KR100643694B1 - Apparatus to control cleaning of cooker with steam generation device and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus for controlling cleaning of a cooking device with a steam generating apparatus and a method thereof are provided to effectively remove the impurities attached in the steam pipe and the cooking space by automatically sensing the contamination of the pipe through the light sensor and informing a user of the cleaning time of the pipe. An apparatus for controlling cleaning of a cooking device with a steam generating apparatus(30) comprises a sensing unit for sensing the contamination degree of a steam pipe(35) supplying the steam to a cooking space(10); and a control unit for comparing the contamination degree of the steam pipe with the set value and controlling the supply of the steam if the contamination degree of the pipe is over the set value. The sensing unit contains a quartz pipe(36) connected to the pipe, and a light sensor(60) for sensing the light volume.

Description

Apparatus to control cleaning of cooker with steam generation device and method

1 is an external view showing the configuration of a cooker having a steam generator according to the present invention;

2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a cooker having a steam generator according to the present invention;

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II ′ of FIG. 2;

4 is a control block diagram of a cooker having a steam generator according to the present invention;

5 is an operation flowchart of a cleaning control method for a cooker having a steam generator according to the present invention;

* Description of symbols on the main parts of the drawings *

10: cooking chamber 20: water supply unit

30: steam generating unit 32: steam heater

34: blower fan 35: steam pipe

36: quartz tube 40: steam supply unit

42: circulation fan 43: superheated steam heater

60: light sensor 120: control unit

The present invention relates to a cooker having a steam generating device, and in particular, to detect the pollution degree of the steam pipe supplied with the steam through an optical sensor to accurately determine the cleaning time of the steam pipe and the cooking chamber and equipped with a steam generating device for controlling the cleaning operation. A cleaning control apparatus for a cooker and a method thereof are provided.

In general, a cooker for cooking food includes a microwave oven using high frequency, a gas oven using an electric heater, an electric oven, and the like.

As gas ovens or electric ovens are cooked by directly applying heat to foods, foods are oxidized by contact with oxygen contained in the air, resulting in poor taste and unhealthy foods. There is a disadvantage in that the distinctive taste of food and cooking time is longer.

In addition, the microwave oven has a problem that if the high frequency is not uniformly injected into the food as cooked by scanning the high frequency food, the food is locally burned or less cooked, so that uniform cooking is difficult and the food is dried and the taste is poor.

In order to solve this problem, a method of uniformly cooking food having good taste and health by supplying steam into the cooking chamber has been proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-205130.

The cooker proposed in the publication has a saturated steam generator for converting water supplied from a water supply device into saturated steam, a superheated steam generator for generating superheated steam by further heating the generated saturated steam, and a generated superheated steam. Hot air and / or superheated steam is supplied into the cooking chamber, including a hot air generator for supplying hot air separately or together.

At this time, inside the cooking chamber, a large amount of steam with high pressure circulates as the circulation fan rotates, and hot steam is evenly transferred to the entire surface of the food by the circulation convection inside the cooking chamber, so that the food is cooked uniformly as a whole. The moisture is properly maintained and the food is cooked with delicious food.

However, such a cooker is attached to a steam tube or a cooking chamber in which various debris dropped or scattered from food during cooking is mixed with steam and supplied with steam. In the related art, a method of detecting a pollution degree in a steam tube or cooking chamber is known. Since there is no user's inconvenience by using the cleaning operation after checking the contamination state inside the cooking chamber by eye.

In addition, since the cleaning operation cannot be performed in a timely manner because the timing of cleaning the steam tube or the cooking chamber cannot be accurately determined, the residues attached to the inside of the steam tube or cooking chamber are fixed after being dried after cooking, so that these residues cannot be easily removed later. There was this.

Therefore, the present invention is to solve the above conventional problems, an object of the present invention is to accurately detect the pollution degree of the steam pipe supplied with steam through an optical sensor to accurately determine the timing of cleaning the steam pipe and cooking chamber The present invention provides a cleaning control device for a cooker having a steam generator and a method thereof.

Another object of the present invention, the cleaning control apparatus and method of the cooker having a steam generator that can effectively remove the debris attached to the steam pipe and the inside of the cooking chamber by performing the cleaning operation in accordance with the timing of cleaning the steam pipe and the cooking chamber. To provide.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a cooker having a steam generator, comprising: a sensing unit for detecting a pollution degree of a steam pipe for supplying steam generated by the steam generator to a cooking chamber; And a control unit which controls the supply of steam to clean the steam pipe and the cooking chamber when the detected pollution degree of the steam pipe is compared with a predetermined reference value and the pollution degree of the steam pipe is outside the reference value range.

The sensing unit may include a quartz tube connected to the steam tube, and an optical sensor for sensing the amount of light transmitted through the quartz tube.

In addition, the present invention provides a method for controlling a cooker for supplying steam generated by a steam generator to a cooking chamber through a steam pipe, the pollution degree of the steam pipe is detected, by comparing the detected pollution degree of the steam pipe with a predetermined reference value When the pollution degree of the steam pipe is out of the reference value range, the steam supply and the cooking chamber are cleaned by controlling the supply of steam.

In addition, controlling the supply of the steam is characterized in that the steam is periodically heated at a predetermined time in an on / off cycle for maintaining a constant temperature of the steam generated by the steam generator supplied to the cooking chamber.

In addition, the pollution degree of the steam pipe is characterized in that it detects the sensor value according to the amount of light transmitted by transmitting light to the quartz pipe connected to the steam pipe.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is an external view showing the configuration of a cooker having a steam generator according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a cooker having a steam generating device according to the present invention, Figure 3 is the I-I of FIG. It is a line cross section.

1 to 3, the cooker having the steam generator according to the present invention includes a housing 1 forming an external appearance, a cooking chamber 10 formed inside the housing 1 with a predetermined space with the housing 1, and a cooking chamber. Door (2) for opening and closing the open front of the (10), the operation panel 3 provided on the upper portion of the cooking chamber 10 for the operation control of the cooker.

The cooking chamber 10 includes a top plate 11, a bottom plate 12, both side plates 13, and a back plate 14 to form a predetermined space for cooking food, and the cooking chamber 10 and the housing. The space between (1) is provided with a heat insulator (not shown) so that the heat inside the cooking chamber 10 does not escape to the outside.

In addition, the cooker equipped with a steam generator of the present invention, the water supply unit 20, the steam generating unit 30 is disposed in the space between the housing 1 and the cooking chamber 10 to supply steam to the cooking chamber 10. And a pair of steam supply units 40.

The water supply unit 20 is installed on all of the outer side of the upper plate 11 to supply water for generating steam to the steam generating unit 30, the steam generating unit 30 is the outer rear portion of the upper plate 11 It is installed on the steam supply unit 40 to supply steam, a pair of steam supply unit 40 is installed in each side plate 13 to supply the steam for cooking food to the cooking chamber (10). .

The water supply unit 20 is a water supply case 21, a water supply container 22 which is coupled or separated in a slide manner to the water supply case 21, and a water supply pipe connecting the water supply container 22 and the steam generating unit 30. It is provided with 23 to supply the water filled in the water supply container 22 to the steam generating unit 30 through the water supply pipe (23). The water supply pipe 23 is provided with a water supply valve 24 for opening and closing the water supply pipe 23 to adjust the amount of water supplied to the steam generating unit 30.

The steam generating unit 30 is installed in the steam container 31, the steam container 31, the U-shaped steam heater 32 to generate steam of a high temperature (about 1000W) by instantaneously heating the water passing through The fan casing 33 coupled to communicate with the steam container 31, the blowing fan 34 installed inside the fan casing 33, and extends from the steam container 31 toward each steam supply unit 40. And a plurality of steam pipes 35 for supplying steam generated by the steam heater 32 from the steam container 31 to each steam supply unit 40.

One of the plurality of steam pipes 35 is provided with a quartz pipe 36, the quartz pipe 36 is a material that can easily transmit the light emitted from the optical sensor to be described later steam pipe 35 It is connected by a structure sandwiched between.

On the outer circumferential surface of the quartz tube 36, the inside of the steam tube 35 or the cooking chamber 10 is contaminated by various debris dropped or scattered from food during the cooking process to clean the inside of the steam tube 35 or the cooking chamber 10. An optical sensor 60 is installed to measure the amount of light transmitted through the quartz tube 36 to detect the pollution degree of the steam tube 35 in order to determine whether it is a time point.

The light sensor 60 is installed on one side of the outer peripheral surface of the quartz tube 36 to emit light, and the other side of the outer peripheral surface of the quartz tube 36, that is, at a position opposite to the light emitting unit 60a. And a light receiving unit 60b provided to receive the amount of light emitted from the light emitting unit 60a.

The steam supply unit 40 includes a steam duct 41 coupled to the outside of each side plate 13 of the cooking chamber 10, a circulation fan 42 installed inside the steam duct 41, and a circulation fan ( And a superheated steam heater 43 disposed to surround the outer circumference of the 42.

The steam duct 41 is circularly formed on both sides of the side plates 13 on the outside of the cooking chamber 10 to form a flow path for communicating both sides of the cooking chamber 10 with the steam pipe 35 of the steam generating unit 30. Combined, the circulation fan 42 is installed inside the steam duct 41 for the circulation of the steam in a circular shape, the superheated steam heater 43 is also formed in a circular shape to provide the heat required to supply the steam It is installed on the outer periphery of the circulation fan 42.

The circulation fan 42 is a centrifugal fan having a plurality of blades. When the circulation fan 42 rotates, suction force is generated in the axial direction of the circulation fan 42, and the steam and the plurality of steam tubes inside the cooking chamber 10 are generated. The steam inside 35 is sucked together and discharged in the radial direction of the circulation fan 42.

A plurality of steam pipes 35 connecting the steam container 31 of the steam generating unit 30 and the steam duct 41 of each steam supply unit 40 is formed in a pair, each steam pipe 35 Is connected to a position facing the plurality of inlet holes 15 in the steam duct 41, that is, a position corresponding to the suction side of the circulation fan 42, so that the steam inside each steam pipe 35 is circulated in the circulation fan 42. It is introduced into the steam duct 41 by the suction force of the mixed with the steam of the cooking chamber 10 introduced into the plurality of inlet holes (15).

With this structure, as shown by the dashed-dotted line in FIG. 3, the steam in the cooking chamber 10 is symmetrical through the pair of steam supply units 40 to circulate internally in three dimensions.

A plurality of inlet holes 15 having a small size is disposed in the center of each side plate 13 of the cooking chamber 10, and small outside the inlet hole 15, that is, at the edges of both side plates 13. A plurality of outlet holes 16 having a size are provided, and vapors having a temperature dropped by exchanging heat with food in the cooking chamber 10 flow into the steam duct 41 through the centers of both side plates 13 and are converted into superheated steam. Afterwards, the inner circulation flows back to the cooking chamber 10 along the edges of both side plates 13. The plurality of outlet holes 16 are symmetrically arranged on the upper and lower portions, and the entirety and the rear portion of the plurality of inlet holes 15 formed in the central portion.

In addition, an inlet 17 is formed at the center of the upper plate 11 of the cooking chamber 10 to communicate with the fan casing 33 of the steam generating unit 30 and to control the opening and closing by a damper (not shown). 10) the steam inside is sucked by the blowing fan 34 installed in the fan casing 33 and supplied to the steam supply unit 40 together with the steam generated in the steam container 31, and again a plurality of outlet holes ( 16) a symmetrical external circulation is sent to the cooking chamber.

In addition, a cooling fan 50 is installed at the rear of the housing 1 to cool the space between the housing 1 and the cooking chamber 10, and a drain valve 52 is provided at the water supply pipe 23 of the water supply unit 20. Opening and closing by the drain pipe 51 is extended to the inside of the cooking chamber 10 is connected to enable the water remaining in the steam container 31 and the water supply container 21 after cooking through the cooking chamber 10.

4 is a control configuration diagram of a cooker having a steam generator according to the present invention, and includes an optical sensor 60, a signal input unit 100, a control unit 120, a driving unit 130, and a display unit 140.

The signal input unit 100 includes a plurality of keys on the operation panel 3 to input cooking information (cooking time, cooking menu, cooking start / stop, etc.) desired by the user to the controller 120.

The controller 120 is a microcomputer that controls the devices of the cooker according to the cooking information input from the signal input unit 100. The control unit 120 compares the light amount Lp input from the optical sensor 60 with a predetermined reference value. In accordance with the steam pipe 35 and the inside of the cooking chamber 10 to determine the cleaning time, if it is determined that the cleaning time of the superheated steam heater while operating the circulation fan 42 of the steam generating unit 30 and the steam supply unit 40 The operation of the 43 is periodically turned on / off to clean the inside of the steam pipe 35 and the cooking chamber 10.

In addition, the controller 120 may display the cleaning time and the cleaning state of the steam pipe 35 and the cooking chamber 10 through the display unit 140, and thus the user may manually perform the cleaning operation.

The driving unit 130 is an exhaust control valve 19, a water supply valve 24, a steam heater 32, a blowing fan 34, a circulation fan 42, and a superheated steam heater according to a driving control signal of the control unit 120. 43, the drain valve 52, and the like, and the display unit 140 controls the cooking time, the cooking menu, or the operation state of the cooker (specifically, the cleaning time point) input by the user according to the display control signal of the controller 120. Or cleaning status) is displayed on the operation panel 3.

Hereinafter, the operation process and the effect of the cleaning control device and the method of the cooking apparatus having a steam generator configured as described above will be described.

5 is an operation flowchart of a cleaning control method for a cooker having a steam generator according to the present invention.

First, the food is put in a tray (not shown) inside the cooking chamber 10, the manipulation panel 3 is operated to select the cooking information desired by the user, and then the start key is pressed. It is input to the control unit 120 through (S100).

Therefore, the control unit 120 turns on the water supply valve 24 so that the water in the water supply container 22 is supplied to the steam container 31 through the water supply pipe 23, and the water supplied to the steam container 31 is steamed. It is controlled to be heated by the heater 32.

The steam produced in the steam container 31 by the steam heater 32 is sent to each steam duct 41 through the steam pipes 35 in accordance with the operation of the blower fan 34, and then continues inside the steam duct 41. In accordance with the operation of the circulating fan 42 and the superheated steam heater 43 of the cooking chamber 10 through a plurality of outlet holes 16 formed in both side plates 13 of the cooking chamber 10 is changed to the superheated steam of a higher temperature ) Is supplied to the inside (S110).

The superheated steam supplied into the cooking chamber 10 cooks the food by transferring heat to the food, and the steam whose temperature is lowered in the process is formed in the plurality of inlet holes 15 formed in both side plates 13 of the cooking chamber 10. Through the inlet to the steam duct 41 and heated again, the internal circulation is supplied to the cooking chamber 10 through the outlet hole 16 again.

In this cooking process, various debris dropped or scattered from food is attached to the plurality of steam pipes 35 or the cooking chamber 10. In the present invention, in order to detect the degree of contamination of the steam pipe 35 due to various food wastes. The light sensor 60 installed on the outer circumferential surface of the quartz pipe 36 connected to any one of the plurality of steam pipes 35 oscillates light to sense the amount of light Lp passing through the quartz pipe 36 (S120).

It is determined whether the light amount Lp sensed by the optical sensor 60 is smaller than the predetermined reference value Ls (minimum light amount data when various food residues are attached to the quartz tube) in the control unit 120 (S130).

When the light amount Lp is smaller than the reference value Ls, the steam pipe 35 is contaminated and it is determined that the steam pipe 35 and the inside of the cooking chamber 10 need to be cleaned. The temperature of the water supply container 22 is supplied to the steam container 31, and the water supplied to the steam container 31 is heated by the steam heater 32 to generate steam (S140). .

The steam generated in the steam container 31 by the steam heater 32 is passed to each steam duct 41 of the steam supply unit 40 through a plurality of steam pipes 35 in accordance with the operation of the blowing fan 34. S150 and then, by the operation of the circulation fan 42 and the superheated steam heater 43 inside the steam duct 41 is changed to the superheated steam of a higher temperature to both side plates 13 of the cooking chamber 10 It is supplied to the cooking chamber 10 through a plurality of outflow holes 16 formed in the.

At this time, the superheated steam heater 43 repeats the on / off at a predetermined cycle (S160). The on / off of the superheated steam heater 43 at a constant cycle is to prevent the water supplied to the cooking chamber 10 from decreasing as the temperature of the steam increases excessively while increasing the temperature of the steam. The on / off repetition period is preferably selected according to the heating capacity of the superheated steam heater 43, the volume of the cooking chamber 10, and the like.

As such, the cooking chamber 10 introduced into the steam duct 41 through a plurality of inlet holes 15 formed at the center of each side plate 13 in accordance with the operation of the circulation fan 42 at the same time as the supply of the heated steam. The internal steam is mixed with the steam supplied through the steam pipe 35 and then periodically heated again by the superheated steam heater 43 to be sent to the cooking chamber 10 so that the internal circulation is performed.

In addition, as the blower fan 34 is operated while the damper of the inlet port 17 is opened and the exhaust control valve 19 of the exhaust pipe 18 is closed, steam in the cooking chamber 10 is discharged into the steam container 31. With the steam made in the flow through the steam pipes 35 through the steam supply unit 40 is made a symmetrical external circulation to return to the cooking chamber 10 is made. The steam once heated and supplied to the cooking chamber 10 is heated again through internal and external circulation and supplied to the steam tube 35 and the cooking chamber 10, so that the temperature inside the steam tube 35 and the cooking chamber 10 is constant. The cleaning is made by steam while maintaining the temperature (S170 ~ S180).

In addition, the food waste inside the steam pipe 35 and the cooking chamber 10 is well supplied since the steam is heated and the temperature is raised to supply the steam pipe 35 and the cooking chamber 10 instead of simply supplying the generated steam. It is called to make it easier to remove.

Through the cleaning process, it is determined whether the amount of light Lp transmitted through the quartz tube 36 is greater than or equal to the reference value Ls as various debris adhered to the steam tube 35 and the cooking chamber 10 are removed (S190). .

When the light amount Lp is equal to or greater than the reference value Ls, the control unit 120 stops the cleaning operation in order to perform a normal cooker operation by determining that the steam pipe 35 and the inside of the cooking chamber 10 are completed. S200).

As described above, according to the cleaning control device and the method of the cooking apparatus equipped with a steam generating device according to the present invention, the cleaning of the steam pipe and the cooking chamber by automatically detecting the pollution degree of the steam pipe supplied with steam through an optical sensor The timing can be accurately determined, and the cleaning operation can be accurately performed according to the cleaning time of the steam pipe and the cooking chamber, thereby effectively removing the residues attached to the inside of the steam pipe and the cooking chamber.

What has been described above is just one embodiment for implementing the cleaning control device and method of the cooking apparatus having a steam generator according to the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, the technical idea of the present invention Of course, various modifications are possible by those skilled in the art.

Claims (5)

In a cooker with a steam generator, A detector for detecting a degree of contamination of a steam tube for supplying steam generated by the steam generator to a cooking chamber; The control unit for controlling the supply of steam to clean the steam pipe and the cooking chamber when the pollution degree of the steam pipe is out of the reference value range by comparing the detected degree of contamination of the steam pipe with a predetermined reference value Cleaning control device for a cooker having a steam generating device comprising a. The method of claim 1, The detector comprises a quartz tube connected to the steam tube, and an optical sensor for sensing the amount of light transmitted through the light through the quartz tube, cleaning device of a cooker having a steam generator. In the control method of the cooker to supply the steam generated by the steam generator to the cooking chamber through the steam pipe, Detects the degree of contamination of the steam pipe, Cleaning the cooker with a steam generating device characterized in that the cleaning of the steam pipe and the cooking chamber by controlling the supply of steam when the pollution degree of the steam pipe is compared with a predetermined reference value and the steam pipe contamination degree is outside the reference value range. Control method. The method of claim 3, wherein Controlling the supply of steam, Cleaning control method of a cooker having a steam generator, characterized in that for heating the steam periodically at a predetermined time in an on / off cycle to maintain a constant temperature of the steam generated by the steam generator supplied to the cooking chamber. The method of claim 3, wherein The pollution degree of the steam pipe is a cleaning control method for a cooker having a steam generator, characterized in that the sensor by the sensor value according to the amount of light transmitted through the light transmitted through the quartz pipe connected to the steam pipe.

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