Abstract:
A domestic steaming appliance for steaming food items is provided. The domestic steamer appliance includes a base; a steamer insert mounted in the base; a steamer cup located below the steamer insert; a removable water tank configured to hold water for feeding to the steamer cup, the water tank having a top that forms an air tight seal with the water tank when the top is in place on the water tank; and a feeder tube fluidly connecting the water tank to the steamer cup, the feeder tube being connected to the steamer cup at a steamer cup inlet. The water in the water tank is fed to the steamer cup by way of the feeder tube under gravitational force only.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The invention is directed to an apparatus and method related to filling a steamer cup in a cooktop steamer. 
         [0002]    An example of an application for the invention is a steamer mounted in a range top in a domestic kitchen. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Some modern domestic kitchens include an appliance for preparing food by steaming. 
         [0004]    In some domestic appliances, steam is created for cooking in a range top steamer. By using a cup assembly with a heating element incorporated, steam is generated in a matter of seconds. Water is supplied to the steam cup area from a separate water tank. Some cooktop steamers have a steam cup assembly, including a heater element and temperature limiting resistors, that is located at the bottom of a steamer cavity. An electronically controlled valve with appropriate sensors is used to control the amount of water fed to the steam cup. The problem with this type of appliance is that the electronically controlled valve can be expensive and complicated, leading to potential failures and costly repairs. 
         [0005]    Applicants recognized this problem and developed a solution as described herein. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    The invention achieves the benefit of not requiring an electronically controlled valve and the associated electronics and sensors. The invention achieves this benefit by providing a removable water tank, an automatic mechanical valve, and a particular configuration of water feeder tube and steamer cup inlet. 
         [0007]    Particular embodiments of the invention are directed to a domestic steaming appliance for steaming food items. The domestic steamer appliance includes a base; a steamer insert mounted in the base; a steamer cup located below the steamer insert; a removable water tank configured to hold water for feeding to the steamer cup, the water tank having a top that forms an air tight seal with the water tank when the top is in place on the water tank; and a feeder tube fluidly connecting the water tank to the steamer cup, the feeder tube being connected to the steamer cup at a steamer cup inlet. The water in the water tank is fed to the steamer cup by way of the feeder tube under gravitational force only. 
         [0008]    Other embodiments of the invention are directed to a method of filling a steamer cup in a domestic steaming appliance for steaming food items, the domestic steamer appliance having a base, a steamer insert mounted in the base, a steamer cup located below the steamer insert, a removable water tank configured to hold water for feeding to the steamer cup, the water tank having a top that forms an air tight seal with the water tank when the top is in place on the water tank, and a feeder tube fluidly connecting the water tank to the steamer cup, the feeder tube being connected to the steamer cup at a steamer cup inlet. The method includes removing the water tank from the domestic steamer appliance; adding water to the water tank; placing the water tank with water in the base, the placement of the water tank in the base causing water to flow from the water tank to the steamer cup; and limiting an amount of the water that enters the steamer cup by preventing air from flowing from the steamer cup to the water tank through the feeder tube when the water in the steamer cup covers the steamer cup inlet. The water in the water tank is fed to the steamer cup by way of the feeder tube under gravitational force only. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    The following figures form part of the present specification and are included to further demonstrate certain aspects of the disclosed features and functions, and should not be used to limit or define the disclosed features and functions. Consequently, a more complete understanding of the exemplary embodiments and further features and advantages thereof may be acquired by referring to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  is an exploded view of an exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a partial sectional view of an exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a partial sectional view of an exemplary embodiment of the invention; and 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is an example of a method in accordance with embodiments of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0014]    The invention is described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. 
         [0015]    As explained above, embodiments of the invention provide a solution to the problems associated with use of an electronically controlled valve and the associated electronic controls and sensors to control the amount of water fed to the steam cup. Embodiments of the invention use a gravity fed system for supplying the proper amount of water to the steamer cup to produce steam for cooking the food. As water is used in the production of steam, and the water level in the steamer cup drops past a certain point, water is automatically fed from the water tank to the steamer cup. 
         [0016]      FIG. 1  shows an exploded view of an example of embodiments of the invention. The example shown in  FIG. 1  is a cooktop steamer  10  that can be mounted in a countertop or a range, for example. Steamer  10  has a base  100  that is configured to be recessed, for example, in a mounting surface such as, for example, a countertop or a range. A steamer body  300  sits in base  100  and includes a container  310  and a baffle  320 . Container  310  forms the bottom and sides of the steaming area. Container  310  can be made of a metal such as, for example, stainless steel or aluminum, or of another heat resistant material. 
         [0017]    Baffle  320  may have perforations around its perimeter to allow steam produced in a steamer cup assembly  200  (describe below in more detail) to be distributed within container  310  and/or to prevent food from falling into steamer cup  210 . In this example, the upper portion of baffle  320  is shown a solid, with no perforations, however other examples may include perforations in the upper portion of baffle  320 . Like container  310 , baffle  320  can be made of a metal such as, for example, stainless steel or aluminum, or of another heat resistant material. 
         [0018]    A lid  600  having a cover portion  610  and a handle  620  forms the top of the steaming area. Although cover portion  610  is shown as transparent glass in this example, other materials can be used. 
         [0019]    A steamer insert  500  is configured to sit within container  310  and below lid  600  during the steaming process. Food items to be steamed can be placed in steamer insert  500 . As shown more clearly in  FIG. 2 , steamer insert  500  has perforations  510  in its lower surface to allow steam produced in steamer cup assembly  200  to rise and contact the food items to be steamed. In some embodiments, the sides of steamer insert  500  also include perforations. In this example, steamer insert  500  has a lip at its upper edge that sits in a recess in container  310  so that the bottom of steamer insert  500  is held above baffle  320  in order to facilitate a more uniform distribution of steam rising up through perforations  510 . Some embodiments include a handle, either removable or attached, on steamer insert  500  to facilitate the removal of steamer insert  500  from container  310 . 
         [0020]    Base  100  is configured to receive, or includes, a tank receiving portion  410  that receives a removable water tank  420 . Removable water tank  420  holds water that is supplied to steamer cup assembly  200  for the production of steam by steamer cup assembly  200 . Steamer cup assembly  200  includes a heat source that heats steamer cup  210  to produce the steam. Water tank  420  has a removable top  430  that forms an airtight seal with water tank  420  when removable top  430  is in place on water tank  420 . Water tank  420  and top  430  are removable as a unit from tank receiving portion  410 . 
         [0021]    As shown more clearly in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , in this example, water tank  420  includes a valve  230  in its bottom surface. When water tank  420  is in the operating position, as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , a lower end of valve  230  contacts feeder tube  220  and is pushed up by feeder tube  220 . This opens valve  230  and allows water to flow from water tank  420  through feeder tube  220  and into steamer cup  210 . When water tank  420  is removed from tank receiving portion  410 , valve  230  is allowed to move into a closed position as the bottom of valve  230  is moved away from feeder tube  220 . Valve  230  can include a spring that urges valve  230  downward into the closed position. While a spring is used in this example, other urging devices can be used to move valve  230  from the open position to the closed position. 
         [0022]    Because water tank  420  forms an airtight seal with top  430 , the only inlet/outlet for air and/or water is valve  230 . As a result, for water to drain from water tank  420  into feeder to  220  and, ultimately, steamer cup  210 , air must travel from steamer cup  210  through feeder tube  220  and into water tank  420 . 
         [0023]    As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , a steamer cup inlet  240  exists at the interface between feeder tube  220  and steamer cup  210 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , feeder tube  220  is angled downward from valve  230  to steamer cup inlet  240 . This configuration permits air to travel into steamer cup inlet  240  and through feeder tube  220  into water tank  420  until the water level in steamer cup  210  is above the top of steamer cup inlet  240 . When the water level in steamer cup  210  is above the top of steamer cup inlet  240 , no further air can pass through steamer cup inlet  240  and into water tank  420 . This creates a low-pressure situation in water tank  420  which prevents any further water from leaving water tank  420 . As water is boiled in steamer cup  210  and, as a result, the water level in steamer cup  210  drops, the top of steamer cup inlet  240  is eventually exposed to air, allowing air to travel into steamer cup inlet  240 , through feeder tube  220  and into water tank  420 . This passage of air relieves the low-pressure situation in water tank  420  and allows water to again flow from water tank  420  into steamer cup  210 . This cycle is repeated as water is boiled off during the production of steam. 
         [0024]    Some cooktop steamers use an external heating element to heat a much larger cavity (similar to the invention&#39;s container  310 ) that contains water to produce steam. This type of arrangement requires larger heat source, or a much longer time to generate steam. By heating a smaller amount of water in steamer cup  210 , the invention produces steam more quickly with a smaller heat source. 
         [0025]    The above described embodiments of the invention allow this smaller amount of water to be gravity fed to steamer cup  210  without the use of an electronically controlled valve and, at the same time, preventing overfilling of steamer cup  210 . The configuration of steamer cup inlet  240  and feeder tube  220  in conjunction with the airtight nature of water tank  420  results in a system that automatically refills steamer cup  210  as needed. Because valve  230  is moved to the open position when water tank  420  is positioned in the operating position, in this example water tank  420  is removal so that water can be introduced to water tank  420  while valve  230  is in the closed position. Then, when water tank  420  is placed in the operating position and valve  230  is moved to the open position, because lid  430  of water tank  420  is airtight, only the desired amount of water can flow from water tank  422  steamer cup  210 . 
         [0026]      FIG. 4  shows an example of a method in accordance with embodiments of the invention. At  810 , a user removes the water tank from the steamer appliance. At  820 , the user adds water to the water tank and secures the airtight top on the water tank. At  830 , the user places the water tank in the base, which activates the valve and allows water to flow from the water tank through the feeder tube and into the steamer cup. At  840 , the amount of water that enters the steamer cup is limited by air being prevented from flowing from the steamer cup to the water tank as a result of the water level in the steamer cup covering the steamer cup inlet. 
         [0027]    As can be seen in the above exemplary embodiments, the invention provides a solution to the problems associated with use of an electronically controlled valve and the associated electronic controls and sensors to control the amount of water fed to the steam cup. 
         [0028]    It will be appreciated that variants of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be combined into many other different systems or applications. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the invention.