CN110292300B - Heating cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a heating cooker, comprising: a cooking chamber having a heat medium housing through which a heat medium flows and enclosing a cooking space for accommodating an object to be cooked; a heat insulating member disposed so as to cover an outer surface of the cooking chamber; a heating unit that heats the heating medium; and a circulation circuit having a flow path through which the heat medium flows and connected to an inlet and an outlet of the heat medium in the heat medium case, wherein the heating unit is disposed in the flow path. Accordingly, cooking can be performed without forcibly stirring the air.

Description

Heating cooker

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a heating cooker.

Background

Conventionally, as disclosed in japanese patent laid-open publication No. 9-313348 (patent document 1), a heating and temperature keeping apparatus for heating food materials with steam is known. In the heating temperature storage device of patent document 1, since air must be blown into the storage chamber, there is a problem that no windless heating is possible.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a heating cooker which can heat and cook without forcibly stirring air.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a heating cooker includes: a cooking chamber having a heat medium housing through which a heat medium flows and surrounding a cooking space for accommodating an object to be cooked; a heat insulating member disposed so as to cover an outer surface of the cooking chamber; a circulation circuit having a flow path through which the heat medium flows, the circulation circuit being connected to an inlet and an outlet of the heat medium in the heat medium case; a heating unit that is disposed in the circulation circuit and heats the heating medium; and a cooling unit disposed in the circulation circuit and configured to cool the heat medium, wherein the flow path of the circulation circuit includes a main path in which the heating unit and the cooling unit are disposed, and a bypass path connected to the main path so as to bypass the cooling unit, and a switching unit configured to switch between flowing and blocking of the heat medium to the cooling unit is provided.

According to the present invention, a heating cooker capable of heating and cooking without forcibly stirring air can be provided.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a heating cooker according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing in detail a structure in a cooking chamber of the heating cooker.

Fig. 3 is a view showing a case where the blower is mounted on the inner surface of the cooking chamber.

Fig. 4 is a view showing a case where the partition is attached to the inner surface of the cooking chamber.

Fig. 5 is a view showing a door locking mechanism of the heating cooker.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing the structure of the air exhausting mechanism of the heating cooker.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a controller of the heating cooker.

Fig. 8 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a heating cooker according to embodiment 2 of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining a heating cooker according to embodiment 3 of the present invention.

Detailed Description

A heating cooker according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

(embodiment mode 1)

First, the configuration of a heating cooker 1 according to embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described. The heating cooker 1 is a steam heating type cooker for heating and cooking an object to be cooked with hot air and superheated steam. Fig. 1 schematically shows the overall structure of a heating cooker 1. As shown in fig. 1, the heating cooker 1 mainly includes a cooking chamber 10, a door 20, a heat insulating member 40, a blower 50, a guide plate 51, a circulation circuit 70, a heating unit 60, a cooling unit 90, a heat medium pump 63, a heat medium temperature sensor 64, an indoor temperature sensor 65, a temperature rise prevention unit 61, a heat medium discharge mechanism 100, a heat medium disposal mechanism 110, a steam introduction unit 150, and a controller 130 (fig. 7). These components will be described below.

The cooking chamber 10 surrounds a cooking space 11A for accommodating an object to be cooked, and has a heat medium case 30 through which a heat medium flows. The inner surface side of the heating medium case 30 is formed by the inner chamber 17.

The inner chamber 17 has an inner face facing the cooking space 11A. An opening 11B for putting the object to be cooked into the cooking space 11A or taking the object to be cooked out of the cooking space 11A is provided in front of the inner chamber 17. As shown in fig. 1, a steam introduction portion 150 for introducing steam is disposed inside the inner chamber 17. The inner chamber 17 is preferably formed of a material having excellent thermal conductivity, and is, for example, a chamber made of stainless steel. However, the material of the inner chamber 17 is not particularly limited.

Fig. 2 shows the structure of the inner chamber 17 when viewed from the opening 11B side. As shown in fig. 2, the inner chamber 17 includes an upper wall 12, a bottom wall 13 facing the upper wall 12 in the vertical direction, a right side wall 15, a left side wall 16 facing the right side wall 15 in the horizontal direction, and a rear wall 14 located on the opposite side of the opening 11B. The upper wall 12, the bottom wall 13, the right side wall 15, and the left side wall 16 constitute a peripheral wall that is erected from the rear wall 14 so as to surround the cooking space 11A. As shown in fig. 2, a recess 13A is formed in the bottom wall 13, and condensed water generated in the inner chamber 17 accumulates in the recess 13A. A drain port 13B for draining the condensed water is provided in the recess 13A. The recess 13A is provided in consideration of cleaning after cooking.

Each wall is substantially rectangular and is joined to an adjacent wall, for example, by welding. The joint portion has an R-shape (curved surface shape). Accordingly, the corners in the inner chamber 17 are less likely to accumulate dirt, and the inside of the inner chamber 17 is easily cleaned. The method of joining the walls is not limited to welding, and the joined portion is not limited to a curved surface.

The inner surface of the inner chamber 17 is subjected to black treatment capable of irradiating far infrared rays. The black treatment may be performed on the entire inner surface of the inner chamber 17, or may be performed only on a part of the inner surface. The material of the black treatment is not limited as long as it can irradiate far infrared rays.

A plurality of trays for placing the object to be cooked are stored in the cooking space 11A in a multi-layer manner. The tray is made of, for example, stainless steel, and the surface thereof may be subjected to black treatment capable of irradiating far infrared rays, as in the case of the inner surface of the inner chamber 17.

As shown in fig. 1, the door 20 is attached to the cooking chamber 10 so as to open and close the opening 11B of the inner chamber 17. The door 20 includes a window portion 22 for viewing the inside of the inner chamber 17 from the outside, and a door body portion 21 for holding the window portion 22.

The heat medium case 30 has a hollow structure through which a heat medium flows, and is disposed so as to surround the cooking space 11A. More specifically, the inner surface side of the heat medium case 30 is formed by the rear wall 14 and the peripheral walls (the upper wall 12, the bottom wall 13, the right side wall 15, and the left side wall 16), and surrounds the entire cooking space 11A except the opening 11B.

The heat medium in the heat medium case 30 heats the air and steam in the inner chamber 17, and the object to be cooked can be heated and cooked by the hot air and the superheated steam. The heating medium is oil, and can be maintained in a liquid state at a temperature ranging from-30 deg.C to 260 deg.C.

As shown in fig. 1, the heat medium case 30 includes an upper case 33 including the upper wall 12, a lower case 34 including the bottom wall 13, and a rear case 35 including the rear wall 14. Further, although not shown in fig. 1, the heat medium case 30 also has a right side case portion including the right side wall 15 and a left side case portion including the left side wall 16. These casing portions constitute a hollow container through which a heating medium can flow.

The heat medium case 30 is provided with an inflow port 31 through which the heat medium flows from the circulation circuit 70 and an outflow port 32 through which the heat medium flows out to the circulation circuit 70. The inlet 31 is disposed rearward with respect to the center of the heat medium case 30 in the front-rear direction, and the outlet 32 is disposed forward with respect to the center. More specifically, as shown in fig. 1, the rear case 35 is provided with two inlet ports 31 at upper and lower positions, and the upper case 33 and the lower case 34 are provided with one outlet port 32 at the front thereof. Accordingly, the heat medium flows from the rear of the heat medium case 30 toward the front. The number and positions of the inlets 31 and the outlets 32 are not limited to those shown in fig. 1.

The heat medium casing 30 is configured to circulate the heat medium from the inlet port 31 toward the outlet port 32 in a spiral shape (a cyclone shape) so as to rotate around the peripheral wall of the inner chamber 17. The cyclone flow is obtained by adjusting the inclination of a nozzle (not shown) provided at the flow inlet 31. The heat medium is not limited to the case where the heat medium flows spirally as in the present embodiment, and the heat medium may flow linearly from the rear side toward the front side.

The heat insulating member 40 is disposed to cover the entire outer surface of the heat medium case 30, for blocking heat of the cooking chamber 10 from the external environment. As shown in fig. 1, the heat insulating member 40 includes an upper heat insulating portion 41 covering the outer surface of the upper case 33, a lower heat insulating portion 42 covering the outer surface of the lower case 34, and a rear heat insulating portion 43 covering the outer surface of the rear case 35. Although not shown in fig. 1, the heat insulating member 40 further includes a right side heat insulating portion and a left side heat insulating portion that cover outer surfaces of the right side case portion and the left side case portion.

The blower 50 is for generating a flow of air and steam in the cooking space 11A, and includes an impeller 55 and a motor 52. The blower 50 in the present embodiment is a sirocco fan. The impeller 55 has an intake port 50A facing the cooking space 11A and drawing in air and steam in the cooking space 11A.

The impeller 55 is mounted on the inner surface side of the rear wall 14. The impeller 55 is attached to a distal end of a shaft 53 of the motor 52 provided on an outer surface of the heat insulating member 40 (rear heat insulating portion 43), and is rotationally driven by operating the motor 52. The blower is not limited to the sirocco fan, and other types of blowers such as a turbo fan may be used.

As shown in fig. 2, the guide plate 51 is formed of a rectangular plate smaller than the rear wall 14 in a plan view, and is disposed substantially parallel to the rear wall 14 with a space from the rear wall 14. The interval between the guide plate 51 and the inner surface of the rear wall 14 is substantially the same as the axial length of the impeller 55. Further, the end edges corresponding to the 4 sides of the guide plate have gaps with the inner surfaces of the peripheral walls (the upper wall 12, the bottom wall 13, the right side wall 15, and the left side wall 16) of the inner chamber 17, respectively, and air and steam can flow through the gaps.

Fig. 3 shows a case where the impeller 55 is attached to the rear wall 14 side. Fig. 4 shows a case where the guide plate 51 is attached to the rear wall 14.

As shown in fig. 3, a shaft 53 of the motor protrudes from the inner surface of the rear wall 14 toward the inside, and male screw portions 53B extending in the axial direction and a pair of pins 53A extending in the radial direction are provided at the protruding ends thereof, respectively. On the other hand, the impeller 55 has a cylindrical projecting portion 54, a circular hole 54B into which the male screw portion 53B can be inserted is formed in the center of the projecting portion 54, and a pair of cutout portions 54A that are axially notched so that the pin 53A can be inserted are formed in the projecting portion 54. In fig. 3, only one cutout portion 54A is shown, but two cutout portions 54A are formed in the protruding portion 54 in accordance with the number of pins 53A.

The impeller 55 is attached to the shaft 53 by tightening the nut 58 to the male screw portion 53B in a state where the male screw portion 53B is inserted into the circular hole 54B and the pin 53A is fitted into the notch portion 54A. According to this configuration, since the impeller 55 can be easily attached and detached, cleaning in the inner chamber 17 is not hindered.

As shown in fig. 4, a circular suction hole 51A having the same diameter as or a larger diameter than the suction port 50A of the impeller 55 is formed in the center of the guide plate 51, and the mounting hole 51B is formed in the vicinity of 4 corners. On the other hand, 4 mounting bolts 56 protruding toward the indoor side are provided on the rear wall 14. In fig. 4, one bolt 56 is hidden by the guide plate 51, and therefore, only 3 mounting bolts 56 are shown. The guide plate 51 is attached to the rear wall 14 by inserting the mounting bolts 56 into the mounting holes 51B and tightening the fixing nuts 57 at the distal ends of the mounting bolts 56.

The guide plate 51 guides the air and steam blown out from the impeller 55 so as to flow along the inner surface of the inner chamber 17. Specifically, first, air and steam are sucked from cooking space 11A into impeller 55 through suction port 50A. The air and the steam are pressurized by the impeller 55 and then blown out radially outward (toward the peripheral wall of the inner chamber 17) along the inner surface of the rear wall 14.

Here, by providing the guide plate 51, the air and steam after the pressure rise can be prevented from flowing toward the cooking space 11A side before reaching the peripheral wall of the inner chamber 17, and can be guided so as to flow along the inner surface of the rear wall 14. The air and steam after pressure increase collide with the inner surfaces of the upper wall 12, the bottom wall 13, the right side wall 15, and the left side wall 16, and then flow from the rear to the front along the inner surfaces of the walls 12, 13, 15, and 16. The air and the steam are heated by the heat from the inner surface of the inner chamber 17, and hot air and superheated steam are generated. Then, the hot air and the superheated steam are collected near the center of the cooking space 11A before reaching the inner surface of the door 20, and are sucked by the impeller 55 from the suction port 50A. In this way, a circulation flow of air and steam is formed in the cooking space 11A.

The circulation circuit 70 has a flow path through which the heat medium flows in the direction indicated by the arrow H1, and is connected to the inlet 31 and the outlet 32 of the heat medium case 30, respectively. As shown in fig. 1, the circulation circuit 70 includes a main path 71 in which the heating unit 60 and the cooling unit 90 are disposed, and a bypass path 72 connected to the main path 71 so as to bypass the cooling unit 90.

The upstream end of the main path 71 branches into two paths, and each branch path is connected to the outlet 32 of the heat medium case 30. The downstream end of the main path 71 also branches into two paths, and each branch path is connected to the inlet 31 of the heat medium case 30.

The upstream end of bypass path 72 is connected to a point P1 on the upstream side of cooling unit 90 in main path 71, and the downstream end is connected to a point P2 on the downstream side of cooling unit 90 in main path 71. The bypass passage 72 is provided with a first on-off valve 81 for switching between the flow and the shutoff of the heat medium.

The heating unit 60 is used to heat the heat medium flowing through the circulation circuit 70, and is formed of, for example, a sheath heater. As shown in fig. 1, the heating unit 60 is disposed downstream of a point P2 in the main path 71. The heating unit is not limited to the sheath heater as long as it has a structure capable of heating the heat medium.

The cooling unit 90 is for cooling the heat medium flowing through the circulation circuit 70, and is disposed between a point P1 and a point P2 in the main path 71, as shown in fig. 1. The cooling unit 90 in the present embodiment includes a plurality of heat exchangers (a first heat exchanger 91 and a second heat exchanger 92), and the first heat exchanger 91 and the second heat exchanger 92 are arranged in parallel in the main path 71. As the first heat exchanger 91 and the second heat exchanger 92, for example, a fin-and-tube heat exchanger or a plate heat exchanger may be used.

The first heat exchanger 91 is an evaporator constituting a refrigerator, and cools a heat medium by heat exchange with a refrigerant. The second heat exchanger 92 is an air heat exchanger that cools the heat medium by heat exchange with air. As shown in fig. 1, a portion of the main path 71 between the point P1 and the point P2 branches into a first heat exchange path 71A in which the first heat exchanger 91 is disposed and a second heat exchange path 71B in which the second heat exchanger 92 is disposed. A second on-off valve 82 for switching the flow and shutoff of the heat medium is provided on the upstream side of the first heat exchanger 91 in the first heat exchange path 71A. Further, a third opening/closing valve 83 for switching between the flow and the shutoff of the heat medium is provided on the upstream side of the second heat exchanger 92 in the second heat exchange path 71B.

The heat medium pump 63 is used to generate power for flowing the heat medium from the circulation circuit 70 into the heat medium housing 30, and is, for example, a magnetic pump. As shown in fig. 1, the heat medium pump 63 is disposed on the upstream side of the heating unit 60 and on the downstream side of the point P2 in the main path 71. The heat medium pump 63 is not limited to a magnetic pump, and the position in the circulation path 70 is not particularly limited.

The indoor temperature sensor 65 is used to measure the temperature of air inside the cooking chamber 10. The indoor temperature sensor 65 is inserted into a cylindrical hole 30A formed in a part of the upper housing part 33 so as to face the cooking space 11A. As shown in fig. 1, since a space is formed between the indoor temperature sensor 65 and the inner wall surface of the cylindrical hole 30A, the indoor temperature sensor 65 can be prevented from erroneously detecting the temperature of the heat medium in the heat medium case 30. The position at which the indoor temperature sensor 65 is provided is not limited to the position shown in fig. 1, and may be inserted into a cylindrical hole formed in the lower case 34, the rear case 35, the right case, or the left case.

A heating medium temperature sensor 64 measures the temperature of the heating medium circulating in heating medium housing 30. As shown in fig. 1, the heating medium temperature sensor 64 is inserted into the heating medium casing 30 near the inflow port 31. The controller 130 (fig. 7) performs cascade control using the indoor temperature sensor 65 and the heat medium temperature sensor 64 to stabilize the air temperature in the cooking chamber 10 with high accuracy, and controls the operation of the heating unit 60.

The temperature overshoot preventer 61 is a safety device that forcibly stops the operation of the heating unit 60 when the temperature of the heat medium reaches a high temperature equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature, and thus can prevent abnormal heating of the heat medium in the circulation circuit 70. The temperature rise prevention device 61 is not an essential component of the heating cooker of the present invention, and may be omitted.

The heat medium discharge mechanism 100 is for discharging the heat medium, the volume of which is increased by the thermal expansion, from the circulation circuit 70. As shown in fig. 1, the heat medium discharge mechanism 100 includes: a heat medium discharge path 101 connected to a portion of the main path 71 on the downstream side of the temperature overshoot preventer 61; a cooling heat exchanger 102 disposed in the middle of the heat medium discharge path 101; a propeller fan 103 that sends air to the cooling heat exchanger 102; and an expansion tank 104 disposed at the downstream end of the heat medium discharge path 101. The cooling heat exchanger 102 is, for example, a fin-and-tube heat exchanger, but is not particularly limited thereto.

When the volume of the heat medium in the circulation circuit 70 increases by a certain amount or more due to thermal expansion, the heat medium can be caused to flow from the circulation circuit 70 into the expansion tank 104 through the heat medium discharge path 101. This can prevent an abnormal increase in the internal pressure of the circulation circuit 70. Further, since the heating medium is cooled by the cooling heat exchanger 102 before flowing into the expansion tank 104, the expansion tank 104 is not required to have high heat resistance, and is preferable in terms of cost. The heat medium discharge mechanism 100 is not an essential component of the heating cooker of the present invention, and may be omitted.

The heating medium discarding mechanism 110 is used to discard the remaining heating medium in the circulation circuit 70. As shown in fig. 1, the heat medium disposal mechanism 110 includes: a heat medium waste path 111 connected to the downstream side of the connection part of the heat medium discharge path 101 in the main path 71; a safety valve 112 provided in the middle of the heat medium waste path 111; and a waste tank 113 for storing the heat medium discarded through the heat medium waste path 111. The heat medium disposal means 110 is not an essential component of the heating cooker of the present invention, and may be omitted.

Next, the locking structure of the door 20 is explained. As shown in fig. 5, heating cooker 1 includes a lock mechanism 23 that switches between a locked state in which door 20 is prevented from opening and an unlocked state in which door 20 is allowed to open. The lock mechanism 23 in the present embodiment has a grip 23B gripped by a user, and can switch between a locked state and an unlocked state by rotating the grip 23B about a fulcrum 23A.

In fig. 5, a solid line indicates a locked state, a two-dot chain line indicates an unlocked state, and a broken line indicates a half-locked state on the way to switch from the locked state to the unlocked state. The "half-locked state" is a state in which the door 20 can be rotated to a degree that a gap is formed between the door 20 and the cooking chamber 10, unlike the locked state, but the opening 11B cannot be completely opened as in the unlocked state. In the half-locked state, the door 20 is slightly pushed outward by a reaction force of a gasket disposed between the door 20 and the cooking chamber 10, and a gap is formed between the door 20 and the cooking chamber 10, but the door 20 is not opened. In the present embodiment, the unlocked state is a state in which the handle 23B is rotated by 90 ° counterclockwise with reference to the locked state. The half-locked state is a state in which the handle 23B is rotated counterclockwise by 10 ° to 20 ° with reference to the locked state.

The heating cooker 1 is provided with a door switch 24 (fig. 7) for detecting that the lock mechanism 23 is in the half-locked state. The door switch 24 transmits its detection information to the controller 130 if it detects the half-locked state of the lock mechanism 23.

As shown in fig. 6, the heating cooker 1 includes an exhaust mechanism 120 for exhausting air from the cooking chamber 10. The exhaust mechanism 120 includes: a lid 121 for opening and closing the top hole 12A; an exhaust chamber 124 communicating with the space inside the cooking chamber 10 through the top hole 12A; and an exhaust fan 122 for exhausting air from the exhaust chamber 124.

If exhaust fan 122 is operated, the interior of exhaust chamber 124 is exhausted and the pressure within exhaust chamber 124 is lower than the pressure within interior chamber 17. By this pressure difference, the force pushing the lower surface of the top cover 121 from the inner chamber 17 side is greater than the gravity of the weight 121A so that the cover 121 is opened (the two-dot chain line in fig. 6), whereby the hot air and the superheated steam in the inner chamber 17 are discharged to the outside.

At this time, the locking mechanism 23 is in the half-locked state as described above, and a small gap is formed between the door 20 and the cooking chamber 10. Outside air is sucked into the cooking chamber 10 through the gap, and the exhaust fan 122 is promoted to exhaust the steam in the cooking chamber 10.

The controller 130 is used to control operations of the respective devices constituting the heating cooker 1. Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing the control functions of the controller 130. As shown in fig. 7, the controller 130 includes: a heating control section 131 that controls the heater output of the heating section 60; a pump control unit 132 that controls execution/stop of the operation of the heat medium pump 63; a valve control unit 133 that controls opening and closing of the first opening/closing valve 81 to the third opening/closing valve 83; a blower control unit 134 that controls execution/stop of operation of the blower 50; and an exhaust control section 135 that controls execution/stop of the operation of the exhaust fan 122. These are functions of a cpu (central Processing unit) constituting the controller 130.

Next, the operation of the heating cooker 1 will be described.

First, the operation in the case of heating the heat medium will be described. First, the user inputs a set temperature at the input unit 25 (fig. 7) and gives a command to start heating cooking. Accordingly, the first opening/closing valve 81 is opened and the second opening/closing valve 82 and the third opening/closing valve 83 are closed, and the heater 60, the heat medium pump 63, and the blower 50 are operated.

Accordingly, the heat medium flows to the bypass path 72 (fig. 1), and the heat medium heated by the heating unit 60 flows into the heat medium case 30 by the power of the heat medium pump 63. The heat medium flowing into the heat medium case 30 flows along the outer surface of the inner chamber 17 from the inflow port 31 toward the outflow port 32, and the inner chamber 17 is heated by the heat of the heat medium.

On the other hand, by operating the blower 50, a flow of air and steam along the inner surface of the inner chamber 17 is generated, and the air and steam are heated by heat from the inner surface of the inner chamber 17. The object to be cooked accommodated in the cooking space 11A is heated and cooked by the hot air and the superheated steam. In addition, during the heating cooking, the air temperature in the cooking chamber 10 may be detected by the indoor temperature sensor 65, and the temperature of the heating medium may be detected by the heating medium temperature sensor 64, and the detection result may be fed back to the control of the heating part 60.

Next, an operation in the case where the door 20 is opened to remove or replace the cooking object will be described. First, during the heating cooking, the lock mechanism 23 is in a locked state (solid line in fig. 5) in which the opening of the door 20 is prevented. After the heating cooking is finished, the lock mechanism 23 is in the half-locked state (broken line in fig. 5) while the user switches the lock mechanism 23 from the locked state to the unlocked state (two-dot chain line in fig. 5), and the door switch 24 (fig. 7) detects this state. The controller 130 receives the detection information from the door switch 24. Based on the detection information, the exhaust control unit 135 operates the exhaust fan 122, and the blower control unit 134 stops the operation of the blower 50.

Therefore, before the lock mechanism 23 is brought into the unlocked state, the hot air and the superheated steam in the inner chamber 17 are discharged, and the operation of the blower 50 is stopped. Therefore, when the user opens the door 20, the hot air and the superheated steam can be prevented from being blown out from the opening 11B, and the user can be prevented from being scalded.

The pump control unit 132 also operates the heat medium pump 63 in a state where the air blow control unit 134 stops the operation of the air blower 50. Accordingly, the heat medium can be circulated through the heat medium case 30 even while the user opens the door 20 to put the object to be cooked in and out, and the inner surface of the inner chamber 17 can be maintained at the set temperature. Therefore, the heating cooking can be started quickly even after the object to be cooked is changed.

This function can also be used for heating operation at the start of cooking. That is, the above-described function can be utilized in a case where the cooking chamber is normally set to a high temperature state and the object to be cooked is put in.

Next, the operation in the case of cooling the heated heat medium will be described. First, the user inputs a set temperature in the input unit 25 (fig. 7). Here, the opening/closing control of the first opening/closing valve 81 to the third opening/closing valve 83 is different in accordance with the inputted set temperature as follows.

First, when the set temperature is, for example, in the range of 180 ℃ (first heat medium temperature) to 260 ℃ (maximum heat medium temperature), the first opening/closing valve 81 and the second opening/closing valve 82 are closed, and the third opening/closing valve 83 is opened. At this time, the heat medium flows into the second heat exchange path 71B without flowing into the bypass path 72 and the first heat exchange path 71A, and is cooled by heat exchange with the outside air in the second heat exchanger 92.

Next, when the set temperature is, for example, in the range of room temperature +10 ℃ (second heat medium temperature) to 180 ℃, the first opening/closing valve 81 is closed and the second opening/closing valve 82 and the third opening/closing valve 83 are opened. At this time, the heat medium does not flow to the bypass passage 72 but flows to the first heat exchange passage 71A and the second heat exchange passage 71B, respectively. The heat medium is cooled by heat exchange with the refrigerant in the first heat exchanger 91, and the heat medium is cooled by heat exchange with the outside air in the second heat exchanger 92.

In addition, when the set temperature is, for example, in the range of-30 ℃ (minimum heat medium temperature) to room temperature +10 ℃, the first opening/closing valve 81 and the third opening/closing valve 83 are closed and the second opening/closing valve 82 is opened. At this time, the heat medium flows into the first heat exchange path 71A without flowing through the bypass path 72 and the second heat exchange path 71B, and is cooled by heat exchange with the refrigerant in the first heat exchanger 91. In this way, in the cooling operation, the path of the heat medium flow is switched in the circulation circuit 70 in accordance with the temperature range of the set temperature. The above operation is performed not only while maintaining the set temperature, but also when the temperature is decreased from 260 ℃ to-30 ℃, and therefore, the cooling time can be shortened.

As described above, the heating cooker 1 according to the present embodiment includes: a cooking chamber 10 having a heat medium case 30 through which a heat medium flows and surrounding a cooking space 11A for accommodating an object to be cooked; a heat insulating member 40 disposed to cover an outer surface of the cooking chamber 10; a heating unit 60 for heating a heating medium; and a circulation circuit 70 having a flow path in which the heating element 60 is disposed and the heating medium flows, and connected to the inlet 31 and the outlet 32 of the heating medium in the heating medium case 30.

In the heating cooker 1, the heat medium heated by the heating unit 60 can be made to flow into the heat medium case 30 through the circulation circuit 70. The air and the steam in the cooking chamber 10 are heated by the heat of the heat medium flowing into the heat medium case 30, thereby generating hot air and superheated steam. Accordingly, the cooking object can be heated and cooked in a windless state. In the heating cooker 1, since the outer surface of the cooking chamber 10 is covered with the heat insulating member 40, the heat of the heat medium flowing into the heat medium case 30 can be blocked from the outside. Accordingly, the temperature of the heat medium flowing into the heat medium case 30 is less likely to vary due to the influence of the external temperature, and the heating temperature of the object to be cooked can be stabilized.

(embodiment mode 2)

Next, a heating cooker 2 according to embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 8. The heating cooker 2 according to embodiment 2 has basically the same configuration as the heating cooker 1 according to embodiment 1 and exhibits the same operational effects, but is different from the heating cooker 1 according to embodiment 1 in that it does not include the blower 50 and the guide plate 51, as shown in fig. 8.

In this embodiment, the air and the steam in the cooking chamber 10 are also heated by the heat of the heat medium flowing into the heat medium case 30, and thereby the object to be cooked can be heated and cooked. The heating cooker 2 according to embodiment 2 is particularly preferable when cooking is performed in a calm state without air flow, and is effective for cooking light food materials such as leafy vegetables, steamed custard, cake, and the like. Further, since the number of components disposed in the inner chamber 17 is smaller than that of the heating cooker 1 according to embodiment 1, it is preferable that the inner chamber 17 can be easily cleaned.

(embodiment mode 3)

Next, a heating cooker 3 according to embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 9. The heating cooker 3 according to embodiment 3 has basically the same configuration as the heating cooker 1 according to embodiment 1 and exhibits the same operational advantages, but is different from the heating cooker 1 according to embodiment 1 in that it further includes a bottom heat medium case 142 for heating the object to be cooked F1 from the bottom. Only the differences from embodiment 1 will be described below.

Fig. 9 shows a state in which the inside of the inner chamber 17 is viewed from the front toward the rear. As shown in fig. 9, the heating cooker 3 includes: a pair of support rails 141 for supporting the tray 140 on which the object to be cooked F1 is placed; and a bottom heat medium case 142 disposed to contact the bottom surface of the tray 140. In fig. 9, for convenience of explanation, the bottom surface of the tray 140 and the bottom heat medium case 142 are shown with a gap therebetween, but actually the bottom surface of the tray 140 and the top surface of the bottom heat medium case 142 are in contact with each other.

The tray 140 has a bottom portion 140A on which the cooking object F1 is placed, and a flange portion 140B that rises vertically from the bottom portion 140A. The pair of support rails 141 protrude from the inner surfaces of the right and left side walls 15 and 16 toward the indoor side, and face each other in the left-right direction at the same height position. As shown in fig. 9, the tray 140 is housed in the inner chamber 17 in a state where the flange portions 140B are locked to the pair of support rails 141, respectively.

The bottom heat medium case 142 is a hollow container through which the heat medium flows, and has an inlet 142A and an outlet 142B for the heat medium, respectively. As shown in fig. 9, one end of a heat medium inflow path 143 is connected to the inflow port 142A, and the other end of the heat medium inflow path 143 is connected to a portion on the downstream end side of the circulation circuit 70. One end of a heat medium outflow path 144 is connected to the outflow port 142B, and the other end of the heat medium outflow path 144 is connected to a portion on the upstream end side of the circulation circuit 70.

According to this embodiment, the heat medium can be flowed from the circulation circuit 70 into both the heat medium case 30 and the bottom heat medium case 142. Therefore, the bottom of the object to be cooked F1, which is less likely to receive hot air and superheated steam, can be heated by the heat of the heat medium from the bottom heat medium case 142. Therefore, the whole object F1 can be uniformly heated and cooked.

The bottom heat medium case 142 is disposed for the entire plurality of trays 140, but may be disposed for only some of the trays 140. The bottom heat medium case 142 may be applied to the heating cooker 2 described in embodiment 2 without the blower 50 and the guide plate 51.

(other embodiments)

Finally, other embodiments of the present invention will be described.

In embodiment 1, a steam type heating cooker has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the heating cooker of the present invention can be applied to a cooker that performs heating cooking only with hot air without using steam. That is, the steam introduction part 150 described in embodiment 1 may be omitted.

In embodiment 1, the case where the inner chamber 17 is configured as a part of the heat medium case 30 has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the inner chamber 17 may be configured as a member separate from the heat medium case 30.

In embodiment 1, the case where the heat medium case 30 covers the rear wall 14 of the inner chamber 17 and the outer surface of the peripheral wall has been described, but the case is not limited to this, and may be arranged so as to cover only a part of the outer surface of the peripheral wall of the inner chamber 17, or may be arranged so as to cover only the outer surface of the rear wall 14 of the inner chamber 17.

In embodiment 1, the case where the heat medium casing 30 is formed of one container has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the heat medium casing 30 may be formed of a plurality of containers. Further, each circulation circuit may be connected to each of the plurality of containers, or the heat medium may be branched from one circulation circuit to the plurality of containers.

In embodiment 1, the case where the heat insulating member 40 covers the entire outer surface of the heat medium case 30 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a structure in which a part of the outer surface of the heat medium case 30 is covered may be employed.

The control of the exhaust mechanism 120 and the blower 50 based on the half-locked state of the lock mechanism 23 described in embodiment 1 is not essential to the heating cooker of the present invention, and may be omitted.

In embodiment 1, although cooking device 1 with a cooling function has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and cooling unit 90 may be omitted.

In embodiment 1, the case where the black treatment is applied to the inner surface of the cooking chamber 10 has been described, but the black treatment is not limited to this, and the inner surface may not be applied.

In embodiment 1, the case where the impeller 55 is attached to the rear wall 14 side of the inner chamber 17 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. The impeller 55 may be mounted on the inner surface side of the upper wall 12, the right side wall 15, or the left side wall 16, for example.

The embodiments are described in general terms as follows.

The heating cooker according to the embodiment includes: a cooking chamber having a heat medium housing through which a heat medium flows and surrounding a cooking space for accommodating an object to be cooked; a heat insulating member disposed so as to cover an outer surface of the cooking chamber; a heating unit that heats the heating medium; and a circulation circuit having a flow path through which the heat medium flows, wherein the heating unit is disposed in the flow path, and the circulation circuit is connected to an inlet and an outlet of the heat medium case.

In this heating cooker, the heat medium heated by the heating unit can be made to flow into the heat medium case through the circulation circuit. The air in the cooking chamber is heated by the heat of the heat medium flowing into the heat medium case, and the object to be cooked can be heated and cooked by the heated air. In this heating cooker, by providing the heat medium casing, the food can be heated without air.

The heating cooker may further include: a blower generating a flow of air in the cooking space; and a guide plate which guides the air blown from the blower so as to flow along an inner surface of the cooking chamber.

According to this configuration, the air blown from the blower flows along the inner surface of the cooking chamber, and the air can be efficiently heated by the heat of the heat medium. The cooking may be performed in a windless state without providing the blower, but the surface of the object to be cooked can be quickly baked by generating air flow in the cooking space using the blower. Accordingly, the cooked object can be heated and cooked into delicious food in a state that the water content of the cooked object is sealed inside.

In the heating cooker, the blower may have a suction port that faces the cooking space and sucks air in the cooking space.

According to this configuration, since a circulating flow of air can be formed in the cooking chamber, stagnation of air in the cooking chamber can be prevented, and the temperature distribution in the cooking chamber can be made uniform.

The heating cooker may further include: a heat medium pump that generates power for flowing the heat medium from the circulation circuit into the heat medium housing; and a pump control unit that operates the heat medium pump even in a state where the operation of the blower is stopped.

According to this configuration, for example, the heat medium can be circulated through the heat medium case while the operation of the blower is stopped during the loading and unloading of the object to be cooked. This can suppress a decrease in the temperature in the cooking chamber during the process of putting in and taking out the object to be cooked.

In the heating cooker, the heating medium casing may include: a rear wall located on the opposite side of an opening for putting and taking out the cooked object into and from the cooking space; and a peripheral wall provided upright from the rear wall so as to surround the cooking space.

According to this configuration, the entire portion of the cooking chamber excluding the opening is heated by the heat of the heat medium, and therefore, the temperature distribution in the cooking chamber is further uniformized.

In the heating cooker, the heat medium casing may be configured to allow the heat medium to flow spirally from the inflow port toward the outflow port so as to rotate around the peripheral wall.

With this configuration, the temperature distribution in the cooking chamber can be further uniformized.

The heating cooker may further include: a door attached to the cooking chamber and capable of opening and closing an opening portion for putting and taking out the object to be cooked into and from the cooking space; a lock mechanism that switches between a locked state in which the door is prevented from opening and an unlocked state in which the door is allowed to open; a door switch that detects whether the lock mechanism is in a half-locked state on the way from the locked state to the unlocked state; an exhaust mechanism for exhausting air from the cooking chamber; and an exhaust control unit that operates the exhaust mechanism based on the detection of the half-locked state by the door switch.

According to this configuration, when the lock mechanism is switched from the locked state to the half-locked state when the object to be cooked is put in and taken out, the cooking chamber can be evacuated when the object to be cooked is in the half-locked state before the unlocked state. Accordingly, the hot air in the cooking chamber is discharged in advance before the user opens the door, and thus, the user can be prevented from being scalded when the door is opened.

The heating cooker may further include: a door attached to the cooking chamber and capable of opening and closing an opening portion for putting and taking out the object to be cooked into and from the cooking space; a lock mechanism that switches between a locked state in which the door is prevented from being opened and an unlocked state in which the door is allowed to be opened; a door switch that detects whether the lock mechanism is in a half-locked state on the way from the locked state to the unlocked state; a blower generating a flow of air in the cooking space; and a blower control unit that stops the operation of the blower based on the detection of the half-locked state by the door switch.

According to this configuration, the flow of hot air in the cooking chamber can be stopped in advance before the user opens the door, and therefore, it is possible to suppress the hot air from being blown out from the opening of the cooking chamber when the door is opened. Accordingly, the user can be prevented from being burned more reliably.

The heating cooker may further include: and a cooling unit disposed in the circulation circuit and configured to cool the heat medium.

According to this configuration, since the cooking device can be provided with a cooling function, both the heating cooking and the subsequent cooling process can be performed by one cooking device. This has the advantage that the cooking object does not need to be put in and taken out when the cooking is transferred from the heating to the cooling.

In the heating cooker, the inner surface of the cooking chamber may be subjected to a black treatment capable of irradiating far infrared rays.

According to this configuration, heating cooking using radiant heat from the inner surface of the cooking chamber can be performed.

The embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and should not be construed as being limited thereto. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims rather than the description above, and includes all modifications equivalent in meaning and scope to the claims.

Claims (9)

1. A heating cooker characterized by comprising:

a cooking chamber having a heat medium housing through which a heat medium flows and surrounding a cooking space for accommodating an object to be cooked;

a heat insulating member disposed so as to cover an outer surface of the cooking chamber;

a circulation circuit having a flow path through which the heat medium flows, the circulation circuit being connected to an inlet and an outlet of the heat medium in the heat medium case;

a heating unit that is disposed in the circulation circuit and heats the heating medium; and

a cooling part disposed in the circulation circuit for cooling the heating medium,

the flow path of the circulation circuit includes a main path in which the heating unit and the cooling unit are arranged, and a bypass path connected to the main path so as to bypass the cooling unit,

A switching unit is provided for switching between the circulation and interruption of the heating medium to the cooling unit.

2. The heating cooker according to claim 1, characterized by further comprising:

a blower generating a flow of air in the cooking space; and

and a guide plate which guides the air blown from the blower so as to flow along an inner surface of the cooking chamber.

3. The heating cooker according to claim 2,

the blower has a suction port facing the cooking space and sucking air in the cooking space.

4. The heating cooker according to claim 2 or 3, characterized by further comprising:

a heat medium pump that generates power for flowing the heat medium from the circulation circuit into the heat medium housing; and

and a pump control unit that operates the heat medium pump even in a state where the operation of the blower is stopped.

5. The heating cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the heating medium shell is provided with: a rear wall located on the opposite side of an opening for putting and taking out the cooked object into and from the cooking space; and a peripheral wall provided upright from the rear wall so as to surround the cooking space.

6. The heating cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that:

the heating medium shell is provided with: a rear wall located on the opposite side of an opening for putting and taking out the object to be cooked into and from the cooking space; and a peripheral wall erected from the rear wall so as to surround the cooking space,

the heat medium case is configured to rotate the heat medium spirally around the peripheral wall from the inlet port toward the outlet port.

7. The heating cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by further comprising:

a door attached to the cooking chamber and capable of opening and closing an opening portion for putting and taking out the object to be cooked into and from the cooking space;

a lock mechanism that switches between a locked state in which the door is prevented from being opened and an unlocked state in which the door is allowed to be opened;

a door switch that detects whether the lock mechanism is in a half-locked state on the way from the locked state to the unlocked state;

an exhaust mechanism for exhausting air from the cooking chamber; and

and an exhaust control unit that activates the exhaust mechanism based on the detection of the half-locked state by the door switch.

8. The heating cooker according to claim 1, characterized by further comprising:

A door attached to the cooking chamber and capable of opening and closing an opening portion for putting and taking the object to be cooked into and out of the cooking space;

a lock mechanism that switches between a locked state in which the door is prevented from opening and an unlocked state in which the door is allowed to open;

a door switch that detects whether the lock mechanism is in a half-locked state on the way from the locked state to the unlocked state;

a blower generating a flow of air in the cooking space; and

and a blower control unit that stops the operation of the blower based on the detection of the half-locked state by the door switch.

9. The heating cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 3 and 8,

the inner surface of the cooking chamber is subjected to black treatment capable of irradiating far infrared rays.

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