JP7335703B2 - heating cooker - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a heat cooker.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a smoking device. In this smoking device, the smoked material housed in the smoke generating chamber is continuously heated by the smoking heater to generate smoke. As a result, the ingredients of the smoked food contained in the smoking chamber communicating with the smoke generating chamber are smoked by the smoke generated within the smoke generating chamber.

WO2017/033388

The smoking device described above has a problem that the amount of energy used is not small because the smoked material is continuously heated by the smoking heater.

This indication is made in view of the above-mentioned reason, and it aims at providing the heating cooker which can achieve energy saving in making smoked food.

A heating cooker according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a heating section and a control section. The control unit can control the heating unit to perform an automatic smoking operation in which the heating unit heats the smoked material. The automatic smoke operation includes a smoke generation process and a smoke process. The smoldering step is performed subsequent to the smoking step. The control unit controls the heating unit so that the temperature of the smoked material is equal to or higher than the smoking temperature of the smoked material in the smoking process, and the temperature of the smoked material is the smoking temperature in the smoking process. The heating unit is controlled to be less than

The heating cooker according to one aspect of the present disclosure can save energy when making smoked food.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a heating cooker according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a heating chamber provided in the same heating cooker as a cross section orthogonal to the front-rear direction. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a partial cross-section of the same heating chamber. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a cooking container provided in the same heating cooker in a cross section perpendicular to the left-right direction. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a gas supply path provided in the same cooking device. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the same heating cooker. FIG. 7 is a graph showing the relationship between the elapsed time and the temperature detected by the temperature detection unit when the automatic smoking operation is performed by the same heating cooker. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the heating cooker same as the above. FIG. 9 is a flow chart of the heating cooker of Modification 1. FIG. FIG. 10 is a flow chart of the heating cooker of Modification 2. FIG.

(embodiment)
The heating cooker 1 of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is a stove with a gas grill that can be used as a grill device. It is a drop-in stove that is made. The heating cooker 1 is a device capable of grilling by directly heating an object to be cooked or a container in which the object to be cooked is placed, like a general grilling device. It is possible to perform an automatic smoking operation in which the food is smoked by the smoke generated by heating the (smoke material).

Hereinafter, the heating cooker 1 will be described using the directions in which the heating cooker 1 is installed. Specifically, when viewed from the heating cooker 1, the direction in which the user is positioned is defined as the front in terms of design. Moreover, the left-right direction is defined on the basis of when the cooking device 1 is viewed from the front.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the heating cooker 1 of this embodiment includes a casing 10 , a plurality of stove burners 11 and a top plate 12 . The casing 10 is formed in a box shape that is open upward. A plurality of stove burners 11 are installed inside the casing 10 . A top plate 12 is installed on the casing 10 . A top plate 12 covers the upper surface of the casing 10 . Each of the plurality of stove burners 11 protrudes upward from the top plate 12 through a hole formed in the top plate 12 .

The heating cooker 1 includes a plurality of stove operating portions 13 . The plurality of stove operating portions 13 correspond to the plurality of stove burners 11 one-to-one. The user can switch between ignition and extinguishing of the corresponding stove burner 11 and change the heating power by operating each stove operation unit 13 .

The heating cooker 1 has a heating chamber 30 . The heating chamber 30 of this embodiment is a grill chamber, and is formed in a box-like shape that is open forward. Heating chamber 30 is located in a space surrounded by casing 10 and top plate 12 .

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the heating chamber 30 has a bottom portion 300 , left and right side wall portions 301 , a rear wall portion 302 and a ceiling portion 303 . A heating space surrounded by a bottom portion 300 , left and right side wall portions 301 , a rear wall portion 302 and a ceiling portion 303 is formed inside the heating chamber 30 . An opening 304 is formed at the front end of the heating chamber 30 . An internal space of the heating chamber 30 is open to the front of the casing 10 (see FIG. 1) through an opening 304 .

The heating cooker 1 of the present embodiment further includes a door 31 (see FIG. 1) that opens and closes the opening 304, and a support mechanism 32 that supports the door 31 (see FIG. 2). The support mechanism 32 is installed in the heating chamber 30 and supports the door 31 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction. The support mechanism 32 is composed of, for example, a pair of left and right slide rails. The user can open and close the opening 304 of the heating chamber 30 with the door 31 by moving the door 31 in the front-rear direction.

The heating cooker 1 of the present embodiment further has a cooking container 4 which is arranged so as to be able to move in and out of the heating chamber 30 (heating space). The cooking container 4 can accommodate cooking objects to be grilled, such as fish and chicken. In the automatic smoke operation, smoked materials and foodstuffs are arranged in place of the cooking object to be grilled. In an automatic smoke operation, the foodstuff is smoked by the smoke generated by heating the smoked material. That is, in the cooking container 4, a cooking object to be grilled, or a smoked material and a food ingredient are placed as contents. The cooking container 4 is inserted into and removed from the heating chamber 30 through the opening 304 .

The smoked material placed in the cooking container 4 in the automatic smoked operation is, for example, smoked chips, smoked wood, tree branches, or the like. Smoked lumber materials are, for example, cherry, whiskey oak, hickory, beech, apple, oak, and walnut. The smoked material may contain additives such as smoked peat (accelerator) and brown sugar in addition to wood. In addition, the foodstuffs placed in the cooking container 4 in the automatic smoked operation are, for example, cheese, fish, ham, nuts, chicken wings, boiled eggs, and the like.

The cooking container 4 of this embodiment has a container body 40 and a lid 41, as shown in FIG. The container body 40 is made of metal, more specifically, made of an aluminum alloy. The container main body 40 is formed in a container shape with an opening 400 formed on the upper surface. The container body 40 has a plate-like bottom portion 401 that is rectangular when viewed from above and spreads along a horizontal plane, and a peripheral wall portion 402 that protrudes upward from the peripheral edge of the bottom portion 401 . The lid 41 is detachably attached to the upper end of the container body 40 and closes the opening 400 .

The heating cooker 1 of this embodiment further includes a support 42 . The support 42 is arranged in the cooking vessel 4 when the automatic smoking operation is performed, and supports the foodstuff to be smoked in the cooking vessel 4 at a position above and away from the bottom 401 . As a result, in a state where the smoked material is placed on the bottom portion 401 of the container body 40, the food can be arranged at a position separated from the smoked material.

The support 42 of this embodiment is a net made of metal wire, and includes a support portion 420 extending along a horizontal plane for supporting the food material and a plurality of legs projecting downward from the support portion 420. and a portion 421 . As shown in FIG. 4 , the support 42 is placed inside the cooking container 4 with the plurality of legs 421 in contact with the upper surface of the bottom 401 of the container body 40 . The support portion 420 is formed with a plurality of mesh holes 422 penetrating in the vertical direction. Smoke from the smoked material can pass through the plurality of holes 422 .

As shown in FIG. 3 , the heating cooker 1 of this embodiment further has a support frame 5 that supports the cooking vessel 4 . The cooking container 4 is detachably attached to the support frame 5 . The support frame 5 supports the cooking container 4 from below. The support frame 5 is formed in a rectangular frame shape when viewed from above. The support frame 5 is made of, for example, a metal wire rod.

A front end portion of the support frame 5 is detachably connected to the door 31 . In a state where the cooking container 4 is supported by the support frame 5 and the support frame 5 is connected to the door 31, the support frame 5 and the cooking container 4 move in the front-rear direction in conjunction with the door 31.

With the cooking container 4 supported by the support frame 5 and the support frame 5 connected to the door 31, when the door 31 is placed in the closed position to close the opening 304, the support frame 5 and the cooking container 4 , as shown in FIG. The user can arrange the support frame 5 and the cooking vessel 4 in front of the opening 304 of the heating chamber 30 by moving the door 31 forward from the closed position and opening it.

The heating cooker 1 further has a heating section 33 . The heating unit 33 heats the cooking container 4 placed in the heating chamber 30 and the contents placed in this cooking container 4 . During grill cooking, the cooking container 4 and the object to be cooked placed in the cooking container 4 are heated by the heating unit 33 . During the automatic smoke operation, the heating unit 33 heats the cooking vessel 4 and the smoked materials and foodstuff placed in the cooking vessel 4 . As a result, the food is smoked by the smoke generated by heating the smoked material, and smoked food is produced.

The heating section 33 of this embodiment has a plurality of burners 330 and 331 . Specifically, the heating unit 33 has an upper burner 330 and a lower burner 331 as multiple burners. Each of upper burner 330 and lower burner 331 is a Bunsen burner. The upper burner 330 is attached to the upper part of the heating chamber 30 (specifically, the ceiling part 303). The upper burner 330 is positioned above the cooking vessel 4 placed in the heating chamber 30 and heats the cooking vessel 4 and the contents of the cooking vessel 4 from above.

The lower burner 331 is installed in the lower part of the heating chamber 30 (specifically, the bottom part 300). The lower burner 331 is positioned below the cooking vessel 4 placed in the heating chamber 30 and heats the cooking vessel 4 and the contents placed in the cooking vessel 4 from below. The flame generated by the lower burner 331 hits the bottom 401 of the cooking vessel 4 .

The heating unit 33 of this embodiment further has a gas supply path 34 shown in FIG. The gas supply path 34 supplies fuel gas such as city gas to the upper burner 330 and the lower burner 331 . The gas supply channel 34 of this embodiment has a main channel 340 and a pair of branch channels 341 and 342 branched from the main channel 340 . Fuel gas is supplied to the main flow path 340 . One of the pair of branch paths 341 and 342 is an upper burner channel 341 leading to the upper burner 330 and the other is a lower burner channel 342 leading to the lower burner 331 .

The heating unit 33 of this embodiment further includes a heating amount changing unit 35 that changes the heating amount (thermal power) of the heating unit 33 per unit time. Note that the heating amount per unit time of the heating unit 33 in the present disclosure is the amount of heat generated from the heating unit 33 per unit time. Further, when the heating unit 33 has a plurality of heating means (the upper burner 330 and the lower burner 331) as in this embodiment, the heating amount per unit time of the heating unit 33 is generated from all the heating means. It is the total amount of heat per unit time. Hereinafter, the heating amount per unit time of the heating unit 33 is simply referred to as the heating amount.

The heating amount changing unit 35 of the present embodiment is a heating power changing unit that changes the heating power of the upper burner 330 and the heating power of the lower burner 331, and includes an upper burner spark plug 351, an upper burner heating power adjusting unit 352, and a lower burner heating power adjusting unit 352. It has an ignition plug 353 and a lower burner thermal power adjustment section 354 .

The upper burner 330 is provided with an upper burner ignition plug 351 for igniting the upper burner 330 . A lower burner ignition plug 353 for igniting the lower burner 331 is installed in the lower burner 331 .

While the fuel gas is being supplied to the upper burner 330 from the gas supply path 34, the upper burner 330 is ignited by the actuation of the upper burner spark plug 351 to generate a spark. While the fuel gas is being supplied to the lower burner 331 from the gas supply passage 34, the lower burner 331 is ignited by the actuation of the lower burner spark plug 353 to generate a spark.

The upper burner thermal power adjustment section 352 of the present embodiment has a solenoid valve 352 a and a solenoid valve 352 b provided in the upper burner flow path 341 . In the upper burner flow path 341, the solenoid valve 352b is provided downstream of the solenoid valve 352a. The gas supply path 34 has a bypass path 343 that connects a portion downstream of the solenoid valve 352a and upstream of the solenoid valve 352b and a portion downstream of the solenoid valve 352b in the upper burner flow path 341. further has A part of the bypass channel 343 is a channel 344 having a channel cross-sectional area smaller than that of the upper burner channel 341 .

The heating power of the upper burner 330 is adjusted by opening and closing each of the solenoid valves 352a and 352b. When the solenoid valve 352a is open and the solenoid valve 352b is open, the fuel gas supplied from the main channel 340 to the upper burner channel 341 passes through both the solenoid valve 352b and the channel 344 and flows upward. It is fed to burner 330 . In this case, the heating power of the upper burner 330 becomes "strong". Further, when the solenoid valve 352a is open and the solenoid valve 352b is closed, the fuel gas supplied from the main channel 340 to the upper burner channel 341 flows through the solenoid valve 352b and the channel 344 It is supplied to the upper burner 330 by passing through only. In this case, the flow rate of the fuel gas supplied to the upper burner 330 becomes smaller than when the solenoid valve 352b is open, and the heating power of the upper burner 330 becomes "weak". Further, when the solenoid valve 352a is closed, the fuel gas is not supplied to the upper burner 330, and the upper burner 330 is extinguished. That is, in this case, the heating power of the upper burner 330 is turned off.

The lower burner thermal power adjustment unit 354 of the present embodiment has an electromagnetic valve 354 a and an electromagnetic valve 354 b provided in the lower burner flow path 342 . In the lower burner flow path 342, the solenoid valve 354b is provided downstream of the solenoid valve 354a. The gas supply path 34 has a bypass path 345 that connects a portion downstream of the solenoid valve 354a and upstream of the solenoid valve 354b and a portion downstream of the solenoid valve 354b in the lower burner flow path 342. further has A part of the bypass channel 345 is a channel 346 having a channel cross-sectional area smaller than that of the lower burner channel 342 .

The heating power of the lower burner 331 is adjusted by opening and closing each of the solenoid valves 354a and 354b. When the solenoid valve 354a is open and the solenoid valve 354b is open, the fuel gas supplied from the main channel 340 to the lower burner channel 342 passes through both the solenoid valve 354b and the channel 346 and flows downward. It is supplied to burner 331 . In this case, the heating power of the lower burner 331 becomes "strong". Further, when the solenoid valve 354a is open and the solenoid valve 354b is closed, the fuel gas supplied from the main channel 340 to the lower burner channel 342 flows through the solenoid valve 354b and the channel 346 It is supplied to the lower burner 331 by passing through only. In this case, the flow rate of the fuel gas supplied to the lower burner 331 becomes smaller than when the solenoid valve 354b is open, and the heating power of the lower burner 331 becomes "weak". Further, when the solenoid valve 354a is closed, the fuel gas is not supplied to the lower burner 331, and the lower burner 331 is extinguished. That is, in this case, the heating power of the lower burner 331 is turned off.

The heating cooker 1 further has a temperature detector 36 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 . A temperature detection unit 36 detects the temperature of the cooking vessel 4 placed in the heating chamber 30 . The temperature detection unit 36 of this embodiment is a temperature sensor installed in the central portion of the lower burner 331 in plan view, and is positioned below the cooking vessel 4 arranged in the heating chamber 30 .

The temperature sensing portion 36 has a sensing portion 360 positioned at the upper end of the temperature sensing portion 36 . The sensing portion 360 is vertically movable with respect to other portions of the temperature sensing portion 36 . An upward force is applied to the detection portion 360 by, for example, a biasing member such as a spring.

When the cooking vessel 4 is placed in the heating chamber 30 , the sensing portion 360 contacts the central lower surface of the bottom portion 401 of the cooking vessel 4 . As a result, the temperature of the bottom portion 401 of the cooking vessel 4 can be detected by the temperature detection section 36 as temperature information.

The heating cooker 1 of the present embodiment includes a grill operation section 14 shown in FIG. 1 as an operation section operated by a user. By operating the grill operation unit 14, the user can set and execute the automatic cooking operation and set and execute the automatic smoking operation.

In the setting of the automatic cooking operation of the present embodiment, a plurality of cooking methods set according to the difference in the type of cooking object such as chicken and bread, the difference in the state of the cooking object such as fillet and whole grilling, and the cooking method. An arbitrary cooking menu selected from the menu is set and an arbitrary heat level is set.

The automatic cooking operation is performed while the cooking vessel 4 containing the object to be cooked is placed in the heating chamber 30 . However, in this case, the cooking container 4 placed in the heating chamber 30 may be in a state in which the opening 400 of the container body 40 containing the object to be cooked is closed by the lid 41, or the object to be cooked may be closed. The lid 41 may not be attached to the container body 40 containing the .

In the setting of the automatic smoke operation of this embodiment, the degree of smoke, the type of foodstuff, the type of smoked material, or a combination of two or more of these is set. The automatic smoke operation is performed in a state where the cooking container 4 (see FIG. 4) containing smoked materials and ingredients is placed in the heating chamber 30 . In this case, the smoked material rests on the bottom 401 of the container body 40 and the foodstuff is positioned above and away from the smoked material by means of the supports 42 arranged in the cooking vessel 4 as described above. Also, the opening 400 of the container body 40 is closed with the lid 41 .

As shown in FIG. 6 , the heating cooker 1 of this embodiment further includes a control section 20 . The control unit 20 is composed of, for example, a microcomputer. The control unit 20 controls the upper burner spark plug 351, the upper burner thermal power adjustment unit 352 (solenoid valves 352a, 352b), the lower burner spark plug 353, and the lower burner thermal power adjustment unit 354 (solenoid valves 354a, 354b), electrically connected. The control unit 20 is also electrically connected to the temperature detection unit 36 and the grill operation unit 14 .

The control unit 20 controls the heating unit 33 when the operation unit 14 for grilling is operated to issue a command to execute the automatic cooking operation, thereby setting the heating unit 30 in the heating chamber 30 as shown in FIG. The cooking container 4 and the object to be cooked placed in the cooking container 4 are heated. In the automatic cooking operation, the control unit 20 controls the heating amount changing unit 35 based on the items set in the setting of the automatic cooking operation (cooking menu and heat level) and the detection result of the temperature detection unit 36, and cooks. The heating unit 33 heats the container 4 and the object to be cooked placed in the cooking container 4 .

The control unit 20 shown in FIG. 6 controls the heating unit 33 when the operation unit 14 for grilling is operated to issue a command to execute the automatic smoke operation, thereby causing the cooking container 4 placed in the heating chamber 30 to be heated. , as well as the smoked material and foodstuffs placed in this cooking vessel 4 . In the automatic smoking operation, the control unit 20 controls the items set in the setting of the automatic smoking operation described above (the degree of smoke, the type of food, the type of smoked material, or a combination of two or more of these) and the detection of the temperature detection unit 36 Based on the result, the heating amount changing unit 35 is controlled to heat the cooking vessel 4 and the smoked materials and ingredients placed in the cooking vessel 4 by the heating unit 33 .

FIG. 7 is a graph showing the relationship between the time T that has elapsed since the start of the automatic smoking operation and the temperature t detected by the temperature detector 36 when the automatic smoking operation is executed. The control unit 20 executes a smoke generating process and a smoky process in the automatic smoking operation. In the smoke generation process, the control unit 20 controls the heating unit 33 so that the temperature of the smoked material placed in the cooking container 4 is equal to or higher than the smoke generation temperature of the smoked material. The control unit 20 ends the smoke generation process when it is estimated that the temperature of the smoked materials placed in the cooking vessel 4 has reached the temperature equal to or higher than the smoke generation temperature of the smoked materials. By executing such a smoke generation process, the smoked materials arranged in the cooking container 4 are heated to emit smoke, and the smoke emitted from the smoked materials fills the cooking container 4 which is substantially sealed.

The smoke process is a process performed subsequent to the smoke generation process. In the smoke process, the control unit 20 controls the heating unit 33 so that the temperature of the smoked material placed in the cooking vessel 4 is lower than the smoking temperature of the smoked material. The control unit 20 ends the smoking process when it is estimated that the temperature of the smoked material placed in the cooking container 4 in the smoking process has reached a temperature lower than the smoking temperature of the smoked material. By executing such a smoking process, the food material placed in the cooking vessel 4 is smoked with the smoke generated from the smoked material in the previous smoke generation process, and the food material is flavored and flavored. Hereinafter, a series of steps including the above-described smoke generation step and the smoke generation step performed after this smoke generation step will be referred to as a smoke generation/smoke processing.

The control unit 20 determines the scheduled execution number NA, which is the number of times the smoke generation/smothering process is executed in the automatic smoking operation, based on the items set in the setting of the automatic smoking operation described above. For example, in the setting of the automatic smoking operation, if the degree of smoke is set so that the flavor is strong, the scheduled execution number NA is set higher than when the degree of smoke is set so that the flavor is weak. do. Then, the control unit 20 ends the automatic smoking operation when the smoke generating/smothering process is executed the planned number of times NA during the automatic smoking operation.

Specifically, the control unit 20 of this embodiment executes the automatic smoking operation by controlling the heating unit 33 according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

The control unit 20 executes the process of step S1 when the user operates the grill operation unit 14 to issue an instruction to execute the automatic smoking operation. In step S1, the control unit 20 starts the smoke generation process. The control unit 20 controls the heating amount changing unit 35 at the start of the smoke generation process to bring the lower burner 331 into an ignition state in which the heating power becomes "high". In addition, in the automatic smoking operation of the present embodiment, the upper burner 330 is not used, and the thermal power of the upper burner 330 is always turned off.

After step S1, the control unit 20 executes the process of step S2. In step S2, the control unit 20 detects the temperature t of the cooking container 4 by the temperature detection unit 36, and determines whether or not the temperature t is equal to or higher than a preset predetermined temperature ta. The predetermined temperature ta is a temperature at which the temperature of the smoked material placed in the cooking container 4 is equal to or higher than the smoking temperature of the smoked material. The predetermined temperature ta in the present embodiment is a tar generation temperature at which the temperature of the smoked material placed in the cooking container 4 is lower than the ignition temperature of the smoked material (for example, 350° C.) and the smoked material generates tar. The temperature is set to be less than (for example, 320°C), specifically 280°C.

If the temperature t is not equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature ta in step S2, the controller 20 waits for a certain period of time in step S3, and then executes the process of step S2. If the temperature t is equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature ta in step S2, the controller 20 executes the process of step S4.

In step S4, the control unit 20 ends the smoking process and starts the smoking process. The control unit 20 controls the heating amount changing unit 35 to set the heating power of the lower burner 331 to "low" at the start of the smoke process.

The control unit 20 executes the process of step S5 following the process of step S4. In step S5, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the number N of executions of the smoke generating/smothering process executed in the automatic smoking operation is the scheduled execution number NA determined based on the setting of the automatic smoking operation. do.

In step S5, if the number of times of execution N is not the planned number of times of execution NA, the control section 20 executes the process of step S6. In step S6, the control unit 20 detects the temperature t of the cooking container 4 by the temperature detection unit 36, and determines whether or not the temperature t is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature tb. The predetermined temperature tb is a temperature at which the temperature of the smoked material placed in the cooking container 4 is lower than the smoking temperature of the smoked material. Specifically, the predetermined temperature tb in this embodiment is 230°C.

In step S6, if the temperature t is not equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature tb, the controller 20 waits for a certain period of time in step S7, and then executes the process of step S6. In step S6, if the temperature t is equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature tb, the control unit 20 executes the process of step S1, ends the smolder process, and starts the smoke generation process again.

In step S5, if the execution count N is the scheduled execution count NA, the control unit 20 executes the process of step S8. In step S8, the control unit 20 determines whether or not a preset predetermined time TA has elapsed since the start of the smoldering process. The predetermined time TA is the time when it is estimated that the smoke in the cooking container 4 has been reduced to the extent that it has almost disappeared, and is obtained by experiments. The predetermined time TA in this embodiment is two minutes.

If the predetermined time TA has not elapsed in step S8, the control unit 20 waits for a predetermined time in step S9, and then executes the process of step S8. If the predetermined time TA has passed in step S8, the control unit 20 executes the process of step S10. In step S10, the control unit 20 extinguishes the lower burner 331 and ends the smoldering process and the automatic smoking operation.

As is clear from FIG. 7, in the heating cooker 1 of the present embodiment, the heating unit 33 is controlled so that the temperature of the smoked material is equal to or higher than the smoke generating temperature in the smoke generating process, and the temperature of the smoked material increases to the smoke generating temperature in the smoking process. The heating unit 33 is controlled so as to be below the temperature. Therefore, the heating amount of the heating unit 33 in the smoking process can be made smaller than the heating amount of the heating unit 33 in the smoke generation process, and the amount of energy used can be suppressed. In addition, smoke can be efficiently generated from the smoked material to make smoked food, and the amount of smoked material used can be suppressed.

Further, in the heat cooker 1 of the present embodiment, the smoking process can be performed following the smoking process. That is, the smoking process and the snorting process are alternately performed. For this reason, after the smoke in the cooking vessel 4 has decreased over time in the smolding process, the smoke generating process can be executed to generate a lot of smoke again in the cooking vessel 4, and the food can be strongly smoked for a long time. It can be flavored. In addition, in the heat cooker 1 of the present embodiment, the smoking/smoking process including the smoking process and the smoking process can be repeatedly executed. Therefore, it is possible to strongly flavor the food while suppressing the amount of energy used. In addition, in the present embodiment, the smoke process is executed at the end of the automatic smoking operation. Therefore, the amount of energy used can be further suppressed.

In addition, in this embodiment, the user can change the number of times the smoke generating/smoking process is executed in the automatic smoking operation by operating the grill operation unit 14 to set the amount of smoke. Therefore, the food can be flavored according to the taste of the user.

Next, modified examples 1 and 2 of the above embodiment will be described. It should be noted that, in the following description of modified examples 1 and 2, the same reference numerals are given to elements that are common to the above-described embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

(Modification 1)
The control unit 20 in the heating cooker 1 of Modification 1 executes the automatic smoking operation by controlling the heating unit 33 according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

The control unit 20 executes the process of step S11 when the user operates the grill operation unit 14 to issue an instruction to execute the automatic smoking operation. In step S11, the control unit 20 starts the smoke generation process. The control unit 20 controls the heating amount changing unit 35 at the start of the smoke generation process to bring the lower burner 331 into an ignition state in which the heating power becomes "high".

After step S11, the control unit 20 executes the process of step S12. In step S12, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the time T1 that has elapsed since the start of the smoking process is equal to or longer than a predetermined time T1A. The predetermined time T1A is the time during which the temperature of the smoked material placed in the cooking vessel 4 is assumed to reach a temperature equal to or higher than the smoking temperature of the smoked material, and is determined by experiments. The predetermined time T1A in this modification is set to a time when the temperature of the smoked material placed in the cooking container 4 is below the ignition temperature of the smoked material and below the tar generation temperature at which the smoked material generates tar. It is

Here, the predetermined time T1A is set for each smoking step. Specifically, in this embodiment, the predetermined time T1A in the first smoking process is set to 6 minutes, and the predetermined time T1A in the second and subsequent smoking processes is set to 2 minutes.

If the time T1 is not equal to or longer than the predetermined time T1A in step S12, the control unit 20 waits for a certain time in step S13, and then executes the process of step S12. If the time T1 is equal to or longer than the predetermined time T1A in step S12, the control unit 20 executes the process of step S14.

In step S14, the control unit 20 ends the smoking process and starts the smoking process. The control unit 20 controls the heating amount changing unit 35 to set the heating power of the lower burner 331 to "low" at the start of the smoke process.

The control unit 20 executes the process of step S15 following the process of step S14. In step S15, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the number N of executions of the smoke generating/smothering process executed in the automatic smoking operation is the scheduled execution number NA determined based on the setting of the automatic smoking operation. do.

In step S15, if the number of times of execution N is not the planned number of times of execution NA, the control unit 20 executes the process of step S16. In step S16, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the time T2 that has elapsed since the start of the smoldering process is equal to or longer than a preset predetermined time T2A. The predetermined time T2A is the time during which the temperature of the smoked material placed in the cooking container 4 is estimated to be lower than the smoking temperature of the smoked material, and is obtained by experiments.

Here, as the predetermined time T2A, the same time may be set for all the smolding processes, or may be set for each smolding process. In this modified example, the predetermined time T2A of each smoke process is set to 2 minutes.

In step S16, if the time T2 is not equal to or longer than the predetermined time T2A, the control unit 20 waits for a certain period of time in step S17, and then executes the process of step S16. If the time T2 is equal to or longer than the predetermined time T2A in step S16, the control section 20 executes the process of step S11, ends the smolder process, and starts the smoke generation process again.

In step S15, if the execution count N is the scheduled execution count NA, the control unit 20 executes the process of step S18. In step S18, the control unit 20 determines whether or not a predetermined time TA has passed since the start of the smoldering process. The predetermined time TA is the time when it is estimated that the smoke in the cooking container 4 has been reduced to the extent that it has almost disappeared, and is obtained by experiments. The predetermined time TA in this modified example is two minutes.

If the predetermined time TA has not elapsed in step S18, the control unit 20 waits for a predetermined time in step S19, and then executes the process of step S18. If the predetermined time TA has passed in step S18, the control unit 20 executes the process of step S20. In step S20, the control unit 20 extinguishes the lower burner 331 and terminates the automatic smoking operation.

In this modified example, each of the smoke generation process and the smoke process is finished when it has been performed for a predetermined time. In this way, the timing of the end of the smoke generation process and the smoke process can also be controlled by time.

(Modification 2)
The control unit 20 in the heating cooker 1 of the modified example 2 is based on the items set in the setting of the automatic smoke operation described above (smoked degree, type of food, type of smoked material, or a combination of two or more of these), A scheduled execution time TB of the automatic smoking operation is determined. For example, in the setting of the automatic smoking operation, if the degree of smoke is set to give a strong flavor, the scheduled execution time TB is set longer than when the degree of smoke is set to give a weak flavor. . Then, the control unit 20 ends the automatic smoking operation when the automatic smoking operation has been executed for the scheduled execution time TB.

The control unit 20 in the heating cooker 1 of this modified example executes the automatic smoking operation by controlling the heating unit 33 according to the flowchart shown in FIG. The control unit 20 executes the process of step S21 when the user operates the operation unit 14 for grilling to issue a command to execute the automatic smoking operation. The processing of step S21 is the same as the processing of step S1 in the above embodiment. That is, in step S21, the control unit 20 controls the heating amount changing unit 35 to bring the lower burner 331 into an ignition state in which the thermal power is "strong", thereby starting the smoke generation process.

After step S21, the control unit 20 executes the process of step S22. In step S22, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the time T that has elapsed since the start of the automatic smoking operation is equal to or longer than the scheduled execution time TB determined based on the setting of the automatic smoking operation.

If the time T is not equal to or longer than the scheduled execution time TB in step S22, the control unit 20 executes the process of step S23. The processing of step S23 is the same as the processing of step S2 in the above embodiment. That is, in step S23, the control unit 20 detects the temperature t of the cooking container 4 by the temperature detection unit 36, and determines whether or not the temperature t is equal to or higher than a preset predetermined temperature ta.

If the temperature t is not equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature ta in step S23, the control unit 20 waits for a certain period of time in step S24, and then executes the process of step S22. If the temperature t is equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature ta in step S23, the control section 20 executes the process of step S25.

The processing of step S25 is the same as the processing of step S4 in the above embodiment. That is, in step S25, the control unit 20 controls the heating amount changing unit 35 to set the heating power of the lower burner 331 to "low", finish the smoke generation process, and start the smoke process.

The control unit 20 executes the process of step S26 following the process of step S25. The processing of step S26 is the same as the processing of step S22. That is, in step S26, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the time T that has elapsed since the start of the automatic smoking operation is equal to or longer than the scheduled execution time TB.

If the time T is not equal to or longer than the scheduled execution time TB in step S26, the control unit 20 executes the process of step S27. The process of step S27 is the same process as step S6 in the above embodiment. That is, in step S27, the control unit 20 detects the temperature t of the cooking vessel 4 by the temperature detection unit 36, and determines whether or not the temperature t is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature tb.

If the temperature t is not equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature tb in step S27, the controller 20 waits for a certain period of time in step S28, and then executes the process of step S26. In step S28, if the temperature t is equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature tb, the control unit 20 executes the process of step S21, ends the smolder process, and restarts the smoke generation process.

If the time T is equal to or longer than the scheduled execution time TB in step S22, the control unit 20 extinguishes the lower burner 331 in step S29 to end the automatic smoking operation. Further, in step S26, if the time T is equal to or longer than the scheduled execution time TB, the control unit 20 extinguishes the lower burner 331 in step S30 to terminate the automatic smoking operation.

As described above, in this modified example, the automatic smoking operation is terminated after the predetermined time TB. In this way, the timing of the end of the automatic smoking operation can also be controlled by time.

(Other modifications)
The heating cooker 1 of the above-described embodiment and modifications can be appropriately modified in design. For example, the heating cooker 1 may include a notification unit that notifies completion of the automatic smoking operation. The notification unit is, for example, a sounding device such as a buzzer or a speaker, a display device for displaying characters, patterns, or the like, an electric lamp that emits light, or a combination of a plurality of these devices.

Further, the predetermined temperature ta and the predetermined temperature tb in the above-described embodiment and modified example 2, the predetermined time T1A and the predetermined time T2A in the modified example 1, and the predetermined time TA in the above-described embodiment and modified example 1 are not limited. It can be changed as appropriate according to the material and shape, the type of food, the type of smoked material, the capacity of the heating unit 33, and the like.

Further, the heating power of the lower burner 331 in the smoke generation process and the smoke process in the above embodiment and each modification is not limited, either. For example, the heating power of the lower burner 331 in the smoke process may be set to "OFF", the heating power of the lower burner 331 in the smoking process may be set to "LOW", and the heating power of the lower burner 331 in the smoking process may be set to "OFF". In addition, the heating amount of the heating unit 33 in the smoke process should be smaller than the heating amount of the heating unit 33 in the smoke generation process. Alternatively, only the top burner 330 may be ignited. Also, the heating unit 33 in the above embodiment and each modified example may have only the lower burner 331 or may have only the upper burner 330 . Further, in the above-described embodiment and Modification 1, the smoke step is performed at the end of the automatic smoking operation, but the smoke generating step may be performed for a predetermined time at the end of the automatic smoke operation.

Further, in the setting of the automatic smoke operation in the above-described embodiment and each modified example, instead of setting the degree of smoke, the type of foodstuff, the type of smoked material, or a combination of two or more of these, the grill operation unit 14 The number of times the smoking/smothering process is executed may be set by the operation. This case is also included in the fact that the cooker 1 has an operation unit for changing the number of execution times of the smoke generation/smothering process in the automatic smoking operation.

Further, the temperature detection unit 36 in the above-described embodiment and each modification is a temperature sensor that contacts the bottom 401 of the cooking vessel 4, but the temperature sensor that contacts a location other than the bottom 401 of the cooking vessel 4, such as the peripheral wall 402, is used. may be Moreover, the temperature detection unit 36 is not limited to one that directly detects the temperature of the cooking container 4 . It may also detect correlated temperatures. That is, the temperature detection unit 36 that detects the temperature of the cooking vessel 4 in the present disclosure includes not only those that directly detect the temperature of the cooking vessel 4 but also those that detect the temperature correlated with the temperature of the cooking vessel 4. .

Further, the upper burner thermal power adjustment section 352 is not limited to the electromagnetic valves 352a and 352b, and the lower burner thermal power adjustment section 354 is not limited to the electromagnetic valves 354a and 354b. For example, the upper burner thermal power adjustment unit 352 may be a flow control valve or the like provided in the upper burner flow path 341 . Further, the lower burner thermal power adjustment unit 354 may be a flow control valve or the like provided in the lower burner flow path 342 .

Also, the cooking container 4 may not have the lid 41 . In this case, the user may, for example, attach a member such as aluminum foil instead of the lid 41 to the container body 40 and perform the automatic smoking operation. Moreover, the heating cooker 1 does not have to be provided with the support 42 .

In addition, the technology of the present disclosure is also applicable to other heating cookers such as a table stove equipped with a grill and a gas grill without a stove, in which food or a container in which the food is placed is directly heated by fire. It is possible. That is, the heating cooker 1 according to the present disclosure may be any device capable of performing a step of directly heating food or a container in which the food is placed, in addition to the automatic smoking operation. Furthermore, the technology of the present disclosure can also be applied to a heating cooker that does not have a grill. It can also be applied to an electromagnetic cooker or the like having a heating unit that heats by induction heating.

(mode)
As is clear from the embodiment and each modified example described above, the heating cooker (1) of the first aspect has the following configuration. A heating cooker (1) includes a heating section (33) and a control section (20). The control unit (20) can control the heating unit (33) to perform an automatic smoking operation in which the heating unit (33) heats the smoked material. The automatic smoke operation includes a smoke generation process and a smoke process. The smoke process is performed subsequent to the smoke generation process. The control unit (20) controls the heating unit (33) so that the temperature of the smoked material is equal to or higher than the smoke generation temperature of the smoked material in the smoke generation process, and the temperature of the smoked material is controlled to be less than the smoke generation temperature in the smoke process. The heating part (33) is controlled so that

According to this aspect, the heating amount of the heating unit (33) in the smoldering process can be made smaller than the heating amount of the heating unit (33) in the smoke generation process, and the amount of energy used can be suppressed. In addition, smoke can be efficiently generated from the smoked material, smoked food can be produced, and the amount of smoked material used can be suppressed.

The cooking device (1) of the second aspect can be realized by combining with the first aspect. A second aspect has the following configuration. The heating unit (33) heats the smoked material placed in the cooking container (4) by heating the cooking container (4). The heating cooker (1) further comprises a temperature detection section (36) for detecting the temperature of the cooking vessel (4). The control section (20) terminates the smoke generation process based on the detection result of the temperature detection section (36).

According to this aspect, the cooking vessel (4) can be used to make smoked products. Further, the smoking process can be terminated based on the detection result of the temperature detection section (36) for detecting the temperature of the cooking vessel (4).

The heating cooker (1) of the third aspect can be realized by combining with the first aspect. The control unit (20) of the third aspect ends when the smoking step is executed for a predetermined time (T1A).

According to this aspect, the smoking process can be terminated based on the execution time of the smoking process.

The heating cooker (1) of the fourth aspect can be realized by combining with any one of the first to third aspects. The control unit (20) of the fourth aspect again executes the smoking step following the smoldering step in the automatic smoking operation.

According to this aspect, after the smoke in the cooking vessel (4) has decreased over time in the smoldering process, the smoke generation process can be performed to generate more smoke in the cooking vessel (4) again. For this reason, the food can be smoked for a long time to be strongly flavored.

The heating cooker (1) of the fifth aspect can be realized by combining with the fourth aspect. The control section (20) of the fifth aspect repeatedly executes a smoke generation/smothering process including a smoke generation process and a smoke process in the automatic smoking operation.

According to this aspect, the food can be strongly flavored while suppressing the amount of energy used.

The heating cooker (1) of the sixth aspect can be realized by combining with the fifth aspect. A sixth aspect has the following configuration. The heating cooker (1) further comprises an operation unit (14) for changing the number of times the smoke generation/smothering process is performed in the automatic smoking operation.

According to this aspect, the user can change the intensity of flavoring the foodstuff by changing the number of times the smoke generation/smothering process is executed by operating the operation unit (14).

The cooking device (1) of the seventh aspect can be realized by combining with any one of the first to sixth aspects. The control unit (20) of the sixth aspect executes the smolder process at the end of the automatic smoke operation.

According to this aspect, it is possible to further reduce the amount of energy used.

T1A Predetermined time 1 Heating cooker 14 Grill operation unit (operation unit)
20 control unit 33 heating unit 36 temperature detection unit 4 cooking container

Claims (6)

a heating unit;
a control unit capable of executing an automatic smoking operation for controlling the heating unit and heating the smoked material in the heating unit;
The automatic smoking operation is
a smoking process;
and a smoldering step that is performed subsequent to the smoking step,
The control unit controls the heating unit so that the temperature of the smoked material is equal to or higher than the smoking temperature of the smoked material in the smoking process, and the temperature of the smoked material is the smoking temperature in the smoking process. controlling the heating unit to be less than
The control unit, in the automatic smoking operation, performs the smoking step again following the smoking step,
In the automatic smoking operation, the control unit repeatedly executes a smoke generation/smoke process consisting of the smoke generation process and the smoke process,
Further comprising an operation unit for changing the number of executions of the smoke generation/smoke process in the automatic smoking operation,
heating cooker. The heating unit heats the smoked material placed in the cooking container by heating the cooking container in which the smoked material and food ingredients are placed.
The heating cooker according to claim 1. The control unit terminates the smoke generation step based on a detection result of a temperature detection unit that detects the temperature of the cooking vessel.
The heating cooker according to claim 2. The control unit terminates the smoking step after executing the smoking step for a predetermined time.
The heating cooker according to claim 2. In the smoking step, the smoked material is heated by the heating unit with a heating amount smaller than the heating amount of the heating unit in the smoking step.
The heating cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The control unit executes the smolder step at the end of the automatic smoking operation.
The heating cooker according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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