US-12628248-B2 - Cooking apparatus

US12628248B2US 12628248 B2US12628248 B2US 12628248B2US-12628248-B2

Abstract

A cooking apparatus includes a cooking chamber, a heating source disposed below the cooking chamber to produce high-frequency waves, a main plate forming at least a portion of the cooking chamber and including a front side which is opened, a front plate coupled to the front side of the main plate and including a base having an opening connected to the cooking chamber, and a front coupling flange. The front coupling flange is bent rearward from an inner end of the base, coupled by curling with the main plate, and has a portion which protrudes above a lower surface of the main plate.

Inventors

Gyeongjin KIM
Eonjoong KIM

Assignees

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20220418
Priority Date: 20210331

Claims (14)

1 . A cooking apparatus, comprising: a cooking chamber; a heating source disposed below the cooking chamber to produce electromagnetic waves; a main plate forming at least a portion of the cooking chamber and including a front side which is opened; a front plate coupled to the front side of the main plate and including a base having an opening connected to the cooking chamber; and a front coupling flange, bent rearward from an inner end of the base, coupled by curling with the main plate, and including a portion which protrudes above a lower surface of the main plate, wherein the front coupling flange includes: a hemming portion bent at a position above the lower surface of the main plate and aligned with a rear surface of the base, and a plate coupling portion bent from the hemming portion and coupled with the main plate, wherein at least a portion of the plate coupling portion is disposed below the lower surface of the main plate.
2 . The cooking apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a shelf installed at the lower surface of the main plate to cover an upper portion of the heating source and on which an object to be cooked is placeable, wherein the hemming portion is disposed to cover a front of the shelf to prevent the shelf from falling out.
3 . The cooking apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the shelf includes a glass material.
4 . The cooking apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the front coupling flange includes: a first curling hole having an oval shape, and a second curling hole having a circular shape disposed separately from and adjacent to the first curling hole.
5 . The cooking apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the first curling hole and the second curling hole are formed in a section in which the hemming portion and the plate coupling portion join.
6 . The cooking apparatus of claim 4 , wherein a length of a long side of the first curling hole is 20 mm or less.
7 . The cooking apparatus of claim 4 , wherein a gap between the first curling hole and the second curling hole is 3 mm or more.
8 . The cooking apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the main plate includes a main coupling flange extending forward from the lower surface and joined by curling with the plate coupling portion.
9 . The cooking apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the main coupling flange includes: a first flange portion disposed behind the plate coupling portion, and a second flange portion bent from the first flange portion and inserted into a space between the rear surface of the base and the plate coupling portion.
10 . The cooking apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the front plate and the main plate are coupled by pressurizing the main coupling flange and the plate coupling portion while the second flange portion is inserted into the space between the rear surface of the base and the plate coupling portion.
11 . The cooking apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the plate coupling portion includes a guide protrusion which protrudes toward the first flange portion to guide a position of coupling with the main coupling flange.
12 . The cooking apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the main coupling flange includes a bending hole formed in a section in which the first flange portion and the second flange portion join, and the bending hole receives the guide protrusion.
13 . The cooking apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the heating source includes: a magnetron configured to produce the electromagnetic waves, and a rotatable stirrer configured to radiate the electromagnetic waves produced from the magnetron in a plurality of directions.
14 . The cooking apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the main plate includes: a side plate disposed behind the front plate and coupled to a side edge of the opening; a lower plate disposed behind the front plate and coupled to a lower edge of the opening; and an upper plate disposed behind the front plate and coupled to an upper edge of the opening.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation application, under 35 U.S.C. § 111(a), of international application No. PCT/KR2022/003632, filed on Mar. 15, 2022, which claims priority under 35 U. S. C. § 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0042338 filed on Mar. 31, 2021 and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0089562 filed on Jul. 8, 2021, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. BACKGROUND 1. Field The disclosure relates to a cooking apparatus, and for example, to a cooking apparatus having an inner housing in an enhanced structure. 2. Discussion of the Related Art Cooking apparatuses are devices for cooking foods by heating, which provide various functions related to cooking, such as heating, thawing, drying, and sterilizing of an object to be cooked. The cooking apparatuses include, for example, ovens such as gas ovens or electric ovens, microwave heating devices (also referred to as microwaves), gas ranges, electric ranges, gas grills, or electric grills. In general, the oven is an apparatus for cooking food by transferring heat directly to the food or heating the inside of the cooking chamber by means of a heating source that produces heat, such as a heater. The electric range is an apparatus for cooking food by frictional heat between molecules, which is produced by using high-frequency waves as a heating source to disturb molecular arrangement of the food. The cooking apparatus may be configured to perform both the oven and electric range functions. For example, an object to be cooked may be heated in various ways in a cooking chamber with a heater arranged on one side and a magnetron arranged on the other side. There may be a plurality of heaters so that a tray mounted in the cooking chamber may be arranged to include a plurality of cooking surfaces heated at different temperatures by the plurality of heaters. Along with this, a shelf installed on a lower side of the cooking chamber is placed above the magnetron for an object to be cooked to be placed thereon, thereby allowing high-frequency-wave based cooking. The cooking apparatus may include an outer housing and an inner housing arranged to form the cooking chamber within the outer housing, and the inner housing may be formed by combining a front plate defining a front side of a main body of the cooking apparatus and a main plate arranged behind the front plate. In this case, there is a need for preventing high-frequency waves inside the cooking chamber between the front plate and the main plate from leaking to the outside. SUMMARY The disclosure provides a cooking apparatus having a main plate and a front plate coupled by curling. The disclosure also provides a cooking apparatus including a front plate having a portion protruding upward farther than a lower surface of a main plate. According to an aspect of the disclosure, a cooking apparatus includes a cooking chamber, a heating source disposed below the cooking chamber to produce high-frequency waves, a main plate forming at least a portion of the cooking chamber and including a front side which is opened, a front plate coupled to the front side of the main plate and including a base having an opening connected to the cooking chamber, and a front coupling flange, bent rearward from an inner end of the base, coupled by curling with the main plate, and including a portion which protrudes above a lower surface of the main plate. The front coupling flange may include a hemming portion bent at a position above the lower surface of the main plate and aligned with a rear surface of the base, and a plate coupling portion bent from the hemming portion and coupled with the main plate. The cooking apparatus may further include a shelf installed at the lower surface of the main plate to cover an upper portion of the heating source and on which an object is placeable. The hemming portion may be disposed to cover a front of the shelf to prevent the shelf from falling out. The front coupling flange may include a first curling hole having an oval shape, and a second curling hole having a circular shape and disposed separately from and adjacent to the first curling hole. The first curling hole and the second curling hole may be formed in a section in which the hemming portion and the plate coupling portion join. A length of a long side of the first curling hole may be 20 mm or less. A gap between the first curling hole and the second curling hole may be 3 mm or more. The main plate may include a main coupling flange extending forward from the lower surface and joined by curling with the plate coupling portion. The main coupling flange may include a first flange portion disposed behind the plate coupling portion, and a second flange portion bent from the first flange portion and inserted into a space between the rear surface of the base and the plate coupling portion. The front plate and the main plate may be coupled by pressu