JP7611526B2 - Cooking equipment - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a cooking device that heats food or other objects to be heated.

The door that opens and closes the opening of the heating chamber of the cooking device is at least partially made of a transparent material such as glass so that the user can see inside the heating chamber (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Patent Document 1 discloses a cooking device having an outer barrier and an inner barrier that face each other across an internal space, and a door with upper and lower door frames that support the outer barrier and the inner barrier from above and below and each have a cutout that allows communication between the outside air and the space.

JP 2010-78308 A

In the cooking device disclosed in Patent Document 1, in order to improve the performance of preventing fogging (condensation) from occurring in the space between the outer barrier and the inner barrier, a waterproof barrier with dimensions higher than the thickness dimension of the outer barrier is provided on the inside of the cutout provided in the lower door frame and on the side closer to the space. The inventors have come up with a technology that makes it possible to further suppress the occurrence of fogging in the space.

This disclosure provides technology to prevent fogging on the door of a cooking appliance.

The cooking device disclosed herein comprises a housing, a heating chamber having an opening, a door that can open and close and covers the opening of the heating chamber, and a machine chamber provided on the left or right side of the heating chamber and accommodating a configuration for controlling heating in the heating chamber. A fan for blowing air to the configuration for controlling heating is accommodated in the machine chamber, and the door comprises an outer frame, at least two members that cover the opening inside the outer frame, an air intake port for taking in air blown out from the fan into the space in order to discharge water vapor present in the space between the members to the outside, and an exhaust port for discharging the air taken into the space from the air intake port together with water vapor present in the space to the outside. The air intake port is provided in a part below the side of the door where the machine chamber is provided.

The cooking device disclosed herein can prevent the door from fogging up.

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a cooking device with the door closed; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the appearance of a cooking device with the door and operation panel removed. 3A is a perspective view of the door of the cooking device according to the first embodiment; FIG. 3B is an exploded perspective view of the door; FIG. Rear view of the door components Rear view of the door components A perspective view of the door from below with the outer screen removed A partial enlarged view of the exhaust port area of FIG. A schematic diagram showing the air flow in the space inside the door.

Below, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, more detailed explanation than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed explanation of already well-known matters or duplicate explanation of substantially the same configuration may be omitted.

The accompanying drawings and the following description are provided to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the subject matter described in the claims.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[1-1. Configuration]
1 and 2 show the appearance of a cooking device 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the cooking device 1 with the door 7 closed. FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the cooking device 1 with the door 7 and the operation panel 11 removed. In FIG. 2, the near side is the front side on which the door 7 is provided. In this specification, the door 7 side of the cooking device 1 is described as the front side (front side), and the opposite side (the back side in FIG. 2) is described as the rear side (rear side). In addition, the right side in FIG. 2 is described as the right side of the cooking device 1, and the left side is described as the left side of the cooking device 1.

The cooking device 1 comprises a housing 3, a heating chamber 5 arranged within the housing 3, a vertically opening door 7 that can be opened and closed to cover an opening 3b opened in a front frame 3a that forms the front of the housing 3, a machine chamber 13 provided adjacent to the right side of the heating chamber 5, and an operation panel 11 provided on the front of the machine chamber 13.

The heating chamber 5 is provided with a microwave radiation port for radiating microwaves generated by a microwave oscillator such as a magnetron 21 disposed in the machine chamber 13 into the heating chamber 5. The microwaves radiated from the microwave radiation port heat the object to be heated (food) placed in the heating chamber 5.

Between the rear wall and back plate of the heating chamber 5, a heater (convection heater) as a heat source and a circulation fan are provided. An intake hole and an exhaust hole are drilled in the rear wall of the heating chamber 5. When the circulation fan is rotated, air in the heating chamber 5 is sucked in through the intake hole, heated by the convection heater, and returned to the heating chamber 5 through the exhaust hole. This allows the object to be heated evenly. An intake port is provided at the front below the bottom wall to draw outside air into the housing 3.

The door 7 is supported by a horizontal rotating shaft below the opening 3b on the housing 3 so that it can be opened and closed. When the user pulls the handle 7a attached to the top of the door 7, the door 7 changes from a state in which the opening 3b is closed to a state in which the opening is open. When the handle 7a is pushed toward the rear to rotate the door 7, the opening 3b is closed.

The operation panel 11 is provided with a display unit and an operation unit. The display unit is, for example, a liquid crystal screen, and displays a menu screen and the like. The operation panel 11 is provided with, for example, push buttons and dials, and receives instructions for the cooking appliance 1 from the user.

In the machine room 13, a fan 20 is arranged to blow air to cool components for controlling the heating in the heating chamber 5, such as a magnetron 21 and a control board. In the machine room 13, components such as a control board and a motor are also arranged, but are omitted in FIG. 2.

The door 7 can be opened and closed freely with a hinge 24 as a fulcrum by a door arm 19 that regulates the opening degree of the door 7 and a door guide roller. The door 7 is pivotally supported on both sides of the lower part of the housing 3 of the cooking appliance 1, and the opening 3b of the heating chamber 5 can be opened and closed by rotating the door 7 back and forth. A door spring (not shown) is provided at the rear end of the door arm 19 as a biasing member that biases the door 7 toward the cooking appliance 1 body.

The door 7 is pivoted at the front end of the door arm 19 a specified distance above the pivot points of the hinges 24 on both the left and right sides.

Hinge mounting holes 22 are provided at the left and right lower parts of the heating chamber 5, and hinges 24 are inserted to mount the door 7 to the housing 3 so that it can be opened and closed. Door arm mounting holes 17 are provided above the left and right hinge mounting holes 22, and the rear end of the door arm 19 is inserted into them. The right hinge mounting hole 22 and the right door arm mounting hole 17 of the housing 3 are connected to the machine room 13. Therefore, when the door 7 is closed, air sent out from the fan 20 passes through the hinge mounting holes 22 and the door arm mounting hole 17 and is taken in by the door 7 side.

Figure 3 shows the configuration of the door 7 of the cooking device 1 according to the first embodiment. Figure 3(a) is a perspective view of the door 7 seen from diagonally behind. Figure 3(b) is an exploded perspective view of the door 7 disassembled from diagonally behind. The door 7 includes a handle 7a, members 7b, 7c, 7d, and 7e that constitute the outer frame of the door 7, and an outer screen 8a and an inner screen 8b that cover the inner opening of the outer frame. The outer screen 8a is attached to the mounting portion 8c of the member 7b. The inner screen 8b is attached to the rear side of the member 7d. The space between the outer screen 8a and the inner screen 8b is partitioned from the outside by the outer frame formed by the members 7b, 7c, 7d, and 7e.

The radio wave leakage prevention plate 7f is a metal plate that prevents radio waves from leaking from inside the heating chamber 5 to the outside through the door 7. It is punched (not shown) in the area opposite the opening 3b, and the inside of the heating chamber 5 can be seen through the punched holes from the front of the cooking appliance 1. The radio wave leakage prevention plate 7f is attached to the rear side of the outer screen 8a.

Figure 4 is a rear view of member 7e constituting door 7. On both sides of the lower part of the rear surface of member 7e, hinge mounting holes 23 into which hinges 24 are inserted to mount door 7 to housing 3 so that door 7 can be opened and closed, and door arm mounting holes 18 into which the front end of door arm 19 is inserted are provided. In Figure 4, the hinge 24 on the left side (right side in Figures 1 and 2) is omitted. Air that passes through hinge mounting holes 22 and door arm mounting holes 17 on the housing 3 side shown in Figure 2 passes through hinge mounting holes 23 and door arm mounting holes 18 on the door 7 side that are provided opposite hinge mounting holes 22 and door arm mounting holes 17 on the housing 3 side, respectively, and is taken into the inside of door 7.

Figure 5 is a rear view of member 7b constituting door 7. An air intake 25 is provided on the lower left side (right side in Figures 1 and 2) of the rear surface of member 7b. Air intake 25 is an air intake for taking in air sent out from fan 20 into space 28 between outer screen 8a and inner screen 8b in order to exhaust water vapor present in space 28 to the outside. Air intake 25 is provided only on the side where machine room 13 and fan 20 are provided.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the door 7 with the outer screen 8a removed and viewed from diagonally below. Figure 7 is a partial enlarged view of the exhaust port of Figure 6. A vent 26 is provided in the member 7c covering the upper part of the space 28 between the outer screen 8a and the inner screen 8b to allow air and water vapor rising through the space 28 to pass through. In addition, an exhaust port 27 is provided directly below the connection between the member 7b and the handle 7a to exhaust air and water vapor that have passed through the vent 26 to the outside. As a result, the air and water vapor rising through the space 28 pass through the vent 26, pass through the gap between the upper end of the outer screen 8a and the member 7c, and are exhausted from the exhaust port 27 to the outside of the cooking appliance 1. The exhaust port 27 is provided only in a portion of both sides above the door 7.

Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of the air flow in the space 28 inside the door 7. Air sent out from the fan 20 installed in the machine room 13 passes through the hinge mounting hole 22 and the door arm mounting hole 17 on the housing 3 side and the hinge mounting hole 23 and the door arm mounting hole 18 on the door 7 side, and is taken in through the air intake 25 into the space 28 between the outer screen 8a and the inner screen 8b. The air taken in into the space 28, together with the water vapor present in the space 28, is exhausted to the outside from the exhaust vents 27 installed on both sides above the door 7, directly below the mounting portion of the handle 7a.

The air intake 25 is provided only on the right side below the door 7 where the machine room 13 and the fan 20 are provided, so that as shown by the arrows in FIG. 8, the main air currents are those that rise from the air intake 25 to the exhaust port 27 on the right side, which is almost directly above, and those that rise diagonally from the air intake 25 to the exhaust port 27 on the left side, which is diagonally opposite. When the temperature of the space 28 is low, not much air flows into the lower left side of the space 28, but when the air in the space 28 is heated when the heating chamber 5 is heated, the heated air rises. At this time, the air taken in from the air intake 25 also flows into the lower left side of the space 28, so that the water vapor present throughout the entire space 28 can be efficiently discharged from the exhaust port 27.

In this embodiment, cooling air is not introduced into the space 28 for the purpose of cooling the outer screen 8a of the door 7, but air is taken into the space 28 for the purpose of efficiently discharging water vapor present in the space 28, so it is sufficient that the air intake 25 is provided only in a portion below the space 28, and it is not necessary that it is provided throughout the entire area below the space 28.

The periphery of the space 28 may be sealed except for the intake port 25 and the exhaust port 27. This prevents liquid or foreign matter from entering the space 28 even if the user spills liquid or boils water near the door 7. Even if most of the periphery of the space 28 is sealed, air can be introduced into the space 28 to promote the discharge of water vapor, so that the occurrence of clouding (condensation) in the space 28 can be suppressed. The intake port 25 is provided below the door 7, and the exhaust port 27 is provided directly below the mounting portion of the handle 7a, so that liquid or foreign matter is less likely to enter through the intake port 25 or the exhaust port 27. In addition, the intake port 25 and the exhaust port 27 are provided only partially, not entirely, above or below the door 7, so that liquid or foreign matter is less likely to enter through the intake port 25 or the exhaust port 27.

[1-2. Operation]
The operation and function of the cooking device 1 configured as above will be described below.

The user pulls the handle 7a toward himself to open the door 7 and places the object to be heated in the heating chamber 5. The user returns the handle 7a to close the door 7 and operates the operation panel 11 to set heating conditions such as heating time and heating temperature. The control unit of the heating cooker 1 controls the magnetron 21 and other components to heat the object to be heated under the set heating conditions. While the magnetron 21 is generating microwaves, the fan 20 is driven and air is sent to electronic components such as the magnetron 21 and the control board. The air sent out from the fan 20 passes through the hinge mounting hole 22 and the door arm mounting hole 17 on the housing 3 side and the hinge mounting hole 23 and the door arm mounting hole 18 on the door 7 side, and is taken in from the intake port 25 into the space 28 between the outer screen 8a and the inner screen 8b. The air taken in the space 28 is exhausted to the outside from the exhaust port 27 above the door 7 together with the water vapor present in the space 28. This allows the water vapor present in the space 28 to be efficiently discharged to the outside, thereby preventing fogging (condensation) from occurring in the space 28. Even if fogging (condensation) occurs temporarily in the space 28, the water vapor can be quickly discharged to the outside to remove the fogging.

According to the technology of this embodiment, water vapor can be discharged more efficiently than when the space 28 is provided with an air intake 25 and an exhaust 27 and the water vapor in the space 28 is discharged only by natural convection, so that the occurrence of clouding (condensation) in the space 28 can be more effectively suppressed. In addition, a gentler air flow can be generated than when air is sent to the space 28 by a dedicated fan or the like provided near the space 28, so that the door 7 can be prevented from being excessively cooled and affecting the heating in the heating chamber 5. As a fan for sending air to the space 28, the fan 20 provided for cooling electronic components such as the magnetron 21 and the control board is used, so that clouding in the space 28 can be reduced without adding a dedicated fan or other configuration. This makes it possible to suppress an increase in the manufacturing cost of the cooking appliance 1. In addition, the hinge mounting hole 22 and the hinge mounting hole 23 are used as an air passage for sending air from the machine chamber 13 to the door 7, so that air from the fan 20 can be taken into the space 28 without adding a dedicated air passage. This helps prevent increases in the manufacturing costs of the cooking device 1.

[1-3. Effects, etc.]
As described above, in this embodiment, the cooking device includes a housing, a heating chamber having an opening, a door that can open and close the opening of the heating chamber, and a machine room that is provided on the left or right side of the heating chamber and that houses a configuration for controlling heating in the heating chamber. The machine room houses a fan for blowing air to the configuration for controlling heating. The door includes an outer frame, at least two members that cover the opening on the inside of the outer frame, an intake port for taking in air blown out from the fan into the space in order to discharge water vapor present in the space between the members to the outside, and an exhaust port for discharging the air taken into the space from the intake port together with water vapor present in the space to the outside. The intake port is provided in a part below the side of the door where the machine room is provided. This allows water vapor present in the space to be efficiently discharged to the outside, thereby suppressing the occurrence of fogging (condensation) in the space, and preventing condensation on the space-side surface of the outer screen, making it impossible to check the progress of cooking in the heating chamber.

In addition, in this embodiment, the exhaust port is provided in a portion above the door. This allows the heated water vapor that rises to be efficiently discharged to the outside, making it possible to more effectively prevent fogging in the space.

In addition, in this embodiment, the exhaust port is located below the connection between the door and the handle located on the top of the door. This makes it possible to prevent liquids or foreign objects from entering the space through the exhaust port.

In addition, in this embodiment, the mounting hole for mounting the door to the housing so that it can be opened and closed is connected to the inside of the machine room, and air sent out from the fan is taken into the space through the mounting hole and the air intake. This eliminates the need for an additional air passage to introduce the air sent out from the fan into the space, thereby suppressing increases in the manufacturing costs of the cooking appliance.

Other Embodiments
As described above, the first embodiment has been described as an example of the technology disclosed in the present application. However, the technology in the present disclosure is not limited to this, and can be applied to embodiments in which modifications, substitutions, additions, omissions, etc. are made. In addition, it is also possible to combine the components described in the first embodiment to create a new embodiment.

Therefore, other embodiments are given below as examples.

In the first embodiment, a cooking device that uses microwaves and a heater to heat an object to be heated is described, but the technology disclosed herein can be applied to any type of cooking device.

In the first embodiment, the cooking device is described in which the machine chamber 13 in which the fan 20 is provided is located to the right of the heating chamber 5, but the fan 20 and the machine chamber 13 may be located to the left of the heating chamber 5. In this case, the air intake 25 is located to the left of the door 7.

The above-described embodiments are intended to illustrate the technology disclosed herein, and various modifications, substitutions, additions, omissions, etc. may be made within the scope of the claims or their equivalents.

This disclosure can be used in cooking appliances that heat food or other objects to be heated.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Cooking device 3 Housing 3a Front frame 3b Opening 5 Heating chamber 7 Door 7a Handle 7b Member 7c Member 7d Member 7e Member 8a Outer screen 8b Inner screen 8c Mounting portion 11 Operation panel 13 Machine room 17 Door arm mounting hole 18 Door arm mounting hole 19 Door arm 20 Fan 21 Magnetron 22 Hinge mounting hole 23 Hinge mounting hole 24 Hinge 25 Air intake 26 Air vent 27 Exhaust port 28 Space

Claims (3)

A housing and
a heating chamber having an opening;
a door that opens and closes the opening of the heating chamber;
A machine chamber provided on the left or right side of the heating chamber and accommodating a configuration for controlling heating in the heating chamber;
Equipped with
a fan is housed in the machine room for blowing air to the arrangement for controlling the heating;
The door is
The outer frame and
At least two members covering the inner opening of the outer frame;
an air intake port for taking in air blown out from the fan into the space between the members in order to exhaust water vapor present in the space to the outside;
an exhaust port for discharging the air taken into the space from the intake port to the outside together with water vapor present in the space;
Equipped with
The air intake is provided in a part of a lower portion of the door on a side where the machine room is provided ,
The mounting hole for mounting the door to the housing so as to be able to open and close communicates with the inside of the machine room, and air sent out from the fan is taken into the space through the mounting hole and the air intake.
Heating cooker. The cooking device according to claim 1 , wherein the exhaust port is provided in an upper portion of the door. The cooking device according to claim 2 , wherein the exhaust port is provided below a connection portion between the door and a handle provided on an upper side of the door.