CN112586996A

CN112586996A - Steam generation assembly and cooking device

Info

Publication number: CN112586996A
Application number: CN202011488503.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 司鹏; 唐相伟; 周福昌
Original assignee: Midea Group Co Ltd; Guangdong Midea Kitchen Appliances Manufacturing Co Ltd
Current assignee: Midea Group Co Ltd; Guangdong Midea Kitchen Appliances Manufacturing Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-12-16
Filing date: 2020-12-16
Publication date: 2021-04-02

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of kitchen appliances, and particularly relates to a steam generation assembly and a cooking device. The steam generating assembly comprises a pipeline, at least one heating element and a heat conductor, wherein the pipeline comprises a plurality of pipeline sections which are positioned in the same plane and are mutually communicated, a water inlet and a steam outlet are respectively arranged on the pipeline sections at two ends of the pipeline, the heating element is embedded between at least two adjacent pipeline sections in the plurality of pipeline sections, and the heat conductor is fixedly connected with the pipeline and the heating element and is used for conducting heat between the pipeline and the heating element. According to the steam generating assembly, water in the steam generating assembly can be effectively heated and evaporated to form high-temperature steam, and the thickness and the size of the steam generating assembly are reduced, so that the space occupancy rate of the steam generating assembly is reduced, the steam generating assembly is conveniently and reasonably installed, the requirements of miniaturization and light weight of products are met, and the customer satisfaction degree is improved.

Description

Steam generation assembly and cooking device

Technical Field

The invention belongs to the technical field of kitchen appliances, and particularly relates to a steam generation assembly and a cooking device.

Background

With the increasing popularity of household appliances, consumers have higher and higher requirements on the performance of cooking equipment, and the attention on healthy diet is increased year by year. Steaming devices are increasingly being accepted by consumers in their healthy way of cooking.

However, most of the existing steam equipment adopts a boiler water boiling type steam generation assembly installed at the top or the bottom, so that the steam generation assembly is large in size, occupies a large space, and cannot meet the light weight requirement of consumers on products.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to at least solve the problem of large space occupancy rate of the steam generation assembly. This object is achieved by:

a first aspect of the invention proposes a steam generating assembly comprising:

the pipeline comprises a plurality of pipe sections which are positioned in the same plane and are mutually communicated, and the pipe sections at the two ends of the pipeline are respectively provided with a water inlet and a steam outlet;

at least one heating element, wherein the heating element is embedded between at least two adjacent pipe sections in the plurality of pipe sections;

a heat conductor that consolidates the conduit and the heating member and is used to conduct heat between the conduit and the heating member.

According to the steam generating assembly, the pipeline is arranged into a structure with a plurality of mutually communicated pipeline sections in the same plane, the heating element is embedded between the adjacent pipeline sections, the pipeline and the heating element are connected and fixed through the heat conductor and conduct heat, water in the steam generating assembly can be effectively heated and evaporated to form high-temperature steam, and meanwhile, the thickness size of the steam generating assembly is reduced, so that the space occupancy rate of the steam generating assembly is reduced, the steam generating assembly is conveniently and reasonably installed, the requirements of miniaturization and light weight of products are met, and the customer satisfaction degree is improved.

In addition, the steam generating assembly according to the present invention may also have the following additional technical features:

in some embodiments of the invention, a plurality of the pipe sections are sequentially arranged in a planar helical structure in a communication manner.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the steam outlet is disposed on the innermost pipe segment of the spiral structure, and the water inlet is disposed on the outermost pipe segment of the spiral structure.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the number of the heating members is plural, and the heating member is provided between any two adjacent pipe sections.

In some embodiments of the invention, the plurality of heating members are heat pipes having different power specifications.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the steam generating assembly further comprises a steam outlet pipe, and the steam outlet pipe is disposed beyond the plane of the pipeline and is communicated with the steam outlet.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the heat conductor covers the outside of the pipe and the heating member and exposes both ends of the pipe and the heating member.

In some embodiments of the invention, the steam generating assembly further comprises at least one temperature sensor coupled to the thermal conductor and positioned between the center of the conduit and the steam outlet.

Another aspect of the invention also proposes a cooking device having a steam generating assembly according to any one of the above.

In some embodiments of the invention, the steam generating assembly is disposed to stand on its side inside the cooking device.

Drawings

Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. Also, like parts are designated by like reference numerals throughout the drawings. Wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a portion of a steam generating assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the relative positions of the heating element and the conduit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the heating element and the conduit of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic top view of the heating element and the conduit of FIG. 2;

the reference numerals in the drawings denote the following:

100: a steam generating assembly;

10: pipeline, 11: first tube segment, 111: water inlet, 12: second tube section, 13: third pipe section, 14: fourth tube section, 15: steam outlet pipe, 151: an outlet;

21: first heating member, 22: a second heating member;

30: a heat conductor;

41: first bracket, 42: a second support.

Detailed Description

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the invention can be embodied in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

It is to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms "comprises," "comprising," "including," and "having" are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order described or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It should also be understood that additional or alternative steps may be used.

Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as "first," "second," and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.

For convenience of description, spatially relative terms, such as "inner", "outer", "lower", "below", "upper", "above", and the like, may be used herein to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element or feature as illustrated in the figures. Such spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as "below" or "beneath" other elements or features would then be oriented "above" or "over" the other elements or features. Thus, the example term "below … …" can include both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

The invention provides a cooking device which can be one or more of a steam oven, a microwave oven, a steam box and an electric steamer. In the following description of the present application, a cooking apparatus is described as an example of a steam box. Referring to fig. 1 and 2, the cooking apparatus of the present embodiment includes a steam generation assembly 100, and the steam generation assembly 100 includes a pipe 10, at least one heating member, and a heat conductor 30. The pipeline 10 comprises a first pipe section 11, a second pipe section 12, a third pipe section 13 and a fourth pipe section 14 which are in the same plane and are communicated with each other. The number of the pipe sections 10 may be set according to the amount of steam required and the structural size of the cooking apparatus, and is not limited herein, and for convenience of description, the embodiment is illustrated by way of example only in which the pipe 10 includes four pipe sections in the same plane.

The first pipe section 11, the second pipe section 12, the third pipe section 13 and the fourth pipe section 14 are sequentially communicated in a planar spiral structure, the first pipe section 11 is arranged on the outermost side of the planar spiral structure, and the fourth pipe section 14 is arranged on the innermost side of the planar spiral structure. The first pipe section 11 is provided with an inlet 111 at its end and the fourth pipe section 14 is provided with an outlet (not shown). Because the steam outlet is arranged at the innermost side of the spiral structure, the exhaust is inconvenient. The steam generating module 100 of the present embodiment further includes a steam outlet pipe 15. Referring to fig. 3 and 4, the steam outlet pipe 15 of the present embodiment is disposed beyond the plane of the pipe 10 and is communicated with the steam outlet, and the steam in the pipe 10 is discharged through the outlet 151 of the steam outlet pipe 15, and the generated steam is introduced into the cooking cavity of the cooking apparatus through the connecting pipeline, so as to heat the food in the cooking cavity. The steam outlet 15 may be formed integrally with the first pipe section 11, the second pipe section 12, the third pipe section 13, and the fourth pipe section 14 as a part of the pipe section structure of the pipeline 10. The steam outlet pipe 15 can also be used as an external pipeline to be connected with a steam outlet of the fourth pipe section 14, so that the steam discharging process of the pipeline 10 is completed. Wherein, the pipeline 10 can be made of food-grade metal pipes or non-metal pipes, the outer diameter is 3.5mm-6.5mm, and the wall thickness is 0.3-1mm, thereby meeting the steam quantity requirement for heating food in the cooking cavity.

As further shown in fig. 2, the steam generating assembly 100 of the present embodiment has two heating members, which are a first heating member 21 and a second heating member 22, respectively. First heating elements 21 are embedded between the first pipe section 11 and the second pipe section 12, and between the second pipe section 12 and the third pipe section 13. Second heating elements 22 are embedded between the second pipe section 12 and the third pipe section 13, and between the third pipe section 13 and the fourth pipe section 14. The first heating element 21 and the second heating element 22 are respectively embedded between the pipe sections, so that the pipe sections can be heated in a segmented mode according to actual needs, the heat efficiency is effectively improved, and the energy waste is reduced. Further, the first heating member 21 and the second heating member 22 of the present embodiment are heating pipes with different power specifications, so that heating amounts with different powers can be provided for a plurality of pipe sections according to actual requirements, and the thermal efficiency of the steam generating assembly 10 is further improved.

Since the first pipe section 11, the second pipe section 12, the third pipe section 13 and the fourth pipe section 14 of the present embodiment are sequentially communicated and arranged in a planar spiral structure, the first heating element 21 and the second heating element 22 in the present embodiment are also arranged at intervals in a planar spiral structure, so as to ensure that the heating efficiency of the heating elements on the pipe in a unit area is improved to the maximum extent, thereby effectively ensuring that the pipe 10 is effectively heated by the first heating element 21 and the second heating element 22 under the condition of limited space occupancy rate of the steam generation assembly 10, so as to ensure the generation of enough steam quantity. The first heating member 21 and the second heating member 22 of the present embodiment are electric heating tubes or heating wires made of metal, or non-metal electric heating elements. In other embodiments of the present application, the number of the heating members may be specifically set according to the number of the pipe sections and the heating efficiency of the cooking device, and may be one or more, and the heating members are arranged in a planar spiral structure to ensure an effective heating process for the pipe 10.

As shown in fig. 1, the heat conductor 30 is disposed outside the pipe 10 and the heating member, and only two ends of the pipe 10 and the heating member are exposed outside the heat conductor 30. The water inlet 111 of the first pipe segment 11 is exposed outside the heat conductor 30, the steam outlet 15 is connected to the steam outlet of the fourth pipe segment 14, the steam outlet 15 is integrally disposed in the heat conductor 30 as a part of the structure of the pipe 10, and only the outlet 151 is disposed outside the heat conductor 30, thereby implementing the processes of water inlet and steam discharge of the steam generating assembly 10. Both end ends of the first heating member 21 and the second heating member 22 are disposed outside the heat conductor 30 so as to be connected to a heating device, thereby realizing heat generation of the first heating member 21 and the second heating member 22 to heat water in the pipe 10 to form high-temperature steam. In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 1, the center position of the pipe 10 is a hollow structure, and the center position of the corresponding heat conductor 30 is also a hollow structure. Therefore, in other embodiments of the present application, the air inlet end of the steam outlet pipe 15 may also extend into the space enclosed by the fourth pipe section 14 through the hollow structure of the heat conductor 30, and communicate with the steam outlet of the fourth pipe section 14, so as to achieve the steam discharge.

The heat conductor 30 of the present embodiment is made of a metallic material or a non-metallic material with excellent heat conductivity, and is connected to the pipeline 10 and the heating member by casting processes such as die casting, sand casting, etc., so as to fix the pipeline 10 and the heating member and effectively conduct heat, further reduce the heat loss of the first heating member 21 and the second heating member 22 during operation, accelerate the heating process of the pipeline 10, and improve the heat efficiency. Since the heat conductor 30 can conduct heat between the pipe 10 and the heating member, the heating member can be provided in any partial structure between the pipe sections, thereby achieving the overall heating effect of the pipe 10 by the heat conduction. The heat conductor 30 of the present embodiment can prevent the overheating heating element from contacting with other components or pipelines in the cooking device, in addition to being capable of fixing and effectively conducting heat for connecting the pipeline 10 and the heating element, thereby causing scalding and damage of other components or pipelines, and playing a certain role in safety protection.

According to the steam generating component 100 of the invention, the pipeline 10 is arranged into a plurality of first pipe sections 11, second pipe sections 12, third pipe sections 13 and fourth pipe sections 14 which are positioned in the same plane and are mutually communicated, the first heating elements 21 and the second heating elements 22 are embedded between the adjacent pipe sections, the pipeline 10 and the heating elements are connected and fixed through the heat conductor 30 and heat conduction is carried out, water in the steam generating component 100 can be effectively heated and evaporated to form high-temperature steam, meanwhile, the thickness dimension of the steam generating component 100 is reduced, so that the space occupancy rate of the steam generating component 100 is reduced, the steam generating component 100 is conveniently and reasonably installed, the requirements of miniaturization and light weight of products are met, and the satisfaction degree of customers is improved.

In other embodiments of the present application, the segments of the pipeline 10 may be arranged in other various ways within the same plane. If the plurality of pipe sections are respectively arranged into U shapes, the openings of two adjacent U-shaped pipe sections are oppositely arranged, and the head ends and the tail ends of the two adjacent U-shaped pipe sections are connected through pipelines, the conduction of the plurality of U-shaped pipe sections in a plane is realized. Set up the heating member between two adjacent U type pipe sections to through a plurality of U type pipe sections of conductor connection and heating member, can reduce the thickness of steam generation subassembly equally, reduce the space occupancy of steam generation subassembly, the installation setting of the steam generation subassembly of being convenient for.

The protection scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and all structures in which the pipeline is arranged in a planar disk-shaped structure, the heating element is arranged in the plane where the pipeline is located, and the heating element and the pipeline are connected through the heat conducting medium should fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Because the steam generation assembly 100 of the present embodiment has a small thickness and a low space occupancy rate, the steam generation assembly can be vertically arranged inside the cooking device along the vertical direction without increasing the overall size of the cooking device, and the installation requirements of other components in the cooking device are not affected, so that the utilization rate of the internal space of the cooking device is improved to the maximum extent.

As further shown in fig. 1, the steam generating module 100 of the present embodiment further includes a first temperature sensor (not shown) and a second temperature sensor (not shown). Correspondingly, the heat conductor 30 is provided with a first bracket 41 and a second bracket 42 for mounting and fixing the first temperature sensor and the second temperature sensor, respectively. The first bracket 41 is disposed between the second tube segment 12 and the third tube segment 13, and the second bracket 42 is disposed at the center of the spiral-structured tube 10, so that the temperature of the middle position of the tube 10 is detected by the first temperature sensor, and the temperature of the steam outlet is effectively detected by the second temperature sensor and fed back to the control unit of the cooking apparatus. The operation states of the first and

second heating members

21 and 22 and the amount of water supplied into the duct 10 are controlled according to the temperature requirement in the cooking chamber, so that the steam outlet of the steam generator 100 reaches a suitable temperature to ensure a cooking effect.

The above description is only for the preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A steam generating assembly, comprising:

2. The steam generating assembly of claim 1, wherein the plurality of tube segments are arranged in a sequential, planar helical configuration.

3. The steam generating assembly of claim 2, wherein the steam outlet is disposed on the innermost tube segment of the helical structure, and the water inlet is disposed on the outermost tube segment of the helical structure.

4. The steam generating assembly of claim 1, wherein the number of the heating elements is plural, and the heating element is provided between any adjacent two of the pipe sections.

5. The steam generating assembly of claim 4, wherein the plurality of heating elements are heat emitting tubes having different power specifications.

6. The steam generating assembly of claim 1, further comprising a steam outlet pipe, wherein the steam outlet pipe is disposed beyond a plane of the conduit and is in communication with the steam outlet.

7. The steam generating assembly of claim 1, wherein the heat conductor covers an exterior of the pipe and the heating element and exposes both ends of the pipe and the heating element.

8. The steam generating assembly of claim 1, further comprising at least one temperature sensor coupled to the thermal conductor and positioned between a center of the conduit and the steam outlet.

9. A cooking device, characterized by having a steam generating assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

10. The cooking device of claim 9, wherein the steam generating assembly is positioned to stand on its side within the cooking device.