KR100725737B1 - Cooking device and drain control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cooking apparatus and a drainage control method thereof, and to determine whether a bucket exists in draining water remaining in the apparatus after cooking is completed so that the inside of the apparatus is kept clean. The purpose is to reduce the drainage time by controlling the drainage time according to the quantity of water.

To this end, the present invention includes a water tank, a steam generating unit, a water supply valve for supplying the water in the water tank to the steam generating unit, and a drain valve for draining the water in the steam generating unit, and performing cooking using steam. A cooking apparatus, comprising: an input unit for inputting a command for draining water in the cooking apparatus; A detector for detecting the presence or absence of the bucket in the cooking apparatus when a drainage command is input; And a controller configured to drain the water in the cooking apparatus according to a result of the sensing unit.

Description

Cooking device and drain control method

1 is an external view showing a configuration of a cooking apparatus according to the present invention;

2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a cooking apparatus according to the present invention;

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

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

5 is a configuration of drainage control of the cooking apparatus according to the present invention;

6 is a control block diagram of a cooking apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention;

7 is an operation flowchart of the drainage control method of the cooking apparatus according to the present invention.

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

2: door 10: cooking chamber

20: water supply unit 22: water tank

23: water supply pipe 24: water supply valve

25: water level sensor 31: steam container

35: steam pipe 50: drainage unit

52: drain pipe 53: drain pipe

54: drain valve 100: input

120: control unit

The present invention relates to a cooking apparatus for cooking using steam, and more particularly, to a cooking apparatus and a drainage control method for draining the water remaining in the apparatus after the cooking is completed.

In general, a cooking apparatus 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 in that when 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 the 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 cooking apparatus proposed in the publication includes 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 The hot air and / or superheated steam to the inside of the cooking chamber including a hot air generating device for supplying hot air to enable heating cooking 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, in the cooking apparatus using steam as described above, the steam is cooled in the process of circulating through the tube into and out of the cooking chamber, and condensate is generated inside the tube. It is necessary to drain the condensate properly. In addition, after the cooking is completed, it is necessary to drain the remaining water inside the cooking apparatus including a water supply device or a steam generator.

This means that when the user replenishes the water of the water supply device during the next cooking, the water used previously is reused, so that the contamination and the decayed water are used for the next cooking while the water is left for a long time or combined with metal. Because it causes.

However, if the separate drainage device is provided on the condensate water pipe or door and the remaining water supply device, the overall structure of the cooking device is complicated. In addition, when condensed water or residual water is drained into the cooking chamber in consideration of this point, a large amount of water is accumulated at the bottom of the cooking chamber, which makes the cooking chamber dirty and not easy to clean.

Accordingly, the present invention is to solve the conventional problems as described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a cooking apparatus and a drainage control method for draining the water remaining in the device to the outside after the cooking is completed. .

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cooking apparatus capable of shortening the drainage time by determining whether there is a bucket, and controlling the drainage time according to the amount of water remaining in the bucket, if there is a bucket.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a water tank, a steam generating unit, a water supply valve for supplying water from the water tank to the steam generating unit, and a drain valve for draining the water in the steam generating unit. A cooking apparatus for cooking food, comprising: an input unit for inputting a command for draining water in the cooking apparatus; A detector for detecting the presence or absence of the bucket in the cooking apparatus when a drainage command is input; And a controller for draining the water in the cooking apparatus according to the result of the sensing unit.

In addition, the detection unit includes a water level sensor for detecting the water level in the water tank; If the water level sensor does not sense the load, it is determined that there is no water tank.

In addition, the control unit, if it is determined that there is no water tank as a result of the detection, characterized in that for opening the water supply valve and drain valve to drain the water in the cooking apparatus.

In addition, the control unit adjusts the interruption time of the water supply valve and the drain valve on the basis of the presence or absence of the water tank, characterized in that for setting the interruption time when there is no water tank than the interruption time when there is a water tank.

In addition, if it is determined that there is a bucket as a result of the detection of the sensing unit, the controller detects the residual amount of water in the bucket and is less than a reference amount that can be processed according to the drainage process. Characterized in that drain.

The controller may output a bucket removal message when the remaining quantity of water in the bucket exceeds a reference amount that can be processed as the drainage proceeds.

The present invention includes a water tank, a steam generating unit, a water supply valve for supplying water from the water tank to the steam generating unit, and a drain valve for draining the water in the steam generating unit, wherein cooking is performed using steam. A control method of a cooking apparatus, comprising: inputting a command to drain water in the cooking apparatus; Detecting the presence of the water bottle in the cooking apparatus when a draining command is input; And if it is determined that there is no bucket, the step of opening the water supply valve and the drain valve to drain the water in the cooking apparatus.

In addition, the step of draining the water in the cooking apparatus, the intermittent time of the water supply valve and the drain valve is adjusted based on the presence or absence of the bucket, and the interruption time when there is no water tank is set shorter than the interruption time when there is a water tank Characterized in that.

In addition, in the step of draining the water in the cooking apparatus, if it is determined that there is a bucket, if the residual amount in the bucket is detected to be less than the reference amount that can be processed according to the progress of drainage, the water supply valve and the drain valve is opened To drain the water in the cooking apparatus.

In addition, the present invention is characterized in that when the remaining amount of water in the bucket exceeds the standard amount that can be processed according to the progress of the drainage, characterized in that to output the bucket removal message.

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 the cooking apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the cooking apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II 'of FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II 'of FIG. 2.

1 to 4, the cooking apparatus of the present invention includes a housing 1 forming an exterior, a cooking chamber 10 formed inside the housing 1 with a predetermined space with the housing 1, and a cooking chamber 10. Door 2 for opening and closing the open front, the operation panel 3 is 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 cooking apparatus of the present invention is a water supply unit 20, a steam generating unit 30 and a pair disposed in a space between the housing 1 and the cooking chamber 10 to supply steam to the cooking chamber 10. It further comprises a steam supply unit 40 and the drainage unit 50 disposed outside the cooking chamber 10.

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 tank 22 which is coupled or separated in a slide manner to the water supply case 21, and a water supply pipe 23 connecting the water tank 22 and the steam generating unit 30. It is provided with) to supply the water filled in the bucket 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 lower or one side of the water tank 22 of the water tank 22 The sensing unit 25 for detecting the presence and remaining amount of water in the bucket 22 is installed.

The detection unit 25 is a water level sensor capable of detecting the weight of the water tank 22, and when the water load 22 is not in a no-load state, the water level data is detected as "0", and the base weight of the water tank 22 is greater than If detected, it detects that there is a bucket (22). In addition, the sensing unit 22 may detect the presence or absence of the water tank 22 and the remaining amount of water in the water tank 22 through water level detection using a semiconductor sensor.

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

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 of 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 ( Recirculation is sent to the cooking chamber 10 through 16).

Opening and closing is controlled by the exhaust valve 19 in the upper portion of the steam container 31, the exhaust pipe 18 extending to the outside of the housing 1 is installed to the exhaust valve of the inlet port 17 and exhaust pipe 18 ( When the circulation fan 34 is operated while the 19 is open, the steam inside the cooking chamber 10 may be discharged to the outside of the housing 1 so that the steam pressure and the temperature inside the cooking chamber 10 can be adjusted during cooking. After cooking, the high temperature steam in the cooking chamber 10 can be safely discharged.

The drainage unit 50 remains in the water tank 22 or the steam container 31 after cooking and condensed water condensed by moisture remaining on the rear surface of the water supply pipe 23, the steam pipe 35, or the door 2 during cooking. In order to drain the residual water, the drain case 51, the water drain pipe 52 for storing the condensed water and the residual water is coupled or separated in a slide manner to the drain case 51, and the water supply unit 20 It is provided with a drain pipe 53 connected to 23 to drain the water remaining in the bucket 22 or the steam container 31 to the drain container 52 through the drain pipe 53.

The drain pipe 53 is provided with a drain valve 54 for opening and closing the drain pipe 53 in order to drain the water of the water tank 22 or the steam container 31 to the drain container 52.

In addition, the drainage unit 50 further includes a door drip tray 55 to collect condensed water flowing down from the back of the door 2.

The drain container 52 is detachably mounted to the lower portion of the housing 1 outside the cooking chamber 10, that is, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, and thus, the drain container 52 is installed in the cooking chamber 10. By placing outside of the condensate or residual water generated in each part of the device can be stored without contaminating the inside of the cooking chamber (10).

In addition, a cooling fan 60 is installed at the rear of the housing 1 to cool the space between the housing 1 and the cooking chamber 10.

5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a drainage control configuration of a cooking apparatus according to the present invention, wherein a water tank 22, a steam generating unit 30, and water from the water tank 22 are supplied through a water supply pipe 23. It includes a water supply valve 24 for supplying the water, the drain valve 54 for draining the water in the steam generating unit 30 to the drain container 52 through the drain pipe 53.

6 is a control block diagram of a cooking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and includes a sensing unit 25, an input unit 100, a control unit 120, a driving unit 130, and a display unit 140.

The 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 control unit 120. In step 100), a drainage progress key for inputting a drainage progress signal after completion of cooking is provided.

The control unit 120 is a microcomputer that controls each device of the cooking apparatus according to the cooking information input from the input unit 100, and compares the water level data input from the detecting unit 25 with a predetermined reference value when the drainage proceeds. It is determined whether there is 22), and if there is a bucket 22, the drainage time is controlled according to the amount of water remaining in the bucket 22.

In addition, when the amount of water remaining in the bucket 22 is large, the control unit 120 displays a message (bucket removal message) to pull out the bucket 22 and discard the water through the display unit 140 to process water according to the drainage. And reduce drainage time.

The driving unit 130 is an exhaust valve 19, a water supply valve 24, a steam heater 32, a blowing fan 34, a circulation fan 42, the superheated steam heater according to the drive control signal of the control unit 120 ( 43), the drain valve 54 or the like, and the display unit 140, according to the display control signal of the control unit 120, the cooking time, the cooking menu or the operating state of the cooking apparatus (specifically, Cleaning status) and the like are displayed on the operation panel 3.

Hereinafter, the operation process and the effect of the cooking apparatus and the drainage control method configured as described above will be described.

7 is an operation flowchart of the drainage control method of the cooking apparatus according to the present invention.

First, when food is put into the cooking chamber 10 and the operation panel 3 is selected to select cooking information desired by the user and the start key is turned on, the key signal selected by the user is input to the control unit 120 through the input unit 100. Is entered.

Therefore, the water supply valve 24 is opened under the control of the controller 120, and the water of the water tank 22 is supplied to the steam generating unit 30 through the water supply pipe 23. The water supplied to the steam generating unit 30 is heated by the steam heater 32 to produce saturated steam, and the saturated steam is formed through the steam pipes 35 in accordance with the operation of the blower fan 34. To the superheated steam at a higher temperature according to the operation of the circulation fan 42 and the superheated steam heater 43 inside the steam duct 41 and formed on both side plates 13 of the cooking chamber 10. It is supplied into the cooking chamber 10 through the plurality of outlet holes 16.

The superheated steam supplied into the cooking chamber 10 delivers heat to the food to cook the food, and in this process, the steam having a lower temperature causes a plurality of inflow holes 15 formed in both side plates 13 of the cooking chamber 10. The internal circulation is supplied to the steam duct 41 and heated again, and then supplied to the cooking chamber 10 through the outlet hole 16 again.

In this cooking process, steam passes through the steam pipe 35 and condenses by exchanging heat with relatively cold outside air. When the amount of the condensed water increases, the steam flows through the steam pipe 35 to prevent the efficiency of the device. Will drop. In addition, during cooking, condensed water is generated on the rear surface of the door 2 due to a temperature difference from the outside air, and flows downward. In addition, if the user stops the operation in the state that the steam inside the apparatus is not completely exhausted after cooking, the condensed water is generated in the steam pipe 35 or the steam duct 41.

In addition, even if it is not such condensed water, it is necessary to drain the water remaining in the bucket 22 or the steam generating unit 30 after cooking.

Therefore, in the present invention, when the user turns on the drainage progress key provided in the operation panel 3 for draining the condensed water and the residual water after completion of cooking, the drainage progress signal selected by the user is transmitted to the controller 120 through the input unit 100. It is input (S100).

Accordingly, the controller 120 receives the water level data from the sensing unit 25 for drainage and compares it with a predetermined reference value to determine whether the water tank 22 is mounted in the water supply case 21 (S110).

At this time, the control unit 120 determines whether the water bottle 22 is present if the water level data input from the detection unit 25 by setting the basic weight (when there is no water) of the water tank 22 as a reference value It is judged that there is no bucket 22, and it is judged that there is a bucket 22 when it is more than a reference value.

As a result of the determination of the controller 120, when there is a bucket 22, the amount of water remaining in the bucket 22 according to the water level data input from the detector 25 is a reference amount that can be processed according to a predetermined drainage progress (about 50cc) is determined (S120).

If the water in the bucket 22 is more than the reference amount that can be processed according to the progress of the drainage, the control unit 120 displays a message (bucket removal message) to pull out the bucket 22 through the display unit 140 (S121). .

This is because, in the case of a large amount of water in the bucket 22, a large amount of water is sent to the outside of the drain container 52 or the cooking chamber 10 as the drainage progresses, in order to prevent the water treatment and draining time from being drained for a long time. It is to display the user can directly process the water in the bucket (22).

On the other hand, if the water in the bucket 22 is less than the reference amount that can be processed according to the progress of the drainage, the control unit 120 opens the water supply valve 24 and the drain valve 54 at the same time, the bucket 22 and the steam container 31 The condensed water remaining in the water supply pipe 23 together with the water (residual water) remaining in the water is directly drained through the drain pipe 53 to the drain container 52 (S130).

At this time, the control unit 120 proceeds to the drain for a predetermined time (T1; time required to drain the remaining water of the bucket and the steam container) (S140).

In addition, as a result of the determination in step S110, when there is no water tank 22, the control unit 120 opens the water supply valve 24 and the drain valve 54 at the same time and water remaining in the steam container 31 (residual water) The condensed water remaining in the water supply pipe 23 together with the drain pipe 53 is directly drained to the drain container 52 (S150).

At this time, the controller 120 proceeds to drain water for a predetermined time (T2; shorter time than T1).

The reason why the drainage time T2 when there is no bucket 22 is set to be shorter than the drainage time T1 when there is a bucket 22 is that, when there is no bucket 22, the drainage may naturally occur under atmospheric pressure. To reduce the drainage time by adjusting the time to drain for a shorter time than when there is a bucket (22).

As such, determining whether the bucket 22 is present in the control unit 120 is equivalent to the case where the user discards the water in the bucket 22 and then puts the bucket 22 again in response to the message to remove the bucket 22. This is to distinguish that the drainage proceeds in a state where the water tank 22 is placed outside. This division is useful for setting the drainage time according to the bucket 22, and consequently also results in reducing the drainage time.

As described above, according to the cooking apparatus and its drainage control method according to the present invention, after cooking is completed, water remaining in the apparatus is drained to the outside to prevent water corruption and contamination, and to keep the inside of the apparatus clean. It is effective to make.

In addition, the present invention has the effect of determining whether there is a bucket, and if the bucket is present, controlling the drainage time according to the amount of water remaining in the bucket can shorten the drainage time.

What has been described above is just one embodiment for implementing the cooking apparatus and drainage control method according to the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, it is usually within the technical spirit of the present invention Of course, various modifications are possible by those who have the knowledge of.

Claims (10)

delete delete delete A cooking apparatus including a water tank, a steam generating unit, a water supply valve for supplying water from the water tank to a steam generating unit, and a drain valve for draining the water in the steam generating unit, wherein the cooking apparatus performs cooking using steam. An input unit for inputting a command to drain water in the cooking apparatus; A detector for detecting the presence or absence of the bucket in the cooking apparatus when a drainage command is input; And A control unit which opens the water supply valve and the drain valve to drain the water in the cooking apparatus; The control unit adjusts the drainage time based on the presence or absence of the water tank according to the detection result of the sensing unit, characterized in that for setting the drainage time when there is no water tank shorter than the drainage time when there is a water tank. A cooking apparatus including a water tank, a steam generating unit, a water supply valve for supplying water from the water tank to a steam generating unit, and a drain valve for draining the water in the steam generating unit, wherein the cooking apparatus performs cooking using steam. An input unit for inputting a command to drain water in the cooking apparatus; A detector for detecting the presence or absence of the bucket in the cooking apparatus when a drainage command is input; And A control unit for draining the water in the cooking apparatus according to the result of the detection unit, If it is determined that there is no water tank as a result of the sensing unit, the controller opens the water supply valve and the drain valve to drain the water in the cooking apparatus, When the control unit detects that there is a bucket as a result of the sensing unit, the controller detects the remaining amount of water in the bucket, and when it is below a reference amount that can be processed according to the drainage progress, opening the water supply valve and the drain valve to drain the water in the cooking apparatus. Cooking apparatus, characterized in that. The method of claim 5, And the controller outputs a water bottle removal message when the remaining water amount in the water tank exceeds a standard amount that can be processed as the water flow proceeds. delete And a water tank, a steam generating unit, a water supply valve for supplying water from the water tank to the steam generating unit, and a drain valve for draining the water in the steam generating unit, wherein the cooking method is controlled by using steam. To Inputting a command to drain the water in the cooking apparatus; Detecting the presence of the water bottle in the cooking apparatus when a draining command is input; And Opening the water supply valve and the drain valve to drain the water in the cooking apparatus, Draining the water in the cooking apparatus, And the drainage time is adjusted based on the presence or absence of the bucket, and the drainage time when there is no bucket is set to be shorter than the drainage time when there is a bucket. And a water tank, a steam generating unit, a water supply valve for supplying water from the water tank to the steam generating unit, and a drain valve for draining the water in the steam generating unit, wherein the cooking method is controlled by using steam. To Inputting a command to drain the water in the cooking apparatus; Detecting the presence of the water bottle in the cooking apparatus when a draining command is input; And If it is determined that there is no bucket, the water supply valve and drain valve are opened to drain the water in the cooking apparatus, If it is determined that there is a bucket, if the residual amount in the bucket is less than the reference amount that can be processed according to the progress of the drain, opening the water supply valve and the drain valve to drain the water in the cooking apparatus Drainage control method of a cooking apparatus characterized in that. The method of claim 9, And outputting a water tank removal message when the remaining water in the water tank exceeds a standard amount that can be processed as the water flow proceeds.

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