WO2023132642A1

WO2023132642A1 - Oven

Info

Publication number: WO2023132642A1
Application number: PCT/KR2023/000192
Authority: WO
Inventors: 홍제완; 고병우; 이경훈; 이호진
Original assignee: 삼성전자주식회사
Priority date: 2022-01-05
Filing date: 2023-01-05
Publication date: 2023-07-13
Also published as: KR20230106027A; US20240318830A1

Abstract

An oven comprises: an inner cabinet forming a cooking chamber; an outer cabinet provided to surround the inner cabinet and forming a cooling passage through which external air passes; an air exhaust apparatus installed between the outer cabinet and the inner cabinet; a filter installed on the upper side of the inner cabinet and communicating with the cooking chamber; a pressure regulating duct installed on the upper side of the inner cabinet and communicating the filter and the cooling passage; a sensing pipe installed, in the air exhaust apparatus, on the upper side of the filter and communicating the space above the filter and the cooling passage; and a steam sensor installed in the sensing pipe and measuring the amount of steam contained in the air passing through the sensing pipe.

Description

Oven

The present disclosure relates to an oven, and more particularly to an oven including a vapor sensor.

In general, an oven is a device for cooking food by heating food accommodated in a cooking chamber.

Such an oven may include a gas oven that heats food by burning gas and an electric oven that heats food using an electric heater.

The oven may include an automatic cooking function that automatically cooks food.

When cooking using an oven, while the food is heated, steam, oil mist, combustion oxides, and the like are generated on the surface of the food.

The oven may use the steam sensor to measure the amount of steam generated when cooking food, and perform automatic cooking using the steam amount.

However, the oven according to the prior art is installed so that the steam sensor is exposed to the cooking chamber, so the steam sensor is contaminated by steam.

If the steam sensor is contaminated, the steam sensor cannot accurately measure the amount of steam in the cooking chamber, and thus the oven cannot cook food in an optimal condition.

The present disclosure has been devised in view of the above problems, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide an oven capable of accurately measuring the amount of steam in a cooking chamber by preventing contamination of a steam sensor.

An oven according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes an inner cabinet forming a cooking chamber; an outer cabinet provided to surround the inner cabinet and forming a cooling passage through which external air passes; an air exhaust device installed between the outer cabinet and the inner cabinet; a filter installed above the inner cabinet and communicating with the cooking chamber; a pressure regulating duct installed above the inner cabinet and communicating the filter and the cooling passage; a sensing pipe installed in the air exhaust device above the filter and communicating the space above the filter with the cooling passage; and a steam sensor installed in the sensing pipe and measuring the amount of steam included in the air passing through the sensing pipe.

The oven may further include a contamination prevention unit installed below the steam sensor and preventing the steam from adhering to the steam sensor.

Also, the contamination prevention unit may be formed to protrude from an inner surface of the sensing pipe.

In addition, a sensor hole is provided in the sensing pipe at an upper side of the pollution prevention unit, and a front end of the steam sensor inserted into the sensor hole may be seated in the pollution prevention unit.

The oven may further include a vortex prevention unit provided on an inner surface of the sensing pipe and extending upward from both ends of the contamination prevention unit.

In addition, the sensing pipe may be formed to have a cross-sectional area corresponding to the area of the sensing unit of the steam sensor.

In addition, the sensing pipe may include an inlet and an outlet, and the inlet and the outlet may be formed to face each other at both ends of the sensing pipe.

Also, an area of the inlet may be larger than an area of the outlet.

In addition, the vapor sensor may be disposed perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the sensing pipe.

The air discharge device may include a discharge duct for discharging air to the outside of the oven, and the sensing pipe may include a fixing part fixed to the discharge duct.

In addition, the fixing portion is formed in an annular shape and may include a seal provided at a lower portion of the fixing portion.

In addition, the sensing pipe may include a sealing part that is spaced apart from the fixing part by a predetermined distance and seals between the upper surface of the inner cabinet and the sensing pipe.

An oven according to another aspect of the present disclosure includes an inner cabinet forming a cooking chamber; an outer cabinet provided to surround the inner cabinet and forming a cooling passage through which external air passes; an air discharge device provided on an upper side of the inner cabinet and including a discharge duct for discharging air to the outside; a filter installed above the inner cabinet and communicating with the cooking chamber; a pressure regulating duct installed above the inner cabinet and communicating the filter and the cooling passage; a sensing pipe installed above the filter to pass through the discharge duct and communicating the space above the filter with the cooling passage; a steam sensor installed in the sensing pipe and measuring the amount of steam contained in the air passing through the sensing pipe; and a contamination prevention unit provided below the steam sensor on an inner surface of the sensing pipe and preventing the steam from being attached to the steam sensor.

1 is a front view of an oven according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

2 is a perspective view showing an oven according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the oven of Fig. 2;

4 is a cross-sectional view of the oven of FIG. 3 taken along line Ⅰ-I;

Figure 5 is a partial enlarged view of part A of Figure 4;

6 is a cross-sectional view of the oven of FIG. 3 taken along line II-II;

7 is a partially exploded perspective view showing a part of a filter and an internal cabinet of an oven according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

8 is a perspective view illustrating a sensor assembly provided in an oven according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

9 is an exploded perspective view of a sensor assembly provided in an oven according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

10 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a sensor assembly provided in an oven according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

11 is a cross-sectional view of the sensor assembly of FIG. 10 taken along line III-III;

12 is a cross-sectional view of the sensor assembly of FIG. 10 taken along line IV-IV;

13 is a cross-sectional perspective view of a sensor assembly provided in an oven according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

14 is a functional block diagram of an oven according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

15 is a cross-sectional view illustrating air flow in a sensor assembly provided in an oven according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to provide a comprehensive understanding of various embodiments of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and equivalents thereof. It contains various specific details for illustrative purposes, but these should be regarded as illustrative only. Accordingly, those skilled in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications may be made to the various embodiments described herein without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Also, descriptions of well-known functions and configurations may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not to be limited in their bibliographic meaning, but are used only by the inventors to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the following description of various embodiments of the present disclosure is provided for purposes of illustration only and is not intended to limit the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof, as is common practice in the art. It is clear to those who have knowledge.

Terms such as first and second may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms may only be used for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, a first element may be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element may be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be interpreted as meanings commonly known to those skilled in the art unless otherwise defined.

In addition, terms such as 'front end', 'rear end', 'upper end', 'lower end', 'upper end', and 'lower end' used in the present disclosure are defined based on drawings, and by these terms, the shape and Location is not limited.

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

1 is a front view of an oven according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an oven according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 3 is a plan view illustrating the oven of FIG. 2; 4 is a cross-sectional view of the oven of FIG. 3 taken along line I-I. 5 is a partially enlarged view of part A of FIG. 4 . 6 is a cross-sectional view of the oven of FIG. 3 taken along line II-II. 7 is a partially exploded perspective view illustrating a part of a filter and an internal cabinet of an oven according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For reference, FIG. 2 shows a state in which the upper surface of the external cabinet is removed to show the air exhaust device.

1 to 4 , an oven 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include an external cabinet 10, an internal cabinet 20, and an air exhaust device 30.

The outer cabinet 10 forms the outer shape of the oven 10 and is formed to surround the inner cabinet 20 . The external cabinet 10 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box shape. An opening is provided at the front of the external cabinet 10 .

The inner cabinet 20 may form a cooking chamber 21 . The inner cabinet 20 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box shape, and the inner space forms a cooking chamber 21 . An opening is provided at the front of the inner cabinet 20 . An opening of the inner cabinet 20 is formed to correspond to an opening of the outer cabinet 10 .

The opening of the inner cabinet 20 and the opening of the outer cabinet 10 may be opened and closed by a door 11 provided on the front surface of the outer cabinet 10 .

The door 11 is formed in a shape corresponding to the opening of the outer cabinet 10 and the opening of the inner cabinet 20 at the front of the cooking chamber 21 . The door 11 is rotatably hinged to the lower part of the external cabinet 10 . Accordingly, the door 11 can open and close the cooking chamber 21 . A handle 12 is provided on the front of the door 11 to facilitate opening and closing of the door 11 .

Accordingly, the user can open the door 11 and put or take out food from the cooking chamber 21 through the openings of the outer cabinet 10 and the inner cabinet 20 .

The cooking compartment 21 provided in the inner cabinet 20 is formed to accommodate food.

Rack support units 22 may be provided on both side surfaces of the cooking chamber 21 . The rack support part 22 may be provided to be symmetrical on both side surfaces of the cooking chamber 21 . The rack support part 22 is formed to support both ends of the rack. The rack is formed to place food or a container containing food.

Since the rack is easily pulled out or pulled out of the cooking chamber 21 along the rack support 22, the user can easily take food into or out of the cooking chamber 21 using the rack.

A heat source 27 for generating heat for heating food placed on the rack is installed on the upper part of the cooking chamber 21 . The heat source 27 may be configured to generate heat using electricity or gas. For example, the heat source 27 may be formed as an electric heater or a gas burner.

In the oven shown in FIG. 1, the heat source 27 is provided above the cooking chamber 21, but the location of the heat source 27 is not limited thereto.

A temperature sensor 26 for measuring the temperature of the cooking chamber 21 may be provided in the cooking chamber 21 . For example, the temperature sensor 26 may be provided on the side of the cooking chamber 21 .

A circulation fan 40 may be provided behind the cooking chamber 21 . The circulation fan 40 is formed to circulate air inside the cooking chamber 21 . The circulation fan 40 is rotated by a circulation motor 41 . A plurality of holes 43 through which air is introduced into the circulation fan 40 may be provided at the rear surface of the cooking chamber 21 .

Therefore, when the circulation fan 40 rotates, the air inside the cooking chamber 21 circulates inside the cooking chamber 21 . Heat generated by the heat source 27 by air circulation is evenly transferred to the cooking chamber 21 so that food can be cooked evenly.

The outer cabinet 10 is installed at a predetermined distance from the inner cabinet 20 . Accordingly, when the external cabinet 10 is installed outside the internal cabinet 20 , a cooling passage 13 through which external air can pass may be formed between the external cabinet 10 and the internal cabinet 20 .

An inlet 10a through which external air is introduced and an outlet 10b through which air is discharged may be provided in the external cabinet 10 . The inlets 10a may be provided on both side surfaces and rear surfaces of the external cabinet 10 . The inlet 10a may be formed of a plurality of through holes. The outlet 10b may be provided on the front side of the external cabinet 10 .

The air exhaust device 30 generates an air flow so that external air can flow through the cooling passage 13 . That is, when the air exhaust device 30 operates, external air is introduced into the cooling passage 13 through the inlet 10a of the external cabinet 10 . External air introduced into the cooling passage 13 may pass through the air discharge device 30 and then be discharged to the outside of the external cabinet 10 through the discharge port 10b.

The air exhaust device 30 may be installed between the outer cabinet 10 and the inner cabinet 20 . That is, the air discharge device 30 may be provided in the cooling passage 13 . For example, the air exhaust device 30 may be installed on the upper surface of the inner cabinet 20 .

The air discharge device 30 may include a discharge duct 31 and a discharge fan 32 .

The discharge duct 31 is formed to discharge air discharged by the discharge fan 32 to the outside of the external cabinet 10 . The discharge duct 31 may be formed to decrease in height toward the front of the oven 1 .

The discharge duct 31 may include a scroll unit 31a formed to gradually increase in radius in a clockwise direction and an exhaust unit 31b provided in front of the scroll unit 31a.

A suction port 31c through which air is sucked into the discharge duct 31 is formed at an upper portion of the scroll unit 31a, and a discharge port 31d through which air is discharged is provided at the exhaust portion 31b. The outlet 31d of the exhaust unit 31b is formed to correspond to the outlet 10b of the external cabinet 10 . In addition, the exhaust portion 31b may be formed to gradually decrease in height toward the discharge port 31d.

Accordingly, the air sucked into the discharge duct 31 through the suction port 31c is guided to the exhaust portion 31b by the scroll portion 31a and is discharged through the discharge port 31d of the exhaust portion 31b. Air discharged from the outlet 31d of the discharge duct 31 may be discharged to the front of the oven 1, that is, to the outside of the oven 1 through the outlet 10b of the external cabinet 10.

The discharge fan 32 may be a centrifugal fan or a turbo fan that sucks in air from the top and discharges it in a radial direction. The discharge fan 32 may be installed inside the discharge duct 31 through the suction port 31c.

The discharge fan 32 may be rotated by the discharge motor 33 . The discharge motor 33 may be fixed to the discharge duct 31 .

Therefore, when the discharge motor 33 rotates, the discharge fan 32 rotates. When the discharge fan 32 rotates, air outside the discharge duct 31 may be sucked in through the suction port 31c and discharged through the discharge port 31d.

Meanwhile, a user interface 91 may be provided on the front of the oven 1 . The user interface 91 may receive a control command of the oven 1 from a user or display information related to an operation or setting of the oven 1 .

In addition, a processor 90 controlling the oven 1 may be provided in the cooling passage 13 . The processor 90 may be configured to control the user interface 91 , the heat source 27 , the circulation motor 41 , and the discharge motor 33 .

The inner cabinet 20 may include an insulator 23 provided to cover the entire outer surface except for the front surface. Specifically, the inner cabinet 20 may be formed in a three-layered structure including an insulator 23 . That is, the inner cabinet 20 includes an inner shell 20a forming the cooking chamber 21, a heat insulating material 23 provided to cover the outside of the inner shell 20a, and an outer shell 20b provided to cover the outside of the heat insulating material 23. can include

The above-described air exhaust device 30 may be installed on the upper surface of the outer shell 20b of the inner cabinet 20.

Referring to FIGS. 4 to 7 , a pressure regulating duct 55 may be provided on the upper side of the inner cabinet 20 . The pressure control duct 55 is formed to adjust the pressure of the cooking chamber 21 .

The pressure regulating duct 55 may be installed between the outer shell 20b and the inner shell 20a of the inner cabinet 20 . The inlet 56 of the pressure regulating duct 55 may communicate with the cooking chamber 21 . The pressure regulating duct 55 may be installed on the lower surface of the outer shell of the inner cabinet. The pressure regulating duct 55 and the shell 20b of the inner cabinet 20 may form a pressure regulating chamber.

A filter 50 communicating with the cooking chamber 21 may be installed on the upper surface of the inner cabinet 20 . Specifically, the filter 50 may be installed between the inner shell 20a and the outer shell 20b of the inner cabinet 20 . The filter 50 may be installed on the upper surface of the inner shell 20a of the inner cabinet 20 .

Referring to FIG. 7 , at least one through hole 25 is formed on the upper surface of the inner shell 20a of the inner cabinet 20 in which the filter 50 is installed. That is, the filter 50 is positioned on the at least one through hole 25 formed in the endothelium 20a. Accordingly, air discharged from the cooking chamber 21 through the at least one through hole 25 may pass through the filter 50 .

The filter 50 may be installed on the inner shell 20a of the inner cabinet 20 by the filter casing 51 . A plurality of fixing holes 51a may be provided in the filter casing 51 , and a plurality of fixing grooves 25a may be provided in the inner shell 20a of the inner cabinet 20 . Therefore, the filter casing 51 may be fixed to the inner shell 20a of the inner cabinet using bolts or screws.

The filter 50 may be installed to coincide with the inlet 56 of the pressure regulating duct 55. That is, the inlet of the pressure regulating duct 55 is provided at the top of the filter 50 . Accordingly, the air passing through the filter 50 may flow into the pressure regulating duct 55 through the inlet 56 . Air introduced into the pressure control duct may be discharged to the cooling passage 13 through the outlet. That is, the filter 50 communicates with the cooling passage 13 through a pressure regulating duct.

The filter 50 may be formed in a mesh shape. The filter 50 may be a carbon monoxide filter capable of removing carbon monoxide from air discharged from the cooking chamber 21 .

A sensor assembly 100 may be provided on the upper side of the filter 50 . Accordingly, a through hole into which the sensor assembly 100 is inserted may be provided in the shell 20b of the inner cabinet 20 positioned above the filter 50 and the discharge duct 31 .

The sensor assembly 100 is formed to measure the amount of vapor contained in the air passing through the filter 50. The sensor assembly 100 is provided outside the cooking chamber 21 .

Hereinafter, the sensor assembly 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 8 to 12 .

8 is a perspective view illustrating a sensor assembly provided in an oven according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a sensor assembly provided in an oven according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 10 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a sensor assembly provided in an oven according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the sensor assembly of FIG. 10 taken along line III-III. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the sensor assembly of FIG. 10 taken along line IV-IV. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional perspective view of a sensor assembly provided in an oven according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

8 to 10 , the sensor assembly 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a sensing pipe 110 and a vapor sensor 30.

The sensing pipe 110 forms a passage through which air from the filter 50 passes. The sensing pipe 110 may be formed to communicate an upper space of the filter 50 and the cooling passage 13 .

The sensing pipe 110 may be installed in the air exhaust device 30 . The sensing pipe 110 may be installed to pass through the air exhaust device 30 . Specifically, the sensing pipe 110 may be installed to pass through the exhaust duct 31 of the air exhaust device 30 . The sensing pipe 110 may be installed to pass through the exhaust portion 31b of the discharge duct 31 .

The sensing pipe 110 may be installed substantially perpendicular to the exhaust portion 31b of the discharge duct 31 . To this end, an upper through-hole 62 into which the sensing pipe 110 is inserted may be formed in the exhaust portion 31b of the discharge duct 31 .

Since the sensing pipe 110 is installed to pass through the discharge duct 31 , the air passing through the sensing pipe 110 is not affected by the air flow passing through the discharge duct 31 .

In addition, the sensing pipe 110 may be installed to pass through the outer shell 20b of the inner cabinet 20 . To this end, a lower through hole 61 into which the sensing pipe 110 is inserted may be formed in the shell 20b of the inner cabinet 20 .

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5 , when the sensing pipe 110 is inserted into the upper through hole 62 and the lower through hole 61, the upper space of the filter 50 and the cooling passage 13 may communicate with each other. there is.

At this time, the lower end of the sensing pipe 110 may be provided adjacent to the filter 50 . Also, the sensing pipe 110 may be located at the center of the filter 50 . Since the inlet 56 of the pressure regulating duct 55 is provided on the upper side of the filter 50, the sensing pipe 110 is inserted into the inlet 56 of the pressure regulating duct 55 at the upper side of the filter 50. located in

Since the cross-sectional area of the sensing pipe 110 is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the filter 50, a portion of the air passing through the filter 50 is discharged through the sensing pipe 110 to the upper side of the discharge duct 31, and the remaining air is It flows into the pressure control chamber formed by the pressure control duct 55.

The sensing pipe 110 may be formed to have a cross-sectional area corresponding to the area of the sensing surface 131 of the vapor sensor 130. For example, the cross-sectional area of the sensing pipe 110 may be formed to be about 0.8 to 1.2 times the area of the sensing surface 131 of the steam sensor 130.

Both ends of the sensing pipe 110 are open. The lower end of the sensing pipe 110 forms an inlet 111 through which air is introduced, and the upper end of the sensing pipe 110 forms an outlet 112 through which air is discharged. That is, the inlet 111 and the outlet 112 may be formed to face each other at both ends of the sensing pipe 110 .

The outlet 112 of the sensing pipe 110 may have a smaller cross-sectional area than the inlet 111 . When the cross-sectional area of the outlet 112 is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the inlet 111, the flow rate of air flowing through the sensing pipe 110 can be increased. Then, the flow of air flowing through the sensing pipe 110 may become stable.

In this embodiment, the sensing pipe 110 has a circular cross section. However, the cross section of the sensing pipe 110 is not limited thereto. As long as the flow of air passing through the sensing pipe 110 is stable, the sensing pipe 110 may have various cross-sections.

A steam sensor 130 may be installed in the sensing pipe 110 . A sensor hole 113 may be provided in the sensing pipe 110 . A steam sensor 130 may be installed in the sensor hole 113. The sensor hole 113 may be formed in a shape corresponding to the cross section of the steam sensor 130. For example, when the steam sensor 130 has a circular cross section, the sensor hole 113 is also formed in a circular shape.

A sensor mounting portion 114 may be provided in the sensor hole 113 . The sensor seating portion 114 is formed in a shape corresponding to the steam sensor 130. In this embodiment, since the steam sensor 130 has a circular cross section, the sensor seating portion 114 is formed in a circular pipe shape.

The steam sensor 130 may be fixed to the sensor seat 114 by the sensor cap 140. The sensor cap 140 is formed in a circular shape corresponding to the sensor seat 114, and a pair of fixing grooves 140a may be provided at an edge thereof. An opening 141 exposing the terminal 132 of the steam sensor 130 may be provided at the center of the sensor cap 140 .

A pair of fixing protrusions 114a corresponding to the pair of fixing grooves 140a of the sensor cap 140 may be provided on an outer circumferential surface of the sensor seat 114 .

After inserting the steam sensor 130 into the sensor seat 114, covering the sensor cap 140 at the rear end, and inserting a pair of fixing grooves 140a into a pair of fixing protrusions 114a, the steam sensor ( 130) is fixed to the sensing pipe 110.

The steam sensor 130 may be installed in a direction perpendicular to the direction of air flowing through the sensing pipe 110 . That is, the vapor sensor 130 may be disposed perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the sensing pipe 110 . When the steam sensor 130 is installed on the sensor seating part 114, the steam sensor 130 is disposed perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the sensing pipe 110.

The sensing surface 131 of the steam sensor 130 for measuring the amount of steam may be formed as a plane. The steam sensor 130 may be installed so that the edge of the sensing surface 131 does not protrude into the sensing pipe 110.

For example, referring to FIG. 11, the sensing surface 131 of the steam sensor 130 is located at two points (P1, P2) where the extension line of the inner surface 110a of the sensing pipe 110 and the sensor hole 113 intersect. The steam sensor 130 may be installed on the sensing pipe 110 so as not to protrude beyond the imaginary plane IP parallel to the center line CL of the sensing pipe 110. In addition, the vapor sensor 130 may be installed so that the sensing surface 131 is located as close as possible to the above-described virtual plane IP.

A terminal 132 is provided at the rear of the steam sensor 130. The terminal 132 may output the amount of steam measured by the steam sensor 130 as an electrical signal. A terminal 132 of the vapor sensor 130 may be electrically connected to the processor 90 .

The vapor sensor 130 is formed to measure the amount of vapor contained in the air passing through the sensing pipe 110 . The type of steam sensor 130 is not limited as long as it can measure the amount of steam contained in the air. For example, the steam sensor 130 may use a variable resistance humidity sensor or a variable capacitance humidity sensor.

A contamination prevention unit 120 may be provided on an inner surface of the sensing pipe 110 and below the steam sensor 130 . The contamination prevention unit 120 is formed to prevent or minimize vapor from adhering to the vapor sensor 130 .

The contamination prevention unit 120 may be provided below the sensor hole 113 . That is, the sensor hole 113 may be formed in the sensing pipe 110 above the pollution prevention unit 120 . The contamination prevention unit 120 may be formed to protrude from an inner surface of the sensing pipe 110 .

The contamination prevention unit 120 may be formed along the edge of the sensor hole 113 . The contamination prevention part 120 may be formed along the lower half of the sensor hole 113 . When the steam sensor 130 is inserted into the sensor hole 113, the front end of the steam sensor 130 may be seated on the contamination prevention unit 120. The contamination prevention unit 120 may be formed to protrude from an inner surface of the sensing pipe 110 .

The contamination prevention unit 120 may be formed in a half donut shape. The outer diameter of the contamination prevention part 120 may be equal to or greater than the diameter of the sensor hole 113, and the inner diameter may be smaller than the diameter of the sensor hole 113. The inner diameter of the contamination prevention unit 120 may be formed as large as possible so that the sensing surface 131 of the steam sensor 130 is maximally exposed.

For example, the inner surface 110a of the sensing pipe 110 shown in FIG. 11 and the extension line of the sensor hole 113 cross two points (P1, P2) at the center line CL of the sensing pipe 110. The front surface of the anti-fouling unit 120 may be formed on a parallel virtual plane IP. That is, the anti-contamination unit 120 may be formed by forming a half donut shape on the above-described imaginary plane and extending from the outer circumferential surface of the half donut to the inner surface of the sensing pipe 110 .

In other words, the anti-contamination part 120 may be formed with the front end of the half pipe inserted into the sensor hole 113 so that the front end is in contact with the above-described virtual plane IP and cut in half in the longitudinal direction.

Then, as shown in FIG. 13 , the contamination prevention unit 120 protrudes from the inner surface of the sensing pipe 110 . Therefore, since the air passing through the sensing pipe 110 collides with the pollution prevention unit 120 , direct contact of the air with the sensing surface 131 of the steam sensor 130 can be prevented or minimized.

When the steam sensor 130 is installed in the sensor hole 113, the edge of the sensing surface 131 of the steam sensor 130 may come into contact with the contamination prevention unit 120. Accordingly, the contamination prevention unit 120 may be formed as thin as possible so that the steam sensor 130 may be located as close as possible to the air passing through the sensing pipe 110 .

In addition, when the steam sensor 130 is inserted into the sensing hole 113, the contamination prevention unit 120 may function as a stopper to limit the insertion position of the steam sensor 130.

A vortex prevention unit 125 may be provided on an inner surface of the sensing pipe 110 . The vortex prevention unit 125 is formed to prevent or minimize vortexes that may occur when air collides with the pollution prevention unit 120 from flowing to the sensing surface 131 of the steam sensor 130.

The vortex prevention unit 125 may be formed on the inner surface of the sensing pipe 110 by extending upward from both ends of the contamination prevention unit 120 . That is, one end of the vortex prevention unit 125 may be connected to the pollution prevention unit 120 and the other end of the vortex prevention unit 125 may be connected to the upper surface of the sensing pipe 110 .

Referring to FIGS. 12 and 13 , the vortex prevention unit 125 may be formed in a bar shape extending upward from both ends of the contamination prevention unit 120 . That is, the vortex prevention unit 125 may be formed of a pair of rods extending in parallel from both ends of the contamination prevention unit 120 . A cross section of each of the pair of rods may have a fan shape. One end of the rod, ie, the lower end, may be connected to the pollution prevention unit 120, and the other end, ie, the upper end, of the rod may be connected to the upper surface of the sensing pipe 110.

The front surface of the vortex prevention unit 125 may be formed on the same plane as the front surface of the contamination prevention unit 120 . The vortex prevention unit 125 may be formed so as not to block the outlet 112 formed on the upper surface of the sensing pipe 110 .

As described above, when the vortex prevention unit 125 is formed above the pollution prevention unit 120, when the air flowing through the sensing pipe 110 collides with the pollution prevention unit 120 to form a vortex, the vortex is a vapor sensor It may move upward along the vortex prevention part 125 without flowing into the vortex 130 and be discharged through the outlet 112 of the sensing pipe 110 . Therefore, the eddy current prevention unit 125 can minimize the fluctuation of the measured value of the amount of steam of the steam sensor 130 due to the vortex generated by the pollution prevention unit 120 .

The sensing pipe 110 may include a fixing part 150 . The fixing part 150 is formed to fix the sensing pipe 110 to the discharge duct 131 .

The fixing part 150 is formed in a disk shape, and a through hole into which the sensing pipe 110 is inserted is provided at the center. In other words, the fixing part 150 may be formed extending from the outer circumferential surface of the sensing pipe 110 in a disk shape. Therefore, the fixing part 150 has an annular shape. A pair of fixing holes 150a may be provided on the outer circumference of the fixing part 150 .

A pair of screw holes corresponding to the pair of fixing holes 150a of the fixing part 150 may be provided around the upper through hole 62 of the discharge duct 131 into which the sensing pipe 110 is inserted. . Then, the sensing pipe 110 may be fixed to the discharge duct 31 using a pair of bolts or screws.

A first seal groove 152 may be provided on a lower surface of the fixing part 150 . The first seal groove 152 is formed as a circular groove centered on the sensing pipe 110 . An annular first seal 151 may be accommodated in the first seal groove 152 . The first seal 151 is used to prevent air passing through the filter 50 from leaking between the upper through hole 62 of the discharge duct 31 and the sensing pipe 110 . As an example, the first seal 151 may be formed of a rubber seal.

Therefore, when the fixing part 150 is fixed to the discharge duct 31 using a pair of bolts, as shown in FIG. 5, there is a gap between the lower surface of the fixing part 150 and the upper surface of the discharge duct 31. 1 Since the seal 151 is interposed, air leakage between the fixing part 150 and the discharge duct 31 can be prevented.

In addition, the sensing pipe 110 may further include a sealing part 160 . The sealing part 160 may be spaced apart from the bottom of the fixing part 150 by a predetermined distance. The sealing part 160 is formed to seal between the upper surface of the inner cabinet 20 and the sensing pipe 110 .

The sealing part 160 is formed in a disk shape, and a through hole into which the sensing pipe 110 is inserted is provided at the center. In other words, the sealing part 160 may be formed to extend in a disk shape from the outer circumferential surface of the sensing pipe 110 . Therefore, the sealing part 160 has an annular shape. The sealing part 160 may be formed to have a smaller diameter than the fixing part 150 .

A second seal groove 162 may be provided on a lower surface of the sealing unit 160 . The second seal groove 162 is formed as a circular groove centered on the sensing pipe 110 . An annular second seal 161 may be accommodated in the second seal groove 162 . The second seal 161 has a smaller diameter than the first seal 151 .

The second seal 161 is used to prevent air passing through the filter 50 from leaking into a gap between the lower through hole 61 of the inner cabinet 20 and the sensing pipe 110 . Specifically, in the second seal 161, air leaks through a gap between the sensing pipe 110 and the lower through hole 61 formed in the shell 20b of the inner cabinet 20 into which the sensing pipe 110 is inserted. is used to prevent As an example, the second seal 161 may be formed of a rubber seal.

Therefore, when the fixing part 150 is fixed to the discharge duct 31 using a pair of bolts, as shown in FIG. 5, there is no gap between the lower surface of the sealing part 160 and the upper surface of the inner cabinet 20 Since the two seals 161 are interposed, leakage of air between the sealing part 160 and the internal cabinet 20 can be prevented.

The fixing part 150 and the sealing part 160 may be integrally formed with the sensing pipe 110 . For example, the fixing part 150, the sealing part 160, and the sensing pipe 110 may be integrally formed by aluminum die casting.

14 is a functional block diagram of an oven according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 14 , an oven 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a user interface 90, a temperature sensor 26, a steam sensor 130, a communication unit 95, and a memory 94. there is.

The user interface 91 is provided on the front of the oven 1, and can receive a control command from a user and display information related to the operation of the oven 1.

The user interface 91 may include an input unit 92 for receiving control commands and a display unit 93 for displaying information related to the operation of the oven 1 .

The input unit 92 may include at least one of a button, a dial, and a slider switch.

The display unit 93 may be formed of a display panel. The display panel may be implemented as a liquid crystal display panel, a light emitting diode panel, an organic light emitting diode panel, or the like.

Also, the display unit 93 may be implemented as a touch screen panel that senses a user's touch. When the display unit 93 is implemented as a touch screen panel, the user may input a control command by touching the display unit 93 .

The temperature sensor 26 is formed to measure the temperature inside the cooking chamber 21 . The type of the temperature sensor 26 is not limited as long as it can measure the temperature inside the cooking chamber 21 .

The steam sensor 130 is formed to measure the amount of steam included in the air discharged from the cooking chamber 21 . Since the steam sensor 130 has been described above, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The processor 90 is formed to control the oven 1 . The processor 90 may automatically cook food by controlling the heat source 27 , the circulation motor 41 , and the discharge motor 33 . Also, the processor 90 may be configured to automatically cook food using the temperature in the cooking chamber 21 measured by the temperature sensor 26 and the amount of steam measured by the steam sensor 130 .

The processor 90 includes a central processing unit (CPU), a micro controller unit (MCU), a micro processing unit (MPU), a controller, an application processor (AP), a graphics- It may include at least one of a processing unit, a communication processor (CP), or an ARM processor, or may be defined by the term.

In addition, the processor 90 may be implemented as a system on chip (SoC) having a processing algorithm, a large scale integration (LSI), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA).

In addition, processor 90 may perform various functions by executing computer executable instructions stored in memory 94 .

The memory 94 may store programs for processing or controlling the processor 90 and various data for operating the oven 1 . For example, the memory 94 may store a plurality of application programs for driving the oven 1 and data and commands for operating the oven 1 .

For example, the memory 94 may store cooking information for various foods. The cooking information may include a method for appropriately cooking food. For example, the cooking information may include at least one of a preheating temperature of the cooking chamber 21, a cooking temperature, and a cooking time.

The memory 94 may include, but is not limited to, a high-speed random access memory, a magnetic disk, SRAM, DRAM, and ROM.

In addition, the memory 94 may be detachably provided in the oven 1 . For example, the memory 94 may include a compact flash card (CF card), a secure digital card (SD card), a smart media card (SM card), a multimedia card (MMC), or a memory stick. , but is not limited thereto.

The communication unit 95 may be connected to an external device to transmit/receive data with the external device. Specifically, the communication unit 95 may be configured to transmit cooking information to an external device or receive a control command from the external device.

The communication unit 95 may communicate with an external device through various communication methods. For example, the communication unit 95 uses Bluetooth, infrared data association (IrDA), Zigbee, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi direct, and Ultra Wideband (UWB). , near field communication (NFC), and the like.

Hereinafter, measurement of the amount of steam by the sensor assembly 100 when the oven 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure having the above structure is operated will be described with reference to FIG. 15 .

When food is put into the cooking chamber 21 of the oven 1 and the oven 1 is operated, the processor 90 performs automatic cooking.

The processor 90 heats the cooking chamber 21 by turning on the heat source 27 and the circulation motor 41 . Then, the internal air of the cooking chamber 21 is heated by the heat source 27 and circulated by the circulation motor 41 to increase the temperature of the cooking chamber 21 .

When the temperature of the cooking chamber 21 rises, food is cooked. During cooking of the food, steam such as water vapor or oil vapor is generated from the food. This steam is included in the air circulating through the cooking chamber 21 .

A portion of the air circulating in the cooking chamber 21 may be discharged to the outside of the cooking chamber 21 through at least one through hole 25 provided on the upper surface of the cooking chamber 21 .

Referring to FIG. 15 , air containing steam passing through at least one through hole 25 of the inner shell 20a of the inner cabinet 20 passes through the filter 50 . Carbon monoxide contained in the air may be removed while passing through the filter 50 .

A part of the air passing through the filter 50 is introduced into the inlet 111 of the sensing pipe 110 . The air introduced through the inlet 111 moves upward along the sensing pipe 110 and is discharged through the outlet 112 .

The outlet 112 of the sensing pipe 110 communicates with the cooling passage 13 . Since external air is forcibly flowing through the cooling passage 13 by the air discharge device 30 , the upper side of the sensing pipe 110 has a lower pressure than the cooking chamber 21 .

Accordingly, after the hot air inside the cooking chamber 21 passes through the filter 50 , it may flow into the sensing pipe 110 and be discharged through the outlet 112 . Air discharged from the outlet 112 of the sensing pipe 110 may be mixed with external air flowing through the air discharge device 30 and discharged to the outside of the oven 1 .

A stable air flow is created in the sensing pipe 110 by a difference between the pressure inside the cooking chamber 21 and the pressure at the top of the sensing pipe 110 . That is, air flows stably through the sensing pipe 110 due to a pressure difference between the inlet 111 and the outlet 112 of the sensing pipe 110 .

If the air flow is stable, the steam sensor 130 can accurately measure the amount of steam contained in the air. Conversely, if the air flow is unstable, the amount of steam measured by the steam sensor 130 may be inaccurate.

While air passes through the sensing pipe 110, the vapor sensor 130 measures the amount of vapor contained in the air. The steam sensor 130 may transmit the measured amount of steam to the processor 90 as an electrical signal. The processor 90 may recognize the amount of steam in the cooking chamber 21 through the signal of the amount of steam transmitted from the steam sensor 130 . Then, the processor 90 may more accurately cook the food by using the recognized amount of steam in the cooking chamber 21 .

In the case of the sensor assembly 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when air passes through the sensing pipe 110, some air moving adjacent to the sensing surface 131 of the steam sensor 130 prevents contamination. Since it collides with the unit 120, it is possible to prevent or minimize steam contained in the air from directly contacting the sensing surface 131 of the steam sensor 130. Accordingly, contamination of the sensing surface 131 of the steam sensor 130 by steam can be prevented. Therefore, the steam sensor 130 can accurately measure the amount of steam generated during cooking.

In addition, in the sensor assembly 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when air collides with the pollution prevention unit 120 and vortexes are generated, the vortex prevention unit 125 prevents the vortex from steam sensor 130. Inflow into the sensing surface 131 may be prevented or minimized. Therefore, fluctuations in the amount of steam measured by the steam sensor 130 can be minimized.

In addition, since the sensor assembly 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is disposed above the filter 50 installed on the upper surface of the cooking chamber 21 instead of directly communicating with the cooking chamber 21, the sensing pipe 110 The passing air is not affected by the air circulating by the circulation fan (41). Therefore, since air can stably flow through the sensing pipe 110, the precision of the amount of steam measured by the steam sensor 130 can be improved.

Although the present disclosure has been shown and described with reference to various embodiments above, it is to be understood that various changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof. It will be understood by those skilled in the art.

Claims

Inner cabinets forming a cooking chamber;

an outer cabinet provided to surround the inner cabinet and forming a cooling passage through which external air passes;

an air exhaust device installed between the outer cabinet and the inner cabinet;

a filter installed above the inner cabinet and communicating with the cooking chamber;

a pressure regulating duct installed above the inner cabinet and communicating the filter and the cooling passage;

a sensing pipe installed in the air exhaust device above the filter and communicating the space above the filter with the cooling passage; and

and a steam sensor installed in the sensing pipe and measuring an amount of steam contained in air passing through the sensing pipe.
According to claim 1,

The oven further includes a; contamination prevention unit installed under the steam sensor and preventing the steam from being attached to the steam sensor.
According to claim 2,

The contamination prevention part is formed to protrude from an inner surface of the sensing pipe.
According to claim 3,

A sensor hole is provided in the sensing pipe to the upper side of the contamination prevention unit,

Oven, wherein the front end of the steam sensor inserted into the sensor hole is seated in the contamination prevention part.
According to claim 3,

The oven further includes a vortex prevention unit provided on an inner surface of the sensing pipe and extending upward from both ends of the contamination prevention unit.
According to claim 1,

The oven, wherein the sensing pipe is formed to have a cross-sectional area corresponding to the area of the sensing part of the steam sensor.
According to claim 1,

The sensing pipe includes an inlet and an outlet, and the inlet and the outlet are formed to face each other at both ends of the sensing pipe.
According to claim 7,

The oven of claim 1, wherein the area of the inlet is greater than the area of the outlet.
According to claim 1,

The oven, wherein the steam sensor is disposed perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the sensing pipe.
According to claim 1,

The air discharge device includes a discharge duct for discharging air to the outside of the oven,

The sensing pipe further includes a fixing part fixed to the discharge duct.
According to claim 10,

The fixing part is formed in an annular shape,

Oven comprising a seal (seal) provided under the fixing portion.
According to claim 10,

and a sealing part spaced apart from the fixing part by a predetermined distance below the sensing pipe, and sealing between the upper surface of the inner cabinet and the sensing pipe.
Inner cabinets forming a cooking chamber;

an outer cabinet provided to surround the inner cabinet and forming a cooling passage through which external air passes;

an air discharge device provided on an upper side of the inner cabinet and including a discharge duct for discharging air to the outside;

a filter installed above the inner cabinet and communicating with the cooking chamber;

a pressure regulating duct installed above the inner cabinet and communicating the filter and the cooling passage;

a sensing pipe installed above the filter to pass through the discharge duct and communicating the space above the filter with the cooling passage;

a steam sensor installed in the sensing pipe and measuring the amount of steam contained in the air passing through the sensing pipe; and

and a contamination prevention unit provided below the steam sensor on an inner surface of the sensing pipe and preventing the steam from adhering to the steam sensor.
According to claim 13,

The contamination prevention part surrounds the lower portion of the steam sensor and is formed to protrude from an inner surface of the sensing pipe.
15. The method of claim 14,

The oven further includes a vortex prevention unit provided on an inner surface of the sensing pipe and extending upward from both ends of the contamination prevention unit.