EP-4737806-A1 - COOKING APPLIANCE

EP4737806A1EP 4737806 A1EP4737806 A1EP 4737806A1EP-4737806-A1

Abstract

A cooking appliance is disclosed. The appliance includes a fan cover disposed at a cooking chamber and a fan configured to generate an airflow inside the fan cover. The fan cover comprises a front discharge port that defines a passage connecting an interior of the fan cover and the cooking chamber, and a guide protrusion configured to block, at a periphery of the front discharge port, a flow of the airflow inside the fan cover. Preferably, with respect to a flow direction of the airflow, the guide protrusion is disposed forward of the front discharge port.

Inventors

LEE, SuYong
PARK, KYOUNG-JOON
YANG, JAEKYUNG
KWAG, DONGSEONG
YANG, HAK SOON

Assignees

LG Electronics Inc.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260506
Application Date: 20251023

Claims (13)

A cooking appliance comprising: a main body having a cooking chamber; a fan disposed at the main body and configured to rotate about a rotation axis extending in a front-rear direction to generate an airflow; and a fan cover forming, inside the cooking chamber, an accommodation space that accommodates the fan, wherein the fan cover comprises: a front discharge port formed on a front surface of the fan cover to define a passage extending in the front-rear direction and connecting the cooking chamber and the accommodation space; and a guide protrusion protruding from the front surface of the fan cover into the accommodation space and configured to block, at a periphery of the front discharge port, a flow of the airflow inside the accommodation space along a rotation direction of the fan, wherein, with respect to a flow direction of the airflow flowing in the accommodation space, the guide protrusion is disposed forward of the front discharge port.
The cooking appliance of claim 1 or 2, wherein: a pair of the guide protrusions are arranged in an up-down direction with the rotation axis interposed therebetween, and the front discharge port is disposed between the pair of guide protrusions in the up-down direction.
The cooking appliance of claim 1, wherein: the guide protrusion disposed above the rotation axis is disposed above the front discharge port, and the guide protrusion disposed below the rotation axis is disposed below the front discharge port.
The cooking appliance of one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: a plurality of the front discharge ports are arranged along the rotation direction of the fan, the guide protrusions comprise an upper guide protrusion disposed above the rotation axis and a lower guide protrusion disposed below the rotation axis, the upper guide protrusion is disposed above the front discharge port, and the lower guide protrusion is disposed below the front discharge port.
The cooking appliance of claim 1, wherein: the front discharge port comprises an upper front discharge port disposed above the rotation axis and a lower front discharge port disposed below the rotation axis, the guide protrusions comprise an upper guide protrusion disposed adjacent to the upper front discharge port and a lower guide protrusion disposed adjacent to the lower front discharge port, the upper guide protrusion is disposed above the upper front discharge port, and the lower guide protrusion is disposed below the lower front discharge port.
The cooking appliance of one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: the front discharge port comprises a first front discharge port and a second front discharge port, on a coordinate plane orthogonal to the rotation axis and having an origin located on the rotation axis, the first front discharge port and the second front discharge port are disposed at different positions, the fan rotates in a forward direction to discharge a main stream of airflow from inside the accommodation space into the cooking chamber through the first front discharge port, or rotates in a reverse direction to discharge a main stream of airflow from inside the accommodation space into the cooking chamber through the second front discharge port, and the guide protrusions comprise a first guide protrusion configured to switch a flow direction of airflow in the accommodation space toward the first front discharge port, and a second guide protrusion configured to switch a flow direction of airflow in the accommodation space toward the second front discharge port.
The cooking appliance of claim 6, wherein: the first front discharge port and the second front discharge port are arranged along the rotation direction of the fan, the first guide protrusion is disposed forward of the closest first front discharge port with respect to the forward rotation, and the second guide protrusion is disposed forward of the closest second front discharge port with respect to the reverse rotation.
The cooking appliance of claim 7, wherein: a plurality of the first front discharge ports and a plurality of the second front discharge ports are disposed at different positions on the coordinate plane, the first front discharge ports and the second front discharge ports are alternately arranged along the rotation direction of the fan, and the first guide protrusions and the second guide protrusions are alternately arranged along the rotation direction of the fan.
The cooking appliance of one of claims 6 to 8, wherein: among quadrants of the coordinate plane divided by a front-rear axis and an up-down axis intersecting at the origin, the first front discharge port is disposed in at least one of a second quadrant and a fourth quadrant, and the second front discharge port is disposed in at least one of a first quadrant and a third quadrant, in the first quadrant and the second quadrant, the first guide protrusion is disposed above the first front discharge port or the second guide protrusion is disposed above the second front discharge port, and in the third quadrant and the fourth quadrant, the first guide protrusion is disposed below the first front discharge port or the second guide protrusion is disposed below the second front discharge port.
The cooking appliance of claim 9, wherein: the first front discharge port comprises a first upper front discharge port disposed in the second quadrant and a first lower front discharge port disposed in the fourth quadrant, and the first guide protrusion comprises a first upper guide protrusion disposed above the first upper front discharge port in the second quadrant and a first lower guide protrusion disposed below the first lower front discharge port in the fourth quadrant.
The cooking appliance of claim 9 or 10, wherein: the second front discharge port comprises a second upper front discharge port disposed in the first quadrant and a second lower front discharge port disposed in the third quadrant, and the second guide protrusion comprises a second upper guide protrusion disposed above the second upper front discharge port in the first quadrant and a second lower guide protrusion disposed below the second lower front discharge port in the third quadrant.
The cooking appliance of one of claims 1 to 11, wherein: the fan is disposed rearward of the front surface of the fan cover, and the guide protrusion forms a lateral plane protruding rearward from the front surface of the fan cover.
The cooking appliance of claim 12, wherein: the guide protrusion is formed by cutting a portion of the front surface of the fan cover and bending it rearward about an upper or lower edge connected to the front surface of the fan cover, and the front discharge port is formed at a portion of the front surface of the fan cover separated by the guide protrusion.

Description

The present invention relates to a cooking appliance, and more particularly, to a cooking appliance provided with a camera that photographs the inside of a cooking chamber and to a control method thereof. A cooking appliance is a home appliance installed in a kitchen space to cook food according to a user's intention. Such cooking appliances can be classified in various ways depending on the heat source, the type or form of the appliance, and the kind of fuel used. When classified according to how food is cooked, cooking appliances may be divided into open-type and closed-type appliances depending on the form of the space on which food is placed. Closed-type appliances include ovens and microwave ovens, and open-type appliances include a cooktop, a hob, and a griddle. A closed-type cooking appliance shields a space in which food is located and cooks the food by heating the shielded space. The closed-type cooking appliance is provided with a cooking chamber that is the space to be shielded when cooking is to be performed while food is placed therein. The cooking chamber thus becomes the space in which the food is actually cooked. In a closed-type cooking appliance, a door is provided rotatably to selectively open and close the cooking chamber. The door is rotatably installed at a main body by a door hinge provided between the main body in which the cooking chamber is formed and the door. The door opens and closes the cooking chamber by rotating about a portion coupled to the main body via the door hinge. A heat source is provided in the internal space of the cooking chamber opened and closed by the door to heat the cooking chamber. As the heat source, a gas burner or an electric heater may be used. Meanwhile, a convection device may further be provided at a rear side of the cooking chamber. The convection device circulates air inside the cooking chamber so that heat is evenly delivered throughout the cooking chamber. The convection device may include a fan cover installed at a rear wall of the cooking chamber and a convection fan installed in an internal space of the fan cover. The fan cover may be provided with an intake port and a discharge port. The intake port may be formed at a central portion of a front surface of the fan cover facing the door, and the discharge port may be formed at a side surface of the fan cover facing a side surface of the cooking chamber. The convection fan may rotate inside the fan cover to generate an airflow. By operation of the convection fan, an air-circulation flow may be generated in which air in the cooking chamber is drawn into the inside of the fan cover through the intake port and heated air inside the fan cover is discharged into the cooking chamber through an exhaust/discharge port. An object of the present disclosure is to provide a cooking appliance capable of concentrating heat on a target portion among different portions of a food item to be cooked. To achieve the above object, a cooking appliance according to an embodiment includes a fan cover installed at a cooking chamber and a fan configured to generate an airflow inside the fan cover, wherein the fan cover comprises a front discharge port that forms a passage connecting the inside of the fan cover and the cooking chamber, and a guide protrusion configured to block a flow of airflow around the front discharge port, and Preferably, with respect to a flow direction of airflow in an accommodation space, the guide protrusion is disposed in front of the front discharge port. In another aspect, the operation of a heating device is controlled so that hot air is directed to a selected region chosen as a result of identifying the state of a food item by divided regions, and Preferably, the operation of the heating device is controlled such that at least one of a discharge position and a reaching distance of a main stream of hot air discharged from the heating device is adjusted. In one aspect, a cooking appliance may comprise: a main body in which a cooking chamber is formed; a fan installed at the main body and configured to rotate about a rotation axis extending in a front-rear direction to generate an airflow; and a fan cover forming, inside the cooking chamber, an accommodation space that accommodates the fan. The fan cover may comprise: a front discharge port formed at a front surface of the fan cover to form a passage in the front-rear direction connecting the cooking chamber and the accommodation space; and a guide protrusion protruding from the front surface of the fan cover into the accommodation space and configured to block, around the front discharge port, a flow of airflow formed in the accommodation space along a rotation direction of the fan. Preferably, with respect to a flow direction of airflow flowing in the accommodation space, the guide protrusion is disposed in front of the front discharge port. Preferably, a guide protrusion disposed above the rotation axis is disposed above the front discharge p