JP2024058214A - Microwave steamer - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a microwave steamer that can be used without problems to cook foods that exude a lot of oil, such as steamed chicken. [Solution] The microwave steamer is equipped with a water container 1, an electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray 2, a food mounting plate 3, an electromagnetic wave shielding lid 4, and an upper lid 5, and the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray 2 and the electromagnetic wave shielding lid 4 form a steam cooking chamber 8. A ventilation hole 23 and a recess 22 are formed in the bottom plate 2a of the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray 2, which are horizontally offset, and a communication hole 21 is formed above the recess 22 in the food mounting plate 3. When oil seeps out of the food and flows down into the water container 1, the oil may heat up to nearly 300°C and damage the water container 1, but the oil-containing liquid that flows down collects in the recess 22, so that oily foods can be steamed without problems. This allows for a wider variety of foods to be cooked. It also prevents the smell of oil from diffusing. [Selected Figure] Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a steamer used for steaming food using a microwave oven. Food items that can be steamed include chawanmushi, steamed chicken, steamed bread, steamed sweet potatoes, dumplings, shumai, manju, boiled eggs, steamed vegetables, and also rice (cereal rice), porridge, and steamed sticky rice.

In recent years, as microwave ovens have become more widespread, they have come to be used to cook steamed dishes, and as a result, cooking devices for steaming have been proposed. A steaming device for a microwave oven basically comprises a water container, a lid to cover it, and a breathable tray to support the food. That is, the water in the water container is heated with electromagnetic waves to generate steam, and the steam cooking chamber enclosed by the breathable tray and the lid is filled with steam to perform steam cooking. The water container needs to be permeable to electromagnetic waves, so it is generally made of a synthetic resin such as polypropylene.

One problem with this is that when food is heated by electromagnetic waves, its structure changes, and it may not be possible to achieve the desired taste as a steamed dish. Therefore, by making the steam cooking chamber out of an electromagnetic wave shielding material such as a metal plate, only the steam hits the food and electromagnetic waves are not irradiated (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2011-255158 A

Now, there are many different types of steamed dishes, and many of them, such as steamed chicken and dumplings, contain oil in the ingredients. When the ingredients contain oil, the oil seeps out of the ingredients as the cooking progresses and drips into the water container through the ventilation holes in the breathable tray. However, the oil heats up to around 300°C when exposed to electromagnetic waves (microwaves), but since synthetic resin water containers are generally made of general-purpose resins such as polypropylene and have a heat resistance of around 130°C, there is a risk that the heated oil will damage the water container.

In addition, when the oil that flows down into the water container mixes with the water and evaporates, the smell of oil spreads outside the steamer, causing a problem of worsening the cooking environment. Even if the ingredients do not contain oil, liquid components will seep out and drip into the water container, but if the liquid components contain odorous components, a particular odor will be emitted, which can also worsen the cooking environment.

One way to deal with damage to the water container caused by the temperature rise of the oil is to make the container out of heat-resistant glass such as Pyrex (registered trademark), but this would create new problems such as increased costs, and would not completely eliminate the problem of odors such as the smell of oil, so it is difficult to say that this is a fundamental solution.

The present invention was developed based on this knowledge and aims to disclose an improved microwave steamer.

The present invention relates to a steamer for a microwave oven, and as described in claim 1,
"A water container made of an electromagnetic wave transparent material,
A steam cooking chamber made of an electromagnetic wave shielding material,
The steam cooking chamber has an electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray with many ventilation holes and an electromagnetic wave shielding lid that covers the tray from above, and the steam generated in the water container passes through the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray and flows into the steam cooking chamber.
In this basic configuration,
"The steam cooking chamber is provided with a recess for collecting runoff generated by cooking."
It has the following characteristics:

The present invention can be embodied in various ways. For example, claim 2 has the following:
"The steam cooking chamber is provided with a food placement plate supported by the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray,
A communication hole through which steam can pass and through which the flowing liquid can drip is opened at a portion of the food placement plate that does not overlap with the ventilation hole of the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray in a plan view,
The recess is formed in the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray below the communication hole.
The structure is as follows.

On the other hand, in claim 3,
"The steam cooking chamber is provided with an intermediate plate supported by the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray and a food placement plate positioned on the intermediate plate,
The intermediate plate is formed with an intermediate ventilation hole through which the steam that has passed through the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray passes and a recess for storing the downflow liquid, so as not to overlap with each other;
A communication hole through which steam and the flowing liquid pass is provided in a portion of the food placement plate located above the recess of the intermediate plate.
The structure is as follows.

Furthermore, as an example of development of any of claims 1 to 3, claim 4 provides:
"It is equipped with a synthetic resin top cover that covers the steam cooking chamber from above."
The structure is as follows.

In the present invention, even if oil seeps out of the ingredients during cooking, the oil collects in the recesses and does not drip into the water container. Therefore, even if the water container is made of a general-purpose resin such as polypropylene, there is no problem with the oil heating up due to microwaves and damaging the water container. This prevents an increase in the cost of the water container and ensures its durability, while allowing various steamed dishes to be cooked without any problems.

In addition, in the present invention, the runoff liquid generated by cooking collects in the recess and does not drip into the water container, so even if the runoff liquid contains odorous components such as oil, it will not be heated by microwaves in the water container and dissipate the odor. This prevents the cooking environment (kitchen, etc.) from deteriorating. In particular, even if the ingredients contain meat or fish, there is no oily odor dissipated, making it particularly suitable for preventing the cooking environment from deteriorating.

In this way, the present invention can steam a variety of ingredients without having to consider issues such as damage to the water container or odor, so it can also add steamed dishes to the list of foods that have traditionally been avoided due to concerns about odor and damage to the water container. This will therefore expand the variety of steamed dishes that can be cooked using a microwave oven, greatly contributing to improving consumers' eating habits. This is good news for consumers as well.

In claim 2, the steam generated in the water container flows into the steam cooking chamber through the ventilation holes in the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray and the communication holes in the food placement plate, so cooking function using steam is ensured. In addition, because the communication holes in the food placement plate are located above the recesses in the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray, the liquid generated during cooking is collected in the recesses in the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray and does not flow down into the water container.

In claim 2, a recess is formed in the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray, which is an essential component of a steamer, so an increase in the number of components can be prevented, reducing costs. Also, a reduction in the volume of the steam cooking chamber can be prevented.

On the other hand, electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation trays are often made of metal plates such as aluminum plates, and the depth of the recesses cannot be made very deep, which raises concerns that a large amount of runoff liquid may overflow from the recesses, but by forming the recesses using an intermediate plate as in claim 3, the depth and area of the recesses can be set as desired by making the intermediate plate out of, for example, synthetic resin, so that the runoff liquid can be easily stored even in cooking that generates a large amount of runoff liquid. Also, the intermediate plate is easy to attach and detach, which has the advantage that the accumulated runoff liquid can be easily removed and washed.
There are advantages.

Generally, microwave steamers are provided with a synthetic resin top lid, and the present invention follows this general form in claim 4. The presence of the top lid improves the aesthetic appearance and protects people from the heated electromagnetic shielding lid. In addition, by fixing the top lid and water container with a locking member as in the embodiment, the joint between the electromagnetic shielding ventilation tray and the electromagnetic shielding lid is tightly attached, maintaining both at the same potential by passing electricity between them, and a structure can be created in which no discharge or local heating occurs between the electromagnetic shielding ventilation tray and the electromagnetic shielding lid.

1A and 1B are diagrams showing a first embodiment, in which (A) is a rough longitudinal sectional front view, and (B) is an enlarged view of a main part of (A). FIG. 2 is a plan view of the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is an exploded vertical sectional front view of the first embodiment; 1A and 1B are diagrams showing the first embodiment, in which FIG. 1A is a bottom view of a food placement plate, and FIG. 1B is a bottom view of an electromagnetic wave shielding and ventilation tray. 11A and 11B are diagrams showing a second embodiment, in which (A) is a partial vertical sectional front view, and (B) is an enlarged view of a main portion of (A). FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a third embodiment.

(1) Basic structure of the first embodiment Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following, the terms "front-rear" and "left-right" are used to specify directions, and these directions refer to the direction in which the steamer is inserted into and removed from the microwave oven. As shown in Figure 2, the steamer of the embodiment is formed in an oval shape long from left to right when viewed from above, but other shapes such as a rectangular shape long from left to right, a square shape, or a circle shape can also be used.

The basic structure of the steamer according to this embodiment is the same as that of a conventional steamer, and as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, it is equipped with an upward-opening water container 1 in which water, which serves as the steam source, is stored, an upward-opening electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray 2 arranged inside the water container 1, a food placement plate 3 supported by the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray 2, a downward-opening tray-like electromagnetic wave shielding lid 4 overlapping the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray 2 from above, and a downward-opening tray-like upper lid 5 covering the electromagnetic wave shielding lid 4 from above.

The water container 1 is made of a synthetic resin such as polypropylene so that electromagnetic waves (microwaves) can pass through it. The electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray 2 is made of a material that electromagnetic waves cannot pass through, such as an aluminum plate, and has a bottom plate 2a and a peripheral wall 2b as shown in Figures 1 and 3. A square flange 6 is formed at the upper end of the peripheral wall 2b, and the flange 6 is supported by a step 7 formed on the inner surface of the water container 1.

The electromagnetic wave shielding lid 4 is also made of a material that is not permeable to electromagnetic waves, such as an aluminum plate, and the electromagnetic wave shielding lid 4 and the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray 2 form the steam cooking chamber 8. The electromagnetic wave shielding lid 4 has a top plate and a peripheral wall, and a rectangular outward flange 9 is formed at the lower end of the peripheral wall. The top lid 5 is in the form of a tray that opens downwards, and an outward L-shaped flange 10 is formed at the lower end of the peripheral wall, and the flange 9 of the electromagnetic wave shielding lid 4 is forcibly fitted into the L-shaped flange 10 of the top lid 5.

In addition, a pair of steam vent bosses (exhaust holes) 11 protrude downward from the top plate of the top lid 5, and the top plate of the electromagnetic wave shielding lid 4 is forcibly fitted into the steps provided on the steam vent bosses 11. Therefore, the electromagnetic wave shielding lid 4 and the top lid 5 are attached to and detached from the water container 1 as a single unit.

A stopper 12 consisting of two plate-shaped ribs is provided at the front-to-rear center of both the left and right ends of the flange 9 of the top lid 5, while a handle frame 13 that opens downward is provided at the front-to-rear center of the upper end of the peripheral wall of the water container 1 and protrudes outward in the left-to-right direction, and a locking member 14 that can clamp the stopper 12 of the top lid 5 from above is rotatably connected to this handle frame 13 by a pin 15. In this case, a downward positioning piece 16a is provided on the L-shaped flange 10 of the top lid 5, while a positioning hole 16b into which the positioning piece 16a fits is provided on the outward handle frame 13 of the water container 1.

By gripping the stopper 12 with the locking member 14, the top cover 5 and the electromagnetic wave shielding cover 4 are fixed to the water container 1. Therefore, they can be moved freely by picking up the handle frame 13 and lifting it up.

(2) Liquid receiving structure of the first embodiment The food placement plate 3 is made of synthetic resin such as polypropylene, and as shown in Fig. 4(A), there are finger-hook notches 17 on both the left and right ends. As can be seen from Figs. 1, 3, and 4, the food placement plate 3 has an upward peripheral rib 18 formed all around, and a downward foot rib 19 positioned slightly inward from the outer periphery, all around.

Furthermore, the food placement plate 3 is formed with five frame sections 20 extending longitudinally from front to back and surrounded by downward ribs, and each frame section 20 has a large number of communication holes 21 formed in two rows on each side, each consisting of a longitudinal hole extending longitudinally from front to back. Note that the shape of the communication holes 21 is just one example, and they can be formed in any shape, such as circular or rectangular, and the size and number can be set as desired. Note that in Figures 1(A) and 3, the food placement plate 3 is shown as an end view (the same applies to the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray 2).

As mentioned above, the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray 2 is made of a metal plate such as aluminum, and as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4, a group of recesses 22 that overlap with the frame 20 of the food placement plate 3 in a plan view are formed in the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray 2, and a large number of ventilation holes 23 are provided on the outside of the recesses 22. As shown in Fig. 4(B), the ventilation holes 23 are formed in a circular shape, but they can be formed in any shape such as a square or ellipse. The number and size can also be set arbitrarily. However, from the perspective of microwave blocking function, a circular shape (especially a diameter of 8 mm or less) is preferable.

The frame 20 of the food placement plate 3 is not necessarily required, but forming a frame 20 consisting of downward ribs has the advantage of ensuring the retention of the flowing liquid, since it can prevent the liquid from flowing down the underside of the food placement plate 3 and into the ventilation holes 23. When providing a frame 20, it is also possible to form downward ribs in a lattice pattern extending vertically and horizontally, and open communication holes 21 in the area surrounded by the downward ribs.

The food placement plate 3 can also be made of a metal plate such as an aluminum plate. In this case, to prevent the liquid from dripping down the underside of the metal plate into the water container, the holes should not be flat, but should have a rim about 1 mm high facing downwards, or be tapered into a cone shape. For the sake of shape and stability when installed, it is desirable to perform rolling (hemming) or other processing such as a rolling process with a diameter of about 3 mm on the outer periphery of the metal food placement plate.

In Figures 1 and 3, two ventilation holes 23 are shown lined up on the left and right outside of the recess 22, but this is shown for convenience, and as shown in Figure 4(B), in reality, the two rows of ventilation holes 23 are arranged offset from each other. The reference numeral 24 shown in Figure 4(A) is a foot piece provided on the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray 2, and the foot piece 24 touches the upper surface of the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray 2.

(3) Summary of the First Embodiment As shown in Fig. 1, the protruding dimension of the downward leg ribs 19 on the food loading plate 3 is larger than the protruding dimension of each frame portion 20 on the food loading plate 3. Therefore, a space 25 through which steam can pass is provided between the bottom plate 2a of the electromagnetic wave shielding and ventilation tray 2 and the food loading plate 3. Therefore, as shown by the solid arrow 26 in Fig. 1 (B) , steam that is ejected upward from the ventilation holes 23 of the electromagnetic wave shielding and ventilation tray 2 passes through the space 25 toward the communication holes 21 of the food loading plate 3 and is ejected from the communication holes 21 into the steam cooking chamber 8.

On the other hand, when cooking with steam, liquid contained in the food W seeps out, or steam that comes into contact with the food W condenses into droplets, often resulting in liquid running down the food placement plate 3. In particular, when cooking meat or fish food W such as steamed chicken, a lot of oil seeps out of the food, generating a liquid running down that contains oil, which runs down through the communication holes 21 of the food placement plate 3 as shown by the dotted arrow 27 in Figure 1 (B).

The liquid that flows down from the communication hole 21 collects in the recess 22 of the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray 2 and does not flow down into the water container 1. Therefore, there is no problem of oil heated by microwaves rising in temperature and damaging the water container 1, and therefore the durability of the water container 1 can be improved.

In addition, because the flow-down liquid contains various components, when it flows down into the water container 1 and is boiled, odorous components mix with the steam and flow into the steam cooking chamber 8, enter the interior of the microwave oven through the steam vent boss 11, and spread throughout the room (mainly the kitchen) through the gap in the microwave oven door, or spread throughout the room all at once when the microwave oven door is opened. However, in this embodiment, the flow-down liquid does not flow down into the water container 1, so the odorous components can be prevented or significantly reduced from being carried by the steam and diffusing outside the steamer. This prevents the cooking environment in the kitchen, etc. from deteriorating.

In particular, if the flow-down liquid contains oil, when the flow-down liquid flows down into the water container 1, oil-containing steam is generated, which spreads the oily smell and can easily cause discomfort to people. However, in this embodiment, even if the ingredients contain oil, the oily smell does not spread into the cooking environment, so cooking can be done in a comfortable environment with no (or little) odor.

When the recess 22 is formed in the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray 2 as in this embodiment, the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray 2, which is an essential component, is used, so there is no increase in parts and costs can be reduced. In addition, the recess 22 can be easily formed in the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray 2 by pressing.

In this embodiment (and the second embodiment), the top surface of the food placement plate 3 is flat. Therefore, the liquid that flows down during cooking flows downwards to the bottom of the food placement plate 3 and does not remain attached to the top surface of the food placement plate 3. This prevents the food from getting wet with the liquid that flows down, allowing the food to be beautifully finished.

(4) Other Embodiments Fig. 5 shows a second embodiment which is a specific example of claim 3. In this embodiment, the bottom plate 2a of the electromagnetic wave shielding and ventilation tray 2 has a flat shape with many ventilation holes (round holes), and a synthetic resin intermediate plate 28 is placed on the bottom plate 2a of the electromagnetic wave shielding and ventilation tray 2, and the food placement plate 3 is placed on the intermediate plate 28.

The food loading plate 3 is basically the same as in the first embodiment, with multiple rows of frame sections 20 formed side by side on the underside, and a group of communication holes 21 formed in the frame sections 20. On the other hand, the intermediate plate 28 is formed with recesses 22 located below the frame sections 20 of the food loading plate 3, and intermediate ventilation holes 29 are formed between adjacent recesses 22. The intermediate ventilation holes 29 are aligned in the front-to-rear direction.

The outer periphery of the intermediate plate 28 is formed with double upward ribs 30, 31 on which the food placement plate 3 rests, and the inner upward rib 31 is fitted from the inside with the frame parts 20 located on the left and right outside. Therefore, the food placement plate 3 is held in place by the intermediate plate 28 without slipping. The underside of the intermediate plate 28 is formed with an annular surrounding rib 32 that extends around the entire periphery, and short foot ribs 33. The ventilation holes of the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray 2 are formed on the inside of the surrounding rib 32.

In this embodiment, the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray 2 can be easily attached and detached with the intermediate plate 28 attached to the water container 1, which has the advantage that accumulated runoff liquid can be easily removed and the intermediate plate 28 can be easily cleaned.

In addition, because the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray 2 is manufactured by deep drawing a flat plate, the depth of the recess 22 cannot always be made very deep, which raises the concern that if a large amount of liquid flows down, the liquid will overflow from the recess 22. However, by using the intermediate plate 28 as in this embodiment, the depth of the recess 22 can be set as desired and the required capacity can be secured, so that cooking that generates a large amount of liquid can be adequately handled. Therefore, it can be said to be highly adaptable to a variety of cooking methods.

In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 6, an inverted trapezoidal recess 22 and a trapezoidal protrusion 34 connected to the recess 22 are formed in the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray 2, and ventilation holes 23 are formed in the inclined surface of the protrusion 34. The communication hole 21 in the food placement plate 3 is formed to overlap the recess 22 in a plan view, and the ventilation holes 23 and the communication holes 21 do not overlap in a plan view. A downward rib 37 is provided on the opening edge of the communication hole 21 to prevent the liquid flowing down the underside of the food placement plate 3 toward the ventilation hole 23.

The lower surface of the food placement plate 3 fits into the upper surface of the protrusion 34, but it is also possible to provide a gap between the food placement plate 3 and the protrusion 34. In addition, in this embodiment, a number of auxiliary recesses 36 are formed on the upper surface of the food placement plate 3, and the auxiliary recesses 36 are surrounded by a group of ribs 37 extending vertically and horizontally. Therefore, in this embodiment, the flowing liquid is also collected in the auxiliary recesses 36, but since the food W rests on the ribs 37, the flowing liquid does not adhere to the food and deteriorate its taste.

The electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray 2 is manufactured by pressing a flat material plate, but the ventilation holes 23 can be formed by punching out the plate while it is still flat, before the recesses 22 and protrusions 34 are processed, or by punching after bending (the latter is advantageous in that it allows for the formation of neat circular holes).

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention can be embodied in various other ways. For example, in the embodiment, the recesses are arranged in multiple separate locations, but it is also possible to form a single recess in an electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray or intermediate plate in a state in which the recess extends continuously (in this case, the portion in which the ventilation holes are provided protrudes from the recess in an island shape).

The present invention can be applied to steamers for microwave ovens. Therefore, it can be used industrially.

W Food material 1 Water container 2 Electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray 3 Food material placement plate 4 Electromagnetic wave shielding lid 5 Top lid 8 Steam cooking chamber 11 Steam release boss (exhaust hole)
12 stopper 13 handle frame 14 lock member (hook body)
20 Frame portion 21 Communication hole 22 Recess (liquid storage portion)
23 Ventilation hole 25 Space 28 Intermediate plate 29 Intermediate ventilation hole

Claims (4)

A water container made of an electromagnetic wave transparent material;
A steam cooking chamber made of an electromagnetic wave shielding material,
The steam cooking chamber has an electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray with a number of ventilation holes and an electromagnetic wave shielding cover covering the tray from above, and steam generated in the water container passes through the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray and flows into the steam cooking chamber,
The steam cooking chamber is provided with a recess for collecting runoff liquid generated by cooking.
Microwave steamer. A food placement plate supported by the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray is disposed in the steam cooking chamber,
A communication hole through which steam can pass and through which the flowing liquid can drip is opened at a portion of the food placement plate that does not overlap with the ventilation hole of the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray in a plan view,
The recess is formed in the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray below the communication hole.
2. A steamer for use in a microwave oven according to claim 1. The steam cooking chamber is provided with an intermediate plate supported by the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray and an ingredient placement plate positioned on the intermediate plate,
The intermediate plate is formed with an intermediate ventilation hole through which the steam that has passed through the electromagnetic wave shielding ventilation tray passes and a recess for storing the downflow liquid, so as not to overlap with each other;
A communication hole through which steam and the flowing liquid pass is formed in a portion of the food placement plate located above the recess of the intermediate plate.
2. A steamer for use in a microwave oven according to claim 1. A synthetic resin top cover is provided to cover the steam cooking chamber from above.
A steamer for use in a microwave oven according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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