CARRYING OUT A CLEANING PROCEDURE FOR A COOKING DEVICE

Abstract

In a method for carrying out a cleaning procedure for a cooking appliance, a first tank of the cooking appliance is filled by a user with water. A first portion of water in the first tank is moved into a buffer store and then moved from the buffer store into a cooking chamber to provide a first treatment agent therein. The first treatment agent remains in the cooking chamber for a first time period. A second portion of water in the first tank is moved into the buffer store and the first treatment agent is moved into the first tank. The second portion of water in the buffer store is into the cooking chamber to provide a second treatment agent in the cooking chamber. The second treatment agent remains in the cooking chamber for a second time period and the second treatment agent is then moved into the first tank.

Claims

1-12. (canceled)

13. A method for carrying out a cleaning procedure for a cooking appliance, said method comprising: filling a first tank of the cooking appliance by a user with water, moving a first portion of water in the first tank into a buffer store of the cooking appliance, moving the first portion of water in the buffer store into a cooking chamber of the cooking appliance to provide a first treatment agent in the cooking chamber, leaving the first treatment agent in the cooking chamber for a first time period, moving a second portion of water in the first tank into the buffer store, moving the first treatment agent into the first tank, moving the second portion of water in the buffer store into the cooking chamber to provide a second treatment agent in the cooking chamber, leaving the second treatment agent in the cooking chamber for a second time period, and moving the second treatment agent into the first tank.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first treatment agent and the second treatment agent neutralize one another.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the second treatment agent is clear water.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the first treatment agent is clear water.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising: filling a second tank of the cooking appliance by the user with water, moving a first portion of water in the second tank into the buffer store of the cooking appliance, moving the first portion of water in the buffer store into the cooking chamber to provide a third treatment agent, leaving the third treatment agent in the cooking chamber for a third time period, moving a second portion of water in the second tank into the buffer store, moving the second treatment agent into the second tank, moving the second portion of water in the buffer store into the cooking chamber to provide a fourth treatment agent, leaving the fourth treatment agent in the cooking chamber for a fourth time period, and moving the fourth treatment agent into the second tank.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the fourth treatment agent is clear water.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the third treatment agent is clear water.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising heating at least one of the first, second, third and fourth treatment agents in the cooking chamber.

21. The method of claim 17, further comprising applying steam of at least one of the first, second, third and fourth treatment agents to the cooking chamber.

22. The method of claim 17, further comprising circulating at least one of the first, second, third and fourth treatment agents.

23. A cooking appliance, comprising: a cooking chamber, a first tank fillable by a user with water, a buffer store receiving water from the first tank, a first pump disposed in a fluid communication between the first tank and the buffer store to convey water from the first tank to the buffer store, a stop valve allowing the water in the buffer store to flow into the cooking chamber to thereby provide a first treatment agent in the cooking chamber for a first time period; and a control valve allowing the first treatment agent to drain into the first tank while water from the first tank is transferred to the buffer store and drained into the cooking chamber to form a second treatment agent in the cooking chamber for a second time period.

24. The cooking appliance of claim 23, constructed in the form of a domestic cooking appliance.

25. The cooking appliance of claim 23, wherein the first and second treatment agents are clear water.

26. The cooking appliance of claim 23, further comprising a second tank fillable by a user with water, said control valve being embodied as a 3/2-way valve for selective fluid communication with the first and second tanks to thereby allow formation of a further treatment agent in the cooking chamber for a predefined time period.

27. The cooking appliance of claim 23, further comprising a heater to heat at least one of the first and second treatment agents in the cooking chamber.

28. The cooking appliance of claim 23, further comprising a second pump to circulate at least one of the first and second treatment agents in a circulating circuit through the cooking chamber.

29. A cooking appliance, comprising: a cooking chamber, and a first tank fillable by a user with water, said cooking appliance being configured to move a first portion of water in the first tank into a buffer store of the cooking appliance, move the first portion of water in the buffer store into a cooking chamber of the cooking appliance to provide a first treatment agent in the cooking chamber, leave the first treatment agent in the cooking chamber for a first time period, move a second portion of water in the first tank into the buffer store, move the first treatment agent into the first tank, move the second portion of water in the buffer store into the cooking chamber to provide a second treatment agent in the cooking chamber, leave the second treatment agent in the cooking chamber for a second time period, and move the second treatment agent into the first tank.

30. The cooking appliance of claim 29, further comprising a second tank fillable by the user with water, said cooking appliance being configured to move a first portion of water in the second tank into the buffer store of the cooking appliance, move the first portion of water in the buffer store into the cooking chamber to provide a third treatment agent, leave the third treatment agent in the cooking chamber for a third time period, move a second portion of water in the second tank into the buffer store, move the second treatment agent into the second tank, move the second portion of water in the buffer store into the cooking chamber to provide a fourth treatment agent, leave the fourth treatment agent in the cooking chamber for a fourth time period, and move the fourth treatment agent into the second tank.

Description

[0052] FIG. 1 shows an inventive cooking appliance; and

[0053] FIGS. 2 to 14 show the cooking appliance at different method steps of a cleaning procedure.

[0054] FIG. 1 shows a domestic cooking appliance 1 with a cooking chamber 2, a first tank 3 that can be removed by a user, a second tank 4 that can be removed by a user and a buffer store 5.

[0055] The cooking chamber 2 can be heated by means of electrically operated heaters 6 and 7, which can be activated and/or deactivated by means of a control facility 8. The heater 6 here corresponds to a bottom heating unit, the heater 7 corresponds to a top heating unit. A circulating air heater may also be present but is not shown.

[0056] A dosing apparatus in the form of a single-use cleaning cartridge K, which has two chambers C1 and C2, can be inserted into the top of the cooking chamber. In an unused state the first chamber C1 is filled with an alkaline cleaning additive B1, while the second chamber C2 is filled with an acidic cleaning additive B2. Dosing openings (not shown) of the chambers C1 and C2 are separated from the cooking chamber 2 by means of respective closing elements, which can melt as a function of temperature, as they are made of wax for example. The closing elements are therefore exposed to the cooking chamber 2. A melting temperature of the closing element of the first chamber C1 here is lower than the melting temperature of the closing element of the second chamber C2. When the dosing openings are open, the additives B1 and B2 respectively are dispensed directly into the cooking chamber 2.

[0057] The first tank 3 is connected to a suction side of a pump 10 by way of a stop valve 9. A pressure side of the pump 10 is connected to the buffer store 5, so that the pump 10 can pump liquid, in particular water, out of the first tank 3 into the buffer store 5.

[0058] The buffer store 5 is connected to the cooking chamber 2 by way of a stop valve 11, so that when the stop valve 11 is open, liquid stored in the buffer store 5 can flow into the cooking chamber 2. In this process liquid can be introduced into the cooking chamber 2 by way of a nozzle 12 or the like arranged for example in the top of the cooking chamber 2.

[0059] A tray-type depression (“evaporator tray”) is formed for example in the center of the base of the cooking chamber 2 and can be heated by the heater 6. Liquid present in the evaporator tray 13 can be evaporated by activating the heater 6. Liquid can be drained from the evaporator tray 13 by way of a 3/2-way valve 14 either (for example in a first switching position) into the first tank 3 or into the second tank 4 or (for example in a second switching position) to a further pump 18. The pressure side of the further pump 18 is connected to the nozzle 12, so that it can suck liquid, in particular water, out of the base of the cooking chamber 2 and pump it back into the top of the cooking chamber 2 under pressure. In this process the nozzle 12 can spray the liquid onto large surfaces of the walls of the cooking chamber 2. The domestic cooking appliance 1 therefore has a circulating circuit, which includes the cooking chamber 2 and the further pump 18 but neither of the two tanks 3 and 4.

[0060] In order to be able to conduct liquid flowing from the cooking chamber 2 specifically into the first tank 3 or the second tank 4 with the 3/2-way valve 14 in its first position, a stop valve 15 or 16 can be present between the 3/2-way valve 14 and the tanks 3 and 4 respectively. When the stop valve 15 or 16 is open, the respective tank 3 or 4 can be filled with liquid from the cooking chamber 2.

[0061] In order to be able to prevent liquid flowing out of the cooking chamber 2 particularly reliably, in one development a further stop valve (not shown) is present between the cooking chamber 2 and the 3/2-way valve 14. In a further development the further stop valve is connected immediately downstream of the 3/2-way valve 14. In yet another development that is advantageous for the same purpose the 3/2-way valve 14 can be switched to block or has a stop position. It can then be referred to as a 3/3-way valve. In these developments in particular a single 3/2-way valve (not shown) can be provided instead of the two stop valves 15 and 16.

[0062] The second tank 4 is connected by way of a stop valve 17 to the suction side of the pump 10, so that liquid, in particular water, can be pumped out of the second tank 4 into the buffer store 5 by means of the pump 10.

[0063] The domestic cooking appliance 1 can be operated in particular as follows:

[0064] A user inserts a full cartridge K into the cooking chamber 2. In a first step corresponding to steps a and j of the method the user has also filled the first tank 3 and the second tank 4 with clear water W, as shown in FIG. 2. The buffer store 5 in contrast is empty. The user now activates a cleaning program so that the domestic cooking appliance 1 carries out the further steps fully automatically. Said user can however also have activated the cleaning program before step a, j for example.

[0065] In a second step b shown in FIG. 3 the control facility 8 now opens the stop valve 9 and activates the pump 10 so that roughly half the clear water W present in the first tank 3 is moved into the buffer store 5 (a flow of the water W being shown by the open arrows).

[0066] In the third step c shown in FIG. 4 the water W present in the buffer store 5 is drained into the cooking chamber 2 by opening the stop valve 11. The cooking chamber 2 is also heated to a cooking chamber temperature at which the closing element of the chamber C1 melts, while the closing element of the chamber C2 does not. This opens the dosing opening of the chamber C1, whereupon the alkaline cleaning additive B1 passes into the cooking chamber 2, where it mixes with the water W released from the buffer store 5 to form a first, alkaline cleaning agent R1, in particular dissolving in the water W for this purpose. This produces the first cleaning agent R1 in the cooking chamber 2. As an alkaline solution the cleaning agent R1 can have a pH value of over 11 for example.

[0067] In a following fourth step d, also shown in FIG. 4, the first cleaning agent R1 is left in the cooking chamber 2 for a first time period, in order to dissolve grease in particular by means of its alkaline effect.

[0068] In order to improve a cleaning effect, the liquid first cleaning agent R1 present in the evaporator tray 13 is evaporated, e.g. by activating the heater 6 accordingly. This allows the entire surface of the cooking chamber 2 to be made wet.

[0069] Generally a cleaning effect is improved if the first cleaning agent R1 is heated, even if it is not evaporated. To this end at least one cooking chamber heater, for example one of the heaters 5 and/or 6, and/or a circulating air heater, can be activated.

[0070] In order to improve the cleaning effect further, liquid cleaning agent R1 is additionally or alternatively circulated, e.g. by activating the further pump 18 accordingly. This allows large surfaces of the cooking chamber 2 to be sprayed by way of the nozzle 12. To this end the 3/2-way valve 14 is in its second switching position.

[0071] In a further step e shown in FIG. 5 the remaining clear water W of the first tank 3 is pumped into the buffer store 5, while the first cleaning agent R1 is still in the cooking chamber 2.

[0072] Then in a step f, as shown in FIG. 6, the cleaning agent R1 is drained out of the cooking chamber 2 into the first tank 3, where appropriate with the heater 6 switched off and the further pump 18 still running. To this end the 3/2-way valve 14 is now in its first switching position, the stop valve 15 is open and the stop valve 16 is closed. The discharge from the cooking chamber is then blocked again.

[0073] FIG. 7 shows a following step g, in which the stop valve 11 is opened to allow the water W present in the buffer store 5 to be drained into the cooking chamber 2. The cooking chamber temperature is now increased to such a degree that the closing element of the chamber C2 melts. This causes the dosing opening of the chamber C2 to open, whereupon the acidic cleaning agent B2 passes into the cooking chamber 2, where it mixes with the water W released from the buffer store 5 to form a second, acidic cleaning agent R2, in particular dissolving in the water W for this purpose. This produces the second cleaning agent R2 in the cooking chamber 2. As an acidic solution the cleaning agent R2 can have a pH value of below 2 for example.

[0074] In a step h, which is also shown in FIG. 7, as in step d the second cleaning agent R2 can be left in the cooking chamber 2 for a second time period, advantageously being circulated and heated.

[0075] FIG. 8 shows a step i, in which the second cleaning agent R2 has now been drained into the first tank 3. The first cleaning agent R1 and the second cleaning agent R2 largely neutralize one another in the first tank 3, for example forming a totally neutral, a slightly acidic or a slightly neutral liquid that a user can handle without risk.

[0076] FIG. 9 shows a step k—like step b—in which by opening the stop valve 17 and activating the pump 10 approx. half the water W present in the second tank 4 is moved into the buffer store 5.

[0077] FIG. 10 shows a state of the domestic cooking appliance 1, in which in a step 1 like step c the water W has been drained out of the buffer store 5. As the cartridge K is already empty, the water W per se is used as a treatment agent, specifically for rinsing, in order to remove residues of the cleaning agents R1 and/or R2 from the cooking chamber 2.

[0078] In a step m the water W is also left in the cooking chamber 2 for a third treatment period, advantageously being circulated and/or heated.

[0079] FIG. 11 shows a step n, in which—like step e—the remaining clear water W of the second tank 4 has been pumped into the buffer store 5, while the water W used for rinsing is still in the cooking chamber 2.

[0080] FIG. 12 shows a step o, in which—like step f—the water W now mixed with residues of the cleaning agent R1 and/or R2 is drained into the second tank 4, where appropriate with the heater 6 switched off and the further pump 18 still running.

[0081] FIG. 13 shows a step p, in which—like step g—the water W present in the buffer store 5 is drained into the cooking chamber 5 by opening the stop valve 11. The water W serves as a fourth treatment agent, for example for a final rinse.

[0082] Then in a step q—like step h for example—the water W is left in the cooking chamber 2 for a second time period, advantageously being circulated and heated.

[0083] FIG. 14 shows a step r, in which the water W is drained out of the cooking chamber 2 into the second tank 4. Both tanks 3 and 4 are therefore now filled again and can be removed for emptying by a user.

[0084] Generally the domestic cooking appliance 1 can lock the tanks 3 and 4 to prevent removal, for example during the cleaning procedure, if a temperature of the content of the tanks 3 and/or 4 is still too high, etc.

[0085] The present invention is of course not limited to the exemplary embodiment shown.

[0086] Generally “one”, etc. can refer to a single item or a number, in particular in the sense of “at least one” or “one or more”, etc., unless this is specifically excluded, for example by the expression “just one”, etc.

[0087] Also a number can refer to just the stated number as well as a standard tolerance range, unless this is specifically excluded.

LIST OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS

[0088] 1 Domestic cooking appliance [0089] 2 Cooking chamber [0090] 3 First tank [0091] 4 Second tank [0092] 5 Buffer store [0093] 6 Heater [0094] 7 Heater [0095] 8 Control facility [0096] 9 Stop valve [0097] 10 Pump [0098] 11 Stop valve [0099] 12 Nozzle [0100] 13 Evaporator tray [0101] 14 3/2-way valve [0102] 15 Stop valve [0103] 16 Stop valve [0104] 17 Stop valve [0105] 18 Further pump [0106] B1 Alkaline cleaning additive [0107] B2 Acidic cleaning additive [0108] C1 Chamber of the single-use cleaning cartridge for the alkaline cleaning additive [0109] C2 Chamber of the single-use cleaning cartridge for the acidic cleaning additive [0110] K Single-use cleaning cartridge [0111] R1 First cleaning agent [0112] R2 Second cleaning agent [0113] W Water