Heating Regulator
The cooking heater addresses the challenge of user-touchable part temperature rise by using airflow paths and a blower system to cool these areas, improving safety.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- SHARP KK
- Filing Date
- 2022-05-16
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-08
AI Technical Summary
Conventional cooking heaters effectively cool electronic components but struggle to manage temperature rise in parts that users can touch, compromising safety.
A cooking heater design incorporating a housing, door, handle, and blower system that forms airflow paths along the handle and other touchable parts to cool them using air from a blower.
Enhances user safety by effectively cooling parts that can be touched, preventing excessive heat exposure.
Smart Images
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Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to a cooking heater.
Background Art
[0002] There is known a cooking heater that improves the cooling effect and suppresses the temperature rise of electronic components. The cooking heater described in Patent Document 1 includes a flow path and a flow path fan. The flow path fan increases the flow rate of the gas passing through the flow path and increases the amount of exhaust heat in the flow path. That is, the cooling effect is improved by the flow path fan, and the temperature rise of the display unit in the operation unit and the circuit board on which the electronic components are mounted can be suppressed.
Prior Art Documents
Patent Documents
[0003]
Patent Document 1
Summary of the Invention
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0004] However, the conventional cooking heater such as that in Patent Document 1 is intended to suppress the temperature rise of electronic components provided in the operation unit and the like. For this reason, there is a problem that it is difficult to cool parts that may be touched by the user other than the locations where the electronic components are arranged.
[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a cooking heater that cools parts that may be touched by the user and improves safety compared to conventional cooking heaters.
Means for Solving the Problems
[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, a heating appliance comprises a housing having an opening, a door for opening and closing the opening, a first member, a handle, and a blower. The first member is provided on the door. The handle is attached to the first member. The blower blows air toward the first member. The door forms a first airflow path along the handle, through which air from the blower passes. [Effects of the Invention]
[0007] According to the present invention, the heating appliance can cool parts that the user may come into contact with, thereby improving safety compared to conventional heating appliances. [Brief explanation of the drawing]
[0008] [Figure 1] This is a front view of a cooking appliance according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the first component of the door of the cooking appliance with the door removed. [Figure 3] This is a cross-sectional view of the cooking appliance shown in Figure 1, along the line III-III. [Figure 4] Figure 2 is a rear view showing the heating appliance with the door panel removed. [Figure 5] This figure shows a portion of the cross-section of the cooking appliance shown in Figure 1, along the VV line. [Modes for carrying out the invention]
[0009] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed descriptions will not be repeated.
[0010] <Embodiment> The cooking appliance 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 5. Figure 1 is a front view of the cooking appliance 100 according to this embodiment. Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the cooking appliance 100 shown in Figure 1 with the first member 21 of the door 20 removed. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the cooking appliance 100 shown in Figure 1 along line III-III. Figure 4 is a rear view showing the cooking appliance 100 shown in Figure 2 with the door panel 24 of the door 20 removed. Figure 5 is a diagram showing a part of the cross-section of the cooking appliance 100 shown in Figure 1 along line VV.
[0011] As shown in Figure 1, the cooking appliance 100 comprises a housing 10, a heating chamber 11, a door 20, a handle 30, and a blower 40. In this embodiment, the cooking appliance 100 improves safety by cooling the area around the handle 30 and other parts with air from the blower 40, thereby suppressing the temperature rise of parts that the user may touch.
[0012] The housing 10 is, for example, a roughly rectangular parallelepiped shape with an open front. The heating chamber 11 is located inside the housing 10. The heating chamber 11 also has an opening 12 at its front. The user then moves the object to be heated in and out of the heating chamber 11 through the opening 12.
[0013] The cooking appliance 100 may also be in the form of a microwave oven equipped with a magnetron (not shown). The magnetron supplies microwaves to the heating chamber 11 in which the food to be heated is placed. The magnetron is an example of a microwave generator. In this embodiment, the cooking appliance 100 may have the functions of either a microwave oven or an oven, or both.
[0014] The door 20 is mounted so as to be rotatable around the horizontal axis of the lower side 10a of the housing 10. The door 20 opens and closes the opening 12 of the heating chamber 11.
[0015] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the door 20 has a first member 21, a second member 22, and a third member 23. The third member 23 is a door frame that is generally U-shaped in cross-section, as illustrated in FIG. 3. The material of the third member 23 is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, a resin is used.
[0016] The door 20 in FIG. 3 may also have a door panel 24. The door panel 24 is disposed as the back surface of the door 20 so as to close the opening portion 23a of the third member 23.
[0017] The first member 21 is attached to the upper part of the third member 23. For the material of the first member 21, for example, a metal such as aluminum or stainless steel is used. However, the material of the first member 21 is not limited to metal. For example, a resin such as polycarbonate may be used.
[0018] The thickness of the plate portion of the first member 21 can be arbitrary, for example, about 2 mm. However, in order to increase the design quality such as making the appearance more luxurious by increasing the thickness of the first member 21, it can also be set to 0.8 mm to 5 mm.
[0019] As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first member 21 has an upper surface 21a and a side surface 21b. This first member 21 is formed so as to be generally L-shaped in cross-section. The handle portion 30 is attached to the side surface 21b of the first member 21. As an example, a rod-shaped member is used for the handle portion 30. Then, the handle portion 30 is attached in the left-right direction of the door 20 on the side surface 21b. The user grips the handle portion 30 to open and close the door 20.
[0020] The first member 21 further has an inclined surface 21c. The inclined surface 21c connects the upper surface 21a and the side surface 21b. By these inclined surface 21c, upper surface 21a, and side surface 21b, a first flow path 41, which is a duct that is generally triangular in cross-section, is formed at the corner portion 21d of the first member 21. However, the cross-sectional shape of the first flow path 41 is not limited to a triangle. It can be any shape such as a rectangle as long as the air from the blower portion 40 can pass through.
[0021] As will be described later, the air from the blower unit 40 passes through the first flow path 41. The first flow path 41 is formed inside the first member 21, and by passing air through it, the first member 21 can be cooled from the inside.
[0022] Also, the first flow path 41 is formed along the handle portion 30. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 2, it extends in the left - right direction of the door 20 along the handle portion 30. Here, the first flow path 41 "formed along the handle portion" does not only mean a mode that exactly follows the handle portion 30, but it is sufficient that it is formed generally along the handle portion 30. Further, it may be slightly deviated from the handle portion 30, and it is sufficient that it is formed in the vicinity of the handle portion 30.
[0023] That is, the first flow path 41 may be installed in a mode that can effectively cool the vicinity of the handle portion 30 by the air flowing through this first flow path 41. The detailed structure of the first flow path 41 is arbitrary.
[0024] In this way, the first flow path 41 is formed along the handle portion 30 and in the vicinity of the handle portion 30. And by passing the air from the blower unit 40, it cools the vicinity of the handle portion 30, or rather, the corner portion 21d of the first member 21 at the upper front part of the door 20
[0025] Since the corner portion 21d of the first member 21 is in the vicinity of the handle portion 30, it is a part where the user's hand is likely to touch. Specifically, when the user tries to hold the handle portion 30 to open the door 20, or when the user tries to close the door 20 and release the hand from the handle portion 30, the user's hand is likely to hit it.
[0026] Here, during the heating operation of the cooking heater 100, heat is also conducted to the first member 21 and it becomes high - temperature, and it cannot be said that it does not take time to cool the first member 21. And when the user's hand touches the high - temperature first member 21, it may feel hotter than usual. Therefore, the first flow path 41 is formed and by passing air through it, the part where there is a risk that the user's hand touches is cooled, aiming to improve safety.
[0027] Furthermore, as mentioned above, if the first component 21 is made thicker to improve the aesthetic appearance, for example, aluminum, which has a low specific gravity, may be used. Aluminum has good thermal conductivity and conducts heat from inside the door 20 over a wide area of the first component 21. In addition, because the thickness of the first component 21 is thicker than usual, the heat that has been conducted is difficult to dissipate. Even in such cases, the first flow path 41 is formed to cool parts that may be touched by the user's hands, thereby ensuring safety.
[0028] As illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, the second member 22 is provided in a different position from the first member 21 on the door 20. In this embodiment, the second member 22 is attached to the lower part of the third member 23. The material of the second member 22 is, for example, a metal such as aluminum or stainless steel. It is formed to be roughly L-shaped in cross-section. However, the material of the second member 22 is not limited to metal. For example, a resin such as polycarbonate may be used.
[0029] Similar to the first member 21, the thickness of the plate portion of the second member 22 can be arbitrary, for example, about 2 mm. However, the thickness of the second member 22 can be increased to 0.8 mm to 5 mm in order to enhance the design, such as giving it a more luxurious appearance.
[0030] As illustrated in Figure 2, the cooking appliance 100 further has an operating unit 50. The operating unit 50 has a liquid crystal display 51 and operating buttons 52. For example, a touch panel is used for the liquid crystal display 51. The touch panel can display information necessary for the user or display buttons to prompt the user to operate the cooking appliance 100. This liquid crystal display 51 is positioned, for example, near the side of the door 20 (on the right side in Figure 2), between the first member 21 and the second member 22.
[0031] For example, a physical button may be used for the operation button 52. As an example, the operation button 52 is located on the second member 22 below the liquid crystal display unit 51.
[0032] As illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, the cooking appliance 100 further includes a control unit 60. The control unit 60 is a hardware circuit composed of a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The control unit 60 controls the operation of each component of the cooking appliance 100.
[0033] These operating units 50 and control units 60 are arranged on a vertically elongated circuit board 61 in the door 20, as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3. The circuit board 61 is then covered by a cover 62, which will be described later.
[0034] The heating appliance 100 further includes an air blower 40. The air blower 40 is a component that blows air toward the first component 21. Alternatively, the air blower 40 may blow air toward the second component 22. In this embodiment, as will be described later, the air blown toward the second component 22 by the air blower 40 is guided to the first component 21.
[0035] As illustrated in Figures 2 and 4, the air blower 40 is located at the lower part of the third member 23, near the operation button 52 located on the second member 22. This area near the operation button 52 is also a part that users are likely to touch when operating the device.
[0036] Furthermore, for example, if the second component 22 is made of thick metal to improve the design as described above, it will take time to cool down the second component 22, which becomes hot during the heating operation of the cooking appliance 100. Therefore, the air blower 40 blows air toward the second component 22 to promote cooling around the operation button 52, thereby improving safety.
[0037] For example, a fan is used in the air blowing section 40. The air intake port 23b of the air blowing section 40 is formed by partially opening the third member 23 on the lower side of the air blowing section 40. The air blowing section 40 introduces outside air into the inside of the door 20 through this air intake port 23b and blows it out.
[0038] In addition to the first flow path 41 described above, the cooking appliance 100 may also have a second flow path 42. The second flow path 42 guides the air from the air blower 40 to the first member 21 via the second member 22 and the operating unit 50.
[0039] The second flow path 42 can be formed, for example, by a cover 62 that covers the substrate 61 and the air blower 40. As illustrated by the solid line in Figure 3 and the dashed line in Figure 4, by covering the substrate 61 and the air blower 40 with the cover 62, a second flow path 42, which is a duct that guides the air from the air blower 40 to the top of the door 20, can be formed. However, the detailed structure of the second flow path 42 can be arbitrary as long as it can guide the air from the air blower 40 to the first member 21.
[0040] Here, we will specifically explain a method for cooling the first member 21 and the second member 22 using airflow from the air blower 40. As illustrated by the arrows in Figure 4, the air blower 40 first blows air towards the vicinity of the operation button 52 of the second member 22, cooling the area around the operation button 52.
[0041] The airflow from the blower unit 40 then passes through the liquid crystal display unit 51 and the control unit 60, cooling the electronic components of the liquid crystal display unit 51 and the control unit 60. This suppresses the temperature rise of the electronic components and helps to avoid problems such as damage to the electronic components.
[0042] The air from the blower unit 40 then flows into a first flow path 41, which is connected by a suitable passage (not shown in the diagram). A suitable passage could be, for example, a hole, slit, or the like in the part of the third member 23 that is in contact with the first member 21, or a wall for the passage.
[0043] The air flowing into the first channel 41 then passes through the first channel from left to right in the example shown in Figure 4, cooling the first member 21 along the handle portion 30. After that, the air that reaches the right end of the first channel 41 may be allowed to exit naturally through a gap near the handle portion 30 of the cooking appliance 100. Alternatively, the right end of the first member 21 may be partially opened to form an air outlet.
[0044] By forming the first channel 41 and the second channel 42 in this way, the air blown from the air blower 40 flows in the order of the operation button 52, the liquid crystal display 51, the control unit 60, and the vicinity of the handle 30, as shown by the arrows in Figure 4. As a result, parts that the user may touch can be efficiently cooled all at once.
[0045] The heating appliance 100 may also be provided with a hole 25 as a further cooling structure, as illustrated in Figure 4. The hole 25 is formed by opening a portion of the third member 23 that corresponds to the portion of the second member 22 to be cooled. In this embodiment, in order to cool the area around the operation button 52 of the second member 22, the hole 25 is opened between the area around the operation button 52 of the third member 23 and the area around the outlet 43 of the air blower 40.
[0046] The airflow around the hole 25 facilitates heat dissipation near the operation button 52 of the second component 22. As a result, the area around the operation button 52, which the user may touch, can be locally cooled, thus ensuring safety.
[0047] Furthermore, in addition to the aforementioned holes 25, the cooking appliance 100 may also have a heat dissipation member 26. The heat dissipation member 26 is a member for further promoting heat dissipation from the second member 22.
[0048] For example, a heat dissipation fin can be used for the heat dissipation member 26. A heat dissipation fin with a fin-like structure that has a large surface area can efficiently promote heat dissipation from the second member 22. However, the heat dissipation member 26 in this embodiment is not limited to a heat dissipation fin. Anything that can promote heat dissipation from the second member 22 can be used.
[0049] As illustrated in Figure 5, the heat dissipation member 26 is provided on the second member 22. Specifically, the heat dissipation member 26 protrudes from the second member 22 through the hole 25 into the interior of the door 20. In this case, the heat dissipation member 26 is provided on the second member 22 by welding or screwing it in. This heat dissipation member 26 allows heat from the second member 22 to be efficiently released into the air.
[0050] Embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit of the invention. The drawings schematically show each component in order to facilitate understanding, and the thickness, length, number, spacing, etc. of each component shown may differ from the actual dimensions due to the convenience of drawing creation. Furthermore, the material, shape, dimensions, etc. of each component shown in the above embodiments are examples and are not particularly limited, and various modifications are possible without substantially departing from the configuration of the present invention. [Industrial applicability]
[0051] This invention provides a heating and cooking device, which has industrial applicability. [Explanation of symbols]
[0052] 10 cabinets 12 aperture 20 doors 21 First Member 22 Second Member 23 Third Member 25 Hole 26 Heat dissipation components 30 Handle section 40 Air blower 41 First channel 42 Second channel 50 Control section 100 Cooker
Claims
1. A housing having an opening, A door for opening and closing the aforementioned opening, The first member provided on the aforementioned door, The handle portion attached to the first member, A blower unit that blows air toward the first member and Equipped with, The door has a first airflow path along the handle portion through which air from the air blower passes. The door is provided with a second member located at a position different from the first member, The air blowing unit blows air toward the second member, The door has a third member, The first member and the second member are attached to the third member. The third member has a hole for cooling the second member, The second member is a cooking appliance having a heat dissipation member that protrudes into the interior of the door through the hole.
2. A housing having an opening, A first member is provided at the top of the front, and a door that opens and closes the opening, A handle portion attached to the front side of the first member, A blower unit that blows air toward the first member and Equipped with, The first member has a first flow path formed along the handle portion through which air from the air blower portion passes. The first member is made of metal, The first member includes a front wall that constitutes the upper part of the front surface of the door, an upper wall that constitutes the upper end of the door, and a connecting wall that connects the front wall and the upper wall. The first flow path is a space enclosed by the front wall, the upper wall, and the connecting wall, in a heating appliance.