CN113273888A - Adjustable steam generator and steam cooking equipment comprising same - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of kitchen electrical equipment, and particularly provides an adjustable steam generator and steam cooking equipment comprising the same, wherein the adjustable steam generator comprises a generator main body, the generator main body is provided with a steam generating chamber and comprises a partition part, and the partition part comprises: a partition assembly including a first partition member and a second partition member, the steam generation chamber being partitioned into a first chamber and a second chamber by the partition assembly; wherein the first chamber is communicable with the second chamber through the first partition member and the second partition member. By such an arrangement, the steam generator can be used for emitting steam with higher temperature to the cooking equipment, namely, the cooking equipment can obtain higher cooking temperature.

Description

Adjustable steam generator and steam cooking equipment comprising same

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of kitchen electrical equipment, in particular to an adjustable steam generator and steam cooking equipment comprising the same.

Background

The steam box is used as kitchen electrical equipment, and the main principle is that the pure steaming function is realized through high-temperature steam which is continuously provided, so that the cooking of food materials is completed. Compared with other electric cooking appliances such as an oven and a microwave oven, the steam box can better retain the nutrient components of food materials, so that the steam box is favored by consumers.

In order to ensure the achievement of cooking, there is a need for a steam box that provides steaming at a higher temperature and thus a higher cooking temperature. In order to meet the demand of higher cooking temperature, the following method is often adopted: the method is characterized in that a component for generating heat is additionally arranged in the steam box, such as a heating pipe is introduced to carry out auxiliary heating, and the heat is directly supplied to the inner container of the steam box so as to improve the cooking temperature, for example, the highest cooking temperature of the steam box is 100 ℃ in a normal state, so that the inner container of the steam box can obtain high-temperature steam of 120 ℃. However, the way of adding additional parts has such drawbacks: the manner in which the components are added internally reduces the effective volume of the steam box and thus affects the scale to which the steam box is applicable to some extent. In addition, the mode of directly carrying out auxiliary heating to the steam that gets into the inner bag often appears like phenomenon such as overdrying, burnt etc. along with food surface, and this can obviously influence the taste of food thereby reduce the user experience of steam ager.

Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a new solution to the above problems.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem

The present invention is proposed to solve the above problems in the prior art, i.e. to solve the technical problem that the performance (e.g. application scale, user experience) of the cooking device is affected in order to meet higher cooking temperature in the current cooking device using a steam generator as a heat source.

Technical scheme

The present invention provides, in a first aspect, an adjustable steam generator including a generator main body having a steam generating chamber and including a partition, the partition including: a partition assembly including a first partition member and a second partition member, the steam generation chamber being partitioned into a first chamber and a second chamber by the partition assembly; wherein the first chamber is communicable with the second chamber through the first partition member and the second partition member.

With such an arrangement, the steam generator can be planned appropriately. Specifically, the steam generation chamber is divided into a first chamber and a second chamber by the provision of two partition members.

It should be noted that the first chamber and the second chamber may be in continuous communication, or may be switched between a communication state and a non-communication state. Taking the two as an example of a form of continuous communication, a person skilled in the art may select a specific form of continuous communication between the two according to actual situations, such as providing a communication structure on each of the two partition members or forming a communication passage in an assembled state of the two partition members.

On the basis of this, two kinds of steam having different qualities can be generated. By arranging the partition member to be movable relative to the steam generating chamber, communication between the two chambers can be achieved by movement of the partition member relative to the steam generating chamber, thereby allowing the steam between the two chambers to be associated.

It will be appreciated that the skilled person can select the first/second partition member structure according to the actual situation, for example, the first/second partition member may be a plate-like structure, a column-like structure or any other reasonable regular or irregular structure. The first/second partition members may have the same or different structures, and the relative positions of the first/second partition members may be flexibly set according to actual conditions, such as the first/second partition members and the second partition members are staggered to form a baffled channel in an assembled state, and the like.

It can be seen that because both the first and second chambers are capable of generating steam, the steam generator may be configured to deliver steam to a cooking device (e.g., a liner of a steam box) via the first and/or second chambers. Accordingly, the steam discharge port may be provided for both or only one of them to achieve the discharge of the steam. Taking the example that the first chamber is connected with a water vessel and the steam release port is only arranged on the second chamber, the steam release path of the steam generator is as follows: the cooking device can obtain the superheated steam with higher temperature through the second chamber by sending the superheated steam to the cooking chamber, and the superheated steam is the temperature rise realized before entering the cooking chamber, so that the phenomena of overdrying, scorching and the like on the surface of the food caused by the increase of the cooking temperature can be effectively avoided on the premise of meeting the higher cooking temperature.

It will be appreciated that the relationship of position, volume, shape, etc. between the two chambers may be chosen flexibly, e.g. the two chambers are arranged one above the other and have substantially the same volume and shape. Obviously, the cooking apparatus is capable of emitting heat to both the first chamber and the second chamber, and a person skilled in the art may set a specific manner of emitting heat to the first chamber and the second chamber in combination with a specific product, for example, by configuring the heating pipes for the two chambers respectively.

With the above adjustable steam generator, in one possible embodiment, the first partition member and/or the second partition member is provided with a communication structure so as to: the first chamber and the second chamber can communicate based on at least the communication structure.

With such an arrangement, the two partition members can be communicated with each other by the arrangement of the communication structure.

Obviously, a person skilled in the art can flexibly select the specific position of the communication structure and the arrangement manner of the communication structure on the first/second partition member according to requirements, and in addition, the person skilled in the art can select the specific form of the communication structure according to actual conditions. Such as a plurality of communication holes provided on the first/second partition member. Obviously, the number, shape, distribution density of the communication holes on the partition member, and the like may be determined according to the actual situation. Such as may be: communicating holes are provided in both the partition members, but the densities of the communicating holes are different; and the like.

With the above adjustable steam generator, in one possible embodiment, the first partition member and the second partition member are disposed in a stacked manner.

With this arrangement, a specific arrangement of the first/second partition members is given.

With the adjustable steam generator described above, in a possible embodiment, the first partition element and/or the second partition element are movably arranged in the generator body in a position corresponding to the steam generating chamber, so as to: the first chamber and the second chamber can communicate based at least on the activity.

With this arrangement, the communication between the first chamber and the second chamber can be achieved by introducing the movable element.

It is understood that one skilled in the art can select one or both of the first and second partition members to be movable according to actual requirements, and can select the movable form of the first and second partition members relative to the steam generating chamber according to actual conditions, such as rotation, movement or any other reasonable movable form.

With the steam generator described above, in one possible embodiment, the first partition member and/or the second partition member are provided in a retractable manner at a position of the generator main body corresponding to the steam generation chamber.

By such an arrangement, a specific movable arrangement of the first/second partition member with respect to the steam generator is given.

Specifically, as with the telescopic progress, it is possible to switch the first chamber and the second chamber between the communicating state and the non-communicating state, or to change, for example, the communicating area, the communicating region, or the like, while maintaining the communicating state.

On this basis, the communication state of the first chamber and the second chamber can be adjusted in combination with the aforementioned form of providing the communication structure on the first/second partition member. Furthermore, the communication/non-communication state and the specific communication situation between the first chamber and the second chamber can be adjusted by adjusting specific parameters in the telescopic process, such as the telescopic speed, the telescopic/telescopic combination mode, the telescopic/telescopic amount and the like.

With regard to the above-mentioned adjustable steam generator, in one possible embodiment, the partition comprises: the first and/or second telescopic partition members effect telescopic movement thereof by cooperation with respective guide members.

With such an arrangement, the first and/or second partition members can be more smoothly extended and contracted with respect to the steam generating chamber.

It is understood that, in the case of having a guiding function, a person skilled in the art can select a specific form of the guiding member according to practical situations, such as a guiding rail, a guiding groove, a guiding surface, a combination of a plurality of guiding blocks arranged at intervals, and the like.

With regard to the above-mentioned adjustable steam generator, in one possible embodiment, the partition comprises: a sealing member for sealingly connecting the first and/or second telescoping partition members to the generator body during telescoping movement.

With such an arrangement, the first and/or second partition members can be brought into a sealed state with the generator main body by the arrangement of the seal member.

It will be appreciated that the particular configuration of the sealing member and its disposition on the steam generator may be determined by those skilled in the art as a practical matter. Such as a seal ring, gasket, seal coating, etc. Taking the guide member as a guide groove as an example, the sealing member is a gasket disposed inside the guide groove.

With regard to the above-mentioned adjustable steam generator, in one possible embodiment, the partition comprises: a drive mechanism having a power output connected with the first and/or second telescoping partition members for driving telescoping movement of the respective first and/or second partition member by the drive mechanism.

With such an arrangement, the telescopic movement of the first and/or second partition member can be realized by the drive mechanism.

It will be appreciated that depending on the particular form of telescopic movement of the partition member desired by the steam generator, one or more drive mechanisms may be provided for the partition member and selected depending on the actual telescopic form, the structure of the steam generator, etc., and that the drive mechanism is illustratively a motor.

It should be noted that the drive mechanism may be directly or indirectly fixed to the generator body. With indirect fixation, for example, it may be: a mounting portion (e.g., a mounting plate or mounting bracket) is provided or formed on the generator body, and the drive mechanism is secured to the mounting portion.

In a possible embodiment of the adjustable steam generator, the partition assembly is configured with a gas-liquid separation member to at least partially block liquid in the steam as the steam flows between the first chamber and the second chamber.

The gas-liquid separation component is configured on the separation component of the steam generation chamber which is divided into two chambers through the separation component, so that a small amount of condensate contained in the steam can be recovered, and the purification of the gas-phase steam is realized.

It is understood that, on the premise that the gas-liquid separation function can be achieved, a person skilled in the art may select the relative positions of the gas-liquid separation member and the separation assembly according to actual situations, such as: the gas-liquid separation member is provided in the vicinity of the first and/or second partition member. It should be noted that the vicinity here is understood to mean that the gas-liquid separation member is provided in a region associated with the communication. Thus, the condensate can be recovered in time by the gas-liquid separation member. Such as may be: directly on the first or second partition member or in the region of the first and/or second partition member but not directly connected to the first and second partition members.

In addition, the specific structural form of the gas-liquid separation member can be selected by those skilled in the art according to actual conditions, for example, the main body of the gas-liquid separation member is a plate-shaped structure, and for example, the structure having the gas-liquid separation function on the plate-shaped structure can be a net structure, a thread structure, a membrane structure, and the like.

A second aspect of the invention provides a steam cooking appliance comprising an adjustable steam generator as described in any preceding claim.

It can be understood that the cooking apparatus has all the technical effects of the adjustable steam generator described in any one of the preceding claims, and will not be described herein.

Drawings

The present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in conjunction with an example in which the steam cooking apparatus is a steam box and the second partition member is a retractable structure. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic structural view of a steam box according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating a structure of a steam generator in a steam box according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic cross-sectional view (in partial section) of a steam generator in a steam box of an embodiment of the present invention showing a partition assembly, a chute; and

fig. 4 is a schematic structural view illustrating a partition assembly of a steam generator in a steam box according to an embodiment of the present invention.

List of reference numerals:

1. an apparatus main body; 11. a first steam inlet; 12. a second steam inlet; 2. a steam generator; 21. a first chamber; 211. a first heating pipe; 22. a second chamber; 221. a second heating pipe; 231. a bulkhead assembly; 2311. a first partition member; 23111. a first communication hole; 2312. a second partition member; 23121. a second communication hole; 232. a motor; 233. a mounting plate; 234. a push rod; 235. a chute; 241. a first steam exhaust port; 242. a second steam exhaust port; 25. a water inlet; 26. a drain hole; 27. a mounting structure; 31. a first pipeline; 32. a second pipeline; 33. and (4) a water inlet pipe.

Detailed Description

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that these embodiments are only for explaining the technical principle of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention and the like. As described in the embodiment, although the second partition member is a retractable structure, it is obvious that other movable modes, such as rotation, may be adopted. And as described in the present embodiment by way of example only, in which both the first chamber and the second chamber are capable of delivering steam to the inner container of the steam box, it is obvious that only the second chamber may be capable of delivering steam to the inner container of the steam box.

It should be noted that in the description of the present invention, the terms of direction or positional relationship indicated by the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc. are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the drawings, which are merely for convenience of description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus, should not be construed as limiting the present invention. Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

Furthermore, while numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a better understanding of the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention may be practiced without some of these specific details. In some instances, cooktop principles and the like well known to those skilled in the art have not been described in detail in order to highlight the subject matter of the invention.

Furthermore, it should be noted that, in the description of the present invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly, and may be, for example, fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally connected; can be mechanically or electrically connected; they may be connected directly or indirectly through intervening media, or they may be interconnected between two elements. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood by those skilled in the art according to specific situations.

Referring to fig. 1 to 4, fig. 1 illustrates a schematic structural view of a steam box according to an embodiment of the present invention, fig. 2 illustrates a schematic structural view of a steam generator in the steam box according to an embodiment of the present invention, fig. 3 illustrates a schematic sectional view of the steam generator in the steam box according to an embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 4 illustrates a schematic structural view of a partition assembly of the steam generator in the steam box according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 1 to 4, the steam box mainly includes a main body 1, a steam generator 2 and a pipeline assembly connecting the two, wherein a cooking chamber (such as an inner container) for containing food materials is formed in the main body 1, and the steam generator 2 can deliver steam of two qualities to the inner container through the pipeline assembly, so that the food materials contained in the inner container are cooked in a pure steaming manner through one or a combination of the two types of steam.

Wherein the steam generator 2 includes a generator body and a water tank (not shown) as a water vessel, the water tank being mainly used to supply water as a steam generating agent for generating steam to the generator body so that the steam generator heats the water to generate steam. The generator main body is formed with a steam generation chamber, a partition assembly 231 is provided in the steam generation chamber, the partition assembly 231 includes a first partition member 2311 and a second partition member 2312, both of which are plate-shaped structures, which are horizontally provided from bottom to top so as to partition the steam generation chamber into a lower first chamber 21 and an upper second chamber 22, wherein the first partition member 2311 and the first partition member 2312 are respectively provided with a first communication hole 23111 and a second communication hole 23121, the first communication hole and the second communication hole have substantially the same diameter, and the distribution density of the second communication holes is less than that of the first communication hole. The lower first partition member 2311 is fixedly provided in the steam generation chamber, and the upper second partition member 2312 is configured to be retractable in a horizontal plane with respect to the steam generation chamber, so that the first/second communication holes are displaced in association with the retractable movement of the second partition member 2312 with respect to the first partition member 2311, and by virtue of such displacement, the adjustment of the communication area and the communication region can be achieved, and the two chambers can be switched between the communication state and the non-communication state. A water inlet 25 is provided in the side wall of the first chamber and correspondingly a water pump is provided in the water tank and connected to the water inlet via a water inlet pipe 33 for supplying water for generating steam to the first chamber via the water pump.

In order that the second partition member 2312 of a plate-like structure may be telescopically provided in a horizontal plane in the steam generation chamber, the second partition member is provided with a corresponding drive transmission mechanism, thereby constituting a completed partition. In a possible embodiment, a preformed hole (such as a strip hole) allowing the second partition member to extend and contract is provided in the steam generating chamber, the motor 232 is disposed outside the steam generating chamber, the inner wall is provided in the sliding groove 235 allowing the second partition member to slide, and as in the present embodiment, the first/second partition members are both provided in the sliding groove 235. The steam generator is provided with a bracket plate 233 as a mounting carrier of the motor, the motor 232 is fixed to the steam generator through the bracket plate, the motor is provided with a transmission mechanism capable of converting rotation into telescopic motion in the left-right direction, then the power output end is fixedly connected with a push rod 234, the motor, the transmission mechanism converting rotation of the motor into telescopic motion, and the push rod 234 is fixedly connected with the second partition member 2312.

Therefore, the electric push rod drives the second partition component to slide along the sliding groove in a left-right reciprocating mode, the communication degree of the first cavity and the second cavity can be adjusted, the steam quantity entering the second cavity from the first cavity is adjusted, and when the second partition component reaches the rightmost side, the first cavity and the second cavity are in the communication state with the largest communication area. It will be appreciated that a certain sliding range may be provided for the second partition member, such as a limit position generated by the limiting structure on the right side, such as a state in which the first chamber and the second chamber are in communication with each other with the largest communication area when the second partition member reaches the limit position. Furthermore, sealing members may be provided for the second partition member in positions corresponding to the prepared holes and/or the slide grooves to ensure good sealing of the steam between the outside and the inside of the steam generator and between the first and second chambers inside. If the sealing component is a sealing gasket made of silica gel material and arranged in the chute in the circumferential direction of the reserved hole in a surrounding mode.

Wherein, the pipe assembly includes a first pipe 31 and a second pipe 32, correspondingly, a first steam exhaust port 241 and a second steam exhaust port 242 are respectively arranged on the first chamber 21 and the second chamber 22, the first steam exhaust port 241 and the second steam exhaust port 242 are respectively connected to the first steam inlet port 11 and the second steam inlet port 12 of the inner container through the first pipe 31 and the second pipe 32, so as to respectively provide the steam from the first chamber 21 and the second chamber 22 to the inner container through the first pipe 31 and the second pipe 32.

Meanwhile, the first chamber 21 and the second chamber 22 are respectively provided with a first heating pipe 211 and a second heating pipe 221 as heat sources thereof, illustratively, the first heating pipe is arranged outside the bottom wall of the first chamber, and the second heating pipe is disposed at a position close to the partition component in the second chamber. In this way, the lower first chamber 21 is able to produce a common steam of substantially the same quality as the steam of the prior art. After the part of the steam is led to the second chamber above through the separating component, the superheated steam with higher temperature can be obtained through further heating.

Under the premise that the steam generating chamber is divided into the first chamber 21 and the second chamber 22 by the partition component, a person skilled in the art can determine the specific structural forms of the first chamber and the second chamber according to actual situations, and configure the parameters such as pressure and the like necessary for the respective chambers to respectively complete the functions of the chambers, such as configuring the second chamber with structures related to the generation of superheated steam.

In addition, a drain hole 26 as a water discharge structure is further provided on the bottom wall of the first chamber 21 for discharging water that generates steam and a liquid portion of the steam intercepted by the gas-liquid separating member in time. It is understood that the skilled person can select other water discharging structure configurations and specific arrangement positions according to actual conditions, on the premise of ensuring that water can be discharged in time.

In a specific embodiment, two mounting structures 27 are provided on the first chamber 21, and in this embodiment, the mounting structures comprise a mounting plate of a substantially L-shaped configuration, through which the steam generator is fixed to the steam box in a corresponding position. It will be appreciated that the skilled person can flexibly set the structural form of the mounting structure and the specific arrangement position according to the actual situation. Or the installation structure can be omitted under the condition that the connection relation with the steam box is not required to be established; the installation structure can be omitted under the condition that the connection relationship between the steam generator and the steam box can be established by the original structure of the steam generator; and the like.

It can be seen that, in the steam generator of the present invention, the adjustment of the communication state between the first chamber and the second chamber is achieved by the arrangement of the first/second partition member. Take the ordinary steam that the first cavate produced to obtain superheated steam through the further heating of second cavity as an example, because steam has realized the promotion of temperature in the second cavity before getting into the inner bag to when can giving higher culinary art temperature to the inner bag of steam ager, avoided because the culinary art temperature improves and lead to food surface appearance such as dry, burnt phenomenon etc. because. In addition, the steam in the first chamber can also be released to the inner container if necessary. Therefore, the steam generator can provide steam with adjustable quality to the inner container of the steam box, and the cooking requirement of the steam box can be better adapted on the basis of the steam generator.

It should be noted that although the specific structure configured as described above in a specific manner is described as an example, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention should not be limited thereto. In fact, the user can flexibly adjust the related structure and the specific arrangement mode thereof according to the actual application scene, for example, the first/second partition members can be both telescopic.

So far, the technical solutions of the present invention have been described in connection with the preferred embodiments shown in the drawings, but it is easily understood by those skilled in the art that the scope of the present invention is obviously not limited to these specific embodiments. Equivalent changes or substitutions of related technical features can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the principle of the invention, and the technical scheme after the changes or substitutions can fall into the protection scope of the invention.

Claims (10)

1. An adjustable steam generator, characterized in that the adjustable steam generator comprises a generator body having a steam generating chamber and the generator body comprises a partition,

the partition portion includes:

a partition assembly including a first partition member and a second partition member, the steam generation chamber being partitioned into a first chamber and a second chamber by the partition assembly;

wherein the first chamber is communicable with the second chamber through the first partition member and the second partition member.

2. The adjustable steam generator of claim 1, wherein the first and/or second partition members are provided thereon with a communication structure so as to:

the first chamber and the second chamber can communicate based on at least the communication structure.

3. The adjustable steam generator of claim 1, wherein the first and second partition members are disposed in a stacked manner.

4. The adjustable steam generator of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first and/or second partition member is movably disposed at a position of the generator body corresponding to the steam generating chamber, so as to:

the first chamber and the second chamber can communicate based at least on the activity.

5. The adjustable steam generator of claim 4, wherein the first and/or second partition members are telescopically disposed at a position of the generator body corresponding to the steam generating chamber.

6. The adjustable steam generator of claim 5, wherein the partition comprises:

a guide member, said first and/or second telescopic partition member effecting telescopic movement thereof by cooperation with a respective guide member.

7. The adjustable steam generator of claim 5, wherein the partition comprises:

a sealing member for sealingly connecting the first and/or second telescoping partition members to the generator body during telescoping movement.

8. The adjustable steam generator of claim 5, wherein the partition comprises:

a drive mechanism having a power output connected with the first and/or second telescoping partition members for driving telescoping movement of the respective first and/or second partition member by the drive mechanism.

9. The adjustable steam generator of claim 8, wherein the separator assembly is configured with a gas-liquid separation member to at least partially block liquid in the steam as the steam passes between the first and second chambers.

10. Steam cooking device, characterized in that it comprises an adjustable steam generator according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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