EP0029357B1

EP0029357B1 - Oven gasket

Info

Publication number: EP0029357B1
Application number: EP19800304097
Authority: EP
Inventors: Thierry Delfosse; Etienne Naffrechoux
Original assignee: FRANCAISE DES ISOLANTS Cie
Current assignee: Federal Mogul Systems Protection Group Inc
Priority date: 1979-11-15
Filing date: 1980-11-14
Publication date: 1984-06-20
Also published as: DE3068322D1; EP0029357A1

Description

This invention relates to an oven door gasket arrangement and to ovens using the same.
A number of gasket arrangements for ovens have been described in the art. US-A-3219026, for example, describes an arrangement for sealing a double glass panel window unit in an oven. The double glass panels are held apart by a spacer, and a moisture proof tape is wrapped around and secured to the peripheries of the glass panels to seal the space between them. The glass panels are mounted in a frame which is wrapped around the glass and moisture proof tape, and a strip of asbestos may be included as a lining on the inner side of the frame.
The present invention finds particular, though not exclusive, application as a double gasket arrangement, which can be used in ovens having a pair of glass observation windows or doors. Such double gasket arrangements are usually fitted so as to dispose respective gaskets in front of and behind an inner glass door that is situated between the oven interior and an outer glass door. One gasket of the arrangement is positioned to close the inner glass door against part of the oven, e.g. a surrounding part of the metal oven door, and the other gasket is positioned to close the edges of the cavity between the inner glass door and the outer glass door.
The present invention provides a gasket arrangement suitable for use in an oven comprising, at least two discrete elongate gaskets that are connected together, and substantially vapour impermeable metal layer extending from one gasket towards another gasket so as, in use, substantially to prevent fumes from passing through said one gasket, being capable of being positioned at an edge of a substantially planar panel of an oven door or window on opposite sides thereof.
The panel of the oven door or window on which the gasket arrangement is to be mounted will generally be glass.
The arrangement of the present invention has the advantage that the vapour impermeable layer can be used to keep the fumes out of the cavity between the oven panel and any oven component against which the outer gasket is pressed. This is particularly advantageous in ovens having a pair of glass windows or doors, wherein the vapour impermeable layer may be arranged to prevent ingress of fumes into the cavity between the two glass windows or doors, thus alleviating a long-standing problem of contamination between the two glass doors or windows, where cleaning may be difficult or impossible, especially when the windows are fixed in the oven door itself.
Preferably the vapour impermeable layer extends across the full width of the double gasket arrangement in such a manner as to seal not only the cavity between the glass plates or other oven panels, but also the line of contact between the inner glass plate and the surrounding metal of the oven door, thus substantially preventing the fumes from passing from the oven interior into the interior of the door. It is envisaged that only one or other of these seals may be effected by the impermeable material in some embodiments of the invention, and it is also envisaged that the inner gasket will be disposed between the glass windows or doors and that the outer gasket will be disposed outside the outer glass window or door. However, it is preferred that at least the cavity between the glass plates be sealed by the impermeable material.
In another embodiment, the gasket arrangement comprises three, or more, gaskets, all of which are interconnected by one or more layers of vapour-impermeable material for fume-sealing purposes.
The impermeable layer may itself be the material which physically connects and holds together the gaskets of the arrangement, but it is preferred that the connecting function be performed by a suitable strong and heat resistant web, such as a glass reinforced tape, which may contain adhesive. In the latter case, the gaskets may be attached (preferably by sewing) along the opposite edges of the tape and any adhesive which remains exposed between the gaskets can be conveniently used to assist in attaching the gasket arrangement to the edge of the relevant glass plate. In this preferred arrangement, the impermeable layer may be carried on the surface of the tape which is remote from the adhesive and gaskets and should extend far enough, if necessary partly around the gaskets, to ensure an adequate vapour seal.
The impermeable layer may alternatively be carried on the adhesive surface of the tape, this arrangement having the advantage that the adhesive is protected from direct exposure to the gasketed cavity, thus reducing the risk of any fumes generated by the adhesive at high temperatures contaminating that cavity. The impermeable layer may extend across the adhesive surface underlying the gasket since sewing is preferably used to attach the gaskets firmly to the connecting tape/impermeable material laminate. An alternative arrangement is for the impermeable layer to cover the adhesive where it is not in contact with the gaskets and to wrap around the perimeter of the gaskets so as to leave them in contact with the adhesive where necessary for attachment to the tape. This implies adequate adhesive strength, and adequate flexibility of the impermeable layer, to maintain the gasketing function.
Combinations of impermeable layers on the adhesive and non-adhesive sides of the tape can also be used, and it may be desirable to leave exposed a small central area of adhesive for use in attaching the gasket to the glass panel edge as aforesaid. The preferred gasketing material is glass fibre or ceramic fibre or silica fibre for high temperature ovens in which the present invention is particularly advantageous, and the preferred impermeable material is metallic foil or a layer of vacuum deposited metal.
The gaskets of the arrangement may be connected together by sewing rather than by a tape as referred to above.
Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 shows schematically a horizontal section through an oven having a door incorporating a gasket arrangement according to the present invention;
Figure 2 shows in greater detail the gasket arrangement of Figure 1; and
Figures 3 and 4 show alternative forms of gasket arrangement according to the present invention.

Referring to Figure 1, an oven 1 has a door 2, in which are mounted two glass observation panels 3 and 4. The inner panel 3 is gasketed against the metal oven door surround 11 by an inner gasket 5, which is connected to an outer gasket 6 on the opposite side of the panel 3 by a connecting strip 7. The outer gasket 6 thus provides a gasket closure around the edges of the cavity between the glass panels 3 and 4.
The connecting strip 7 can be seen in more detail in Figure 2, which shows the gaskets 5 and 6 sewn to a layer of adhesive 8 carried by a glass reinforced tape backing 9. A substantially vapour impermeable layer 10 of the gasket arrangement is formed from a metal foil or vapour deposited metal. In Figure 2, the vapour impermeable layer is on the surface of the adhesive tape remote from the adhesive. Figure 3 shows an alternative construction of the gasket arrangement, in which the vapour impermeable layer 10 is disposed on the adhesive surface of the connecting tape, in such a position as to seal at least the cavity between the glass plates against ingress of fumes generated within the oven in use. The arrangement of Figure 3 also reduces the likelihood of adhesive 8 producing fumes within the cavity between the glass panels 3 and 4, while leaving some of the adhesive 8 exposed to assist attachment of the gasket arrangement to the edge of the glass plate.
The alternative gasket arrangement shown schematically in Figure 5 has three gaskets 14 interconnected by a single connecting strip 15 incorporating the vapour sealing material.
In the illustrated case, the glass panels are substantially permanently mounted within the door 2, but it is envisaged that the panels 3 and 4 could themselves be doors or windows that are hinged or otherwise movable to form an openable construction, which would nevertheless be gasketed in the same way when the glass doors thus constructed were closed to correspond to the position shown in Figure 1.
Other constructions and combinations of impermeable layers can readily be designed to suit specific constructions. The preferred gasketing material is glass or ceramic or silica fibre for high temperature ovens, but other materials may be used if desired.

Claims

1. A gasket arrangement suitable for use in an oven, comprising at least two discrete elongate gaskets (5, 6) that are connected together, and a substantially vapour impermeable metal layer (10) extending from one gasket (6) towards another gasket (5) so as, in use, substantially to prevent fumes from passing through said one gasket, being capable of being positioned at an edge of a substantially planar panel (3) of an oven door or window on opposite sides thereof.

2. A gasket arrangement according to Claim 1, wherein the gaskets (5, 6) are connected to each other by adhesive tape (8, 9), and lie substantially parallel to the tape edges.

3. A gasket arrangement according to Claim 2, wherein the vapour impermeable material (10) is carried either on the surface of the tape (8, 9) which is remote from the adhesive carrying surface thereof, or is carried on the adhesive (8) of the tape.

4. A gasket arrangement according to Claim 3, wherein the impermeable material (10) extends only part way across the adhesive (8) between the gaskets.

5. A substantially planar panel (3) of an oven door or window for an oven, the oven panel having a gasket arrangement according to any preceding claim installed thereon such that the vapour impermeable layer (10) is arranged substantially to prevent fumes generated within the oven (1) from passing through said one gasket (6), and such that the two gaskets (5, 6) are positioned at the edge of the oven panel (3) on opposite sides thereof.

6. A substantially planar panel (3) of an oven door or window according to Claim 5, having a further substantially-planar panel (4) of an oven door or window arranged adjacent thereto so that a cavity is formed between the oven panels (3, 4), wherein said one gasket (6) of the gasket arrangement forms a seal around the edge of the cavity, and wherein said other gasket (5) of the gasket arrangement is adapted to form a seal between said sealed oven panels (3, 4) and a further component (11) of the oven.

7. A substantially planar panel (3) of an oven door or window according to Claim 5 or 6, wherein said gasket arrangement is arranged such that the vapour impermeable layer (10) extends from said one gasket (6) over said oven panel (3) edge and is connected to the other of said gaskets (5).

8. An oven comprising a gasket arrangement according to any of Claims 1 to 4, or a substantially planar panel according to any of Claims 5 to 7.