Cooking oven having a cooling fan and improved method of controlling the cooling fan of the cooking oven

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of controlling a cooking oven ( 1 ) which comprises a cooling fan ( 2 ) for thawing steam from a cooking chamber ( 3 ) into a chimney and discharging it to an outside, a motor ( 4 ) for driving the cooling fan ( 2 ) and a user interface for allowing a user to select a type of the food to be cooked and a target temperature to be set for the cooking process. The method of the present invention comprises a step of acquiring the user selection of the type of the food and the target temperature and a step of switching the motor ( 4 ) on/off based on the acquired user selection.

1 . A method of controlling a cooking oven ( 1 ) comprising a cooling fan ( 2 ) for drawing steam from a cooking chamber ( 3 ) into a chimney and discharging to an outside;
 a motor ( 4 ) for driving the cooling fan ( 2 ); and a user interface for allowing a user to select a type of the food to be cooked and a target temperature T_set to be set for the cooking process, the method being characterized by comprising: a step of acquiring the user selection of the type of the food and the target temperature T_set and—a step of switching the motor ( 4 ) on/off based on the acquired user selection.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , characterized by further comprising: a step of determining on the basis of the selected target temperature T_set an on-period T_on and an off-period T_off to be used in the on/off switching step and- a step of rectifying the determined on-period T_on and the determined off-period T_off respectively with a weighting factor k_on and k_off which are preset for the selected type of food. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 2 , characterized by further comprising: a step of refraining rectifying the determined on-period T_on and the determined off-period T_off if the user has not selected a type of food to be cooked. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , characterized by further comprising: a step of preheating the cooking chamber ( 3 ) up to the selected target temperature T_set, wherein the motor ( 4 ) is permanently switched off throughout the preheating step and—a step of maintaining the cooking chamber ( 3 ) substantially at the selected target temperature T_set after the target temperature has been reached, wherein the motor ( 4 ) is successively switched on and off throughout the maintaining step. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , characterized by further comprising: a step of generating and supplying steam into the cooking chamber ( 3 ) for cooking the food with steam, wherein the motor ( 4 ) is switched permanently off throughout the step of cooking the food with steam. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1 , characterized by further comprising: a step of generating and supplying steam into the cooking chamber ( 3 ) for cleaning the cooking chamber ( 3 ) with steam, wherein the motor ( 4 ) is switched permanently off throughout the step of cleaning the cooking chamber ( 3 ) with steam. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 1 , characterized by further comprising: a step of drying the food, wherein the motor ( 4 ) is switched permanently on throughout the step of drying the food. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the cooking oven ( 1 ) further comprises an opening/closing unit ( 5 ) arranged into the chimney, to allow or prevent an escape of steam to an outside of the cooking chamber ( 3 ), the method being characterized by further comprising: a step of driving the opening/closing unit ( 5 ) so as to open or close the chimney in accordance with the on/off switching of the motor ( 4 ) such that the opening/closing unit ( 5 ) is in an open state when the motor ( 4 ) is switched on and the opening/closing unit ( 5 ) is in a closed state when the motor ( 4 ) is switched off. 
     
     
         9 . A cooking oven ( 1 ) comprising a cooking chamber ( 3 ) for receiving food to be cooked, a heater for heating the cooking chamber ( 3 ), a chimney for exhausting steam from the cooking chamber ( 3 ) to an outside, a cooling fan ( 2 ) arranged to draw the steam from the cooking chamber ( 3 ) into the chimney and to discharge to the outside, a motor ( 4 ) for driving the cooling fan ( 2 ), a control unit for controlling the heater and the motor ( 4 ), characterized in that a user interface for allowing a user to select a type of the food to be cooked and, separately therefrom, a target temperature T_set to be set for the cooking process and outputting the user selection to the control unit, wherein the control unit is configured to switch on/off of the motor ( 4 ) in accordance with the type of food and the target temperature T_set selected by the user. 
     
     
         10 . The cooking oven ( 1 ) according to  claim 9 , characterized in that the control unit is further configured to determine on the basis of the selected target temperature T_set an on-period T_on and an off-period T_off to be used for the on/off switching of the motor ( 4 ) and to rectify both the determined on-period T_on and the determined off-period T_off respectively with a weighting factor k_on and k_off which are preset for the selected type of food. 
     
     
         11 . The cooking oven ( 1 ) according to  claim 10 , characterized in that the control unit is further configured to refrain rectifying the determined on-period and the determined off-period, if the user has not selected a type of food to be cooked. 
     
     
         12 . The cooking oven ( 1 ) according to  claim 9 , characterized in that the control unit is further configured to permanently switch the motor ( 4 ) off during preheating of the cooking chamber ( 3 ) until the selected target temperature T_set is reached, and to successively switch the motor ( 4 ) on and off after the cooking chamber ( 3 ) has reached the selected target temperature T_set and is in steady state. 
     
     
         13 . The cooking oven ( 1 ) according to  claim 9 , The cooking oven ( 1 ) according to any one of  claims 9  to  12 , characterized in that a steam generating unit means for generating and supplying steam into the cooking chamber ( 3 ) for cooking the food with steam or for cleaning the cooking chamber ( 3 ) with steam, wherein the control unit has a mode for cooking the food with steam and/or cleaning the cooking chamber ( 3 ) with steam, and wherein the control unit is further configured to switch the motor ( 4 ) permanently off when the food is cooked with steam or when the cooking chamber ( 3 ) is cleaned with steam. 
     
     
         14 . The cooking oven ( 1 ) according to  claim 9 , characterized in that the control unit has a mode for drying food, wherein the control unit is configured to switch the motor ( 4 ) permanently on during the food drying process. 
     
     
         15 . The cooking oven ( 1 ) according to  claim 9 , characterized in that the opening/closing unit ( 5 ) arranged into the chimney, to allow or to prevent escape of the steam to an outside of the cooking chamber ( 3 ), wherein the control unit is further configured to concurrently open the chimney when switching the motor ( 4 ) on, and to concurrently close the chimney when switching the motor ( 4 ) off.