COOKING APPLIANCE, ESPECIALLY PRESSURE COOKING APPLIANCE

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a cooking appliance, and in particular to a pressure cooker. Pressure cookers are known from the prior art. Such appliances are used in the professional sector, particularly in commercial kitchens such as canteens, where the increased pressure during cooking can significantly shorten the cooking time.

[0002] Such pressure cooking appliances, as known for example from EP 2 908 705 B1, have a pan which has a rectangular cooking chamber which can be closed by a pivotable lid, wherein the pan is pivotably mounted in a cooking appliance frame by means of a pan pivot axis and the lid can be pivoted about a lid pivot axis by means of a drive, wherein the cooking appliance frame has two lateral frame sections and a connecting frame section arranged on the rear side of the pan which connects the two lateral frame sections.

[0003] EP 1 125 534 A2 discloses the use of a spring to compensate for the weight of the lid in order to make it easier for an operator to swing the lid up.

[0004] EP 2 695 551 A1 generally shows a cooking appliance with at least one tiltable, heatable pan, a pivoting lid for opening and closing the pan, and a table-top frame that supports the pan and also the lid.

[0005] DE 10 2017 115556 A1 also generally discloses a cooking appliance comprising at least one motor-pivotable main element, which is a cooking container or a cooking chamber cover.

[0006] In the applicant's pressure cooking appliance, which has been known on the market for many years under the name "FlexiChef," the lid is mounted on both sides of the lid via its pivoting axis in two lateral frame sections. The two lateral frame sections are of unequal width, with the wider lateral frame section housing the lid drive and other elements of the cooking appliance, such as a display and operating device, a cooking appliance control system, and water supply devices, etc.

[0007] Due to the strong overpressure of up to 1.0 bar above normal pressure generated during pressure cooking, a particularly tight closure of the lid on the crucible is necessary. As a result, the lid has a stiffened construction, which adds considerable weight to the lid. This leads to unfavorable force introduction from well outside the crucible, with the additional risk of the lid deforming under high pressure. This arrangement also requires a massive design for the drive and the force transmission to the lid's rotation axis, which requires a lot of space. In addition, the side frame sections must be significantly higher than the top of the crucible because they support the crucible's rotation axis.

[0008] The present invention is therefore based on the object of avoiding the above-mentioned disadvantages and of proposing a pan cooking appliance, in particular a pan pressure cooking appliance, in which a favorable force introduction for pivoting the lid is created.

[0009] According to the invention, this object is achieved by providing a cooking appliance having a pan with a rectangular cooking chamber that can be closed by a pivoting lid. The pan is pivotally mounted in an appliance frame by means of a pan pivot axis, and the lid can be pivoted about a lid pivot axis by means of a drive. The cooking appliance frame has two lateral frame sections and a connecting frame section arranged on the rear of the pan that connects the two lateral frame sections. Two pivot shaft sections are arranged around the lid pivot axis and are rotatably mounted on the connecting frame section.The drive for pivoting the lid is arranged in the connecting frame section and comprises a linear drive which is capable and configured to pivot a pivot lever mounted about a pivot axis, which is engaged with a sleeve which extends around one of the pivot shaft sections and is rotatably connected thereto.

[0010] By mounting the lid in the connecting frame section, the risk of the lid deforming during pressure cooking is significantly reduced. Since the force of the drive for pivoting the lid is introduced in the connecting frame section, more efficient torque transmission is possible. By mounting the lid in the connecting frame section, it is possible to design the lid lighter and flatter, thus saving weight and material. Furthermore, a space-saving design of the lid pivot drive is achieved, allowing the rear connecting frame section to be designed accordingly slim.

[0011] Advantageously, each of the pivot shaft sections is arranged in a region that essentially corresponds to the center of the distance from a center axis of the cover to the corresponding left or right side edge of the cover. This results in a particularly favorable mounting of the cover, in particular for reducing the risk of deformation under high pressure.

[0012] Another advantage is that the drive for pivoting the lid toward the center of the lid is arranged on and engages one of the pivot shaft sections. The torque applied by the drive for pivoting the lid is thus introduced at a relatively short distance from the center axis of the lid, enabling a lighter design of the lid pivot drive because the transmitted torque is lower than in the prior art solution.

[0013] A particular advantage is that the pivot lever has external teeth that mesh with the external teeth of the sleeve. This allows for a simple design for transmitting power from the cover drive to the cover, allowing the use of standard components such as gears. In particular, this provides the advantage that the force applied by the drive to pivot the cover upwards occurs during the linear drive's lifting or extending operation, because the drive can withstand greater loads in the push direction, i.e., during extension, than in the pull direction, i.e., during retraction.

[0014] Advantageously, the present invention proposes that the external toothing of the pivot lever and / or the external toothing of the sleeve extend only over a partial circumference of the pivot lever or sleeve. This results in advantages such as space savings, cost savings, and more flexible design options.

[0015] Within the scope of the present invention, the drive for pivoting the lid of the cooking appliance can be electrically, hydraulically, or pneumatically driven. With a hydraulic drive, it is possible to close the lid by controlled release of the hydraulic pressure, which is facilitated by the relatively high weight of the lid.

[0016] It is further advantageous that, for the rotary connection of the sleeve to the associated pivot shaft section, the sleeve has an inwardly projecting key that engages a corresponding keyway in the associated pivot shaft section. This creates a structurally simple and effective power transmission.

[0017] It is particularly advantageous if the key and the sleeve are formed as one piece, thus saving components and assembly time.

[0018] A further major advantage is that the sleeve, which is connected in a rotationally fixed manner to the associated pivot shaft section, is formed from a plurality of sleeve rings that have the external toothing. This results in a simple construction of the sleeve, whereby the external toothing, and in particular the external toothing section occupying only part of the outer circumference, can be produced inexpensively, for example, by laser cutting.

[0019] These advantages are also achieved by the fact that the pivot lever has a number of lever rings with external teeth corresponding to the number of sleeve rings.

[0020] Advantageously, the sleeve rings and / or the lever rings are connected to one another, in particular by pinning, welding, or screwing. The number of rings can advantageously be adjusted depending on the weight of the cover, the design and size of the sleeve rings or lever rings, and / or their material.

[0021] Further details, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description with reference to the drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view of a cooking appliance according to the present invention with the lid closed and the cover of the lid bearing and the lid pivot drive open; Fig. 2 is a schematic side view of the lid pivot drive in the closed lid position; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the lid pivot drive according to the invention; and Fig. 4 is a similar view to that of Fig. 2 , but with the lid fully open.

[0022] In the figures, identical elements are designated by the same reference numerals.

[0023] In Fig. 1A cooking appliance 1 is shown in plan view in the form of a pressure cooking appliance. The pressure cooking appliance 1 has a rectangular pan 3, as is known in the art, and this pan 3 is pivotally mounted on a pan pivot axis 4. The pan pivot axis 4 is in turn mounted in a cooking appliance frame 7, wherein the cooking appliance frame 7 has, in a manner known per se, a left lateral frame section 9, a right lateral frame section 11, and a rear connecting frame section 13 connecting the left and right lateral frame sections, or arranged on the rear of the pan.

[0024] The left side frame section 9 is relatively slim, whereas the right side frame section 11 is significantly wider. It includes, among other things, a display and control unit 27 with a touchscreen 29 and other elements, such as a device control (not shown), a water supply (not shown), and electrical connecting cables (not shown).

[0025] The wide rack section can be positioned on the left or right side of the pan. If operation is desired on the left side, the left rack section is wider and the right narrower. There are also so-called team units with multiple cooking chambers. It is also possible to have both rack sections of the same width.

[0026] As from Fig. 1As can also be seen, the crucible 3, in which a rectangular cooking chamber 25 is formed, is covered by a lid 5. Numeral 23 denotes a central axis of the lid 5, which extends centrally between a left side edge 35 and a right side edge 37. The lid 5 is pivotally mounted about a lid pivot axis 6 and has two pivot shaft sections 15 and 17, which are pivotally mounted in lid bearings 18 and 19 and are connected, in particular welded, to the lid 5. The lid bearings 18 and 19 are attached to the connecting frame section 13 and thus support the lid 5 on the connecting frame section 13.

[0027] The pivoting shaft sections 15 and 17 are designed as hollow shaft sections and can be used, on the one hand, to discharge steam from the cooking chamber or, on the other hand, to route electrical cables for temperature sensors, sensors, limit switches, etc. If the cooking appliance has an automatic cleaning system and / or an automatic water supply, the hollow shaft sections can be used to route fluids.

[0028] A cover pivot drive 41 engages the right pivot shaft section 17, which, with reference to the Fig. 2 to 4 is explained in more detail.

[0029] In Fig. 2The drive 41 for pivoting the cover 5 is shown schematically in side view. The cover pivot drive 41 has a linear drive 43, which is connected to a pivot lever 45, which is mounted rotatably about a rotation axis 47. The pivot lever 45 has a sectionally external toothing 51, which engages with a sectionally external toothing 53 of a sleeve 49. As can be seen from Fig. 2 As can be seen, the lid 5 is in the horizontal closed position in contact with the pan 3 to close the cooking chamber 25. A seal 39 seals the cooking chamber 25 against the lid 5 after the lid 5 has been locked in its closed position relative to the pan 3.

[0030] Reference is now made to Fig. 3, in which the lid pivot drive is shown schematically in perspective view. The linear drive 43 comprises an outer tube 63 and an inner tube 65, which is longitudinally movable in the outer tube 63. In the illustrated embodiment according to Fig. 3 The pivoting movement of the lever 45 is generated by an electric motor 75, which is connected to the inner tube 65 via a gear 77 and is able to push the inner ear 65 upwards out of the outer tube 63 or to retract it again.

[0031] To connect the upper end of the inner ear 63 to the lever 45, a joint section 67 is provided which has a receiving groove 68 into which a bearing section 73 of the pivot lever 45 can be inserted and in the illustration according to Fig. 3is inserted, wherein the pivot lever 45 is rotatably mounted by its section 73 in the joint section 67 by means of a pivot bearing 69. The pivot bearing is preferably designed as a plain bearing, for example. It is also possible to design the pivot bearing as a ball bearing / roller bearing.

[0032] As from Fig. 2 As can be seen, the lid pivot drive 41 is pivotally mounted in the connecting frame section 13 by means of a joint section 79, wherein in particular the linear drive 43 can also rotate about a pivot bearing axis 81.

[0033] As continues from Fig. 3As can be seen, according to a preferred embodiment, the pivot lever 45 is formed from a plate-shaped pivot lever bearing element 71, which is connected to a plurality of plate-shaped lever rings 61, each of which has a sectionally external toothing 51. The external toothings 51 thus extend only over a predetermined section of the outer circumference or outer edge of the respective lever ring 61 and their number depends on the engagement length between lever rings 61 and sleeve rings 59, wherein, as can be seen from Fig. 3 As can be seen, the section-wise external toothings 51 of the lever rings 61 mesh with corresponding section-wise external toothings 53 of sleeve rings 59, which are also plate-shaped. Each of the plate-shaped sleeve rings 59 has an integrally formed key 55, which projects inward and engages with a corresponding groove of the associated pivot shaft section (not shown).

[0034] The gear geometries can be designed variably. For example, the external gearing of the lower sleeve rings can have a larger pitch diameter than the upper gearing. With appropriate design, gear ratios or even variable gear ratios can be realized.

[0035] Both the sleeve rings 59 and the lever rings 61, the latter together with the pivot lever bearing element 71, are pinned, welded or screwed together and form, so to speak, a "pivot lever package" or a "sleeve package".

[0036] This design offers several advantages: the production of the pivot lever rings 61 and the sleeve rings 59 is particularly simple. Laser machining of the external gearing results in precise results and is inexpensive. Instead of laser machining, waterjet cutting can also be used. Punching is also recommended for thin sheet metal.

[0037] In addition, this preferred structural embodiment enables a modular design of the force transmission between the pivoting lever 45 and the sleeve 49, whereby a corresponding choice between the thickness of the plate-shaped lever or sleeve elements on the one hand and the number of these elements on the other hand leads to an extremely flexible design of these force transmission elements.

[0038] Alternatively, the pivot lever and / or the pivot lever rings and / or the sleeve rings can be formed in one piece.

[0039] In Fig. 4 is a representation of Fig. 2 A comparable illustration can be seen, which shows the maximum pivoting state of the cover 5, which is evident from the respective engagement position of the section-wise external gears 51 and 53. This also shows the advantageous force deflection from the drive 41 to the pivoting device for raising and lowering the cover 5, due to the only small distance of the pivot bearing 69 from the rotation axis 47. This enables the great advantage of a small width of the connecting frame section 13, which leads to corresponding design advantages of the entire device.

[0040] The present invention is not limited to the preferred embodiment shown. Alternatively, a cover support can be provided, which is arranged substantially in the region of the center axis 23 and supports the cover 5 on the connecting frame section 13. List of reference symbols:

[0041] 1 - Cooking appliance, in particular pressure cooking appliance 3 - Pan 4 - Pan pivot axis 5 - Lid 6 - Lid pivot axis 7 - Cooking appliance frame 9 - Left side frame section 11 - Right side frame section 13 - Connecting frame section 15 - Pivoting shaft section 17 - Pivoting shaft section 18 - Lid bearing 19 - Lid bearing 21 - Rectangular cooking chamber 23 - Central axis 25 - Cooking chamber 27 - Display and control unit 29 - Touchscreen 31 - Left pan pivot axis 33 - Right pan pivot axis 35 - Left side edge 37 - Right side edge 39 - Seal 41 - Lid pivot drive 43 - Linear drive 45 - Pivoting lever 47 - Rotation axis 49 - Sleeve 51 - External toothing 53 - External toothing 55 - Key 57 - Keyway 59 - Sleeve ring 61 - Lever ring 63 - Outer tube 65 - Inner tube 67 - Joint section 68 - Receiving groove 69 - Pivot bearing 71 - Pivot lever bearing element 73 - Bearing section 75 - Electric motor 77 - Gearbox 79 - Joint section 81 - Pivot bearing axis

Claims

1. Cooking device (1), in particular a pressure cooker, having a pot (3) which has a rectangular cooking chamber (25) which can be closed using a pivotable lid (5), wherein the pot (3) can be pivotably mounted in a cooking device frame (7) by means of a pot pivot axis (4) and the lid (5) can be pivoted about a lid pivot axis (6) by means of a drive (41), wherein the cooking device frame (7) has two lateral frame sections (9, 11) and a connecting frame section (13) arranged on the rear side of the pot (3) and connecting the two lateral frame sections (9, 11), wherein two pivot shaft sections (15, 17), which are arranged about the lid pivot axis (6), are arranged to be rotatable (18, 19) on the connecting frame section (13), characterized in that the drive (41) for pivoting the lid (5) is arranged in the connecting frame section (13) and comprises a linear drive which is capable of and designed to pivot a pivot lever (45), which is mounted about an axis of rotation (47) and is in engagement with a sleeve (49) that extends about one of the pivot shaft sections (17) and is rotationally connected to the same.

2. Cooking device according to claim 1, characterized in that each of the pivot shaft sections (15, 17) is arranged in an area which substantially corresponds to the middle of the distance from a center axis (23) of the lid (5) to the corresponding left or right side edge (35 or 37) of the lid (5).

3. Cooking device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the drive (41) is arranged on one of the pivot shaft sections (17) and engages with the same for pivoting the lid (5) in the direction of the lid center (23).

4. Cooking device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the pivot lever (45) has an external toothing (51) which is in engagement with an external toothing (53) of the sleeve (49).

5. Cooking device according to claim 4, characterized in that the external toothing (51) of the pivot lever (45) and / or the external toothing (53) of the sleeve (49) extends only across a partial circumference of the pivot lever (45) or of the sleeve (49).

6. Cooking device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the drive (41) for pivoting the lid of the cooking device is driven electrically, hydraulically or pneumatically.

7. Cooking device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the sleeve (49) has an inwardly projecting feather key (55) which engages into a corresponding feather key groove (57) in the associated pivot shaft section (17) for rotationally connecting the sleeve (49) to the associated pivot shaft section (17).

8. Cooking device according to claim 7, characterized in that the feather key (55) and the sleeve (49) are formed integrally with one another.

9. Cooking device according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the sleeve (49), connected to be rotationally fixed with the associated pivot shaft section (17), is formed from a plurality of sleeve rings (59) which have the external toothing (53).

10. Cooking device according to claim 9, characterized in that the pivot lever (45) has a number of lever rings (61) with an external toothing (51) corresponding to the number of sleeve rings (59).

11. Cooking device according to claim 10, characterized in that the sleeve rings (59) and / or the lever rings (61) are connected to each other, in particular pinned, welded, or screwed.