Cooking Chamber Steam Injection Nozzle Bottom Position
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooking appliances that combine hot air and steam cooking modes are inefficient, as steam is often re-aspirated and does not evenly cook food due to its lighter density, leading to uneven cooking and prolonged initiation times before steam comes into contact with the food.
Innovation Solution
A cooking enclosure with a steam circulation conduit that injects steam from the bottom of the tank, ensuring all steam comes into contact with the food, and a basket with a perforated bottom to enhance air circulation, allowing for uniform and rapid steam cooking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If steam is injected into the upper part of the tank, then the steam generation system can be positioned above the food, but the steam is re-aspirated through the exhaust without contacting the food, reducing cooking efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional steam injection approach by positioning the injection nozzle at the bottom of the tank instead of the upper part. This inversion allows steam to rise through the food from below, ensuring contact with the food before reaching the exhaust, thereby eliminating the problem of steam re-aspiration and improving cooking efficiency
2Device complexity
If steam is injected into the upper part of the tank, then the steam generation system is simplified, but the tank must be filled and saturated with steam before cooking begins, increasing initiation time
Solution Approach 1:
The bottom injection nozzle enables steam to immediately contact the food upon injection, eliminating the need to pre-fill and saturate the tank with steam. The steam rises directly through the food from the bottom, allowing cooking to begin immediately without waiting for chamber saturation
3Device complexity
If steam is injected into the upper part of the tank, then steam distribution is simplified, but the upper part of the food is cooked before the lower part, causing uneven cooking
Solution Approach 1:
By inverting the steam injection position to the bottom of the tank, steam rises through the food from below, ensuring that the lower parts of the food are exposed to steam first. This bottom-up approach ensures uniform heat distribution throughout the food, eliminating the uneven cooking problem where the upper parts were cooked before the lower parts
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution ensures all injected steam contacts the food, reducing condensation and cooking time, resulting in efficient, uniform, and rapid steam cooking without the need for chamber saturation, improving cooking efficiency and homogeneity.
Implementation Method 1
a steam circulation conduit extending between a first opening intended to be placed in fluid communication with a steam generation system of the cooking appliance, and a second opening forming a steam injection nozzle
Implementation Method 2
the steam injection nozzle being arranged to open at the bottom of the tank for circulation of steam from the bottom of the tank to the opening of the tank
Implementation Method 3
the side wall of the basket and the bottom of the basket being kept respectively at a distance from the side wall of the tank and the bottom of the tank to define an air circulation space
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
The invention describes a cooking chamber intended to be inserted into a cooking appliance for steam cooking, the chamber comprising a tank (10) having a bottom (11), a side wall (12), and an opening (13) opposite the bottom (11), characterized in that the chamber further comprises a steam circulation duct (20) extending between a first opening (21) provided for fluidic communication with a steam generation system (90) of the cooking appliance, and a second opening (22) forming a steam injection nozzle, the steam injection nozzle (22) being arranged to open at the bottom (11) of the tank (10) for steam circulation (V) from the bottom (11) of the tank (10) to the opening (13) of the tank (10).