Steam oven with quick recovery feature and method
AssigneeAmerican Equipment Corporation
InventorRICHARD E. LEY, III
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A steam oven with a housing defining a cooking cavity therein and a door for accessing the cooking cavity. A water reservoir may be provided configured to hold a quantity of water that is turned to steam using a heating element. The oven may include one or more a steam supply conduits for directing steam generated in the water reservoir to the cooking cavity. A pressure sensor may be provided to detect a pressure within the cooking cavity. A control circuit regulates the heating element based on a pressure detected by the pressure sensor. However, the control circuit includes a quick recovery feature that turns on the heating element for a period of time regardless of whether the pressure within the cooking cavity is greater than a threshold pressure.
Claims20
A steam oven comprising:
- a housing defining a cooking cavity therein;
- a water reservoir configured to hold a quantity of water;
- a heating element configured to transfer heat to the water reservoir for generating steam;
- a steam supply conduit configured to direct steam generated in the water reservoir to the cooking cavity;
- an exhaust valve configured to provide fluid communication between the cooking cavity and the atmosphere when a pressure within the cooking cavity is reached;
- a pressure switch configured to control the heating element based on a pressure within the cooking cavity, wherein the pressure switch turns on the heating element when the pressure within the cooking cavity is less than a threshold pressure, and wherein the pressure switch turns off the heating element when the pressure within the cooking cavity is greater than the threshold pressure;
- and
- an override circuit configured to override the pressure switch so the heating element is turned on regardless of whether the pressure within the cooking cavity is greater than the threshold pressure, wherein the override circuit is configured to turn on the heating element for at least a predetermined period of time or until a sensed condition reaches a threshold value.
A steam oven comprising:
- a housing defining a cooking cavity therein, wherein the housing includes a door for accessing the cooking cavity;
- a water reservoir configured to hold a quantity of water;
- a heating element configured to transfer heat to the water reservoir for generating steam;
- a steam supply conduit configured to direct steam generated in the water reservoir to the cooking cavity;
- a pressure sensor configured to detect a pressure within the cooking cavity;
- a control circuit configured to control the heating element based on a pressure detected by the pressure sensor, wherein the control circuit is configured to turn on the heating element when the pressure within the cooking cavity is less than a threshold pressure, and wherein the control circuit is configured to turn off the heating element when the pressure within the cooking cavity is greater than the threshold pressure;
- and
- wherein the control circuit includes a quick recovery feature configured to turn on the heating element for a predetermined period of time regardless of whether the pressure within the cooking cavity is greater than the threshold pressure.
A method for controlling a heating element in a steam oven, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a steam oven with a cooking cavity, wherein the steam oven has a heating element that transfers heat to a water reservoir to generate steam;
- controlling the heating element by providing power in an interrupted manner based on the following conditions:
- (a) powering the heating element if a pressure detected within the cooking cavity is less than a predetermined minimum pressure;
- (b) powering the heating element for a predetermined period of time after introduction of air having an ambient temperature into the cooking cavity;
- and
- (c) interrupting power to the heating element if a pressure detected within the cooking cavity is greater than a predetermined maximum pressure, subject to (b).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.