A Cooking Appliance Comprising A Heating Assembly In The Lid

Abstract

A cooking appliance includes a lid and an inner pot forming a cooking space for receiving food material. The lid is arranged over the inner pot and movable between a closed position and an open position and includes a heating assembly including a heating device, a reflective plate and a light-transmission plate located below the reflective plate. The reflective plate and the light-transmission plate define a heating space in which the heating device is arranged. The heating device includes a first heating tube and a second heating tube, each having a semi-enclosed shape with an opening. The first heating tube is surrounded by the second heating tube and the opening of the first heating tube is arranged to face a body portion of the second heating tube without opening. The reflective plate includes a reflection enhancing zone disposed between the first and second heating tubes, the reflection enhancing zone is configured to enhance the reflection of radiation for both the first and second heating tubes.

Claims

1. A cooking appliance having a lid and an inner pot forming a cooking space for receiving food material, the lid being arranged over the inner pot and movable between a closed position and an open position, wherein the lid comprises a heating assembly including a heating device, a reflective plate and a light-transmission plate located below the reflective plate, the reflective plate and the light-transmission plate defining a heating space in which the heating device is arranged, the heating device comprising a first heating tube and a second heating tube, each heating tube presenting a semi-enclosed shape with an opening, the first heating tube being surrounded by the second heating tube and the opening of the first heating tube being arranged to face a body portion of the second heating tube without opening, the reflective plate comprising a reflection enhancing zone disposed between the first heating tube and the second heating tube, the reflection enhancing zone being configured to enhance the reflection of radiation for both the first heating tube and the second heating tube.

2. The cooking appliance according to claim 1, wherein the first and second heating tubes are far-infrared heating tubes.

3. The cooking appliance according to claim 1, wherein the first and second heating tube each presents a C-shape.

4. The cooking appliance according to claim 1, wherein the first and second heating tubes are fixed to the reflective plate, for example via clips.

5. The cooking appliance according to claim 1, wherein the light-transmission plate is sealed with a lower end of the reflective plate by means of a peripheral seal.

6. The cooking appliance according to claim 1, wherein the light-transmission plate is made of glass.

7. The cooking appliance according to claim 1, wherein the light-transmission plate comprises an upper surface facing the heating space and a lower surface facing the cooking space, the light-transmission plate comprising a reflective layer disposed on the upper surface and/or the lower surface.

8. The cooking appliance according to claim 1, wherein the reflection enhancing zone comprises two protrusions extending downwards into the heating space and both disposed between the first heating tube and the second heating tube.

9. The cooking appliance according to claim 8, wherein the first and second heating tube each presents a C-shape, each protrusion presents an arc shape and is disposed opposite each other.

10. The cooking appliance according to claim 1, wherein the reflection enhancing zone comprises a convex surface disposed between the first heating tube and the second heating tube, the convex surface further comprising a plurality of embossments.

11. The cooking appliance according to claim 10, wherein the embossments are evenly distributed on the convex surface.

12. The cooking appliance according to claim 1, wherein the lid comprises a steam channel connecting the cooking space and the outside of the cooking appliance, the reflective plate comprising a mounting hole destinated to receive and position the steam channel, the mounting hole being disposed to pass through the opening of the first heating tube or the second heating tube.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a multicooker according to one embodiment of the invention;

[0024] FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the heating assembly shown in FIG. 1;

[0025] FIG. 3 is a schematic bottom view of the heating assembly of FIG. 1, with the light-transmission plate omitted;

[0026] FIG. 4 is an exploded view in perspective of the heating assembly of FIG. 1;

[0027] FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a heating assembly according to another embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0028] Exemplary embodiments, which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, will be described in detail here. In the description below related to figures, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different figures refer to the same or similar elements. The modes of realization described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all modes of realization in accordance with the invention. Instead, they are merely examples of devices in accordance with some aspects of the invention described in detail in the appended claims.

[0029] The terms used in the application are merely for the purpose of describing specific embodiments, and not intended to be limiting. Singular forms, “one” and “the,” used in the description and the appended claims of the application are also intended to include the plural form, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term “and/or” used herein means and includes any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0030] It should be understood that, although the application may use terms such as “first,” “second,” and “third” to describe various items of information, those items of information are not limited to those terms. Those terms are merely used to distinguish information of the same type. For example, without departing from the scope of the invention, a first item of information can also be referred to as a second item of information. Similarly, a second item of information can also be referred to as a third item of information. Depending on the context, such as terms used therein, “if” can be construed as “when . . . ” or “in the event that . . . ” or “in response to the determination that . . . .”

[0031] FIG. 1 shows a cooking appliance 100 according to one embodiment of the invention. The cooking appliance 100 is for example powered by electricity and can realize divers functions of cooking, such as rice cooking, soymilk making, and especially cake baking or grill. The cooking appliance 100 is thus also called a multicooker. As conventional structure, the cooking appliance 100 comprises a body 30 and a lid 10 which is hinged to the top end of the body 30. An inner pot 20 is movably arranged inside the body 30 and forms a cooking space 22 for receiving food material to be cooked. The lid 10 is movable between a closed position at which it closes the cooking space 22 and an open position at which it leaves the cooking space 22 accessible from exterior. In FIG. 1, the lid 10 is in its closed position. FIG. 1 also shows that the lid 10 comprises a heating assembly 1 and a steam channel 50 which will be described below.

[0032] The heating assembly 1 is more clearly illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 4. Specifically, the heating assembly 1 comprises two heating tubes 11, 12 constituting a heating device. The heating assembly 1 also comprises a reflective plate 13 and a light-transmission plate 14 located below the reflective plate 13. The reflective plate 13 and the light-transmission plate 14 defines a heating space in which the heating device, i.e. the first heating tube 11 and the second heating tube 12, are arranged. The first heating tube 11 and the second heating tube 12 are fixed to the reflective plate 13 via clips 138.

[0033] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the reflective plate 13 comprises a top wall 130 and a lateral wall 132 extending downward from the top wall 130 and comprising a flange 134. The top wall 130 and the lateral wall 132 of the reflective plate 13 respectively constitutes the top wall and lateral wall of the heating space. In this embodiment, the light-transmission plate 14 is substantially a flat piece which is assembled with the flange 134 of the reflective plate 13 by means of a clamp and sealed by a peripheral sealing element (not shown). The light-transmission plate 14 constitutes the bottom wall of the heating space and is in direct contact with the cooking space 22.

[0034] In this embodiment, the heating tubes 11, 12 are both far-infrared heating tubes, each comprising a metallic filament 124 enclosed by a tubular shell 125. The first heating tube 11 is powered by electricity via terminals 114 which extend upward from the plane of the first heating tube 11. It is known that the heating effect at the terminals 114 is not as good as in other parts of the filament. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the first heating tube 11 presents an annular form with an opening 111, thus forming a semi-enclosed general shape. Both terminals 114 are located at the opening 111, which forms a so-called cold end. The first heating tube 11 is surrounded by the second heating tube 12 located in the same plane. The second heating tube 12 presents a same general shape as the first heating tube 11 but with a greater diameter.

[0035] According to the invention, the opening 111 or the cold end of the first heating tube 11 is arranged to face a body portion 122 of the second heating tube 12, which is thus not the opening 122 of the second heating tube 12. At the same time, the opening 121 of the second heating tube 12 is also arranged to face a body portion 112 of the first heating tube 11. In this way, the cold end of each heating tube is radially adjacent to a body portion of the other heating tube, which allows to compensate the reduced heating effect due to the presence of the cold end. Therefore, the overall heating effect is uniformed to a certain extent. In this embodiment, the opening 111 of the first heating tube 11 is arranged opposite the opening 121 of the second heating tube 12. In other words, the two openings 111, 121 are diametrically opposed. However, if need be, the openings can also be arranged with a non-zero angle.

[0036] As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the top wall 130 of reflective plate 13 comprises two protrusions 131 extending downwards into the heating space and both disposed between the first heating tube 11 and the second heating tube 12. From the top or bottom view, each protrusion 131 presents an arc shape which extends along the annular body of the first and second heating tubes. The two protrusions 131 constitute a reflection enhancing zone of the invention, which is configured to enhance the reflection of radiation for both the first heating tube 11 and the second heating tube 12. In fact, as best shown in FIG. 2, the vertical section of the protrusion 131 is defined by a curve with its lowest point located in a middle part of the curve. Since the protrusion 131 is disposed radially between the first heating tube 11 and the second heating tube 12, its curved surface has two portions 136, 137 respectively mainly facing the first and second heating tubes. The portion 136 extends from the general plane of the top wall 130 to the lowest point of the curve, thus oriented to face the first heating tube 11, so as to form a reflecting surface for the first heating tube 11. Similarly, the portion 137 extends from the lowest point of the curve to the general plane of the top wall 130, thus oriented to face the second heating tube 12, so as to form a reflecting surface for the second heating tube 12. Thus, the radiation emitted by heating tubes 11, 12 are better scattered by the protrusions 131. In addition, in actual use of the multicooker 100, it is possible that only one heating tube is powered in certain functions or scenarios. The protrusions 131 in this embodiment are capable of enhancing the reflection of the radiation emitted by each of the heating tubes, which is thus a highly-adaptive arrangement.

[0037] The reflective plate 13 is made of a reflective material, such as stainless steel, preferably processed by mirror finishing. Alternatively, the inner surface of the reflective plate 13 may be coated with a reflective layer, such as a silver paper or aluminum foil. The inner surface includes the inner surface of the top wall 130, of the lateral wall 132 and of the protrusions 131. These embodiments are advantageous because they can improve the reflection of the radiation emitted by the heating tubes, and thus improve the heat efficiency of the heating assembly.

[0038] The light-transmission plate 14 is made of glass, for example glass-ceramic or tempered glass. In a further preferred embodiment not shown in the figures, the upper surface 141 and/or the lower surface 142 of the light-transmission plate 14 is also provided with a reflective layer which is printed or electroplated on one or both surfaces. When the far-infrared light arrives at the light-transmission plate 14, it is blocked or weakened by the reflective layer. The far-infrared light is thus reflected between the reflective plate 13 and the reflective layer of the light-transmission plate 14 so that the entire light-transmission plate 14 is uniformly heated. Therefore, the temperature difference of various parts of the light-transmission plate 14 is reduced, so that the cooling space is evenly heated through the surface of the light-transmission plate 14. The cooking effect is thus improved.

[0039] It can also be seen from FIGS. 1 to 4 that the heating assembly 1 comprises a mounting hole 16, through which a steam channel 50 passes. More specifically, the reflective plate 13 comprises an upper hole 133 and the light-transmission plate 14 comprises a lower hole 143 at a corresponding location. In this embodiment, the mounting hole 16 passes though the opening 121 of the second heating tube 12. Therefore, the steam channel 50 is located at the opening, i.e. the cold end of the second heating tube where the temperature rise is the lowest. This arrangement allows to prevent the overheating of parts inside the heating space and results in an improved safety.

[0040] In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, which is very similar to the embodiment described above, except that the convex surface of the protrusions 131 is further provided with a plurality of embossments 139. The embossments 139 are evenly arranged and form a rough surface for the convex surface which thus provides better scattering effect to the radiation emitted by the heating tubes. However, it is noted that the reflection enhancing zone does not necessarily comprise the two arc-shaped protrusions 131 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 3 but may also be other forms in a top view. The convex surface of the reflection enhancing zone may also differ from the form shown in FIG. 2 as long as it is capable of enhancing the reflection of radiation emitted by both the first and second heating tubes. In particular, the convex surface may comprise two portions respectively facing the first and second heating tubes.

[0041] What have been described above are merely preferred embodiments of the invention, and not for the purpose of limiting the invention. When there is no conflict, the above-described embodiments can be combined with each other. Any modification, equivalent replacement or improvement made within the spirit and principles of the invention falls within the scope of protection of the invention.

[0042] For example, the heating assembly may comprise more than two heating tubes, which may be other than far-infrared type. The reflection enhancing zone may present other shapes, such as plurality of embossments directly formed on the inner surface of the reflective plate. The light-transmission plate may be made of transparent plastic.