of controlling an operation time of the water supply device, and is a time point before a time set based on a thermal resistance value of the steam generation container of the steam supply means from the start of operation of the water supply device. Then, based on the average input power to the steam heat source for a predetermined time before that, the operation time of the water supply device is increased stepwise as the average input power increases, and the water supply device The cooking device characterized by controlling so that the time interval between the time points which become an operation state from a non-operation state may always become constant.

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