Abstract:
A cooking apparatus includes a main body; a cooking chamber defined in the main body; a removable divider designed to be placed in the cooking chamber to partition the cooking chamber; a drawer, which has a storage space therein, to be slidably extracted and retracted; a drawer receiving space defined beneath the cooking chamber to receive the drawer; a divider storage space arranged between the cooking chamber and the drawer receiving space to store the divider removed from the cooking chamber; and an insulation member provided between the cooking chamber and the divider storage space. The divider storage space is accessible while the drawer is open.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/339,496 filed on Dec. 29, 2011, which claims the priority benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2011-0039168 filed on Apr. 26, 2011 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field 
         [0003]    Embodiments of the present invention relate to a cooking apparatus having a divider detachably mounted in a cooking chamber. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    In general, a cooking apparatus includes a cooking chamber and a heat source emitting heat into the cooking chamber so as to cook food with heat emitted from the heat source. Such a cooking apparatus is also provided with a divider to partition the cooking chamber, in order to easily apply a variety of temperature conditions in the cooking chamber or to prevent the entire cooking chamber from being used unnecessarily while cooking a small quantity of food. 
         [0006]    A separate heat source and blowing fan are provided in each cooking chamber partitioned by the divider, so that each cooking chamber may be operated independently. 
         [0007]    A user may use the cooking chamber in a partitioned state by placing the divider in the cooking chamber or in a non-partitioned state by removing the divider from the cooking chamber as necessary. Conventionally, a user stores the divider in a separate space outside the cooking apparatus when the divider is removed from the cooking chamber. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0008]    Therefore, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide a cooking apparatus which includes a removable divider in a cooking chamber and a divider storage portion capable of storing the divider within the cooking apparatus without storing the divider outside of the cooking apparatus when the divider is removed from the cooking chamber. 
         [0009]    Additional aspects of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. 
         [0010]    In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a cooking apparatus includes a main body, a cooking chamber defined in the main body, a removable divider designed to be placed in the cooking chamber to partition the cooking chamber, a drawer which has a storage space therein to be slidably extracted and retracted, a drawer receiving space defined beneath the cooking chamber in the main body to receive the drawer, and a divider storage portion arranged adjacent to the drawer receiving space to store the divider. 
         [0011]    The divider may have insulating properties to prevent heat transfer between the cooking chambers partitioned by the divider. 
         [0012]    The divider stored in the divider storage portion may be not exposed to the outside of the main body while the drawer is in a closed state. 
         [0013]    The divider storage portion may include a divider storage space, a divider housing defining the divider storage space, and a pair of support ribs arranged at respective lateral sides of the divider storage space to guide the divider into the divider storage space and support the divider. 
         [0014]    The divider housing may be fixably coupled to the main body. 
         [0015]    Each of the support ribs may include a guide portion which protrudes forward from the divider storage space and has a slanted shape so as to smoothly guide the divider into the divider storage space, and a support portion having a flat shape to support the divider retracted into the divider storage space. 
         [0016]    Further, each of the support ribs may include a support wall upwardly protruding to guide the divider to be retracted into the divider storage space. 
         [0017]    Each of the support ribs may be fixably coupled to the main body. 
         [0018]    The cooking apparatus may further include a bake heater installed between the cooking chamber and the drawer receiving space to emit heat into the cooking chamber. 
         [0019]    Also, the cooking apparatus may further include an insulating portion formed between the bake heater and the divider storage portion to prevent heat emitted from the bake heater from being transferred to the divider storage portion. 
         [0020]    The insulating portion may include an insulating plate and an air barrier defined between the insulating plate and the divider housing of the divider storage portion. 
         [0021]    The insulating portion may further include at least one flow hole formed at a side surface of the air barrier to allow air to flow into and out of the air barrier. 
         [0022]    In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a cooking apparatus includes a main body, a cooking chamber defined in the main body, a divider detachably mounted in the cooking chamber to partition the cooking chamber, and a divider storage portion formed in the main body space so that the divider removed from the cooking chamber is slidably retracted and stored therein. 
         [0023]    The divider storage portion may include a divider storage space and a pair of support ribs arranged at respective lateral sides of the divider storage space to guide the divider into the divider storage space and support the divider. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0024]    These and/or other aspects of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which: 
           [0025]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating an external appearance of a cooking apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0026]      FIG. 2  is a front view illustrating an interior of the cooking chamber of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0027]      FIG. 3  is a side sectional view of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0028]      FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view illustrating a divider storage portion and an insulating portion of  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0029]      FIG. 5  is a front view illustrating the divider storage portion and the insulating portion of  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0030]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view illustrating support ribs of the divider storage portion of  FIG. 3 ; and 
           [0031]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view illustrating principal components of the divider storage portion and the insulating portion of  FIG. 3 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0032]    Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. 
         [0033]    Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.  FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating an external appearance of a cooking apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0034]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , the cooking apparatus  1  includes a main body  10  defining an external appearance thereof, a cooking table  14  which is arranged at an upper portion of the main body  10  and on which food is placed to be cooked, and an operation panel  11 . The operation panel  11  may be provided with a display  13  to display a variety of cooking information and an operation knob  12  to allow a user to set a variety of cooking modes. 
         [0035]    A cooking chamber  40 , in which food is sealed and cooked, is provided at a central portion of the main body  10 . The cooking chamber  40  has a substantially rectangular shape while being opened at a front thereof. The front of the cooking chamber  40  is opened and closed by a door  30  with a door handle  32 . 
         [0036]    A lower portion of the door  30  is joined to the main body  10  by a hinge so that the door  30  is pivoted frontward to open and close the front of the cooking chamber  40  (see  FIG. 2 ). A transparent window  31  made of a transparent material such as glass, for example, is provided at the door  30  so that a cooking process of food in the cooking chamber  40  may be seen from the outside through the door  30 . 
         [0037]    A drawer  33  having a storage space  35  is installed beneath the cooking chamber  40  to store cooking utensils or a small quantity of food, for example. The drawer  33  is arranged so as to be slidably extracted from and retracted into the main body  10 . Accordingly, a user may extract the drawer  33  from and retract the drawer  33  into the main body  10  while gripping a drawer handle  34 . 
         [0038]    Reference numeral  70  in  FIG. 1  denotes a divider  70 . The divider  70  may be detachably mounted in the cooking chamber  40  to partition the cooking chamber  40 .  FIG. 1  shows a state in which the divider  70  is extracted from or retracted into a divider storage portion  72  (see  FIG. 3 ) arranged above a drawer receiving space  36  (see  FIG. 3 ). 
         [0039]      FIG. 2  is a front view illustrating an interior of the cooking chamber of  FIG. 1 . Also,  FIG. 2  shows a state in which the divider  70  and a tray  71  are arranged in the cooking chamber  40 . 
         [0040]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , the main body  10  includes a top plate  20 , a bottom plate  21 , a back plate  22 , and opposite side plates  23  and  24  to form the cooking chamber  40 . That is, the cooking chamber  40  is defined by the top plate  20 , the bottom plate  21 , the back plate  22 , and the opposite side plates  23  and  24  of the main body  10 . The front of the cooking chamber  40  is shown as opened. 
         [0041]    The tray  71 , on which food is placed to be cooked, may be included in the cooking chamber  40 . The tray may include a wire rack. 
         [0042]    A plurality of support bars  25  and  26  is formed at the opposite side plates  23  and  24  to locate the tray  71  in the cooking chamber  40 . A user may use the tray  71  after locating the tray  71  on desired pairs of the plural support bars  25  and  26 , considering the size of food, for example. 
         [0043]    Meanwhile, the divider  70  may be arranged in the cooking chamber  40  to partition the cooking chamber  40  into a first cooking chamber  41  and a second cooking chamber  42 . The divider  70  has a size and shape corresponding to a horizontal cross section of the cooking chamber  40  to prevent heat transfer between the first cooking chamber  41  arranged at an upper position and the second cooking chamber  42  arranged at a lower position. The divider  70  may be made of an insulating material such as tempered glass, for example, and an edge of the divider  70  may be reinforced, such as coated with a material such as stainless steel, for example. 
         [0044]    Such a divider  70  may be located on desired pairs of the plural support bars  25  and  26  formed at the opposite side plates  23  and  24 . For example, the support bars  26  may be arranged at the middles of the opposite side plates  23  and  24 . A support groove  27  may be formed to protrude from the back plate  22  of the main body  10  into the cooking chamber  40  to support the divider  70  (see  FIG. 3 ). 
         [0045]    Meanwhile, the main body  10  is provided with a broil heater  50  to emit heat into the first cooking chamber  41  and a bake heater  51  to emit heat into the second chamber  42 . The broil heater  50  is mounted on a lower side of the top plate  20  to be exposed toward the first cooking chamber  41 , whereas the bake heater  51  is concealed beneath the bottom plate  21  to prevent from being damaged due to the falling of food, for example. 
         [0046]    Also, an upper convection fan  53  and a lower convection fan  54  are respectively arranged at the rears of the first and second cooking chambers  41  and  42  so that food is cooked by circulating air in the cooking chamber through convection. 
         [0047]    Here, a convection heater  52  having a substantially circular shape is additionally provided around the lower convection fan  54  of the second cooking chamber  42 . Consequently, various temperatures are easily applied in the first and second cooking chambers  41  and  42  since the second cooking chamber  42  further includes an additional heat source, compared to the first cooking chamber  41 . 
         [0048]      FIG. 3  is a side sectional view of  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view illustrating the divider storage portion and an insulating portion of  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 5  is a front view illustrating the divider storage portion and the insulating portion of  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 6  is a perspective view illustrating support ribs of the divider storage portion of  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 7  is a perspective view illustrating principal components of the divider storage portion and the insulating portion of  FIG. 3 . 
         [0049]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , an upper casing  57  and a lower casing  58  are respectively installed around the upper and lower convection fans  53  and  54  to prevent the fans  53  and  54  from being damaged due to suction of foreign materials, for example. Inlet holes  59  to suck air and outlet holes  60  to discharge air are formed at each of the upper and lower casings  57  and  58 . Further, the main body  10  is provided with an upper motor  55  and a lower motor  56  to drive the upper and lower convection fans  53  and  54 , respectively. 
         [0050]    Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the cooking apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes the divider storage portion  72  to store the divider  70  separated from the cooking chamber  40  and the insulating portion  100  to prevent heat emitted from the bake heater  51  from being transferred to the divider storage portion  72 . The divider storage portion  72  may be arranged in the drawer receiving space  36  provided at the lower portion of the main body  10  to receive the drawer  33 . On the other hand, the divider storage portion  72  may be arranged above the drawer receiving space  36  so that the divider  70  is covered with a head portion  37  of the drawer  33  when the drawer  33  is retracted into the drawer receiving space  36 . 
         [0051]    Although not shown as such, the head portion  37  of the drawer  33  may also have a height slightly lower than that of the divider storage portion  72  to expose the divider storage portion  72  to the outside so that the divider  70  may be extracted and retracted without extraction of the drawer  33 . Alternatively, the divider storage portion  72  may be arranged beneath the drawer receiving space  36 . 
         [0052]    The divider storage portion  72  includes a divider storage space  73  to store the divider  70 , a divider housing  74  to define the divider storage space  73 , and support ribs  75  and  76  to guide and support the divider  70  to be retracted into the divider storage space  73 . The divider storage space  73  is a space to store the divider  70 , and is substantially similar to or slightly greater than a shape of the divider  70 . The tray  71  (see  FIG. 2 ) as well as the divider  70  may be stored in the divider storage space  73 . 
         [0053]    Reference numeral  15  in  FIG. 3  denotes a cooking table heater  15  to heat food placed on the cooking table  14 . 
         [0054]    The divider housing  74  defining the divider storage space  73  may be formed of a single plate. The divider housing  74  includes a raised portion  80  which is upwardly lifted, and the divider storage space  73  is formed beneath the raised portion  80 . Therefore, the raised portion  80  defines an upper side, a rear side, and lateral sides of the divider storage space  73 . 
         [0055]    Further, a guide wall  79  may be formed by upwardly bending a front edge of the raised portion  80  to guide the divider  70  into the divider storage space  73 . The configuration of the divider housing  74  is not limited to the present embodiment. For example, the divider housing  74  may be formed by coupling a plurality of plates to define a divider storage space between the plural plates. 
         [0056]    Also, the divider housing  74  includes first coupling portions  81  which protrude laterally. Fastening holes  77  and a first coupling hole  78  are formed at each of the first coupling portions  81 . The divider housing  74  is coupled to the main body  10  through fastening holes  77 , and the divider housing  74  is coupled to an insulating plate  101  described below through the first coupling hole  78 . Accordingly, the divider housing  74  may be fixably coupled to the main body  10  through the fastening holes  77 . 
         [0057]    Meanwhile, as shown in  FIG. 5 , a pair of support ribs  75  and  76  is provided. The support ribs  75  and  76  are arranged respectively beneath left and right sides of the divider storage space  73  to support the divider  70  inserted into the divider storage space  73 . Since the support ribs  75  and  76  are a symmetrical shape, only one support rib  75  will be described below. 
         [0058]    Referring to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the support rib  75  has a substantially elongated bar shape. The support rib  75  includes a guide portion  90  to guide the divider  70  into the divider storage space  73  and a support portion  92  to support the divider  70 . 
         [0059]    An upper surface  93  of the support portion  92  is formed in a flat shape so that the support portion  92  stably supports the divider  70 . An upper surface  91  of the guide portion  90  has a slightly slanted shape. The upper surface  91  of the guide portion  90  may be slanted in an upward direction as going from the end of the guide portion  90  toward the support portion  92 . Also, the guide portion  90  is arranged at a position which slightly protrudes forward from the divider storage space  73 . 
         [0060]    In accordance with such a configuration, the position where the divider  70  is retracted into the divider storage space  73  may be easily determined, so that the divider  70  may be smoothly retracted into the divider storage space  73 . 
         [0061]    A support wall  94  is formed at the upper surfaces of the support portion  92  and the guide portions  90  to support a side surface of the divider  70 . Thus, the support wall  94  defines a portion of the corresponding side of the divider storage space  73 . A plurality of coupling protrusions  95  may be formed at one side of the support rib  75  so that the support rib  75  is coupled to the main body  10 . As a result, the support rib  75  may be securely coupled to a side surface of the main body  10  through the coupling protrusions  95 . 
         [0062]    Meanwhile, in an exemplary embodiment, the support ribs  75  and  76  coupled to the respective side surfaces of the main body  10  are used to support the divider  70 . However, a structure other than the support ribs  75  and  76  may be used to support the divider  70 , such as a support plate having substantially the same size as the divider  70 , for example. 
         [0063]    Hereinafter, the insulating portion  100  according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference again to  FIGS. 3 and 4 . 
         [0064]    The insulating portion  100  is located between the bake heater  51  and the divider storage portion  72  to prevent heat emitted from the bake heater  51  from being transferred to the divider storage portion  72 . Also, the insulating portion  100  includes an insulating plate  101  and an air barrier  102 . That is, the insulating plate  101  defines an upper side of the air barrier  102 , whereas the divider housing  74  of the divider storage portion  72  defines a lower side of the air barrier  102 . The insulating plate  101  may be formed as a single plate with bent edges. The bent edges define an upper surface, a front surface, a rear surface, and lateral side surfaces of the air barrier  102 . 
         [0065]    A plurality of flow holes  104  and  103  are formed at the edges of the insulating plate  101  defining the front surface, the rear surface, and the lateral side surfaces of the air barrier  102  so that air flows into and out of the air barrier  102  through the flow holes  104  and  103 . As a result, the air continuously flows into and out of the air barrier  102 , thereby emitting heat to the outside. 
         [0066]    The insulating plate  101  includes second coupling portions  106 . A second coupling hole  105  is formed at each of the second coupling portions  106  so that the insulating plate  101  is coupled to the divider housing  74 . Accordingly, the insulating plate  101  may be fixably coupled to the divider housing  74  through the second coupling hole  105 , thereby defining the air barrier  102 . 
         [0067]    In accordance with the configuration of the insulating portion  100 , heat may be prevented from being transferred to the divider  70  stored in the divider storage portion  72 , so that the divider  70  stored in the divider storage portion  72  may be kept at room temperature. Therefore, a user may safely extract the divider  70  from the divider storage portion  72 . 
         [0068]    Heretofore, the configuration of the cooking apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention has been described. Hereinafter, a cooking mode using the cooking apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be simply described with reference to  FIG. 2 . 
         [0069]    If desired, a user may use the cooking chamber  40  in a partitioned state, wherein the first and second cooking chambers  41  and  42  are partitioned, by mounting the divider  70  in the cooking chamber  40 . In this case, in order to apply a variety of temperature conditions in the first and second cooking chambers  41  and  42 , a user may operate only a portion or all of the broil heater  50 , the upper convection fan  53 , the bake heater  51 , the convection heater  52 , and the lower convection heater  54 . That is, a user may operate the broil heater  50  and the upper convection fan  53 , operate the bake heater  51 , the convection heater  52 , and the lower convection heater  54 , or operate the broil heater  50 , the upper convection fan  53 , the bake heater  51 , the convection heater  52 , and the lower convection heater  54 . 
         [0070]    Also, a user may cook food using the entirety of the cooking chamber  40  by removing the divider  70  from the cooking chamber  40 . In this case, the removed divider  70  may be stored in the divider storage portion  72  which is arranged above the drawer receiving space  36 . 
         [0071]    As is apparent from the above description, in accordance with aspects of the present invention, when the divider is removed from the cooking chamber, the removed divider may be stored within the cooking apparatus. The stored divider may not be visible from the outside of the cooking apparatus, so that the external aesthetics of the cooking apparatus may be maintained. Also, the tray, on which food may be placed, and which may be detachably mounted in the cooking chamber, may be stored in the divider storage portion which may store the divider. 
         [0072]    Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.