Cooking apparatus

Abstract

A cooking apparatus arrangeable above a cooktop including a cabinet, a lower suction unit and a front suction unit. The lower suction unit includes a lower suction port arranged on the lower side of the cabinet and through which foreign substances are drawn into a lower suction path, and a lower suction path fan configured to allow the foreign substances to flow through the lower suction path to discharge the foreign substances from the cooking apparatus. The front suction unit includes a front suction port arranged on the front side of the cabinet and through which the foreign substances are drawn into a front suction path independent from the lower suction path and, through which the foreign substances flow independently from the lower suction path, and a front suction path fan configured to allow the foreign substances to flow through the front suction path independently of the lower suction path to be discharged from the cooking apparatus.

1 . A cooking apparatus arrangeable above a cooktop on which food is arrangeable and configured to draw foreign substances in air generated from the food, the cooking apparatus comprising:
 a cabinet;   a lower suction unit arranged on a lower side of the cabinet and configured to draw in the foreign substances; and   a front suction unit arranged on a front side of the cabinet and configured to draw in foreign substances,
 wherein 
 the lower suction unit includes a lower suction port through which the foreign substances are drawn into a lower suction path, and a lower suction path fan configured to allow the foreign substances to flow through the lower suction path to be discharged the foreign substances from the cooking apparatus, and 
 the front suction unit includes a front suction port through which the foreign substances are drawn into a front suction path independent from the lower suction path and, through which the foreign substances flow independently from the lower suction path, and a front suction path fan configured to allow the foreign substances to flow through the front suction path independently of the lower suction path to be discharged from the cooking apparatus. 
   
     
     
         2 . The cooking apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a controller,
 wherein the controller is configured to control the lower suction unit and the front suction unit such that the lower suction unit operates, or the front suction unit operates, or both the lower suction unit and the front suction unit operate.   
     
     
         3 . The cooking apparatus of  claim 2 , further including a communication circuitry configured to receive information sensed by a sensor of the cooktop about a position of food arranged on the cooktop,
 wherein the controller is configured to recognize the position of the food based on the information received from the communication circuitry, and control the lower suction unit and the front suction unit based on the position of the food recognized such that the lower suction unit operates, or the front suction unit operates, or both the lower suction unit and the front suction unit operate.   
     
     
         4 . The cooking apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the communication circuitry is configured to perform communication with a communication circuitry of the cooktop to receive the information sensed by the sensor of the cooktop about the position of food. 
     
     
         5 . The cooking apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein based on the controller recognizing the position of the food on the cooktop at a first position adjacent to a rear side of the cooktop, the controller is configured to control the lower suction unit such that the lower suction unit operates. 
     
     
         6 . The cooking apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein based on the food on the cooktop being arranged at a second position adjacent to a front side of the cooktop, the controller is configured to control the lower suction unit and the front suction unit such that both the lower suction unit and the front suction unit operate based on the information received from the communication circuitry. 
     
     
         7 . The cooking apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein based on the food on the cooktop being arranged at a second position adjacent to a front side of the cooktop, the controller is configured to control the front suction unit based on the information received from the communication circuitry, such that the front suction unit operates. 
     
     
         8 . The cooking apparatus of  claim 6 , further comprising a contamination level sensor configured to sense a value corresponding to an amount of the foreign substances,
 wherein the controller is configured to operate the lower suction unit based on the value sensed by the contamination level sensor based on the value being lower than a predetermined value such that an operation of the lower suction unit is terminated.   
     
     
         9 . The cooking apparatus of  claim 7 , further comprising a contamination level sensor configured to sense a value corresponding to an amount of the foreign substances,
 wherein the controller is configured to operate the lower suction unit based on the value sensed by the contamination level sensor such that the lower suction unit operates based on the value being higher than a predetermined value.   
     
     
         10 . The cooking apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an exhaust path connected to the front suction path and the lower suction path and configured to discharge air to an outside of the cabinet; and   an opening/closing member arranged between the exhaust path and the front suction path fan and configured to open and close the front suction path.   
     
     
         11 . The cooking apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the controller is configured to control the front suction unit based on the lower suction unit operating such that the front suction path fan is driven to prevent air flowing from the lower suction unit from flowing back to the front suction path. 
     
     
         12 . The cooking apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the cabinet includes:
 a first cabinet; and   a second cabinet separable from the first cabinet and configured to accommodate the front suction unit.   
     
     
         13 . The cooking apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the front suction unit further includes a front filter arrangeable on the front suction path and configured to filter out foreign substances flowing through the front suction path. 
     
     
         14 . The cooking apparatus of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 an input device configured to receive a user input,   wherein the controller is configured to control the lower suction unit and the front suction unit based on information input from the input device such that the lower suction unit operates, or that the front suction unit operates, or both the lower suction unit and the front suction unit operate.   
     
     
         15 . The cooking apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a magnetron and one or more heaters configured to generate heat to cook food arrangeable in the cooking apparatus.