U.S. patent application number 13/266664 was filed with the patent office on 2012-05-10 for cooking appliance.
This patent application is currently assigned to LG ELECTRONICS INC.. Invention is credited to Wan Soo Kim.
Application Number | 20120111312 13/266664 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43050210 |
Filed Date | 2012-05-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120111312 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kim; Wan Soo |
May 10, 2012 |
COOKING APPLIANCE
Abstract
A cooking appliance comprises: a top plate divided into a grill
area and a cooktop area; a cooktop area heating source disposed in
proximity of the cooktop area; a grill area heater disposed
adjacent the grill area; a cooking grill disposed adjacent the
grill area for supporting food to be cooked; and a cooking grill
heater mounted to the grill area for heating the cooking grill
through contact with the cooking grill.
Inventors: |
Kim; Wan Soo; (Seoul,
KR) |
Assignee: |
LG ELECTRONICS INC.
Seoul
KR
|
Family ID: |
43050210 |
Appl. No.: |
13/266664 |
Filed: |
September 9, 2009 |
PCT Filed: |
September 9, 2009 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/KR09/05112 |
371 Date: |
January 18, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
126/214C |
Current CPC
Class: |
F24C 15/10 20130101;
F24C 15/18 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
126/214.C |
International
Class: |
F24C 15/10 20060101
F24C015/10 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
May 4, 2009 |
KR |
10-2009-0039000 |
Claims
1. A cooking appliance comprising: a top plate divided into a grill
area and a cooktop area; a cooktop area heating source disposed in
proximity of the cooktop area; a grill area heater disposed
adjacent the grill area; a cooking grill disposed adjacent the
grill area for supporting food to be cooked; and a cooking grill
heater mounted to the grill area for heating the cooking grill
through contact with the cooking grill.
2. The cooking appliance of claim 1, wherein the cooking grill
comprises grills for supporting food to be cooked and a support for
supporting the grills so as to be spaced a predetermined distance
from the upper surface of the grill area, wherein the cooking grill
heater is in contact with the support.
3. The cooking appliance of claim 2, wherein the cooking grill
heater is positioned to be exposed to the upper surface of the
grill area.
4. The cooking appliance of claim 2, wherein a fixing portion for
fixing the support is formed on the upper surface of the grill
area.
5. The cooking appliance of claim 4, wherein the fixing portion is
depressed on the upper surface of the grill area.
6. The cooking appliance of claim 1, wherein the grill area is
depressed in the top plate.
7. A cooking appliance comprising: a top plate divided into a grill
area and a cooktop area; a cooktop area heating source disposed in
proximity of the cooktop area; a grill area heater disposed
adjacent the grill area; a cooking grill disposed adjacent the
grill area for supporting food to be cooked; and a cooking grill
heater disposed adjacent the grill area and composed of heaters for
transferring heat to the food while supporting the food.
8. The cooking appliance of claim 7, wherein the cooking grill
comprises a plurality of grills for supporting the food, wherein at
least part of the plurality of grills is composed of heaters for
generating heat.
9. The cooking appliance of claim 7, wherein a connector for
supplying electric power to the heaters is formed on the cooking
appliance, and the cooking grill comprises a terminal connected to
the connector.
10. A cooking appliance comprising: a top plate provided with a
cooktop area; a heating source for heating the cooktop area; a
cooking grill disposed to be detachable from the cooktop area for
supporting food; and a cooking grill heater mounted to the grill
area for heating the cooking grill through contact with the cooking
grill.
11. The cooking appliance of claim 10, wherein the cooking grill
comprises grilles for supporting the food and a support for
supporting the grills so as to be spaced a predetermined distance
from the upper surface of the grill area, and the cooking grill
heater is in contact with the support.
12. The cooking appliance of claim 11, wherein the cooking grill
heater is positioned to be exposed to the upper surface of the
cooktop area.
13. The cooking appliance of claim 11, wherein a fixing portion for
fixing the support is formed on the upper surface of the cooktop
area.
14. The cooking appliance of claim 13, wherein the fixing portion
is depressed on the upper surface of the cooktop area.
15. The cooking appliance of claim 10, wherein the cooktop area is
depressed in the top plate, and the cooking grill heater is
disposed to be exposed to a side of the depressed cooktop area.
16. A cooking appliance comprising: a top plate provided with a
cooktop area; a heating source for heating the cooktop area; a
cooking grill disposed to be detachable from the cooktop area for
supporting food; and a cooking grill heater mounted to the grill
area and composed of heaters for transferring heat to the food
while supporting the food.
17. The cooking appliance of claim 16, wherein the cooking grill
comprises a plurality of grills for supporting the food, wherein at
least part of the plurality of grills is composed of heaters for
generating heat.
18. The cooking appliance of claim 16, wherein a connector for
supplying electric power to the heaters is formed on the cooking
appliance, and the cooking grill comprises a terminal connected to
the connector.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a cooking appliance, and
more particularly, to a cooking appliance, which has a cooking
grill heater for heating a cooking grill on which food is
positioned, and creates grill marks on the food.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] In general, a cooking appliance is a device, which has a top
plate provided on the top, and allows a user to put a cooking
container on the upper surface of the top plate to heat food inside
the cooking container by a heating source on the bottom surface of
the top plate.
[0003] On the other hand, food can be directly heated by using a
cooking grill consisting of metal beams instead of a cooking
container, to grill meat or fish. With the use of the cooking
grill, user's aesthetic feeling can be stimulated when the user
sees grill marks in the shape of metal beams of the cooking grill
created on the food.
[0004] However, the cooking grill needs to consist of metal beams
above a predetermined thickness in order to support the food.
Accordingly, there arises the problem that a manipulation such as
preheating using a heating source is required in order to heat the
metal beams above the predetermined thickness. Moreover, it takes a
lot of time for the heat generated from the heating source to be
transferred to the cooking grill and then to the food placed on the
cooking grill.
DISCLOSURE
Technical Problem
[0005] The present invention has been made in an effort to solve
the problems occurring in the prior art, and to provide a cooking
appliance, which includes a top plate divided into a grill area and
a cooktop area, the grill area having a cooking grill and a cooking
grill heater for directly heating the cooking grill.
[0006] Further, the present invention provides a cooking appliance,
which is capable of heating the surface of food while supporting
the food since a cooking grill is composed of heaters.
[0007] The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned
objects, and those skilled in the art can clearly understand other
unmentioned objects of the present invention.
Technical Solution
[0008] To achieve the aforementioned objects, there is provided a
cooking appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of the
present invention, including: a top plate divided into a grill area
and a cooktop area; a cooktop area heating source disposed in
proximity of the cooktop area; a grill area heater disposed
adjacent the grill area; a cooking grill disposed adjacent the
grill area for supporting food to be cooked; and a cooking grill
heater mounted to the grill area for heating the cooking grill
through contact with the cooking grill.
[0009] Furthermore, there is provided a cooking appliance according
to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, including: a
top plate divided into a grill area and a cooktop area; a cooktop
area heating source disposed in proximity of the cooktop area; a
grill area heater disposed adjacent the grill area; a cooking grill
disposed adjacent the grill area for supporting food to be cooked;
and mounted to the grill area disposed adjacent the grill area and
composed of heaters for transferring heat to the food while
supporting the food.
[0010] Furthermore, there is provided a cooking appliance according
to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, including: a
top plate provided with a cooktop area; a heating source for
heating the cooktop area; a cooking grill disposed to be detachable
from the cooktop area for supporting food to be cooked; and a
cooking grill heater mounted to the grill area for heating the
cooking grill through contact with the cooking grill.
[0011] Furthermore, there is provided a cooking appliance according
to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, including: a
top plate provided with a cooktop area; a heating source for
heating the cooktop area; a cooking grill disposed to be detachable
from the cooktop area for supporting food to be cooked; and a
cooking grill heater mounted to the grill area and composed of
heaters for transferring heat to the food while supporting the
food.
[0012] Particulars of other embodiments are included in the
detailed description and drawings.
Advantageous Effects
[0013] The cooking appliance of the present invention has one or
more of the following effects:
[0014] First, it is possible to supply sufficient heat to a cooking
grill and create clear grill marks on food to be cooked positioned
on the cooking grill by having a cooking grill heater for directly
heating the cooking grill.
[0015] Second, there is an advantage that a grill area where the
cooking grill is positioned is formed on a top plate to allow a
user to conveniently cook food by the cooking grill, and a heater
for providing sufficient heat to the food cooked with the cooking
grill can be provided.
[0016] Third, there is another advantage that a cooking grill is
composed of heaters for directly transferring heat to food, thereby
creating grill marks on the surface of the food without having a
cooking grill heater.
[0017] The effects of the present invention are not limited to the
above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned above can
be clearly understood from the definitions in the claims by one
skilled in the art.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0018] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cooking appliance
according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present
invention;
[0019] FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of a grill area
according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present
invention;
[0020] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a cooking appliance
according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present
invention;
[0021] FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of a grill area
according to the second exemplary embodiment;
[0022] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a cooking appliance
according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present
invention;
[0023] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a cooking appliance
according to a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present
invention;
[0024] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a cooking appliance
according to a fifth exemplary embodiment of the present
invention;
[0025] FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view of a cooktop area
according to the fifth exemplary embodiment of the present
invention; and
[0026] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a cooking appliance
according to a sixth exemplary embodiment of the present
invention.
BEST MODE
[0027] Merits, features, and methods for achieving them of the
present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed
description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
[0028] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments
disclosed herein, but may be implemented in various different
forms. These embodiments are provided to make the disclosure of the
present invention complete and fully inform the scope of the
present invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to which
the present invention pertains. The present invention should be
defined by the technical scope of the appended claims. Throughout
the specification, it is noted that the same reference numerals are
used to designate the same constituent elements having the same
function.
[0029] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cooking appliance
according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention,
and FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of a grill area
according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present
invention.
[0030] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the cooking appliance of the
present exemplary embodiment includes a main body 1 and a top plate
10 and 20 positioned on the upper surface of the main body 1.
[0031] The main body 1 can be disposed on an upper side of an oven
or the like and formed integral with the oven or the like, can be
buried in a sink or the like, and can be placed to be movable on
the sink or the like.
[0032] The top plate 10 and 20 is disposed on the upper surface of
the main body so as to form the appearance of the upper surface of
the cooking appliance. The top plate 10 and 20 of the present
exemplary embodiment is divided into a cooktop area 10 and a grill
area 20.
[0033] A cooking container or the like is placed on the upper
surface of the cooktop area 10, and food or the like in the cooking
container is cooked. Thus, a cooktop area heating source 12 for
heating a cooking container or the like is disposed in proximity of
the cooktop area 10. As the cooktop area heating source 12 of the
present exemplary embodiment, various heating sources such as an
electric heater for generating heat by electricity or a burner for
firing a fossil fuel and heating the cooking container can be
used.
[0034] A cooking grill 40 to be described later is disposed on the
upper surface of the grill area 20, and food or the like placed on
the cooking grill is cooked. A grill area heater 22 is disposed
adjacent the grill area 20 to apply heat to the food positioned on
top of the cooking grill 40 and cook the food. Although various
types of heating sources can be used as the grill area heater 22, a
sheath heater is used in the present exemplary embodiment.
[0035] The cooking grill 40 is disposed adjacent the grill area 20.
The food is positioned on the upper surface of the cooking grill
40, and the cooking grill 40 serves to support the food so that the
food is heated by the grill area heater 22. The cooking grill 40 of
the present exemplary embodiment includes grills 42 for supporting
food to be cooked and a support 44 for supporting the grills 42 so
as to be spaced a predetermined distance from the upper surface of
the grill area 20.
[0036] The grills 42 are formed in plural number, spaced apart at a
predetermined distance from each other, to support the food.
Specifically, the grills 42 may be spaced apart at a predetermined
distance, and formed in parallel in a front-to-back direction and a
left-to-right direction. Also, as the heat from the cooking grill
heater 30 to be described later is transferred to the plurality of
grills 42, grill marks having the shape of grills may be created on
the surface of the food positioned on the upper surface of the
grills.
[0037] The support 44 is formed with a predetermined height so as
to support the plurality of grills 42, spaced apart at a
predetermined distance from the upper surface of the grill area 20.
Although the support 44 may be formed in various shapes, the
support 44 in the present exemplary embodiment is formed in the
shape of grills formed to be bent downward from the plurality of
grills 42. As the support transfers heat of the cooking grill
heater 30 to the grills through contact with the cooking grill
heater 30 to be described later, it may be formed of a metal having
high heat conductivity.
[0038] The cooking grill heater 30 is mounted to the grill area 20,
and heats the cooking grill through contact with the cooking grill
40. Specifically, the heat of the cooking grill heater 30 is
transferred to the cooking grill 40 by conduction. Accordingly,
grill marks having the shape of the grills 42 of the cooking grill
40 can appear clearly on the surface of the food positioned on the
cooking grill 40. Also, various heating sources can be used as the
cooking grill heater 30, and a sheath heater is used in the present
exemplary embodiment.
[0039] Specifically, the cooking grill heater 30 of the present
exemplary embodiment is disposed to be exposed to the upper surface
of the grill area 20 of the top plate. Also, the cooking grill
heater 30 is disposed at a position capable of contacting the
support 44 of the cooking grill 40, and transfers heat to the
support 44.
[0040] Although the cooking grill heater 30 may be exposed to the
upper surface of the grill area 20, the cooking grill heater 30 of
the present exemplary embodiment is longitudinally exposed in the
lengthwise direction, corresponding to the length of the support
33. Accordingly, the contact area between the support 44 and the
cooking grill heater 30 can be widened.
[0041] The cooking grill 40 may be coupled integrally to the grill
area 20, or coupled detachably to the grill area 20 so that it can
be used during cooking. Moreover, the grill area 20 may have a
fixing portion for stably fixing the support 44 of the cooking
grill 40. Although the fixing portion may be formed in various
shapes to fix the support 44, the fixing portion of the present
exemplary embodiment is depressed on the upper surface of the grill
area 20. Further, the support 44 causes the cooking grill 40 to be
fixed on the grill area 20 as it is inserted into the fixing
portion 24. In addition, the cooking grill heater 30 is exposed to
the upper surface of the depressed fixing portion 24, and transfers
heat through contact with the support 44.
[0042] Consequently, in the present exemplary embodiment, the food
is cooked as the heat generated from the grill area heater 22 is
transferred by convection to the food positioned on the upper
surface of the cooking grill 40. At the same time, grill marks can
be created on the surface of the food by the heat transferred by
conduction directly to the cooking grill 40 from the cooking grill
heater 30.
[0043] Additionally, the power density and conductive performance
of the heater can be set in order for the cooking grill heater 30
to transfer heat appropriate to create grill marks on the food
positioned on the cooking grill 40. Accordingly, it is possible to
prevent the surface of the food from being burnt due to excessive
heat transferred to the cooking grill 40.
[0044] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a cooking appliance
according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present
invention, and FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of a grill
area according to the second exemplary embodiment.
[0045] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the overall configuration of the
present exemplary embodiment is identical to that of the first
exemplary embodiment, so the description will be made focusing on
the differences.
[0046] The grill area 20' of the present invention is depressed in
the top plate. Also, the cooking grill heater 30' is formed to be
exposed to a side of the depressed grill area 20'. Accordingly, in
the present exemplary embodiment, a side of the support 44 of the
cooking grill 40 comes into contact with the cooking grill heater
30'. Therefore, according to the present exemplary embodiment, the
cooking grill heater 30' is not exposed through the upper surface
of the grill area 20'. Hereinafter, other components are identical
to those of the first exemplary embodiment of the present
invention, so descriptions thereof will be omitted.
[0047] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a cooking appliance
according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present
invention.
[0048] Referring to FIG. 5, the cooking appliance of the present
exemplary embodiment includes no cooking grill heaters 30 and 30'
of the first and second exemplary embodiments. Also, the cooking
grill 40' itself is composed of heaters capable of transferring
heat to food.
[0049] Specifically, the cooking grill 40' of the present exemplary
embodiment includes grills 42' for supporting food to be cooked and
a support 44 for supporting the grills 42 so as to be spaced a
predetermined distance from the upper surface of the grill area 20.
Moreover, at least part of the plurality of grills 42' of the
present exemplary embodiment may be composed of heaters for
generating heat.
[0050] The grills 42' may be entirely composed of heaters for
generating heat. Further, part of the grills 42' may be composed of
heaters for generating heat, and the remaining part of the grills
42' may be composed of metal beams having high heat conductivity.
Accordingly, heat of the grills 42' composed of heaters may be
transferred to the grills 42' composed of metal beams, thereby
creating grill marks on the surface of the food.
[0051] Specifically, the grills 42' composed of heaters may be
composed of sheath heaters. Also, various types of heating elements
disposed inside the grills 42' to transfer heat to the grills may
be disposed to cause the grills 42' themselves to generate
heat.
[0052] Alternatively, the cooking grill 40' of the present
exemplary embodiment may be formed integral with the grill area 20.
In this case, a power supply unit is incorporated in the main body
1 to supply electric power to the heaters of the cooking grill 40',
and the heaters of the cooking grill 40' may be connected to the
power supply unit in various manners.
[0053] Further, the cooking grill 40' may be coupled detachably to
the grill area 20. In this case, a connector 24 for supplying
electric power to the cooking grill 40' is formed at the main body
1 of the cooking appliance. In addition, a terminal 46 may be
formed on the cooking grill 40' to be connected to the connector 26
and supply electricity to the heaters or heating elements of the
cooking grill 40'.
[0054] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a cooking appliance
according to a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present
invention.
[0055] Referring to FIG. 6, unlike the first exemplary embodiment,
the cooking appliance of the present exemplary embodiment includes
no grill area 20. That is, only a cooktop area 10' is formed on the
top plate.
[0056] As shown in the first exemplary embodiment, a cooking
container or the like is placed on the upper surface of the cooktop
area 10', and food or the like in the cooking container is cooked.
A cooktop area heating source 12 for heating a cooking container or
the like is disposed in proximity of the cooktop area 10'. As the
cooktop area heating source 12 of the present exemplary embodiment,
various heating sources such as an electric heater for generating
heat by electricity or a burner for firing a fossil fuel and
heating the cooking container can be used.
[0057] The cooking grill 140 of the present exemplary embodiment is
disposed to be detachable from the cooktop area 10'. Accordingly,
unlike the preceding exemplary embodiments, the grill area 20 and
the grill area heater 22 may not be provided, the cooking grill 140
may be mounted to the grill area 10, and the food positioned on the
cooking grill 140 may be cooked by using the cooktop area heater
12.
[0058] The cooking grill 140 includes grills 142 for supporting
food to be cooked and a support 144 for supporting the grills 142
so as to be spaced a predetermined distance from the upper surface
of the cooktop area 10'.
[0059] The cooking grill heater 130 of the present exemplary
embodiment is mounted to the grill area 10', and heats the cooking
grill through contact with the cooking grill 140. Specifically, the
cooking grill heater 130 transfers heat to the grills 142 through
contact with the support 144 of the cooking grill 140.
[0060] That is, the cooking grill heater 130 of the present
exemplary embodiment is formed on the cooktop area 10', rather than
being mounted to the grill area 20 as in the first exemplary
embodiment, and the overall configuration thereof is identical to
those of the first exemplary embodiment. Specifically, the cooking
grill heater 130 of the present exemplary embodiment may be
positioned to be exposed to the upper surface of the cooktop area
10'. Also, a fixing portion for fixing the support 144 may be
formed on the upper surface of the cooktop area 10'. Moreover, a
fixing portion for fixing the support 144 may be formed on the
upper surface of the cooktop area 10', and the fixing portion may
be depressed on the upper surface of the cooktop area 10' to fix
the support 144. As the cooking grill heater 130 is exposed to the
upper surface of the depressed fixing portion, heat can be
transferred to the support 144. An operation using the components
of the present exemplary embodiment is identical to that of the
first exemplary embodiment, so a description thereof will be
omitted.
[0061] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a cooking appliance
according to a fifth exemplary embodiment of the present invention,
and FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view of a cooktop area
according to the fifth exemplary embodiment of the present
invention.
[0062] Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the overall configuration of the
present exemplary embodiment is identical to that of the second
exemplary embodiment on the whole. In the present exemplary
embodiment, however, the cooktop area 10'' is depressed; while, in
the second exemplary embodiment, the grill area 20' is depressed.
Also, the cooking grill heater 130' is disposed so as to be exposed
on a side of the depressed cooktop area 10''.
[0063] Accordingly, in the present exemplary embodiment, a side of
the support 144 of the cooking grill 140 comes into contact with
the cooking grill heater 130'. Therefore, according to the present
exemplary embodiment, the cooking grill heater 130' is not exposed
through the upper surface of the cooktop area 10''.
[0064] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a cooking appliance
according to a sixth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 9, the cooking grill 240 of the present exemplary
embodiment is composed of heaters capable of enabling the cooking
grill 244 to transfer heat to food, like the cooking grill 40' of
the third exemplary embodiment. Moreover, the overall configuration
of the cooking grill 244 is identical to that of the cooking grill
40' of the third exemplary embodiment, so a description thereof
will be omitted.
[0065] While the cooking grill 40' of the third exemplary
embodiment is disposed to be integral with or detachable from the
grill area 20, the cooking grill 244 of the present exemplary
embodiment is disposed to be only detachable from the cooktop area
10. Accordingly, a connector 1a for supplying electric power to the
cooking grill 244 is formed at the main body 1 of the cooking
appliance. In addition, a terminal 246 may be formed on the cooking
grill 244 to be connected to the connector 1a and supply
electricity to the heaters or heating elements of the cooking grill
244.
[0066] As described above, those skilled in the art to which the
present invention pertains will appreciate that the present
invention may be implemented in some other concrete forms without
departing from the technical spirit or essential characteristics
thereof. Accordingly, it should be understood that the
above-described embodiments are illustrative but not restrictive.
The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended
claims rather than the detailed description, and it should be
appreciated that the modifications that may be derived from the
claims and the equivalents thereof are all included in the scope of
the present invention.
* * * * *