Cooking device

Abstract

To prevent water dripping from the bottom wall of a heating chamber from splashing on a heater part as much as possible.SOLUTION: The heating cooker includes a heating chamber for heating an object to be heated, a bottom wall on which the object to be heated is placed, a recessed part formed by a bottom surface and a side surface below the bottom wall, and a heater part protruding from the side surface of the recessed part, and a water receiving groove part is provided on an upper surface of an upper position of the side surface of the recessed part on which the heater part protrudes, and the water receiving groove part is formed from the upper surface of the upper position of the side surface of the recessed part to the side surface of the recessed part so as to avoid water from flowing to a part where the heater part protrudes.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a cooking device, and more particularly to a cooking device having a heater at the bottom of a heating chamber. [Background technology]

[0002] The heating chamber is fitted with a ceramic tray holder for placing the object to be heated, a heater as the electric heating means for heating the object, and a rotary waveguide as the high frequency generating means for heating the object. Conventional cooking appliances have been available in which the heating chamber is formed by joining together a steam tray as the steam generating means for generating steam, a rear wall of the heating chamber, a bottom wall of the heating chamber, and a door panel.

[0003] There is a cooking device in which water dripping from the dish holder of the heating chamber is received by the bottom wall of the heating chamber and flows into a water receiving tray at the bottom front of the heating chamber (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-205688 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the conventional configuration, there is room for improvement in the flow path configuration of water dripping from the dish holder in the heating chamber.

[0006] The present disclosure solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and aims to prevent leakage of electricity as much as possible by preventing water dripping from the bottom wall on which the heated object is placed from getting onto the heater part as much as possible. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional art, the heating cooker of the present invention comprises a heating chamber for heating the food to be cooked, a bottom wall on which the food to be heated is placed, a recess formed by the bottom and side surfaces below the bottom wall, and a heater section that bulges out from the side surface of the recess, and a water-receiving groove section on the upper surface above the side surface of the recess from which the heater section bulges out, the water-receiving groove section being formed from the upper surface above the side surface of the recess to the side surface of the recess so as to prevent water from flowing into the part where the heater section bulges out. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] The cooking device of the present invention can prevent water dripping from the bottom wall of the heating chamber from getting on the heater portion as much as possible, thereby preventing electric leakage as much as possible. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a cooking device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which the door of the cooking device according to the present embodiment is open; [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which an outer cover of the cooking device according to the present embodiment is removed; [Figure 4] (a) is a perspective view of the cooking device of the present embodiment with the door and bottom wall removed; (b) is a partially enlarged view of the cooking device of the present embodiment; [Figure 5] (a) is a perspective view showing the cooking device of the present embodiment with the outer cover removed and a portion of the front structure of the main body cut away; (b) is a partially enlarged perspective view of the cooking device of the present embodiment; [Figure 6] A circuit diagram for controlling the cooking means in the cooking device of this embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] A heating cooker according to a first aspect of the present disclosure comprises a heating chamber for heating the food to be cooked, a bottom wall on which the food to be heated is placed, a recess formed by the bottom and side surfaces below the bottom wall, and a heater section that bulges out from the side surface of the recess, and a water-receiving groove section on the upper surface above the side surface of the recess from which the heater section bulges out, the water-receiving groove section being formed from the upper surface above the side surface of the recess to the side surface of the recess so as to prevent water from flowing into the portion where the heater section bulges out.

[0011] This can prevent water dripping from the bottom wall of the heating chamber from getting on the heater section, thereby preventing electrical leakage as much as possible.

[0012] A cooking device according to a second aspect of the present disclosure is the first aspect, wherein the heater portion other than the protruding portion of the heater portion has a gap therebetween so as not to come into contact with the side and bottom surfaces of the recess.

[0013] This can prevent water dripping from the bottom wall of the heating chamber from getting on the heater section, thereby preventing electrical leakage as much as possible.

[0014] Hereinafter, as an embodiment of the cooking device of the present invention, a cooking device using at least a heater as cooking means will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the cooking device of the present invention is not limited to the cooking device configuration described in the following embodiment, but includes cooking device configurations equivalent to the technical ideas described in the following embodiment.

[0015] The embodiments described below are examples of the present invention, and the configurations, functions, operations, etc. shown in the embodiments are merely examples and do not limit the present invention. Among the components in the following embodiments, components that are not described in the independent claims that represent the highest concepts are described as optional components.

[0016] (Embodiment 1) [Configuration of the main body and cooking means] Hereinafter, a cooking device according to the present embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the cooking device according to the present embodiment. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the cooking device according to the present embodiment of Fig. 1 with the door open.

[0017] In this embodiment, the door 2 side of the cooking device body 1 is the front, the side opposite the door 2 of the cooking device body 1 is the rear, and the left and right sides in FIG. 1 are the left and right sides of the cooking device body 1, respectively.

[0018] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the cooking appliance is configured so that the front opening of a heating chamber 4 provided inside a main body 1 can be opened and closed by a door 2. A handle 3 is provided at the upper end of the door 2, and a user grasps the handle 3 to rotate the door 2, thereby opening and closing the front opening of the heating chamber 4 in an up-and-down manner. The interior of the heating chamber 4 is substantially sealed when the door 2 is closed, and food to be heated, which is placed inside the heating chamber 4, is heated and cooked in a substantially sealed state.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 1, on the front of the cooking appliance, a setting unit 5 is provided on an upward-opening door 2, which has a dial-like knob and various setting buttons for setting various cooking conditions such as cooking temperature and cooking time. The setting unit 5 provided on the front of the cooking appliance also has a display unit that displays various cooking conditions and the heating state during cooking.

[0020] The cooking means in the cooker of this embodiment include a flat heater unit 8 (upper heater), a lower heater 21 (sheathed heater), and a microwave heating unit that heats food by irradiating it with microwaves. Alternatively, a steam heating unit that heats food with steam, and a hot air circulation unit that heats food by circulating hot air inside the heating chamber 4 may also be used. The lower heater 21 is a sheathed heater in which a coiled nichrome wire serving as a heating element is threaded through a metal pipe, but it may also be a tubular lamp heater that emits infrared rays.

[0021] A machine room (not shown) is provided in the space between the recess 4b and the bottom plate 10. In this machine room, a magnetron, which is an example of a heat source, an inverter board (inverter device) that controls the output of the magnetron, a control unit (control board) that controls devices (upper heater, lower heater, etc.) that realize the functions of the cooking appliance 100, a cooling fan unit (not shown) that generates cooling air to cool them, etc. are arranged. The machine room also functions as a heat-insulating space.

[0022] The microwave heating unit, which includes a magnetron (not shown), which is an example of a heat source, has an antenna 7 (see FIG. 4) that radiates microwaves, which is provided below the bottom wall 4a of the heating chamber 4, and is configured so that the directional antenna radiates microwaves in a desired direction into the heating chamber 4. When a steam heating unit is provided, a water tank is provided inside the main body 1, and water from the water tank is heated to a high temperature by a boiler steam heater, and the generated steam is sprayed in a concentrated manner into the heating chamber 4. When a hot air circulation unit is provided, a rear heater provided on the rear side of the heating chamber 4 heats the air drawn in from the heating chamber 4, and the hot air is supplied into the heating chamber 4.

[0023] The cooker of this embodiment is provided with multiple cooking means such as various heaters and magnetrons, and the user can select the appropriate cooking means by selecting the desired cooking means or the cooking contents. The user places the food to be cooked in the heating chamber 4 of the cooker, closes the door 2, sets the cooking means and cooking contents in the setting unit 5, and presses the start button to start the cooking operation.

[0024] As shown in Fig. 2, the cooking device of this embodiment is configured so that a heating dish 6 on which an object to be heated is placed can be stored inside the heating chamber 4. The heating dish 6 can be placed on either the upper or lower level inside the heating chamber 4, and steps are formed on both side walls of the heating chamber 4 to allow the heating dish 6 to slide and support the heating dish 6. A heating element (not shown) is embedded in the placement surface of the heating dish 6. The heating element absorbs microwaves and generates heat, and ferrite or the like is used for the heating element.

[0025] In this embodiment, an example is described in which ferrite is embedded in the heating dish 6 as the heating element, but the heating element may be any element that absorbs microwaves and generates heat, and may be configured by applying the heating element to the back surface of the heating dish 6. Furthermore, the main material of the heating dish 6 may be any material that has excellent thermal conductivity, and may be configured from metal or ceramic.

[0026] In addition, in this embodiment, the heating dish 6 is described as being supported by a step on the side wall of the heating chamber 4, but it may also be suspended from the ceiling wall, or may be provided with feet that protrude downward on the heating dish 6 and placed on the bottom wall of the heating chamber 4.

[0027] The antenna 7 that radiates microwaves into the heating chamber 4 is disposed directly below the approximate center of the bottom wall 4a of the heating chamber 4. The antenna 7 in this embodiment has directionality in the radiation direction of the microwaves and is configured to be able to radiate circularly polarized waves directly above the antenna 7. Therefore, the antenna in this embodiment is provided with a rotation mechanism (not shown) so as to radiate microwaves uniformly inside the heating chamber 4, and is configured so that the radiation port of the antenna rotates, and is also configured so as to radiate circularly polarized waves to the heating element of the heating dish 6 placed directly above the antenna 7 for dielectric heating. Therefore, the object to be heated placed on the bottom wall 4a of the heating chamber 4 is microwave-heated by microwaves supplied into the heating chamber 4 after the microwaves from the antenna 7 pass through the bottom wall 4a.

[0028] The bottom wall 4a of the heating chamber 4 is made of a material (e.g., ceramic) that transmits microwaves from the antenna 7, and the other wall surfaces of the heating chamber 4, namely the side wall, back wall, and ceiling wall, are made of steel or aluminum-plated stainless steel (SUS). Each wall surface may also be coated with a non-stick coating layer made of, for example, fluororesin or silicone resin. By forming such a coating layer, it is possible to prevent the adhesion of dirt such as oil and grease scattered during cooking and cooking residue, and even if dirt does adhere, it is easy to wipe off the dirt.

[0029] Furthermore, a coating layer with a self-cleaning function may be formed on each wall surface of the heating chamber 4, which decomposes and automatically cleans off grease scattered during cooking when heated during cooking. Methods for imparting a self-cleaning function to the coating layer include, for example, blending a manganese oxide-based catalyst species that promotes oxidative decomposition into the coating layer, or adding platinum, which has a significant effect on oxidative decomposition at low temperatures, or palladium, which is highly active in the medium to high temperature range. Furthermore, a method of adding cerium, which has an adsorption property, may also be used.

[0030] As described above, the object to be heated (food) placed on the heating plate 6 stored inside the heating chamber 4 is heated and cooked by the heating plate 6, which has reached a high temperature due to the heat from the heating element that is dielectrically heated by microwaves.In this embodiment, however, the configuration is such that the top surface of the object to be heated (food) placed on the heating plate 6 is heated by the flat heater unit 8 provided on the upper part of the ceiling wall of the heating chamber 4, and the configuration is such that mainly the bottom surface of the object to be heated (food) placed on the bottom wall 4a is heated by the lower heater 21 provided below the bottom wall 4a of the heating chamber 4.

[0031] Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the state in which the outer cover is removed from the main body 1 of the cooking device of this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 3, a flat heater unit 8 is provided on the ceiling side of the main body 1 of the cooking device, i.e., in the part including the ceiling wall of the heating chamber 4. As shown in Fig. 3, the upper part of the heating chamber 4 in the cooking device is configured with the flat heater unit 8.

[0032] An internal temperature detection unit 9, such as a thermistor, is provided near the right rear corner of the heating chamber 4 as internal temperature detection means for detecting the internal temperature inside the heating chamber 4. Internal temperature information detected by the internal temperature detection unit 9 is transmitted to a control unit (control board) (see FIG. 6) described below and is used to control various heating and cooking operations. Although the thermistor is provided near the right rear corner of the heating chamber 4, it may be provided anywhere in the heating chamber 4 where the internal temperature can be detected, such as the left rear corner, the right front corner, or the left front corner.

[0033] [Configuration around the lower heater] 4 is a perspective view and a partially enlarged view of the cooking device of this embodiment with the door and bottom wall removed. As shown in FIG. 4, when the bottom wall 4a is removed, a recess 4b is formed below the bottom wall 4a by the bottom surface 24 and the side surface 23, and an antenna 7 is rotatably attached near the center when viewed from above.

[0034] As an example, two lower heaters (heater parts) 21 are arranged side by side and protrude from the side of the recess 4b (in this case, the right side), but these two heaters are not in contact with each other. One lower heater 21 bulges out from near the center of surface 23 and is disposed inside recess 4b so as not to come into contact with side surface 23 and bottom surface 24, and one lower heater 21 is disposed so as to return to near the center of the side surface of recess 4b. Therefore, the lower heater 21 other than the portion bulging out from side surface 23 is spaced apart so as not to come into contact with side surface 23 and bottom surface 24 of recess 4b.

[0035] Furthermore, a water receiving groove 22 is provided on the upper surface 25 above the side surface 23 of the recess 4b from which the lower heater 21 bulges, and this water receiving groove 22 is configured as a groove extending from the rear of the upper surface 25 to the front, and the water receiving groove 22 is formed by bending in an L shape forward of the portion from which the lower heater 21 bulges in order to prevent water from flowing to the portion where the lower heater 21 bulges, and after bending in an L shape, a groove is formed so that water flows from the upper surface 25 above the side surface 23 of the recess 4b to the side surface 23 of the recess 4b.

[0036] The bottom wall 4a is sealed and installed over the recess 4b to prevent water generated inside the heating chamber 4 from leaking downward from the bottom wall 4a. However, water may still leak from the bottom wall 4a and drip from the bottom wall 4a of the heating chamber 4. However, with the above configuration, it is possible to prevent as much as possible the water dripping from the bottom wall 4a of the heating chamber 4 from getting on the bulge portion 21a of the lower heater 21, thereby preventing electric leakage as much as possible.

[0037] 5A and 5B are a perspective view and an enlarged perspective view (the portion surrounded by the dotted line in FIG. 5A) showing a state in which the outer cover of the cooking device of this embodiment has been removed and a portion of the front structure of the main body has been cut away. Water that flows out of the water receiving groove 22 into the recess 4b passes through the side surface 23 of the recess 4b and reaches the bottom surface 24, where it falls and is drained through the first drainage hole 26 formed in the bottom surface 24 of the recess 4b.

[0038] As indicated by the dotted arrows in Figure 5(b), the water drained from the first drain hole 26 flows through the first drain path 28a, past the front position of the main body 1, toward the right end of the main body 1, falls and is drained from the second drain hole 27, passes through the second drain path 28b, falls and is drained from the end of the second drain path 28b, and further flows through the third drain path 28c, past the front position of the main body 1, toward the front end of the main body 1, falls and is drained from the end of the third drain path 28c, and is collected in the water receiving tray 29.

[0039] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the water receiving tray 29 forms the lower front part of the main body 1 and can be attached and detached by pulling it forward, so that the user can remove the water receiving tray 29 and discard the water that has accumulated in it.

[0040] [Heating control] In the cooking device of this embodiment, a microwave heating unit is provided as another cooking means in addition to the planar heater unit 8 configured as described above. The microwave heating unit includes a magnetron that generates microwaves and radiates the microwaves generated by the magnetron from an antenna via a waveguide. The antenna that radiates microwaves to the heating chamber 4 is disposed below the bottom wall of the heating chamber 4 and is configured to radiate microwaves such as circularly polarized waves from below toward the heating chamber 4. The antenna is configured to radiate directional microwaves, and can be rotated to uniformly heat the interior of the heating chamber 4.

[0041] Other cooking means in the cooker of this embodiment may include a steam heating unit that injects steam into the heating chamber to cook food, and a hot air circulation unit that circulates hot air inside the heating chamber 4 to cook food. The steam heating unit has a water tank inside the main body 1, and water from the water tank is fed to a steam heater in a boiler. The hot air circulation unit is configured to heat the air drawn in from the heating chamber 4 using a rear heater provided on the rear side of the heating chamber 4, and supply the hot air into the heating chamber 4.

[0042] As described above, the heating and cooking means in the heating cooker of this embodiment include a flat heater unit 8, a microwave heating unit, a steam heating unit, and a hot air circulation unit, and each heating and cooking means is selected according to the cooking contents, and in some cases, multiple heating and cooking times are driven and controlled simultaneously or in combination.

[0043] The detection ends of the heater temperature detection units (not shown) are respectively disposed in the heating areas (heating spaces) directly heated by the upper heater and the lower heater 21. The heater temperature detection units detect the temperatures of the spaces directly heated by the upper heater and / or the lower heater 21, and transmit the detected temperatures as heater temperature information to the control unit on the control board (see FIG. 6). The control unit controls the heat source and drive source for the heating cooking operation according to the cooking contents set by the user, based on the heater temperature information as well as internal temperature information from the internal temperature detection unit 9, which detects the internal temperature of the heating chamber 4.

[0044] In this embodiment, the heater temperature detection unit is configured to detect the temperature of the heating area (heating space) that is directly heated by the upper heater and lower heater 21, so the control unit can control the temperature in the heating cooking operation by the upper heater and lower heater 21 based on highly accurate heater temperature information from the heater temperature detection unit. In this embodiment, a speed heating operation is performed in which the temperature of the heating chamber 4 is rapidly increased by the upper heater, which has a large heater output, so the heater temperature information is effective in this speed heating operation.

[0045] [Cooking operation] 6 is an example of a circuit diagram for controlling the cooking means in the cooker of this embodiment. The heat sources in the cooking means in the cooker of this embodiment include an upper heater in the flat heater unit 8 and a lower heater 21 installed in the lower part of the heating chamber 4, and a magnetron in the microwave heating unit.

[0046] As shown in the circuit diagram of Fig. 6, the upper heater and lower heater 21 are connected to switching elements so that they can be controlled to be on or off. They are also connected to an inverter board (inverter circuit) as a driving power source for a magnetron, which is a microwave generating means in the microwave heating unit. In this embodiment, a triac may be used as a switching element to control the driving of the upper heater, and the current input to the upper heater may be configured to be continuously variable to a desired value.

[0047] The lower heater 21 also uses a relay as a switching element that simply switches on and off. Note that, although the lower heater 21 in this embodiment is described as using a relay as a switching element that simply switches on and off, it may also be configured to be able to steplessly variably control the input power by using a triac as a switching element, as with the upper heater.

[0048] A cooking device has a predetermined rated power, and power above that rated power cannot be used. The cooking device of this embodiment is configured to be capable of cooking using multiple cooking means, and the control unit controls the power consumption of activated heat sources, etc. so that they always remain within the rated power.

[0049] In this embodiment, the maximum heater output of the upper heater is, for example, 900 W, and the maximum heater output of the lower heater is, for example, 900 W. The maximum heater output of the upper heater 21 is, for example, 700 W. Therefore, the total maximum heater output of the upper heater and the lower heater 21 exceeds the rated power (1500 W = 15 A (rated current) × 100 V) in a typical home. In the cooking appliance of this embodiment, if the upper heater is configured to be driven and controlled by a triac as a switching element, the upper heater can be driven at a heater output that can be steplessly varied within a range of 300 to 900 W by a control signal input to the triac.

[0050] Hereinafter, a specific cooking operation using the cooking means in the cooking device of the present embodiment will be described with reference to examples.

[0051] When using only the flat heater unit 8 to heat and cook the heating chamber 4 with almost the entire ceiling wall as a heating element, for example, the upper heater can be controlled to operate at a heater output of 700 W and the lower heater 21 can be turned on to provide a heater output of 700 W, thereby heating the heating chamber 4 with a total heater output of 1400 W.

[0052] When using the flat heater unit 8 and the microwave heating unit to heat and cook the heating chamber 4 with microwaves from the ceiling wall and the underside of the bottom wall, for example, the upper heater is set to a maximum heater output of 900 W and the lower heater 21 is set to the off state (0 W), and the heating chamber 4 is heated from above with a total heater output of 900 W. On the other hand, in a microwave heating unit used as another heating and cooking means, the magnetron or the like can use power consumption of, for example, 450 W to heat the heating plate 6 stored in the heating chamber 4, and food placed on the heating plate 6 can be cooked.

[0053] As another example, food placed on the heating tray 6 can be cooked with the lower heater 21 off (0 W), the upper heater at a heater output of 430 W, and 550 W consumed by the magnetron and other components of the microwave heating unit. As described above, even when cooking using the flat heater unit 8 and the microwave heating unit, the desired cooking operation can be performed with power consumption equal to or less than the rated power for a typical household (1500 W = 15 A (rated current) × 100 V).

[0054] On the other hand, in the configuration of this embodiment, microwaves (circularly polarized waves) can be radiated intensively from the antenna of the microwave heating unit from below the heating chamber 4 toward the center of the heating chamber 4. Inside the heating chamber 4, a heating plate 6 is stored on which food to be heated is placed, and a heating element that absorbs microwaves and generates heat is embedded in the placement surface 33 of this heating plate 6.

[0055] As a result, the food on the placing surface of the heating plate 6 is heated from below by the heating plate 6 heated by the heating element in the microwave heating unit, and the ceiling wall is heated by the flat heater unit 8, and this heat radiation is received from above and heated intensively. In other words, the heating cooker of this embodiment is configured to be able to rapidly heat the food on the heating plate 6 stored in the heating chamber 4 to high temperatures from above and below.

[0056] As described above, the cooking device of this embodiment has a configuration that allows cooking to be performed efficiently using a heater as cooking means within the rated power. The cooking device of this embodiment has a configuration that allows the interior of the heating chamber to be rapidly heated to a desired high heat level to perform cooking quickly using multiple power appliances whose total power consumption exceeds the rated power.

[0057] In addition, the cooking device of this embodiment has a configuration that can quickly increase the temperature inside the cooking chamber and at the same time maintain the temperature inside the cooking chamber (temperature of the upper plate of the cooking chamber) at a constant temperature. The cooking device of this embodiment is configured to be able to accurately set the internal temperature (temperature of the upper plate of the heating chamber) to the set temperature and shorten the time it takes for the internal temperature to reach the set temperature, thereby achieving a reduction in cooking time. [Industrial Applicability]

[0058] As described above, the heating cooker of the present disclosure can prevent water dripping from the dish holder in the heating chamber from getting onto the heater section as much as possible, and therefore the present disclosure is useful in microwave ovens, toasters, etc. that are capable of oven heating, grill heating, and steam heating. [Explanation of symbols]

[0059] 1 Main unit 2 doors 3 handle 4 Heating cabinet 4a Bottom wall 4b Recess 5. Settings 6 Heating Plate 7 Antenna 8 Flat heater unit (upper heater) 9. Temperature detection unit inside the cabinet 10 Bottom plate 21 Lower heater (heater part) 21a Bulge 22 Water receiving groove 23 Side 24 bottom 25 Top 26 First drain hole 27 Second drain hole 28a, 28b, 28c Drainage route 29 Water tray

Claims

1. The cooking apparatus comprises a heating chamber for heating food to be cooked, a bottom wall on which the food to be heated is placed, a recess formed by a bottom surface and a side surface below the bottom wall, and a heater portion bulging out from the side surface of the recess, A cooking device having a water receiving groove on the upper surface of the side of the recess at a position above where the heater portion bulges out, the water receiving groove being formed from the upper surface of the side of the recess at a position above where the heater portion bulges out to the side of the recess so as to prevent water from flowing into the bulging portion of the heater portion.

2. The cooking device according to claim 1 , wherein the heater portion other than the bulging portion is spaced apart from the side and bottom surfaces of the recess so as not to come into contact with the side and bottom surfaces of the recess.

Images