COOKING DEVICE

• US 20150201808A1
• Filed: 02/06/2015
• Published: 07/23/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Lifestyle Products & Services Corporation (Midea Group Co., Ltd)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: KATSUKI, RIE, KOBAYASHI, YUKO, AKIBA, TOSHIKATSU, SHIMA, YASUO, ITO, HIDEKI
• Application Number:
  US14/616,025
• Publication Number:
  US 20150201808A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A23N 1/02 combined with disintegrating or cutting
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 43/042 Mechanically-driven liquid shakers
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 43/046 with tools driven from the bottom side
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 43/0766 activated by the proper positioning of the mixing bowl
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 43/0772 activated by the proper positioning of the cover

Abstract

Provide a cooking device capable of processing food with a simple configuration while inhibiting oxidation of food and also inhibiting pressure inside a cooking container from rising excessively.

A cooking device processes food in an accommodation space by a processing tool rotated by a motor while an air in the accommodation space in which the processing tool to process the food is arranged is exhausted and includes a driving device (a closing member) and a check valve. The driving device opens/closes the accommodation space. The check valve allows an outflow of the air out of the accommodation space when the air in the accommodation space closed by the driving device is exhausted and also stops an opposite flow of the air after the air is exhausted.

Claims

1. A cooking device comprising an accommodation space in which a processing tool to process food is arranged and which processes the food in the accommodation space by the processing tool rotated by a motor in a state in which an air in the accommodation space is exhausted by a pressure reducing device,

the cooking device comprising:

a closing member that opens/closes the accommodation space; and

a check valve that allows an outflow of the air out of the accommodation space when the air in the accommodation space closed by the closing member is exhausted by the pressure reducing device and stops an opposite flow of the air after the air being exhausted.

2. The cooking device of claim 1, further comprising:

the pressure reducing device that exhausts the air in the accommodation space through the check valve.

3. The cooking device of claim 2, wherein the pressure reducing device is provided outside a housing in which the motor is contained and

the closing member includes a valve device comprising a valve hole opened/closed by the pressure reducing device and the valve hole can communicatively be connected to the accommodation space.

4. The cooking device of claim 3, wherein the pressure reducing device is a manual vacuum pump.

5. The cooking device of claim 3, wherein the valve device includes a valve housing comprising the valve hole and arranged inside an inlet port of the pressure reducing device and a valve body fixed to the valve housing and the valve body has a valve plate portion that opens/closes the valve hole by being flexibly deformed.

6. The cooking device of claim 2, wherein the pressure reducing device is arranged in a housing in which the motor is contained.

7. The cooking device of claim 1, further comprising:

a release valve maintained in a closed state by pressure in the exhausted accommodation space and opened when an inflow of the air into the accommodation space is allowed.

8. The cooking device of claim 1, further comprising:

a cooking container partitioning the accommodation space and whose top end is open, wherein the closing member is removably connected to an opening edge of the cooking container surrounding an opening of the top end from above.

9. The cooking device of claim 8, wherein the cooking container has a thermal insulating function.

10. The cooking device of claim 8, further comprising:

a control device that drives the pressure reducing device and also drives the motor after the pressure reducing device being driven.

11. The cooking device of claim 10, further comprising:

a driving device on which the cooking container is removably placed and intake piping, wherein

the pressure reducing device, the motor, and the control device are disposed inside the driving device and

the pressure reducing device and the check valve are communicatively connected by the intake piping.

12. The cooking device of claim 10, wherein the driving device is formed of the closing member in which the pressure reducing device is disposed and a driving unit in which the motor and the control device are disposed and on which the cooking container is removably placed, further comprising:

a connection device that electrically connects the pressure reducing device and the control device.

13. The cooking device of claim 10, further comprising:

a cover removably connected to an upper portion of the cooking container and covered with the closing member connected to the cooking container in a connected state to the cooking container, wherein

the cover includes a cover-side check valve that maintains a closed state by reduced pressure inside the cooking container and allows an inflow of the air into the cooking container after being opened by a human release operation and

the cover-side check valve is disposed in a same direction as the direction of the check valve included in the closing member.

14. The cooking device of claim 13, further comprising:

a seal ring mounted on one of the closing member and the cover and sandwiched between the closing member and the cover to communicatively connect the check valve and the cover-side check valve.

15. The cooking device of claim 13, wherein a sealant that is in contact with the cover and an inner circumference or an outer circumference of an opening edge of the cooking container and seals between the opening edge of the cooking container and the cover mounted on the cooking container by being fitted into the opening edge is mounted on one of the cover and the cooking container.

16. The cooking device of claim 3, further comprising:

a cover detection device that detects whether the cover is mounted on the cooking container, wherein when the cover detection device detects the cover, the pressure reducing device is driven by the control device and when the cover detection device does not detect the cover, the pressure reducing device and the motor are driven by the control device.

17. The cooking device of claim 3, wherein the housing in which the motor is contained has a sealed structure, further comprising:

an exhaust device that exhausts the air inside the housing.

18. The cooking device of claim 17, wherein the exhaust device includes a switching valve that switches a first state in which the pressure reducing device and the housing are in a communicatively non-connected state and the pressure reducing device and the check valve are communicatively connected and a second state in which the pressure reducing device and the housing are communicatively connected and the pressure reducing device and the check valve are in the communicatively non-connected state.

19. The cooking device of claim 17, wherein the exhaust device includes an intake pipe that communicatively connects the pressure reducing device and the check valve and a branch pipe branched from the intake pipe and open into the housing and a diameter of the intake pipe and the diameter of the branch pipe are made different such that pressure inside the housing and the pressure inside a cooking container partitioning the accommodation space become equal substantially simultaneously.

20. The cooking device of claim 10, further comprising:

a container detection device that detects the cooking container, wherein when the container detection device does not detect the cooking container, the pressure reducing device is driven by the control device and when the container detection device detects the cooking container, the pressure reducing device and the motor are driven by the control device.

21. The cooking device of claim 13, further comprising:

a storage container whose top end is open and to the opening edge surrounding an opening of whose top end the cover is removably connected from above.

22. The cooking device of claim 21, wherein the storage container has a thermal insulating function.

27. The cooking device of claim 6, further comprising:

a cooking container partitioning the accommodation space and whose top end is open;

a cock mounted on a bottom of the cooking container; and

an air supply valve mounted on the cooking container and opened when cooked liquid food stored inside the cooking container is caused to flow out from the cock to supply the air into the cooking container, wherein

the closing member includes a head comprising a circular seal sliding along an inner circumferential surface of the cooking container and fitted into the cooking container movably in an up and down direction and the closing member is arranged in a form in which an undersurface of the head is in contact with a liquid level of the cooked liquid food inside the cooking container.

28. The cooking device of claim 27, further comprising:

a housing in which the motor, the pressure reducing device, and a control device to control the pressure reducing device and the motor are contained and on which the cooking container is removably placed;

an intake pipe connecting the check valve and the pressure reducing device and freely deformable following movement of the closing member;

a liquid reservoir container mounted inside the intake pipe to store liquid food when the cooked liquid food stored inside the cooking container is circulated through the check valve; and

a liquid detection device that detects whether the cooked liquid food has circulated through the check valve from the cooking container, wherein

when the liquid detection device detects that the liquid food has circulated through the check valve, the control device exercises control to inhibit an operation of the pressure reducing device and when the liquid detection device detects that the liquid food has not circulated through the check valve, the control device exercises the control to allow the operation of the pressure reducing device.

29. The cooking device of claim 27, wherein the cooking container includes a stopper portion that comes into contact with the closing member from below and the stopper portion is provided in a position higher than the processing tool disposed at the bottom of the cooking container.

30. The cooking device of claim 8, further comprising:

a cock mounted on a bottom of the cooking container and an inner cover removable from the cooking container, wherein the inner cover is arranged inside the cooking container in contact with a liquid level like covering a substantially entire liquid level of cooked liquid food stored inside the cooking container and is movable following displacements of the liquid level accompanying an outflow of the liquid food out of the cooking container through the cook.

31. The cooking device of claim 30, wherein the cooking container includes a stopper portion that comes into contact with the inner cover from below and the stopper portion is provided in a position higher than the processing tool disposed at the bottom of the cooking container.

32. The cooking device of claim 8, wherein the closing member includes a member base comprising a vent hole and on whose circumference the check valve is mounted and a bag member attached to a back side of the base and expanded/contracted accompanying an inflow/outflow of an outside air through the vent hole and a quantity of air inside the accommodation space is reduced by expansion of the bag member

33. The cooking device of claim 32, where in a vent portion that forms an airway while the bag member is expanded and in contact with an inner circumferential surface is provided in one of the inner circumferential surface of the cooking container partitioning the accommodation space and the bag member to communicatively connect the check valve and a lower space of the bag member by the airway.

34. The cooking device of claim 32, wherein the bag member includes a hard bottom plate portion whose size is substantially equal to an inside diameter of the accommodation container and a soft expansion/contraction portion extending over a circumference of the bottom plate portion and the back side of the member base and

the cooking container includes a stopper portion that comes into contact with the bottom plate portion from below and the stopper portion is provided in a position higher than the processing tool disposed at a bottom of the cooking container.

35. The cooking device of claim 32, wherein the check valve is opened by being pushed from above to communicatively connect the accommodation space and an outside of the cooking container.

39. The cooking device of claim 6, further comprising:

a cooking container partitioning the accommodation space and whose top end is open;

a cock mounted on a bottom of the cooking container; and

a piston member including a head comprising a vent hole and fitted into the cooking container movably in an up and down direction, a seal in a circular shape attached to a circumferential surface of the head to slide on an inner circumferential surface of the cooking container, and an opening/closing member that opens/closes the vent hole, wherein

the piston member is arranged in a form in which an undersurface of the head is in contact with a liquid level of cooked liquid food stored inside the cooking container.

40. The cooking device of claim 39, wherein the cooking container includes a stopper portion that comes into contact with the closing member from below and the stopper portion is provided in a position higher than the processing tool disposed at the bottom of the cooking container.

41. The cooking device of claim 1, further comprising:

a sealant that seals the accommodation space while the accommodation space is closed by the closing member.

42. The cooking device of claim 6, wherein the pressure reducing device is configured by a plurality of electric vacuum pumps being connected in series.

43. The cooking device of claim 10, wherein the pressure reducing device is intermittently driven by the control device in a period in which the processing tool is rotated by the motor.

44. The cooking device of claim 10, wherein pressure inside the cooking container is higher when food is stored after cooking than when the processing tool is rotated.

45. The cooking device of claim 1, further comprising:

a supporting portion that rotatably supports the processing tool, wherein the processing tool is removable from the supporting portion.

46. The cooking device of claim 10, wherein the motor can rotate in normal and opposite directions and a rotation direction of the motor is controlled by the control device.

47. The cooking device of claim 46, wherein a rotation time of the motor is controlled by adjusting a duty ratio of a voltage applied to the motor by the control device.

48. The cooking device of claim 8, wherein the cooking container includes a rotation axis passing through a bottom of the container and rotated by the motor and the closing member includes an axis supporting portion and

the processing tool includes a connection portion supported by being removably fitted to the rotation axis and to which mechanical power of the rotation axis is given in a fitted state, a tool axis linked to an upper side of the connection portion and whose top end is supported by being removably fitted to the axis supporting portion, and a tool element linked to the tool axis.

23. A cooking device comprising an accommodation space in which a processing tool to process food is arranged and which processes the food in the accommodation space by the processing tool rotated by a motor in a state in which an air in the accommodation space is exhausted by a pressure reducing device,

the cooking device comprising:

a cooking container that partitions the accommodation space and whose one end is open;

a first closing member removably connected to the cooking container by closing the opening and including a tool axis and a vent hole allowing the air inside the cooking container to flow out;

a cover-side check valve mounted on the first closing member to allow the air to flow out from the accommodation space by passing through the vent hole when the air in the accommodation space is exhausted by the pressure reducing device and also to stop an opposite flow of the air after the air is exhausted;

the processing tool linked to the tool axis in the cooking container while the first closing member is connected to the cooking container;

a second closing member removably connected to the cooking container by closing the opening of the one end after being substituted for the first closing member and including a vent hole allowing the air inside the cooking container to flow out;

a cover-side check valve mounted on the second closing member to allow the air to flow out from the accommodation space by passing through the vent hole included in the second closing member when the air in the accommodation space is exhausted by the pressure reducing device and also to stop the opposite flow of the air after the air is exhausted;

a housing arranged on an opposite side of the cooking container with a border formed by the first closing member or the second closing member;

the motor contained in the housing and which rotates the processing tool by being connected to the tool axis while the first closing member is connected to the cooking container; and

a pressure reducing device contained in the housing and which exhausts the air in the accommodation space through the cover-side check valve mounted on the first closing member or the cover-side check valve mounted on the second closing member while the first closing member or the second closing member is connected to the cooking container.

24. The cooking device of claim 23, wherein a liquid reservoir container and a drainage tube allowing a residue in the liquid reservoir container to flow out are contained in the housing, the liquid reservoir container is arranged in an intake pipe communicatively connecting the vent hole included in the first closing member connected to the cooking container or the vent hole included in the second closing member connected to the cooking container and the pressure reducing device, and a bottom of the liquid reservoir container and an outside of the housing are communicatively connected by the drainage tube.

25. The cooking device of claim 24, further comprising:

a liquid level detection device that detects a height of a liquid level of the residue and a control device that controls the pressure reducing device, wherein

when the liquid level detection device detects that the liquid level is equal to a predetermined height or more, the control device exercises control to inhibit an operation of the pressure reducing device and when liquid level detection device detects the liquid level less than the predetermined height, the control device exercises the control to allow the operation of the pressure reducing device.

26. The cooking device of claim 24, further comprising:

a determination device that determines whether the pressure reducing device is positioned above or below the cooking container and a control device that control the pressure reducing device, wherein

when the determination device determines that the pressure reducing device is positioned below the cooking container, the control device exercises control to inhibit an operation of the pressure reducing device.

36. A cooking device that processes food in an accommodation space by a processing tool rotated by a motor while an air in the accommodation space in which the processing tool to process the food is arranged is exhausted,

the cooking device comprising:

a cooking container partitioning the accommodation space, whose top end is open, and on whose bottom wall a rotation axis is mounted by passing therethrough;

a closing member removably connected to the cooking container by closing an opening;

a check valve mounted on the closing member to allow an outflow of the air out of the accommodation space when the air in the accommodation space is exhausted and also to stop an opposite flow of the air after the air is exhausted;

the processing tool rotated by being linked to an upper portion of the rotation axis;

a housing including a housing main portion and a stand projected from a lower portion of the main portion and on which the cooking container is removably placed and in which the housing main portion is arranged side by side in a lateral direction with respect to the cooking container placed on the stand;

a shaft coupling rotatably arranged on the stand and to which the lower portion of the rotation axis is removably connected;

the motor contained in the housing main portion;

a driving mechanism contained by extending over the housing main portion and the stand to transmit rotation of the motor to the shaft coupling;

a pressure reducing device contained in the housing to exhaust the air in the accommodation space through the check valve; and

an intake pipe formed from a freely deformable material and whose one end is connected to the pressure reducing device and whose other end is arranged outside the housing main portion to propagate a negative pressure generated by the pressure reducing device to the accommodation space through the check valve while the cooking container is placed on the stand.

37. The cooking device of claim 36, wherein the housing main portion is formed higher than the cooking container while placed on the stand,

the cooking device, further comprising:

a lifting member guided by the housing main portion;

a lifting mechanism that vertically moves the lifting member; and

a seal ring mounted on one of the lifting member and the closing member and sandwiched between the closing member and the lifting member in a form like surrounding the check valve.

38. A cooking device that processes food in an accommodation space by a processing tool rotated by a motor while an air in the accommodation space in which the processing tool to process the food is arranged is exhausted,

the cooking device comprising:

a cooking container partitioning the accommodation space, whose top end is open, and on whose bottom wall a rotation axis is mounted by passing therethrough;

a closing member removably connected to the cooking container by closing an opening;

a check valve mounted on the closing member to allow an outflow of the air out of the accommodation space when the air in the accommodation space is exhausted and also to stop an opposite flow of the air after the air is exhausted;

the processing tool rotated by being linked to an upper portion of the rotation axis;

a first housing removably placed on the closing member;

a pressure reducing device contained in the first housing and comprising a rotation member that makes a rotational motion and an input axis projected out of the first housing and integrally rotated with the rotation member to exhaust the air in the accommodation space by propagating a negative pressure generated based on the rotational motion of the rotation member while being placed on the closing member to the accommodation space via the check valve; and

a second housing containing the motor, on which a shaft coupling rotated by the motor is mounted and the cooking container is removably placed, and which can removably be placed on the first housing in an upside-down state of a state in which the cooking container is placed, wherein the shaft coupling is removably connected to a lower portion of the rotation axis while the cooking container is placed and removably connected to the input axis in the upside-down state of placement, wherein

one of the processing tool and the rotation member can be selected and rotated by mechanical power of the motor.