Heat cooker

Abstract

To save a space by reducing the number of components on a heat cooker with a function of cleaning a cooking compartment.SOLUTION: A heat cooker 10 includes: a cooking compartment 20 for cooking a food material with heat; a heater 41 for heating the interior of the cooking compartment 20; a convection fan 42 for convecting the internal air of the cooking compartment 20; a washing nozzle 50 installed to a ceiling part of the cooking compartment 20 to jett washing water; a washing water passage for connecting a discharge port 22a installed in a bottom part of the cooking compartment 20 to the washing nozzle 50; and a tank 21 constituting part of the washing water passage and temporarily storing the washing water, where the tank 21 is provided on a lower side integrally with the cooking compartment 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a cooking appliance that cooks food by hot air such as a steam convection oven, and more particularly to a cooking appliance with a cleaning function for a cooking chamber.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 below discloses a cooking appliance that cooks food by hot air. This cooking appliance includes a cooking chamber for cooking food, a heater for heating the inside of the cooking chamber, a convection fan for causing air in the cooking chamber to convect, a steam generator for supplying steam into the cooking chamber, and a control device for controlling the operation of the heater, the convection fan, and the steam generator. The control device of this cooking appliance has a cooking program for automatically cooking food. When the control device executes the cooking program, the air in the cooking chamber becomes hot air and convects due to the operation of the heater and the convection fan, and steam is supplied to the convecting hot air by the operation of the steam generator. The food stored in the cooking chamber is cooked by the hot air containing steam.

[0003] When cooking food in the cooking chamber, the oil contained in the food scatters in the cooking chamber together with the convecting hot air, and the oil adheres to the peripheral wall of the cooking chamber. In this type of cooking appliance, it is necessary to always keep the inside of the cooking chamber clean, and it is hygienically preferable to clean the cooking chamber, for example, every day of use. This cooking appliance is provided with a cleaning nozzle for injecting cleaning water onto the ceiling of the cooking chamber, a cleaning water passage connecting a drain port provided at the bottom of the cooking chamber to the cleaning nozzle, a tank for temporarily storing cleaning water interposed in the cleaning water passage, and a pump for sending the cleaning water in the tank to the cleaning nozzle so that the inside of the cooking chamber can be automatically cleaned.

[0004] The control device of this cooking appliance has a cleaning program for automatically cleaning the inside of the cooking chamber. The inside of the cooking chamber can be cleaned by the cleaning water jetted from the cleaning nozzles by executing the cleaning program. When the cleaning program is executed, the cleaning water in the tank is sent to the cleaning nozzles by the operation of the pump, and the sent cleaning water is jetted from the cleaning nozzles into the cooking chamber. The jetted cleaning water is scattered into the cooking chamber in a state of being heated to high-temperature cleaning water by the hot air that convects due to the operation of the heater and the convection fan. The scattered cleaning water returns from the drain port to the tank, and the inside of the cooking chamber is cleaned by the high-temperature cleaning water circulating between the tank and the cooking chamber.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] In the cooking appliance described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the tank for temporarily storing the cleaning water is arranged at the bottom of the machine room adjacent to the cooking chamber, and is connected to the drain port of the cooking chamber by a connecting pipe led out from the lower side of the cooking chamber. In this cooking appliance, since the tank is connected by a connecting pipe led out from the lower side of the cooking chamber, not only the number of parts increases and space saving cannot be achieved, but also the number of sealing parts at each connection part between the connecting pipe, the cooking chamber, and the tank increases. The object of the present invention is to reduce the number of parts and achieve space saving in a cooking appliance with a cleaning function for the cooking chamber.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a cooking appliance for heating and cooking food ingredients, which includes a cooking chamber for heating and cooking the food ingredients, a heater for heating the interior of the cooking chamber, a convection fan for causing convection of the air in the cooking chamber, a cleaning nozzle provided on the ceiling of the cooking chamber for spraying cleaning water, a cleaning water passage connecting a drain port provided at the bottom of the cooking chamber to the cleaning nozzle, and a tank that forms a part of the cleaning water passage and temporarily stores the cleaning water. The present invention provides a heating and cooking appliance characterized in that the tank is integrally provided below the cooking chamber.

[0008] In the heating and cooking appliance configured as described above, since the tank is integrally provided below the cooking chamber, it is not necessary to provide a connecting pipe connecting between the drain port of the cooking chamber and the tank. This not only enables space saving and reduction of the number of parts and cost reduction compared to the case where a connecting pipe is provided, but also reduces the sealing portion required when a connecting pipe is provided.

[0009] In the heating and cooking appliance configured as described above, it is preferable to provide a partition plate at the bottom of a box body having an opening at the front portion, with the upper side of the partition plate serving as the cooking chamber and the lower side of the partition plate of the box body serving as the tank. In this case, by providing a partition plate at the bottom of the box body, a cooking chamber can be provided in a portion excluding the bottom of the box body, and a tank can be provided below the cooking chamber at the bottom of the box body. Thus, the tank can be integrally provided below the cooking chamber with a simple structure.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

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BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the cooking heater of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The cooking heater of the present invention is a cooking heater with a cleaning function for cleaning the inside of the cooking chamber. The cooking heater 10 of the present embodiment is what is called a steam convection oven, which convects hot air containing steam to heat-cook food ingredients. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the cooking heater 10 includes a machine room 12 on the left side in the housing 11, and a box body 30 integrally provided with a cooking chamber 20 for heat-cooking food ingredients in the portion of the housing 11 excluding the machine room 12 and a tank 21 for temporarily storing washing water for cleaning the inside of the cooking chamber 20.

[0012] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the box body 30 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and includes a left side wall portion 31, a rear side wall portion 32, a right side wall portion 33, a ceiling wall portion 34, and a bottom portion 35. An opening 30a is formed in the front portion except for the left side portion. A bottom partition plate (partition plate) 22 is provided at the bottom of the box body 30. Inside the box body 30, the upper side of the bottom partition plate 22 is partitioned into a cooking chamber 20 for heating and cooking food, and the lower side of the bottom partition plate 22 is partitioned as a tank 21 for temporarily storing washing water. The cooking chamber 20 is formed in a region excluding the bottom of the box body 30 above the bottom partition plate (partition plate) 22. The left side wall portion 31 of the box body 30 is used as the left side wall 20a, the rear side wall portion 32 of the box body 30 is used as the rear side wall 20b, the right side wall portion 33 of the box body 30 is used as the right side wall 20c, the ceiling wall portion 34 of the box body 30 is used as the ceiling wall 20d, and the bottom partition plate 22 is used as the bottom wall 20e. The opening 30a in the front portion of the box body 30 functions as a loading and unloading outlet for loading and unloading food into and out of the cooking chamber 20, and a door 13 for freely opening and closing the opening 30a is provided on the front portion of the box body 30. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a discharge port 22a is formed in the bottom partition plate 22, and the water including the washing water in the cooking chamber 20 is discharged into the tank 21 through the discharge port 22a.

[0013] As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, a side partition plate 23 is provided on the left side portion inside the box body 30. The side partition plate 23 divides the left side portion of the cooking chamber 20 formed inside the box body 30 into a hot air generation chamber 24 that generates hot air and a food storage chamber 25 that stores food excluding the left side portion of the cooking chamber 20. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a suction port 23a is formed in the side partition plate 23 at a position facing a convection fan 42 (to be described later) provided in the hot air generation chamber 24, and a fan guard 23b for protecting the convection fan 42 is provided at the suction port 23a. The air in the food storage chamber 25 is sucked into the hot air generation chamber 24 through the suction port 23a by the operation of the convection fan 42. Further, a plurality of air outlets 23c are formed in the front and rear portions of the side partition plate 23 in a multi-stage manner up and down, and the air in the hot air generation chamber 24 is sent to the food storage chamber 25 through the air outlets 23c. The side partition plate 23 is attached so that a space through which air can pass is formed between the side partition plate 23 and the ceiling wall 20d, bottom wall 20e, front wall, and rear wall 20b of the cooking chamber 20. Thus, a ventilation path 23d through which air passes is formed between the side partition plate 23 and the ceiling wall 20d, bottom wall 20e, front wall, and rear wall 20b of the cooking chamber 20, and the air in the hot air generation chamber 24 is sent to the food storage chamber 25 through the ventilation path 23d.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 8, bent portions 31a and 31b extending to the right are formed at the front end portion and the rear end portion of the left side wall portion 31 of the box body 30. The front bent portion 31a constitutes a part of the front side wall of the cooking chamber 20, and the rear bent portion 31b constitutes a part of the rear side wall of the cooking chamber 20. Further, the left side wall portion 31 of the box body 30 constitutes the left side wall 20a of the cooking chamber 20, and a heater 41 and a convection fan 42 (to be described later) are attached to the left side wall portion 31.

[0015] As shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, the rear wall portion 32 has a double-wall structure through which air can pass inside, and includes an inner wall 32a and an outer wall 32b that are spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction. A ventilation passage 32c is formed between the inner wall 32a and the outer wall 32b of the rear wall portion 32, and air in the cooking chamber 20 can pass through the ventilation passage 32c. An inlet 32d is formed in the left side portion of the inner wall 32a of the rear wall portion 32 on the left side wall portion 31 side, and an outlet 32e is formed in the right side portion (on the right side wall portion 33 side) opposite to the left side wall portion 31. The inlet 32d of the inner wall 32a opens in the hot air generation chamber 24 of the cooking chamber 20, and the outlet 32e of the inner wall 32a opens in the food storage chamber 25 of the cooking chamber 20. The outlet 32e of the inner wall 32a opens at a position away from the convection fan 42 described later, and at a position where the hot air in the food storage chamber 25 is less likely to convect. A part of the hot air generated in the hot air generation chamber 24 is introduced into the ventilation passage 32c from the inlet 32d, and the hot air introduced into the ventilation passage 32c is led out from the outlet 32e to a position away from the convection fan 42 in the food storage chamber 25. A plurality of inlets 32d and outlets 32e are formed vertically, and the outlet 32e is formed at a height position where the hot air in the food storage chamber 25 of the cooking chamber 20 is less likely to reach. Further, in this embodiment, the outer wall 32b of the rear wall portion 32 is integrally formed with the right side wall portion 33 by bending a sheet metal member.

[0016] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, in the hot air generation chamber 24 of the cooking chamber 20, heaters 41 for heating the inside of the cooking chamber 20 are provided in two upper and lower stages, and the heaters 41 are wound in a substantially annular shape around the left side wall of the cooking chamber 20. In the hot air generation chamber 24 of the cooking chamber 20, convection fans 42 for causing the air inside the cooking chamber 20 to convect are provided in two upper and lower stages, and the convection fans 42 are disposed inside the heaters 41 wound in a substantially annular shape. The convection fan 42 in this embodiment employs a centrifugal fan composed of a sirocco fan. When the convection fan 42 is operated, the air in the food storage chamber 25 is sucked into the hot air generation chamber 24 through the suction port 23a of the side partition plate 23, the sucked air is blown out in the outward centrifugal direction in the hot air generation chamber 24, and the blown air is returned to the food storage chamber 25 through the front and rear air outlets 23c and the upper, lower, front and rear ventilation paths 23d. Further, a part of the air in the hot air generation chamber 24 is introduced into the ventilation path 32c from the inlet 32d, and the air introduced into the ventilation path 32c is sent out from the outlet 32e to the right side portion of the food storage chamber 25. In this way, the air in the cooking chamber 20 circulates and convects between the hot air generation chamber 24 and the food storage chamber 25 by the operation of the convection fan 42, and together with the convection fan 42, it becomes high-temperature hot air by the operation of the heater 41 and circulates and convects between the hot air generation chamber 24 and the food storage chamber 25.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 7, temperature sensors 43 are provided in two upper and lower stages in the hot air generation chamber 24 of the cooking chamber 20. The upper and lower temperature sensors 43 detect the temperature inside the cooking chamber 20, and are disposed outside the upper and lower heaters 41 on the left side wall of the cooking chamber 20. In the food storage chamber 25 of the cooking chamber 20, a pair of left and right support frames (not shown) for supporting trays called hotel pans in 20 upper and lower stages can be installed, and the food is stored in the food storage chamber 25 in a state of being placed on the trays. As shown in FIG. 10, in the machine room 12 of the housing 11, a steam generator 44 for supplying steam into the cooking chamber 20 is provided in two upper and lower stages. The steam generator 44 heats water by induction heating to generate steam, and is connected to a steam inlet 31c (shown in FIGS. 7 and 8) formed on the left side wall of the cooking chamber 20. The steam generated by the steam generator 44 is sent into the cooking chamber 20 from the steam inlet 31c.

[0018] As shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, a cleaning nozzle 50 is provided on the ceiling of the food storage chamber 25 of the cooking cabinet 20, and the cleaning nozzle 50 sprays cleaning water into the cooking cabinet 20. A discharge port 22a is formed in the bottom partition plate 22 that constitutes the bottom wall 20e of the cooking cabinet 20, and the discharge port 22a opens above the tank 21. As shown in FIG. 11, a cleaning water delivery pipe 51 for delivering cleaning water is connected to the tank 21, and the leading end of the cleaning water delivery pipe 51 is connected to the cleaning nozzle 50. The tank 21 and the cleaning water delivery pipe 51 constitute a cleaning water passage that connects the discharge port 22a of the cooking cabinet 20 to the cleaning nozzle 50. A pump 52 is interposed in the cleaning water delivery pipe 51, and the pump 52 delivers the cleaning water in the tank 21 to the cleaning nozzle 50 through the cleaning water delivery pipe 51. A water supply pipe 53 led from a water supply source such as a water supply is connected to the tank 21, and a water supply valve 54 is interposed in the water supply pipe 53. Water supplied from a water supply source such as a water supply under a pressurized state is supplied as cleaning water to the tank 21 through the water supply pipe 53 by opening the water supply valve 54. A drain pipe 55 is connected to the cleaning water delivery pipe 51 upstream of the pump 52, and a drain valve 56 is interposed in the drain pipe 55. The cleaning water in the tank 21 is discharged outside the housing 11 through the drain pipe 55 by opening the drain valve 56.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 12, the cooking appliance 10 includes a control device 60, and the control device 60 is connected to the heater 41, the convection fan 42, the temperature sensor 43, the steam generator 44, the pump 52, the water supply valve 54, and the drain valve 56. The control device 60 has a microcomputer (not shown), and the microcomputer includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and a timer (all not shown) that are respectively connected via a bus.

[0020] The control device 60 has a cooking program in the ROM for cooking the food ingredients in the cooking chamber 20. The cooking program includes a hot air mode cooking program for operating the heater 41 and the convection fan 42 to heat and cook the food ingredients with the convecting hot air, a steam mode cooking program for operating the convection fan 42 and the steam generator 44 to heat and cook the food ingredients with the hot air containing the convecting steam, and a combi mode cooking program for operating the heater 41, the convection fan 42, and the steam generator 44 to heat and cook the food ingredients with the high-temperature hot air containing the convecting steam. In the ROM, a cooking program with the set temperature, steam amount, and cooking time in the cooking chamber 20 pre-set is stored, and the user can set the set temperature, steam amount, and cooking time of the cooking chamber 20 in the cooking program.

[0021] When the hot air mode cooking program of the cooking program is executed, due to the operation of the heater 41 and the convection fan 42, the air in the cooking chamber 20 becomes hot air and convects, and the food ingredients stored in the cooking chamber 20 are heated and cooked by the convecting hot air. Also, when the combi mode cooking program of the cooking program is executed, due to the operation of the heater 41 and the convection fan 42, the air in the cooking chamber 20 becomes hot air and convects, and at the same time, steam is supplied from the steam generator 44 into the cooking chamber 20, so that the hot air convecting in the cooking chamber 20 contains steam, and the food ingredients stored in the cooking chamber 20 are heated and cooked by the hot air containing steam and convecting.

[0022] When a cooking program is executed to heat and cook food in the cooking chamber 20, the inside of the cooking chamber 20 gets soiled by the adhesion of oil and the like scattered from the food. To address this, the control device 60 has a cleaning program in the ROM for automatically cleaning the inside of the cooking chamber 20 with cleaning water. The cleaning program executes a steam pre-cleaning operation for pre-cleaning the inside of the cooking chamber 20 with steam and four (one or more) cleaning operations for cleaning the inside of the cooking chamber 20 with high-temperature cleaning water. The first cleaning operation is to clean the inside of the cooking chamber 20 with cleaning water containing detergent, and the second to fourth cleaning operations are to rinse the inside of the cooking chamber 20 with cleaning water not containing detergent.

[0023] The steam pre-cleaning operation of the cleaning program supplies steam into the cooking chamber 20 by the steam generator 44 to pre-clean the inside of the cooking chamber 20 with steam. By the steam pre-cleaning operation, dirt such as oil adhering to the inside of the cooking chamber 20 (oil stain) rises by the steam and is easily washed away by the high-temperature cleaning water in the cleaning operation after the steam pre-cleaning operation.

[0024] The cleaning operation of the cleaning program is to spray cleaning water from the cleaning nozzle 50 into the cooking chamber 20, and scatter the sprayed cleaning water into the cooking chamber 20 as high-temperature cleaning water by the heater 41 and the convection fan 42 to clean the cooking chamber 20. The cleaning water in the tank 21 is sprayed into the cooking chamber 20 from the cleaning nozzle 50 by the operation of the pump 52. The sprayed cleaning water becomes high-temperature cleaning water by the heater 41 and the convection fan 42 and scatters into the cooking chamber 20. Dirt such as oil adhering to the inside of the cooking chamber 20 is washed away by the scattered high-temperature cleaning water. The cleaning water flowing down inside the cooking chamber 20 returns to the tank 21 from the discharge port 22a of the bottom partition plate 22, and the cleaning water returned to the tank 21 is sprayed into the cooking chamber 20 again from the cleaning nozzle 50 by the pump 52. In this way, the cleaning water circulates between the cooking chamber 20 and the tank 21 by the pump 52, and the circulating cleaning water becomes high-temperature cleaning water by the heater 41 and the convection fan 42 and scatters inside the cooking chamber 20. Dirt such as oil stains inside the cooking chamber 20 is washed away by the cleaning water. After the cleaning operation is completed, by opening the drain valve 56, the cleaning water in the tank 21 is discharged outside the housing 11 through the drain pipe 55.

[0025] At the start of the execution of the cleaning program, a tablet-shaped detergent is put into the cooking chamber 20. In the first cleaning operation, the detergent dissolves in the cleaning water circulating between the cooking chamber 20 and the tank 21, and the inside of the cooking chamber 20 is cleaned by the cleaning water containing the detergent. In the 2nd to 4th cleaning operations, cleaning water for rinsing without detergent is circulated between the cooking chamber 20 and the tank 21, and the cleaning water containing the detergent when the first cleaning operation was performed is washed away by the rinsing cleaning water. The cleaning program ends after the cleaning operation is repeated 4 times.

[0026] The cooking appliance 10 configured as described above includes a cooking chamber 20 provided in a housing 11 for cooking food, a heater 41 for heating the inside of the cooking chamber 20, a convection fan 42 for causing convection of the air inside the cooking chamber 20, a cleaning nozzle 50 provided on the ceiling portion of the cooking chamber 20 for spraying cleaning water, a cleaning water passage connecting a discharge port 22a provided at the bottom of the cooking chamber 20 to the cleaning nozzle, and a tank 21 that forms a part of the cleaning water passage and temporarily stores the cleaning water. In this embodiment, the cleaning water passage includes the tank 21 and a cleaning water delivery pipe 51.

[0027] In this cooking appliance 10, since the tank 21 is integrally provided below the cooking chamber 20, it is not necessary to provide a connecting pipe connecting between the discharge port 22a of the cooking chamber 20 and the tank 21. Not only can the seal portion required when a connecting pipe is provided be reduced, but also space can be saved. Further, since it is not necessary to provide a connecting pipe between the discharge port 22a of the cooking chamber 20 and the tank 21, cost reduction can be achieved by simplifying the internal structure of the cooking appliance 10. Furthermore, by integrally providing the tank 21 below the cooking chamber 20, the heat insulation effect can be enhanced without providing a heat insulating material at the bottom of the cooking chamber 20.

[0028] The cooking appliance 10 of this embodiment has a bottom partition plate (partition plate) 22 provided at the bottom of a box body 30 having an opening 30a at the front portion, so that the upper side of the bottom partition plate 22 is the cooking chamber 20, and the lower side of the bottom partition plate 22 of the box body 30 is the tank 21. Thereby, the tank 21 can be integrally provided below the cooking chamber 20 with a simple structure. In this embodiment, a bottom partition plate (partition plate) 22 is provided at the bottom of the box body 30, so that the upper side of the bottom partition plate 22 is the cooking chamber 20, and the lower side of the bottom partition plate 22 of the box body 30 is the tank 21. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the tank 21 may be integrally provided below the cooking chamber 20 by fixing the tank 21 below a box-shaped cooking chamber 20 having an opening at the front portion.

[0029] The cooking appliance 10 of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 does not integrally provide the tank 21 below the box body 30. The cooking appliance 10 of the above-described embodiment and the embodiment shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 includes a cooking chamber 20 for cooking food, a heater 41 provided on the left side wall portion (one side wall) 31 of the cooking chamber 20 to heat the inside of the cooking chamber 20, and a convection fan 42 provided on the left side wall portion (one side wall) 31 of the cooking chamber to cause the air inside the cooking chamber 20 to convect. The heater 41 and the convection fan 42 are operated to cause hot air to convect inside the cooking chamber 20 to cook the food. The air inside the cooking chamber 20 becomes hot air and convects by operating the heater 41 and the convection fan 42, but there is a possibility that the hot air may not easily reach the right side wall 20c side opposite to the left side wall 20a where the convection fan 42 in the cooking chamber 20 is attached.

[0030] In this cooking appliance 10, the rear side wall 20b, which is an adjacent wall horizontally adjacent to the left side wall (one side wall) 20a of the cooking chamber 20 to which the heater 41 and the convection fan 42 are attached, has a double-wall structure and includes an inner wall 32a and an outer wall 32b so that a ventilation passage 32c is formed inside. An inlet 32d for introducing the air inside the cooking chamber 20 into the ventilation passage 32c is formed on the left side wall 20a side (one side wall side) of the inner wall 32a, and an outlet 32e for leading the air inside the ventilation passage 32c into the cooking chamber 20 is formed on the right side wall 20c side (the other side wall side) of the inner wall 32a. The air inside the cooking chamber 20 becomes hot air and convects by operating the heater 41 and the convection fan 42. A part of the hot air is introduced into the ventilation passage 32c from the inlet 32d, and the hot air introduced into the ventilation passage 32c is led out from the outlet 32e to the right side wall 20c side opposite to the left side wall 20a provided with the heater 41 and the convection fan 42. Since the hot air is led out from the outlet 32e to the right side wall (the other side wall) 20c side opposite to the left side wall (one side wall) 20a of the cooking chamber 20 to which the convection fan 42 is attached, it is possible to prevent the hot air from hardly convecting even on the right side wall (the other side wall) 20c side away from the convection fan 42 inside the cooking chamber 20, and uneven baking of the food stored inside the cooking chamber 20 due to the storage position inside the cooking chamber 20 is less likely to occur.

[0031] In addition, the outlet 32e is formed at a height position in the cooking chamber 20 where hot air is particularly difficult to convect. In this embodiment, the outlets 32e are formed at the upper, vertical center, and lower portions on the right side wall (the other side wall) 20c side of the cooking chamber 20. As a result, even on the right side wall (the other side wall) 20c side in the cooking chamber 20 where hot air is difficult to convect, and at height positions where hot air is particularly difficult to convect, hot air can convect, and uneven baking of the foodstuffs stored in the cooking chamber 20 due to the storage height position in the cooking chamber 20 is less likely to occur. In this embodiment, the heater 41 and the convection fan 42 are attached to the left side wall 20a of the cooking chamber 20, and the rear side wall 20b, as an adjacent wall horizontally adjacent to the left side wall 20a of the cooking chamber 20, is provided with an inner wall 32a and an outer wall 32b such that a ventilation passage 32c is formed inside. The present invention is not limited to this, and the heater 41 and the convection fan 42 may be attached to the right side wall 20c of the cooking chamber 20, and the rear side wall 20b, as an adjacent wall horizontally adjacent to the right side wall 20c of the cooking chamber 20, may be provided with an inner wall 32a and an outer wall 32b such that a ventilation passage 32c is formed inside. Similarly, the heater 41 and the convection fan 42 may be attached to the rear side wall 20b of the cooking chamber 20, and at least one of the left side wall 20a and the right side wall 20c, as an adjacent wall horizontally adjacent to the rear side wall 20b of the cooking chamber 20, may be provided with an inner wall and an outer wall such that a ventilation passage is formed inside. Note that even in the case of the cooking appliance 10 that does not have a cleaning function, the operational effects resulting from forming a ventilation passage inside with the adjacent wall of the cooking chamber 20 having a double-wall structure can be obtained.

[0032] In the case of a cooking appliance provided with a tank in the machine room, such as the cooking appliance described in the background art, the tank is provided with an exhaust pipe for discharging the air containing steam from the cooking chamber. In the modified example shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, a duct panel 36 is provided outside the right side wall portion 33 of the box body 30, and an exhaust duct space 36a is formed between the right side wall portion 33 and the duct panel 36. The opening formed by the lower end portion of the right side wall portion 33 and the lower end portion of the duct panel 36 is disposed above the right end portion of the tank 21, and the exhaust duct space 36a is communicatively connected to the inside of the tank 21. That is, the cooking appliance 10 of the modified example shown in FIG. 14 includes a cooking chamber 20 for cooking food, a tank 21 provided below the cooking chamber 20 for receiving the exhaust from the cooking chamber 20, a heater 41 for heating the inside of the cooking chamber 20, and a convection fan 42 for causing convection of the air in the cooking chamber 20. The right side wall (one side wall) 20c of the cooking chamber 20 has a double wall structure, and a duct panel 36 in which an exhaust duct space 36a communicatively connected to the tank 21 is formed is disposed outside the right side wall portion 33 of the box body 30 constituting the right side wall 20c. Further, the upper end portion of the duct panel 36 opens above the ceiling wall of the housing 11, and the air rising in the exhaust duct space 36a is discharged above the housing 11.

[0033] When the cooking program is executed, the hot air in the cooking chamber 20 flows from the exhaust port 22a into the tank 21, and the hot air that has flowed into the tank 21 is discharged above the housing 11 through the exhaust duct space 36a. Since the exhaust duct space 36a is formed outside the right side wall portion 33 of the box body 30 constituting the cooking chamber 20, it is possible to prevent the temperature in the machine room 12 from rising compared to the case where an exhaust pipe is provided in the machine room 12. The heat contained in the exhaust when passing through the exhaust duct space 36a is transmitted back into the cooking chamber 20 from the right side wall portion 33 of the cooking chamber 20. Therefore, the heat contained in the exhaust can be reused for heating in the cooking chamber 20, and the cost required when heating the inside of the cooking chamber 20 by the heater 41 can be kept low. Further, an exhaust hole (not shown) is provided in the upper part of the right side wall portion 33, and the inside of the cooking chamber 20 is communicated with the exhaust duct space 36a through the exhaust hole. Even if the exhaust port 22a of the cooking chamber 20 is blocked by ingredients or the like that have fallen from the tray, the air in the cooking chamber 20 is discharged to the outside through the exhaust hole and through the exhaust duct space 36a, so that it is possible to prevent the internal pressure in the cooking chamber 20 from rising.

[0034] The inner wall 32a and the right side wall portion 33 of the rear wall side portion 32 that constitutes a part of the rear wall 20b of the cooking chamber 20 of the above-described embodiment are manufactured by press working. However, as shown in FIG. 17, the inner wall 32a and the right side wall portion 33 of the rear wall side portion 32 that constitutes a part of the rear wall 20b of the cooking chamber 20 may be manufactured by brake bending. Further, as described above, when the cleaning program is executed, a tablet-shaped detergent is put into the cooking chamber 20. In the case where the cooking chamber 20 is large and can store a large number of trays, it is necessary to arrange two (plural) detergents in the cooking chamber 20. When the tablet-shaped detergent is arranged at an arbitrary location on the bottom wall (bottom partition plate) 22 of the cooking chamber 20, there is a possibility that the tablet-shaped detergent may not dissolve sufficiently early and the inside of the cooking chamber 20 cannot be cleaned with a cleaning liquid containing sufficient detergent. As shown in FIG. 18, two open annular rib protrusions 22b protruding upward are formed near the discharge port 22a on the bottom wall 22 of the cooking chamber 20, and the tablet-shaped detergent can be arranged inside these rib protrusions 22b. A notch 22c is formed in the rib protrusion 22b on the discharge port 22a side, and the notch 22c facilitates the flow of the detergent dissolved in the cleaning water to the discharge port 22a side inside the rib protrusion 22b. Further, in order to indicate the position where the detergent is arranged inside the rib protrusion 22b, it may be indicated as "detergent", or the order of arrangement may be indicated, or the size of the detergent that can be arranged may be indicated.

[0035] Also, before the start of the cleaning operation of the cleaning program, in order to remove the air in the casing of the pump 52 and the primary side path and prevent air bubbles, the control of turning on the pump 52 for 5 seconds and turning it off for 3 seconds is repeatedly executed 3 times. Further, in order to remove the air in the secondary side path of the pump 52, the off time can be set longer than the above-described 3 seconds. In this embodiment, by setting the off time to, for example, 17 seconds, the air accumulated in the secondary side path of the pump 52 can be removed. Note that the off time for removing the air accumulated in the secondary side path of the pump 52 may be set only at the first time at the start of the cleaning operation, or may be controlled to be executed at regular intervals or at arbitrary timings.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0036] 10…Heating cooker, 20…Cooking cabinet, 21…Tank, 30…Cabinet body, 30a…Opening, 22…Partition plate (bottom partition plate), 22a…Drainage port.

Claims

1. A cooking oven for heating and cooking food ingredients, a heater for heating the interior of the cooking oven, a convection fan for causing convection of the air inside the cooking oven, a cleaning nozzle provided at the ceiling portion of the cooking oven for spraying cleaning water, a cleaning water passage connecting a drain port provided at the bottom of the cooking oven to the cleaning nozzle, a cooking heater comprising a tank that forms part of the cleaning water passage and temporarily stores cleaning water, The cooking heater is characterized in that the tank is integrally provided below the cooking oven.

2. In the cooking heater according to Claim 1, A partition plate is provided at the bottom of a box body having an opening at the front surface portion, so that the upper side of the partition plate is the cooking oven, and the lower side of the partition plate of the box body is the tank. The cooking heater is characterized by this.

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