Cooking device with a catalyst

Details Cooking device with a catalyst Cooking device with a catalyst

2001-06-13

2001-11-20

Simone, Timothy F. (Department: 1761)

Foods and beverages: apparatus

Cooking

Automatic control

C099S355000, C099S476000, C126S02100R, C219S400000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06318245

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention is directed to a cooking device having a cooking chamber, a blower chamber, an air baffle, a ventilation means or device in the form of an aerator wheel or the like, a heating device and a catalyst means. The air baffle comprises at least one admission and discharge opening for air circulation between the cooling chamber and the blower chamber. Air, including fat vapors, odor particles and/or hydrocarbons, from the cooking chamber and finely atomized by the ventilation device can be conducted from the cooking chamber onto the catalyst means. The catalyst means cleans the air directed onto it while outputting energy, and the cleaned air and/or the energy released in the cleaning in the form of heat can be distributed into the cooking chamber via the ventilation device. The catalyst of the catalyst means is arranged essentially concentrically around the heating device, and the heating device is arranged essentially concentrically around the ventilation device.
DE 41 39 904 A1 discloses a backing or broiling oven with an oven muffle wherein a motor-driven blower wheel is arranged neighboring the back wall. Concentric therewith, a heating element and a catalyst that is transmissive for the air conveyed by the blower wheel, are arranged successively in a flow direction. In order to achieve a high catalytic effect, the catalyst is fashioned in the form of a sponge whose effective surface is coated with a catalytically active coat.
The article, “Hei&bgr;e Platten”, in Elektromarkt No. 3, March 1196, pages 16 through 22, discloses the employment of a catalyst for converting odors and fat vapors that arise when baking and frying into pure, humid air. In contrast to other cleaning systems, neither additional time nor power is thereby required, since the catalyst also generates conversion heat that can also be employed for heating the foodstuff to be cooked.
DE 35 16 847 A1 discloses an electric range with a catalyst wherein an externally heated catalyst is introduced into a fume exhaust opening.
An apparatus for separating solid and/or liquid particles from a gas volume having at least one impact surface disclosed by DE 42 06 846 C2.
DE 198 24 172 discloses a cooking device with an energy store and energy removal system that is connected to a measurement and control system already present in a traditional cooking device, so that, on the one hand, heating capacity can be reduced and, on the other hand, waste heat can be used. An energy store can be charged during cooking pauses, which always arise in a batched mode or are caused due to the cooking execution, and/or in a cooking phase wherein a cooking process requires little or no energy with a potentially additional heater controlled via the measurement and control system. Heat energy is stored in the energy store according to a priority hierarchy for assuring an undisturbed implementation of a cooking process, or by the heat from exhaust air emerging from the cooking chamber or, respectively, excess steam that emerges, and energy is taken from the energy store during high-energy cooking phases wherein the cooking process requires a great deal of energy, more than the heater, which is installed for heating the foodstuffs to be cooked, can deliver.
In particular, EP 0 772 514 B1 discloses self-cleaning cooking surfaces that can be realized by artificial implementation of a microscopic surface structure, as known for the lotus blossom, in hydrophobic polymers which are materials rendered durably hydrophobic.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to improve the cooking device of the species to the effect that the disadvantages of the Prior Art are overcome, particularly that coarse dirt, fat splatters and/or the like can be intercepted and does not or, respectively, do not impinge the heating device, so that the heating device is treated with care.
This object is inventively achieved by an impact surface around which the heating device is arranged essentially concentrically, whereby the heating device is arranged at least partially in the flow shadow of the impact surface.
It can thereby be provided according to the invention that the catalyst is fashioned in the form of a plurality of catalyst elements attached to a catalyst housing.
One embodiment of the invention is characterized by an air delivery conduit via which fresh air can be introduced in a controlled fashion, particularly to stimulate an oxidation of fats, odor particles and/or hydrocarbons.
It is also inventively proposed that the impact surface is arranged in the back third of the cooking chamber which is in the exhaust direction.
It is also inventively provided that the impact surface is fashioned in the form of a separator ring for separating solid and/or liquid particles from a gas volume.
Preferably, the heating device is fashioned in the form of at least one, preferably two, annular heating members.
Further, an energy store system and/or energy removal system with catalyst properties is inventively proposed.
It is also inventively provided that the cooking chamber, the energy store system and/or energy removal system and/or the heating device is or, respectively, are equipped and/or coated with a catalyst, at least in regions.
One development of the invention is that the catalyst comprises a surface with a surface structure in dimensions of up to a maximum of 500 &mgr;m and is self-cleaning.
It can be inventively provided that the catalyst comprises aluminum oxide and/or platinum.
The invention is thus based on the surprising perception that, due to the specific arrangement of the impact surface such that the heating device is at least partially arranged in the flow shadow of the impact surface, this heating device can be protected against wear due to the deposit of dirt, fat and/or the like, since the impact surface intercepts such dirt, fat splatters and/or the like. Moreover, the flow that is, so to speak, precleaned via the impact surface can be designationally directed onto the catalyst for enhancing its efficiency.
Inventively, the catalyst can thereby be utilized in the form of individual, separate catalyst elements and/or, on the other hand, as a partial coating of the cooking chamber and/or of an energy store system and/or energy removal system.
Moreover, the catalyst itself can be inventively fashioned such that the surface structure thereof repels dirt.
Additional features and advantages of the invention derive from the following description, wherein an exemplary embodiment of the invention is described in detail on the basis of schematic drawings.


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