JP4901936B2 - Cooker - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooking device that performs cooking using a combination of water vapor and internal heating means.

  In recent years, in addition to cooking based on heating means such as an electric heater or magnetron (high frequency), it has become possible to cook with steam, and by combining these heating means, the repertoire of the cooking menu has been expanded, or food with good finish There is provided a cooking device capable of cooking. The introduction of the heating means with water vapor can be largely classified into two. (1) Since the heat capacity of water vapor is larger than that of dry air based on heater heating or the like, the temperature change is gentle, and it is excellent for making the temperature in the cooking chamber uniform. (2) The heating area for heating the inside of the cooking chamber is wider when steam is used as a heating source than a heating source fixedly provided by a heater or the like.

  In the heater heating means, in particular, a method of circulating hot air to uniformly heat the inside of the cabinet is executed, and a considerable effect is obtained with respect to the fixed heater. However, a portion of the food on the leeward side of the hot air tends to have a portion where the hot air that circulates strongly always strikes, and the inside of the cabinet is a rectangular container-like space, so the circulation flow is uniform to every corner of the cabinet. It may be difficult to reach the food, and there is a risk of uneven heating on the food.

  However, so far, there has been proposed a cooking device that combines steam heating means and, for example, well-known high-frequency heating means (see, for example, Patent Document 1). According to the cooking device described in Patent Document 1, the food is heated by the high-frequency heating means at the beginning of heating, and switched to the steam heating means in the middle of heating. The switching timing is dealt with by detecting the surface temperature of the food with an infrared sensor, and the heating with the steam heating means is dealt with with an internal temperature sensor.

  Conventionally, it has been known that high-frequency heating means can be quickly and efficiently cooked by heating from the inside of food, but on the other hand, the shape of food, cooked food such as fries, and other materials such as vegetables, With respect to the storage form (for example, stored in the entire interior), there is a concern that a uniform heating action is difficult to obtain due to a difference in radio wave absorption characteristics, and so-called heating unevenness is likely to occur. In addition, the internal temperature sensor using a thermistor or the like cannot be used as a temperature detection means when food is intensively heated at high frequencies, while the infrared sensor cannot be used for measuring the internal temperature in the steam heating means. Therefore, the internal temperature sensor and the infrared sensor must be provided side by side, and there is a concern that the configuration and the control means become complicated.

  On the other hand, in place of the high-frequency heating means having the above-mentioned problems, the steam heating means is adopted in a single function, and the generation temperature of water vapor can be variously adjusted according to the type and amount of food, depending on the material. It has been proposed that cooking can be performed (see, for example, Patent Document 2). In this case, various types of cooking can be performed by controlling the temperature from a so-called low temperature steam of about 100 ° C. or less, such as about 60 to 70 ° C., by a superheated steam having a high temperature of about 200 ° C.

JP 2005-106376 A Japanese Patent No. 2792432

  However, the above-described configuration complicates the configuration and control contents such as having a multi-stage control of the temperature of the water vapor generation source, a circulation flow path, and an air discharge / injection mechanism. Moreover, for example, when steam heating is performed at a particularly low temperature from the beginning of cooking, in addition to the slow rise of cooking, introduction of the amount of steam into the chamber is small and the atmosphere in the chamber is less than the saturated steam amount ( There is still room for improvement, such as a disadvantage of high-temperature uniform cooking and quick cooking.

  In order to eliminate the above-mentioned problems, cooking with no heating unevenness is expected under the uniform heating action of the inside of the cooking chamber by means of heating using steam, in contrast to cooking at a low temperature of 100 ° C. or lower. An object is to provide a cooking device capable of cooking.

In order to achieve the above object, the cooking device of the present invention comprises:
A cooking chamber for cooking food,
Water vapor generating means for introducing steam into the cooking chamber;
An internal temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature in the cooking chamber;
A chamber temperature setting means capable of setting the chamber temperature to a set value of 100 ° C. or less;
In accordance with the internal temperature and the internal temperature set value, a control unit for controlling the water vapor generating means,
The control unit controls the water vapor generating means to maintain the internal temperature at a set value of 100 ° C. or less,
The water vapor generating means includes a water supply pump, an evaporation container that heats and vaporizes the water from the water supply pump, and a spout for spouting water vapor toward the center of the cooking chamber,
This water vapor generating means is intermittently controlled by a water supply pump,
When the water vapor is blown out, the temperature characteristic of the central portion of the interior of the outlet gradually increases in a protruding manner, and there is no protruding temperature increase in the vicinity of the portion of the opposite wall surface of the outlet. The opening area is set (Invention of Claim 1).

  According to the above means, in addition to cooking based on the temperature control of steam having a large heat capacity and a wide heating area for cooking at a low temperature of 100 ° C. or lower, each opening area of the outlet from which steam is spouted Has reached the center of the chamber, and is set to a size that can increase the temperature in the center with the amount of heat, so it is possible to obtain optimal thermal energy and is advantageous for spreading water vapor widely in the chamber, Therefore, it is possible to provide a heating cooker that can be appropriately and surely controlled in the interior temperature and can be expected to be cooked with reduced heating unevenness.

The front view of the cooking chamber which shows the main component parts of one Example of this invention roughly Block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the main part FIG. 1 equivalent diagram showing an example of usage pattern FIGS. 4A to 4F are sequence diagrams for explaining a control example at the time of cooking at a low temperature set value. (A) to (c) in FIG. 6 are explanatory diagrams for explaining the characteristics when water vapor is blown out.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, the schematic configuration of the heating cooker will be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a front view showing the configuration of the main part of the heating cooker. Specifically, the outer frame forming the outer shell, the front door FIG. 2 is a front view of a state where a known exterior member such as an operation unit for setting a cooking menu or the like is removed, and shows a rectangular container-shaped cooking chamber 1 whose front surface is mainly opened.

  Therefore, the cooking chamber 1 is provided with an in-chamber heating means for cooking the stored food (not shown). As the inside heating means, the inside heater 2 formed in a square frame shape (or a circular frame shape) made of a sheathed heater, for example, is provided on the back side of the rear wall 1a of the cooking chamber 1. A fan device 3 comprising a motor (not shown) is provided in the frame-shaped inner region of the internal heater 2 and is provided with a fan device (not shown). Normally, when the fan device 3 is driven, the internal heater 2 also generates heat. I am doing so. A large number of through holes 4 are formed in the rear wall 1a at positions facing the internal heater 2 in the central portion of the fan 3a and the peripheral portion thereof. Therefore, a so-called fan casing is formed between the rear wall 1a and the rear plate 5 to which the internal heater 2 and the fan device 3 are attached and fixed.

  Thus, when the fan device 3 is driven and the fan 3a is rotated, the air in the cooking chamber 1 is sucked from the central portion of the through hole 4 and blown out from the peripheral through hole 4 into the chamber. Circulation ventilation is performed and the air in the warehouse is agitated. In this case, in a normal case where the internal heater 2 is energized, the circulating air is heated every time it contacts the heater 2, is blown into the internal chamber as hot air, and is subjected to a stirring action in the internal chamber. As hot air blows on the food together with the temperature rise in the entire area, in this case, oven cooking with hot air can be performed as cooking. However, it goes without saying that if the internal heater 2 is turned off and turned off, only the circulating agitation of the internal air is performed.

  On the other hand, the heating cooker of the present invention includes the steam generating means 6 and enables cooking based on the heating means using steam. For example, in this embodiment, the water vapor generating means 6 is provided with an evaporator unit 7 on the left side wall 1b shown outside the cooking chamber 1. The evaporator unit 7 includes two (first and second) heaters 8a and 8b made of rod-shaped sheathed heaters as evaporation heaters, and a hollow evaporation made of aluminum die casting in which the heaters 8a and 8b are cast. While having the container 9, it is set as the structure which has the spout 10 of the water vapor | steam which protruded inward from the left side wall 1b of the cooking chamber 1 in the inside of this evaporation container 9. As shown in FIG.

  And although not shown in figure, the container thermistor 11 (only FIG. 2 is shown) as a container temperature detection means which detects the temperature in the evaporation container 9 is provided, and stable water vapor | steam can be generated based on the detection of a container temperature. Further, the ejection port 10 is formed at a substantially middle portion of the left side wall 1b and formed in a plurality of (for example, six) openings in a row in the horizontal direction, and ejects water vapor toward the central portion of the chamber. The opening diameter (opening area) is set to such a size that the water vapor can be ejected by the vapor pressure so that the water vapor reaches the central portion in the storage (see the arrow shown in FIG. 3). (Details will be described later).

Further, the water vapor generating means 6 is configured to include a water supply pump 13 and a water storage tank 14 connected to the evaporator unit 7 by a water supply pipe 12.
Among these, although the detailed structure is abbreviate | omitted among them, the water storage tank 14 is the structure which is located in the outer bottom part of the cooking chamber 1 and can be attached or detached from the front outside, and a user can supply water easily at any time. Thus, when the feed pump 13 is driven, the water sent from the water storage tank 14 reaches the inside of the evaporation container 9 heated to a predetermined temperature and is instantly vaporized. The water vapor generating means 6 that is ejected and can be introduced into the cabinet is configured.

  In addition, ventilation means are provided in the cooking chamber 1. That is, an intake port 15 made up of a large number of small holes is formed near the front side of the left side wall 1b. On the other hand, a large number of small holes are positioned at the corner of the upper portion of the rear wall 1a substantially opposite to the intake port 15. An exhaust port 16 is formed. Each of the suction and exhaust ports 15 and 16 has the other end communicating with the outside and, for example, an intake fan device (not shown) for actively taking outside air is provided on the intake port 15 side. Thus, the intake means is configured together with the intake port 15, and the internal air is discharged from the exhaust port 16 by driving the fan device, so that the ventilation action can be positively performed. Furthermore, an in-house thermistor 17 that functions as an in-chamber temperature detecting means is disposed in the upper front part of the right side wall 1c so that the cooking temperature as the in-chamber temperature can be detected.

  FIG. 3 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing an example of the form of use. For example, FIG. 3 shows a state in which the pudding P is accommodated in the cooking chamber for cooking. It is mounted on a ceramic mounting table 18 made of ceramic, and the mounting table 18 is attachable to and detachable from each step portion 19 formed to project symmetrically on the left and right side walls 1b and 1c of the cooking cabinet 1. It is supported.

  Next, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic electrical configuration of a main part of the heating cooker, and particularly shows an electrical configuration related to cooking by steam. Therefore, the control unit 20 that controls the entire cooking operation of the heating cooker includes a memory that mainly stores a control program and the like. The operation unit (not shown) is provided with an internal temperature setting means 21 for setting the internal temperature as a cooking temperature, and an operation signal from the internal temperature setting means 21 is input to the control unit 20, and heating by steam described later is performed. Cooking is performed by controlling the means and the like.

  The internal temperature setting means 21 can be set to a low temperature set value of 100 ° C. or lower as well as a high cooking temperature whose internal temperature set value is 100 ° C. or higher. A predetermined internal temperature is set by selecting and operating, and the internal temperature setting means 21 may function.

In addition, a temperature detection signal from the inside thermistor 17 that detects the temperature inside the cooking chamber 1 and the container thermistor 11 are input to the control unit 20.
On the other hand, first and second heaters 8a and 8b, which are evaporation heaters constituting the evaporator unit 7, and the water supply pump 13 are connected to the output port side. Further, the fan device 3 that circulates and forms hot air, the internal heater 2 and the like are connected, and are controlled by the control unit 20 via a drive circuit (not shown).

  4 (a) to (f) are sequence diagrams for explaining a control example during cooking at a low temperature set value of 100 ° C. or lower, and FIGS. FIG. 4 is an action explanatory diagram showing characteristics at the time, and these will be described with reference to the subsequent action explanation section.

Next, the operation of the cooking device configured as described above will be described.
In the cooking device shown in the present embodiment, as a generally known usage method, a cooking menu of an operation unit (not shown) is selected and operated, and based on this menu setting, the control unit 20 performs cooking controlled to a predetermined temperature programmed in advance. Execute.

  Further, in the cooking menu using the steam heating means of the heating cooker of the present embodiment, for example, “chicken shine” by so-called superheated steam having a cooking temperature of 100 ° C. or higher which is the boiling temperature of water or higher. In addition to cooking such as “baked” and “hamburger”, the inside temperature is set to a low temperature of 100 ° C. or lower, which is lower than the boiling point, for example, “pudding” menu (preferably a temperature range of 78 to 82 ° C.) , “Cooking that can increase vitamin C, such as vegetables” menu (details will be described later, but a temperature range of about 40 to 50 ° C. is suitable) is possible. Here, heating cooking in which the internal temperature is set to a low temperature in order to achieve the object will be described below.

  Prior to the start of cooking, as shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, as a desired food, a placing table 18 on which a plurality of puddings P are placed is stored in the cooking cabinet 1 and an operation unit (not shown). ) To select and set the conditions for cooking with steam. In the present embodiment, the low temperature set value, here, 80 ° C. is set by the setting operation by the internal temperature setting means 21 shown in FIG. 2 (see FIG. 4 (A) described later), and the control unit 20 performs the operation. In response to the input of the signal and the detection result of the internal temperature by the internal thermistor 17, the cooking is controlled and executed based on a preset program.

  Thus, for example, when cooking is started by pressing the start button, in the sequence diagram corresponding to the elapse of time (t) from the start shown in the horizontal axis in FIG. 4, as shown in FIG. As the temperature changes, the temperature is controlled to maintain a predetermined temperature of 80 ° C. as a set value. The specific control mode will be described in detail later in the first step showing the state at the rise and the second step maintained and controlled at the set temperature. It becomes clear.

  First, as shown in FIG. 2B, the interior heater 2 in the interior of the interior is turned on to generate heat, and the fan device 3 is also driven as shown in FIG. As a result, hot air is generated by the fan 3a, blown out from the surrounding through-holes 4 toward the front side of the inside of the cabinet, and sucked from the through-holes 4 in the central portion, and is again heated in contact with the inside heater 2. Hot air circulation is performed so that the air is blown into the chamber, and the air in the chamber is agitated by this circulation so as to obtain a uniform temperature rise as much as possible throughout the chamber. However, although there is an agitation effect by this hot air circulation, the position of the internal heater 2 and the through holes 4 are fixedly provided as described above, so that the high temperature hot air that is a part of the hot air blowing is the same flow. The flow continues to form a path, and a specific part of the pudding P, which is a food, is strongly heated and may cause uneven heating.

  Therefore, the heating action by the hot air circulation by the internal heater 2 is, as is apparent from FIG. 4 (a) and the like, when the internal temperature reaches a predetermined temperature (for example, 80 ° C.) that is a set value. The inner heater 2 is turned off and switched to a heating action by water vapor. Hereinafter, the temperature rise from the start to the time T will be described as a first step. That is, the internal heater 2 shown in FIG. 2B is completely turned off (stopped) when time T is reached, and in this embodiment, proportional control is performed according to the difference between the internal temperature and the set value temperature. As the temperature approaches the predetermined temperature, the input to the in-compartment heater 2 is reduced. As a result, high-temperature hot air circulation is gradually suppressed to suppress heating unevenness, and after reaching a predetermined temperature of 80 ° C. (second step described later), the input to the internal heater 2 is reliably cut off (OFF). And overshooting when substantial cooking by steam is started (corresponding to time T) can be suppressed.

  As another sequence in the so-called first step at the time of rising other than the above, the basic water vapor amount is shown in FIG. This water vapor amount is controlled by ON / OFF control of the water supply pump 13. However, the first and second heaters 8a and 8b of the evaporator unit 7 in the first step shown in FIG. 5 corresponding to this are controlled so as not to exceed the rated power consumption 1500W. That is, in this embodiment, the internal heater 2 shown in the same figure (b) is controlled so as not to exceed 1000 W of power consumption, and 600 W for the first heater 8a shown in the same figure (e). The second heater 8b is ON / OFF controlled by the control unit 20 so as to be controlled to 300 W, and is controlled so as not to exceed the rated power consumption in total.

  However, in this embodiment, as shown in the figure, the second heater 8b (300W) is always maintained in the ON state, the heating operation of the evaporation container 9 that generates water vapor is continued, and the temperature raising operation is continued. The upper limit of the heating temperature of the evaporation container 9 is set to a predetermined temperature of 120 ° C., for example, and is controlled based on temperature detection by the container thermistor 11. Therefore, the amount of water vapor introduced into the warehouse in the first step is executed based on the generation of water vapor according to the temperature rise state of the evaporation container 9, and gradually the amount of water vapor as shown in FIG. As a result, an almost predetermined amount of water vapor is obtained from the middle, and therefore, at the rising time, it is used in combination with hot air circulation in the latter half.

  The setting of the heating temperature 120 ° C. of the evaporation container 9 by the first and second heaters 8a and 8b is lowered to about 100 ° C. when the water vapor is introduced into the chamber. The value is set to a low temperature of 100 ° C. or less, and the inside temperature is suitable for controlling the temperature by the amount of water vapor. Besides, it can sufficiently cope with the heat resistance of the evaporation vessel 9 made of aluminum die casting, and easily This is because it is effective in that it can be manufactured.

  Thus, in the first step at the time of start-up, the internal thermistor 17 is initially turned on mainly for the internal heater 2 until time T when the internal temperature has detected that the internal temperature has reached the predetermined temperature of 80 ° C. Based on this, energization heat is generated, and the internal temperature is quickly raised by hot air circulation accompanying the drive of the fan device 3. On the other hand, as the water vapor generating means 6, the first and second heaters 8 a and 8 b are ON / OFF controlled within a range where the power consumption including the internal heater 2 does not exceed the rated power consumption. A preheating operation is performed in which the steam is gradually ejected into the cabinet, and the preliminary heating action by hot air and steam is performed on the food while the chamber temperature has not yet reached the set value (80 ° C.).

  Then, as shown in FIG. 4 (a), after the time point T when the internal thermistor 17 detects that the internal temperature has reached a predetermined temperature of 80 ° C., which is a set value, steam-based cooking is performed, A second step is performed in which the inside temperature is controlled based on the so-called water vapor amount.

  First, energization of the internal heater 2 is completely turned off (see FIG. 4 (b)), but the circulation fan device 3 is continuously driven (see FIG. 4 (d)), and the air in the internal compartment The circulating stirring action is continuously executed. In this embodiment, the internal heater 2 is turned on a plurality of times (for example, three times) during the process. This is because the hot air heated by the internal heater 2 is temporarily circulated and agitated, and a heating action is given to the atmosphere on the fan 3a side, which is the counter-introduction side of water vapor. It is made to function as an auxiliary heating means which suppresses becoming. Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 4 (f), the electric power input to the first and second heaters 8a and 8b that are vaporized from at least the electric power supply input to the internal heater 2 in the second step. The supply amount is set to be large, and therefore, in the temperature control mainly composed of water vapor, the internal temperature is controlled to maintain a predetermined temperature of 80 ° C.

  Thus, in the second step, instead of the internal heater 2 in the OFF operation, heating control with full power (total 900 W) can be performed by the steam generation means 6 (evaporation vessel 9) (FIG. 4 (e)). reference). That is, the first and second heaters 8a (600W) and 8b (300W) are both energized, and the evaporation container 9 is detected by the container thermistor 11 with a heating temperature of 120 ° C. as a predetermined temperature, and is maintained and controlled in a high temperature state. . Accordingly, if water is supplied to the evaporation container 9 heated to a high temperature, the water vapor is instantaneously generated and water vapor is generated. Therefore, the desired water vapor amount ejected into the warehouse can be controlled by the water supply amount to the evaporation container 9. This can be controlled by the operation control of the feed water pump 13. In this embodiment, the water supply is intermittently controlled in the evaporation container 9 by intermittent operation, so that the water is instantly vaporized and the amount of water vapor introduced into the warehouse is reduced. Control is possible (see FIG. 4C).

  Thus, in this second step, the pudding P is cooked on the basis of the heating means using steam, the heat capacity that is characteristic of the steam is large, and the heating area in the cooking cabinet 1 is larger than that of the fixed heat source. The inside temperature can be heated uniformly by effectively utilizing the wide space. In particular, in the case of a low temperature setting of 100 ° C. or less, the amount of water vapor is reduced and the amount of saturated water vapor in the cabinet is circulated by the fan device 3 even under bad conditions where the humidity does not reach 100%. Combined with the agitation action, the steam reliably spreads throughout the interior and can be heated without any unevenness.

  Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 3 of the present embodiment, even when the pudding P, which is a food product, is accommodated over the entire area (total area) of the rectangular container, the water vapor is also applied to the pudding P located at the corner (corner). The heating action is effectively performed, and in addition, by the circulation of the air in the warehouse by the fan device 3, the water vapor that is blown into the warehouse and diffuses widely is further agitated, and even for a plurality of foods It is possible to perform cooking with good finish without uneven heating.

  In the second step, a suction fan device (not shown), which is a ventilation means, is driven to take in fresh fresh air from the suction and exhaust ports 15 and 16 of the cooking cabinet 1 while discharging a part thereof to the outside. Internal ventilation is performed. In this case, since the introduction of outside air usually tends to lower the internal temperature, it may be appropriately controlled in consideration of the amount of water vapor such as intermittent ventilation, and in the first step, the temperature rises. At this time, it may be controlled such that the vehicle is stopped so as not to hinder the operation.

  Next, the characteristics when water vapor is blown out will be described with reference to FIG. First, the background situation when introducing water vapor into the chamber will be described. Water vapor is generated in the evaporation container 9 located outside the chamber in which the first and second heaters 8a and 8b are embedded, and the vapor pressure is stored in the chamber. It is introduced into the ejection chamber from the ejection port 10 inside. Then, as described above, the water vapor ejected from the ejection port 10 is ejected toward the center of the interior (see the arrow shown in FIG. 3).

  However, the water vapor tends to diffuse as soon as it is ejected from the ejection port 10 into the warehouse. For this reason, if the momentum to eject is weak, it will diffuse immediately, the temperature in the vicinity of the ejection port 10 will rise, and other parts and uneven heating will occur. Moreover, even if it is too strong, it collides with the inner wall surface of the right side wall 1e facing and diffuses, the temperature change is large and heating unevenness is also likely to occur. Therefore, in order to eliminate the heating unevenness, it is necessary to determine the initial speed so that the heat energy reaches the center of the cabinet. Thus, in order for steam to reach the central part vigorously, it is necessary to set by reducing the opening diameter (opening area) of the ejection port 10 in order to obtain a desired vapor pressure.

  Therefore, as a result of measuring and verifying the ejection port 10, the distance to the wall facing the ejection port 10, and the opening area of each ejection port 10 based on the experiment, the influence of the thermal energy of the ejected water vapor is It was possible to obtain an effective opening area to reach the center.

  That is, since the water vapor generating means 6 is configured to vaporize instantly when water is supplied into the evaporation container 9, the water vapor can be ejected vigorously from the ejection port 10 by the vapor pressure. Therefore, it is possible to inject water into the feed pump 13 for supplying water to such an extent that water does not accumulate, and to maintain the heating temperature of the evaporation container 9 at about 120 ° C. as the predetermined temperature so as to evaporate instantaneously. preferable.

  In FIG. 5 (a), the horizontal axis represents the water vapor ejection distance (four locations), and the vertical axis represents the change in temperature as thermal energy measured according to the ejection distance. More specifically, the horizontal axis indicates the distance from the position A on the ejection side to the position D corresponding to the opposing wall surface by dividing it into four equal parts, and therefore the position C indicates the substantially central position in the warehouse. . As can be understood from this figure, it is recognized that the temperature has risen in the vicinity of the position C in the center of the interior, and it is understood that the amount of heat due to water vapor has arrived. And it reaches from the position D far away from this to the position E (opposite wall surface), the temperature rise in the vicinity is hardly recognized, and is almost equal to the inside temperature. Such a tendency can be verified also from FIG.

  First, FIG. 5 (b) shows the result of measuring the change over time in the temperature, which is the thermal energy by the water vapor, at the positions a to e according to the timing at which the water vapor is ejected into the chamber. In addition, the position a is in the vicinity of the ejection port 10 and shows a position far away in the order of the positions b, c, d, and e. From this figure, it can be seen that at the positions a, b, and c, the temperature characteristics are shown in a protruding shape, and the temperature at that position is high, but the temperature shown in the protruding shape gradually decreases with increasing distance. It has become. This is diffused with the distance from the water vapor ejection side, and therefore the thermal energy is also diffused, so that the temperature rise is reduced and almost no temperature rise is observed at positions d and e. In the drawing, since the water vapor ejection timing indicated by the protrusions is short, almost no change over time is observed at each position.

  The above results indicate that the position where the heat energy due to the water vapor directly affects the central portion of the chamber is set at a central portion of the chamber, and the opening diameter of each of the outlets 10 does not directly affect the position farther than this. It was verified that (opening area) was set. That is, the position where the thermal energy of the water vapor ejected by the opening diameter reaches is determined.

  Thus, FIG. 5C shows the final point (the tip of the arrow in the figure) where water vapor reaches at three types of opening diameters D1, D2, and D3 (D1 <D2 <D3). As is clear from the drawing, for example, when the diameter is large, such as the opening diameter D3, the water vapor is blown out before the vapor pressure increases, or is immediately diffused to become water vapor whose strength is weakened. The point becomes shorter. On the other hand, when the opening diameter D1 is small, the vapor pressure is increased, so that the water vapor reaches the opposing wall surface in the warehouse.

  Therefore, by adopting the opening diameter D2, it is possible to set so that the water vapor that has reached the vicinity of the center of the interior is diffused, so that the heat energy by the water vapor is uniformly distributed over a wide area, which is effective in suppressing heating unevenness. I can understand.

  In addition to the above, as a cooking menu with a low temperature setting of 100 ° C. or lower, fermentation cooking with a cooking temperature of about 35 ° C. to 50 ° C. as the set value of the internal temperature, or the aforementioned “increase in vitamin C such as vegetables” The “Cooking” menu can be considered. Cooking with an expected increase in vitamin C means that foods that produce vitamin C in vegetables can be self-generated, such as spinach, when steam heating is performed at 40 ° C to 50 ° C. It is a special cooking mode that promotes biochemical reactions and can increase vitamin C during cooking. In addition, there are many cooking menus in which a considerably low inside temperature is set as a set value, such as cooking for normal use. Therefore, in the usage form in which the amount of water vapor is further reduced, the combined use of the heating means utilizing the characteristics of water vapor and the circulating action of the air in the warehouse has no uneven heating and prevents the food from drying. Good cooking can be performed, and the repertoire of cooking menus can be widely developed.

According to the said Example, there exist the following effects.
In particular, as disclosed in FIG. 4, a first step at the time of so-called rising until the internal temperature reaches the internal temperature set value, and a second step that is subsequently maintained at the internal temperature set value, In the second step, the input to the first and second heaters 8a and 8b constituting the water vapor generating means 6 is based on the amount of power supplied to the internal heater 2 as the internal heating means. The amount of power supplied is set large.

  As a result, in the second step, the input to the stationary internal heater 2 is suppressed, and steam with a large heat capacity is introduced into the storage to control the internal temperature, so that the water vapor diffuses widely into the storage. It can be heated uniformly in the cabinet, there is no uneven heating of the food, and it can be expected to cook with good finish with reduced drying action. In particular, when the internal temperature is set to a low temperature of 100 ° C. or lower, the internal atmosphere becomes a saturated water vapor amount or less (humidity 100% or less), and the atmosphere is likely to cause uneven heating normally. In addition to the large heating area by diffusion and the addition of circulating agitation action to the air in the cabinet with the fan device 3, the thermal energy of the water vapor can be reliably distributed to every corner in the cabinet, Uneven heating can be effectively prevented even when cooking a large number of foods accommodated and arranged in a wide range, such as pudding P (see FIG. 3).

  In the second step, the set value of the internal temperature can be more accurately maintained by controlling the amount of water vapor. This is because the amount of heat generated by water vapor can be evenly distributed in the cabinet as described above, which is much better than a fixed heater heating means, especially for cooking that requires more accurate temperature control, especially in the cabinet. This is effective for cooking at a low temperature setting of 100 ° C. or less where temperature control becomes difficult. Moreover, the amount of water vapor can be controlled by controlling the water vapor generating means 6, that is, can be easily and properly executed by controlling the operation of the water supply pump 13 that supplies water to the evaporation container 9.

  On the other hand, in this embodiment, in the first step at the time of rising, the internal temperature can be quickly raised to a predetermined temperature which is a set value by the internal heater 2 which is the internal heating means, and the rise of the temperature by the water vapor generating means 6 is increased. While being able to cover the slow, the evaporation vessel 9 can be preheated during this time, and the process can be quickly transferred to the second step mainly consisting of temperature control with water vapor, effectively suppressing the food cooking time from becoming longer. Can do.

  Moreover, as disclosed in FIG. 4B, the internal heater 2 as the internal heating means is proportionally controlled according to the difference between the internal temperature and the set value temperature, and approaches the predetermined temperature. Since the input to the internal heater 2 is reduced, the hot air circulation is gradually suppressed as the temperature rises to suppress uneven heating, and the input to the internal heater 2 after reaching a predetermined temperature (80 ° C.). Can be cut off (OFF), and overshooting at the start of substantial cooking (corresponding to time T) can be suppressed.

  Furthermore, as disclosed in FIG. 5, the steam generation means 6 uses steam pressure to eject steam from the ejection port 10 toward the center of the cooking chamber 1. Each opening area of the outlet 10 that affects the momentum in the direction of ejection is set to a size that allows the water vapor to reach the center of the chamber and increase the temperature at the center by the amount of heat, so it is optimal. The thermal energy is obtained, and it is advantageous for spreading water vapor widely in the cabinet, so that appropriate and reliable temperature control in the cabinet is possible and heating unevenness is suppressed.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings. For example, as disclosed in FIG. 4B, in the second step, the control is intermittently input to the internal heater 2 a plurality of times. However, this heating operation is not performed, and the temperature may be simply controlled by steam.

  Moreover, in the 1st process shown to the same figure, although the internal heater 2 was proportionally controlled according to the difference of the internal temperature and the temperature of setting value, in addition to this, internal temperature setting value On the other hand, control means may be provided for restricting the input to the internal heater 2 from being performed when a temperature lower by a predetermined temperature is reached.

  In this case, the input of the internal heater 2 can be more reliably limited, and the internal temperature can be controlled based on the amount of heat of water vapor in the subsequent second step. As the specific control means, in the constant setting for performing the proportional control, the input value to the internal heater 2 at a temperature lower than the internal temperature setting value by a predetermined temperature or more is set to 0 (zero). Good. Of course, it is possible to do without adopting the proportional control. In this case as well, when the temperature reaches a predetermined temperature lower than the set value of the internal temperature, the input to the internal heater 2 is performed. May be controlled to be completely turned off.

  In addition, in the above-described embodiment, a dedicated unit by the internal heater 2 and the fan device 3 is provided and the internal air and hot air are circulated. However, they may be provided separately, or other heating means may be diverted. . In addition, this kind of heating cooker may be configured to include a magnetron as a known high-frequency heating means as a heating means other than those described above, or a grill heater on the inside ceiling wall side. Various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  In the drawings, 1 is a cooking chamber, 2 is an internal heater (internal heating means), 3 is a fan device, 3a is a fan, 5 is a steam supply device, 6 is water vapor generating means, 7 is an evaporator unit, 8a and 8b. Are the first and second heaters (evaporation heaters), 9 is the evaporation container, 10 is the outlet, 11 is the thermistor for the container (container temperature detecting means), 13 is the water supply pump, and 17 is the thermistor for the interior (house). (Internal temperature detection means), 20 is a control unit, and 21 is an internal temperature setting means.

Claims (1)

A cooking chamber for cooking food,
Water vapor generating means for introducing steam into the cooking chamber;
An internal temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature in the cooking chamber;
A chamber temperature setting means capable of setting the chamber temperature to a set value of 100 ° C. or less;
In accordance with the internal temperature and the internal temperature set value, a control unit for controlling the water vapor generating means,
The control unit controls the water vapor generating means to maintain the internal temperature at a set value of 100 ° C. or less,
The water vapor generating means includes a water supply pump, an evaporation container that heats and vaporizes the water from the water supply pump, and a spout for spouting water vapor toward the center of the cooking chamber,
This water vapor generating means is intermittently controlled by a water supply pump,
When the water vapor is blown out, the temperature characteristic of the central portion of the interior of the outlet gradually increases in a protruding manner, and there is no protruding temperature increase in the vicinity of the portion of the opposite wall surface of the outlet. A cooking device characterized by having an opening area.

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