CA2939533A1

CA2939533A1 - Heating cooker

Info

Publication number: CA2939533A1
Application number: CA2939533A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Hiroki Kitayama; Junichi Takeuchi; Yasuhiko Kamii
Original assignee: Sharp Corp
Current assignee: Sharp Corp
Priority date: 2014-07-25
Filing date: 2015-07-14
Publication date: 2016-01-28
Anticipated expiration: 2035-07-14
Also published as: JP6431716B2; WO2016013453A1; JP2016031156A; US20170059171A1; CA2939533C

Abstract

This heating cooker is provided with: a main casing; a heating chamber that is disposed inside the main casing and serves to heat an object to be heated; a door (3) that is disposed on the front surface side of the main casing and opens/closes an opening of the heating chamber; and a dew receiving container (6) that is detachably attached to the bottom side and front surface side of the main casing. The main casing has: a front plate (60) that is provided around the opening of the heating chamber; a housing portion (80) that is provided on the bottom side of the front plate (60) across approximately the entirety of the left/right direction, and is recessed further to the rear surface side than the bottom-side front surface of the front plate (60) so as to house a portion of the rear surface side of the dew receiving container (6); and a drop restricting portion (61) that is provided at a bottom end of the front plate (60) and restricts transmission to the housing portion (80) side of water droplets that run down along the surface of the front plate (60).

Description

DESCRIPTION
TITLE OF INVENTION
Heating Cooker TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a heating cooker.
BACKGROUND ART

[0002] There has been a conventional heating cooker in which water droplets having flowed down from an opening of a heating chamber along a front plate are received by a dew receiving container provided under a door (see JP 2009-236338 A (PTL 1), for instance).

[0003] In the heating cooker, a housing part in which a portion on a rear face side of the dew receiving container is to be housed is provided on an under front-face side of a main casing.
CITATION LIST
Patent Literature

[0004] PTL1: JP 2009-236338 A
SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Technical Problem

[0005] The heating cooker, however, has a problem in that the water droplets having flowed down alora4 a surface of the front plate may leak by traveling to a top face side of the housing part through agency of surface tension or the like without dripping into the dew receiving container.

[0006] An object of the invention is to provide a heating cooker in which water droplets having, flowed down along a surface of a front plate can reliably be received into a dew receiving container.
Solution to Problem

[0007] In order to achieve the object, a heating cooker of the invention comprises:
a main casing, a heating chamber that is provided in the main casing and that is for heating an object to be heated, a door that is provided on a front face side of the main casing and that opens and closes an opening of the heating chamber, and a dew receiving container that is detachably attached onto an under front face side of the main casing, wherein the main casing includes:

a front plate that is provided around the opening of the heating chamber, a housing part that is provided on underside of the front plate so as to extend along a width of the front plate in a left-right direction and that is recessed toward a rear face side relative to a lower-side front face of the front plate so as to house a portion on the rear face side of the dew receiving container, and a drop inhibiting part that is provided on a bottom end of the front plate and that inhibits water droplets, having flowed down along a surface of the front plate, from traveling to a side of the housing part.

[0008] In a heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment, the drop inhibiting part is a plate-like rib that is provided on the underside of the front plate so as to extend along the width of the front plate in the left-right direction.

[0009] In a heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment, the plate-like rib is formed by folding of a bottom end side of the front plate toward the rear face side by 1800 .

[0010] In a heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment, the drop inhibiting part is a rib that is provided on the underside of the front plate so as to extend along the width of the front plate in the left-right direction and that is convex in section with an apex facing downward.

[0011] In a heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment, the rib convex in section is formed by folding of a bottom end side of the front plate toward the rear face side.

[0012] In a heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment, the drop inhibiting part is formed of the underside part of the front plate and the ceiling part of the housing part, wherein the front face of the underside part of the front plate makes an acute angle with the ceiling surface of the housing part.
Advantageous Effects of Invention

[0013] As is evident from above, the invention provides the heating cooker in which the drop inhibiting part that inhibits the water droplets, having flowed down along the surface of the front plate, from traveling to the side of.
the housing part is provided at the bottom end of the front plate provided around the opening of the heating chamber and in which the water droplets having flowed down along = CA 02939533 2016-08-11 the surface of the front plate can reliably be received into the dew receiving container.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0014] Fig. 1 is a schematic front view of a heating cooker in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention in which a door is closed;
Fig. 2 is a schematic front view of the heating cooker in which the door is opened;
Fig. 3 is a schematic representation for illustrating configurations of major parts of the heating cooker;
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a section which is taken along a line IV-IV in Fig. 1, as seen looking from a diagonally upper side;
Fig. 5 is a sectional view as seen looking into the section taken along the line IV-IV in Fig. 1;
Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of an important part in Fig. 5;
Fig. 7 is an enlarged schematic sectional view of an important part including the housing part of a heating cooker in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 8 is an enlarged schematic sectional view of an important part including the housing part of a heating = CA 02939533 2016-08-11 cooker in accordance with a third embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 9 is an enlarged schematic sectional view of an important part including a housing part of a heating cooker in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the invention; and Fig. 10 is an enlarged schematic representation of an important part including a water supply tank of a heating cooker in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0015] Hereinbelow, heating cookers of the invention will be described in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.
(First Embodiment)

[0016] Fig. 1 shows a schematic front view of a heating cooker in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention in which a door is closed and Fig. 2 shows a schematic front view of the heating cooker in which the door is opened.

[0017] As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the heating cooker in accordance with the first embodiment includes a main casing 1 that is shaped like a rectangular parallelepiped, a heating chamber 2 that is provided in the main casing 1 and that has an opening 2a on a front side thereof, a door 3 that opens and closes the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2, and a magnetron (not shown) that supplies microwaves into the heating chamber 2 in which an object 15 to be heated is housed.

[0018] A discharge air duct 5 is provided in a rear part on a top face of the main casing 1. A drip receiving container 6 is detachably attached to a lower part of a front face of the main casing 1. The drip receiving container 6 is placed under the door 3 and is capable of receiving water droplets from a rear face (surface on a side facing the heating chamber 2) of the door 3 and a front plate 60 of the main casing 1. A water supply tank 26 that will be described later is also detachably attached to the lower part of the front face of the main casing 1.

[0019] The door 3 is mounted on the front face side of the main casing 1 so as to be pivotable on a lower side. A
pane of transparent external glass 7 with heat resistance is provided on a front face (surface on a side opposed to the heating chamber 2) of the door 3. The door 3 includes a handle 8 that is placed above the pane of external glass 7 and an operation panel 9 that is provided on right side of the pane of external glass 7.

[0020] The operation panel 9 includes a color liquid crystal display part 10 and a group of buttons 11. The group of buttons 11 include a cancel key 12 that is to be pressed for discontinuing heating or the like and a heating start key 13 that is to be pressed for starting heating.
An infrared receiving part 14 that receives an infrared ray from a smartphone or the like is provided on the operation panel 9.

[0021] The object 15 to be heated is housed in the heating chamber 2. Cooking trays 91, 92 (shown in Fig. 3) made of metal can be put into and taken out of the heating chamber 2. Upper shelf supports 16A and 163 for supporting the cooking tray 91 are provided on inner surfaces of a left side part 2b and a right side part 2c of the heating chamber 2. Lower shelf supports 17A and 173 for supporting the cooking tray 92 are provided on the inner surfaces of the right side part 2c and the left side part 2b of the heating chamber 2 so as to be positioned below the upper shelf supports 16A and 16B.

[0022] Fig. 3 is a schematic representation for illustrating configurations of major parts of the heating cooker. In Fig. 3, the heating chamber 2 as seen looking from a left side is shown. In Fig. 3, the same components as those in Figs. 1 and 2 are provided with the same reference characters as in the drawings.

[0023] The heating cooker includes a circulation duct 18, a circulation fan 19, an upper heater 20, a middle heater 21, a lower heater 22, a circulation damper 23, a tube pump 25, a water supply tank 26, and a steam generating device 100. The upper heater 20, the middle heater 21, and the lower heater 22 are each made of a sheathed heater, for instance. The circulation duct 18 is an example of a duct. The circulation damper 23 is an example of a damper. The tube pump 25 is an example of a pump. The invention is not limited to that with the tube pump and has only to be with a pump in which switching between water supply operation and water drainage operation can be made in accordance with a driving direction.

[0024] A top part 2e of the heating chamber 2 connects with a rear part 2d of the heating chamber 2 through a sloped part 2f sloped with respect to a horizontal direction. A plurality of intake port 27 are provided on the sloped part 2f so as to face the circulation fan 19 (see Fig. 2). A plurality of upper blowoff ports 28 are provided on the top part 2e of the heating chamber 2. A
plurality of first rear blowoff ports 29, a plurality of second rear blowoff ports 30, and a plurality of third rear blowoff ports 31 are provided on the rear part 2d of the heating chamber 2 (see Fig. 2). The first rear blowoff ports 29 are an example of blowoff ports. Only one of the = CA 02939533 2016-08-11 intake ports 27 is shown in Fig. 3. Only one of the first rear blowoff ports 29, only one of the second rear blowoff ports 30, and only one of the third rear blowoff ports 31 are shown in Fig. 3.

[0025] The circulation duct 18 communicates with inside of the heating chamber 2 through the intake ports 27, the upper blowoff ports 28, and the first through third rear blowoff ports 29 through 31. The circulation duct 18 is provided so as to extend from the top to the rear of the heating chamber 2 and extends so as to form a shape like an inverted letter L. A width of the circulation duct 18 in a left-right 'direction is set smaller than a width of the heating chamber 2 in the left-right direction.

[0026]
The circulation fan 19, which is a centrifugal fan, is driven by a circulation fan motor 56. When the circulation fan motor 56 drives the circulation fan 19, air, saturated steam, and the like (hereinafter referred to as "air and the like") in the heating chamber 2 is sucked through the intake ports 27 into the circulation duct 56 and is made to flow radially outward from the circulation fan 19. Above the circulation fan 19, more specifically, the air and the like flow diagonally upward from the circulation fan 19 and thereafter flow frontward from a rear side. Below the circulation fan 19, by contrast, the air and the like flow diagonally downward from the = CA 02939533 2016-08-11 circulation fan 19 and thereafter flow downward from an upper side. The air and the like are an example of heat medium.

[0027]
The upper heater 20 is placed in the circulation duct 18 and faces the top part 2e of the heating chamber 2.
The upper heater 20 heats the air and the like flowing toward the upper blowoff ports 28.

[0028]
The middle heater 21, shaped annularly, surrounds the circulation fan 19. The middle heater 21 heats the air and the like flowing from the circulation fan 19 toward the upper heater 20 and heats the air and the like flowing from the circulation fan 19 toward the lower heater 22.

[0029]
The lower heater 22 is placed in the circulation duct 18 and faces the rear part 2d of the heating chamber 2. The lower heater 22 heats the air and the like flowing toward the second and third rear blowoff ports 30 and 31.

[0030]
The circulation damper 23 is pivotably provided in the circulation duct 18 and between the middle heater 21 and the lower heater 22.
Pivoting of the circulation damper 23 is caused by a circulation damper motor (not shown).

[0031]
The steam generating device 100 includes a steam generating container 101 that has an upper side opening and that is made of metal, a cover part 102 that covers the upper side opening of the steam generating container 101 and that is made of heat-resistant resin (such as PPS
(polyphenylenesulfide) resin), and a steam generating heater 103 that is made of a sheathed heater cast in a bottom part 101a of the steam generating container 101.
Water from the water supply tank 26 is accumulated on the bottom part 101a of the steam generating container 101 and the steam generating heater 103 as an example of a heat source heats the water through the steam generating container 101. Saturated steam generated by heating by the steam generating heater 103 flows through a steam tube 35 made of resin and through a steam pipe 36 made of metal and is supplied through a plurality of steam supply ports 37 into the heating chamber 2 (see Fig. 2). Only one of the steam supply ports 37 is shown in Fig. 3.

[0032] The saturated steam in the heating chamber 2 is delivered by the circulation fan 19 to the upper heater 20, the middle heater 21, and the lower heater 22 and is heated by the upper heater 20, the middle heater 21, and the lower heater 22. Thus the saturated steam becomes overheated steam having a temperature equal to or higher than 100 C.

[0033] A
water level sensor 105 made of a pair of electrode bars 105a and 105b is attached to the cover part 102. It is determined whether a water level above the bottom part 101a of the steam generating container 101 has reached a predetermined water level or not, based on whether a conduction state between the electrode bars 105a and 105b has been attained or not.

[0034] The tube pump 25 causes a roller (not shown) to squeeze a water supply and drainage tube 40 that is made of silicone rubber or the like and that can elastically be deformed and thereby causes the water in the water supply tank 26 to flow to the steam generating device 100 or causes the water in the steam generating device 100 to flow to the water supply tank 26 in accordance with a driving direction of the roller. The water supply and drainage tube 40 is an example of a water supply path.

[0035] The water supply tank 26 includes a water supply tank body 41 and a communication pipe 42. One end part of the communication pipe 42 is placed in the water supply tank body 41 and the other end part of the communication pipe 42 is placed out of the water supply tank 26. Once the water supply tank 26 is housed in a tank cover 43, the other end part of the communication pipe 42 is connected to the water supply and drainage tube 40 through a tank joint part 44. That is, inside of the water supply tank body 41 communicates with inside of the steam generating device 100 through the Communication pipe 42 and the like.

[0036] A water supply device is composed of the tube pump 25, the water supply tank 26, the water supply and drainage tube 40, the tank cover 43, and the tank joint part 44.

[0037] Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of a section which is taken along a line IV-IV in Fig. 1, as seen looking from a diagonally upper side, and in which the same components as in Figs. 1 through 3 are provided with the same reference characters as in the drawings. In Fig. 4, numeral 90 denotes a bottom tray attached to a bottom part in the heating chamber 2.

[0038] As shown in Fig. 4, a housing part 80 is provided on underside of the front plate 60, provided around the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2, so as to extend along generally a whole width of the front plate 60 in a left-right direction. The housing part 80 is recessed toward a rear face side relative to the lower-side front face of the front plate 60 so as to house a portion on the rear face side of the dew receiving container 6 (see Fig. 5).

[0039] In a state in which the drip receiving container 6 is attached to the underside of the main casing 1 (see Fig. 1) and in which the portion on the rear face side of the dew receiving container 6 is housed in the housing part 80, the water supply tank 26 is housed in the tank cover 43 on the underside of the dew receiving container 6. The communication pipe 42 of the water supply tank 26 is connected to the water supply and drainage tube 40 (shown in Fig. 3) through the tank joint part 44.

[0040] Fig.
5 shows a sectional view as seen looking into the section taken along the line IV-IV in Fig. 1 and Fig. 6 shows an enlarged view of an important part in Fig.
5. In Figs. 5 and 6, the same components as in Fig. 4 are provided with the same reference characters as in the drawing.

[0041] As shown in Fig. 5, a plate-like rib 61 as a drop inhibiting part that inhibits the water droplets, having flowed down along the surface of the front plate 60, from traveling to a side of the housing part 80 is provided at a bottom end of the front plate 60. As shown in Fig. 6, the plate-like rib 61 is formed by folding of the bottom end side of the front plate 60 toward the rear face side by 180 .

[0042] In the heating cooker having above configurations, when the water droplets flow out from the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2 and flow down along the surface of the front plate 60 of the main casing 1, the plate-like rib 61 as the drop inhibiting part that is provided on the underside of the front plate 60 so as to extend along the width of the front plate 60 in the left-right direction inhibits the water droplets from traveling to the side of the housing part 80 through agency of = CA 02939533 2016-08-11 surface tension or the like without dripping. The portion on the rear face side of the dew receiving container 6 is housed in the housing part 80 recessed toward the rear face side relative to the lower-side front face of the front plate 60 and thus the water droplets having flowed out from the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2 drip into the dew receiving container 6 below through agency of the plate-like rib 61. Consequently, the water droplets having flowed down along the surface of the front plate 60 provided around the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2 can reliably be received into the dew receiving container 6.

[0043] Though the plate-like rib 61 as the drop inhibiting part is provided on the underside of the front plate 60 so as to extend along generally the whole width of the front plate 60 in the left-right direction in the first embodiment, the drop inhibiting part may be provided along at least a width in the left-right direction of an area into which the water droplets flow and drop from the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2, the rear face of the door 3, and the like.

[0044] With use as the drop inhibiting part of the plate-like rib 61 that is provided on the underside of the front plate 60 so as to extend along the width of the front plate 60 in the left-right direction, the drop inhibiting part can easily be formed by folding of a plate material.

= CA 02939533 2016-08-11

[0045]
Besides, the plate-like rib 61 as the drop inhibiting part is formed by the folding of the bottom end side of the front plate 60 toward the rear face side by 1800 and thus the drop inhibiting part can easily be formed by the folding of the front plate 60 without use of another member.
(Second Embodiment)

[0046]
Fig. 7 shows an enlarged schematic sectional view of an important part including the housing part 80 of a heating cooker in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention.

[0047]
In the heating cooker in accordance with the second embodiment, as shown in Fig. 7, a rib 161 triangular in section with an apex facing downward is provided on underside of a front plate 160 so as to extend along generally a whole width of the front plate 160 in the left-right direction. The rib 161 triangular in section is an example of the drop inhibiting part. The rib 161 triangular in section inhibits water droplets, having flowed down along a surface of the front plate 160, from traveling to the side of the housing part 80. The water droplets having flowed out from the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2 drip into a recessed part 6a of the dew = CA 02939533 2016-08-11 receiving container 6 below through agency of the rib 161 triangular in section.

[0048]
The rib 161 triangular in section is an example of a rib convex in section.

[0049] In the second embodiment, the drop inhibiting part can easily be formed by use as the drop inhibiting part of the rib 161 triangular in section that is provided on the underside of the front plate 160 so as to extend along the width of the front plate 160 in the left-right direction and by adhesion of the rib 161 triangular in section, formed by resin molding, to the underside of the front plate 160.

[0050]
Though the rib 161 triangular in section is provided as the drop inhibiting part on the underside of the front plate 160 so as to extend along generally the whole width of the front plate 160 in the left-right direction in the second embodiment, the drop inhibiting part may be provided along at least a width in the left-right direction of an area into which the water droplets flow and drop from the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2, the rear face of the door 3, and the like or may be provided along only desired portions of the width in the left-right direction.

[0051]
Though the rib 161 triangular in section is used as the drop inhibiting part in the second embodiment, the = CA 02939533 2016-08-11 drop inhibiting part is not limited thereto and has only to be a rib convex in section of which an apex protrudes downward relative to a top surface 80a of the housing part 80 in an area over the recessed part 6a of the dew receiving container 6.
(Third Embodiment)

[0052] Fig. 8 shows an enlarged schematic sectional view of an important part including the housing part 80 of a heating cooker in accordance with a third embodiment of the invention.

[0053] In the heating cooker in accordance with the third embodiment, as shown in Fig. 8, a rib 261 triangular in section with an apex facing downward is provided on underside of a front plate 260 so as to extend along generally a whole width of the front plate 260 in the left-right direction. The rib 261 triangular in section is an example of the rib convex in section. The rib 261 triangular in section inhibits water droplets, having flowed down along a surface of the front plate 260, from traveling to the side of the housing part 80. The water droplets having flowed out from the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2 drip into the recessed part 6a of the dew receiving container 6 below through agency of the rib 261 triangular in section.

= CA 02939533 2016-08-11

[0054]
In the third embodiment, in which the rib 261 triangular in section as the drop inhibiting part is formed by folding of a bottom end side of the front plate 260 toward the rear face side, the folding can easily be carried out and the drop inhibiting part can more easily be formed.

[0055]
Though the rib 261 triangular in section is provided as the drop inhibiting part on the underside of the front plate 260 so as to extend along generally the whole width of the front plate 260 in the left-right direction in the third embodiment, the drop inhibiting part may be along at least a width in the left-right direction of an area into which the water droplets flow and drop from the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2, the rear face of the door 3, and the like.

[0056]
Though the rib 261 triangular in section is used as the drop inhibiting part in the third embodiment, the drop inhibiting part is not limited thereto and has only to be a rib convex in section of which an apex protrudes downward relative to the top surface 80a of the housing part 80 in the area over the recessed part 6a of the dew receiving container 6.
(Fourth Embodiment) = CA 02939533 2016-08-11

[0057]
Fig. 9 shows an enlarged schematic sectional view of an important part including a housing part 380 of a heating cooker in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the invention.

[0058] In the heating cooker in accordance with the fourth embodiment, as shown in Fig. 9, the drop inhibiting part is formed of an underside part 360a of a front plate 360 and a ceiling part 381 of the housing part 380, on underside of the front plate 360 so as to extend along generally a whole width of the front plate 360 in the left-right direction. In the drop inhibiting part, an angle 0 a lower-side front face of the front plate 360 makes with a ceiling surface of the housing part 380 is made acute.

[0059]
The drop inhibiting part (360a, 381) inhibits water droplets, having flowed down along a surface of the front plate 360, from traveling to a side of the housing part 380. The water droplets having flowed out from the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2 drip into the recessed part 6a of the dew receiving container 6 below.

[0060] In the fourth embodiment, the drop inhibiting part is formed of the underside part 360a of the front plate 360 and the ceiling part 381 of the housing part 380 and thus can easily be formed by folding by folding without use of another member.

= CA 02939533 2016-08-11

[0061] Though the drop inhibiting part (360a, 381) is provided on the underside of the front plate 360 so as to extend along generally the whole width of the front plate 360 in the left-right direction in the fourth embodiment, the drop inhibiting part may be provided along at least a width in the left-right direction of an area into which the water droplets flow and drop from the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2, the rear face of the door 3, and the like.
(Fifth Embodiment)

[0062] Fig. 10 shows an enlarged schematic representation of an important part including a water supply tank of a heating cooker in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the invention. The heating cooker in accordance with the fifth embodiment has the same configurations as the heating cooker in accordance with the first embodiment has, except for the water supply tank and a tank cover, and thus Figs. 1 through 3 will be reused therefor.

[0063] The water supply tank 426 is detachably attached into the tank cover 443 provided on underside of the front face of the main casing 1 (see Fig. 1). The water supply tank 426 includes a water supply tank body 441 that is shaped like a box with an opening on a top side, a lid 450 that covers the opening of the water supply tank body 441, and a communication pipe 442. One end part of the communication pipe 442 is placed in the water supply tank body 441 and the other end part of the communication pipe 442 is placed out of the water supply tank 426 and on the rear face side thereof.

[0064] An opening/closing door 460 is pivotably mounted on the rear face side on the lid 450 of the water supply tank 426. The opening/closing door 460 pivots inward and is biased so as to be closed from inside by spring members not shown.

[0065] A
protruding part 470 with an apex protruding downward is provided on a top face side in the tank cover 443. The apex of the protruding part 470 forms a spherical surface.

[0066] In the heating cooker having above configurations, water is supplied into the water supply tank body 441 and the opening of the water supply tank body 441 is covered with the lid 450. Then the opening/closing door 460 is brought into a closed state and an end of the communication pipe 442 is closed by a valve (not shown).
As a result, the water supply tank 426 is brought into a hermetically closed state. When the water supply tank 426 is inserted through an insertion opening 443a of the tank cover 443, the apex of the protruding part 470 on the top face side in the tank cover 443 pushes down and opens the opening/closing door 460 of the water supply tank 426 and the other end part of the communication pipe 442 is connected to the water supply and drainage tube 40 through the tank joint part 44 (shown in Fig. 3), so that the valve at the end of the communication pipe 442 is opened.

[0067] A conventional heating cooker has a hole open to atmosphere somewhere on a top part of a water supply tank when the water supply tank is supplied with water and is inserted into a tank cover. This configuration is provided in order that supply of the water into a connected water supply path may be allowed by avoidance of hermetic closure of the water supply tank. Accordingly, there has been a problem in that the water may spill from the hole open to atmosphere when the water supply tank is supplied with the water and is carried to the heating cooker. By contrast, the heating cooker in accordance with the fifth embodiment prevents the water from spilling because the water supply tank 426 is in the hermetically closed state when the water supply tank 426 supplied with the water is carried.

[0068] Though the water supply tank 426 is hermetically closed by the opening/closing door 460 when being carried, in the heating cooker in accordance with the fifth embodiment, a hole open to atmosphere that is brought into a hermetically closed state by being pressed by fingers = CA 02939533 2016-08-11 during carriage, for instance, may be provided in place of the opening/closing door, without limitation thereto. In this configuration, it is preferable that the hole open to atmosphere should be provided on a part of the water supply tank that is on top of the lid and that is to be grasped . with a hand and should be closed with a thumb in handling.

[0069] With the heating cookers of the invention, healthy cooking can be performed by use of overheated steam or saturated steam in microwave ovens and the like. In the heating cookers of the invention, for instance, the overheated steam or saturated steam having a temperature of 100 C or higher is supplied onto surfaces of food, the overheated steam or saturated steam deposited onto the surfaces of the food condenses and gives the food a great quantity of latent heat of condensation, and therefore heat can efficiently be transmitted to the food. The condensate water is deposited on the surfaces of the food, and salt content, oil content and the like drip with the condensate water, so that salt content, oil content and the like in the food can be reduced. Furthermore, the heating chamber is filled with the overheated steam or saturated steam so as to be in a low-oxygen state and thus cooking in which oxidation of the food is suppressed can be performed.
Herein, "low-oxygen state" refers to a state in which percentage by volume of oxygen in the heating chamber is 10% or lower (0.5 to 3%, for instance).

[0070] Though the specific embodiments of the invention have been described, the invention is not limited to the first through fourth embodiments and can be embodied with 'modification in various ways within the scope of the invention.

[0071] The invention and the embodiments will be summarized as follows.

[0072] The heating cooker of the invention comprises:
the main casing 1, the heating chamber 2 that is provided in the main casing 1 and that is for heating an object to be heated, the door 3 that is provided on the front face side of the main casing 1 and that opens and closes the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2, and the dew receiving container 6 that is detachably attached onto the under front-face side of the main casing 1, wherein the main casing 1 includes:
the front plate 60, 160, 260, 360 that is provided around the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2, the housing part 80, 380 that is provided on the underside of the front plate 60, 160, 260, 360 so as to extend along the width of the front plate 60, 160, 260, 360 in the left-right direction and that is recessed toward the rear face side relative to the lower-side front face of the front plate 60, 160, 260, 360 so as to house the portion on the rear face side of the dew receiving container 6, and the drop inhibiting part 61, 161, 261, 360a, 381 that is provided on the bottom end of the front plate 60, 160, 260, 360 and that inhibits the water droplets, having flowed down along the surface of the front plate 60, 160, 260, 360, from traveling to the side of the housing part 80, 380.

[0073] In the above configuration, when the water droplets flow out from the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2 and flow down along the surface of the front plate 60, 160, 260, 360 of the main casing 1, the drop inhibiting part 61, 161, 261, 360a, 381 that is provided on the underside of the front plate 60, 160, 260, 360 so as to extend along the width of the front plate in the left-right direction inhibits the water droplets from traveling to the side of the housing part 80, 380. The portion on the rear face side of the dew receiving container 6 is housed in the housing part 80, 380 recessed toward the rear face side relative to the lower-side front face of the front plate 60, 160, 260, 360 and thus the water droplets having flowed out from the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2 drip into the dew receiving container 6 below through agency of the drop inhibiting part 61, 161, 261, 360a, 381.
Consequently, the water droplets having flowed down along the surface of the front plate 60, 160, 260, 360 provided around the opening 2a of the heating chamber 2 can reliably be received into the dew receiving container 6.

[0074] In the heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment, the drop inhibiting part is the plate-like rib 61 that is provided on the underside of the front plate 60 so as to extend along the width of the front plate 60 in the left-right direction.

[0075] In the embodiment with use as the drop inhibiting part of the plate-like rib 61 that is provided on the underside of the front plate 60 so as to extend along the width of the front plate 60 in the left-right direction, the drop inhibiting part can easily be foLmed by the folding or the like of the front plate 60, for instance.

[0076] In the heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment, the plate-like rib 61 is formed by the folding of the bottom end side of the front plate 60 toward the rear face side by 180 .

[0077] In the embodiment, the plate-like rib 61 as the drop inhibiting part is formed by the folding of the bottom end side of the front plate 60 toward the rear face side by 1800 and thus the drop inhibiting part can easily be formed by the folding of the front plate 60 without use of another member.

[0078] In the heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment, the drop inhibiting part is the rib 261 that is provided on the underside of the front plate 260 so as to extend along the width of the front plate 260 in the left-right direction and that is convex in section with the apex facing downward.

[0079] In the embodiment with use as the drop inhibiting part of the rib 261 that is provided on the underside of the front plate 260 so as to extend along the width of the front plate 260 in the left-right direction and that is convex in section with the apex facing downward, the drop inhibiting part can easily be formed by folding of the front plate 260 that forms a triangular section, the adhesion of the rib 261 convex in section formed by resin molding to the underside of the front plate 260, or the like, for instance.

[0080] In the heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment, the rib 261 convex in section is formed by the folding of the bottom end side of the front plate 260 toward the rear face side.

[0081] In the embodiment, in which the rib 261 convex in section as the drop inhibiting part is formed by the folding of the bottom end side of the front plate 260 toward the rear face side, the folding can easily be carried out and the drop inhibiting part can more easily be formed.

[0082] In the heating cooker in accordance with an embodiment, the drop inhibiting part is formed of the underside part 360a of the front plate 360 and the ceiling part 381 of the housing part 380, wherein the front face of the underside part 360a of the front plate 360 makes the acute angle with the ceiling surface of the housing part 380.

[0083] In the embodiment, the drop inhibiting part is formed of the underside part 360a of the front plate 360 and the ceiling part 381 of the housing part 380 and thus can easily be formed by the folding or the like without use of another member.
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

[0084]

=

1 main casing 2 heating chamber 2a opening 3 door 4 magnetron 5 discharge air duct 6 dew receiving container 7 external glass 8 handle 9 operation panel 10 color liquid crystal display part 11 group of buttons 12 cancel key 13 start key 14 infrared receiving part 15 object to be heated 16A, 16B upper shelf support 17A, 175 lower shelf support 18 circulation duct 19 circulation fan 20 upper heater 21 middle heater 22 lower heater 23 circulation damper 25 tube pump 26, 426 water supply tank 27 intake port 28 upper blowoff port 29 first rear blowoff port 30 second rear blowoff port 31 third rear blowoff port 35 steam tube 36 steam pipe 37 steam supply port 40 water supply and drainage tube 41, 441 water supply tank body 42, 442 communication pipe 43, 443 tank cover 44 tank joint part 48 forced discharge air duct 50 supply air port 56 circulation fan motor 60, 160, 260, 360 front plate 61 plate-like rib 70 chamber inside temperature sensor 80, 380 housing part 91, 92 cooking tray 100 steam generating device 101 steam generating container 101a bottom part = CA 02939533 2016-08-11 102 cover part 103 steam generating heater 105 water level sensor 105a, 105b electrode bar 161 rib triangular in section 261 rib triangular in section 360a underside part 381 ceiling part 450 lid 460 opening/closing door 470 protruding part

Claims

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1. A heating cooker comprising:
a main casing (1), a heating chamber (2) that is provided in the main casing (1) and that is for heating an object to be heated, a door (3) that is provided on a front face side of the main casing (1) and that opens and closes an opening (2a) of the heating chamber (2), and a dew receiving container (6) that is detachably attached onto an under front face side of the main casing (1), wherein the main casing (1) includes:
a front plate (60, 160, 260, 360) that is provided around the opening (2a) of the heating chamber (2), a housing part (80, 380) that is provided on underside of the front plate (60, 160, 260, 360) so as to extend along a width of the front plate (60, 160, 260, 360) in a left-right direction and that is recessed toward a rear face side relative to a lower-side front face of the front plate (60, 160, 260, 360) so as to house a portion on the rear face side of the dew receiving container (6), and a drop inhibiting part (61, 161, 261, 360a, 381) that is provided on a bottom end of the front plate (60, 160, 260, 360) and that inhibits water droplets, having flowed down along a surface of the front plate (60, 160, 260, 360), from traveling to a side of the housing part (80, 380).

2. The heating cooker as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the drop inhibiting part is a plate-like rib (61) that is provided on the underside of the front plate (60) so as to extend along the width of the front plate (60) in the left-right direction.

3. The heating cooker as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the plate-like rib (61) is formed by folding of a bottom end side of the front plate (60) toward the rear face side by 180 .

4. The heating cooker as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the drop inhibiting part is a rib (261) that is provided on the underside of the front plate (260) so as to extend along the width of the front plate (260) in the left-right direction and that is convex in section with an apex facing downward.

5. The heating cooker as claimed in Claim 4, wherein the rib (261) convex in section is formed by folding of a bottom end side of the front plate (260) toward the rear face side.