Oven cooking device

Abstract

To suppress the generation of supply unevenness of steam depending on the front-rear position in a firing furnace of an oven cooking device.SOLUTION: An oven cooking device 10 comprises: a firing furnace 20 for burning a cooking object; a front surface opening 20a which is provided on a front surface of the firing furnace 20; a door 21 which closes the front surface opening 20a in a freely openable / closable manner; a heater 42 which is arranged in the upper part of the firing furnace 20 and heats the inside of the firing furnace 20; and a steam generation unit 50 which is arranged on the upper side of the heater 42 in the upper part of the firing furnace 20 and generates the steam in the firing furnace 20. The steam generation unit 50 comprises: a steam generation plate 51 which is arranged such that a passage 51b of the steam is formed between the inner side surface of the firing furnace 20 and itself on the upper side of the heater 42 and is heated by the heater 42; a heat storage board 52 which is provided only on the front side with respect to the center part in the front-rear direction on the upper surface of the steam generation plate 51 and stores heat by the heater 42; and a water supply part 53 which supplies water to the heat storage board 52.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 14

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Patent Document 1 discloses a deck oven (oven cooking apparatus) for baking bread dough. This deck oven includes a three-stage furnace unit within a main body frame, and a door for opening and closing the furnace is provided on the front side of each furnace unit. A bottom heater is disposed at the lower part inside each furnace unit, and a furnace floor is provided so that a tray or the like on which an object to be cooked is placed can be placed above the bottom heater. Further, an upper heater is disposed at the upper part inside the furnace, and a steam generation tank is disposed above the upper heater.

[0002] The steam generation tank is heated by the upper heater disposed on the lower side to generate steam, and includes a rectangular thin dish-shaped steam generation frame and a steam generation tank lid that covers the upper side of the steam generation tank frame so that a steam generation space is defined inside. At the bottom surface portion of the steam generation tank frame, a heat storage ingot extending left and right at the front part and a heat storage ingot extending from the front part to the middle part in the front-rear direction at the central part in the left-right direction are provided. A water supply connection pipe for supplying water for generating steam is provided at the front part of the steam generation tank frame. Further, a large number of punching holes formed by punching are formed at the central parts in the front-rear and left-right directions of the steam generation tank lid.

[0003] When the inside of the furnace is heated by the bottom heater and the upper heater in this deck oven, the steam generation tank frame of the steam generation tank disposed at the upper part inside the furnace is heated by the upper heater and heat is stored in the heat storage ingot. When water is supplied into the steam generation tank through the water supply connection pipe at the timing when humid baking is desired, the water supplied into the steam generation tank touches the heat storage ingot and is immediately vaporized, and the steam generated inside the steam generation tank is blown out between the steam generation tank and the ceiling wall of the furnace through the punching holes of the steam blowing-out part provided at the central part of the steam generation tank lid. The blown-out steam hits the ceiling wall of the furnace and is diffused in all directions, and flows toward the furnace floor through the gap between the periphery of the steam generation tank and the surrounding wall doors on all four sides inside the furnace.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004] Patent Document 1 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-267493 Summary of the Invention Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In the deck oven of Patent Document 1 described above, the steam generated inside the steam generation tank is blown out between the steam generation tank and the ceiling wall of the furnace through the punching holes of the steam outlet provided at the central portion of the steam generation tank lid. The blown steam hits the ceiling wall of the furnace and is dissipated in all directions, and flows toward the furnace floor through the gaps between the periphery of the steam generation tank and the surrounding walls on all four sides inside the furnace. This deck oven is provided with a front opening for loading and unloading the object to be fired, such as bread dough, at the front of the furnace. The temperature at the front of the furnace tends to drop when the door for opening and closing the front opening is opened. When steam is generated from the steam generation tank in a state where the temperature at the front of the furnace is low, steam may condense at the front of the furnace and the amount of steam may decrease, and there is a possibility that steam cannot be uniformly supplied to the entire furnace. An object of the present invention is to provide an oven cooking apparatus in which unevenness in steam supply is less likely to occur depending on the front and rear positions inside the firing furnace. Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a baking furnace for baking an object to be cooked, a front opening for loading and unloading the object to be cooked from the front of the baking furnace, a door for opening and closing the front opening in a freely openable and closable manner, a heater disposed in the upper part of the baking furnace for heating the inside of the baking furnace, and a steam generation unit disposed above the heater in the upper part of the baking furnace for generating steam in the baking furnace. The steam generation unit includes a steam generation dish disposed above the heater so that a steam passage is formed between the steam generation dish and the inner surface of the baking furnace and heated by the heater, a heat storage plate provided only on the front side of the central portion in the front-rear direction on the upper surface of the steam generation dish for storing the heat from the heater, and a water supply unit for supplying water. The present invention provides an oven cooking apparatus. from a water supply pipe disposed directly above a water supply unit for supplying water , and above the steam generation dish, there is provided a steam generation lid that covers the upper side of the steam generation dish so as to form a steam generation space for generating steam, and has a large number of steam passage holes formed on the entire upper surface to allow steam to pass upward, characterized in that which provides an oven cooking apparatus.

[0007] In the oven cooking device configured as described above, the steam generation unit is disposed such that a steam passage is formed between the upper side of the heater and the inner surface of the baking furnace, and includes a steam generation dish that is heated by the heater, a heat storage plate that is provided only on the front side of the central portion in the front-rear direction on the upper surface of the steam generation dish and stores the heat generated from the heater, and the heat storage plate from a water supply pipe disposed directly above a water supply unit that supplies water , and above the steam generation dish, there is provided a steam generation lid that covers the upper side of the steam generation dish so as to form a steam generation space for generating steam, and has a large number of steam passage holes formed on the entire upper surface to allow steam to pass upward is provided. A front opening for loading and unloading the object to be cooked is provided in the front portion of the baking furnace, and the temperature of the front portion inside the baking furnace tends to decrease when the door that opens and closes the front opening is opened. When generating steam in the baking furnace, when water is supplied from the water supply unit to the upper side of the heat storage plate provided only on the front side of the central portion in the front-rear direction on the upper surface of the steam generation dish, the water immediately vaporizes into steam particularly when it comes into contact with the heat storage plate on the upper side of the steam generation dish, and the steam flows down to the lower portion inside the baking furnace through the steam passage between the steam generation dish and the inner surface of the baking furnace. At this time, since steam is generated particularly more on the front side than the central portion in the front-rear direction of the steam generation dish where the heat storage plate is disposed, the steam that flows down to the lower portion of the baking furnace tends to flow down more to the front portion of the baking furnace. As a result, even when the temperature of the front portion of the baking furnace is low, it is difficult for the steam to decrease in the front portion of the baking furnace, and it is difficult for uneven supply of steam to occur depending on the front-rear position inside the baking furnace. Furthermore, since the upper side of the steam generation dish is provided with a steam generation lid that covers the upper side of the steam generation dish so as to form a steam generation space for generating steam, and has a large number of steam passage holes formed on the entire upper surface to allow steam to pass upward, a part of the steam generated mainly in the steam generation space above the heat storage plate in the steam generation dish is suppressed from flowing upward by a part other than the steam passage holes of the steam generation lid, so that it spreads from the front part to the rear part of the steam generation space. The steam that has spread to the rear part of the steam generation space is discharged upward through the steam passage holes, and the discharged steam flows down to the lower part of the firing furnace through the steam passage between the steam generation dish and the inner surface of the firing furnace, and flows down mainly to the front part of the firing furnace and also to the entire front-rear direction. As a result, even when the temperature of the front part of the firing furnace is low, not only is it difficult for the steam to decrease in the front part of the firing furnace, but also the steam flows down from the front part to the rear part of the firing furnace, so that it becomes more difficult for uneven steam supply to occur at all positions in the front-rear direction in the firing furnace.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

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Figure 15

Figure 16

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the oven cooking device of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the oven cooking device 10 of the present invention heats and bakes bread dough or baked confectionery dough (object to be cooked) in a natural convection baking furnace 20, and by opening the door 21 provided in the front part of the baking furnace 20, the object to be baked can be carried in and out of the baking furnace 20 from the front opening 20a. The oven cooking device 10 is installed above equipment such as a table, a counter, or a dough conditioner in a store, a workshop, etc., and is installed in multiple stages vertically as necessary.

[0011] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the oven cooking device 10 includes a casing 11 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. A machine room 12 is provided on the right side portion inside the casing 11, and a baking furnace 20 is disposed in the remaining portion inside the casing 11. The casing 11 includes a base plate 13 corresponding to the bottom wall, a frame body 14 provided so as to partition the upper side of the base plate 13 into a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a panel 15 covering the front, rear, left, right, and upper surfaces partitioned and formed by the frame body 14.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 4, leg portions 13a are provided at the four peripheral edges of the base plate 13 including the front, rear, left, and right sides, and the lower ends bent downward are further bent inward. The leg portions 13a separate the lower surface of the base plate 13 from the installation surface. A reinforcing member 13b extending in the front-rear direction is provided at the central portion in the left-right direction on the lower surface of the base plate 13. The reinforcing member 13b is formed by using a sheet metal member whose cross-sectional shape in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction is bent into an L shape, and has a function of preventing the central portion of the base plate 13 in the left-right direction from sinking downward.

[0013] Right-angled triangular corner plates 13c are provided at the four corners of the leg portions 13a of the base plate 13, and the corner plates 13c have a function of separating the leg portions 13a from the setting surface. In this way, the central portion of the base plate 13 in the left-right direction is prevented from sinking downward by the reinforcing member 13b, making it difficult for the heat of the baking furnace 20 to be transmitted to the installation surface through the base plate 13. In addition, since the contact area of the leg portions 13a of the base plate 13 with the installation surface is reduced by the corner plates 13c at the four corners, the heat in the baking furnace 20 is less likely to be transmitted to the installation surface through the leg portions 13a of the base plate 13.

[0014] As shown in Fig. 3, the frame body 14 includes front and rear frame members 14a and 14b provided before and after the base plate 13, and beam members 14c connecting the left and right sides of the front and rear frame members 14a and 14b. Each of the front and rear frame members 14a and 14b has a column portion standing on the left and right sides of the base plate 13, and a U-shaped cross-section with the lower side open, where the upper parts of the left and right column portions are connected by a girder portion. The beam members 14c on the left and right sides are fixed to the upper ends of the column portions of the front and rear frame members 14a and 14b, connecting the left and right sides of the front and rear frame members 14a and 14b.

[0015] As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, a front panel 15a is provided on the front side of the firing furnace 20 in the casing 11, and a rear panel 15d is provided on the rear side of the rear frame member 14b. A left panel 15e is provided on the left side between the front frame member 14a and the rear frame member 14b, and a right panel 15f is provided on the right side between the front frame member 14a and the rear frame member 14b. An upper panel 15g is provided on the upper sides of the front and rear frame members 14a and 14b and the left and right beam members 14c.

[0016] As shown in Fig. 5, the front panel 15a includes a front lower panel 15b covering only the lower part of the front of the firing furnace 20 and a front main panel 15c covering the upper part above the lower part of the front of the firing furnace 20. The front lower panel 15b covers the lower part where the lower heater 41 of the front opening 20a of the firing furnace 20 is arranged so that the object to be cooked can be carried in and out through the front opening 20a of the firing furnace 20. A pair of left and right brackets 16 for supporting the door 21 are fixed to the front lower panel 15b. To enable the object to be cooked to be carried in and out through the front opening 20a of the firing furnace 20, the front main panel 15c has a substantially U-shaped cross-section with the lower side open in a front view, covering the upper part of the front opening 20a of the firing furnace 20 where the upper heater 42 and the steam generation unit 50 are arranged.

[0017] As described above, the front panel 15a is detachably provided with a front lower panel 15b to which a bracket 16 for supporting the door 21 is fixed, and a front main panel 15c that covers the upper heater 42 and the steam generation unit 50 disposed in the upper part of the firing furnace 20. When performing maintenance and inspection on the upper heater 42 and the steam generation unit 50 in the upper part of the firing furnace 20, the front main panel 15c can be removed without removing the bracket 16 and the door 21 from the front lower panel 15b or without removing the front lower panel 15b with the bracket 16 and the door 21 attached to the front lower panel 15b. Therefore, maintenance and inspection of the upper heater 42 and the steam generation unit 50 disposed in the upper part of the firing furnace 20 can be performed without making it an essential requirement to remove the bracket 16 and the door 21.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 6, the upper surface panel 15g has a shallow box shape with an open bottom, including a top plate portion 15h and a peripheral wall portion 15i that hangs down the peripheral edge of the top plate portion 15h. The upper surface panel 15g is fitted on the upper sides of the front and rear frame members 14a, 14b and the left and right beam members 14c. A heat insulating material 15j made of a silicon material is adhered to the lower peripheral edge of the top plate portion 15h of the upper surface panel 15g. The heat insulating material 15j makes it difficult for heat to be transmitted from the firing furnace 20 to the upper surface panel 15g through the front and rear frame members 14a, 14b and the left and right beam members 14c. Although the heat insulating material 15j is adhered to the lower peripheral edge of the top plate portion 15h of the upper surface panel 15g, it is not limited thereto, and it may be adhered to the upper surfaces of the front and rear frame members 14a, 14b and the left and right beam members 14c.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 6, an exhaust opening 11a is formed in the left side portion of the upper edge of the rear wall of the casing 11. In this embodiment, a notch 15i1 is formed in the left side portion of the rear peripheral wall portion 15i of the upper surface panel 15g, and an opening 14b1 is formed in the left side portion of the girder portion of the rear frame member 14b. The exhaust opening 11a is formed by the notch 15i1 and the opening 14b1. The exhaust opening 11a is connected to an exhaust passage 31 (particularly, a passage formed by the internal space of the exhaust guide 33) for discharging the air in the firing furnace 20 described later.

[0020] As shown in Fig. 3, in the machine room 12 within the casing 11, there is provided an electric component box 17 for housing electric components (control components) that control the lower and upper heaters 41 and 42, the water supply valve 55 of the steam generation unit 50, etc., which will be described later. The electric component box 17 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with electric components housed inside, and leg portions 17a are provided at the front and rear of the lower part of the electric component box 17. The leg portions 17a space the lower surface of the electric component box 17 from the upper surface of the base plate 13, making it difficult for the heat transmitted from the firing furnace 20 to the base plate 13 to be transmitted inside the electric component box 17. As a result, the electric components within the electric component box 17 are less likely to be affected by the heat transmitted from the firing furnace 20 to the base plate 13.

[0021] As shown in Figs. 2 and 7, the firing furnace 20 is for firing objects to be cooked such as bread dough and confectionery dough, and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with a front opening 20a formed in the front for loading and unloading the objects to be cooked. As shown in Figs. 3 and 7, a heat insulating material 22 made of glass wool is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the firing furnace 20, and an outer plate 23 made of a stainless steel sheet metal member is further provided on the outer peripheral surface of the heat insulating material 22. The heat inside the firing furnace 20 is less likely to be transmitted to the surroundings including the casing 11 and the machine room 12 by the heat insulating material 22. As shown in Figs. 3 and 6, a groove portion 22a extending in the front-rear direction is formed in the left side portion of the upper surface of the heat insulating material 22 covering the upper side of the firing furnace 20, and various components of the exhaust mechanism 30 of the firing furnace 20, which will be described later, are disposed in this groove portion 22a.

[0022] On the right side surface of the firing furnace 20 on the machine room 12 side, lighting windows (not shown) are provided at approximately the central portions in the vertical and front-rear directions. In the heat insulating material 22 covering the outer peripheral surface on the right side of the firing furnace 20 on the machine room 12 side, recesses (not shown) are formed at positions facing the lighting windows. As shown in FIGS. 3, 7, and 8, an in-furnace lamp 24 using LED lighting for illuminating the inside of the firing furnace 20 is attached to the recess of the heat insulating material 22 using a bracket 25. As shown in FIG. 8, the bracket 25 is composed of a base plate portion 25a disposed on the lower surface of the recess and a substantially U-shaped cover portion 25b with an open lower side that covers the upper side of the in-furnace lamp 24 above the base plate portion 25a, and the in-furnace lamp 24 is attached above the base plate portion 25a. The base plate portion 25a and the cover portion 25b of the bracket 25 are made of a shiny stainless steel material (SUS304 2B material). The light of the in-furnace lamp 24 is not only directly irradiated into the firing furnace 20 from the lighting window, but also the light diffused and irradiated from the in-furnace lamp 24 is reflected toward the lighting window by the bracket 25 made of a shiny material and irradiated into the firing furnace 20.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 9, an upper heater 42 described later is attached to the upper part of the right side surface of the firing furnace 20 on the machine room 12 side. A recess 22b is formed at the position where the upper heater 42 is attached to the upper part of the heat insulating material 22 covering the machine room 12 side of the firing furnace 20, and a detachable heat insulating material 26 is detachably attached to the recess 22b of the heat insulating material 22. The detachable heat insulating material 26 is removed from the recess 22b of the heat insulating material 22 when maintaining each heater element 42a - 42d of the upper heater 42 in order to facilitate the maintenance of each heater element 42a - 42d of the upper heater 42. As shown in FIG. 10(a), the detachable heat insulating material 26 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape elongated in the front-rear direction, and through holes 26a penetrating in the left-right direction are formed at eight positions along the front-rear direction. Both longitudinal ends of the four U-shaped heater elements 42a - 42d of the upper heater 42 attached to the right side surface of the firing furnace 20 are inserted into the respective through holes 26a of the detachable heat insulating material 26, and the terminals provided at the longitudinal ends of each heater element 42a - 42d are disposed in the machine room 12 and connected to a power supply electrical wiring (not shown).

[0024] The outer plate 23 that covers the outside of the heat insulating material 22 is provided with a detachable outer plate 23a at a position that covers the detachable heat insulating material 26. When performing maintenance on the upper heater 42, after removing the detachable outer plate 23a, by removing the detachable heat insulating material 26 together with the heater elements 42a to 42d, each heater element 42a to 42d of the upper heater 42 can be removed without removing the heat insulating material 22 from the right outer peripheral surface of the firing furnace 20. Further, as shown in FIG. 10(b), when a notch 26b is formed above the through hole 26a through which both longitudinal ends of the U-shaped heater elements 42a to 42d are inserted, both longitudinal ends of the heater elements 42a to 42d or the electrical wiring connected to the terminals of the heater elements 42a to 42d are passed through the notch 26b, so that the heater elements 42a to 42d can be easily removed from the detachable heat insulating material 26. Note that a detachable heat insulating material (not shown) and a detachable outer plate (not shown) for performing maintenance on each heater element 41a to 41c of the lower heater 41 are also provided at the lower part of the right side surface on the machine room 12 side of the firing furnace 20, and since they have substantially the same configuration as the detachable heat insulating material 26 and the detachable outer plate 23a described above, detailed description thereof is omitted.

[0025] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a door 21 is provided on the front side of the firing furnace 20 so as to be openable and closable, and the door 21 is rotatably supported about a horizontal axis by a bracket 16 provided at the lower part of the front panel 15a. As shown in FIGS. 2, 5, and 7, a ceramic furnace floor plate 27 is provided at the lower part of the firing furnace 20, and a tray containing the object to be cooked can be placed above the furnace floor plate 27 inside the firing furnace 20. Left and right guides 28 extending along the front-rear direction are provided at both left and right edge portions of the furnace floor plate 27, and a guide 29 extending along the left-right direction is provided at the rear edge portion of the furnace floor plate 27. A tray containing the object to be cooked is prevented from being unevenly accommodated in the left-right direction inside the firing furnace 20 by the left and right guides 28, and is prevented from being unevenly accommodated rearward by the rear guide 29. Taper portions 28a are provided at the front portions of the left and right guides 28 so that the interval expands toward the front opening portion 20a side, and the taper portions 28a facilitate inserting the tray containing the object to be cooked between the left and right guides 28.

[0026] As shown in FIGS. 7 and 11, an exhaust port 20b is formed in the left side portion of the upper part of the rear surface of the firing furnace 20, and the air in the firing furnace 20 can be discharged outside the casing 11 by an exhaust mechanism 30 from the exhaust port 20b. The exhaust mechanism 30 includes an exhaust passage 31 connected to the exhaust port 20b and an opening / closing mechanism 34 for opening and closing the exhaust passage 31. The exhaust passage 31 includes an exhaust pipe 32 connected to the exhaust port 20b and an exhaust guide 33 for guiding the exhaust sent through the exhaust pipe 32 above the exhaust pipe 32 to the exhaust opening 11a of the casing 11.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 11, the exhaust pipe 32 uses an L-shaped pipe member whose rear end extending rearward from the exhaust port 20b of the firing furnace 20 extends upward, and the upper end portion of the exhaust pipe 32 protrudes above the upper surface of the bottom wall of the groove portion 22a on the left side of the upper surface of the heat insulating material 22. The exhaust guide 33 forms an air passage from the upper end opening of the exhaust pipe 32 to the exhaust opening 11a of the casing 11 by covering the periphery of the upper end opening of the exhaust pipe 32 up to the exhaust opening 11a of the casing 11 on the upper surface of the groove portion 22a of the heat insulating material 22.

[0028] As shown in FIGS. 6, 11, and 12, the exhaust guide 33 includes a lower box body 33a that is open at the upper and rear sides, and an upper lid body 33b that covers the upper side of the lower box body 33a and is open at the lower and rear sides. A space formed by covering the upper side of the lower box body 33a with the upper lid body 33b forms an air passage from the upper end opening of the exhaust pipe 32 to the exhaust opening 11a of the casing 11. A through hole 33a1 is formed in the rear part of the bottom wall of the lower box body 33a, and the upper end portion of the exhaust pipe 32 is disposed in the exhaust guide 33 from this through hole 33a1. The upper end opening of the exhaust pipe 32 is spaced from the lower surface of the upper wall of the upper lid body 33b, and the upper end opening of the exhaust pipe 32 is open to the internal space of the exhaust guide 33 formed by the lower box body 33a and the upper lid body 33b. Further, the internal space of the exhaust guide 33 formed by the lower box body 33a and the upper lid body 33b is open to the outside by the exhaust opening 11a of the casing 11. The air in the firing furnace 20 is discharged from the exhaust port 20b through the exhaust pipe 32 into the internal space of the exhaust guide 33, and the air discharged into the internal space of the exhaust guide 33 is discharged from the exhaust opening 11a toward the rear side of the casing 11.

[0029] As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, an opening / closing mechanism 34 for opening and closing the exhaust passage 31 is provided above the firing furnace 20 at the upper part inside the casing 11. The opening / closing mechanism 34 includes an exhaust shutter 35 that is movably provided in the front-rear direction above the upper end opening of the exhaust pipe 32, an operation bar 36 that is provided in the groove portion 22a of the heat insulating material 22 and moves the exhaust shutter 35 in the front-rear direction, and an operation knob 37 that is provided at the front end portion of the operation bar 36 on the front side of the casing 11. The exhaust shutter 35 is plate-shaped and covers the upper end opening of the exhaust pipe 32 so that the opening degree can be adjusted. When the exhaust shutter 35 is disposed at the positions shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the upper end opening of the exhaust pipe 32 is in a completely closed state. When the exhaust shutter 35 is gradually moved forward (the left side in FIG. 11, the front side of the paper surface in FIG. 12) from this position, the upper end opening of the exhaust pipe 32 is gradually opened.

[0030] As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the operation bar 36 moves the exhaust shutter 35 back and forth, and is provided so as to be movable back and forth within the groove portion 22a of the heat insulating material 22. The rear end portion of the operation bar 36 is inserted into a through hole formed in the front wall of the lower casing 33a of the exhaust guide 33, and the rear end of the operation bar 36 is fixed to the exhaust shutter 35. The front end portion of the operation bar 36 is inserted into a through hole formed in the beam portion of the front side frame member 14a and a through hole formed in the front peripheral wall portion 15i of the upper surface panel 15g. An operation knob 37 is attached to the front end of the operation bar 36 on the front side of the casing 11. When the operation knob 37 is grasped and the operation bar 36 is moved forward, the exhaust shutter 35 moves forward and the upper end opening of the exhaust pipe 32 is opened. From this state, when the operation knob 37 is grasped and the operation bar 36 is moved backward, the exhaust shutter 35 moves backward and the upper end opening of the exhaust pipe 32 is closed.

[0031] As shown in FIGS. 9, 11, and 13, a heater 40 is provided in the firing furnace 20. In this embodiment, a lower heater 41 is provided below the furnace floor plate 27 at the lower part of the firing furnace 20 (shown in FIGS. 11 and 13), and an upper heater 42 is provided in the upper part of the firing furnace 20 (shown in FIGS. 9 and 11). The lower and upper heaters 41 and 42 use heater elements made of substantially U-shaped sheathed heaters with open right sides. The lower heater 41 is arranged with three heater elements arranged side by side in the front-rear direction, and the upper heater 42 is arranged with four heater elements arranged side by side in the front-rear direction. In order to easily impart a fired color to the upper surface of the object to be fired, and since the furnace floor plate 27 with high heat storage property is arranged above the lower heater 41, the upper heater 42 has a larger number of heater elements than the lower heater 41.

[0032] A front opening 20a is provided at the front of the firing furnace 20, and this front opening 20a is closable by a door 21 in an openable and closable manner. When the door 21 is opened, the heat inside the firing furnace 20 is released to the outside from the front opening 20a, and the temperature at the front part of the firing furnace 20 is likely to decrease. For this reason, a heater element 41a arranged at the foremost side of the lower heater 41 has a maximum output value that can be output larger than that of the heater element 41b arranged at the intermediate part in the front-rear direction. Similarly, a heater element 42a arranged at the foremost side of the upper heater 42 has a maximum output value that can be output larger than that of the heater elements 42b and 42c arranged at the intermediate part in the front-rear direction.

[0033] Although a heat insulating material 22 is provided on the rear surface of the rear wall of the firing furnace 20, the temperature of the rear part inside the firing furnace 20 is likely to decrease due to the heat released from the rear wall more than that of the intermediate part in the front-rear direction. For this reason, a heater element 42d arranged at the rearmost side of the upper heater 42 has a maximum output value that can be output larger than that of the heater elements 42b and 42c arranged at the intermediate part in the front-rear direction.

[0034] In this embodiment, the maximum output value (maximum power value) that can be output by the heater element 41a arranged at the front side of the lower heater 41 is 515 W, and the maximum output values (maximum power values) that can be output by the heater elements 41b and 41c arranged at the intermediate part and the rear part in the front-rear direction are 290 W. Also, the maximum output values (maximum power values) that can be output by the heater elements 42a and 42d arranged at the foremost side and the rearmost side of the upper heater 42 are 515 W, and the maximum output values (maximum power values) that can be output by the heater elements 42b and 42c arranged at the intermediate part in the front-rear direction are 290 W.

[0035] As shown in FIGS. 9 and 13, insulator portions 41a1 to 41c1, 42a1 to 42d1 made of insulating members are provided at positions close to the right side surface of the firing furnace 20 on each of the heater elements 41a to 41c, 42a to 42d of the lower and upper heaters 41, 42. The insulator portions 41a1 to 41c1, 42a1 to 42d1 are color-coded according to the maximum output value (maximum power value) that can be output from the heater elements. Since the insulator portions 41a1 to 41c1, 42a1 to 42d1 are color-coded according to the maximum output value (maximum power value) that can be output from the heater elements, when removing or replacing each of the heater elements 41a to 41c, 42a to 42d of the lower and upper heaters 41, 42 for maintenance or the like, it is possible to prevent attaching heater elements with different maximum output values by mistake. A punching plate having a large number of holes formed immediately below the upper heater 42 is disposed, but the holes of the punching plate are not shown in FIG. 9.

[0036] As shown in FIGS. 7 and 13, a lower temperature sensor 43 is provided at the lower part of the right side surface inside the firing furnace 20, and an upper temperature sensor 44 is provided at the upper part of the right side surface inside the firing furnace 20. The lower temperature sensor 43 is disposed between the foremost heater element 41a and the second heater element 41b from the front of the lower heater 41, and is used to control the lower heater 41. The upper temperature sensor 44 is disposed at a position between the second heater element 42b and the third heater element 42c from the front below the upper heater 42, and is used to control the upper heater 42. A guard member 45 is provided in front of the upper temperature sensor 44 on the upper part of the right side surface of the firing furnace 20, and the guard member 45 prevents a tray or the like carried into the firing furnace 20 from the front opening 20a from colliding with the upper temperature sensor 44.

[0037] As shown in FIGS. 11 and 14, a steam generation section 50 is provided at the upper part inside the firing furnace 20. The steam generation section 50 is arranged above the upper heater 42 inside the firing furnace 20 to generate steam inside the firing furnace 20. The steam generation section 50 includes a steam generation dish 51 disposed above the upper heater 42, a heat storage plate 52 provided at the front part of the upper surface of the steam generation dish 51, a water supply section 53 for supplying water above the steam generation dish 51, and a steam generation lid 56 that covers the upper side of the steam generation dish 51 so as to form a steam generation space.

[0038] The steam generation dish 51 has a shallow dish shape in which the front, rear, left, and right edges of a rectangular sheet metal member are slightly raised upward to store a small amount of water. Locking arms 51a that protrude outward at the front and rear are provided on both left and right sides of the steam generation dish 51. The locking arms 51a are locked to support brackets 20c that extend in the front-rear direction provided on the upper parts of the left and right inner side surfaces of the firing furnace 20. With the steam generation dish 51 locked to the support brackets 20c inside the firing furnace 20 by the locking arms 51a, a steam passage 51b is formed between the steam generation dish 51 and the inner side surfaces (front, rear, and left and right side surfaces) of the firing furnace 20. The steam passage 51b sends the steam generated above the steam generation dish 51 at the upper part inside the firing furnace 20 to the lower part of the firing furnace 20. A drain pipe 51c is connected to the rear part of the steam generation dish 51, and the leading end of the drain pipe 51c extends to the rear side of the casing 11.

[0039] A strip-shaped heat storage plate 52 that extends in the left-right direction is provided at the front part of the upper surface of the steam generation dish 51. The heat storage plate 52 can store heat for generating steam at the front part of the steam generation dish 51. The water supply section 53 supplies water above the steam generation dish 51 and includes a water supply pipe 54 led out from a water supply source and a water supply valve 55 interposed in the water supply pipe 54. The water supply pipe 54 extends from the outside of the casing 11 through the machine room 12 into the firing furnace 20, and the water supply port of the water supply pipe 54 is led out above the heat storage plate 52 at the front part of the steam generation dish 51. A water supply valve 55 is interposed in the water supply pipe 54 inside the machine room 12, and the water from the water supply source is sent above the heat storage plate 52 through the water supply pipe 54 when the water supply valve 55 is opened.

[0040] Above the steam generation dish 51, a steam generation lid 56 is provided to cover the steam generation space for generating steam. A large number of steam passage holes 56a for allowing steam to pass upward are formed in the steam generation lid 56 from the front to the whole of the rear. The steam generation lid 56 suppresses the upward flow by covering the steam generated in the steam generation space above the steam generation dish 51 with the portions other than the portions where the steam passage holes 56a are formed, and allows the steam mainly generated at the front of the steam generation space to spread to the rear. In this embodiment, the steam generation lid 56 has a size to cover the upper side of the steam generation dish 51, and a stainless steel punching plate with a large number of steam passage holes 56a formed from the front to the whole of the rear is used.

[0041] The steam mainly generated by the heat storage plate 52 at the front of the steam generation dish 51 has its upward flow suppressed by the portions other than the steam passage holes 56a of the steam generation lid 56, and the steam with the suppressed upward flow is discharged from a large number of steam passage holes 56a to the upper side of the steam generation lid 56 in the process of flowing from the front to the rear. The steam discharged to the upper side of the steam generation lid 56 hits the ceiling surface of the firing furnace 20 and then flows down to the lower part of the firing furnace 20 through the passage 51b between the steam generation dish 51 and the inner surface of the firing furnace 20. In this way, the steam generated in the steam generation section 50 also flows down to the whole of the firing furnace 20 mainly including the front part and the rear part.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 15, an operation panel 60 is provided on the right side of the front surface of the casing 11. The operation panel 60 includes a display unit 61, an operation unit 62, and a buzzer (not shown). In this embodiment, the display unit 61 uses a liquid crystal panel (LCD panel) and can display various settings such as the operation process of the oven cooking apparatus 10 and the detected temperature in the firing furnace 20. In this embodiment, the operation unit 62 uses six operation buttons 62a to 62f and one jog dial 62g, and can input various settings such as the temperature setting for the operation process of heating the firing furnace 20, the output settings of the lower and upper heaters 41 and 42, and the setting of the cooking time, and operation contents such as the steam supply operation. The buzzer can notify the end of the operation process of heating the firing furnace 20, the end of the cooking time, and error information by outputting sounds such as buzzer sounds.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 16, the oven cooking apparatus 10 includes a control device 70. The control device 70 is connected to a lower heater 41 (heater elements 41a to 41c), an upper heater 42 (heater elements 42a to 42d), a lower temperature sensor 43, an upper temperature sensor 44, a water supply valve 55, and an operation panel 60. The control device 70 has a microcomputer (not shown), and the microcomputer includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and a timer (all not shown) connected via a bus.

[0044] The control device 70 includes, in the ROM, an operation process for controlling the operation of the lower and upper heaters 41 and 42 so that the temperature in the firing furnace 20 becomes the set temperature. When this operation process is executed, the set outputs of the lower and upper heaters 41 and 42 can be changed in five steps from 20% to 100%. The operation process includes a manual operation that enables setting the temperature in the firing furnace 20 and the outputs of the lower and upper heaters 41 and 42, and a program operation in which the temperature in the firing furnace 20 and the outputs of the lower and upper heaters 41 and 42 are preset, and the manual operation and the program operation can be selected.

[0045] Further, when the control device 70 is executing the operation process, it is provided with a timekeeping process for timing the end of the set cooking time for baking the object to be cooked by a timer. When the control device 70 executes the timekeeping process and the set cooking time for baking the object to be cooked ends, it causes the display unit 61 and the buzzer to output information indicating that the set cooking time has ended.

[0046] Also, when the control device 70 is executing the operation process, it enables the execution of a steam generation process for generating steam by the steam generation unit 50 in the baking furnace 20. When the control device 70 executes the steam generation process, it opens the water supply valve 55 for a preset set time (1 second to 5 seconds), supplies water from the water supply pipe 54 to the upper side of the heat storage plate 52 of the steam generation dish 51, brings the water into contact with the heat storage plate 52 and the upper surface of the steam generation dish 51 to evaporate the water and generate steam. The steam generated on the upper side of the steam generation dish 51 is discharged to the upper side of the steam generation lid 56 through the steam passage hole 56a, and the steam discharged to the upper side of the steam generation lid 56 flows down to the lower part of the baking furnace 20 through the passage 51b between the steam generation dish 51 and the inner surface of the baking furnace 20. In this way, by executing the steam generation process, steam can be temporarily applied to the object to be cooked being baked in the baking furnace 20. Note that the set time (water supply time) for opening the water supply valve 55 can be set within the time range from 1 second to 5 seconds.

[0047] Next, the baking process of the food to be cooked in the baking furnace 20 will be described. When an operation signal for an operation process consisting of manual operation or program operation is input by operating the operation unit 62 of the operation panel 60, the control device 70 controls the energization (operation) of the lower heater 41 based on the detected temperature of the lower temperature sensor 43, and controls the energization (operation) of the upper heater 42 based on the detected temperature of the upper temperature sensor 44, so that the inside of the baking furnace 20 is heated and controlled to the set temperature. The lower part inside the baking furnace 20 is heated by the heat generation of each heater element 41a - 41c of the energization-controlled lower heater 41, and is also heated by the radiant heat generated from the upper furnace floor plate 27 heated by each heater element 41a - 41c of the lower heater 41. Also, the upper part inside the baking furnace 20 is heated by the heat generation of each heater element 42a - 42d of the energization-controlled upper heater 42, and is also heated by the heat rising by natural convection from the lower part inside the baking furnace 20.

[0048] Open the door 21, carry in a tray containing the food to be cooked such as bread dough into the baking furnace 20 through the front opening 20a, close the front opening 20a with the door 21, and then, when an operation signal for starting the timing of the set cooking time is input by operating the operation unit 62 of the operation panel 60, the control device 70 starts the timing process until the set cooking time ends. The food to be cooked placed in the tray is heated in the baking furnace 20 by the lower and upper heaters 41 and 42 whose energization is controlled by the above-described operation process.

[0049] Also, when an operation signal for executing a steam generation process for generating steam in the firing furnace 20 by operating the operation unit 62 is input while the operation process is being executed, the control device 70 opens the water supply valve 55 for a set time. The water supplied from the water supply source is sent from the water supply pipe 54 to the upper side of the heat storage plate 52 of the steam generation tray 51. When most of the sent water comes into contact with the heat storage plate 52, it vaporizes into steam. A part of the water flows from the heat storage plate 52 to the steam generation tray 51 and vaporizes into steam. The steam generated mainly at the front heat storage plate 52 of the steam generation tray 51 has its upward flow suppressed by parts other than the steam passage holes 56a of the steam generation lid 56. The steam whose upward flow is suppressed is discharged upward from a large number of steam passage holes 56a in the process of flowing from the front to the rear, and also flows down to the entire lower part including the rear part mainly at the front part of the firing furnace 20 through the passage 51b between the inner peripheral surface of the firing furnace 20. The object to be cooked in the firing furnace 20 is temporarily imparted with steam by the steam flowing down from the upper part in the firing furnace 20.

[0050] Also, when discharging the air in the firing furnace 20 while the operation process is being executed, the user pinches the operation knob 37 and moves the operation bar 36 forward. The exhaust shutter 35 moves forward by moving the operation bar 36 forward, and the tip opening of the exhaust pipe 32 is opened at an opening degree corresponding to the movement of the exhaust shutter 35. The air (hot air) in the firing furnace 20 is sent from the exhaust port 20b through the exhaust pipe 32 to the internal space of the exhaust guide 33 from the upper end opening, and the air sent to the internal space of the exhaust guide 33 is discharged from the exhaust opening 11a toward the rear side of the casing 11. In this way, the air (hot air) in the firing furnace 20 is discharged from the exhaust opening 11a of the casing 11 toward the rear side by opening the exhaust shutter 35 of the opening / closing mechanism 34.

[0051] When the set cooking time is reached after starting the timing process, the control device 70 outputs information that the firing cooking has ended after the set cooking time has elapsed to the display unit 61 of the operation panel 60 and the buzzer. Information that the firing cooking has ended after the set cooking time has elapsed is displayed on the display unit 61, and information that the firing cooking has ended is emitted from the buzzer, for example, by a buzzer sound.

[0052] The oven cooking device 10 configured as described above includes a baking furnace 20 for baking an object to be cooked such as bread dough, a front opening 20a for loading and unloading the object to be cooked from the front of the baking furnace 20, a door 21 that opens and closes the front opening 20a in a freely openable and closable manner, an upper heater (heater) 42 disposed in the upper part of the baking furnace 20 for heating the inside of the baking furnace 21, and a steam generation unit 50 disposed above the upper heater 42 in the upper part of the baking furnace 20 for generating steam in the baking furnace 20. In this oven cooking device 10, the steam generation unit 50 is disposed such that a steam passage 51b is formed between the upper side of the upper heater 42 and the inner surface of the baking furnace 20, and includes a steam generation tray 51 that is heated by the upper heater 42, a heat storage plate 52 provided only at the front part (front side of the central part) in the front-rear direction on the upper surface of the steam generation tray 51 for storing the heat generated from the upper heater 42, and a water supply unit 53 for supplying water to the heat storage plate 52. In this embodiment, the water supply unit 53 includes a water supply pipe 54 led out from a water supply source with a water supply port disposed above the heat storage plate 52, and a water supply valve 55 interposed in the water supply pipe 54.

[0053] In this type of oven cooking device 10, a front opening 20a for loading and unloading the object to be cooked is provided in the front part of the baking furnace 20, and the temperature of the front part of the baking furnace 20 is likely to decrease when the door 21 that opens and closes the front opening 20a in a freely openable and closable manner is opened. When generating steam in the baking furnace 20, when water is supplied from the water supply pipe 54 of the water supply unit 53 to the upper side of the heat storage plate 52 provided at the front upper surface of the steam generation tray 51, it immediately vaporizes into steam particularly when it comes into contact with the heat storage plate 52 on the upper side of the steam generation tray 51, and the steam flows down to the lower part of the baking furnace 20 through the steam passage 51b between the steam generation tray 51 and the inner surface of the baking furnace. At this time, since steam is generated particularly in the front part of the steam generation tray 51 where the heat storage plate 52 is arranged, the steam flowing down to the lower part of the baking furnace 20 tends to flow down more in the front part of the baking furnace 20. As a result, even if steam is likely to condense due to the low temperature of the front part of the baking furnace 10, steam is less likely to decrease in the front part of the baking furnace, and uneven supply of steam is less likely to occur depending on the front-rear position in the baking furnace 20.

[0054] Further, a steam generation lid 56 is provided to cover the upper side of the steam generation dish 51 so as to form a steam generation space for generating steam. A number of steam passage holes 56a for allowing steam to pass upward are formed in the steam generation lid 56 from the front to the whole of the rear. A part of the steam generated in the steam generation space mainly above the heat storage plate 52 of the steam generation dish 51 is suppressed from flowing upward by a portion other than the steam passage holes 56a of the steam generation lid 56, so that it spreads from the front to the rear of the steam generation space. The steam that has moved to spread to the rear of the steam generation space is discharged upward through the steam passage holes 56a, and the discharged steam flows down to the lower part of the firing furnace 20 through the steam passage 51b between the steam generation dish 51 and the inner surface of the firing furnace 20, and flows down mainly at the front part of the firing furnace 20 and also throughout the front-rear direction. As a result, not only is it difficult for the amount of steam to decrease at the front part of the firing furnace 20 even when the temperature at the front part of the firing furnace 20 is low, but also steam flows down from the front to the whole of the rear of the firing furnace 20, so that it becomes even more difficult for uneven steam supply to occur at all positions in the front-rear direction inside the firing furnace 20.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0055] 10... Oven cooking device, 11... Casing, 20... Firing furnace, 20a... Front opening, 21... Door, 42... Heater (upper heater), 50... Steam generation unit, 51... Steam generation dish, 52... Heat storage plate, 53... Water supply unit, 56... Steam generation lid, 56a... Steam passage hole.

Claims

【Claim 1】 A baking furnace for baking the object to be cooked, A front opening for loading and unloading the object to be cooked from the front of the baking furnace, A door for opening and closing the front opening in a freely openable and closable manner, A heater disposed at the upper part inside the baking furnace for heating the inside of the baking furnace, An oven cooking apparatus comprising a steam generating part disposed above the heater at the upper part inside the baking furnace for generating steam inside the baking furnace, The steam generating part is disposed such that a steam passage is formed between the upper side of the heater and the inner surface of the baking furnace, and a steam generating dish heated by the heater, A heat storage plate provided only on the front side from the central part in the front-rear direction on the upper surface of the steam generating dish for storing the heat generated from the heater, A water supply part for supplying water from a water supply pipe disposed directly above the heat storage plate, An oven cooking apparatus characterized by comprising a steam generating lid disposed above the steam generating dish so as to form a steam generating space for generating steam and having a plurality of steam passage holes formed in the entire upper surface for allowing steam to pass upward.

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