CN218791861U

CN218791861U - Pizza electric oven

Info

Publication number: CN218791861U
Application number: CN202221625205.5U
Authority: CN
Inventors: I·莫蒂梅; C·赖特; D·凯利
Original assignee: Uuni Ltd
Current assignee: Uuni Ltd
Priority date: 2022-06-14
Filing date: 2022-06-27
Publication date: 2023-04-07
Anticipated expiration: 2032-06-27
Also published as: WO2023242534A1; GB2619736A; GB202208738D0

Abstract

An electric pizza oven (1) comprising: a housing (2), the housing (2) holding a cooking chamber (4), the housing and the cooking chamber together defining an opening (8) for access into the cooking chamber; an electrical heating source (18A, 18B) configured to heat air in the cooking chamber to a temperature of at least 400 ℃; an oven door (16) for closing the opening; and one or more outlets through which heated air and/or steam is discharged from the cooking chamber.

Description

Pizza electric oven

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of pizza electric ovens and in particular to a pizza electric oven with a cooking chamber suitable for heating to temperatures above 350 ℃.

Background

Pizza ovens are commonly used for cooking baked goods and in particular pizza. Such pizza ovens may be used to provide the very high cooking temperatures required to adequately cook dough-based products and to provide pizza with a smoked or barbecued flavor. The oven is preheated to a desired elevated temperature prior to cooking any food items.

This results in an increase in the air temperature within the oven cooking chamber as the desired cooking temperature increases. This also results in the steam being heated in the cooking chamber, as the food generally contains some water. This is particularly relevant for pizza ovens with cooking chambers that can heat to temperatures in excess of 350 c, since opening the cooking chamber door causes a large amount of hot steam to rapidly exit the cooking chamber.

It is in this context that the present disclosure was devised.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The utility model discloses a first aspect provides a pizza electric oven, include:

a housing holding a cooking chamber, the housing and the cooking chamber (e.g., collectively) defining an opening for accessing the cooking chamber;

a heating source;

an oven door for closing the opening; and

one or more (optionally two or more) outlets through which heated air and/or steam (e.g. in use) is discharged from the cooking chamber.

The cooking chamber may define an opening for accessing (e.g., the) within the cooking chamber. The housing may define an opening (e.g., the) for accessing the cooking chamber, such as an opening aligned with the cooking chamber opening. The opening may be an opening configured for access to the cooking chamber. The oven door may be configured to close the opening. The oven door and the housing may collectively define a first enclosed space (e.g., a cooking chamber held therein), and optionally, the oven door and the cooking chamber may collectively define a second enclosed space (e.g., a space within the cooking chamber). The heating source may be an electric heating source. The heating source may comprise (for example) one or more electrical heating elements. The electrical heating source may be configured to heat air in the cooking chamber to a temperature of at least 400 ℃.

Air does not normally enter the cooking chamber via the or each outlet. The or each outlet may be (e.g. partially) throttled. The or each outlet may be (e.g. at least partially) resistant to airflow. It will be appreciated that an outlet that (e.g. at least partially) resists airflow will still allow some air flow. For example, the or each outlet may be configured such that, in use, the pressure in the cooking chamber exceeds ambient pressure, for example whilst still allowing some heated air and/or steam to exit the cooking chamber via the outlet. The pressure in the cooking chamber may be increased above ambient pressure. The pressure in the cooking chamber may be increased to at least 1% above ambient pressure, or at least 2% above ambient pressure. The pressure in the cooking chamber may be increased to (e.g., at least) 1.01 atmospheres, or 1.02 atmospheres, or 1.05 atmospheres, or 1.1 atmospheres, or 1.2 atmospheres, optionally no more than 1.5 atmospheres, or no more than 1.4 atmospheres, or no more than 1.3 atmospheres

While ovens that use combustible fuels (e.g., charcoal, wood chips, gas, etc.) require air access to allow combustion, electric ovens do not. In contrast, electric ovens typically use an electric device (e.g., an electric heating element) to heat the air in the cooking chamber without the need for an air inlet because combustion need not occur. With such an electric heating device, the air inlet thus becomes inconvenient and inefficient, as it allows cooler air to enter the cooking chamber, reducing the temperature therein. Thus, for example, the cooking chamber may not include an air inlet other than the opening (although the skilled person will appreciate that the cooking chamber need not be, and is not typically, airtight).

The housing may comprise an air inlet, for example an air inlet other than an opening, optionally an air inlet not in fluid contact with the cooking chamber. The air inlet may be used to cool the housing, for example, so that the walls of the housing do not exceed a predetermined temperature.

When the cooking chamber of the oven is raised to a higher temperature, this may result in an increase in the pressure of the heated air within the cooking chamber, and in some cases steam and smoke. The increase in pressure inside the cooking chamber may cause the heated air (and/or steam, fumes) to be forced into unintended spaces and/or to exit the oven in an uncontrolled manner, for example via small gaps in the joints between parts of the housing, cooking chamber or oven door, etc. This may cause damage to the oven and inconvenience to the user.

In particular, the steam leaving the cooking chamber in an uncontrolled manner tends to subsequently cool and then condense on surfaces outside the cooking chamber. This can result in water accumulation in the space around the oven and within the housing. Furthermore, when the oven door is opened during cooking, the change in pressure causes a large amount of heated air (and/or steam, optionally moist air) to rapidly exit through the door.

By providing an oven with one or more outlets through which, in use, heated air (and/or steam, fumes, etc.) may be discharged from the cooking chamber, these problems are alleviated. This is because the heated air and/or steam will leave the oven through the path of least resistance, i.e. via the outlet (at least when the door is closed), and not via other routes. This also prevents large pressure build-up, reducing the volume of heated air (and/or steam, humid air, smoke) exiting through the oven door when the oven door is open.

The cooking chamber and/or the housing may each include (e.g., be defined by) one or more walls. The housing (and optional cooking chamber) may include a top, a bottom, a left side, a right side, and a rear (e.g., other than an opening). An interior space may be defined between the housing (e.g., wall) and the cooking chamber (e.g., wall).

The one or more outlets may each be configured such that heated air and/or steam discharged from the cooking chamber enters the interior space therethrough, e.g., rather than (e.g., directly) exiting the oven. Alternatively or additionally, the one or more outlets may each be configured to cause heated air and/or steam discharged from the cooking chamber to exit the pizza electric oven (optionally via the interior space).

The one or more outlets may be positioned such that the heated air (and/or steam) exits the oven via the top of the housing. The opening of the housing is typically positioned at the front of the oven. In fact, the front of the oven may define a portion of the oven where the cooking chamber is accessible via the opening when the oven door is open. In other words, the oven (and optionally the cooking chamber) may be understood to comprise a front portion (e.g. half) and a rear portion (e.g. half), with the front portion being closer to the opening and the door, and the rear portion being further away from the opening and the door. The heating source is typically positioned in a rear portion of the oven (typically in a rear portion of the cooking chamber).

The outlet may define an airflow path. The airflow path may extend from the interior of the cooking chamber to the exterior of the oven, optionally at or near the front of the oven, e.g., above and near the oven door. Alternatively, the airflow path may extend from the interior of the cooking chamber to the interior space. For example, the one or more outlets may each comprise a first aperture defined in a wall of the cooking chamber and a (e.g. corresponding) second aperture defined in a wall of the housing such that an airflow path is provided from the interior of the cooking chamber to the exterior of the oven. The or each first aperture may be defined in an uppermost wall or top wall of the cooking chamber. The airflow paths may each be within one or more conduits extending between one or more first apertures and one or more second apertures. However, in some embodiments, the outlets may each comprise an aperture in a wall of the cooking chamber. The number of apertures defined in the wall of the cooking chamber may be the same as the number of apertures defined in the wall of the housing, but this is not required.

The or each outlet may be positioned such that heated air (and/or steam) exits the oven (optional cooking chamber) proximate to and above the oven door. For example, the second aperture defined in the housing may be positioned in a top portion of the housing. The second aperture defined in the housing may be at a point within 5 cm, optionally within 2 cm, optionally within 1 cm of the point at which the housing (e.g. top) meets the oven door when the oven door is closed.

It is advantageous to locate the outlet close to the oven door, since this position is correspondingly further away from the heat source. Thus, the air and vapor exiting via the outlet is cooler as it is farther from the heat source.

Each second aperture (and optionally the or each first aperture) may have at least 400mm ² Or at least 500mm ² Or at least 600mm ² The area of (a). Each second aperture (and optionally the or each first aperture) may have no more than 1,200mm ² Or not more than 1,000mm ² Or does not exceed800mm ² The area of (c). Alternatively, the combined area of the or each second aperture (and optionally the or each first aperture) may be at least 800mm ² Or at least 1000mm ² Or at least 1200mm ² For example where more than one second aperture (and optionally first aperture) is provided. The combined area of the or each second aperture (and/or the or each first aperture) may not exceed 2,000mm ² Or not more than 1,600mm ² For example where more than one second aperture (and optionally first aperture) is provided.

For example, the or each aperture may be a rectangular aperture having a width of at least 20mm, or at least 40mm, or at least 60mm, optionally less than 100mm, or less than 90mm, or less than 80mm; and a height of at least 5mm, or at least 10mm, or at least 20mm, alternatively less than 50mm, or less than 40mm, or less than 30mm.

The above-mentioned apertures are of a size large enough to allow the heated air and steam to exit preferentially through these apertures rather than through some other route (as long as the oven door is closed). Furthermore, the above-mentioned aperture size is small enough that the heated air and steam exit at a relatively slow rate compared to the case of larger apertures, and therefore, the heated air remains in the cooking chamber for a longer time.

The or each second aperture may be positioned such that heated air and/or steam exiting via the second aperture exits the oven directly into the atmosphere surrounding the oven, for example without first passing through a duct extending from the housing. It will therefore be appreciated that the outlet is not a flue. Typically, ovens do not include a flue. The flue is a duct that extends beyond (and typically above) the oven housing. Electric ovens typically have no flue and typically no air inlet. In order for the chimney to function, an air inlet must also be provided to draw air into the cooking chamber, replacing the air exiting through the chimney. In contrast, pizza electric ovens generally have no air inlet and the pressure that causes the heated air and steam to exit with an outlet is a result of the heated air and steam (although it should be noted that even if no outlet is provided, the cooking chamber will generally not be airtight and thus the skilled person will understand that in use some air may naturally enter the cooking chamber, although the increased pressure in the cooking chamber when the oven is in use makes this unlikely to occur).

The wall (e.g., outer wall) of the housing may include one or more insulating regions. For example, the housing may comprise an insulating region surrounding the or each second aperture. The or each insulating region may comprise a plastics material. The or each insulating region may comprise silicone rubber. The oven may include one or more moisture guides configured to direct moisture (e.g., steam, water) away from the outlet. For example, the or each moisture guide may be configured to assist in the flow of moisture (e.g. steam, water) away from the front of the oven and/or from the door. The or each moisture guide may comprise an insulating material, for example a plastics material or silicone rubber.

The oven may be adapted for (e.g. to and) temperatures in excess of 350 ℃, for example to temperatures of 450 ℃, or to temperatures of 500 ℃, or to temperatures of 550 ℃. The heating source may be configured to heat the air in the cooking chamber by a temperature from room temperature (e.g., 20 ℃) to at least 350 ℃, or at least 400 ℃, or at least 450 ℃, or at least 500 ℃. It is particularly useful to have a controlled way for heated air and steam to exit the cooking chamber when the temperature of the cooking chamber exceeds 350 c. The oven may include a controller configured to thermostatically regulate the temperature within the cooking chamber to maintain the temperature at a set point. The set point may be at least 400 ℃, or at least 450 ℃, or at least 500 ℃. In one example, the set point may be 400 ℃ ± 5 ℃.

The door may include a door handle. The oven door may include a window. The window may comprise at least two sheets of glass and define a space therebetween. For example, the window may comprise a first sheet of glass and a second sheet of glass and define a first space therebetween, and optionally a third sheet of glass and define a second space therebetween. The provision of the window allows the user to be able to view the food product in the cooking chamber as it cooks. Providing at least two sheets of glass with a space therebetween limits the temperature reached by the outermost sheet of glass during use of the oven. However, when the temperature of the air in the cooking chamber exceeds 350 ℃, heated air and/or steam may enter the space between the glass sheets. The steam then tends to condense on the cooler glass sheets, obstructing the view into the cooking chamber. Providing an outlet may alleviate this problem because heated air and/or steam tends to exit through the outlet rather than seep into the space between the glass sheets.

The oven may include legs extending from a bottom of the housing. The cooking chamber may hold a pizza, for example, in use. The oven may comprise a user interface for controlling the oven, e.g. for controlling the temperature in the cooking chamber.

The one or more food items may include (e.g., be) one or more pizzas.

It is understood that the pizza electric oven is a pizza oven driven by electric power. For example, it may be a pizza oven with one or more electrical heating devices (e.g., electrical heating elements).

It will be appreciated that any of the features described above in relation to the apparatus may also be optional features of other aspects of the invention. The steps in the method may be performed in the order described herein, or in some cases in other orders. In some cases, one or more steps of the method may be performed simultaneously.

Drawings

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the following drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an electric pizza oven according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional detail view of a portion of the oven of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the oven of FIGS. 1 and 2;

fig. 4 is a diagram of a cooking chamber of the electric pizza oven according to the exemplary embodiment of fig. 1 to 3; and

fig. 5 is a perspective view of a cooking chamber of the electric pizza oven according to the exemplary embodiment of fig. 1 to 4.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of an electric pizza oven 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The oven 1 has a housing 2 holding a cooking chamber 4. The housing 2 defines an opening 8 in front of the oven 1 to allow access to the cooking chamber 4. The housing 2 also has an upper wall 10, a rear wall 12 and a bottom wall 14, as well as left and right side walls (not shown). An oven door 16 is provided to close the opening 8 when access to the cooking chamber 4 is not required. An inner space 28 is defined between the cooking chamber 4 and the housing 2. Four feet 22 (two of which are not shown) extend from the bottom wall 14 of the housing 2. The door has a door handle 24.

The oven 1 also has electrical heating sources in the form of a first electrical heating element 18A and a second electrical heating element 18B, which are located at the top and bottom of the cooking chamber 4. The

electric heating elements

18A, 18B are adapted to heat the air in the cooking chamber 4, up to a temperature of 450 ℃. The electrical heating source 18 is powered by a mains power supply via a power cord 20. In the cooking chamber there is a cooking surface 26 in the form of a ceramic pizza stone, which is located above the second electric heating element 18B.

Figure 2 is a detailed view of a portion of the oven of figure 1. It can thus be seen that the oven 1 has an outlet in the form of a first pair of

apertures

30A, 30B, the first pair of

apertures

30A, 30B being in the cooking chamber 4 (best seen in figure 4), and a second pair of apertures in the housing 2, the second aperture being disposed above the door 16. Each aperture is defined as a rectangular hole of 40mm by 10 mm. In this exemplary embodiment, each rectangular aperture has rounded corners, however this is not required. The skilled person will understand that in general, any shape of hole may be used without departing from the invention.

As a result of the aperture, there is an airflow path, as shown by arrow 34, leading directly from the interior of cooking chamber 4 to the exterior of oven 1 via duct 36, which terminates in an aperture in the housing, near the top of oven 1 and near door 16.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional perspective view of an electric pizza oven according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the cooking chamber 4 of the pizza electric oven 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, without showing other parts of the pizza oven 1. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the same cooking chamber 4.

In use, power is supplied to one or both of the

electrical heating elements

18A, 18B, causing the temperature of the air in the cooking chamber 4 and the cooking surface 26 to increase. When the temperature of the air and cooking surface has reached a desired cooking temperature (e.g., 400℃. For cooking a pizza), the user opens the door 16, inserts food items (e.g., a pizza), and closes the door 16 to allow the food items to cook.

The high temperature causes moisture in the food to change into steam inside the cooking chamber 4. The steam is thus also heated by the

heating elements

18A, 18B. Since the cooking chamber 4 is closed (but not airtight), the pressure inside the cooking chamber 4 increases above ambient pressure. Due to the pressure difference, the heated air and steam tend to exit the cooking chamber 4 (and subsequently the oven 1) via the apertures along the airflow path 34. Because the apertures provide a path of relatively low resistance (provided that the door 16 is closed), heated air and steam exit via this path rather than passing through other paths and also are not forced into other unintended spaces within the oven.

Advantageously, providing the oven 1 with apertures allowing heated air and steam to exit the cooking chamber 4 means that the heated air and steam exit the oven 1 in a controlled manner. This is particularly important for pizza electric ovens 1 with

heating elements

18A, 18B configured to raise the temperature inside the cooking chamber 4 to over 350 ℃, because such ovens do not have air inlets or chimneys (in fact, providing these is inefficient as it means allowing cold air to be drawn in, thereby lowering the temperature inside the cooking chamber 4.) without air inlets or chimneys, the temperature inside the cooking chamber 4 rises, and heated air and steam tend to consequently enter unintended spaces, possibly causing damage to the oven 1 and inconvenience to the user. This also means that if the oven door 16 is opened during cooking, a large amount of heated air and steam, which can cause trouble, exits via the oven door 16. Various aspects of the present invention described herein alleviate some of the problems.

Although in the illustrated embodiment the cooking chamber 4 and the housing 2 each have two apertures, it will be appreciated that other numbers of apertures may be provided. Further, while it is preferred that the arrangement of the airflow path 34 be such that the heated air and steam exit near the top of the oven and near the door, this is not required and other airflow paths 34 may be used. Further, the apertures may have different sizes and/or different shapes than described herein. While the airflow path 34 may be enclosed within the duct 36, this is not required and in some cases the airflow path 34 may be defined by means of a pressure differential between the interior of the cooking chamber 4 and the atmospheric pressure surrounding the oven.

Although in the illustrated embodiment the oven has first and

second heating elements

18A, 18B at the bottom and top of the cooking chamber, it will be appreciated that other numbers of heating elements may be provided, and other locations within the cooking chamber may be selected. Furthermore, the

heating elements

18A, 18B may be adapted to heat the air in the cooking chamber 4 to above 450 ℃, e.g. up to 500 ℃.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any dimensions and relative orientations are within the intended structural tolerances and limitations of the art and the devices described, and this should be taken into account when interpreting these. For example, in the present application, the terms "upper" and "lower" refer to the orientation of the oven 1 in normal use. The term "upper" corresponds to a vertically higher position than the term "lower". Likewise, the terms "front" and "rear" refer to the orientation of the pizza oven in normal use.

In summary, an electric pizza oven (1) is provided, comprising: a housing (2), the housing (2) holding a cooking chamber (4), the housing and the cooking chamber together defining an opening (8) for access into the cooking chamber; an electrical heating source (18A, 18B) configured to heat air in the cooking chamber to a temperature of at least 400 ℃; an oven door (16) for closing the opening; and one or more outlets through which heated air and/or steam is discharged from the cooking chamber.

Claims

1. An electric pizza oven, characterized in that it comprises:

a housing holding a cooking chamber, the housing and the cooking chamber defining an opening for accessing the cooking chamber;

an electrical heating source configured to heat air in the cooking chamber to a temperature of at least 400 ℃;

the oven door is used for closing the opening; and

one or more outlets through which heated air and/or steam can be discharged from the cooking chamber.

2. A pizza electric oven according to claim 1, wherein the or each outlet is positioned such that heated air and/or steam exits the oven proximate to and above the oven door.

3. The pizza electric oven of claim 1, wherein the cooking chamber and the housing are each defined by one or more walls, wherein an interior space is defined between the walls of the housing and the walls of the cooking chamber, and wherein the one or more outlets are each configured such that heated air and/or steam exhausted from the cooking chamber enters the interior space.

4. A pizza electric oven according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cooking chamber and the housing are each defined by one or more walls, and wherein the one or more outlets each comprise a first aperture defined in a wall of the cooking chamber and a second aperture defined in the housing wall, such that an air flow path is provided from the interior of the cooking chamber to the exterior of the oven.

5. A pizza electric oven according to claim 4, wherein the or each second aperture has an area of at least 400mm ² 。

6. A pizza electric oven according to claim 4, wherein the or each second aperture is positioned such that heated air and/or steam exiting via the second aperture enters directly into the atmosphere surrounding the oven.

7. A pizza electric oven according to claim 4, wherein the walls of the housing may comprise one or more insulating regions, wherein the walls of the housing comprise at least one insulating region surrounding the or each second aperture.

8. A pizza electric oven according to claim 1, wherein the or each outlet is resistant to air flow.

9. A pizza electric oven according to claim 1, comprising one or more moisture guides configured to guide moisture away via the outlet, wherein the or each moisture guide is configured to encourage moisture to flow away from the front of the oven and/or from the oven doors.

10. The pizza electric oven according to claim 1, wherein the pizza electric oven is adapted for use at temperatures exceeding 400 ℃.

11. The pizza electric oven of claim 1, wherein the oven door comprises a window comprising at least two sheets of glass defining a space therebetween.

12. The pizza electric oven of claim 1, wherein the electric heating source comprises one or more electric heating elements.