US20130333686A1

US20130333686A1 - Assembly for cooking with a safety device

Info

Publication number: US20130333686A1
Application number: US13/495,054
Authority: US
Inventors: Ting-Fang Chiang
Original assignee: Fancy Food Service Equipment Co Ltd
Current assignee: Fancy Food Service Equipment Co Ltd
Priority date: 2012-06-13
Filing date: 2012-06-13
Publication date: 2013-12-19

Abstract

An assembly for cooking has a safety device installed on an air guider. The safety device comprises a sensor detecting a wind flow from the air guider and a processing unit comparing a sensed flow value of the wind flow with a predetermined flow value and determining the flowing condition of the air guider and executing a controlling action. When oil sludge obstructs an opening of the air guider to cause the flow value of cooking fumes to be lower than the predetermined value, the processing unit stops an air pump of the air guider or activates an alarm unit to warn operators to clean the air guider, thereby maintaining an efficient inhaling effect of the air guider. The processing unit can concurrently promote a rotation speed of the air pump to keep inhaling an amount of cooking fumes for avoiding scattering the cooking fumes in dining spaces.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an assembly for cooking, particularly to an assembly for cooking with a safety device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional assembly 1 for cooking comprises a platform 11 provided with a cooking device 12 and an air pump 13 installed in the platform 11. Wherein, the cooking device 12 has a cooking plane 121 disposed on the platform 11, and a heater 122 for heating the cooking plane 121. The air guider 13 has a housing 131 disposed on the platform 11 and located beside the cooking plane 12, a filter 132 disposed in the platform 11, an air pump 133 disposed on the platform 11, and an air channel 134 disposed to communicate the housing 131, the filter 132, and the air pump 133 with each other. In using, the heater 122 firstly heats the cooking plane 121, so that a cook can fry food thereon. The air pump 133 preferably exhausts any possible cooking fumes caused during the cooking. Whereby, the cooking fumes travel through the housing 131, the air channel 134, and the filter 132 so as to be removed. Accordingly, consumers can enjoy their fine food in a smokeless environment.
However, the conventional assembly 1 for cooking has the following shortcomings:
1. When the cooking fumes are drawn and filtered, oil sludge easily accumulates in or on the housing 131. The oil sludge stuck on the outer housing 131 may be directly spotted and immediately cleaned up. However, the oil sludge stuck on the inner housing 131 can be spotted hard, so the oil sludge gets more and gradually blocks an opening 1311 of the housing 131. As a result, the air pump 133 can not exhaust the cooking fumes perfectly, and the rest of the cooking fumes scatter in the dining space. Obviously, the air guider 13 can not draw the cooking fumes efficiently.
2. Further, when the filter 132 is drawn from the platform 11 for cleaning, careless operators may easily turn on the assembly 1 for cooking without installing the filter 132 back or correctly installing the filter 132. Consequently, the performance of filtering the cooking fumes of the assembly 1 for cooking is substandard.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore the purpose of this invention to provide an assembly for cooking with a safety device for operators to discover the accumulation of oil sludge in an air guider easily via an instant alarm unit, so that operators are able to clean the filth immediately and guarantee the exhausting effect of cooking fumes.
The assembly for cooking in accordance with the present invention comprises a platform, a cooking device disposed on the platform, an air guider disposed on the platform for exhausting cooking fumes on a cooking plane of the cooking device, and a safety device disposed on the platform. The cooking device has the cooking plane and a heater that is able to heat the cooking plane. The air guider has a housing disposed on the platform and located beside the cooking plane, a filter as well as an air pump disposed in the platform, and an air channel disposed to communicate the housing, the filter, and the air pump with each other within the platform. Moreover, the housing has an opening defined therein. Wherein, the safety device has a sensor disposed in the air guider for sensing a wind flow, a memory unit disposed to store a predetermined flow value therein, and a processing unit that connects the sensor and the memory unit. Further, the sensor detecting and transforming the wind flow into a sensed flow value which is transmitted to the processing unit. Afterward, the processing unit compares the sensed flow value with the predetermined flow value for determining whether the air guider is in an obstructed state to attain a safe operation of the air guider.
Preferably, an alarm unit connected to the processing unit is disposed on the platform; the alarm unit signals when the sensed flow value is lower than the predetermined flow value.
Preferably, a trigger unit connected to the processing unit is disposed between the filter and the platform.
Preferably, the processing unit is electrically connected to the air pump; a rotation speed of the air pump is promoted by the processing unit when the sensed flow value is lower than the predetermined flow value.
Accordingly, when the cooking fumes accumulate around the opening of the housing and become oil sludge to block the opening, the sensor senses that the sensed flow value is below the predetermined flow value built in the memory unit. Accordingly, the processing unit allows the air pump to stop operation, or an alarm unit is provided for timely warning operators that the air guider needs to be cleaned. Therefore, an exhausting effect of the air guider is ensured. Besides, the processing unit can alternatively enhance the rotation speed of the air pump, so that the cooking fumes can be inhaled efficiently and prevented from scattering.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a conventional assembly for cooking;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart applied in the first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is another flowchart applied in the first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart applied in a second preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a third preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a flowchart applied in the third preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.
Referring to FIG. 2, a first preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. An assembly 3 for cooking with a safety device comprises a platform 31, a cooking device 32 disposed on the platform 31 for cooking food, an air guider 33 disposed on the platform 31 for inhaling cooking fumes during cooking, and a safety device 34 disposed on the platform 31. Wherein, the cooking device 32 has a cooking plane 321 disposed on the platform 31, and a heater 322 that is able to heat the cooking plane 321. As to the air guider 33, it has a housing 331 disposed on the platform 31 and located beside the cooking plane 321, a filter 332 disposed in the platform 31, an air pump 333 disposed on the platform 31, and an air channel 334 disposed to communicate the housing 331, the filter 332, and the air pump 333 with each other.
Especially, referring to FIG. 3, the safety device 34 has a sensor 341 disposed in the housing 331 of the air guider 33 for sensing a wind flow, a memory unit 342 disposed to store a predetermined flow value therein, and a processing unit 343 that connects the sensor 341 and the memory unit 342. Herein, the sensor 341 detects and transforms the wind flow into a sensed flow value which is transmitted to the processing unit 343. The processing unit 343 thence compares the sensed flow value with the predetermined flow value for determining whether an opening 3311 of the housing 331 is in an obstructed state. Specifically, when the sensed flow value is below the predetermined flow value, the processing unit 342 stops the operation of the air pump 333. Accompanying with FIG. 4, an alarm unit 344 connected to the processing unit 343 is disposed on the platform 31. Herein, the alarm unit 344 may be a light or a horn that provides illumination or sounds to alert operators to the obstructed air guider 33. In the figure and the embodiments, the alarm unit 334 is provided and adopts a light.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, in using the assembly 3 for cooking, the air pump 333 starts to inhale the cooking fumes generated on the cooking plane 321. Whereby, the cooking fumes are expelled through the housing 331, the air channel 334, the filter 332, and the air pump 333. Concurrently, the sensor 341 timely senses the wind flow that passes through the housing 331 and then transfers the sensed wind flow into a sensed flow value. Subsequently, the sensed flow value is transmitted to the processing unit 343 for executing a comparison between the sensed flow value and the predetermined flow value. Herein, if the cooking fumes accumulate around the opening 3311 of the housing 331 and become oil sludge that obstructs the opening 3311, less cooking fumes on the cooking plane 321 can be inhaled while the air pump 333 operates the same. Namely, less wind flow would pass the housing 331. Accordingly, the less wind flow causes the less sensed flow value. When the comparison between the sensed flow value and the predetermined flow value is executed, the processing unit 343 immediately finds that the sensed flow value is below the predetermined flow value. Thereby, the alarm unit 344 signals operators via the processing unit 343, so that operators realize that the air guider 33 needs to be cleaned. Preferably, the air pump 333 can constantly provide a nice cooking fumes drawing effect.
FIG. 5 shows a second preferred embodiment of the present invention. The elements in this embodiment are similar to those of the first preferred embodiment. Wherein, the processing unit 343 is electrically connected to the air pump 333. Thereby, a rotation speed of the air pump 333 is promoted by the processing unit 343 when the sensor 341 senses that the sensed flow value is lower than the predetermined flow value. Namely, the processing unit 343 not only allows the alarm unit 343 to signal but also speeds up the rotation speed of the air pump 333. Accordingly, even if operators can not clean the air guider immediately, the speeded-up air pump 333 still maintains its inhaling effect, so that the cooking fumes do not scatter in the dinning space randomly.
Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, a third preferred embodiment is shown. The assembly 3 for cooking similarly comprises the platform 31, the cooking device 32, the air guider 33, and the safety device 34. The like components and the correlated relationships same as those of afore embodiments are herein omitted. Differently, a trigger unit 345 connected to the processing unit 343 is disposed between the filter 332 and the platform 31. Wherein, the trigger unit 345 is applied for notifying the installing state of the filter 332 in the platform 31. Moreover, since the processing unit 343 is electrically connected to the heater 322 and the air pump 333, respectively, the heater 322 and the air pump 333 may be timely stopped. That is to say, when the filter 332 is drawn out from the platform 31, or when the filter 332 is not installed back properly, the trigger unit 345 will not be engaged by the filter 332. Herein, the processing unit 343 lets the alarm unit 344 alert operators that the trigger unit 345 is untouched by the filter 332 especially when the assembly 3 for cooking is turned on. Accordingly, the correlated heater 322 and the air pump 333 stop operation. Obviously, the assembly 3 for cooking prevents from operation when the filter 332 is not installed properly. Moreover, the filter 332 is guaranteed to perform a preferable filtering effect on the cooking fumes.
To sum up, the present invention particularly utilizes the safety device installed in the assembly for cooking to prevent oil sludge from obstructing the opening of the housing. Namely, when the oil sludge accumulates on the opening and impedes the wind flow of the cooking fumes, the sensor honestly senses a substandard wind flow and then creates the sensed flow value lower than the predetermined flow value. Accordingly, after the processing unit executes the comparison between the sensed flow value and the predetermined flow value, the obstruction is immediately realized, and the processing unit lets the air pump stop operation or the alarm unit alert operators. Thereby, the air guider keeps clean and the inhaling effect on the cooking fumes is maintained.
While we have shown and described the embodiment in accordance with the present invention, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

I claim:

1. An assembly for cooking with a safety device comprising:

a platform;

a cooking device having a cooking plane disposed on said platform and a heater that is able to heat said cooking plane;

an air guider having a housing disposed on said platform and located beside said cooking plane, a filter as well as an air pump disposed in said platform, and an air channel disposed to communicate said housing, said filter, and said air pump with each other within said platform; wherein, said housing has an opening defined therein; and

a safety device having a sensor disposed in said air guider for sensing a wind flow, a memory unit disposed to store a predetermined flow value therein, and a processing unit that connects said sensor and said memory unit; said sensor detecting and transforming said wind flow into a sensed flow value which is transmitted to said processing unit; said processing unit comparing said sensed flow value with said predetermined flow value for determining whether said air guider is in an obstructed state to attain a safe operation of said air guider.

2. The assembly for cooking as claimed in claim 1, wherein, an alarm unit connected to said processing unit is disposed on said platform; said alarm unit signals when said sensed flow value is lower than said predetermined flow value.

3. The assembly for cooking as claimed in claim 1, wherein, a trigger unit connected to said processing unit is disposed between said filter and said platform.

4. The assembly for cooking as claimed in claim 1, wherein, said processing unit is electrically connected to said air pump; a rotation speed of said air pump is promoted by said processing unit when said sensed flow value is lower than said predetermined flow value.

5. The assembly for cooking as claimed in claim 2, wherein, said processing unit is electrically connected to said air pump; a rotation speed of said air pump is promoted by said processing unit when said sensed flow value is lower than said predetermined flow value.