JP7747320B2 - heating cooker - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cooking device that can cook food in a heating chamber by supplying high-temperature steam into the heating chamber.

Conventionally, this type of cooking appliance has been known to include a housing (corresponding to the main body of the present invention) containing a heating chamber, a door for opening and closing the heating chamber, a steam generating unit and a steam ejection unit located within the housing (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The steam ejection unit is located at the top of the inner wall surface of the heating chamber, and has a cross-shaped hole formed at its outlet. This structure allows steam to be ejected over a wide area within the heating chamber, effectively heating the food being cooked.

Patent No. 6128341

However, this type of cooking appliance ejects steam over a wide area from the steam outlet, which is located high in the heating chamber, so the steam that flows upward flows along the ceiling of the heating chamber toward the inner wall surface on the side opposite the outlet. This creates a risk that the thermal energy of the steam will escape to the ceiling. Furthermore, if the cooking plate is located at a low position, a large amount of steam will directly hit food placed near the inner wall surface on the outlet side, which could result in poor cooking.

The present invention aims to solve the above problems and provide a cooking device that can effectively cook food using steam.

The heating cooker according to claim 1 of the present invention is a heating cooker having a main body with a heating chamber, a door that can open and close the opening of the heating chamber, steam generating means provided within the main body, and a steam ejection section that supplies steam generated by the steam generating means into the heating chamber, wherein the steam ejection section has a first ejection section that is provided near the top wall of the vertical wall of the heating chamber and ejects steam horizontally , and a second ejection section that is provided near the bottom wall, and of these ejection sections, only the second ejection section is provided with a steam diffusion attachment.

In addition, the heating cooker described in claim 2 of the present invention is the same as claim 1, in which a pair of plate holders on which a cooking plate is placed are provided below the second ejection portion and on the left and right vertical walls of the heating chamber.

Furthermore, the heating cooker described in claim 3 of the present invention is the same as claim 2, in which a cooking grid is placed on the cooking plate, and the grid portion of the cooking grid on which the food to be cooked is placed and the second jetting portion overlap in the height direction.

By configuring the heating cooker according to claim 1 of the present invention as described above , the steam that flows upward from the second jetting portion and is relatively slow in flow is redirected to follow the linear, relatively fast flow of steam that is jetted horizontally from the first jetting portion, thereby supplying steam to envelop the food being cooked, thereby enabling the food to be cooked well.

Furthermore, by providing a pair of plate holders on which the cooking plate is placed below the second ejection portion and on the left and right vertical walls of the heating chamber , steam can be supplied to envelop the food being cooked on the cooking plate, allowing the food to be heated and cooked well.

Furthermore, by placing a cooking net on the cooking plate and aligning the mesh portion of the cooking net on which the food to be cooked is placed and the second jetting portion in a vertical position, steam can be supplied not only from above and the sides of the food to be cooked, but also from below, enveloping the food, allowing the food to be cooked effectively.

1 is a perspective view of a cooking device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the first jetting portion of the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the second jetting portion of the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is an enlarged exploded cross-sectional view of the second jetting portion of the first embodiment.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 5. Reference numeral 1 denotes a cooking device of the present invention. This cooking device 1 has the functions of cooking food F using microwaves, heating food F using an electric heater 16 (described below), and cooking food F using steam S. The mechanism for generating microwaves and the function of heating using only the electric heater 16 will not be described here.

The cooking appliance 1 has a main body 2 with an open front and a door 3 that can open and close the opening of the main body 2. The main body 2 has an outer shell 4 and a heating chamber 5 located within the outer shell 4. The door 3 is pivotally supported to the main body 2 at its lower part and has a handle 6 at its upper part for opening and closing the door 3. The door 3 also has a window 7, a display 8, and an operation unit 9. The operation unit 9 has a mode switching operation unit 9A, a cancel operation unit 9B, a decision operation unit 9C, and a selection operation unit 9D. Furthermore, a water receiving unit 10 and a water tank 11 are detachably attached to the lower front of the main body 2.

The heating chamber 5 has a vertical wall 12, a top wall 13, and a bottom wall 14. The vertical wall 12 has a right side wall 12R, a left side wall 12L, and a rear wall 12B. The top wall 13 is attached to the upper part of the vertical wall 12. The bottom wall 14 is attached to the lower part of the vertical wall 12. A recess 14A is provided in the bottom wall 14, and a mounting plate 15 is provided to cover this recess 14A from above. An electric heater 16 is provided between the recess 14A in the bottom wall 14 and the mounting plate 15. The mounting plate 15 is transparent to heat radiated from the electric heater 16.

Plate receivers 17R and 17L are provided on the right side wall 12R and left side wall 12L, respectively. The plate receiver 17R consists of an upper plate receiver 17RU and a lower plate receiver 17RL. The plate receiver 17L consists of an upper plate receiver 17LU and a lower plate receiver 17LL. The upper plate receivers 17RU and 17LU are paired and are located at the same height. Similarly, the lower plate receivers 17RL and 17LL are paired and are located at the same height. A cooking plate 18 is removably supported between the upper plate receivers 17RU and 17LU and/or between the lower plate receivers 17RL and 17LL. In FIG. 2, the cooking plate 18 is supported between the lower plate receivers 17RL and 17LL.

A first steam ejection section 19 is provided on the left side wall 12L above the upper plate receiver 17LU. A second steam ejection section 20 is provided on the left side wall 12L between the upper plate receiver 17LU and the lower plate receiver 17LL. The first steam ejection section 19 includes a steam ejection section main body 21 and a nut 22. The steam ejection section main body 21 includes a cylindrical section 23, a flange section 24 formed at the end of the cylindrical section 23 inside the heating chamber 5, and a male thread section 25 formed on the outer surface of the cylindrical section 23. The nut 22 is threadedly engaged with the male thread section 25. The outer diameter of the male thread section 25 of the steam ejection section main body 21 is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the through-hole 26 formed in the left side wall 12L. The nut 22 has a width across flats greater than the inner diameter of the through-hole 26. Therefore, by inserting the cylindrical portion 23 of the jetting portion main body 21 into the through-hole 26 from inside the heating chamber 5 and threading the nut 22 onto the male thread portion 25 from outside the heating chamber 5, the left side wall 12L is clamped between the flange portion 24 and the nut 22. In this way, the first jetting portion 19 is fixed to the left side wall 12L. A steam pipe 27 is connected to the cylindrical portion 23 of the jetting portion main body 22.

On the other hand, the second jetting section 20 is composed of a jetting section main body 21, a nut 22, and a diffusion attachment 28. The jetting section main body 21 and the nut 22 have the same structure as those of the first jetting section 19. The diffusion attachment 28 also has a receiving portion 29 and an attachment main body 30. The receiving portion 29 has an annular wall portion 31 and a bottom portion 32, with a through hole 33 drilled in the center of the bottom portion 32. The inner diameter of this through hole 33 is approximately equal to the inner diameter of the through hole 34 formed in the left side wall 12L and slightly larger than the outer diameter of the male thread portion 25 of the jetting section main body 21. On the other hand, the width across flats of the nut 22 is larger than the inner diameter of the through hole 34. The inner diameter of the annular wall portion 31 is also slightly larger than the outer diameter of the flange portion 24 of the jetting section main body 21. The attachment body 30 has an annular portion 35, a substantially conical diffusion portion 36, and a plurality of connecting arms 37 for supporting the diffusion portion 36 at the center of the annular portion 35. These connecting arms 37 extend radially from the diffusion portion 36, and their outer ends are connected to the annular portion 35. The annular portion 35 is supported by the annular wall portion 31 of the receiving portion 29. Therefore, by inserting the cylindrical portion 23 of the jetting portion body 21 into the through-hole 33 of the receiving portion 29 and the through-hole 34 of the left side wall 12L from inside the heating chamber 5 and threading the nut 22 onto the male thread portion 25 from outside the heating chamber 5, the receiving portion 29 and the left side wall 12L are sandwiched between the flange portion 24 and the nut 22. The attachment body 30 is then attached to the receiving portion 29. At this time, the diffusion section 36 of the attachment main body 30 is approximately coaxial with the cylindrical section 23 of the jetting section main body 21. In this way, the second jetting section 20 is fixed to the left side wall 12L. A steam pipe 38 is connected to the cylindrical section 23 of the jetting section main body 22. This steam pipe 38 is formed by branching off from the steam pipe 27 connected to the first jetting section 19.

A cooking grate 39 is placed on the cooking plate 18. This cooking grate 39 has a frame portion 40 and a mesh portion 41 on which the food to be cooked F is placed. As shown in Figures 2 and 4, when the cooking plate 18 is supported by the lower plate holders 17RL and 17LL, the mesh portion 41 overlaps in height with the diffusion attachment 28. In reality, the mesh portion 41 is located slightly above the diffusion portion 36 and below the inner surface 35A of the upper end of the annular portion 35.

A steam generating means 42 and a pump 43 are provided in the space between the outer shell 4 and the heating chamber 5. The pump 43 sends water from the water tank 11 to the steam generating means 42. The steam pipe 27 is also connected to the steam generating means 42. Therefore, liquid water sent from the water tank 11 to the steam generating means 42 by the pump 43 evaporates in the steam generating means 42 to become steam S. This steam S then travels through the steam pipe 27 and the steam pipe 38 branching off from the steam pipe 27, and is supplied into the heating chamber 5 from the first and second ejection portions 19 and 20, respectively. 44 denotes an exhaust port for discharging the steam S outside the heating chamber 5.

Next, we will explain the operation of this embodiment. As with the structural explanation, we will omit explanations of microwave heating and heating using only the electric heater 16, and instead focus on steam cooking.

First, the user places the cooking net 39 on the cooking plate 18 and places the food F on the mesh portion 41 of the cooking net 39. Then, the user opens the door 3 of the cooking appliance 1 and supports the cooking plate 18 with the cooking net 39 and food F placed on it on the lower plate holders 17RL, 17LL, and then closes the door 3. The user then removes the water tank 11, fills it with water, and then places the water tank 11 back into the main body 2. The user then operates the mode switching operation unit 9A to select "Steam," operates the selection operation unit 9D and decision operation unit 9C to set the heating temperature and heating time, and then operates the decision operation unit 9C to start steam cooking.

When steam cooking begins, power is first supplied to the steam generating means 42, which heats the steam generating means 42. The pump 43 is then driven to supply water from the water tank 11 to the steam generating means 42. Because the steam generating means 42 is heated, the supplied water quickly vaporizes into steam S. At the same time, power is supplied to the electric heater 16, which heats the heating chamber 5. Approximately half of the steam S is ejected into the heating chamber 5 from the first ejection portion 19 via the steam pipe 27. At the same time, the remaining approximately half of the steam S is ejected into the heating chamber 5 from the second ejection portion 20 via the steam pipe 27 and the steam pipe 38 branching off from it.

The water vapor S emitted from the first outlet 19 flows approximately horizontally and linearly within the heating chamber 5 from the left side wall 12L toward the right side wall 12R. Meanwhile, the water vapor S emitted from the second outlet 20 is diffused by the diffusion portion 36 of the diffusion attachment 28 and spreads throughout the heating chamber 5 before being emitted. Therefore, the speed of the flow of water vapor S emitted from the second outlet 20 is slower than the speed of the flow of water vapor S emitted from the first outlet 19. Here, the fast, linear flow of water vapor S emitted from the first outlet 19 acts like an air curtain. Specifically, the upward flow of water vapor S, which spreads while being emitted from the second outlet 20, changes direction until it becomes nearly horizontal, following the fast flow of water vapor S flowing approximately horizontally above it. The streams of steam S ejected from the first ejection portion 19 and the second ejection portion 20 then mix to form a turbulent flow, and a portion of the stream of steam S ejected from the first ejection portion 19 collides with the right side wall 12R and changes direction downward. As a result, steam S exists so as to cover the food F placed on the mesh portion 41. Meanwhile, because the mesh portion 41 and the diffusion attachment 28 are positioned vertically in the same position (i.e., they are at the same height), the downward-directed stream of steam S ejected from the second ejection portion 20 spreads and flows below the mesh portion 41 along the upper surface of the cooking plate 18. After ejecting from the first ejection portion 19, this stream of steam S collides with the steam S that collides with the right side wall R and changes direction downward, becoming a turbulent flow and rising. As a result, steam S exists so as to cover the food F placed on the mesh portion 41. Therefore, the food F placed on the mesh portion 41 is enveloped in a sufficient amount of steam S. As a result, the food F is sufficiently heated by the sufficient amount of steam S, and is cooked well.

In addition, after condensing, a portion of the water vapor S used in cooking is discharged and stored in the water receiving portion 10, while the remaining portion is discharged outside the cooking appliance 1 through the exhaust port 44.

As described above, the present invention provides a cooking appliance 1 having a main body 2 having a heating chamber 5, a door 3 that opens and closes an opening of the heating chamber 5, steam generating means 42 provided in the main body 2, and a steam jetting part that supplies steam S generated by the steam generating means 42 into the heating chamber 5, wherein the steam jetting part is made up of a first jetting part 19 that is provided on the left side wall 12L of the vertical wall 12 of the heating chamber 5 near the top wall 13 and jets steam S horizontally , and a second jetting part 19 that is provided near the bottom wall 14. Of these ejection sections 19, 20, only the second ejection section 20 is provided with a diffusion attachment 28 for steam S, so that the steam S that flows upward among the relatively slow steam S that spreads and is ejected from the second ejection section 20 changes direction in accordance with the linear and relatively fast flow of steam S that is ejected horizontally from the first ejection section 19, thereby supplying steam S to envelop the food F to be cooked, thereby enabling the food F to be heated and cooked well.

In addition, the present invention provides a pair of lower plate holders 17RL, 17LL on which the cooking plate 18 is placed , below the second ejection portion 20 and on the left and right vertical walls 12R, 12L of the heating chamber 5, so that steam S is supplied to envelop the food F to be cooked on the cooking plate 18, thereby enabling the food F to be heated and cooked well.

Furthermore, in the present invention, a cooking net 39 is placed on the cooking plate 18, and the mesh portion 41 of the cooking net 39 on which the food item F is placed is aligned vertically with the second jetting portion 20. This allows steam S to be supplied not only from above and the sides of the food item F, but also from below, to envelop the food item F, thereby enabling the food item F to be cooked effectively.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention. For example, in the above embodiments, the first and second jetting portions are provided on the left wall, but they may also be provided on the right wall or the rear wall, provided that they are provided on the same wall surface. However, if the first and second jetting portions are provided on the rear wall, there is a risk that steam forcefully ejected from the first jetting portion may hit the user when the door is opened during cooking, so it is preferable to provide the first and second jetting portions on the right or left wall. Furthermore, in the above embodiments, one first jetting portion and one second jetting portion are provided, but multiple first jetting portions and multiple second jetting portions may be provided. In this case, it is preferable that the multiple first jetting portions and multiple second jetting portions are provided at the same height.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Cooking appliance 2 Main body 3 Door 5 Heating chamber 12 Vertical wall 12L Left side wall 13 Top wall 14 Bottom wall 17R Plate holder 17L Plate holder 17RL Lower plate holder 17LL Lower plate holder 18 Cooking plate 19 First jetting section (steam jetting section)
20 Second jetting section (steam jetting section)
28 Diffusion attachment 39 Cooking net 41 Net portion 42 Steam generating means F Food to be cooked S Steam

Claims (3)

A cooking device having a main body with a heating chamber, a door that can open and close the opening of the heating chamber, steam generating means provided within the main body, and a steam ejection section that supplies steam generated by the steam generating means into the heating chamber, characterized in that the steam ejection section has a first ejection section that is provided near the top wall of the vertical wall of the heating chamber and ejects steam horizontally , and a second ejection section that is provided near the bottom wall, and of these ejection sections, only the second ejection section is provided with a steam diffusion attachment. 2. The cooking device according to claim 1, wherein a pair of plate holders on which a cooking plate is placed are provided below the second jetting portion and on left and right vertical walls of the heating chamber. The heating cooker described in claim 2, characterized in that a cooking grid is placed on the cooking plate, and the grid portion of the cooking grid on which the food to be cooked is placed and the second jetting portion overlap in the height direction.