WO2020108917A1

WO2020108917A1 - An oven comprising a steam generator

Info

Publication number: WO2020108917A1
Application number: PCT/EP2019/079966
Authority: WO
Inventors: Erkan GOKMEN; Levent Akdag
Original assignee: Arcelik Anonim Sirketi
Priority date: 2018-11-28
Filing date: 2019-11-01
Publication date: 2020-06-04
Also published as: TR201818081A2

Abstract

The present invention relates to an oven (1) comprising an upper partition (7) and a lower partition (8) which are separated from each other by means of a separator (5) or a tray (6) and which allow the cooking of different types of foodstuffs in the cooking cavity (3); two fans (9) one being used for the upper partition (7) and the other for the lower partition (8), which are disposed on the rear portion of the cooking cavity (3) and which move the heated air; a fan covering plate (10) which is disposed at the rear side of the cooking cavity (3) in front of the fans (9); a steam generator (13) which is disposed at the rear portion of the casing (2) and which is activated in the steam cooking program; a steam supply line (14) which transfers the generated steam into the cooking cavity (3); and at least one steam outlet orifice (15) which is arranged on the rear wall of the casing (2) and which enables the generated steam to be delivered into the cooking cavity (3) by means of the fans (9).

Description

AN OVEN COMPRISING A STEAM GENERATOR

The present invention relates to an oven which has the function of cooking by convection as well as the function of steam cooking.

In ovens wherein the cooking is performed by convention, at least one heater and at least one fan are provided. A fan covering plate is provided in front of the rear wall of the oven casing which is composed of the walls enclosing the cooking cavity wherein the cooking process is performed. The hot air heated by the heater and moved by the fan is delivered into the cooking cavity through the blowing holes arranged on the fan covering plate, and the air delivered into the cooking cavity is sucked by means of the suction holes back into the fan compartment remaining between the fan covering plate and the casing rear wall, thus carrying out the cooking of the foodstuff. In case of unbalanced blowing of the air, problems of regional burning or undercooking may arise on the foodstuff.

The ovens with the function of steam cooking are gradually preferred more thanks to advantages such as high capacity thermal energy, efficient heat transfer, prevention of humidity loss on the foodstuff, maintaining vitamin, mineral and folic acid content, prevention of the formation of carcinogenic acrylamide, etc. The cooking cavity of the oven can be separated into the partitions by means of a separator or a tray, and thus two simultaneous cooking processes can be performed in said partitions under different temperature and humidity conditions. In combi-ovens having both the steam cooking function and conventional heaters, some problems may arise when the cooking cavity is divided into two partitions for carrying out cooking processes in said partitions under different humidity conditions. Different amounts of steam required by the partitions may not be delivered or it becomes impossible to carry out steam cooking in one partition while performing steam-free cooking in the other.

In the Patent Application No. WO2016147420 (A1), the steam generated by the steam generator in a cooking device is delivered through channels so as to be supplied into the cooking cavity via two different areas.

The aim of the present invention is the realization of an oven with steam cooking function wherein separate cooking processes can be simultaneously carried out in two separate partitions under different temperature and humidity conditions.

The oven realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention comprises an upper partition and a lower partition which are separated from each other by means of a separator or a tray and which allow the cooking of different types of foodstuffs in the cooking cavity. The oven further comprises a steam generator which carries out the steam cooking process. The steam generated by the steam generator is delivered into the cooking cavity through a steam supply line. The steam is delivered into the cooking cavity through at least one steam outlet orifice arranged on the rear wall of the casing. An electromechanic steam control valve, which enables the steam to be directed to the upper partition and/or the lower partition, is provided at the steam outlet orifice, and different foodstuffs can be cooked in the upper partition and the lower partition under different humidity conditions.

The oven realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention is illustrated in the attached figures, where:

Figure 1 - is the schematic view of the oven of the present invention.

Figure 2 - is the schematic views showing the positions of the rotary steam control valve.

Figure 3 - is the schematic views showing the positions of the rotary steam control valve in an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 - is the schematic views showing the positions of the sliding steam control valve.

The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:

Oven
Casing
Cooking cavity
Heater
Separator
Tray
Upper partition
Lower partition
Fan
Fan covering plate
Blowing hole
Suction hole
Steam generator
Steam supply line
Steam outlet orifice
Steam control valve
Shutter

I: First position

II: Second position

III: Third position

IV: Fourth position

The oven (1) comprises a cooking cavity (3) which is provided in a casing (2) and wherein the cooking process is performed; at least one heater (4) which provides the heating of the air inside the cooking cavity (3); an upper partition (7) and a lower partition (8) which are separated from each other by means of a separator (5) or a tray (6) and which allow the cooking of different types of foodstuffs in the cooking cavity (3); two fans (9) one being used for the upper partition (7) and the other for the lower partition (8), which are disposed on the rear portion of the cooking cavity (3) and which move the heated air; a fan covering plate (10) which is disposed at the rear side of the cooking cavity (3) in front of the fans (9); a plurality of blowing holes (11) which are arranged on the fan covering plate (10) and through which the fans (9) blow air into the cooking cavity (3); a plurality of suction holes (12) through which the fans (9) suck the air inside the cooking cavity (3); a steam generator (13) which is disposed at the rear portion of the casing (2) and which is activated in the steam cooking program; a steam supply line (14) which transfers the generated steam into the cooking cavity (3); and at least one steam outlet orifice (15) which is arranged on the rear wall of the casing (2) and which enables the generated steam to be delivered into the cooking cavity (3) by means of the fans (9).

The oven (1) of the present invention comprises a steam control valve (16) which is mounted on the rear wall of the casing (2) between the steam supply line (14) and the steam outlet orifice (15), which enables the steam generated by the steam generator (13) to be guided to the upper partition (7) and/or the lower partition (8) by the fans (9) through the blowing holes (11), and which interrupts the steam delivery into the upper partition (7) and/or the lower partition (8).

The steam control valve (16) enables the steam to be directed to only the upper partition (7) or only the lower partition (8) or to both the upper partition (7) and the lower partition (8) by the fans (9) through the blowing holes (11) depending on the steam cooking program selected by the user. The steam control valve (16) interrupts the steam delivery into the upper partition (7) and/or the lower partition (8) when the steam-free cooking program is selected or the required amount of steam is supplied.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the steam control valve (16) is an electromechanic valve having a solenoid actuator (not shown in figures).

The steam control valve (16) comprises a shutter (17) which is actuated by means of the solenoid actuator so as to open/close the steam outlet orifice (15).

In an embodiment of the present invention, the oven (1) comprises two circular steam outlet orifices (15) which are positioned on the rear wall of the casing (2) one above the other, one being aligned with the upper side of the separator (5) or the tray (6) and delivering steam into the upper partition (7) and the other being aligned with the lower side of the separator (5) or the tray (6) and delivering steam into the lower partition (8) (Figure 2).

In this embodiment, the steam control valve (16) is circular, and comprises a segment-shaped between 90^o- 180^o, or preferably semicircular segment-shaped shutter (17) which opens/closes the steam outlet orifices (15) at the angular positions to which the shutter (17) is brought by being rotated around the central axis perpendicular to the circular plane by the solenoid actuator.

At the angular positions to which the shutter (17) is brought by being rotated around the central axis, the circular steam control valve (16) enables the steam to be supplied into the upper partition (7) by means of the fan (9) and the blowing holes (11) through the steam outlet orifice (15) arranged at the upper side of the separator (5) or the tray (6) and/or enables the steam to be supplied into the lower partition (8) by means of the fan (9) and the blowing holes (11) through the steam outlet orifice (15) arranged at the lower side of the separator (5) or the tray (6).

In an embodiment of the present invention, the oven (1) comprises a single steam outlet orifice (15), and the steam is supplied into the upper partition (7) through the semicircular section of the steam outlet orifice (15) remaining at the upper side of the separator (5) or the tray (6) and/or into the lower partition (8) through the semicircular section of the steam outlet orifice (15) remaining at the lower side of the separator (5) or the tray (6) (Figure 3).

In this embodiment, the steam control valve (16) comprises a segment-shaped between 90^o- 180^o, preferably quadrant segment-shaped shutter (17), which opens/closes the upper semicircular section and/or the lower semicircular section of the steam outlet orifice (15) at the angular positions to which the shutter (17) is brought by being rotated around the central axis perpendicular to the circular plane by the solenoid actuator (Figure 3).

In another embodiment of the present invention, the steam control valve (16) comprises a quadrilateral shutter (17) which slidably moves in the linear direction and which opens/closes the steam outlet orifice (15) at the positions to which the shutter (17) is brought by being moved upwards/downwards. By moving the shutter (17) upwards/downwards by means of the solenoid actuator, the steam outlet orifice (15) is opened/closed, thus supplying steam into the upper partition (7) and/or the lower partition (8) (Figure 4).

The shutter (17) in the steam control valve (16) can be brought to four different positions in order to direct the steam to the upper partition (7) and/or the lower partition (8) by means of the steam control valve (16) (Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 4). In the first position (I) of the steam control valve (16), the upper steam outlet orifice (15) is closed by the shutter (17), thus the steam passes through the lower steam outlet orifice (15) and the steam is supplied only into the lower partition (8). In the second position (II) of the steam control valve (16), the lower steam outlet orifice (15) is closed by the shutter (17), thus the steam passes through the upper steam outlet orifice (15) and the steam is supplied only into the upper partition (7).

In the third position (III) of the steam control valve (16), the shutter (17) opens both steam outlet orifices (15), thus the steam passes through both steam outlet orifices (15) and the steam is supplied into both the upper partition (7) and the lower partition (8). In the fourth position (IV) of the steam control valve (16), the shutter (17) closes both steam outlet orifices (15), and the steam flow into the upper partition (7) and the lower partition (8) is interrupted. In the oven (1) comprising the steam generator (13), the cooking cavity (3) is divided into sections, that is the upper partition (7) and the lower partition (8) by means of the separator (5) or the tray (6), and different temperature and humidity conditions can be provided in the upper partition (7) and the lower partition (8) by means of the steam control valve (16). Saving in time and energy is provided by simultaneously cooking two different foodstuffs.

Claims

An oven (1) comprising a cooking cavity (3) which is provided in a casing (2) and wherein the cooking process is performed; at least one heater (4); an upper partition (7) and a lower partition (8) which are separated from each other by means of a separator (5) or a tray (6) and which allow the cooking of different types of foodstuffs in the cooking cavity (3); two fans (9) one being used for the upper partition (7) and the other for the lower partition (8), which are disposed on the rear portion of the cooking cavity (3) and which move the heated air; a fan covering plate (10) which is disposed at the rear side of the cooking cavity (3) in front of the fans (9); a plurality of blowing holes (11) which are arranged on the fan covering plate (10); a plurality of suction holes (12); a steam generator (13) which is disposed at the rear portion of the casing (2); a steam supply line (14) which transfers the generated steam into the cooking cavity (3); and at least one steam outlet orifice (15) which is arranged on the rear wall of the casing (2) and which enables the generated steam to be delivered into the cooking cavity (3) by means of the fans (9),

- characterized by a steam control valve (16) which is mounted on the rear wall of the casing (2) between the steam supply line (14) and the steam outlet orifice (15), and which enables the steam generated by the steam generator (13) to be guided to the upper partition (7) and/or the lower partition (8) by the fans (9) through the blowing holes (11).
An oven (1) as in Claim 1, characterized by the steam control valve (16) which is an electromechanic valve having a solenoid actuator.
An oven (1) as in Claim 1 or 2, characterized by the steam control valve (16) comprising a shutter (17) which is actuated by means of the solenoid actuator so as to open/close the steam outlet orifice (15).
An oven (1) as in Claim 1 or 2, characterized by two circular steam outlet orifices (15) one being aligned with the upper side of the separator (5) or the tray (6) and delivering steam into the upper partition (7) and the other being aligned with the lower side of the separator (5) or the tray (6) and delivering steam into the lower partition (8).
An oven (1) as in Claim 3 or 4, characterized by the steam control valve (16) comprising a segment-shaped shutter (17) which opens/closes the steam outlet orifices (15) at the angular positions to which the shutter (17) is brought by being rotated around the central axis.
An oven (1) as in Claim 1 or 2, characterized by a circular steam outlet orifice (15) wherein the steam is supplied into the upper partition (7) through the semicircular section of the steam outlet orifice (15) remaining at the upper side of the separator (5) or the tray (6) and/or into the lower partition (8) through the semicircular section of the steam outlet orifice (15) remaining at the lower side of the separator (5) or the tray (6).
An oven (1) as in Claim 6, characterized by the steam control valve (16) comprising a segment-shaped shutter (17) which opens/closes the upper semicircular section and/or the lower semicircular section of the steam outlet orifice (15) at the angular positions to which the shutter (17) is brought by being rotated around the central axis.
An oven (1) as in Claim 1 or 2, characterized by the steam control valve (16) comprising a quadrilateral shutter (17) which slidably moves in the linear direction and which closes the steam outlet orifice (15) at the positions to which the shutter (17) is brought.