WO2004043115A1 - Electric cooker - Google Patents

Abstract

An electric cooker comprising a body (12) for accommodating an oven (10); an electric heating device (14) mounted in the body (12) for heating the oven (10); a lid (18) coupled to an upper portion of the body (12) by a hinge portion (16) for opening and closing the body (12); and a display portion (30) arranged at the lid (18) for displaying an operational state of the electric cooker. The electric cooker makes a user easily certify information displayed at the display portion (30) with his naked eyes, thereby improving convenience of a product.

Description

ELECTRIC COOKER

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an electric cooker, and more particularly,

to an electric cooker provided with a display portion for displaying an operational

state of the electric cooker at a position where a user can easily certify display

information.

BACKGROUND ART

In general, an electric cooker is an apparatus for cooking fast by using

electricity as a heating source, by maintaining inside of an oven as a high

pressure, and thereby making a heating temperature be higher than a normal

air pressure.

Figure 1 is a sectional view showing an electric cooker in accordance

with the conventional art.

As shown, the conventional electric cooker comprises a body 202 in

which an oven 204 is mounted, and a lid 208 coupled to an upper portion of the

body 202 by a hinge portion 206 and rotated based on the hinge portion 206 for

opening and closing the body 202.

An electric heating device 210 for heating an oven 204 is provided in the

body 202, and the electric heating device 210 is composed of a working coil 220

for generating an induced current at the time of cooking and a heater (not

shown) for performing a comparatively weak heat generation operation at the time of heat conservation.

The electric cooker performs a cooking operation accordingly as the oven

204 is heated by the electric heating device 210. In this process, an inner side

portion of the lid 208 is closely attached to an upper end of the oven 204. Also,

when rice water boils, a pressure inside of the oven 204 becomes higher than

a normal air pressure due to a vapor generation since a vapor exhaustion valve

maintains a closed state.

As the pressure becomes high, a temperature of rice water also becomes

higher than a boiling point (100°C) at a normal air pressure, thereby fast cooking

rice. When the cooking process is finished, a well-steamed process for

maintaining a pressure inside of the oven 204 as it is in a state that a heating

by the electric heating device 210 is stopped is performed for a certain time.

When the well-steamed process is finished- a heat conserving process for

weakly heating the oven 204 with a constant temperature by the electric heating

device 210 is performed in a state that vapor inside of the oven 204 is

exhausted to outside by an operation of the vapor exhaustion valve and thereby

a pressure becomes low.

Meanwhile, an LCD panel 230 controlled by a user and for displaying an

operational state of the electric cooker is provided at a front surface of the body

202, and a display PCB 232 is arranged at a rear side of the LCD panel 230.

At a rear side of the display PCB 232, a power PCB 240 provided with each kind

of device 242 for controlling the display PCB 232 and the electric heating device

210 is mounted. Also, a cooling fan 246 for protecting the power PCB 220 from a high temperature generated from the electric heating device 210 is provided

at a bottom surface of the body 202.

However, in the conventional electric cooker, since the display portion

controlled by the user and for displaying an operational state of the electric

cooker so that the user can certify the state with his naked eyes is positioned

at the front surface of the body, the user has to bend his waist to certify the

display portion with his naked eyes in order to certify a current operational state

of the electric cooker or adjust the electric cooker at the time of cooking.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electric

cooker capable of increasing convenience of a product by arranging a display

portion for displaying an operational state of the electric cooker at a lid and

thereby making a user easily certify with his naked eyes.

A second object of the present invention is to provide an electric cooker

capable of preventing degradation of a display portion and increasing reliability

of a product by preventing high heat generated at the time of operating the

electric cooker from being transmitted to the display portion arranged at a lid.

A third object of the present invention is to provide an electric cooker

capable of efficiently performing a cooling operation of a display portion by

injecting external air into a display portion arranged at a lid.

A fourth object of the present invention is to provide an electric cooker capable of preventing a display portion from being damaged by preventing

vapor generated at an inner part of an oven of the electric cooker from being

introduced into the display portion.

A fifth object of the present invention is to provide an electric cooker

capable of preventing each kind of circuit components mounted at a power PCB

from being damaged by moisture by preventing moisture generated at an oven

of the electric cooker and thus introduced into a lid from flowing into a body

through an electric wire connecting the display portion and the power PCB.

To achieve these objects, there is provided an electric cooker

comprising: a body for accommodating an oven; an electric heating device

mounted in the body for heating the oven; a lid coupled to an upper portion of

the body by a hinge portion for opening and closing the body; and a display

portion arranged at the lid for displaying an operational state of the electric

cooker.

The display portion is composed of an LCD panel mounted at a front

side of the lid for displaying an operational state of the electric cooker, and a

display PCB arranged at a rear side of the LCD panel.

An electric cooker according to the present invention comprises: a body

for accommodating an oven; an electric heating device mounted in the body for

heating the oven; a lid coupled to an upper portion of the body by a hinge

portion for opening and closing the body; a display portion arranged at the lid

for displaying an operational state of the electric cooker; a heat insulating means

for preventing heat generated from the electric heating device from being transmitted to the display portion.

An electric cooker according to the present invention comprises: a body

for accommodating an oven; an electric heating device mounted in the body for

heating the oven; a lid coupled to an upper portion of the body by a hinge portion for opening and closing the body; a display portion arranged at the lid

for displaying an operational state of the electric cooker; and a cooling

apparatus for performing a cooling operation of the display portion by supplying

external air to inside of the lid.

The cooling apparatus comprises: a cooling fan installed at an inlet

formed at a bottom surface of the body for forcibly blowing air sucked into the

inlet into the body; an air passage for guiding air sucked into the body to inside

of the lid where the display portion is mounted; and an outlet for exhausting air

which has been sucked into the lid through the air passage and thus has

finished the cooling operation of the display portion to outside.

An electric cooker according to the present invention comprises: a body

for accommodating an oven; an electric heating device mounted in the body for

heating the oven; a lid coupled to an upper portion of the body by a hinge

portion for opening and closing the body; a display portion arranged at the lid

for displaying an operational state of the electric cooker; and a sealing unit for

preventing vapor generated from the oven from being introduced into the display

portion, in which the sealing unit is composed of a sealing body protruding at

an upper surface of a partition wall provided with a penetration hole for passing

an electric wire connected to the display portion; a sealing member mounted at an upper surface of the sealing body and closely attached to the electric wire

which passes through the penetration hole, for performing a sealing operation;

and a supporting plate closely attached to an upper surface of the sealing body

and coupled to the sealing body.

An electric cooker according to the present invention comprises: a body

for accommodating an oven; an electric heating device mounted in the body for

heating the oven; a lid coupled to an upper portion of the body by a hinge

portion for opening and closing the body; a display portion arranged at the lid

for displaying an operational state of the electric cooker; a power LCD mounted

in the body and connected to the display portion by an electric wire; and a

moisture shielding means for preventing vapor generated from the oven from

being introduced into the lid and thereby preventing the vapor from flowing into

the body through the electric wire.

The moisture shielding means is composed of a first contact protrusion

and a second contact protrusion protruding at a rear surface of the body with

a certain gap for curving an electric wire outwardly exposed at the lid and

thereby contacting to the rear surface of the body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section view showing an electric cooker in

accordance with the conventional art;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section view showing an electric cooker

according to a first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is a partial section view showing a lid of the electric cooker

according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 4 is a partial section view showing a lid of an electric cooker

according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a partial section view showing a lid of an electric cooker

according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 6 is a partial section view showing a lid of an electric cooker

according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 7 is a partial section view showing a lid of an electric cooker

according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 8 is a longitudinal section view showing an electric cooker

according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 9 is a partial section view showing a lid of an electric cooker

according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 10 is an enlarged view of "A" part of Figure 9;

Figure 11 is a partial section view showing a lid of an electric cooker

according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 12 is an enlarged view of "B" part of Figure 11 ;

Figure 13 is an upper lateral view of a sealing unit shown in Figure 12;

Figure 14 is a partial section view showing a lid of an electric cooker

according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 15 is an enlarged section view of "C" part of Figure 13;

Figure 16 is a perspective view showing a sealing unit according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 17 is a sectional view showing an electric cooker according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 18 is a lateral view of "E" part of Figure 16 showing one

embodiment of a moisture shielding means according to the present invention;

Figure 19 is a lateral view showing another embodiment of the moisture

shielding means according to the present invention;

Figure 20 is a lateral view showing still another embodiment of the

moisture shielding means according to the present invention;

Figure 21 is a section view showing an electric cooker according to a

tenth embodiment of the present invention; and

Figure 22 is a section view showing an electric cooker according to an

eleventh embodiment of the present invention.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of an electric cooker according to

the present invention will be explained with reference to attached drawings.

Even if a lot of embodiments for the electric cooker according to the

present invention can exist, the most preferable embodiment will be explained.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section view showing an electric cooker

according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

The electric cooker comprises: a body 12 for accommodating an oven

10; an electric heating device 14 provided at a lower side of the body 12 for heating the oven 10; and a lid 18 coupled to an upper portion of the body 12 by

a hinge portion 16 and rotated based on the hinge portion 16 for opening and

closing the body 12.

An upper side of the body 12 is opened so that the lid 18 can be

mounted, and an inlet 20 for introducing external air for cooling is formed at a

bottom surface thereof. Also, a cooling fan 22 for forcibly blowing the external

air into the body 12 is mounted at the inlet 20.

The electric heating device 14 is composed of a working coil 24 for

generating an induced current at the time of cooking, a heater 26 for performing

a comparatively weak heat emitting operation at the time of heat conservation,

and a heating container 28 having the working coil 24 at an outer portion thereof

and into which the oven 10 is inserted.

A display portion 30 adjusted by the user and for making the user easily

certify a state of the electric cooker is arranged at the lid 18.

The display portion 30 is composed of an LCD panel 34 adjusted by the

user so as to operate the electric cooker and attached to a lower surface of a

transparent window 32 formed at a front upper side of the lid 18 for displaying

an operational state of the electric cooker, and a display PCB 36 arranged at

a rear side of the LCD panel 34.

Also, a power PCB 48 for controlling the electric heating device 14 such

as the display portion 30, the working coil 24, the heater 26, and etc. is arranged

at an inner rear side of the body 12.

The power PCB 48 is vertically arranged at a rear side of the body 12, and is provided with each kind of device 50 including a semiconductor device

for controlling each kind of apparatus and provided with a cooling pin 52 for

cooling said each kind of device 50. An outlet 54 for exhausting air which has

finished a heat emitting operation of the power PCB 48 outwardly is formed at

a rear side of the body 12.

The power PCB 48 and the display portion 30 are electrically connected

to each other by an electric wire 56, and the electric wire 56 is connected

through the hinge portion 16 so as to connect the shortest distance without

being influenced by an open and close operation of the lid 18.

In the electric cooker according to one embodiment of the present

invention, since the display portion 30 adjusted by the user so as to operate the

electric cooker and for displaying an operational state of the electric cooker is

arranged at the lid 18, the user can conveniently adjust the display portion 30

and easily certify a current state of the electric cooker with his naked eyes.

As shown in Figure 3, a heat insulating means for preventing heat

generated from the electric heating device 14 from being transmitted to the

display portion 30 is installed at the lid 18.

An outer case 38 and an inner case 40 of the lid 18 are assembled to

each other with a certain space, the heater 26 for emitting heat for heat

conservation is installed at the inner case 40, and the heat insulating means is

arranged at a space between the outer case 38 and the inner case 40.

The heat insulating means prevents radiant heat generated from the

electric heating device 14 such as the heater 26 or the working coil 24 from being transmitted to the display portion 30, and is formed accordingly as a

plurality of heat insulating plates 42 and 44 are stacked with a certain gap at the

space between the outer case 38 and the inner case 40.

As one embodiment, the heat insulating means is formed accordingly as

5 the first heat insulating plate 42 and the second heat insulating plate 44 are

stacked with a certain gap and a supporting member 46 for maintaining a gap

is mounted between the first heat insulating plate 42 and the second heat

insulating plate 44. Herein, since the first insulating late 42 and the second heat

insulating plate 44 are stacked with a certain gap, an air layer is formed thus to

l o enhance a shielding effect of radiant heat.

The first and second heat insulating plates 42 and 44 are formed of

aluminum material, and can be formed of any material which is light and has an

excellent heat insulating effect and a low emitting rate.

Figure 4 is a partial section view showing a lid of an electric cooker

15 according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in Figure 4, the heat insulating means according to the second

embodiment is formed accordingly as a supplementary heat insulating plate 60

is installed at a lower side of a receiving space 64 when the receiving space 64

blocked by a partition wall 62 is provided in order to arrange the display portion

20 30, and is formed accordingly as the same plurality of heat insulating plates 42

and 44 as those aforementioned in one embodiment are stacked with a certain

gap. According to this, a first heat insulating operation is performed by the

plurality of heat insulating plates 42 and 44 and a second heat insulating operation is performed by the supplementary heat insulating plate 60, thereby

enhancing a shielding effect of radiant heat.

Figure 5 is a partial section view showing a lid of an electric cooker

according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

The heat insulating means according to the third embodiment prevents

a heat transmission from the electric heating device 14 to the display portion 30

by convection and radiation, and is formed accordingly as a heat insulating

material filling portion 66 having a certain space between the outer case 38 and

the inner case 40 of the lid 18 is provided and a heat insulating material 68 is

contained in the heat insulating material filling portion 66.

That is, the heat insulating material filling portion 66 has a blocked form

by the partition wall 70 at an inner surface of the inner case 40 so that the heat

insulating material 68 can have a filling space, and the heating insulating

material 68 is contained in the heat insulating material filling portion 66 thus to

shield the gap between the display portion 30 and the electric heating device

14 by the heat insulating material 66.

Accordingly, radiant heat generated from the electric heating device 14

is prevented from being transmitted to the display portion 30 and a heat

transmission by a convection is also prevented thus to prevent a heat

transmission by a convection and a radiation to the display portion 30, thereby

improving a heat insulating effect.

Also, since an assembly is completed by providing the heat insulating

material filling portion 66 having a certain space in the lid 18 and by filling the heat insulating material 68, the assembly process is simple thus to reduce a

fabrication cost and prevent a weight of a product from being increased.

Figure 6 is a partial section view showing a lid of an electric cooker

according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

The display portion 30 according to the fourth embodiment is composed

of the LCD panel 34 adjusted to display an operational state of the electric

cooker or to operate the electric cooker and arranged at the receiving space 64

formed at a front side of the lid 18, and the display PCB 36 arranged at a rear

side of the LCD panel 34.

Each kind of device is mounted in the display PCB 36, and particularly,

a semiconductor device, a heat generating device 72 for generating heat at the

time of operation is attached thereto.

Herein, if heat generated from the electric heating device 14 and heat

generated from the heat generating device 72 collide with each other, each kind

of device mounted in the display PCB 36 is damaged by high heat. To prevent

this, the heat generating device 72 is preferably mounted on an upper surface

of the display PCB 36.

That is, as the semiconductor device, that is, the heat generating device

72 is mounted on the upper surface of the display PCB 36 and emits heat

towards the upper side direction, the heat generated form the heat generating

device 72 does not collide with the heat generated form the electric heating

device 14, thereby preventing each kind of device mounted in the display PCB

36 from being damaged by high heat. Figure 7 is a partial section view showing a lid of an electric cooker

according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

A semiconductor device which is the same kind of heat generating device

as that aforementioned in the fourth embodiment is mounted on the upper

surface of the display PCB 36 according to the fifth embodiment, and in order

to efficiently emit heat generated from the heat generating device 74, the

semiconductor device is mounted at a position that the semiconductor device

does not face the LCD panel 32.

That is, the heat generating device 74 is mounted at one edge of the

display PCB 36 and the upper side thereof is not shielded by the LCD panel 32,

thereby efficiently distributing heat generated from the heat generating device.

Figure 8 is a longitudinal section view showing an electric cooker

according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 9 is a

partial section view showing a lid of an electric cooker according to a sixth

embodiment of the present invention.

The electric cooker according to the ninth embodiment has the same

construction as that of the first embodiment in which the display portion 30 is

mounted on the lid 18, and further comprises a cooling apparatus for blowing

air for cooling the display portion 30 to the display portion 30.

That is, the cooling apparatus according to the sixth embodiment

comprises an inlet 80 formed at a bottom surface of the body 12 for sucking

external air; a cooling fan 82 installed at the inlet 80 for forcibly blowing air

sucked into the inlet 80; an air passage 84 for guiding air sucked into the body 12 by the cooling fan 82 to the display portion 30 mounted on the lid; and an

outlet 86 for exhausting air which has been sucked into the lid 18 through the

air passage 84 and thus has finished the cooling operation of the display portion

30 to outside.

Herein, the air sucked through the inlet 82 is supplied to the air passage

84 and is supplied to a rear side of the body 12 for cooling the power PCB 48

arranged at the rear side of the body 12. The air which has finished the cooling

operation for the power PCB 48 is exhausted to outside through the outlet 54

formed at the rear side of the body 12.

The air passage 84, as shown in Figure 10, is formed at a contact portion

of the body 12 contacting the lid 18 and at a contact portion of the lid 18

contacting the body 12. That is, the air passage 84 is composed of a first air

passage 8 formed at a front upper side of the body 84, and a second air

passage 90 formed at the lid 18 and connected to the first air passage 88 when

the lid 18 is closed. Sealing members 92 and 94 for preventing air from being

leaked to outside are installed between the first air passage 88 and the second

air passage 90.

The sealing members 92 and 94 are composed of a first gasket 92

attached to a front surface of the first air passage 88 of the body, and a second

gasket 94 contacting the first gasket 92 for sealing and attached to a front

surface of the second air passage 90 of the lid 18.

The outlet 86 formed at a rear side of the lid 18 exhausts air which has

passed through the inside of the lid 18 and has finished the cooling operation for the display portion 30 to outside.

Figure 11 is a partial section view showing a lid of an electric cooker

according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention, Figure 12 is an

enlarged view of "B" part of Figure 11 , and Figure 13 is an upper lateral view of

a sealing unit shown in Figure 12.

Referring to Figure 12, the electric cooker according to the seventh

embodiment of the present invention comprises: a body 12 having an oven 10

therein; an electric heating device 14 provided at a lower side of the body 12 for

heating the oven 10; a lid 18 coupled to an upper portion of the body 12 by a

hinge portion 16 and rotated based on the hinge portion 16 for opening and

closing the body 12; a display portion 30 arranged at the lid 18 for displaying an

operational state of the electric cooker; a power PCB 48 arranged at an inner

rear side of the body 12 and connected to the display portion 30 by an electric

wire 56 for controlling the display portion 30; and a sealing unit 100 for

preventing vapor generated from the oven 10 from being introduced into the

display portion 30.

An outer case 38 and an inner case 40 of the lid 18 are assembled with

a certain space, and a receiving space 64 hermetically formed by the partition

wall 62 and having the display portion 30 therein is arranged at an inner side

of the outer case 38. The electric wire 56 passes through penetration holes 102

and 104 formed at the partition wall 62 and the inner case 40 thus to connect

the display portion 30 and the power PCB 48.

When vapor generated from the oven 10 at the time of cooking is introduced into the display portion 30 through the penetration holes 102 and

104, each kind of device of the display portion 30 is damaged. To prevent this,

a sealing unit 100 is installed at a part where the electric wire 56 passes.

The sealing unit 100 is composed of a sealing body 106 protruding at

an upper surface of the partition wall 62 where the penetration hole 102 for

passing the electric wire 56 is formed, a sealing member 108 mounted at an

upper surface of the sealing body 106 and closely attached to the electric wire

56 which passes through the penetration hole 102, and a supporting plate 110

closely attached to an upper surface of the sealing member 108 and coupled

to the sealing body 108 with a bolt 112.

The sealing body 106 is protruding at the upper surface of the partition

wall 62 as a rectangular shape on the basis of the penetration hole 102, and a

supporting rib 114 for inserting the sealing member 108 and the supporting plate

110 is protruding at a circumferential surface thereof.

The sealing member 108 is formed of a rubber material of a plate shape

and closely attached to an inner side surface of the sealing body 106. At this

time, the electric wire 56 is positioned between the sealing member 108 and the

sealing body 106 and passes through the penetration hole 102.

The supporting plate 110 is closely attached to the upper surface of the

sealing member 108 and an edge thereof is coupled to the sealing body 106 by

the bolt 112, thereby closely attaching the sealing member 108 to the upper

surface of the sealing body 106.

In the electric cooker according to the seventh embodiment, the sealing unit 100 is mounted at the penetration hole of the partition wall 62 for passing

the electric wire 56 connected with the display portion 30 thus to seal the

penetration hole 102 for passing the electric wire 56. According to this, vapor

generated from the oven 10 is prevented from being introduced into the

receiving space 64 where the display portion 30 is mounted, thereby preventing

the display portion 30 from being damaged.

Figure 14 is a partial section view showing a lid of an electric cooker

according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention, Figure 15 is an

enlarged section view of "C" part of Figure 13, and Figure 16 is a perspective

view showing a sealing unit according to the eighth embodiment of the present

invention.

The electric cooker according to the eighth embodiment has the same

construction as the electric cooker aforementioned in the seventh embodiment

except the sealing unit.

That is, the sealing unit according to the eighth embodiment is

hermetically pressed-inserted into the penetration holes 122 and 124 formed

at the partition wall 62 and the inner case 40, and is composed of a sealing

member 120 for hermetically passing the electric wire 56 therein.

The sealing member 120 is composed of a first sealing portion 126

formed at the partition wall 62 and the inner case 40 and hermitically inserted

into the penetration holes 122 and 125 for passing the electric wire 56, and a

second sealing portion 128 integrally formed at both sides of the first sealing

portion 126 respectively and closely attached to a lateral surface of the partition wall 62 and a lateral surface of the inner case 40.

The first sealing portion 126 and the second sealing portion 128 are

formed to hermetically cover an outer circumferential surface of the electric wire

56 by an insert molding. The first sealing portion 126 is a cylindrical shape

hermetically inserted into an inner circumferential surface of the penetration

holes 122 and 124 by a pressed fitting method and etc., and the second sealing

portion 128 is formed at both sides of the first sealing portion as a cylindrical flat-

plate shape having an expanded outer diameter, thereby being closely attached

to lateral surfaces of the partition wall 62 and the inner case 40 respectively.

The sealing member 120 is preferably formed of a rubber material, and

is fixed to the penetration holes 122 and 124 by a forcibly fitting method.

The sealing member according to the eighth embodiment can effectively

prevent vapor generated from the oven 10 from being introduced into the

receiving space 64 where the display portion 30 is mounted accordingly as the

electric wire 56 is integrally formed in the first sealing portion 126 by an insert

molding, an outer circumferential surface of the fist sealing portion 126 is

pressed inserted into the penetration holes 122 and 124 thus to perform a first

sealing operation, and the second sealing portion 128 is closely attached to both

lateral surfaces of the penetration holes 122 and 124 thus to perform a second

sealing operation.

Figure 17 is a sectional view showing an electric cooker according to a

ninth embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 18 is a lateral view of "E"

part of Figure 16 showing one embodiment of a moisture shielding means according to the present invention.

The electric cooker according to the ninth embodiment has the same

structure as the electric cooker aforementioned in one embodiment, and further

comprises a moisture shielding means for preventing moisture inside of the lid

18 from being introduced into the body 12 through the electric wire 56 which

transmits an electric signal of the power PCB 48 to the display portion 30.

At the time of cooking in the oven 10 of the electric cooker, vapor is

introduced into the lid 18 and thereby moisture is generated. The moisture is

introduced into the body 12 through the electric wire 56 thus to damage each

kind of circuit components mounted in the power PCB 48. To solve this problem,

the moisture shielding means for preventing moisture from being introduced into

the body 12 through the electric wire 56 is installed at a rear side of the body

12.

That is, at the rear side of the body 12, a penetration hole 140 for

introducing the electric wire 56 outwardly exposing through the lid 18 into the

body 12 is formed, and the moisture shielding means for preventing moisture

from being introduced into the body 12 through the electric wire 56 is installed.

The moisture shielding means is composed of a first contact protrusion

142 protruding at the rear side of the body 12 for contacting the electric wire 56

outwardly exposed from the lid 18, and a second contact protrusion 144 for

secondly contacting the electric wire 56 which has passed through the first

contact protrusion 142 before introducing into the penetration hole 140.

Herein, the first contact protrusion 142 is formed as a pin protruding at the rear surface of the body 12 with a certain length, and curves the electric wire

56 which has passed through the lid 18 at a right angle. The second contact

protrusion 144 is formed with a certain gap from the first contact protrusion 142

and re-curves the electric wire 56 which has been curved by the first contact

protrusion 142 at a right angle thus to introduce into the penetration hole 140.

In the electric cooker according to the ninth embodiment of the present

invention, moisture which flows along the electric wire 56 in the lid 18 is shielded

by the first and second contact protrusions 142 and 144 and is exhausted to

outside along the rear surface of the body 12, thereby preventing the moisture

inside of the lid 18 from being introduced into the power PCB 48 mounted in the

body 12 through the electric wire 56.

Figure 19 is a lateral view showing another embodiment of the moisture

shielding means according to the present invention, and Figure 20 is a lateral

view showing still another embodiment of the moisture shielding means

according to the present invention.

The moisture shielding means according to another embodiment, as

shown in Figure 19, is provided with a rib 150 protruding with a certain width at

a periphery of the penetration hole 140 formed at the rear surface of the body

12. The rib 150 is provided with an electric wire passage 154 for passing the

electric wire 56, and is provided with a contact rib 152 extending with a certain

length as a straight line form at one side of the rib 150. The contact rib 152

curvedly contacts the electric wire 56 which has passed through the lid 18 and

thereby exhausts moisture which flows down along the electric wire 56 to the rear surface of the body 12.

The moisture shielding means according to still another embodiment, as

shown in Figure 20, is provided with a rib 160 protruding with a certain width at

a periphery of the penetration hole 140 formed at the rear surface of the body

12. The rib 160 is provided with an electric wire passage 162 for passing the

electric wire 56, and is provided with a contact rib 164 formed as a right angle

shape at one side of the rib 160. The contact rib 164 curves the electric wire 56

which has passed through the lid 18 as a 'U' shape and thereby perfectly

prevents moisture which flows down along the electric wire 56 from being

introduced into the body 12.

Figure 21 is a section view showing an electric cooker according to a

tenth embodiment of the present invention.

The electric cooker according to the tenth embodiment has the same

structure as the electric cooker aforementioned in one embodiment except that

the display portion 30 is attached to an upper side of the lid with protrusion. That

is, a mounting portion 170 where the display portion 30 is mounted is formed

at the upper side of the lid 18 with protrusion towards the upper side of the lid.

Herein, the mounting portion 170 is formed with a certain inclination so

that the user can easily certify information displayed at the display portion with

his naked eyes, and has a certain space 176 for mounting the display portion

30 therein. A display window 172 for displaying information displayed at the LCD

panel 34 of the display portion 30 so that the user can easily certify is installed

at a front surface of the mounting portion 170. In the electric cooker according to the tenth embodiment, since the

display portion 30 is installed at the upper surface of the lid 18 with a certain

height, the user can easily certify information displayed at the display portion

30 with his naked eyes. Also, since components of the electric cooker are not

influenced by heat of high temperature generated at the time of cooking in the

cooker, degradation of the components due to high heat and a mechanical

trouble can be reduced.

Figure 22 is a section view showing an electric cooker according to an

eleventh embodiment of the present invention.

The electric cooker according to the eleventh embodiment has the same

structure as the electric cooker aforementioned in one embodiment except that

the display portion 30 is protruding at a front side of the body 12 with a certain

width.

That is, a mounting portion 180 in which the display portion 30 is

mounted is formed at the front side of the body 12 by being extended with a

certain distance. The mounting portion 180 has a certain space for mounting the

display portion 30, and a transparent window 182 for making the user certify

contents displayed at the display portion 30 with his naked eyes is formed at an

upper surface of the mounting portion 180.

The mounting portion 180 is integrally formed with the body 12 and an

upper side surface thereof is formed with a certain inclination so that the user

can easily certify information with his naked eyes, and preferably formed at a

low surface of the body 12. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications

and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from

the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present

invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they

come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An electric cooker comprising:

a body for accommodating an oven;

an electric heating device mounted in the body for heating the oven;

a lid coupled to an upper portion of the body by a hinge portion for

opening and closing the body; and

a display portion arranged at the lid for displaying an operational state

of the electric cooker.

2. The electric cooker of claim 1 , wherein a power PCB for controlling

the display portion and the electric heating device is arranged in the body.

3. The electric cooker of claim 2, wherein the power PCB is upright

arranged at a rear side of the body.

4. The electric cooker of claim 2, wherein a cooling fan for blowing

external air for cooling the power PCB is mounted at a rear bottom surface of

the body.

5. The electric cooker of claim 1 , wherein the display portion is

composed of an LCD panel mounted at a front side of the lid for displaying an

operational state of the electric cooker, and a display PCB arranged at a rear side of the LCD panel.

6. The electric cooker of claim 5, wherein the display PCB and the

power PCB are connected to each other by an electric wire, and the electric wire

is arranged to pass through the hinge portion.

7. The electric cooker of claim 5, wherein each kind of device is

mounted at the display PCB, and a heat generating device for generating heat

among said devices is mounted at an opposite side to a side where heat

generated from the electric heating device is transmitted.

8. The electric cooker of claim 7, wherein the heat generating device

is mounted at an upper surface of the display PCB.

9. The electric cooker of claim 7, wherein the heat generating device

is a semiconductor device.

10. The electric cooker of claim 7, wherein the heat generating device

is arranged not to face the LCD panel in a vertical line.

11. An electric cooker comprising:

a body for accommodating an oven;

an electric heating device mounted in the body for heating the oven; a lid coupled to an upper portion of the body by a hinge portion for opening and closing the body; a display portion arranged at the lid for displaying an operational state

of the electric cooker; and

a heat insulating means for preventing heat generated from the electric heating device from being transmitted to the display portion.

12. The electric cooker of claim 11 , wherein the heat insulating means

is formed accordingly as a plurality of insulating plates are stacked in the lid.

13. The electric cooker of claim 11 , wherein the heat insulating means

is formed accordingly as a first heat insulating plate and a second heat

insulating plate are arranged with a certain gap.

14. The electric cooker of claim 13, wherein a supporting member for

maintaining a gap is arranged between the first heat insulating plate and the

second heat insulating plate.

15. The electric cooker of claim 11 , wherein the heat insulating means

is arranged at a receiving space where the display portion is received and is

composed of a heat insulating member for preventing heat generated from the

electric heating device from being transmitted to the display portion.

16. The electric cooker of claim 11 , wherein the heat insulating means

is composed of a plurality of insulating plates stacked in the lid with a certain

gap, and a heat insulating member arranged at a receiving space formed in the

lid for receiving the display portion.

17. The electric cooker of claim 11 , wherein the heat insulating means

is formed accordingly as a heat insulating material is contained at an inner

space of the lid.

18. The electric cooker of claim 17, wherein a heat insulating material

filling portion having a certain space for filling the heat insulating material is

formed in the lid.

19. An electric cooker comprising:

a body for accommodating an oven;

an electric heating device mounted in the body for heating the oven;

a lid coupled to an upper portion of the body by a hinge portion for

opening and closing the body;

a display portion arranged at the lid for displaying an operational state

of the electric cooker; and

a cooling apparatus for supplying external air to an inner portion of the

lid and thereby performing a cooling operation of the display portion.

20. The electric cooker of claim 19, wherein the cooling apparatus

comprises: a cooling fan installed at an inlet formed at a bottom surface of the body for forcibly blowing air sucked into the inlet into the body;

an air passage for guiding air sucked into the body to inside of the lid

where the display portion is mounted; and

an outlet for exhausting air which has been sucked into the lid through

the air passage and thus has finished the cooling operation of the display

portion to outside.

21. The electric cooker of claim 20, wherein the air passage is formed

at a contact portion of the body and the lid so as to connect inside of the body

and inside of the lid.

22. The electric cooker of claim 20, wherein the air passage is

composed of a first air passage formed at a front upper side of the body, and

a second air passage formed at the lid and connected to the first air passage

when the lid is closed.

23. The electric cooker of claim 22, wherein a sealing member for

preventing air from being leaked to outside is installed between the first air

passage and the second air passage.

24. The electric cooker of claim 23, wherein the sealing member is

composed of a first gasket attached to a front surface of the first air passage of

the body, and a second gasket contacting the first gasket for sealing and

attached to a front surface of the second air passage of the lid.

25. The electric cooker of claim 20, wherein the outlet is formed at a

rear side of the lid.

26. An electric cooker comprising:

a body for accommodating an oven;

an electric heating device mounted in the body for heating the oven;

a lid coupled to an upper portion of the body by a hinge portion for

opening and closing the body;

a display portion arranged at the lid for displaying an operational state

of the electric cooker; and

a sealing unit for preventing vapor generated from the oven from being

introduced into the display portion.

27. The electric cooker of claim 26, wherein the sealing unit

comprises:

a sealing body protruding at an upper surface of a partition wall provided

with a penetration hole for passing an electric wire connected to the display

portion; a sealing member mounted at an upper surface of the sealing body and

closely attached to the electric wire which passes through the penetration hole,

for performing a sealing operation; and

a supporting plate closely attached to an upper surface of the sealing

body and coupled to the sealing body.

28. The electric cooker of claim 27, wherein the sealing body is

upwardly protruding at the upper surface of the partition wall on the basis of the

penetration hole, and a supporting rib for inserting the sealing member and the

supporting plate is protruding at a circumferential surface thereof.

29. The electric cooker of claim 27, wherein the sealing member is

formed of a rubber material.

30. The electric cooker of claim 27, wherein the supporting plate is a

flat-plate shape closely attached to an upper surface of the sealing member, and

is coupled to the sealing body by a bolt.

31. The electric cooker of claim 26, wherein the sealing unit is

hermetically inserted into penetration holes formed at the partition wall and the

inner case, and is composed of a sealing member for hermetically inserting an

electric wire connected to the display portion into.

32. The electric cooker of claim 31, wherein the sealing member is

formed by an insert molding method in a state that the electric wire passes into.

33. The electric cooker of claim 31 , wherein the sealing member is

formed of a rubber material.

34. The electric cooker of claim 31 , wherein the sealing member

comprises:

a first sealing portion hermitically pressed-inserted into the penetration

holes; and

a second sealing portion integrally formed at both sides of the first

sealing portion respectively and closely attached to a lateral surface of the

partition wall and a lateral surface of the inner case.

35. The electric cooker of claim 34, wherein the first sealing portion

is formed as a cylindrical shape, and the second sealing portion is formed as

a disc shape at both sides of the first sealing portion.

36. An electric cooker comprising:

a body for accommodating an oven;

an electric heating device mounted in the body for heating the oven;

a lid coupled to an upper portion of the body by a hinge portion for

opening and closing the body; a display portion arranged at the lid for displaying an operational state

of the electric cooker;

a power LCD mounted in the body and connected to the display portion

by an electric wire; and

a moisture shielding means for preventing vapor generated from the

oven from being introduced into the lid and thereby preventing the vapor from

flowing into the body through the electric wire.

37. The electric cooker of claim 36, wherein the moisture shielding

means is composed of a first contact protrusion and a second contact protrusion

protruding at a rear surface of the body with a certain gap for curving an electric

wire outwardly exposed at the lid and thereby contacting to the rear surface of

the body.

38. The electric cooker of claim 36, wherein the moisture shielding

means is provided with a rib protruding with a certain width at a periphery of the

penetration hole formed at the rear surface of the body through which an electric

wire passes, and is provided with a contact rib extending with a certain length

as a straight line form at one side of the rib for curvedly contacting the electric

wire which has passed through the lid.

39. The electric cooker of claim 36, wherein the moisture shielding

means is provided with a rib protruding with a certain width at a periphery of the penetration hole formed at the rear surface of the body through which an electric

wire passes, and is provided with a contact rib extending with a certain length

as a right angle form at one side of the rib for curving the electric wire which has

passed through the lid as a 'U' shape.

40. The electric cooker of claim 1 , wherein a mounting portion for

mounting the display portion is formed at an upper side of the lid with protrusion

towards the upper side of the lid.

41. The electric cooker of claim 40, wherein the mounting portion is

formed with a certain inclination so that the user can easily certify information

from a front side of the electric cooker with his naked eyes, and a display

window is installed at a front side of the mounting portion.

42. An electric cooker comprising:

a body for accommodating an oven;

an electric heating device mounted in the body for heating the oven;

a lid coupled to an upper portion of the body by a hinge portion for

opening and closing the body;

a display portion arranged at the lid for displaying an operational state

of the electric cooker; and

a mounting portion extending from a front side of the body with a certain

distance for mounting the display portion.

43. The electric cooker of claim 42, wherein the mounting portion is

extending from a front side of the body with a certain inclination, and a

transparent window is installed at an upper surface of the mounting portion.