Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
HEATING COOKER
COOKER
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a heating cooker.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There has been a conventional heating cooker in which water droplets having
flowed
down from an opening of a heating chamber along a front plate are received by
a dew
receiving container provided under a door (see JP 2009-236338 A (PTL 1), for
instance).
In the heating cooker, a housing part in which a portion on a rear face side
of the dew
receiving container is to be housed is provided on an under front-face side of
a main casing.
CITATION LIST
Patent Literature
PTL1: JP 2009-236338 A
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The heating cooker, however, has a problem in that the water droplets having
flowed
down along a surface of the front plate may leak by traveling to a top face
side of the housing
part through agency of surface tension or the like without dripping into the
dew receiving
container.
An aspect of the present invention is to provide a heating cooker in which
water
droplets having flowed down along a surface of a front plate can reliably be
received into a
dew receiving container.
Accordingly, as an aspect of the present invention, there is provided, a
heating cooker
of the invention comprising a main casing, a heating chamber that is provided
in the main
casing and that is for heating an object to be heated, a door that is provided
on a front face
side of the main casing and that opens and closes an opening of the heating
chamber, and
a dew receiving container that is detachably attached onto an under front face
side of the main
casing, wherein the main casing includes a front plate that is provided around
the opening of
the heating chamber, a housing part that is provided on underside of the front
plate so as to
extend along a width of the front plate in a left-right direction and that is
recessed toward a
rear face side relative to a lower-side front face of the front plate so as to
house a portion on
the rear face side of the dew receiving container, and a drop inhibiting part
that is provided on
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a bottom end of the front plate and that inhibits water droplets, having
flowed down along a
surface of the front plate, from traveling to a side of the housing part,
wherein the drop
inhibiting part is formed of an underside part of the front plate and a
ceiling part of the housing
part, and wherein an angle (e) which a lower-side front face of the front
plate makes with a
ceiling surface of the housing part is acute-angled.
In a heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment, the drop inhibiting part
is a
plate-like rib that is provided on the underside of the front plate so as to
extend along the width
of the front plate in the left-right direction.
In a heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment, the plate-like rib is
formed by
folding of a bottom end side of the front plate toward the rear face side by
1800
.
In a heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment, the drop inhibiting part
is a rib
that is provided on the underside of the front plate so as to extend along the
width of the front
plate in the left-right direction and that is convex in section with an apex
facing downward.
In a heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment, the rib convex in
section is
formed by folding of a bottom end side of the front plate toward the rear face
side.
In a heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment, the drop inhibiting part
is
formed of the underside part of the front plate and the ceiling part of the
housing part, wherein
the front face of the underside part of the front plate makes an acute angle
with the ceiling
surface of the housing part.
Advantageous Effects of Invention
As is evident from above, the invention provides the heating cooker in which
the drop
inhibiting part that inhibits the water droplets, having flowed down along the
surface of the
front plate, from traveling to the side of the housing part is provided at the
bottom end of the
front plate provided around the opening of the heating chamber and in which
the water
droplets having flowed down along the surface of the front plate can reliably
be received into
the dew receiving container.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is a schematic front view of a heating cooker in accordance with a
first
embodiment of the invention in which a door is closed;
Fig. 2 is a schematic front view of the heating cooker in which the door is
opened;
Fig. 3 is a schematic representation for illustrating configurations of major
parts of the
heating cooker;
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Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a section which is taken along a line IV-IV in
Fig. 1, as
seen looking from a diagonally upper side;
Fig. 5 is a sectional view as seen looking into the section taken along the
line IV-IV in
Fig. 1;
Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of an important part in Fig. 5;
Fig. 7 is an enlarged schematic sectional view of an important part including
the
housing part of a heating cooker in accordance with a second embodiment of the
invention;
Fig. 8 is an enlarged schematic sectional view of an important part including
the
housing part of a heating cooker in accordance with a third embodiment of the
invention;
Fig. 9 is an enlarged schematic sectional view of an important part including
a housing
part of a heating cooker in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the
invention; and
Fig. 10 is an enlarged schematic representation of an important part including
a water
supply tank of a heating cooker in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the
invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Hereinbelow, heating cookers of the invention will be described in detail with
reference
to embodiments shown in the drawings.
(First Embodiment)
Fig. 1 shows a schematic front view of a heating cooker in accordance with a
first
embodiment of the invention in which a door is closed and Fig. 2 shows a
schematic front view
of the heating cooker in which the door is opened.
As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the heating cooker in accordance with the first
embodiment
includes a main casing 1 that is shaped like a rectangular parallelepiped, a
heating chamber
2 that is provided in the main casing 1 and that has an opening 2a on a front
side thereof, a
door 3 that opens and closes the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2, and a
magnetron (not
shown) that supplies microwaves into the heating chamber 2 in which an object
15 to be
heated is housed.
A discharge air duct 5 is provided in a rear part on a top face of the main
casing 1. A
drip receiving container 6 is detachably attached to a lower part of a front
face of the main
casing 1. The drip receiving container 6 is placed under the door 3 and is
capable of receiving
water droplets from a rear face (surface on a side facing the heating chamber
2) of the door
3 and a front plate 60 of the main casing 1. A water supply tank 26 that will
be described later
is also detachably attached to the lower part of the front face of the main
casing 1.
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The door 3 is mounted on the front face side of the main casing 1 so as to be
pivotable
on a lower side. A pane of transparent external glass 7 with heat resistance
is provided on
a front face (surface on a side opposed to the heating chamber 2) of the door
3. The door 3
includes a handle 8 that is placed above the pane of external glass 7 and an
operation panel
9 that is provided on right side of the pane of external glass 7.
The operation panel 9 includes a color liquid crystal display part 10 and a
group of
buttons 11. The group of buttons 11 include a cancel key 12 that is to be
pressed for
discontinuing heating or the like and a heating start key 13 that is to be
pressed for starting
heating. An infrared receiving part 14 that receives an infrared ray from a
smartphone or the
like is provided on the operation panel 9.
The object 15 to be heated is housed in the heating chamber 2. Cooking trays
91, 92
(shown in Fig. 3) made of metal can be put into and taken out of the heating
chamber 2.
Upper shelf supports 16A and 16B for supporting the cooking tray 91 are
provided on inner
surfaces of a left side part 2b and a right side part 2c of the heating
chamber 2. Lower shelf
supports 17A and 17B for supporting the cooking tray 92 are provided on the
inner surfaces
of the right side part 2c and the left side part 2b of the heating chamber 2
so as to be
positioned below the upper shelf supports 16A and 16B.
Fig. 3 is a schematic representation for illustrating configurations of major
parts of the
heating cooker. In Fig. 3, the heating chamber 2 as seen looking from a left
side is shown.
In Fig. 3, the same components as those in Figs. 1 and 2 are provided with the
same
reference characters as in the drawings.
The heating cooker includes a circulation duct 18, a circulation fan 19, an
upper heater
20, a middle heater 21, a lower heater 22, a circulation damper 23, a tube
pump 25, a water
supply tank 26, and a steam generating device 100. The upper heater 20, the
middle heater
21, and the lower heater 22 are each made of a sheathed heater, for instance.
The circulation
duct 18 is an example of a duct. The circulation damper 23 is an example of a
damper. The
tube pump 25 is an example of a pump. The invention is not limited to that
with the tube pump
and has only to be with a pump in which switching between water supply
operation and water
drainage operation can be made in accordance with a driving direction.
A top part 2e of the heating chamber 2 connects with a rear part 2d of the
heating
chamber 2 through a sloped part 2f sloped with respect to a horizontal
direction. A plurality
of intake port 27 are provided on the sloped part 2f so as to face the
circulation fan 19 (see
Fig. 2). A plurality of upper blowoff ports 28 are provided on the top part 2e
of the heating
chamber 2. A plurality of first rear blowoff ports 29, a plurality of second
rear blowoff ports 30,
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and a plurality of third rear blowoff ports 31 are provided on the rear part
2d of the heating
chamber 2 (see Fig. 2). The first rear blowoff ports 29 are an example of
blowoff ports. Only
one of the intake ports 27 is shown in Fig. 3. Only one of the first rear
blowoff ports 29, only
one of the second rear blowoff ports 30, and only one of the third rear
blowoff ports 31 are
shown in Fig. 3.
The circulation duct 18 communicates with inside of the heating chamber 2
through the
intake ports 27, the upper blowoff ports 28, and the first through third rear
blowoff ports 29
through 31. The circulation duct 18 is provided so as to extend from the top
to the rear of the
heating chamber 2 and extends so as to form a shape like an inverted letter L.
A width of the
circulation duct 18 in a left-right direction is set smaller than a width of
the heating chamber
2 in the left-right direction.
The circulation fan 19, which is a centrifugal fan, is driven by a circulation
fan motor
56. When the circulation fan motor 56 drives the circulation fan 19, air,
saturated steam, and
the like (hereinafter referred to as "air and the like") in the heating
chamber 2 is sucked
through the intake ports 27 into the circulation duct 56 and is made to flow
radially outward
from the circulation fan 19. Above the circulation fan 19, more specifically,
the air and the like
flow diagonally upward from the circulation fan 19 and thereafter flow
frontward from a rear
side. Below the circulation fan 19, by contrast, the air and the like flow
diagonally downward
from the circulation fan 19 and thereafter flow downward from an upper side.
The air and the
like are an example of heat medium.
The upper heater 20 is placed in the circulation duct 18 and faces the top
part 2e of
the heating chamber 2. The upper heater 20 heats the air and the like flowing
toward the
upper blowoff ports 28.
The middle heater 21, shaped annularly, surrounds the circulation fan 19. The
middle
heater 21 heats the air and the like flowing from the circulation fan 19
toward the upper heater
20 and heats the air and the like flowing from the circulation fan 19 toward
the lower heater
22.
The lower heater 22 is placed in the circulation duct 18 and faces the rear
part 2d of
the heating chamber 2. The lower heater 22 heats the air and the like flowing
toward the
second and third rear blowoff ports 30 and 31.
The circulation damper 23 is pivotably provided in the circulation duct 18 and
between
the middle heater 21 and the lower heater 22. Pivoting of the circulation
damper 23 is caused
by a circulation damper motor (not shown).
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The steam generating device 100 includes a steam generating container 101 that
has
an upper side opening and that is made of metal, a cover part 102 that covers
the upper side
opening of the steam generating container 101 and that is made of heat-
resistant resin (such
as PPS (polyphenylenesulfide) resin), and a steam generating heater 103 that
is made of a
sheathed heater cast in a bottom part 101a of the steam generating container
101. Water
from the water supply tank 26 is accumulated on the bottom part 101a of the
steam generating
container 101 and the steam generating heater 103 as an example of a heat
source heats the
water through the steam generating container 101. Saturated steam generated by
heating by
the steam generating heater 103 flows through a steam tube 35 made of resin
and through
a steam pipe 36 made of metal and is supplied through a plurality of steam
supply ports 37
into the heating chamber 2 (see Fig. 2). Only one of the steam supply ports 37
is shown in
Fig. 3.
The saturated steam in the heating chamber 2 is delivered by the circulation
fan 19 to
the upper heater 20, the middle heater 21, and the lower heater 22 and is
heated by the upper
heater 20, the middle heater 21, and the lower heater 22. Thus the saturated
steam becomes
overheated steam having a temperature equal to or higher than 100 C.
A water level sensor 105 made of a pair of electrode bars 105a and 105b is
attached
to the cover part 102. It is determined whether a water level above the bottom
part 101a of
the steam generating container 101 has reached a predetermined water level or
not, based
on whether a conduction state between the electrode bars 105a and 105b has
been attained
or not.
The tube pump 25 causes a roller (not shown) to squeeze a water supply and
drainage
tube 40 that is made of silicone rubber or the like and that can elastically
be deformed and
thereby causes the water in the water supply tank 26 to flow to the steam
generating device
100 or causes the water in the steam generating device 100 to flow to the
water supply tank
26 in accordance with a driving direction of the roller. The water supply and
drainage tube 40
is an example of a water supply path.
The water supply tank 26 includes a water supply tank body 41 and a
communication
pipe 42. One end part of the communication pipe 42 is placed in the water
supply tank body
41 and the other end part of the communication pipe 42 is placed out of the
water supply tank
26. Once the water supply tank 26 is housed in a tank cover 43, the other end
part of the
communication pipe 42 is connected to the water supply and drainage tube 40
through a tank
joint part 44. That is, inside of the water supply tank body 41 communicates
with inside of the
steam generating device 100 through the communication pipe 42 and the like.
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A water supply device is composed of the tube pump 25, the water supply tank
26, the
water supply and drainage tube 40, the tank cover 43, and the tank joint part
44.
Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of a section which is taken along a line IV-IV
in Fig.
1, as seen looking from a diagonally upper side, and in which the same
components as in
Figs. 1 through 3 are provided with the same reference characters as in the
drawings. In Fig.
4, numeral 90 denotes a bottom tray attached to a bottom part in the heating
chamber 2.
As shown in Fig. 4, a housing part 80 is provided on underside of the front
plate 60,
provided around the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2, so as to extend along
generally a
whole width of the front plate 60 in a left-right direction. The housing part
80 is recessed
toward a rear face side relative to the lower-side front face of the front
plate 60 so as to house
a portion on the rear face side of the dew receiving container 6 (see Fig. 5).
In a state in which the drip receiving container 6 is attached to the
underside of the
main casing 1 (see Fig. 1) and in which the portion on the rear face side of
the dew receiving
container 6 is housed in the housing part 80, the water supply tank 26 is
housed in the tank
cover 43 on the underside of the dew receiving container 6. The communication
pipe 42 of
the water supply tank 26 is connected to the water supply and drainage tube 40
(shown in Fig.
3) through the tank joint part 44.
Fig. 5 shows a sectional view as seen looking into the section taken along the
line IV-IV
in Fig. 1 and Fig. 6 shows an enlarged view of an important part in Fig. 5. In
Figs. 5 and 6,
the same components as in Fig. 4 are provided with the same reference
characters as in the
drawing.
As shown in Fig. 5, a plate-like rib 61 as a drop inhibiting part that
inhibits the water
droplets, having flowed down along the surface of the front plate 60, from
traveling to a side
of the housing part 80 is provided at a bottom end of the front plate 60. As
shown in Fig. 6,
the plate-like rib 61 is formed by folding of the bottom end side of the front
plate 60 toward the
rear face side by 180 .
In the heating cooker having above configurations, when the water droplets
flow out
from the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2 and flow down along the surface
of the front
plate 60 of the main casing 1, the plate-like rib 61 as the drop inhibiting
part that is provided
on the underside of the front plate 60 so as to extend along the width of the
front plate 60 in
the left-right direction inhibits the water droplets from traveling to the
side of the housing part
80 through agency of surface tension or the like without dripping. The portion
on the rear face
side of the dew receiving container 6 is housed in the housing part 80
recessed toward the
rear face side relative to the lower-side front face of the front plate 60 and
thus the water
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droplets having flowed out from the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2 drip
into the dew
receiving container 6 below through agency of the plate-like rib 61.
Consequently, the water
droplets having flowed down along the surface of the front plate 60 provided
around the
opening 2a of the heating chamber 2 can reliably be received into the dew
receiving container
6.
Though the plate-like rib 61 as the drop inhibiting part is provided on the
underside of
the front plate 60 so as to extend along generally the whole width of the
front plate 60 in the
left-right direction in the first embodiment, the drop inhibiting part may be
provided along at
least a width in the left-right direction of an area into which the water
droplets flow and drop
from the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2, the rear face of the door 3, and
the like.
With use as the drop inhibiting part of the plate-like rib 61 that is provided
on the
underside of the front plate 60 so as to extend along the width of the front
plate 60 in the
left-right direction, the drop inhibiting part can easily be formed by folding
of a plate material.
Besides, the plate-like rib 61 as the drop inhibiting part is formed by the
folding of the
bottom end side of the front plate 60 toward the rear face side by 180 and
thus the drop
inhibiting part can easily be formed by the folding of the front plate 60
without use of another
member.
(Second Embodiment)
Fig. 7 shows an enlarged schematic sectional view of an important part
including the
housing part 80 of a heating cooker in accordance with a second embodiment of
the invention.
In the heating cooker in accordance with the second embodiment, as shown in
Fig. 7,
a rib 161 triangular in section with an apex facing downward is provided on
underside of a
front plate 160 so as to extend along generally a whole width of the front
plate 160 in the
left-right direction. The rib 161 triangular in section is an example of the
drop inhibiting part.
The rib 161 triangular in section inhibits water droplets, having flowed down
along a surface
of the front plate 160, from traveling to the side of the housing part 80. The
water droplets
having flowed out from the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2 drip into a
recessed part 6a
of the dew receiving container 6 below through agency of the rib 161
triangular in section.
The rib 161 triangular in section is an example of a rib convex in section.
In the second embodiment, the drop inhibiting part can easily be formed by use
as the
drop inhibiting part of the rib 161 triangular in section that is provided on
the underside of the
front plate 160 so as to extend along the width of the front plate 160 in the
left-right direction
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and by adhesion of the rib 161 triangular in section, formed by resin molding,
to the underside
of the front plate 160.
Though the rib 161 triangular in section is provided as the drop inhibiting
part on the
underside of the front plate 160 so as to extend along generally the whole
width of the front
plate 160 in the left-right direction in the second embodiment, the drop
inhibiting part may be
provided along at least a width in the left-right direction of an area into
which the water
droplets flow and drop from the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2, the rear
face of the door
3, and the like or may be provided along only desired portions of the width in
the left-right
direction.
Though the rib 161 triangular in section is used as the drop inhibiting part
in the second
embodiment, the drop inhibiting part is not limited thereto and has only to be
a rib convex in
section of which an apex protrudes downward relative to a top surface 80a of
the housing part
80 in an area over the recessed part 6a of the dew receiving container 6.
(Third Embodiment)
Fig. 8 shows an enlarged schematic sectional view of an important part
including the
housing part 80 of a heating cooker in accordance with a third embodiment of
the invention.
In the heating cooker in accordance with the third embodiment, as shown in
Fig. 8, a
rib 261 triangular in section with an apex facing downward is provided on
underside of a front
plate 260 so as to extend along generally a whole width of the front plate 260
in the left-right
direction. The rib 261 triangular in section is an example of the rib convex
in section. The rib
261 triangular in section inhibits water droplets, having flowed down along a
surface of the
front plate 260, from traveling to the side of the housing part 80. The water
droplets having
flowed out from the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2 drip into the recessed
part 6a of the
dew receiving container 6 below through agency of the rib 261 triangular in
section.
In the third embodiment, in which the rib 261 triangular in section as the
drop inhibiting
part is formed by folding of a bottom end side of the front plate 260 toward
the rear face side,
the folding can easily be carried out and the drop inhibiting part can more
easily be formed.
Though the rib 261 triangular in section is provided as the drop inhibiting
part on the
underside of the front plate 260 so as to extend along generally the whole
width of the front
plate 260 in the left-right direction in the third embodiment, the drop
inhibiting part may be
along at least a width in the left-right direction of an area into which the
water droplets flow and
drop from the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2, the rear face of the door
3, and the like.
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Though the rib 261 triangular in section is used as the drop inhibiting part
in the third
embodiment, the drop inhibiting part is not limited thereto and has only to be
a rib convex in
section of which an apex protrudes downward relative to the top surface 80a of
the housing
part 80 in the area over the recessed part 6a of the dew receiving container
6.
(Fourth Embodiment)
Fig. 9 shows an enlarged schematic sectional view of an important part
including a
housing part 380 of a heating cooker in accordance with a fourth embodiment of
the invention.
In the heating cooker in accordance with the fourth embodiment, as shown in
Fig. 9,
the drop inhibiting part is formed of an underside part 360a of a front plate
360 and a ceiling
part 381 of the housing part 380, on underside of the front plate 360 so as to
extend along
generally a whole width of the front plate 360 in the left-right direction. In
the drop inhibiting
part, an angle a lower-side front face of the front plate 360 makes with a
ceiling surface of
the housing part 380 is made acute.
The drop inhibiting part (360a, 381) inhibits water droplets, having flowed
down along
a surface of the front plate 360, from traveling to a side of the housing part
380. The water
droplets having flowed out from the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2 drip
into the
recessed part 6a of the dew receiving container 6 below.
In the fourth embodiment, the drop inhibiting part is formed of the underside
part 360a
of the front plate 360 and the ceiling part 381 of the housing part 380 and
thus can easily be
formed by folding by folding without use of another member.
Though the drop inhibiting part (360a, 381) is provided on the underside of
the front
plate 360 so as to extend along generally the whole width of the front plate
360 in the left-right
direction in the fourth embodiment, the drop inhibiting part may be provided
along at least a
width in the left-right direction of an area into which the water droplets
flow and drop from the
opening 2a of the heating chamber 2, the rear face of the door 3, and the
like.
(Fifth Embodiment)
Fig. 10 shows an enlarged schematic representation of an important part
including a
water supply tank of a heating cooker in accordance with a fifth embodiment of
the invention.
The heating cooker in accordance with the fifth embodiment has the same
configurations as
the heating cooker in accordance with the first embodiment has, except for the
water supply
tank and a tank cover, and thus Figs. 1 through 3 will be reused therefor.
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The water supply tank 426 is detachably attached into the tank cover 443
provided on
underside of the front face of the main casing 1 (see Fig. 1). The water
supply tank 426
includes a water supply tank body 441 that is shaped like a box with an
opening on a top side,
a lid 450 that covers the opening of the water supply tank body 441, and a
communication
pipe 442. One end part of the communication pipe 442 is placed in the water
supply tank body
441 and the other end part of the communication pipe 442 is placed out of the
water supply
tank 426 and on the rear face side thereof.
An opening/closing door 460 is pivotably mounted on the rear face side on the
lid 450
of the water supply tank 426. The opening/closing door 460 pivots inward and
is biased so
as to be closed from inside by spring members not shown.
A protruding part 470 with an apex protruding downward is provided on a top
face side
in the tank cover 443. The apex of the protruding part 470 forms a spherical
surface.
In the heating cooker having above configurations, water is supplied into the
water
supply tank body 441 and the opening of the water supply tank body 441 is
covered with the
lid 450. Then the opening/closing door 460 is brought into a closed state and
an end of the
communication pipe 442 is closed by a valve (not shown). As a result, the
water supply tank
426 is brought into a hermetically closed state. When the water supply tank
426 is inserted
through an insertion opening 443a of the tank cover 443, the apex of the
protruding part 470
on the top face side in the tank cover 443 pushes down and opens the
opening/closing door
460 of the water supply tank 426 and the other end part of the communication
pipe 442 is
connected to the water supply and drainage tube 40 through the tank joint part
44 (shown in
Fig. 3), so that the valve at the end of the communication pipe 442 is opened.
A conventional heating cooker has a hole open to atmosphere somewhere on a top
part of a water supply tank when the water supply tank is supplied with water
and is inserted
into a tank cover. This configuration is provided in order that supply of the
water into a
connected water supply path may be allowed by avoidance of hermetic closure of
the water
supply tank. Accordingly, there has been a problem in that the water may spill
from the hole
open to atmosphere when the water supply tank is supplied with the water and
is carried to
the heating cooker. By contrast, the heating cooker in accordance with the
fifth embodiment
prevents the water from spilling because the water supply tank 426 is in the
hermetically
closed state when the water supply tank 426 supplied with the water is
carried.
Though the water supply tank 426 is hermetically closed by the opening/closing
door
460 when being carried, in the heating cooker in accordance with the fifth
embodiment, a hole
open to atmosphere that is brought into a hermetically closed state by being
pressed by
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fingers during carriage, for instance, may be provided in place of the
opening/closing door,
without limitation thereto. In this configuration, it is preferable that the
hole open to
atmosphere should be provided on a part of the water supply tank that is on
top of the lid and
that is to be grasped with a hand and should be closed with a thumb in
handling.
With the heating cookers of the invention, healthy cooking can be performed by
use
of overheated steam or saturated steam in microwave ovens and the like. In the
heating
cookers of the invention, for instance, the overheated steam or saturated
steam having a
temperature of 100 C or higher is supplied onto surfaces of food, the
overheated steam or
saturated steam deposited onto the surfaces of the food condenses and gives
the food a great
quantity of latent heat of condensation, and therefore heat can efficiently be
transmitted to the
food. The condensate water is deposited on the surfaces of the food, and salt
content, oil
content and the like drip with the condensate water, so that salt content, oil
content and the
like in the food can be reduced. Furthermore, the heating chamber is filled
with the
overheated steam or saturated steam so as to be in a low-oxygen state and thus
cooking in
which oxidation of the food is suppressed can be performed. Herein, "low-
oxygen state" refers
to a state in which percentage by volume of oxygen in the heating chamber is
10% or lower
(0.5 to 3%, for instance).
Though the specific embodiments of the invention have been described, the
invention
is not limited to the first through fourth embodiments and can be embodied
with modification
in various ways within the scope of the invention.
The invention and the embodiments will be summarized as follows.
The heating cooker of the invention comprises the main casing 1, the heating
chamber
2 that is provided in the main casing 1 and that is for heating an object to
be heated, the door
3 that is provided on the front face side of the main casing 1 and that opens
and closes the
opening 2a of the heating chamber 2, and the dew receiving container 6 that is
detachably
attached onto the under front-face side of the main casing 1, wherein the main
casing 1
includes:
the front plate 60, 160, 260, 360 that is provided around the opening 2a of
the heating
chamber 2, the housing part 80, 380 that is provided on the underside of the
front plate 60,
160, 260, 360 so as to extend along the width of the front plate 60, 160, 260,
360 in the
left-right direction and that is recessed toward the rear face side relative
to the lower-side front
face of the front plate 60, 160, 260, 360 so as to house the portion on the
rear face side of the
dew receiving container 6, and the drop inhibiting part 61, 161, 261, 360a,
381 that is provided
on the bottom end of the front plate 60, 160, 260, 360 and that inhibits the
water droplets,
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having flowed down along the surface of the front plate 60, 160, 260, 360,
from traveling to
the side of the housing part 80, 380.
In the above configuration, when the water droplets flow out from the opening
2a of the
heating chamber 2 and flow down along the surface of the front plate 60, 160,
260, 360 of the
main casing 1, the drop inhibiting part 61, 161, 261, 360a, 381 that is
provided on the
underside of the front plate 60, 160, 260, 360 so as to extend along the width
of the front plate
in the left-right direction inhibits the water droplets from traveling to the
side of the housing part
80, 380. The portion on the rear face side of the dew receiving container 6 is
housed in the
housing part 80, 380 recessed toward the rear face side relative to the lower-
side front face
of the front plate 60, 160, 260, 360 and thus the water droplets having flowed
out from the
opening 2a of the heating chamber 2 drip into the dew receiving container 6
below through
agency of the drop inhibiting part 61, 161, 261, 360a, 381. Consequently, the
water droplets
having flowed down along the surface of the front plate 60, 160, 260, 360
provided around the
opening 2a of the heating chamber 2 can reliably be received into the dew
receiving container
6.
In the heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment, the drop inhibiting
part is the
plate-like rib 61 that is provided on the underside of the front plate 60 so
as to extend along
the width of the front plate 60 in the left-right direction.
In the embodiment with use as the drop inhibiting part of the plate-like rib
61 that is
provided on the underside of the front plate 60 so as to extend along the
width of the front
plate 60 in the left-right direction, the drop inhibiting part can easily be
formed by the folding
or the like of the front plate 60, for instance.
In the heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment, the plate-like rib 61
is formed
by the folding of the bottom end side of the front plate 60 toward the rear
face side by 180 .
In the embodiment, the plate-like rib 61 as the drop inhibiting part is formed
by the
folding of the bottom end side of the front plate 60 toward the rear face side
by 180' and thus
the drop inhibiting part can easily be formed by the folding of the front
plate 60 without use of
another member.
In the heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment, the drop inhibiting
part is the
rib 261 that is provided on the underside of the front plate 260 so as to
extend along the width
of the front plate 260 in the left-right direction and that is convex in
section with the apex facing
downward.
In the embodiment with use as the drop inhibiting part of the rib 261 that is
provided
on the underside of the front plate 260 so as to extend along the width of the
front plate 260
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in the left-right direction and that is convex in section with the apex facing
downward, the drop
inhibiting part can easily be formed by folding of the front plate 260 that
forms a triangular
section, the adhesion of the rib 261 convex in section formed by resin molding
to the
underside of the front plate 260, or the like, for instance.
In the heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment, the rib 261 convex in
section
is formed by the folding of the bottom end side of the front plate 260 toward
the rear face side.
In the embodiment, in which the rib 261 convex in section as the drop
inhibiting part
is formed by the folding of the bottom end side of the front plate 260 toward
the rear face side,
the folding can easily be carried out and the drop inhibiting part can more
easily be formed.
In the heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment, the drop inhibiting
part is
formed of the underside part 360a of the front plate 360 and the ceiling part
381 of the housing
part 380, wherein the front face of the underside part 360a of the front plate
360 makes the
acute angle with the ceiling surface of the housing part 380.
In the embodiment, the drop inhibiting part is formed of the underside part
360a of the
front plate 360 and the ceiling part 381 of the housing part 380 and thus can
easily be formed
by the folding or the like without use of another member.
REFERENCE NUMERALS LIST
1 main casing
2 heating chamber
2a opening
3 door
5 discharge air duct
6 dew receiving container
7 external glass
8 handle
9 operation panel
10 color liquid crystal display part
11 group of buttons
12 cancel key
13 start key
14 infrared receiving part
15 object to be heated
16A, 16B upper shelf support
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17A, 17B lower shelf support
18 circulation duct
19 circulation fan
20 upper heater
21 middle heater
22 lower heater
23 circulation damper
25 tube pump
26, 426 water supply tank
27 intake port
28 upper blowoff port
29 first rear blowoff port
30 second rear blowoff port
31 third rear blowoff port
35 steam tube
36 steam pipe
37 steam supply port
40 water supply and drainage tube
41, 441 water supply tank body
42, 442 communication pipe
43, 443 tank cover
44 tank joint part
48 forced discharge air duct
50 supply air port
56 circulation fan motor
60, 160, 260, 360 front plate
61 plate-like rib
80, 380 housing part
91, 92 cooking tray
100 steam generating device
101 steam generating container
101a bottom part
102 cover part
103 steam generating heater
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105 water level sensor
105a, 105b electrode bar
161 rib triangular in section
261 rib triangular in section
360a underside part
381 ceiling part
450 lid
460 opening/closing door
470 protruding part
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