Steam cooking drawer with spatial partition and heating element

Abstract

The invention relates to a steam cooking drawer having a drawer which can be moved out and into a drawer housing, comprising: a cooking chamber which can be divided into at least two sub-chambers by means of at least one space partition and which has a pot-shaped cooking item container which can be covered by a cover; at least one heat-insulated space partition, which is designed to divide the cooking chamber or a subspace thereof into two subspaces in a steam-tight manner; a wet steam generator; the steam supply channel is used for guiding the generated steam into the cooking chamber; at least one steam discharge channel which is configured to discharge steam from the cooking chamber, the steam supply channel being configured to guide steam into each of the subspaces; each of the possible sub-spaces is assigned at least one heating element for selectively heating the sub-space, and a plurality of heating elements are also provided, each of the possible sub-spaces being assigned at least one heating element for selectively heating the sub-space. Wherein the steam cooking drawer is configured to selectively actuate the heating element belonging to the subspace generated by the space partition depending on the position of the at least one space partition loaded in the cooking object container.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a steam cooking drawer, in particular a domestic steam cooking drawer, with a drawer that can be moved out and in from a drawer housing, and comprising: a cooking chamber, the cooking chamber having a basin-shaped cooking container that can be covered by a cover; a wet steam generator; a steam supply channel, the steam supply channel being configured to guide the steam generated by the wet steam generator into the cooking chamber; and at least one steam exhaust channel, the steam exhaust channel being configured to exhaust the steam from the cooking chamber. The present invention can be particularly advantageously applied to a domestic steam cooking drawer. Background Art

[0002] DE 102007039379 B4 discloses a cooking appliance, which has a cooking chamber that can be divided into a plurality of climate zones that are openly connected to one another, and a device for generating and guiding a steam-air mixture in the cooking chamber, wherein a steam-air mixture can be assigned to each climate zone and the flow rate of each steam-air mixture in the cooking chamber can be adjusted in such a way that the steam-air mixture can be forced to flow through the cooking chamber along a plurality of essentially horizontal and / or parallel flow paths without the climates in the climate zones essentially influencing one another, wherein the device for generating and guiding the steam-air mixture comprises at least one steam generating device, a plurality of steam supply devices, at least one steam discharge device, at least one device for generating a flow (having at least one blower or at least one pump), a plurality of flow rate regulating devices and at least one heating device, and is in operative connection with a control or regulating device so that the climate determined at least by the temperature, humidity and flow rate of the steam-air mixture can be individually controlled or regulated for each climate zone.

[0003] CN 109567574 A discloses a cooking appliance comprising a plurality of steam treatment basins stacked in a vertical direction, wherein each steam treatment basin comprises an airtight basin bottom arranged on the bottom and a plurality of air inlets formed in a circumferential wall, wherein the air inlets are used to introduce steam. A first connector is arranged at the upper edge of each steam treatment tray, and a second connector is arranged at the lower edge of the steam treatment tray; each two adjacent steam inserts are integrally stacked by the first connector and the second connector arranged oppositely. By constructing the air inlet in each steam treatment tray, an independent air supply can be achieved for each steam treatment basin, and the steam treatment basin is provided with an airtight basin bottom and a first connector and a second connector that can achieve a mutually closed connection, thereby solving the problem of odor interference when various foods are steamed by the steam cooker.

[0004] EP 2299181 B1 discloses a heatable room divider, by means of which a furnace chamber can be divided into two individually heatable sub-rooms located one above the other.

[0005] CN 209826263 U discloses a steam oven with a variable cooking chamber volume, wherein the cooking chamber volume can be reduced by using a steam-tight space divider.

[0006] WO 2014 / 095659 A1 discloses an oven with a cooking pot, the cooking pot having a basin, a cover covering the upper side of the basin, and a rack arranged on the basin and on which food to be cooked is placed. The cooking pot comprises a first compartment in the basin in which the rack is placed, a heating device, a second compartment in which the heating device is placed, and a partition wall arranged between the first compartment and the second compartment.

[0007] US2007 / 158331 A1 discloses a hot drawer for placement in a housing, the housing having a recessed portion in which the hot drawer is received, wherein the hot drawer comprises: a housing defining a chamber having an open surface, the open surface providing an entrance to the chamber; a drawer movably mounted on the housing so as to move into and out of the chamber through the open side between a closed position and an open position and defining a heating chamber in which food is received for heating; a heating element disposed on the housing or the drawer; and a control mechanism operably coupled to the heating element so as to selectively operate the heating element, and the control mechanism is configured to selectively operate the heating element so as to maintain the temperature in the heating chamber at one of a cooking temperature, a heating temperature, or a slow cooking temperature.

[0008] EP 2431667 A1 discloses a heatable, insertable cooking space divider for a cooking appliance and a cooking appliance. The insertable cooking space divider is equipped with a flat heating device, wherein the upper side of the insertable cooking space divider is designed as a cooking object receptacle. The cooking appliance has a cooking chamber with a plurality of insert levels, into which the insertable cooking space divider can be respectively inserted, wherein an electrical connection for the electrically operable insertable cooking space divider is assigned to each insert level, and wherein the cooking appliance is designed to regulate at least the power input into the insertable cooking space divider as a function of the insert level occupied by the insertable cooking space divider.

[0009] DE 102011101042 A1 discloses a cooking appliance comprising a housing in which a drawer is guided in a longitudinally movable manner, in which a cooking rack can be or is arranged. To improve this cooking appliance, a plurality of infrared radiators are arranged on the upper side of the housing behind a glass plate and / or a plurality of infrared radiators are arranged on the lower side of the housing behind a glass plate.

[0010] US 8217316 B2 discloses a heating system having a housing with walls that define an internal heating chamber. Sensors are placed on the outer surface of the wall. A heating pad subassembly is fixed to the outer surface of the wall, wherein each heating pad subassembly is arranged next to a corresponding sensor. The heating pad subassembly comprises a pad with a fixing surface coupled to the outer surface of the wall and a heating element coupled to the pad. A control mechanism is in electrical connection with the heating element and the sensor. This control mechanism is configured to independently monitor the temperature measurement results from each sensor and independently control each heating element. The heating pad subassembly can be positioned on the outer side of multiple walls, and the heating system compensates for load fluctuations across the internal heating chamber.

[0011] US10655866 B2 discloses a cooking appliance and a control method therefor, wherein the cooking appliance is capable of cooking a variety of cooking materials using a heat transfer regulator having a plurality of regions in which the reflective capacity with respect to the heat generated by a heating mechanism is variable. According to one aspect, the cooking appliance comprises at least one heating mechanism and a heat transfer regulator, wherein the heat transfer regulator is arranged so as to be opposed to the at least one heating mechanism and is provided with a plurality of regions, each of which has a different reflective capacity with respect to the heat generated by the at least one heating mechanism.

[0012] EP 2853820 A1 discloses a device for cooking food, which has a housing and an upper heating plate and a lower heating plate, wherein at least one heating plate, preferably the upper heating plate, is fixed in a receiving portion so that the heating plate can be moved from a first position to a second position, wherein the two heating plates are arranged parallel to each other in the first position, and wherein the vertical spacing of the heating plates in the second position is at least partially greater than the vertical spacing in the first position, wherein a heating mechanism and preferably an induction heating mechanism is arranged behind the upper heating plate and / or the lower heating plate, and the heating mechanism and the associated heating plate together form an upper heating unit or a lower heating unit or a part thereof. The invention also relates to a kitchen furniture, which has a receiving portion and a device for cooking food arranged in the receiving portion, wherein the receiving portion of the kitchen furniture is connected to the housing of the device or represents the housing.

[0013] US 8378266 B2 discloses a heating system and method for heating a surface, the surface in one form comprising a substrate defining a heating surface and a layered heating element formed on the heating surface. A plurality of nodes are arranged along the heating surface and are in electrical contact with a resistive heating layer of the layered heating element together with a plurality of wires connected to the plurality of nodes. In one form, a multiplexer communicates with the plurality of nodes via a plurality of wires, and a control mechanism communicates with the multiplexer, wherein the multiplexer sorts the resistances from the plurality of nodes and transmits them to the control mechanism, and the control mechanism controls the power provided to each of the plurality of nodes based on the resistance difference between the nodes. Summary of the invention

[0014] The object of the present invention is to at least partially overcome the disadvantages of the prior art and in particular to provide an improved possibility for processing cooked food in a steam processing drawer.

[0015] This object is achieved according to the features of the independent claim. Preferred embodiments can be gathered in particular from the dependent claims.

[0016] This object is achieved by a steam cooking drawer having a drawer which can be moved out and in from a drawer housing, the steam cooking drawer having:

[0017] a cooking chamber which can be divided into at least two sub-chambers by means of at least one room divider and which has a bowl-shaped container for cooking products which can be covered by a lid;

[0018] at least one thermally insulating room divider which is designed to divide the cooking chamber or a subspace thereof into two subspaces in a steam-tight manner,

[0019] - Wet steam generators,

[0020] a steam supply channel which is designed to guide the steam generated by the wet steam generator into the cooking chamber,

[0021] at least one steam outlet channel, which is provided for the purpose of discharging steam from the cooking chamber, wherein

[0022] The steam supply channel is configured to guide the steam generated by the wet steam generator into each of the subspaces, and further comprises

[0023] a plurality of heating elements, wherein each of the possible subspaces is assigned at least one heating element for selectively heating it,

[0024] in

[0025] The steam cooking drawer is designed to selectively actuate the heating elements belonging to the sub-spaces created thereby, as a function of the position of at least one room divider inserted into the cooking container.

[0026] The advantage of this steam cooking drawer is that the cooking chamber can be divided into two or more sub-(cooking) spaces by the user as required by at least one room divider. This allows different foods to be processed individually with steam in a small space at the same time. The steam tightness of the room divider not only achieves the spatial separation of the separated sub-spaces, but also their atmosphere separation, and thus prevents mutual taste influence between the sub-spaces. In addition, different atmosphere conditions (for example with regard to air humidity, air temperature, flow speed, etc.) can be easily realized in the sub-spaces in terms of design. In addition, the energy requirement and / or cleaning expenditure are smaller than when using an undivided cooking chamber, and faster heating times are also obtained. Since the steam generation for the sub-spaces is carried out by a common wet steam generator, the steam treatment can also be achieved cost-effectively.

[0027] Furthermore, the advantage is achieved that the heating energy introduced into the respective subspaces can be adjusted by means of the selectively controllable heating elements, so that in particular a desired combination of steam concentration and temperature can be set in a simple manner for each subspace. This in turn advantageously allows different foods in different subspaces to be treated with steam and / or heat in a targeted manner and in particular also independently of one another.

[0028] A further development is that the steam cooking drawer is a domestic steam cooking drawer. The steam cooking drawer can be an independent cooking appliance or a part of a combined appliance, for example a cooking appliance having a stove and a steam cooking drawer arranged thereunder.

[0029] The cooking container and the lid, which is placed thereon in a particularly steam-tight manner, form a cooking chamber. The cooking chamber is provided for receiving cooking products and, if necessary, for applying steam to the cooking container by means of a steam cooking drawer and / or for applying heat to the cooking container by means of at least one heating element. The cooking container can be removed from the drawer in particular by the user.

[0030] When the cooking chamber is closed, the two or more subspaces are steam-tight and thus separated from each other in terms of atmosphere, that is to say, in particular during the steaming process, no steam is exchanged between them. The fact that the two subspaces are separated from each other in a steam-tight manner also includes, in particular, that they are separated from each other in a liquid-tight manner.

[0031] By inserting a room divider, a room that can be acted upon by steam (that is to say a cooking chamber or a sub-space thereof) can be divided into two sub-spaces that can be acted upon by steam, and more precisely divided in a steam-tight manner, so that an exchange of atmosphere and, if necessary, liquid (e.g., condensate) between the two sub-spaces is prevented. The two sub-spaces can be separated from one another by the room divider in a gas-tight manner, i.e., when the cooking chamber is closed, i.e., in terms of gas technology and liquid technology. This can be achieved in such a way that at least the cooking chamber as a whole is divided into a first sub-space and a second sub-space by the room divider. If provided for this purpose, a further room divider can be added, which further divides the first sub-space into two sub-spaces, etc. In summary, the cooking chamber can be divided into n+1 sub-spaces that are separated from one another in a steam-tight manner by n room dividers.

[0032] Since the room divider is a thermally insulating room divider, the sub-rooms are also largely thermally separated from one another, so that different cooking chamber temperatures can be set, in particular adjusted, in a targeted manner therebetween, and this can also be done with greater temperature differences. The room divider can be thermally insulating, for example, by being made of a poorly thermally conductive material, such as plastic, with a sufficient thickness (e.g. at least 2 mm to 3 mm) or being filled with a highly thermally insulating material, such as air or foam.

[0033] The cooking vessel can also be a thermally insulating cooking vessel. This can be achieved, for example, by the cooking vessel being made of plastic or being covered on its outer side with an insulating material, such as insulating fleece or plastic. As an alternative or in addition, the cooking vessel can be double-walled and contain, for example, a vacuum, air or another particularly good insulating material, such as foam, etc., in the cavity.

[0034] The room divider is in particular plate-shaped, in particular cuboid, and can in particular also be referred to as a partition wall.

[0035] The steam that can be introduced into the subspace is generated in particular by a single wet steam generator arranged outside the cooking chamber. The wet steam generator generates wet steam, i.e. steam that can be heated to the boiling point of water or steam generated by boiling. This wet steam may still contain water droplets and is therefore called "wet".

[0036] One development consists in that at least one SHS steam heater is connected downstream of the wet steam generator and is designed to convert the wet steam generated by the wet steam generator further into superheated steam. "Superheated steam" can particularly mean steam that has been heated above the boiling point of water, which is also known as dry steam or SHS ("superheated steam"). Superheated steam is so hot that it typically no longer has water droplets and is therefore also referred to as "dry". The temperature of the dry steam is above the boiling point of water and can be, for example, up to 200° C., 300° C., 400° C., 500° C., 600° C. or even higher.

[0037] In a refinement, the combination of a wet steam generator and at least one SHS steam heater arranged outside the cooking chamber can also be referred to or considered as a (two-stage) steam generator, wherein wet steam is generated in a first stage by boiling water and is converted into superheated steam in a second stage.

[0038] The steam supply channel is designed to conduct steam generated by the wet steam generator (i.e. wet steam or additionally heated superheated steam) into each subspace, which includes in particular that the steam supply channel is designed to conduct steam into each subspace in principle, in particular also simultaneously. This does not exclude the following situation: during the cooking process, if necessary, at least one subspace is not charged with steam in a targeted or controlled manner, while the steam cooking drawer is designed to charge each subspace with steam when necessary.

[0039] The steam supply channel is configured to conduct steam generated by the wet steam generator into each subspace, which also includes that the steam is conducted directly from the wet steam generator into each subspace and therefore is not conducted through a plurality of subspaces.

[0040] The steam (and possibly smoke) in the cooking chamber or in the plurality of sub-chambers can flow out of the cooking chamber or in the plurality of sub-chambers before, during and / or after the cooking process through at least one steam outlet channel. The steam outlet channel can, for example, lead to the front side or the front side wall of the steam cooking drawer and / or to the smoke extractor. The outflow or discharge of steam from the cooking chamber can be caused by an increased steam pressure in the cooking chamber and / or by suction, for example, by means of a fan.

[0041] Typically, the cooking chamber can be used with or without a room divider for steaming the food placed therein.

[0042] The at least one heating element can have one or more resistive heating elements (e.g. heating circuits). The at least one heating element can have one or more induction elements, for example with corresponding induction coils, which generate an induced current in the metal space. The metal space can be a cooking vessel. The at least one heating element can include one or more infrared radiators.

[0043] At least one heating element is assigned to each possible subspace for selectively heating it, which includes in particular: at least one heating element is respectively assigned to all subspaces that can be generated by at least one room divider (that is, by one or more room dividers), with the help of which these subspaces can be heated individually, that is, independently of other subspaces.

[0044] The steam cooking drawer is designed to selectively actuate heating elements belonging to the subspaces generated thereby as a function of the position of at least one room divider which is (actually) inserted into the cooking vessel, which includes in particular that the steam cooking drawer is able to detect the position of at least one room divider which is (actually) inserted into the cooking vessel and can accordingly actuate the heating elements belonging to these subspaces individually for the individual subspaces as a function of a specification for a desired cooking process.

[0045] The control of the heating element can include an operation of the heating element between 0% and 100% of the maximum permissible heating power.

[0046] In the case of an electrically operated heating element, the activation of the heating element may include supplying current to the heating element.

[0047] The steam cooking drawer is particularly designed to control the heating element on the one hand and the steam generation and steam introduction on the other hand independently for each subspace.

[0048] - only steam is applied, without the associated heating elements being controlled or activated (pure steam treatment operation);

[0049] - no steam is applied, but only the associated heating elements are controlled or activated (pure furnace operation); or

[0050] The heating elements are acted upon with steam and the associated heating elements are additionally actuated or activated (simultaneously and / or staggered in time) (combined steam treatment and furnace operation).

[0051] The advantage achieved in this way is that only part of the cooking container can also be used for the cooking operation, which can improve the cooking result, shorten the heating time and save energy. This can be advantageous, for example, if the user only wants to cook a small amount of food. Another advantage is that different cooking processes can be carried out independently of each other in different sub-spaces. Thus, in one sub-space, for example, fish can be steam-cooked without using a heating element, and in another sub-space, side dishes can be cooked only with the help of a heating element, for example at a temperature of 200° C.

[0052] In a further development, if no room divider is installed, the steam cooking drawer can be designed to operate the cooking chamber formed as a whole by the cooking container optionally in pure steam processing mode, pure oven mode or in combined steam processing mode and oven mode.

[0053] The steam cooking drawer is designed to selectively control the heating element, which can include: the control of the steam cooking drawer is designed to selectively control the heating element. The control can also have the function of a detection device, that is, also serve as a detection device. This control is advantageously the same control that also controls the steam treatment operation (steam generation and steam introduction).

[0054] In one embodiment, the steam cooking drawer has a detection device for detecting the position of at least one room divider in the cooking chamber container and is configured to selectively control the heating elements belonging to the subspaces generated by the at least one room divider based on the position of the at least one room divider detected by the detection device. The advantage achieved in this way is that the power, in particular the electrical power, input to the heating element and thus the heating power can be adjusted in a particularly simple manner.

[0055] In a development, the detection device can optionally detect not only the position of the at least one room divider but also its correct position.

[0056] In one embodiment, the detection device includes a plurality of switches, which can be actuated at least in the retracted state of the steam cooking drawer by at least one installed room divider, and the steam cooking drawer is configured to selectively actuate the heating elements belonging to the subspaces generated by the at least one room divider based on the actuation of the switches. This embodiment can advantageously be realized particularly cost-effectively. In one embodiment, at least one switch is a mechanical contact switch, such as a micro switch. In one embodiment, at least one switch is an electrical contact element. In one embodiment, at least one switch is a Hall sensor. In one embodiment, at least one switch is a light barrier.

[0057] In one development, the detection device comprises a camera, by means of which the position of the at least one room divider can be ascertained by image evaluation of images recorded by the camera.

[0058] In one embodiment, the switches are arranged at all possible positions of the at least one room divider.

[0059] In one development, at least on the front wall or the front side wall and on the rear side wall of the cooking vessel there is a support for inserting at least one room divider, in particular a dividing wall. This provides the advantage that, when the front side wall is viewed from the front, at least two adjacent sub-spaces are provided, which can be individually charged with steam particularly easily. The supports can be arranged in particular one behind the other in a front or front view, so that the room divider can be arranged perpendicularly to the front side wall and the rear side wall.

[0060] One improvement is that the support has an insertion slot on each wall. This has the advantage that the room divider can be installed in the support by simple insertion from above. The insertion slot can be formed, for example, by two vertically oriented ribs arranged side by side. One improvement is that a switch is provided at one of the two insertion slots or at both insertion slots. If a respective switch is provided at both insertion slots, the advantage is that the correct position can be particularly easily identified in this way.

[0061] A further development is that all heating elements are individually connected to the power supply by means of a switch (“heating element switch”). The heating element switch can be, for example, a relay or an electronic switch such as a transistor and is used to selectively connect or disconnect the corresponding heating element to the power supply.

[0062] In one embodiment, at least one heating element, in particular at least two heating elements, are arranged on the cooking vessel, in particular on the bottom of the cooking vessel.

[0063] In one configuration, at least one heating element, in particular at least two heating elements, are arranged on the cover.

[0064] One design solution is that the selective control includes the control of only part of the heating elements assigned to at least one subspace and / or the non-control of the heating elements assigned to at least one subspace. The advantage achieved in this way is that the introduced heating power can be set particularly easily. The possibility of non-control (in which the heating elements assigned to a subspace are not controlled, in particular not energized) has the advantage that this subspace is not heated by the heating elements at all (but, for example, only by the steam introduced). This includes the possibility of not heating any subspace by the heating elements. Another advantage is that when all subspaces are not heated by the heating elements, all the energy or electrical power available for controlling or operating the heating elements can be introduced into at least one subspace to be heated by the heating elements, which achieves a significantly faster heating time in this subspace.

[0065] In one embodiment, the heating element can be controlled in such a way that the heat energy introduced by the heating element into the respective subspace is divided according to the size (area and / or volume) of the subspace. If the room divider divides the cooking chamber into two subspaces, for example, wherein the smaller subspace occupies 30% of the entire cooking chamber and the larger subspace occupies 70% of the entire cooking chamber, then 30% of the heating energy introduced into the entire cooking chamber can be automatically introduced into the smaller subspace and 70% can be automatically introduced into the larger subspace. In principle, however, the heating power introduced into the individual subspaces can be freely distributed as required within the scope of the total available heating power.

[0066] In one embodiment, the steam supply channel has a steam inlet connected to the wet steam generator and at least one branch, which has at least two outlet branches leading to the cooking chamber. The advantage achieved by this is that multiple spatially separated steam flows can be guided into the cooking chamber in a simple manner in terms of design. This can be particularly advantageous in order to also load high steam flows to areas of the cooking chamber that are far apart from each other. Usually, a branch has an inlet branch and at least two outlet branches branching off or leading from the inlet branch. The steam enters the inlet branch and can in principle flow through the outlet branch.

[0067] One improvement is that at least two branches are arranged flow-wise one behind the other, so that the inlet branch of the branch that follows flow-wise adjoins at least one of the outlet branches of the preceding branch. Such a branching structure can in principle be cascaded as often as desired and can provide more than two outlet branches in a design-simple and easily changeable manner.

[0068] If the steam cooking drawer is equipped with at least one SHS steam heater, then one improvement is that the SHS steam heater is arranged upstream of at least one branch in terms of flow technology, so that when the SHS steam heater is in operation, superheated steam can flow through all branches in a particularly cost-effective manner. One improvement is that a respective SHS steam heater is assigned to all outlet branches. The advantage achieved in this way is that it is possible to individually adjust for each outlet branch whether wet steam or superheated steam can flow into the treatment chamber or the assigned subspace from it. One improvement is that an SHS steam heater is assigned only to a subset of the outlet branches. In this way, at least one subspace can be advantageously charged with only wet steam and at least one other subspace can be charged with superheated steam or optionally with wet steam or superheated steam in a manner that is always still cost-effective.

[0069] In one embodiment, at least one branch has a regulating mechanism that can be controlled to variably or proportionally regulate the steam flow through the outlet branch of the corresponding branch. This can regulate the steam flow into a plurality of subspaces in a robust and simple manner in terms of design, and thus, in particular, also together with the heating power of the wet steam generator and, if necessary, the SHS steam heater, in a targeted manner, set the air humidity / air moisture, air temperature and / or flow speed for the corresponding subspace. The regulating mechanism can be regulated, in particular, by a steam cooking drawer, for example, with an electric motor or with an actuator. The regulating mechanism is particularly set to regulate the flow cross section of the outlet branch in proportion.

[0070] One improvement is that the regulating mechanism is a flap that can be adjusted electrically, in particular with an electric motor or with an actuator, in particular a pivotable flap, wherein the angular position or pivot position of the flap determines the flow cross section of the outlet branch. One improvement is that the branch is designed as a valve, in particular as a proportional valve.

[0071] In principle, however, the steam supply channel can also have at least one branch without an adjusting device, which can advantageously be realized particularly cost-effectively.

[0072] Similar to the branched steam supply channel, the steam outlet channel can also have at least one branch or branched confluence, which has a regulating mechanism that can be controlled to variably or proportionally regulate the steam flow through the multiple inlet branches. In particular, one outlet branch can then be connected to a fan, for example.

[0073] One design is that at least one bifurcation has exactly two outlet branches. This can be achieved particularly easily by means of a Y-shaped tube. If a regulating mechanism is assigned to this bifurcation, this can also be achieved particularly easily, for example in the form of a Y-shaped valve.

[0074] One design solution is that the steam supply channel has (exactly) one steam inlet or steam supply opening, which leads to all possible subspaces. This design solution can be implemented particularly easily, since no branching is required, but only a widening ("widening") of the steam supply channel is required. The distribution of the steam flow to the individual subspaces can then be adjusted by positioning or placing the room divider behind the steam supply opening, if necessary manually by the user. Depending on the position at which the room divider is adjacent along the width of the steam supply opening, more or less steam enters the subspace assigned to the room divider.

[0075] In one embodiment, the cooking vessel has at least one steam supply opening cut out in the front side or in the front side wall, through which the steam flowing out of the steam supply channel can reach the cooking vessel, and the cooking vessel also optionally has at least one steam outflow opening or steam outlet opening cut out in the rear side wall. The advantage achieved in this way is that a targeted steam / air flow through the cooking chamber or the sub-space can be generated in a design-simple manner. The at least one steam supply opening of the cooking vessel can be connected to the steam supply channel directly or via at least one plug-in connection piece integrated into the cooking vessel, the opening of the plug-in connection piece on the processing chamber side corresponding to the steam supply opening.

[0076] In one embodiment, the cooking vessel has at least two steam supply openings spaced apart from each other laterally in a front view on its front wall or front side wall, and at least one support provided on the front side wall is arranged between the steam supply openings spaced farthest from each other (outermost). This advantageously ensures that the sub-spaces formed on the far left and on the far right can also be charged with steam.

[0077] In one embodiment, the cooking vessel has at least two steam outlet openings on its rear side wall, which are spaced apart from each other laterally in a front view, and at least one support provided on the rear side wall is arranged between the steam outlet openings which are spaced farthest from each other (outermost). This advantageously ensures that the sub-spaces formed on the far left and on the far right can also be charged with steam. This advantageously achieves a function or effect of the steam outlet opening similar to that of the steam supply opening.

[0078] A design in which the steam supply channel has exactly one Y-shaped branch with exactly two outlet branches is particularly advantageous for the case in which the cooking vessel has at least two steam supply openings on its front side wall, which are laterally spaced apart from one another in a front view. This can advantageously be realized particularly easily, for example, by means of a simple Y-valve. The cooking chamber can then be divided by the room divider into two subspaces that can be individually charged with steam. If the room divider has been inserted into the cooking chamber, the two outlet branches lead to the respective subspaces. In particular, each of the two subspaces has a steam supply opening and advantageously also a steam outlet opening. The two steam supply openings are arranged on both sides of at least one support mounted on the front side wall, thereby ensuring that the two subspaces can be charged with steam independently of the position of the room divider, and more precisely, this also applies if the room divider can be arranged on a plurality of different supports and thus at a plurality of different positions.

[0079] A design scheme is that at least one steam exhaust channel is a bifurcated or unbranched steam exhaust channel. This can be advantageously particularly easily implemented. At least one steam exhaust channel has in particular exactly one steam exhaust end. If there is exactly one unbranched steam exhaust channel, the steam exhaust channel can have (just) one steam exhaust port, which leads to all possible subspaces. This design scheme can be particularly easily implemented because there is no need for bifurcation, but only the widening portion ("widening portion") of the steam supply channel is required. The process of distributing the steam flow to the steam exhaust channel can then be adjusted by positioning or placing the space divider before the steam exhaust port, if necessary, manually by the user. Depending on the position at which the space divider is adjacent along the width of the steam exhaust port, more or less steam is discharged from the subspace assigned to the space divider. An improved scheme is that the space divider, in particular the partition wall, has a seal around, that is, on all edge sections. Thus, the exchange of air, steam, condensate, etc. between the subspaces separated by the space divider is advantageously and particularly effectively prevented. In the case of a bowl-shaped cooking vessel that can be covered by means of a lid, the plate-shaped partition wall can, for example, rest or be placed with its lower edge section on the bottom of the cooking vessel, with its lateral edge sections on the front side wall or rear side wall, and with its upper edge section on the lid. The seal can be made, for example, of rubber, plastic, ceramic, etc. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0080] The above-described characteristics, features and advantages of the present invention and the ways and methods of achieving these characteristics, features and advantages will become more clearly understood in conjunction with the following illustrative description of embodiments, which are explained in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0081] Figure 1 A sketch of a drawer of a steam cooking drawer is shown in top view;

[0082] Figure 2 A sketch showing the bifurcation of the steam supply channel of the drawer;

[0083] Figure 3 The steam cooking drawer is shown in a view from the oblique front;

[0084] Figure 4 The steam cooking drawer is shown in a view from an oblique rear;

[0085] Figure 5 A possible arrangement of a heating element on the bottom of a cooking container of a steam cooking drawer is shown in a top view;

[0086] Figure 6 With Figure 4 A similar view shows a possible arrangement of the heating element on the cover of the steam cooking drawer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0087] Figure 1 The sketch of the drawer 1 of the steam cooking drawer 2 is shown in a top view. The drawer 1 can be horizontally arranged in the drawer housing 3 (see FIG. Figure 3 and Figure 4 ) in and out, wherein the front panel 4 of the drawer 1 closes the front opening of the drawer housing 3 in the retracted state.

[0088] The drawer 1 has an electrically driven wet steam generator 5 which is designed to boil water in order to generate wet steam D. The wet steam generator 5 can be controlled, for example switched on and off, by means of a control device 6. In particular, the heating power of the wet steam generator 5 can be adjusted by means of the control device 6, thereby in turn adjusting the volume per unit time of the generated wet steam D. Optionally, at least one SHS steam heater (not shown) can be connected downstream of the wet steam generator 5.

[0089] A steam supply channel 7 is connected to the steam outlet of the wet steam generator 5, and is designed to guide the wet steam 5 generated by the wet steam generator 5 or the superheated steam in the case of a SHS steam heater into the cooking chamber 8. The cooking chamber 8 is formed here by means of a basin-shaped, top-open cooking container 9 and a cover (not shown) that can be placed on the cooking container 9 in a steam-tight manner, for example, made of glass. The cooking container 9 can be removed from the user side in particular. It is used to receive the cooking material in a cooking container, for example, a GN container, etc.

[0090] Furthermore, the cooking chamber 8 can be connected or, in the installed state, is connected to a steam outlet channel 10 which is provided for discharging steam from the cooking chamber 8 , for example into the surroundings or to a smoke extraction system (not shown).

[0091] The cooking vessel 9 has on its inner side, on its front side or front side wall 9v and, in a front view, at the same position on its rear side or rear side wall 9h, a plurality of vertically oriented ribs 11 arranged parallel to one another, namely here nine pairs of front and rear ribs 11 arranged parallel to one another, which define insertion locations for partition walls 12 (see Figure 5 ). When the cover is removed or opened, the room divider in the form of a plate-shaped partition wall 12 with a rectangular basic shape can be inserted between adjacent rib pairs on the user side and can also be pulled out again. Thus, adjacent rib pairs form a support for the partition wall 12. With the six rib pairs shown in the present example, the partition wall 12 can be selectively arranged in one of five positions P1 to P5.

[0092] The edge of the partition wall 12 is surrounded by a seal 13 (see Figure 3 and Figure 4 ), which seal can be made, for example, of rubber, plastic, ceramic, etc. The partition wall 12 can optionally be designed to be thermally insulating and / or can optionally have at least one electric heating element 14.

[0093] When the partition wall 12 is installed and the lid is placed, the cooking chamber 8 is divided into two sub-spaces 8a and 8b which are separated from each other in a steam-tight (and thus also liquid-tight) manner. The proportionate volumes of the sub-spaces 8a and 8b can be adjusted by different positions P1 to P5.

[0094] The steam supply channel 7 is designed in such a way that the steam D generated by the wet steam generator 5 is guided both into the first subspace 8a and into the second subspace 8b after conversion into superheated steam, if necessary. For this purpose, the steam supply channel 7 has a Y-shaped branch in the form of a Y-shaped valve 15, which is described in more detail in Figure 2 The Y-shaped valve 15 has a (steam) inlet branch 15c connected to the steam side of the wet steam generator 5 and two (steam) outlet branches 15a and 15b symmetrically branched from the inlet branch. The outlet branches 15a and 15b branch off or lead to the first subspace 8a or the second subspace 8b.

[0095] The Y-valve 15 has an adjustment mechanism in the form of a deflectable valve flap 16 that can be electrically controlled by the control mechanism 6. By adjusting the pivot angle of the valve flap 16, the steam flow Vin of the steam D flowing in through the inlet branch 15c can be variably adjusted to a steam flow Vout1 through the outlet branch 15a and a steam flow Vout2 through the outlet branch 15b, wherein Vin=Vout1+Vout2 holds true. In particular, Vout1 can be adjusted within the range [0%, ..., 100%] Vin. Therefore, the volume flow of the steam D flowing into the subspace 8a or 8b can also be adjusted in proportion, and Vin can be specifically changed by the electrical power input into the heating element of the wet steam generator 5.

[0096] The outlet branches 15a and 15b branch off or open into a steam supply opening 17a or 17b cut into the front side wall 9v of the cooking vessel 9, which opens into the subspace 8a or 8b. If the cooking vessel 9 is not removable, the steam supply opening 17a or 17b can directly correspond to the opening of the outlet branches 15a and 15b. If the cooking vessel 9 is removable, the steam supply openings 17a and 17b can be simple perforations in one refinement, which adjoin the section of the outlet branches 15a or 15b that is fixedly arranged in the drawer 1, and the steam supply opening can be the opening of a pipe-shaped channel section of the cooking vessel 9 in another refinement, which can be inserted, in particular steam-tightly, into the section of the outlet branches 15a or 15b that is arranged in the drawer 1.

[0097] The steam supply openings 17a and 17b are spaced so far apart from each other laterally in a front view that the rib 11 is arranged between them. This ensures that each of the sub-spaces 8a and 8b can be charged with steam via the steam supply openings 17a or 17b, and more precisely, this is independent of the position P1 to P5 of the partition wall 12.

[0098] Similar to the steam supply openings 17a and 17b and advantageously at the same position in the front view, the cooking vessel 9 has two steam outlet openings 18a and 18b on its rear side wall 9b, through which steam or a steam / air / smoke mixture can be discharged from the corresponding subspace 8a or 8b and flow into the steam outlet channel 10. In the front view, the steam outlet openings 18a and 18b are also spaced apart from each other laterally so far that the rib 11 arranged on the rear side wall 9b is arranged between them. The steam outlet channel 10 has a confluence 19, at which the branches adjacent to the two steam outlet openings 18a and 18b merge. In particular, the steam outlet channel 10 can have a confluence 19 with the rib 11 arranged on the rear side wall 9b. Figure 2The opposite branching or confluence 19 has two inlet branches and one outlet branch, the flow cross section of which can be adjusted, for example, by means of the valve flap 16 .

[0099] Figure 5 A possible arrangement of a heating element 20 on a cooking vessel is shown in a top view, which is designed, for example, similarly to the cooking vessel 9. Here, purely by way of example, eight pairs of front or rear ribs 11 are present on the inner sides of the front side wall 9v and the rear side wall 9h of the cooking vessel 9, which define seven insertion positions A1 to A7. The partition wall 12 is inserted into the insertion position A6.

[0100] Between two adjacent ribs 11 of each of the side walls 9v and 9h, there is a switch 21 (eg a contact element) of a detection mechanism, which is switched when the partition wall 12 is used. The switch 21 is connected to a control mechanism 6 which monitors the switch state of the switch 21.

[0101] The heating element 20 is embedded in the bottom 23 of the cooking vessel 9 and can be, for example, a resistance heating element, such as a thick-layer heating conductor or the like, or an induction coil. A heating element 20 is assigned to each possible subspace. The possible subspaces here include the space belonging to the surface from the left side wall 24 to the next rib 11, the space belonging to the plug-in positions A1 to A7, and the space belonging to the last rib 11 to the right side wall 25.

[0102] Each of the heating elements 20 is connected to a power source 27 via a switch 26 (e.g., a transistor or a relay), wherein the switch 26 is connected to a control mechanism 6 in order to control it (open / close). The control mechanism 6 is designed to switch the switch 26 depending on the partition wall position (here: in the plug-in position A6) detected by the switch 21. The control mechanism 6 is also designed to switch the switch 26 selectively or individually, in particular depending on the heating power desired for the situation of the division into subspaces actually generated by the position of the partition wall 12. Here, the subspaces actually generated are the left subspace extending from the left side wall 24 to include the fifth plug-in position A5 and the right subspace extending from the seventh plug-in position A7 to the right side wall 25.

[0103] If, for example, the left sub-room is to be heated by the heating elements 20, then all the heating elements 20 located in its surface or only one or several of them can be energized. If, for example, the right sub-room is to be heated by the heating elements 20, then all the heating elements 20 located in its surface or only one or several of them can be energized. In this way, it can be advantageously achieved that the heating power is automatically distributed to the two sub-rooms according to their surface division. The heating element 20 in the plug-in position A6 is advantageously disconnected from the power supply 27 by the associated switch 26.

[0104] It is also possible to heat only one of the actually occurring subspaces or not to heat any of the actually occurring subspaces by means of the heating element 20 , for which purpose the associated switch 26 is then advantageously opened.

[0105] Furthermore, the power source 27 can also be controlled by the control device 6 , for example in order to regulate the electrical power output thereby.

[0106] The control device 6 can therefore be designed to selectively control the left subspace and independently of this the right subspace.

[0107] - only steam is applied, without energizing the associated heating element 20 (pure steam treatment operation);

[0108] - no steam is applied, but only the associated heating elements 20 are energized (pure furnace operation); or

[0109] The steam is applied and the associated heating elements 20 are additionally energized (simultaneously and / or staggered in time) (combined steam treatment and furnace operation).

[0110] If no partition wall 12 is installed, the control device 6 can be designed to selectively operate the cooking chamber formed by the cooking vessel 9 as a whole in pure steam treatment mode, pure oven mode or in combined steam treatment mode and oven mode.

[0111] In an alternative exemplary embodiment (not shown), the heating elements 20 can be connected individually to the power source 27 and can be energized individually, so that the heating current supplied to the individual heating elements can also be adjusted individually.

[0112] In an alternative, not shown, embodiment, there can also be a plurality of heating elements 20 for each possible sub-space. The heating elements 20 which heat the possible sub-spaces individually can then be actuated at least in groups by the control device 6. Optionally, the heating elements 20 can also be actuated individually, which allows a particularly variable introduction of heating power.

[0113] Figure 6 With Figure 4 A similar view shows a possible arrangement of the heating element 28 on the cover (not shown) of the steam cooking drawer 2. The heating element 28 can exist as an alternative or supplement to the heating element 20. The cover can be integrated into the drawer housing 3, for example, placed under the top cover of the drawer housing 3. At present, the heating elements 28 are arranged in a matrix form, wherein the heating elements 28 that individually heat the possible sub-spaces can be controlled at least in a row by the control mechanism 6. The optional heating elements 28 can also be controlled individually, which allows the heating power to be introduced particularly variably. For this purpose, the rows of heating elements 28 or even the individual heating elements 28 can be arranged similarly to Figure 5 The switch 26 is selectively activated and deactivated.

[0114] Of course, the invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments shown.

[0115] In general, “a” etc., especially in the sense of “at least one” or “one or more” etc., can refer to the singular or the plural, as long as this is not explicitly excluded, for example by the expression “exactly one” etc.

[0116] Quantity specifications may also include exactly the specified quantity and the customary tolerance ranges, unless this is explicitly excluded.

[0117] List of reference numerals:

[0118] 1 Drawer

[0119] 2 Steam cooking drawers

[0120] 3 Drawer housing

[0121] 4 front panel

[0122] 5 Wet Steam Generator

[0123] 6 Control device

[0124] 7 Steam supply channel

[0125] 8 Cooking Room

[0126] 8a First subspace of the cooking chamber

[0127] 8b Second subspace of the cooking chamber

[0128] 9 Cooking containers

[0129] 9v Front wall of the cooking container

[0130] 9h Rear wall of the cooking container

[0131] 10 Steam exhaust channel

[0132] 11. Tendon

[0133] 12 Divider Wall

[0134] 13 Seals

[0135] 14 Electric heating element

[0136] 15 Y-valve

[0137] 15a First outlet branch of the Y-shaped valve

[0138] 15b Second outlet branch of the Y-valve

[0139] 15c Inlet branch of Y-valve

[0140] 16 Valve

[0141] 17a Steam supply port

[0142] 17b Steam supply port

[0143] 18a Steam exhaust port

[0144] 18b Steam exhaust port

[0145] 19 Confluence

[0146] 20 Heating element

[0147] 21 Switch

[0148] 23 Bottom of the cooking container

[0149] 24 Left side wall of the cooking container

[0150] 25 Right side wall of the food container

[0151] 26 Switch

[0152] 27 Power Supply

[0153] 28 Heating element

[0154] A1-A7 plug-in position

[0155] D Wet Steam

[0156] Location of the P1-P5 partition wall

[0157] Vin to steam flow in Y-valve

[0158] Vout1 Steam flow through the first outlet branch

[0159] Vout2 Steam flow through the second outlet branch

Claims

1. A steam cooking drawer (2), in particular a domestic steam cooking drawer (2), comprising a drawer (1) which can be moved out of and into a drawer housing (3), the steam cooking drawer having a cooking chamber (8) which can be divided into at least two sub-chambers (8a, 8b) by means of at least one room divider (12), said cooking chamber having a bowl-shaped cooking container (9) which can be covered by a lid, at least one thermally insulating room divider (12) which is designed to divide the cooking chamber (8) or its sub-rooms (8a, 8b) into two sub-rooms (8a, 8b) in a steam-tight manner, - a wet steam generator (5), a steam supply channel (7) which is designed to guide the steam (D) generated by the wet steam generator (5) into the cooking chamber (8), at least one steam outlet channel (10) which is designed to discharge steam (D) from the cooking chamber (8), in, the steam supply channel (7) is designed to guide the steam (D) generated by the wet steam generator (5) into each of the subspaces (8a, 8b), And in addition has a plurality of heating elements (20, 28), wherein at least one heating element (20, 28) is assigned to each of the possible subspaces (8a, 8b) for selectively heating it, in, The steam cooking drawer (2) is designed to selectively actuate heating elements (20, 28) belonging to the sub-spaces (8a, 8b) created thereby, depending on the position of at least one room divider (12) inserted into the cooking container (9).

2. The steam cooking drawer (2) according to claim 1, wherein the steam cooking drawer (2) has a detection device (6, 21) for identifying the position of at least one room divider (12) in the cooking container (9) and is configured to selectively control the heating elements (20, 28) belonging to the subspaces (8a, 8b) generated by the at least one room divider (12) based on the position of the at least one room divider (12) identified by the detection device (6, 21).

3. The steam cooking drawer (2) according to claim 2, wherein the detection mechanism (6, 21) comprises a plurality of switches (21), which can be mechanically operated by at least one installed room divider (12) at least in the retracted state of the steam cooking drawer (2), and wherein the steam cooking drawer (2) is configured to selectively control the heating elements (20, 28) belonging to the subspaces (8a, 8b) generated by the at least one room divider (12) based on the operation of the switches (21).

4. The steam cooking drawer (2) according to claim 3, wherein the switch (21) is arranged at a possible position of at least one room divider.

5. The steam cooking drawer (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least two heating elements (20) are arranged on the cooking vessel (9), in particular on the bottom (23) of the cooking vessel (9).

6. The steam cooking drawer (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least two heating elements (28) are arranged on the lid.

7. A steam cooking drawer (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the selective manipulation comprises manipulation of only a portion of the heating elements (20, 28) assigned to at least one subspace (8a, 8b) and / or non-manipulation of the heating elements (20, 28) assigned to at least one subspace (8a, 8b).

8. A steam cooking drawer (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the heating elements (20, 28) can be controlled so that the heating energy introduced by the heating elements (20, 28) into the respective subspaces (8a, 8b) is divided according to the surface of the subspaces (8a, 8b).

9. The steam cooking drawer (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the steam supply channel (7): - has a steam inlet (15c) connected to the wet steam generator (5) and at least one fork (15) having at least two outlet branches (15a, 15b) leading to the cooking chamber (8), and At least one branch (15) has a regulating device (16) which can be controlled in order to proportionally regulate the steam flow (Vout1, Vout2) through the outlet branches (15a, 15b).

10. The steam cooking drawer (2) according to claim 9, wherein at least one fork (15) has exactly two outlet branches (15a, 15b).

11. The steam cooking drawer (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the steam supply channel (7) has steam outlet openings which open into all possible sub-spaces (8a, 8b).

12. The steam cooking drawer (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cooking container (9) - having at least one steam supply opening (17a, 17b) hollowed out in the front side wall (9v), through which the steam (D) flowing out of the steam supply channel (7) can flow into the cooking container (9), and - having at least one steam outlet (18a, 18b) hollowed out in the rear side wall (9h).

13. The steam cooking drawer (2) according to claim 12, wherein at least on the front side wall (9v) and the rear side wall (9h) of the cooking container (9) there are brackets (11) for inserting at least one room divider (12), wherein The cooking container (9) has at least two steam supply openings (17a, 17b) on its front side wall (9v), which are laterally spaced apart from each other. - at least one support (11) present on the front side wall (9v) is arranged between the steam supply openings (17a, 17b) which are most distant from each other, The cooking container (9) has at least two steam outlet openings (18a, 18b) on its rear side wall (9h) and are laterally spaced from each other, and - at least one support (11) present on the rear side wall (9h) is arranged between the steam outlet openings (18a, 18b) which are most distant from each other.

14. The steam cooking drawer (2) according to any one of the preceding claims including claims 3 and 7, wherein - the steam supply channel (7) has exactly one Y-shaped branch with exactly two outlet branches (15a, 15b), and The two outlet branches (15a, 15b) lead to one of the two steam supply openings (17a, 17b) of the cooking vessel (9).

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