Microwave rice cooker

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10869368-B2
Application number	US-201715836637-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 8, 2017
Priority date	Jun 8, 2015
Publication date	Dec 15, 2020
Grant date	Dec 15, 2020

Abstract

Provided is a microwave rice cooker, comprising a cavity structure, a door assembly and an inner pot (20). The cavity structure comprises a microwave transmitting mechanism, a cavity (2) provided with a cylindrical cooking chamber therein, and a top cap (1) and a bottom cap (5) located at two ends of the cooking chamber respectively. The bottom cap (5) closes the cooking chamber at the bottom. A top opening of the cooking chamber is formed on the top cap (1). The inner pot (20) can be put into or taken out of the cooking chamber through the top opening. The door assembly is mounted on the top cap (1) in an openable and closable manner so as to open or close the cooking chamber from the top. The microwave transmitting mechanism is mounted at the bottom of the bottom cap (5) to feed microwaves into the cooking chamber from the bottom. The microwave rice cooker achieves a two-in-one function of a microwave oven and a rice cooker.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A microwave rice cooker, comprising:
a cavity structure, a door assembly, and an inner pot through which microwaves are configured to be transmitted, wherein the cavity structure comprises a microwave transmitting mechanism, a cavity provided with a cooking chamber therein, and a top cap and a bottom cap located at two ends of the cooking chamber respectively, the bottom cap encloses the cooking chamber at a bottom portion, a top opening of the cooking chamber is formed on the top cap, and the inner pot configured to be put into or taken out of the cooking chamber through the top opening; wherein, the door assembly is mounted on the top cap in an openable and closable manner so as to open or close the cooking chamber from the top, and the microwave transmitting mechanism is mounted at the bottom portion of the bottom cap to feed microwaves into the cooking chamber from the bottom, wherein, the microwave transmitting mechanism comprises a waveguide assembly and a magnetron, the waveguide assembly comprises a transverse part and a downward extension part that extends downward from the end of the transverse part, the magnetron is mounted on the downward extension part, and the magnetron inputs microwaves via a microwave inlet to a microwave transmission cavity in the waveguide assembly, the transverse part is arranged with a microwave outlet, the bottom of the bottom cap is arranged with a microwave feed inlet, the transverse part is connected to the bottom portion of the bottom cap so that the microwave outlet abuts against the microwave feed inlet to feed microwaves into the cooking chamber.

2. The microwave rice cooker according to claim 1 , wherein, the bottom cap is in a disc shape, and has a recessed profiled space formed at an inner side of the bottom cap, a circumferential stepped part is arranged in the profiled space, a shelf through which microwaves are configured to be transmitted is arranged on the circumferential stepped part, and the inner pot that is embedded in the cooking chamber is supported on the shelf.

3. The microwave rice cooker according to claim 1 , wherein, a first end of the door assembly is hinged via a hinge mechanism to a first end of the top cap, an interlocking mechanism is arranged and a control panel assembly is mounted at a second end of the top cap, a door hook is arranged at a second end of the door assembly, the door assembly is configured to rotate around the hinge mechanism so as to enter into a closed state in which the cooking chamber is closed or an open state in which the cooking chamber is opened;
wherein, in the closed state, the door assembly covers the top surface of the top cap, the door hook is locked to the interlocking mechanism and the interlocking mechanism transmits a door close signal to the control panel assembly, the control panel assembly receives the door close signal and is triggered to an active state; in the open state, the interlocking mechanism transmits a door open signal, and the control panel assembly is switched to an inactive state according to the door open signal.

4. The microwave rice cooker according to claim 3 , wherein, the hinge mechanism comprises a pivot shaft and a torsion spring, the pivot shaft is mounted on the first end of the top cap, the door assembly is configured to pivot around the pivot shaft, the torsion spring is fitted over the pivot shaft, and the two ends of the torsion spring are resiliently biased on the door assembly and the top cap.

5. The microwave rice cooker according to claim 3 , wherein, the door assembly comprises a door panel, a door body, and a door seal that are engaged sequentially from outer side to inner side, wherein, the door panel and the door body include a metal plate configured to seal the cooking chamber to prevent transmission of microwaves therein, the door hook extends downward from the door body, and the door seal is lined between the door body and the top cap to seal the cooking chamber when the door assembly is in the closed state.

6. The microwave rice cooker according to claim 1 , wherein, the cavity comprises a metal cylindrical plate configured to prevent transmission of microwaves, an inner cylindrical cavity of the cylindrical plate forms the cooking chamber, the top circumference of the cylindrical plate is connected to the top cap, the bottom circumference of the cylindrical plate is hermetically connected to the inner side wall of the bottom cap, and both of the top cap and the bottom cap are metal caps that can present transmission of microwaves.

7. The microwave rice cooker according to claim 6 , wherein, the diameter of the inner pot is smaller than the diameter of the cylindrical plate by at least 15 mm.

8. The microwave rice cooker according to claim 1 , wherein, the microwave rice cooker further comprises a circumferential enclosure and a base, the cavity structure is mounted on the base, the circumferential enclosure is arranged around the cavity, a top portion of the circumferential enclosure is engaged with the top cap, and the bottom of the circumferential enclosure is engaged with the base.

9. The microwave rice cooker according to claim 8 , wherein, the base is further arranged with:
a frequency converter electrically connected to the magnetron of the microwave transmitting mechanism to regulate a supply voltage of the magnetron; and
a cooling fan configured to dissipate heat from the frequency converter and the microwave transmitting mechanism.

10. The microwave rice cooker according to claim 1 , wherein, the waveguide assembly comprises a base plate and a cover plate, the cover plate is in an “L” shape and comprises a transverse cover plate and a longitudinal cover plate, the base plate is in a “Z” shape and comprises a first transverse base plate, a downward extension plate, and a second transverse base plate arranged sequentially, flanged base plate edges are formed on the periphery of the base plate, and the cover plate hermetically covers the flanged base plate edges of the base plate to form the microwave transmission cavity between the base plate and the cover plate;
wherein, the transverse cover plate is arranged above the first transverse base plate so as to form a transverse chamber of the microwave transmission cavity between the transverse cover plate and the first transverse base plate, the longitudinal cover plate is spaced from the downward extension plate in the transverse direction and the bottom of the longitudinal cover plate extends downward till it is engaged with the second transverse base plate to form a longitudinal chamber of the microwave transmission cavity among the downward extension plate, the second transverse base plate, and the longitudinal cover plate, the microwave outlet is arranged on the transverse cover plate, and the microwave inlet is arranged on the longitudinal cover plate.

11. The microwave rice cooker according to claim 10 , wherein, the microwave rice cooker further comprises at least one or all of the following features 1-8:
feature 1: the downward extension plate and the longitudinal cover plate are parallel to each other, and both of them extend downward vertically;
feature 2: the base plate is a single plate that is formed by bending and has flanged edges, the waveguide assembly further comprises angle iron pieces configured to seal the microwave transmission cavity in the lateral direction, and the angle iron pieces are mounted on the lateral flanged base plate edges at the corners where the transverse chamber and the longitudinal chamber of the microwave transmission cavity communicate with each other;
feature 3: the flanged base plate edges are arranged with a welded connecting plate, and

Assignees

• Guangdong Midea Kitchen Appliances Mfg Co Ltd
• Midea Group Co Ltd

Inventors

• Peng Dingyuan
• Chen Maoshun
• Tang Xiangwei
• Luan Chun
• Wang Xuan
• Liu Minyong

Classifications

• A47J37/0629

  with electric heating elements · CPC title

• H05B6/72

  Radiators or antennas · CPC title

• H05B6/70

  Feed lines · CPC title

• H05B6/80 Primary

  Apparatus for specific applications (stoves or ranges F24C7/02) · CPC title

• H05B6/6402

  Aspects relating to the microwave cavity · CPC title