Microwave oven having a steaming plate

A microwave oven which has a simple structure, and steams food placed in a cooking cavity without having a separate steaming container. The microwave oven includes the cooking cavity provided in a cabinet, a magnetron provided outside the cooking cavity to irradiate microwaves into the cooking cavity, and a microwave inlet hole formed on a predetermined portion of the cooking cavity to irradiate the microwaves from the magnetron into the cooking cavity. A steaming plate is provided in the cooking cavity so as to partition the cooking cavity into upper and lower sections, and blocks the microwaves and allows water vapor to pass therethrough. The microwave inlet hole communicates with a bottom of the steaming plate provided in the cooking cavity.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. 2002-55992, filed Sep. 14, 2002, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates, in general, to microwave ovens and, more particularly, to a microwave oven which has a simple structure, and steams food in a cooking cavity without having a separate steaming container.

2. Description of the Related Art

As is well known to those skilled in the art, a microwave oven is an appliance which cooks, using microwaves, food placed in a cooking cavity of the microwave oven. That is, when microwaves from a magnetron irradiate the cooking cavity and cause an arrangement of molecules of moisture laden in the food to be repeatedly vibrated, frictional heat is generated within the food and cooks the food.

As shown inFIG. 1, the conventional microwave oven includes a cabinet1which defines an appearance of the microwave oven. The cabinet1is partitioned into a cooking cavity2and a machine room3. A door (not shown) is hinged to a front of the cabinet1to selectively open or close the cooking cavity2. A magnetron3aand a high-voltage transformer3bare installed in the machine room3. The magnetron3airradiates microwaves into the cooking cavity2. The high-voltage transformer3bapplies high voltage to the magnetron3a. A cooking tray2ais provided in the cooking cavity2so as to be rotated during an operation of the microwave oven.

After the food is placed on the cooking tray2aand the door is closed, the microwave oven is operated. At this time, the food placed in the cooking cavity2is cooked by microwaves from the magnetron3ato irradiate in the cooking cavity2.

However, the conventional microwave oven is designed such that the food placed in the cooking cavity2is cooked through only a microwave-heating operation, so that a steaming container must be additionally installed in the cooking cavity2so as to steam the food placed in the cooking cavity2, thus complicating a use of the microwave oven and causing inconvenience to a user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide a microwave oven which is capable of steaming food placed in a cooking cavity, without having a separate steaming container, by adding a simple structure to the microwave oven.

The foregoing and other aspects are achieved by providing a microwave oven, including a cooking cavity provided in a cabinet, a magnetron provided outside the cooking cavity to irradiate microwaves into the cooking cavity, and a microwave inlet hole formed on a predetermined portion of the cooking cavity to supply the microwaves irradiated from the magnetron into the cooking cavity, wherein a steaming plate is provided in the cooking cavity so as to partition the cooking cavity into upper and lower sections, the steaming plate blocking the microwaves and allowing water vapor to pass therethrough, and the microwave inlet hole communicating with (for example, disposed in the lower section of the cooking cavity) a bottom of the steaming plate provided in the cooking cavity.

The steaming plate is made of a microwave blocking material, and a plurality of vapor passing holes of a predetermined size are formed on the steaming plate to block the microwaves and allow the water vapor to pass therethrough.

The steaming plate is removably mounted in the cooking cavity.

Further, a support is provided on each sidewall of the cooking cavity, the support being inwardly projected from the sidewall of the cooking cavity such that each side edge of the steaming plate is supported by the support.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The microwave oven of an embodiment of the present invention cooks, using microwaves, food placed in a cooking cavity of the microwave oven. That is, when the microwaves from the magnetron irradiate the cooking cavity of the microwave oven and cause molecules of moisture laden in the food to vibrate, frictional heat is generated within the food and cooks the food. As shown inFIG. 2, the microwave oven includes a cabinet10which defines an appearance of the microwave oven. The cabinet10is partitioned into a cooking cavity20and a machine room30. The cooking cavity20is used to cook the food. The machine room30contains several electrical devices.

A door (not shown) is hinged to a front of the cabinet10to selectively open or close the cooking cavity20. A control panel (not shown) is mounted to the cabinet10in front of the machine room30, and is provided with several control buttons.

The machine room30contains several electrical devices, including a magnetron31and a high-voltage transformer32, to irradiate microwaves into the cooking cavity20. The magnetron31irradiates the microwaves into the cooking cavity20and the high-voltage transformer32applies high voltage to the magnetron31. A wave guide33is interposed between the magnetron31and the cooking cavity20to guide the microwaves from the magnetron31into the cooking cavity20. A microwave inlet hole21is formed on a predetermined portion of the cooking cavity20to supply the microwaves from the wave guide33into the cooking cavity20.

A disc-shaped cooking tray22is provided on a bottom of the cooking cavity20so as to be rotated during an operation of the microwave oven. A drive motor23is installed in a space between the bottom of the cooking cavity20and a bottom of the cabinet10to rotate the disc-shaped cooking tray22. A coupler24is provided between the drive motor23and the disc-shaped cooking tray22. To transmit a driving force of the drive motor23to the disc-shaped cooking tray22, the coupler24is connected to a rotating shaft of the drive motor23and passes through the bottom of the cooking cavity20to be connected to a bottom of the disc-shaped cooking tray22.

After food40is placed on the disc-shaped cooking tray22of the microwave oven constructed in this way, the microwave oven is operated. At this time, the microwaves from the magnetron31irradiate the cooking cavity20to cook the food40placed on the disc-shaped cooking tray22.

Further, the microwave oven allows the food40placed in the cooking cavity20to be steamed without a steaming container. A construction of the microwave oven which allows the food40to be steamed without the steaming container will be described in the following in detail.

The microwave oven is provided with a steaming plate50. The steaming plate50partitions the cooking cavity20into upper and lower sections. The steaming plate50is designed to block microwaves and allow water vapor to pass therethrough. The microwave inlet hole21through which the microwaves are supplied into the cooking cavity20, is provided at a position on a sidewall of the cooking cavity20between the machine room30and the lower section of the cooking cavity20to communicate with the cooking cavity20under the steaming plate50.

To place the steaming plate50, which is of a rectangular shape, in the cooking cavity20, a rail-shaped support60is provided on each sidewall of the cooking cavity20. Each rail-shaped support60is inwardly projected from a respective sidewall of the cooking cavity20such that each side edge of the steaming plate50is supported by the rail-shaped support60. Thus, the steaming plate50is removably installed in the cooking cavity20by the rail-shaped supports60.

The steaming plate50is made of a microwave blocking material to block the microwaves and allow the water vapor to pass therethrough. As shown inFIG. 3, a streaming plate with a plurality of vapor passing holes51of a predetermined size are formed throughout the steaming plate50to block the microwaves and allow the water vapor to pass therethrough.

First, the food40is placed on the steaming plate50and a water container70is placed on the disc-shaped cooking tray22under the steaming plate50. When the microwave oven is operated in such a state, water contained in the water container70is heated by the microwaves irradiated into the cooking cavity20under the steaming plate50through the microwave inlet hole21to generate the water vapor. The water vapor is transmitted to the food40placed on the steaming plate50through the vapor passing holes51, so that the food40is steamed. In this case, the microwaves serve to heat the water contained in the water container70which then passes through the vapor passing holes51, but the microwaves are not directly transmitted to the upper section of the cooking cavity20which is above the steaming plate50. Thus, the food40placed on the steaming plate50is cooked by only the water vapor. The water container70may be made of a microwave transmitting material, such as glass, plastic and ceramic.

The microwave oven allows the food placed in the cooking cavity20to be steamed without a steaming container by providing a simple structure, that is, the steaming plate50, thus achieving various functions of the microwave oven, and thereby reducing the cost of the microwave oven by eliminating the steaming container.

A process of cooking the food40using the microwave oven according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in the following, in detail.

When the food40placed in the cooking cavity20is desired to be cooked through a microwave-heating operation, as shown inFIG. 4, the steaming plate50is removed from the cooking cavity20. After the food40to be cooked is placed on the disc-shaped cooking tray22, the microwave oven is operated. At this time, microwaves from the magnetron31directly irradiate the food40placed on the disc-shaped cooking tray22, so that the food40is cooked through the microwave-heating operation.

Meanwhile, when the food40placed in the cooking cavity20is desired to be steamed, as shown inFIG. 2, the steaming plate50is installed in the cooking cavity20such that respective opposite side edges of the steaming plate50are supported on respective rail shaped supports60. After the water container70is placed on the disc-shaped cooking tray22under the steaming plate50, the food40is placed on the steaming plate50and the microwave oven is operated. At this time, the water, which is contained in the water container70and heated by the microwaves irradiated from the magnetron31, evaporates to generate the water vapor. The water vapor is transmitted to the food40through the vapor passing holes51of the steaming plate50to steam the food40.

As is apparent from the above description, a microwave oven is provided which allows food placed in a cooking cavity to be steamed without having a separate steaming container by providing a simple structure, that is, a steaming plate, thus achieving various functions of the microwave oven, and thereby reducing the cost of the microwave oven by eliminating the steaming container.