GB2183998A

GB2183998A - Cover for food steamer

Info

Publication number: GB2183998A
Application number: GB08627046A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Masaru Harada
Original assignee: Kibun KK
Current assignee: Kibun KK
Priority date: 1985-11-12
Filing date: 1986-11-12
Publication date: 1987-06-17
Also published as: GB2183998B; JPS62115263A; GB8627046D0

Abstract

A cover (30) for a food steamer which is set at the upper side of a steam chamber (36) of said steamer has an inner wall surface (42) which defines the upper wall surface of said steamer chamber. The portion of said inner wall surface which extends obliquely downward from the top of the cover to each of the side edges is defined by one generally flat plane (46) or a combination of two or more generally flat planes (46, 48) which are contiguous with each other. The angle of inclination of the flat plane(s) (46) with respect to the horizontal plane being is at least about 25 DEG , and preferably about 33 DEG or more. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Cover for Food Steamer The present invention relates to a food steamer for use in, for example, a process for preparing a fish paste product.

A prior art food steamer will first be described below with reference to Figs. 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings which schematically show a conventional food steamer 10. The steamer 10 comprises a frame 12, a cover 16 pivotally attached to the upper part of the frame 12 by means of a hinge 14, a bottom plate 18 secured to the frame 12 in such a manner as to be disposed below the cover 16 with a predetermined spacing so as to define a steam chamber 17 therebetween, a steam inlet pipe 20 for introducing steam into the steam chamber 17, and an endless conveyor 22 for transporting food placed thereon through the steam chamber 17, whereby the food is steamed while being passed through the steam chamber 17. A drain pan 24 receives condensate flowing down from the steam chamber 17. Rollers 26 (not shown in Fig. 2) guide the endless conveyor 22.A handle 28 is provided for opening and closing the cover 16.

As illustrated, the cover 16 in the conventional food steamer 10 has an inner wall surface 16' which has a part-circular cross-section, and this cover 16 suffers from the following problem. Namely, the steam introduced into the steam chamber 17 condenses on the inner wall surface 16' of the cover 16, and condensate flows down the wall surface of that portion of the cover 16 at each side thereof which is so steep that it is nearly vertical, whereas the condensate does not flow down the wall surface of a portion near the centre of the cover 16 which has a relatively gentle slope, but drops onto the conveyor 22 and the food placed thereon.

Accordingly, the food which is thereby wetted must be wiped to remove the moisture. Depending on the kind of food being steamed, the surface of the food sprinkled with condensate may be patterned with spots.

In order to overcome such problem, it is conventional practice to provide a heater which prevents condensation within the steam chamber.

However, this conventional method involves an increased rate of electric power consumption, and this disadvantageously leads to increased costs.

In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cover for a food steamer designed to overcome the above-described disadvantage of the prior art.

The present invention provides a cover for a food steamer which is set at the upper side of a steam chamber of said steamer and has an inner wall surface which defines the upper wall surface of said steam chamber, in which the portion of said inner wall surface which extends obliquely downwardly from the top of said cover to each of the side edges is defined by one generally flat plane or a combination of two or more generally flat planes which are contiguous with each other, the angle of inclination of the flat plane with respect of the horizontal plane being at least about 25 .

This angle, i.e., at least about 25 , is the smallest angle which ensures that the condensate formed on the above-mentioned planes will flow down thereon without any fear of condensate dropping on the conveyor or the food placed thereon.

The present invention will be further described, by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which Figs. 2 and 3 have already been mentioned and in which: Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a food steamer equipped with one embodiment of the cover according to the present invention; Fig. 2 which is a front view of a conventional food steamer; and Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the steamer shown in Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 1, a cover 30 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention is pivotally attached to a steamer 32 whose constituent elements are basically the same as those of the above-described conventional one of Figs. 2 and 3, except for the cover 30. More specifically, the steamer 32 comprises a frame 34, a bottom plate 38 which defines a steam chamber 36 in cooperate with the cover 30, a steam inlet pipe 39, and a food transporting conveyor 40.

The cover 30 in accordance with the illustrated embodiment has a substantially inverted V-shaped general cross-section, but it is particularly important that the inner wall surface of the cover 30 should have a substantially inverted V-shaped crosssection. More specifically, the inner wall surface 42 consists of a pair of first planes 46 which intersect each other at a top portion of apex 44 in the centre of the cover 30 and which extend obliquely downwardly from the top portion 44, and a pair of second planes 48 which are respectively contiguous with the first planes 46 and extend to the side edges of the inner wall surface 42.The first planes 46 have an angle of inclination smaller than that of the second planes 48, that is, the angle made between each first plane 46 and the horizontal plane is smaller than the angle between each second plane 48 and the horizontal plane, and it is essential that even the first planes 46, which have a relatively gentle slope, should be slanted in such a manerthay any condensate formed on the first planes 46 will not drop but will flow down along the planes 46.

It has experimentally been found that the angle made between each first plane 46 and the horizontal plane must be at least about 25 , preferably about 33 or more, although the required angle depends on the amount of steam supplied to the steam chamber 36.

The cover for a food steamer according to the present invention, arranged as detailed above, enables condensate formed at any part of the inner wall surface of the cover to flow down the wall surface without any fear of the condensate dropping on the conveyor or the food placed thereon.

Accordingly, it is possibletq overcome the disadvantage experienced with the aforementioned prior art.

Although the present invention has been described through specific terms, the described embodiment is not necessarily exclusive and various changes and modifications may be imparted thereto without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A cover for a food steamer which is set at the upper side of a steam chamber of said steamer and has an inner wall surface which defines the upper wall surface of said steam chamber, in which the portion of said inner wall surface which extends obliquely downwardly from the top of said cover to each of the side edges is defined by one generally flat plane or a combination of two or more generally flat planes which are contiguous with each other, the angle of inclination of said flat plane with respect to the horizontal plane being at least about 25".

2. A cover for a food steamer according to claim 1, wherein said angle of inclination is about 33 or more.

3. A cover for a food steamer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said inner wall surface has a substantially inverted V-shaped cross-section.

4. A cover for a food steamer, constructed substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings.