Patent ID: 7810488
Filing Date: 2010-10-12
Classification: A21B

Abstract:
1. A pressureless steamer for cooking food comprising: a cooking compartment having a door, an inlet for steam and an outlet for steam and condensate, a steam generator disposed adjacent said cooking compartment having a water reservoir, a heat exchanger secured within said reservoir in a heat-transferring relationship at an exterior surface of said heat exchanger with the water held in said reservoir, and a heater that supplies heat to the interior of said heat exchanger, a tempering tank vented to atmosphere having a drain and level controls for a water supply held in the tempering tank, a pressure-sensing device disposed to measure the steam pressure in said cooking compartment and to generate electrical output signals indicative of minimum and maximum pressure values constituting an operating range for the cooking that control the operation of said heater to maintain the steam pressure in said cooking compartment within said operating range, a switch operatively connected to said door that allows the operation of said heater only when said door is closed, a connector that delivers steam from said steam generator to said cooking compartment, and an outlet conduit that directs steam and condensate from said outlet to said tempering tank, said outlet conduit being spaced above said controlled water level in said tempering tank and in fluid communication with said atmospheric vent at all times to vent steam to atmosphere.