The present invention relates to a superheated-steam generator device, and more particularly to a superheated-steam generator device that includes a steam-heating pipe that has a simple, steam-loop-back structure, and that allows heaters to be individually attached to or removed from said device.
Superheated steam is steam obtained by further heating steam that is at 100° C. For example, a superheated-steam oven cooks foodstuffs by directly blowing superheated steam to the foodstuffs so as to bake them. The food-cooking apparatus disclosed in JP-A-2004-24322 connects multiple steam-heating pipes, into each of which a heater is inserted, with short non-heating pipes. The food-cooking apparatus disclosed in that prior-art document has the following characteristics: (1) because there is only a small space in the food-cooking apparatus, it is difficult to weld the short non-heating pipes onto the steam-heating pipes; (2) in order to connect the short non-heating pipes to the steam-heating pipes, holes must be drilled in the steam-heating pipes; and (3) the food-cooking apparatus is generally box-shaped, having a large width and a large depth despite having a low height. Therefore, if the food-cooking apparatus (i.e., superheated-steam generator) is to be formed into a cylindrical shape like a device, the welding of the short non-heating pipes onto the steam-heating pipe is very difficult.
[Patent Document 1] JP-A-2004-24322
Because the prior-art is such that it is difficult to form a superheated-steam generator into a cylindrical shape like a device, what has been needed is a superheated-steam generator device that has a simple, steam-loop-back structure and that connects multiple steam-heating pipes, into each of which can be inserted a heater that has short non-heating pipes and hence does not need separate short non-heating pipes, which are difficult to connect to the steam-heating pipe
The superheated-steam generator device of the present invention includes a first disc, a second disc, a third disc, a fourth disc, and a fifth disc; the first disc, the third disc, and the fourth disc all have multiple through-holes that are arranged so as to be aligned along the same axis; the second disc has at least one long through-hole (7) and a through-hole (6a), and the long through-hole (7) interconnects two of the through-holes of the first disc with two of the through-holes of the third disc, and the through-hole (6a) interconnects one of the through-holes of the first disc with one of the through-holes of the third disc; multiple steam-heating pipes are attached to the third disc at the front end of each steam-heating pipe and are attached to the fourth disc at the back end of each steam-heating pipe; the fifth disc has at least one loop-back groove and a through-hole (6b), with the loop-back groove being dug so as to interconnect two of the through-holes of the fourth disc, and the through-hole (6b) aligns with one of the through-holes of the fourth disc; a heater having spiral fins is inserted through the through-hole of the first disc, with the attaching part (12) of the heater being screwed into the through-hole of the first disc so as to cover that through-hole; a steam-supply pipe is connected to one of the through-holes of the first disc so as to feed steam into the through-hole (6a) of the second disc; and a steam-discharge pipe is connected to the fifth disc so as to align with the through-hole (6b) of the fifth disc.
The attaching part (12) has a gap such that the inside of the center hole of the fastening part (12a) is separated from the main tube (19) of the heater.
The superheated-steam generator device of the present invention includes a first disc, a second disc, and a third disc, with the second disc having long through-holes that respectively interconnect two through-holes of the first disc with two through-holes of the third disc, whereby little space is required to loop back heated steam in the device, without using short pipes. Each heater has an attaching part that is screwed into the through-hole of the first disc, and therefore the heater can easily be attached to or removed from the device. Accordingly, if the superheated-steam generator device stops functioning properly due to one defective heater, only that one heater need be replaced. Spiral fins that have large surface areas are in contact with the steam, so that the fins effectively heat the steam.
The attaching part is configured such that a gap is made between the center hole of the fastening part and the main tube of the heater, whereby transfer of heat from the fastening part to the main tube is prevented, the heat of the main tube is released from the gap, and the thermal effect on a feeder cable of the heat generated by the heater 11 is reduced.
With reference to the accompanying drawings, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is described below.
The steam-heating pipe 1 is welded to the through-holes 6 of the third disc 3 at its front end, and is welded to the through-holes 6 of the fourth disc 4 at its back end. The fifth disc 5 has a loop-back groove 8, which is dug so as to interconnect two of the through-holes 6 of the fourth disc 4. Also, the fifth disc 5 has a through-hole 6b, which aligns with one of the through-hole 6 of the fourth disc 4. In this example, there are seven steam-heating pipes 18.
The heater 11 is inserted through the through-hole 6 of the first disc 1, in which through-hole 6 an attaching part 12 is screwed. Therefore, the heaters 11 can be individually attached to or removed from the device. The heater 11 has spiral fins 13 that have large surface areas in contact with the steam. The heater 11 is attached to the inside of the steam-heating pipe 18 so as to directly heat the steam that passes through the steam-heating pipe 18. In this example, there are six heaters 11.
The steam-supply pipe 9 is connected to one of the through-holes 6 of the first disc 1 so as to feed the steam to the through-hole 6a of the second disc 2. The steam goes through the through-hole 6 of the third disc 3 at the six o'clock position, passes through the steam-heating pipe 18, and arrives at the through-hole 6 of the fourth disc 4 at the six o'clock position, and then is turned back at the loop-back groove 8 of the fifth disc 5. Subsequently, the steam goes through the through-hole 6 of the fourth disc 4 at the eight o'clock position, passes through the steam-heating pipe 18, and arrives at the through-hole 6 of the third disc 3 at the eight o'clock position, and is turned back at the long through-hole 7 of the second disc 2. This movement of the steam is repeated, and the steam is finally fed into the oven via the steam-discharge pipe 10, which is configured so as to align with the through-hole 6b in the center of the fifth disc 5.
The number of steam-heating pipes 18 is not limited to seven as in the above example, but, for example, can be increased to nine or decreased to five. Also, the number of heaters 11 is not limited to six as in the above example, which number is one less than the number of the steam-heating pipes 18, but may be increased to seven. In such a case, it is necessary only to drill eight through-holes 6 in the first disc 1, and to modify the through-hole 6a of the second disc 2 into a long through-hole 7. However, if the outer diameter of the superheated-steam generator device is not enlarged, it is necessary to decrease the diameter of the through-hole 7, which increases the number of heaters using small-diameter heaters.
The present invention provides a compact superheated-steam generator device having a simple loop-back structure.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2013-081171 | Apr 2013 | JP | national |