Pressure cooker with vapor compression cooling system
AssigneeMidea Group Co., Ltd.
InventorsEric L. Scalf, Brian M. Langness
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pressure cooker utilizes a vapor compression cooling system that is physically separate from the heating element that heats the bottom of a crock and includes a cooling coil that circumscribes the side wall(s) of the crock to cool the crock through the circulation of a fluid through the cooling coil. Such a vapor compression cooling system may be used to provide various functions in a pressure cooker, including, for example, refrigerating food during a delay portion of a delay pressure cooking operation, accelerating depressurization during a depressurization portion of a pressure cooking operation, and performing a cooler operation to chill liquids, beverages, and the like.
Claims19
A pressure cooker, comprising:
- a housing including an outer chamber;
- a crock supported within the outer chamber of the housing, the crock including at least one side wall and a bottom wall defining a cooking chamber;
- a lid removably secured to the housing and configured to seal the cooking chamber;
- a heating element coupled to the housing and positioned opposite the bottom wall of the crock to heat the cooking chamber;
- a vapor compression cooling system coupled to the housing and including a cooling coil circumscribing the at least one side wall of the crock to cool the at least one side wall of the crock by circulating fluid through the cooling coil;
- and
- a controller coupled to the heating element and the vapor compression cooling system;
- wherein the controller is configured to selectively activate the heating element and the vapor compression cooling system during a pressure cooking operation;
- and
- wherein the controller is configured to activate the vapor compression cooling system during a depressurization portion of the pressure cooking operation to accelerate depressurization of the crock.
A pressure cooker, comprising:
- a housing including an outer chamber;
- a crock supported within the outer chamber of the housing, the crock including at least one side wall and a bottom wall defining a cooking chamber;
- a lid removably secured to the housing and configured to seal the cooking chamber;
- a heating element coupled to the housing and positioned opposite the bottom wall of the crock to heat the cooking chamber;
- a vapor compression cooling system coupled to the housing and including a cooling coil circumscribing the at least one side wall of the crock to cool the at least one side wall of the crock by circulating fluid through the cooling coil;
- a controller coupled to the heating element and the vapor compression cooling system, wherein the controller is configured to selectively activate the heating element and the vapor compression cooling system during a pressure cooking operation;
- and
- a specialty lid including an ice cream making, mixing or blending function, wherein the controller is further configured to activate the vapor compression cooling system when the specialty lid is mounted to the housing to perform an ice cream making operation, a mixing operation, or a blending operation in the crock.
A pressure cooker, comprising:
- a housing including an outer chamber;
- a crock supported within the outer chamber of the housing, the crock including at least one side wall and a bottom wall defining a cooking chamber;
- a lid removably secured to the housing and configured to seal the cooking chamber;
- a heating element coupled to the housing and positioned opposite the bottom wall of the crock to heat the cooking chamber;
- a vapor compression cooling system coupled to the housing and including a cooling coil circumscribing the at least one side wall of the crock to cool the at least one side wall of the crock by circulating fluid through the cooling coil;
- wherein the cooling coil is wound helically about the at least one side wall of the crock;
- and
- wherein the housing includes one or more helical air channels defined between portions of the cooling coil, and the pressure cooker further comprises a housing fan disposed in the housing and configured to circulate air through the one or more helical air channels.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.