JP2007327674A - Heating cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heating cooker such as an oven range for cooking an object to be cooked while supplying steam to the object to be cooked in a heating chamber, capable of simultaneously achieving quick humidification of the object to be cooked and high-efficiency heating cooking, and easily providing delicious cooked object. <P>SOLUTION: This heating cooker comprises the heating chamber 2 receiving the object to be cooked 4, a heating means 12 heating the heating chamber 2, a steam generating means 13 generating the steam, an air distributing means 10 also acting as a fracturing means for finely fracturing the steam by applying impact shock, and a hot air unit 5 composed of a duct 5a covering the heating means 12 and the air distributing means 10. The steam generating means 13 is disposed outside of the duct 5a, the steam generating means 13 and the heating means 12 are disposed with positional relationship through the air distributing means 10, the steam supplied into the duct 5a from the steam generating means 13 is sprayed toward outflow wind 17 flowing out from the air distributing means 10, the steam is finely fractured by impact shock at that time, and the fine steam 20 mixed with the outflow air 17 is supplied into the heating chamber 2 to cook the heated object 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a heating cooker such as a microwave oven for cooking by supplying steam to an object to be cooked in a heating chamber.

  In a conventional cooking device of this type, as shown in Patent Document 1, a convection chamber having a convection fan and a convection heater that generate circulating air, and a suction provided in a boundary wall between the convection chamber and the heating chamber Some have a mouth and an outlet and a steam generation container for generating steam to be supplied into the heating chamber, and the steam generation container is provided in the vicinity of the suction port.

  Further, as shown in Patent Document 2, a high-frequency generator that radiates radio waves into the heating chamber, an evaporator that generates steam, a water supply unit that supplies water to the evaporator, a controller that controls water supply, and the like are provided. There is also a configuration in which cooking is performed by high frequency and steam in which a required water supply amount for each cooking is preset in the control means of the water supply unit.

  Furthermore, as shown in Patent Document 3, in a high-frequency heating apparatus with a steam generation function that measures the temperature of food by an infrared temperature sensor and controls heating, a high-frequency generator, an evaporating dish provided on the bottom of the heating chamber, and There is also a steam generator configured with a heater device, which is configured by embedding a sheathed heater in an aluminum die cast and directly attached to the back side of the evaporating dish.

JP 2004-316999 A JP 2004-028578 A JP 2004-278853 A

  In the above prior art, Patent Document 1 discloses a steam generation container that generates steam at the air suction port of the convection fan, that is, the air inflow side, so that the generated steam and the air flow flowing into the convection fan are provided. It is difficult to change the size of the steam.

  In addition, when the air temperature of the convection fan is lower than the temperature of the high-temperature steam that is heated by the convection heater provided on the air outflow side of the convection fan and flows into the heating chamber, the steam may be condensed on the convection fan. The dew condensation water may adversely affect the fan motor, electronic parts, and the like.

  Furthermore, since the steam generation container is provided inside the convection chamber, it becomes difficult for the air flow to flow, leading to an increase in passage resistance and inhibiting the compactness of the convection chamber.

  Further, since the steam generation container is disposed in the vicinity of the convection fan, the heat of the steam generation container heated by the convection heater is taken away by the convection fan and the air flow, and the steam generation container is hardly heated.

  Furthermore, since the steam that has been overheated is only used for the heating effect on the object to be heated, the purpose is to drastically improve the cooking time, so other methods of using the generated steam are considered. Absent.

  Further, as another problem, since the steam generation container is provided in the vicinity of the suction port on the rear wall of the heating chamber, food debris and the like easily enter the steam generation container, and cleaning thereof is difficult.

  Furthermore, since the upper part of the steam generation container is open and water is dripped from the upper part, scattering of water droplets can be considered depending on the flow of hot air, and scales due to precipitation of hardness components etc. are likely to adhere to the convection chamber, Moreover, the problem that the cleaning property is also bad occurs.

  Further, since the installation positions of the steam generation container and the convection heater are close to each other, scattered water droplets and steam easily adhere to the convection heater, and the scale tends to adhere to the heater.

  Furthermore, since the positional relationship between the steam generation container and the convection heater flows and is arranged upstream and downstream, the scale is likely to adhere to the convection heater, which can easily cause abnormal heating or disconnection of the heater, and easily break down.

  Next, what is shown in Patent Document 2 is provided with an evaporator that generates steam in the lower part of a room having a circulation fan, as in Patent Document 1, and the steam generated by the evaporator is placed on the air inflow side of the circulation fan. Because of the guidance, it is difficult to change the size of the steam.

  In addition, there are problems such as water droplet scattering due to condensation on the circulation fan, increased passage resistance of the air flow, and obstruction of the compactness of the room incorporating the circulation fan.

  Furthermore, in this patent document 2, various combinations of radio wave output and humidity according to the type of food are written in the semiconductor memory, and the necessary memory for cooking is called and executed. Although it is said that fine cooking is possible, even if the combination of radio wave output and humidity according to the type of food can be stored in the memory, the amount of food (eg food mass, how many servings) is not known There is a problem that heating control cannot be performed accurately. As a countermeasure, the user must manually input the amount of food or the heating time by manual operation, and for this purpose, the user must measure the amount of food with a scale or the like in advance. There is also a problem.

  Moreover, what is shown in patent document 3 is the method of measuring the temperature of a foodstuff with an infrared temperature sensor, and controlling heating as one of the said measures in the high frequency heating apparatus with a steam generation function, even if it does not know the quantity of foodstuff. is there.

  However, the following problems have been pointed out in the specification of temperature measurement using an infrared temperature sensor in an environment where steam exists.

  That is, when the steam fills the heating chamber, the infrared temperature sensor measures not the temperature of the object to be heated (the food to be cooked) but the temperature of the suspended particles of the steam existing between the object and the object to be heated. become. For this reason, it becomes impossible to accurately measure the temperature of the object to be heated. Then, the heating control made based on the temperature detection result of the infrared temperature sensor does not operate normally, for example, when problems such as insufficient heating and excessive heating occur, especially when performing automatic cooking performed in a sequential procedure, It means that the process proceeds to the next step with poor heating, which cannot be dealt with by simple reheating, cooling, etc., and cooking may end in failure.

  For this reason, in cooking using steam, it is very difficult to accurately measure the temperature of the cooking object in the heating chamber using an infrared temperature sensor, and the infrared temperature sensor cannot be used as a heating control means. There is a problem.

  The present invention aims to solve at least one of the above problems.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in claim 1, a heating chamber that accommodates an object to be cooked, a heating unit that heats the heating chamber, a steam generation unit that generates water vapor, and an impact on the water vapor are crushed finely. And a hot air unit comprising a duct covering the heating means and the air blowing means. The steam generating means is provided outside the duct, and the steam generating means and the heating means are provided to the air blowing. The water vapor supplied from the steam generating means into the duct is blown toward the air flow flowing out from the air blowing means, and the water vapor is finely crushed by the impact. It is heated to form high-temperature steam, and the superheated steam is supplied into the heating chamber.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the heating means is provided below the blower means, and the steam generating means is provided above the blower means.

  In Claim 3, the heating means is a high emission heat source that brightly illuminates the inside of the duct with visible light, and superheats the water vapor supplied from the vapor generation means by both convective heat transfer and heat radiation on the surface of the high emission heat source. Thus, high-temperature steam is obtained.

  In claim 4, the hot superheated steam mixed with the air stream includes at least both ultrafine water vapor of less than about 1000 nanometers and fine water vapor of about 1 micrometer or more, Moisturizing and humidifying the cooked food mainly by permeating it into the cooked food, and cooking the cooked food by attaching and condensing the latter fine water vapor mainly on the cooked food surface To do.

  In Claim 5, it is provided with the mass detection means which detects the mass of a to-be-cooked object, and the control means which adjusts the water vapor | steam amount supplied in a heating chamber, Based on the detected value of a mass detection means, a control means makes it from a steam generation means. The amount of water vapor supplied is controlled, and an appropriate amount of water vapor according to the cooking content of the cooking object is supplied into the heating chamber.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a non-rotating table placed on the bottom surface of the heating chamber for placing the food to be cooked, mass detecting means for detecting the mass of the food to be cooked, and control means for adjusting the amount of water vapor supplied into the heating chamber. And detecting the mass of the object to be cooked on the table by the mass detecting means, controlling the amount of water vapor supplied from the steam generating means by the control means based on the detected value, and depending on the cooking contents of the object to be cooked An appropriate amount of water vapor is supplied into the heating chamber.

  In Claim 7, the non-rotating table installed in the bottom face of a heating chamber and mounting a to-be-cooked object, and several mass installed in the lower surface of a table so that this table may be supported, and detecting the mass of a to-be-cooked object A detection means and a control means for adjusting the amount of water vapor supplied into the heating chamber; the mass of the food to be cooked on the table is detected by the sum of the plurality of mass detection means; and the steam is detected by the control means based on the detected value. The amount of water vapor supplied from the generating means is controlled, and an appropriate amount of water vapor according to the cooking content of the cooking object is supplied into the heating chamber.

  In claim 8, a non-rotating table placed on the bottom surface of the heating chamber for placing the food to be cooked, a hot air supply means comprising heating means for circulating heated air in the heating chamber and a blowing means, and a blowing means Crushing means, a plurality of mass detection means installed on the lower surface of the table to detect the mass of the food to be cooked so as to support the table, and a control means for adjusting the amount of water vapor supplied into the heating chamber. The mass of the object to be cooked on the table is detected by the sum of the plurality of mass detection means, and the amount of water vapor supplied from the steam generation means is controlled by the control means based on the detected value, and the hot air supply means is configured. The steam is further heated and crushed by the heating means and the crushing means, and an appropriate amount of water vapor according to the cooking content of the cooking object is supplied into the heating chamber.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the hot air unit, the heating means and the steam generation means are in a substantially opposite positional relationship with respect to the outflow air flowing out from the blower means toward the outer peripheral direction. Water vapor supplied from the outlet of the means does not directly contact the heating means, thereby making it difficult for scale to deposit on the surface of the heating means, extending the life of the heating means, and performing stable cooking for a long period of time. it can.

  In addition, since the steam generating means and the heating means provided outside the duct are separately arranged in a positional relationship sandwiching the air blowing means, the hot air unit can be made compact and low in cost. It is possible to keep the size of the main body in the depth direction small.

  According to the second aspect, since the steam generating means and the heating means are arranged in the vertical direction of the duct with the air blower interposed therebetween, the water vapor superheated by the heating means is reduced in weight and easily stays above the duct of the hot air unit. Even after use, condensation is unlikely to occur on the surface of the heating means disposed below the duct.

  Also in the heating chamber, since the air temperature on the ceiling surface side tends to be high due to the high-temperature air and the high-temperature steam, the heating chamber is configured so that the air directly heated from the heating means flows out from the lower side of the heating chamber. The temperature distribution can be kept small, and the unevenness of the cooking object can be reduced.

  According to the third aspect, a high light emission heat source that brightly illuminates the inside of the duct with visible light is used as the heating means of the hot air unit, and the steam blown out from the steam generation means by both convective heat transfer and heat radiation by the high light emission heat source. Since heat can be transferred efficiently, fine steam can be efficiently generated by the hot air supply means and supplied into the heating chamber.

  According to the fourth aspect, not only the generated fine water vapor is used for heating the cooking object, but also the ultra fine water vapor can be used for moisturizing the cooking object, and is generated by the steam generating means. The range of application of the use of water vapor can be expanded.

  According to claim 5, the configuration according to claims 1 to 4 is also applied to a microwave oven that rotates and puts the food to be cooked on a round table, corresponding to the type, cooking, and weight of the food to be cooked. Since the supply of water vapor can be controlled, optimal cooking using steam can be realized. Of course, it goes without saying that cooking using the mass detection means can realize the best heating control capable of sufficiently covering the problems of the infrared temperature sensor.

  According to the sixth aspect, the structure according to the first to fourth aspects can be applied to a turntableless microwave oven in which the table on which the object is to be cooked does not rotate, and the same effect as described above can be obtained.

  According to the seventh and eighth aspects, for example, the weight of the food to be cooked on the table is detected by the sum of the three mass detection means, and the control means supplies the steam generation means based on the detected value. The amount of water vapor can be controlled, and the placement position on the table on which the food item is placed can be specified from the ratio of the output value of the mass detection means, so that water vapor can be efficiently blown toward the food item. Is possible.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, since the heating means and the steam outlet of the steam generating means are respectively arranged in symmetrical positions with respect to the air flow from the blowing means in the heating unit, the steam of the steam generating means The water vapor supplied from the jet outlet does not directly contact the heating means, whereby it becomes difficult for scale to deposit on the surface of the heating means, extending the life of the heating means and performing stable cooking for a long time.

  Hereinafter, the cooking device of the present invention will be described with an electric microwave oven having high-frequency heating means composed of a magnetron or the like as an example. In addition, this invention is applicable also to heating cookers, such as an electric oven and a microwave oven.

  FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of an electric microwave oven according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the electric microwave oven as viewed from the back side, and shows a state in which a cover 35 as an outer frame is removed in front of the main body.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the hot air unit 5 installed on the back side of the electric microwave oven shown in FIG.

  The main body 1 of the electric microwave oven includes a heating chamber 2 for storing a cooking object 4 such as food to be cooked, a non-rotating table 3 on which the cooking object 4 provided on the bottom surface 2c of the heating chamber 2 is placed. A hot air unit that is a hot air supply means for circulating hot air in the heating chamber 2, a magnetron that is a heating source for range cooking 6, a waveguide 7 that guides microwaves, a rotating antenna 8 that irradiates the heating chamber 2 with microwaves, an antenna A motor 9 and a door 36 that can be opened and closed for taking in and out the food 4 provided on the front surface of the main body 1 are configured.

  Since the magnetron 6, the waveguide 7, the rotating antenna 8, the antenna motor 9 and the like are already known, detailed description thereof is omitted, but these components are shown in the heating chamber 2 and the main body 1 as shown in the figure. It is arranged in the space (machine room) with the bottom.

The hot air unit 5 used for oven cooking constitutes hot air supply means, and includes a duct 5a, a blower means 10 such as a fan that is rotatably provided substantially in the center of the duct 5a, and below the blower means 10. The heating means 12 such as a heater provided on the outflow side of the air flow, the fan motor 11 attached to the duct 5a, and the like are arranged behind the back wall of the heating chamber 2.

  In the present invention, the steam generating means 13 is provided outside the duct 5a on the back side of the hot air unit 5 and above the air blowing means 10, and the upper and lower positions sandwiching the air blowing means 10 in the duct 5a. The steam generating means 13 and the heating means 12 are arranged in relation. The reason is that, if the water vapor supplied from the outlet 18 of the steam generating means 13 is in direct contact with the heating means 12, depending on the components of water, scale may be deposited on the surface of the heating means 12 and remain. There is. In order to solve this, in this embodiment, the heating means 12 and the steam generation means 13 are arranged as far apart as possible so as to sandwich the air blowing means 10.

  In this way, by disposing the heating means 12 and the steam generation means 13 at a position where the flow direction of the outflow air 17 of the blower means 10 is substantially opposite, deterioration or damage due to adhesion of the scale to the heating means 12. The life of the heating means 12 can be extended and stable cooking can be performed for a long time.

  Note that, as in this embodiment, the steam generating means 13 is not disposed above the hot air unit 5 and the heating means 12 is disposed below the air blowing means 10. For example, the heating air is heated above the hot air unit 5. The means 12 may have a configuration in which the steam generating means 13 is disposed below the air blowing means 10. As another example, the heating means 12 and the steam generating means 13 are arranged on the left and right sides of the air blowing means 10. The structure arrange | positioned in the distance may be sufficient. That is, in the present invention, the heating unit 12 and the steam generation unit 13 may not be disposed on the same side of the blower unit 10.

  The back wall of the heating chamber 2 is provided with a plurality of punching holes 2a and blowout holes 2b. The suction hole 2a is formed in the substantially central portion of the blowing means 10, that is, in the airflow suction hole 2a. The air outlets 2b are respectively provided at the upper and lower positions of the air blowing means 10.

  Thus, in the hot air unit 5, when the steam generating means 13 and the heating means 12 are arranged with the air blowing means 10 interposed therebetween, the substantially saturated water vapor supplied from the steam generating means 13 does not efficiently hit the heating means 12, There is a concern that the superheated steam cannot be performed well, but the steam supplied from the steam generating means 13 is blown by the air flow through the suction hole 2a and the blowout hole 2b of the hot air unit 5 because of the flow resistance. 10 is stirred in the hot air unit 5 by a high-speed flow such as 10 swirling flows, and is violently blown to the heating means 12 at a position away from the steam generating means 13 to generate superheated steam superheated to a higher temperature.

  The main body 1 of the electric microwave oven shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a so-called turntableless microwave oven in which there is no rotating table in the lower center of the heating chamber 2.

  The steam generating means 13 disposed outside the duct 5a of the hot air unit 5 includes a container 13a to which water is supplied, a heater 13b for heating the container 13a, a temperature detector such as a thermistor (not shown). Etc.

  Here, the container 13a is composed of an aluminum material such as aluminum die-casting or a metal material that is not easily rusted, such as stainless steel, and the heater 13b is composed of a sheathed heater or the like embedded in the meat portion of the container 13a. However, the container 13a and the heater 13b are not necessarily limited to these configurations, and the container 13a preferably has a small heat capacity in order to shorten the temperature raising time, and more desirably the weight of the container 13a is about 100 g to 200 g. Good. In addition, the heater 13b preferably has a power consumption of about 500 W to 1000 W at a voltage of 100 V in order to shorten the heating time.

  In this way, by setting the mass and power consumption to the above-described numerical values, the temperature raising time until the steam generating means 13 reaches a predetermined temperature can be reduced to about 30 seconds to 1 minute or less.

  Of course, the container 13a and the heater 13b do not need to be limited to these specifications and numerical values, and the container 13a and the heater 13b may be divided into a plurality of parts. Moreover, if the outer wall of the steam generation means 13 is covered with a heat insulating material to suppress heat dissipation to the surroundings, the temperature rise time can be shortened, leading to improvement in heating efficiency / energy saving.

  Water is supplied to the container 13 a from a water tank 14 provided in the main body 1 through a water pump 15 and a water pipe 34. Here, as water, in view of hygiene, tap water containing some chlorine components is desirable. Further, the water tank 14, the water pump 15, and the water pipe 34 need not be limited to the positions shown in FIGS. In particular, the water tank 14 is preferably located at a position where it can be easily taken out from the front of the main body 1, and the bottom, top, or side of the main body 1 is good so that it can be seen from the front of the main body 1.

  The steam outlet 18 is connected to the steam generating means 13, and the tip thereof is opened to blow toward the air flow flowing out from the blower means 10. Since the steam generating means 13 has a structure in which the pressure that expands when the water supplied from the water tank 14 becomes water vapor does not substantially escape from other than the outlet 18, it is discharged from the steam generating means 13 through the outlet 18. The pressure of the generated water vapor is large according to the expansion force that becomes the water vapor.

  The direction in which the steam flow ejected from the blower outlet 18 is released is most preferably directed to the air flow immediately after flowing out of the blowing means 10. In order to open so as to collide with the air flow of this steam, the position of the air outlet 18 is located in the vicinity of the air blowing means 10 where the air flow of the air blowing means 10 is not influenced by other air currents in the hot air unit 5. Is good.

  In addition, the angle at which the airflows collide with each other at an angle such that a stronger impact is applied to the steam flow than the steam flow in the same direction with respect to the airflow of the blowing means 10 is preferable. In order not to prevent the circulation, the direction in which the airflows face each other is not desirable. Considering the balance between the two, it is preferable that a blower outlet 18 is provided on the side with respect to the air flow from the blower 10 as in this embodiment, and the vapor flow collides with the air flow from the side. .

  Further, the size and number of the diameters of the air outlets 18 are parameters for controlling the water vapor ejection speed. This is because the pressure of the steam generated in the steam generating means 13 is reduced by the steam blown out from the blower outlet 18. In the present invention, the diameter is 1 to 3 mm and the number is 2 to 4 (see FIG. 3 is 3). By providing in this way, it becomes possible for the steam flow to collide with the air flow from the blowing means 10 at an appropriate ejection speed, and the size of each particle of the steam constituting the steam generated by the steam generating means 13. Can be made relatively small.

When oven cooking using hot air is performed in the turntableless electric microwave oven having the hot air unit 5 configured as described above, the following is executed in the present invention.
(1) When the hot air unit 5 is operated, the air blowing means 10 is turned on, and the inflow air 16 sucked into the hot air unit 5 from the heating chamber 2 through the suction hole 2 a is rotated at a high speed by the rotation of the air blowing means 10. And flows out of the blowing means 10 vigorously.
(2) In the steam generating means 13, the heater 13b is turned on and the temperature of the container 13a is started to rise.
(3) When the container 13a approaches a predetermined temperature, a predetermined amount of water is supplied from the water tank 14 to the steam generating means 13 through the water pipe 34 by the water pump 15. An example of the predetermined temperature is equal to or higher than a saturation temperature at which water boils and evaporates, and is preferably about 150 ° C. to 250 ° C., but may be 150 ° C. or lower or 250 ° C. or higher.

The predetermined amount of water varies depending on the food to be cooked 4 and its cooking menu, but is preferably about 5 cc / min to 20 cc / min.
(4) When water is supplied to the steam generating means 13, the supplied water comes into contact with the inner wall of the container 13 a kept at a high temperature and instantaneously boils and evaporates to generate saturated water vapor. Saturated water vapor has a saturation temperature of 100 ° C. under atmospheric pressure. In the present embodiment, in steps (2) to (4), the steam generating means 13 is first heated up in the container 13a to reach a predetermined temperature, and then a small amount of water is continuously added to the steam generating means 13. Alternatively, the method of intermittently supplying and instantaneously boiling and evaporating is taken, but as another method, a predetermined amount of water is first stored in the steam generating means 13, and then the stored steam generating means 13 is used. There is no problem even if the temperature is raised and water is gradually evaporated.
(5) Since the evaporated saturated water vapor 19 expands to about 1600 times the volume of water, the water vapor 19 is ejected vigorously from the air outlet 18 which is the steam outlet of the steam generating means 13. The size and number of the outlets 18 are parameters for controlling the ejection speed of the water vapor 19 as described above. In the present invention, as described above, the diameter of the outlets 18 is 1 to 3 mm, and the number is Two to four are desirable.
(6) The water vapor 19 ejected from the steam generating means 13 vigorously collides with the high-speed outflow wind 17 immediately after exiting from the air blowing means 10 generated in the above (1) and gives an impact force. The contained large-diameter water vapor is further finely crushed. Note that the water vapor 19 ejected from the steam generating means 13 is not the high-speed outflow air 17 immediately after exiting from the air blowing means 10, but the air flow outlet end side, for example, in FIG. The water vapor 19 ejected from the blowout port 18 may be blown against the tip end side of the blade portion of the blowing means 10 by making the positional relationship in the height direction of 10 approach. Further, the positional relationship between the steam generating means 13 and the air blowing means 10 may remain the same as in FIG. 1, and a tube may be connected to the air outlet 18 and the water vapor 19 may be guided to the air blowing means 10 by the tube as described above.

Therefore, in this invention, the ventilation means 10 comprised with a radial fan (centrifugal fan) etc. is a crushing means which crushes water vapor | steam finely, and the water vapor | steam 19 supplied from the steam generation means 13 is the front-end | tip of the blade | wing part of the ventilation means 10. It is characterized in that the water vapor 19 is impacted and shattered finely by vigorously colliding with the high-speed outflow air 17 (air flow) immediately after flowing out from the air blowing means 10. Here, the type of the air blowing means 10 may not be a radial fan, and may be a blower such as a cross flow fan, a sirocco fan, or a turbo fan.
(7) The water vapor having different diameters generated by (6) is then heated by the heating means 12 in the hot air unit 5 and becomes high-temperature hot air containing a lot of fine water vapor 20 and the like, and is heated from the blowout hole 2b. It is supplied to the chamber 2 and the food 4 to be cooked.

The temperature of the high temperature hot air containing a lot of fine water vapor 20 and the like superheated by the heating means 12 can be about 100 ° C. to 350 ° C., but when considering oven cooking in this embodiment, it is preferably from 200 ° C. The temperature is preferably about 300 ° C., more preferably about 230 ° C. to 270 ° C. (250 ± 20 ° C.).

Further, the heated and crushed fine water vapor 20 of the present invention includes at least a nanometer order (a water molecule size of about 0.3 nanometer (nm) to less than 1000 nm) and a micrometer order water vapor. It is characterized by containing both fine water vapor of [about 1 micrometer (μm)] or more. Of course, in the case where fine water droplets on the order of several tens to several hundreds of micrometers which are not completely evaporated in the steam generating means 13 are contained in the steam 19 and ejected, or the steam 19 ejected from the steam generating means 13 is immediately after that. In some cases, the water droplets are rapidly cooled to become fine water droplets, but any of the fine water droplets can be further finely crushed by the blowing means 10 and the heating means 12 which are the crushing means of the present invention.
(8) The fine water vapor 20 (containing nanometer-order ultrafine water vapor and micrometer-order or more fine water vapor) generated by the above (1) to (7) is to be cooked in the heating chamber 2. The following effects are obtained as shown in FIG.

  That is, for one thing, the ultrafine water vapor 20a of the smallest nanometer order contained in the fine water vapor 20 penetrates into the inner layer of the surface of the object to be cooked 4 and further into the inside of the food to be cooked 4. Humidification and moisturization are performed by supplying water. This is because the size of the ultrafine water vapor on the order of nanometers is smaller than the fineness of the dough such as the surface layer of the object 4 to be cooked, so that it can easily penetrate from the surface layer of the object 4 to the inside.

  On the other hand, the fine water vapor 20b having a slightly larger diameter than micrometer order contained in the fine water vapor 20 contacts and adheres to the surface of the object 4 to be cooked, and condenses on the surface of the object 4 to be cooked at a low temperature. Therefore, large heating energy is generated and efficient heating is performed. That is, the to-be-cooked object 4 is efficiently cooked by the latent heat of condensation generated when the fine water vapor 20 b becomes the condensed water droplets 21. Of course, the two effects of the fine water vapor 20 of the present invention described above are the main effects, and other effects may be produced, or two kinds of water vapor may complement each other.

  In the steps (1) to (4), the order of each step may be changed.

  Moreover, prior to the oven cooking in the present embodiment, the cooking object 4 is heated (range heating) by electromagnetic waves, and then the superheated water vapor 20 of the present embodiment is supplied to the cooking object 4 so that the cooking object 4 is heated. The efficiency of heating with water vapor penetrating from the surface layer to the inside increases.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the present invention, which is a turntableless type electric microwave oven as in FIG. 1. However, the table 3 placed on the bottom surface of the heating chamber 2 is separated from the heating chamber 2. The main difference is that mass detecting means 22 for measuring the weight of the object to be cooked 4 is installed under the table 3.

  According to this configuration, the mass detection means 22 detects the weight of the object 4 to be cooked on the table 3, and the amount of water vapor supplied from the steam generation means 13 by the control means (not shown) based on the detected value. 19 is characterized in that an appropriate amount of fine water vapor 20 can be supplied into the heating chamber 2 according to the cooking content of the cooking object 4.

  FIG. 6 is an example of the mass detection means 22 shown in FIG. 5, and is a detection means whose measurement principle is a capacitance type. The capacitance type mass detection means 22 is composed of a movable electrode 28 and a fixed electrode 29 made of a thin metal material, and is attached to the heating chamber bottom surface 2c.

  Here, the fixed electrode 29 and the movable electrode 28 face each other substantially in parallel to hold a predetermined gap, that is, the detection space 30, and a capacitor is formed between the fixed electrode 29 and the movable electrode 28 and mounted on the table 3. The change in the detection space 30 between the movable electrode 28 that moves in accordance with the weight of the placed cooking object 4 and the stationary electrode 29 that is stationary is converted into a change in capacitance, and the change in capacitance changes. The weight of the object to be cooked 4 is calculated from the detection. The mass detecting means 22 in the present invention is not limited to the capacitance type, and may be a strain type or an optical sensor.

  In this embodiment, the cooking object 4 is not placed directly on the table 3 but is placed on the cooking net 3a on the table 3 so that the fine steam 20 blown out from the hot air unit 5 is covered. By hitting the entire surface of the food 4, the food 4 can be efficiently heated.

Furthermore, the heating means 12 arranged in the duct 5a of the hot air unit 5 constituting the hot air supply means is a high light emission heat source 12a such as a halogen heater, for example, and the fine water vapor 20 blown out from the blow hole 2b on the lower side of the hot air unit 5 is used. It is configured to heat with radiant heat from the heat source light 12b.

  FIG. 7 is an enlarged side cross-sectional view of the hot air unit 5 of the electric microwave oven main body 1 of FIG. In the present embodiment, a high emission heat source 12a that emits visible light (wavelength of about 380 to 800 nanometers) is used as the heating means 12, and the high emission heat source 12a reflects the heat source light 12b in the duct 5a. Light can reach from the lower side of the duct 5a where the high light emission heat source 12a is arranged to the upper side of the duct 5a where the steam generating means 13 is arranged, and the inside of the duct 5a can be illuminated with the heat source light 12b.

  Here, examples of the high light emission heat source 12a include a halogen heater and a quartz tube heater.

  As a heat source widely used in conventional heating cookers, there is a sheathed heater in which a resistance wire is enclosed in a metal tube via an insulator. In contrast, a halogen heater encloses an inert gas around a filament. It has a feature that the light output and radiation efficiency are large.

  In addition, since the halogen heater does not intervene an insulator, the temperature rise characteristic is fast, the heater generates heat when energized, and a large amount of light and radiant heat can be supplied to the outer periphery of the heater. Due to the thermal sensitivity, the controllability of heating is also good.

  On the other hand, a quartz tube heater having a resistance heating wire inside the quartz tube can emit a larger amount of light emission and radiant heat than a sheathed heater, as with the halogen heater described above, and has a simple structure. An inexpensive high emission heat source 12a can be configured.

  However, the halogen heater is the best in both the above heaters when compared with the amount of emitted light and the amount of radiant heat, and is suitable as the high emission heat source 12a of the present invention.

  Therefore, in the present invention in which the heating means 12 is constituted by the high light emission heat source 12a, the high temperature air mixed with the water vapor passing through the duct 5a of the hot air unit 5 is directly heated by the high light emission heat source 12a and the heat source light 12b. The water vapor can be heated by the heat radiation by the high temperature, and high temperature water vapor effective for heating the cooking object 4 can be supplied to the heating chamber 2.

  Further, the heat source light 12b emitted from the high light emission heat source 12a brightly illuminates the food 4 to be cooked in the heating chamber 2 through the blowout hole 2b (punching metal hole) of the heating chamber 2 that blows out the high temperature steam, and refines the high temperature steam. The heating chamber 2 can be maintained for a long time.

  In addition, if the structure of a present Example is applied to the electric type microwave oven of FIG. 1, the same heating effect | action can be provided.

  FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which the position of the heating means 12 composed of the steam generating means 13 and the high light emission heat source 12a in the hot air unit 5 of the electric microwave oven of FIG. 7 is exchanged. . Specifically, in the duct 5 a of the hot air unit 5, the heating unit 12 is disposed above the air blowing unit 10, and the steam generation unit 13 is disposed below.

In this embodiment, for example, the heat source light 12b is irradiated from the blowing hole 2b above the heating chamber 2 to the entire heating chamber 2 such as the cooking object 4 and the table 3 by the high light emission heat source 12a. For this reason, while heating the to-be-cooked object 4 in the heating chamber 2 with a radiant heat, the high temperature water vapor circulated and supplied via the hot air unit 5 can be heated.

  Therefore, in the heating chamber 2, the high-temperature steam blown out after being refined can be maintained for a long time in a refined state, and stable fine steam can be supplied to the food 4 to be cooked efficiently.

  FIG. 9 shows another embodiment of the present invention and shows the heating control in the same configuration as FIG.

FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view of the heating chamber bottom 2c of the electric microwave oven having the mass detection means 22 of FIG. 5 as viewed from above. In the present embodiment, three mass detection means 22 are installed in the lower part of the table 3, and the mass detection means 22a at the rear center of the heating chamber bottom surface 2c and the mass detection means at the front left side of the heating chamber bottom surface 2c. The table 3 is stably supported at three points by 22b and the mass detection means 22c on the front right side of the heating chamber bottom surface 2c. The support of the table 3 by the mass detection means 22 is not necessarily limited to three points, and may be four points, and may be support by other numbers.

  9 and 10, the signal lines extending from the mass detection means 22 to the control means 27 are the mass detection signal 23, and the signal lines extending from the control means 27 to the rotating antenna 9 are the antenna control signal 24 and the control means 27, respectively. The signal line extending from the steam generating unit 13 near the hot air unit 5 to the steam amount control signal 25, the signal line extending from the control unit 27 to the magnetron 6 to the microwave control signal 26, and the control unit 27 to the heating unit 12 The outgoing signal line is the heating amount control signal 40. Note that signal lines and power lines other than the detection signals and control signals shown here are omitted.

  Next, in the turntableless type microwave oven having the mass detecting means 22 and the hot air unit 5 shown in FIG. 8 to FIG. 10, an automatic cooking method will be specifically described using the flowchart of FIG.

<Step 1>
First, the door 36 is opened, the food item 4 is placed on the table 3, and the door 36 is closed. Then, the type of food and the contents of the cooking menu are manually input using a dial or button (not shown) on the operation panel. Note that step 1 may be omitted in a cooking appliance that can automatically recognize an object to be cooked or the like.

<Step 2>
After confirming the contents of the cooking menu, etc., manually enter the start (start) of cooking using the dial or buttons. In addition, you may perform these manual input by remote control operation in the cooking-by-heating machine which can be performed with a remote control instead of on the operation panel of the main body 1. FIG.

<Step 3>
When the operation of step 2 is completed, the control means 27 of the microwave oven issues a command, and the mass detection means 22 automatically detects the mass of the food item (food) 4. That is, in the microwave oven according to the present embodiment, the weight of the object 4 to be cooked is automatically detected. Therefore, the user manually inputs the weight information of the object 4 to be cooked (how many grams, how many servings, how many, etc.) ) Does not need to be input, so that the user does not have to worry about measuring the weight of the object to be cooked 4 in advance or manually inputting the weight information.

In the present embodiment, the mass detection of the object 4 is automatically performed as follows.
(1) The weights Wa, Wb, Wc at the respective support points are detected by the three mass detection means 22a, 22b, 22c provided at the lower part of the table 3.
(2) The weight of the object to be cooked 4 on the table 3 is calculated from the sum (W = Wa + Wb + Wc) of the three mass detectors 22a, 22b, 22c.

<Step 4>
In step 1, the type of food and cooking menu contents are found. In step 3, the weight of the food (cooking object) 4 is found. Therefore, the heating time is determined based on these pieces of information. The setting of the main heating time is also automatically calculated and determined by the control means 27 and the like.

<Step 5>
If cooking is not performed using steam, step 5 is not necessary. However, in cooking using steam as in this embodiment, the type of cooking object 4, the cooking menu, and the weight of cooking object 4 The steam generation amount is automatically calculated and determined based on the heating time. The steam generation amount can be controlled, for example, by controlling the amount of water supplied to the steam generation unit 13 by the control unit 27. The temperature control of the hot air or steam is performed by the heating means 12.

<Step 6>
The calculation and determination of the various amounts are automatically performed almost instantaneously, and then cooking using steam is automatically started. The amount of steam generated during cooking is appropriately controlled by the control means 27 in accordance with information such as the type of cooking object 4, cooking menu, and mass. There are cooking that continuously generates steam from the steam generating means 13, cooking that generates steam intermittently, cooking that requires a steam generation amount of about 5 cc / min, and cooking that requires about 20 cc / min. is there. The hot air temperature is also controlled at a temperature suitable for oven cooking, for example, about 200 ° C. to 300 ° C. In addition, when it is not oven cooking which requires high temperature hot air here (for example, range cooking), the heating means 12 which comprises the hot air unit 5 should just be turned off, and only the ventilation means 10 should just be turned on, Even in that case, ventilation means 10 serves as a crushing means, and water vapor is subdivided and refined.

  The relationship between the information such as the type, cooking menu, and mass of the object to be cooked 4 and the control quantities such as the amount of steam generated and the hot air temperature is preliminarily stored in the control means 27 of the microwave oven, It can be calculated from the calculation based on it.

<Step 7>
The cooking using the steam started in step 6 is performed over a predetermined time (the heating time determined in step 6).

<Step 8>
And when predetermined time (heating time) passes, cooking will be complete | finished and a user will be notified of completion | finish.

  In addition to the cooking method described above, the configuration of the present invention can further perform the following. That is, after the weights Wa, Wb, Wc at the respective support points are detected by the three mass detection means 22a, 22b, 22c provided at the lower part of the table 3, the three mass detection means 22a, 22b are detected. , 22c (W = Wa + Wb + Wc) to calculate the weight of the object 4 to be cooked on the table 3, and the ratio of the detected values of the weights Wa, Wb, Wc at the three support points (weight Since the position where the object 4 is placed can be calculated from the method of application), it is possible to concentrate and spray the fine water vapor 20 toward the placement position. It is also possible to irradiate the microwaves in a concentrated manner by controlling the rotation (including stopping).

  In order to concentrate and spray the fine water vapor 20 on the mounting position as described above, the fine water vapor 20 is detected in the hot air unit 5 immediately before the blowout hole 2b to the heating chamber 2 in the above-described embodiment. It is necessary to provide a flow control means (not shown) for controlling the flow based on the mounting position. The flow control means may be an electric louver or the like.

  Further, the cooking flow described in FIG. 11 may be performed manually. That is, in steps 3, 4, and 5, the weight, heating time, and steam amount of the cooking object 4 are manually input using a dial, a button, or the like.

  FIG. 12 shows still another embodiment of the present invention. Unlike the above-described embodiment, FIG. 12 shows a turntable type electric microwave oven in which a rotary table 32 provided in the center of the heating chamber 2 rotates. Similar to the embodiment.

  The hot air unit 5 and the steam generating means 13 are the same as those in FIG. 8, and the microwave emitted from the magnetron 6 is irradiated onto the object 4 to be cooked from the side surface of the heating chamber 2 through the waveguide 7.

The rotary table 32 is rotated by a table motor 33 at a lower portion thereof, and one mass detection means 22 is installed at the coaxial end portion thereof. The mass detection means 22 is placed on the rotary table 32. The weight of the food 4 can be detected, and the mass detection signal 23 is sent to the control means 27. The cooking method is the same as that described in FIG.

It is side surface sectional drawing of the electric type microwave oven of this invention. It is the perspective view which looked at the electric type microwave oven of Drawing 1 from the back. It is a perspective view of the hot air unit of FIG. It is a schematic diagram of the water vapor | steam effect | action to the to-be-cooked thing of this invention. It is side surface sectional drawing of the 2nd electric microwave oven of this invention. It is side surface sectional drawing of the electrostatic capacitance type mass detection means of this invention. It is side surface sectional drawing of the hot air unit of FIG. It is side surface sectional drawing of the 3rd electric type microwave oven of this invention. It is side surface sectional drawing of the electric type microwave oven which has a mass detection means of this invention. It is a block diagram which supports three points | pieces with the mass detection means of this invention. It is a flowchart of the cooking method of this invention. It is side surface sectional drawing of the turntable type microwave oven of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Main body, 2 ... Heating chamber, 2a ... Suction hole, 2b ... Outlet hole, 3 ... Table, 5 ... Hot-air unit, 5a ... Duct, 10 ... Air blower, 12 ... Heating means, 12a ... High luminous heat source, 13 ... Steam generating means, 18 ... outlet, 20 ... fine water vapor, 21 ... condensed water droplets, 22 ... mass detecting means,
27: Control means.

Claims (9)

  A heating chamber for storing the cooking object, a heating means for heating the heating chamber, a steam generating means for generating water vapor, a blowing means for impacting the water vapor and crushing means for finely crushing, and a heating means A hot air unit comprising a duct covering the air blowing means, the steam generating means is provided outside the duct, and the steam generating means and the heating means are arranged in a positional relationship sandwiching the air blowing means to generate steam. The steam supplied from the means into the duct is blown toward the air flow flowing out from the air blowing means, and the water vapor is crushed finely by the impact, and the water vapor is superheated by the heating means to form high-temperature water vapor. A heating cooker that is supplied into a heating chamber.   The cooking device according to claim 1, wherein the heating means is provided below the blowing means, and the steam generating means is provided above the blowing means.   The heating means is a high light emission heat source that brightly illuminates the inside of the duct with visible light, and overheats the water vapor supplied from the vapor generation means by both convective heat transfer and heat radiation on the surface of the high light emission heat source, and The cooking device according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the cooking device is steam.   The hot superheated steam mixed with the air flow contains at least both ultrafine water vapor of less than about 1000 nanometers and fine water vapor of about 1 micrometer or more, and the former superfine water vapor is mainly used. Moisturizing and humidifying the cooking object by permeating into the cooking object, and heating and cooking the cooking object by attaching and condensing the latter fine water vapor mainly on the surface of the cooking object The cooking device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   A mass detecting means for detecting the mass of the object to be cooked and a control means for adjusting the amount of steam supplied into the heating chamber, and the amount of steam supplied from the steam generating means by the control means based on the detection value of the mass detecting means The heating cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein an appropriate amount of water vapor corresponding to the cooking content of the cooking object is supplied to the heating chamber.   A non-rotating table placed on the bottom of the heating chamber for placing the food to be cooked, a mass detecting means for detecting the mass of the food to be cooked, and a control means for adjusting the amount of water vapor supplied into the heating chamber, The mass of the object to be cooked on the table is detected by the detecting means, the amount of water vapor supplied from the steam generating means is controlled by the control means based on the detected value, and an appropriate amount of water vapor according to the cooking content of the object to be cooked is obtained. The cooking device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the cooking device is supplied into a heating chamber.   A non-rotating table placed on the bottom surface of the heating chamber for placing the food to be cooked; a plurality of mass detecting means installed on the lower surface of the table for supporting the table; Control means for adjusting the amount of steam supplied to the room is detected, the mass of the cooking object on the table is detected by the sum of a plurality of mass detection means, and the control means supplies the steam generation means from the steam generation means. The heating cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein an amount of water vapor is controlled to supply an appropriate amount of water vapor according to the cooking content of the cooking object into the heating chamber.   A non-rotating table placed on the bottom surface of the heating chamber to place the food to be cooked, a hot air supply means composed of a heating means and a blowing means for circulating heated air in the heating chamber, a crushing means consisting of a blowing means, A plurality of mass detecting means installed on the lower surface of the table so as to support the table and detecting the mass of the object to be cooked, and a control means for adjusting the amount of water vapor to be supplied into the heating chamber. The mass of the object to be cooked on the table is detected by the sum of the detection means, the amount of steam supplied from the steam generation means is controlled by the control means based on the detected value, and the heating means and crushing that constitute the hot air supply means The steam according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the steam is further heated and crushed by the means, and an appropriate amount of steam according to the cooking content of the cooking object is supplied into the heating chamber. Heat cooker. A heating chamber for storing an object to be cooked; and a heating unit for heating the heating chamber. The heating unit includes a heating means for heating the heating chamber, a steam generating means for generating water vapor, and the heating means. A blowing unit that supplies heated air to the heating chamber; a duct that covers the heating unit and the blowing unit; and the vapor generation unit is disposed outside the duct, and a vapor outlet of the vapor generation unit is provided. Air that is provided inside the duct, the steam outlet is provided at a position sandwiching the air blowing means with respect to the heating means, and air that flows into the duct from the steam generating means flows out from the air blowing means A heating cooker that blows toward a flow and supplies the superheated steam supplied into the duct and superheated by the heating means into the heating chamber.

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