COOKING DEVICE WITH A SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED CATALYST DEVICE, AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING A COOKING DEVICE

Abstract

A cooking device includes a catalyst device having a base unit which is made of electrically conductive material and on which a plurality of catalytically active elements or a catalytically active surface coating is arranged. The base unit has electric connection regions which are at least partly made of a pressed material region of the base unit and/or at least partly have an electrically conductive adhesive. An electric energy unit is connected to the electric connection regions of the base unit and supplies the base unit with electric energy for a self-heating of the catalyst device.

Claims

1-12. (canceled)

13. A cooking device, comprising: a catalyst device having a base unit which is made of electrically conductive material and on which a plurality of catalytically active elements or a catalytically active surface coating is arranged, said base unit having electric connection regions which are at least partly made of a pressed material region of the base unit and/or at least partly have an electrically conductive adhesive; and an electric energy unit connected to the electric connection regions of the base unit and supplying the base unit with electric energy for a self-heating of the catalyst device.

14. The cooking device of claim 13, wherein the base unit is configured from a porous foam body.

15. The cooking device of claim 14, wherein the foam body is pressed into the electric connection regions and has a density which is greater than a density in a remaining region of the base unit.

16. The cooking device of claim 14, wherein the foam body is impregnated with the adhesive in the electric connection regions, with the adhesive being applied at least to a surface of the foam body.

17. The cooking device of claim 13, wherein the electric connection regions have each a solid contact plate made of electrically conductive material.

18. The cooking device of claim 17, wherein the contact plate is welded or soldered onto the base unit.

19. The cooking device of claim 17, wherein the contact plate is welded or soldered onto a foam body of the base unit.

20. The cooking device of claim 13, wherein the base unit is configured from metal.

21. The cooking device of claim 20, wherein the metal is an alloy.

22. The cooking device of claim 20, wherein the metal comprises nickel.

23. The cooking device of claim 13, wherein the catalyst device is configured as a flat cylinder.

24. The cooking device of claim 13, further comprising an exhaust air channel for discharge of an exhaust airflow produced during operation of the cooking device in a cooking chamber from the cooking device, said catalyst device being arranged in the exhaust air channel.

25. A method for producing a cooking device, said method comprising: forming electric connection regions on a base unit of electrically conductive material by at least partly pressing material regions of the base unit and/or by at least partly applying an electrically conductive adhesive to the base unit; arranging a plurality of catalytically active elements or a catalytically active surface coating on the base unit to form a catalyst device; connecting an electric energy unit to the electric connection regions of the base unit; and supplying the base unit with electric energy for a self-heating process of the catalyst device.

Description

[0031] Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described in more detail hereinafter with reference to schematic drawings. In the drawings:

[0032] FIG. 1 shows a schematic vertical sectional view of an exemplary embodiment of a cooking device according to the invention;

[0033] FIG. 2 shows a view of an exemplary embodiment of a catalyst device as installed in the cooking device according to FIG. 1;

[0034] FIG. 3 shows a sectional view through the catalyst unit according to FIG. 2;

[0035] FIG. 4 shows a sectional view corresponding to FIG. 3 with an embodiment of a catalyst device which is different from FIG. 2 and FIG. 3; and

[0036] FIG. 5 shows a view according to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 with a catalyst device which is different again relative thereto.

[0037] Elements which are the same or functionally the same are provided with the same reference numerals in the figures.

[0038] A cooking device 1 which, for example, may be an oven or a microwave cooking device or a steam cooking device is shown in FIG. 1 in a vertical sectional view (the cutting plane is the vertical direction and the depth direction). The cooking device 1 may also have some of these aforementioned functionalities in common and/or may have a pyrolytic function. The cooking device 1 which is thus configured for preparing food has a housing 2 in which a cooking chamber 3 is configured. Food may be introduced and prepared in the cooking chamber 3. The cooking chamber 3 is delimited by walls of a muffle 4 which is supported in the housing 2. On the front face and thus in the depth direction (z-direction) at the front the muffle 4 has a loading opening 5, access to the supporting space and/or cooking chamber 3 being permitted thereby. The cooking device 1 also has a door 6 which is pivotably arranged on the housing 2 and which is provided for closing the cooking chamber 3. In FIG. 1 the closed state is shown relative thereto.

[0039] The cooking device 1 also has an exhaust air channel 7 via which vapor streams, which are produced during operation of the cooking device 1 and which are present in the cooking chamber 3, may be dissipated and/or conducted away from the cooking chamber 3 and also from the cooking device 1. In particular, it is provided that a fan 8 is arranged in the exhaust air channel 7 which may be a component of an air guiding system, said fan being able to suction and transport the vapor stream out of the supporting space and/or the cooking chamber 3. In the exemplary embodiment it is provided that the exhaust air channel 7 on the front face, in particular on a side facing the door 6, has an outlet opening 9, so that an airflow may be blown out via this outlet opening 9 to the front, in particular through a gap 10. The gap 10 is preferably configured between the door 6 and the housing 2, in particular a control panel 11.

[0040] The cooking device 1 also has a catalyst device 12, a catalytic conversion of the vapor stream being able to be carried out thereby. As a result, in particular, it is also achieved that undesired odors may escape from the cooking device 1 and thus effectively a cleaning of this vapor stream is also carried out by the catalyst device 12 so that the airflow, which flows downstream of the catalyst device 12 and flows out of the outlet opening 9 and then out of the cooking device 1, is reduced in terms of odor and/or is neutral in terms of odor relative thereto.

[0041] The cooking device 1 also has an electric energy unit 13 which is separate from the catalyst device 12. The electric energy unit 13 is electrically connected to the catalyst device 12, in particular via cables 14. The catalyst device 12 may be directly heated by the supply of electric energy to the catalyst device 12 by the electric energy unit 13. As may be identified here, the catalyst device 12, in particular, is configured over the entire cross section of the exhaust air channel 7.

[0042] In FIG. 2 an exemplary embodiment of a catalyst device 12 is shown in a schematic plan view. The catalyst device 12 has a base unit 15 which is advantageously formed in this case by a porous foam body made of a metal foam. A plurality of catalytically active elements 16 or a catalytically active surface coating is applied to this base unit 15.

[0043] Moreover, the base unit 15, which is configured cylindrically in this case, has electric connection regions 17 and 18 configured on the edge side. The electric energy unit 13 is electrically connected, in particular via the cables 14, to these electric connection regions 17 and 18. Both the position and the dimensions of the electric connection regions 17 and 18 are to be understood merely by way of example.

[0044] Preferably, it is provided that in the exemplary embodiment shown here the electric connection regions 17 and 18 are made of the same material as the remaining embodiment of the base unit 15. This means that the electric connection regions 17 and 18 are also formed in this case from a porous foam body made of metal. However, in this exemplary embodiment it is provided that these electric connection regions 17 and 18 are pressed so that in this case a pressed material region of the porous foam body is present which in this case has a greater density than in the regions of the base unit 15 outside these electric connection regions 17 and 18.

[0045] In FIG. 3 the catalyst device 12 is shown along the cutting line III-III in FIG. 2. Viewed in the direction of the longitudinal axis A of the catalyst device 12, the dimensions of the electric connection regions 17 and 18 which are formed by the pressed material regions are thinner here than the remaining region of the base unit 15.

[0046] In FIG. 4 a further exemplary embodiment of a catalyst device 12 is shown in a schematic sectional view. In this embodiment in contrast to FIG. 3 it is provided that the electric connection regions 17 and 18 have an axial thickness which corresponds to the thickness of the remaining region of the base unit 15. In this embodiment it is provided that, in principle, the electric connection regions 17 and 18 are also formed by the porous foam body made of metal, which is also configured outside the electric connection regions 17 and 18 in the base unit 15, wherein in this case these material regions are not pressed or are pressed such that they still have a lower density than in the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. Moreover, in this case it is provided that an electrically conductive adhesive 19 is introduced for defining the boundary zones of the electric connection regions 17 and 18 so that in this case the porous foam body is effectively impregnated with this electrically conductive adhesive 19. Thus electric connection regions 17 and 18 are formed thereby. In this exemplary embodiment with the electrically conductive adhesive 19 it may also be provided that the defined electric connection regions 17 and 18 in the axial direction are thinner than the remaining region of the base unit 15, i.e. at least slightly pressed.

[0047] Moreover, in FIG. 5 a further exemplary embodiment of a catalyst device 12 is shown in another schematic view. In this embodiment it is provided that the electric connection regions 17 and 18 are formed by contact plates 20 and 21 which are solid and thus effectively without pores. In particular, optionally the contact plates may even be additionally provided as a supplement to the exemplary embodiments three and four. These contact plates 20, 21 are, in particular, welded to the foam body.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0048] 1 Cooking device [0049] 2 Housing [0050] 3 Cooking chamber [0051] 4 Muffle [0052] 5 Loading opening [0053] 6 Door [0054] 7 Exhaust air channel [0055] 8 Fan [0056] 9 Outlet opening [0057] 10 Gap [0058] 11 Control panel [0059] 12 Catalyst device [0060] 13 Electric energy unit [0061] 14 Cable [0062] 15 Base unit [0063] 16 Catalytically active element [0064] 17 Electric connection region [0065] 18 Electric connection region [0066] 19 Electrically conductive adhesive [0067] 20 Contact plate [0068] 21 Contact plate