EP0346305A2

EP0346305A2 - Extractable drawer containing accessories for a household oven appliance

Info

Publication number: EP0346305A2
Application number: EP89830258A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Roberto Bertazzoni
Original assignee: Smeg SpA
Current assignee: Smeg SpA
Priority date: 1988-06-08
Filing date: 1989-06-08
Publication date: 1989-12-13
Also published as: EP0346305A3; IT8821388V0; AU3614989A; AU617819B2; IT213958Z2

Abstract

An extractable drawer (3) for household oven appliances is slidably housed in a hollow space (6) under the oven door (2) and is usually hidden from view, when closed, by a tiltable door (5). The drawer (3) has a peripheral upper edge which protrudes on both sides for resting on a pair of wheels (11), rotatably mounted about aligned axes on opposite sides of the hollow (6). Guide means are provided on the lower side, such as slotted blocks (15) on the drawer cooperating with side guides (13) integral with the walls of hollow space (6).

Description

The present invention relates to an extractable drawer containing accessories for a household oven appliance, in particular of the built-in type, provided with an outer tiltable door suitable to hide from view the drawer itself when closed.
It is known that frequently the domestic cooking oven as such or being part of an electric or gas-stove appliance, are provided with various fittings such as grill-spits or skewers, handles to be applied to pans being extracted from the oven upon cooking, or the instructions booklet for using the oven, etc. for which a place is hardly found to be placed and kept up to the moment of their use. Often these accessories end up in drawers far from the oven, sometimes in distinct places, until one even forgets them which have become unused.
It should instead be convenient that these accessories are kept near the oven, in an easily accessible place, which in any case is isolated from the oven heat and is usually concealed from the outside.
Is an objet of the present invention to provide a slidable drawer located in the oven appliance itself, for containing said accessories or any other article the user will put therein, being housed in a hollow under the actual cooking oven, from which it is separated by means of usual insulating muffle. The front portion thereof is normally hidden from view by a forwardly tiltable door, until assuming a position which advantageously can be underlying the lower surface of the slidable drawer.
The drawer according to the invention is provided, all around its upper side, with a protruding edge like a tang whose front portion is useful to be gripped during the extraction and side portions cooperate, as they are resting thereon, with a pair of wheels the rotation axes of which are respectively mounted on either side on the frame of the oven appliance.
These and other objects, advantages and features of the oven drawer according to the invention will appear more clearly from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, even by way of a non -limiting example with reference to the annexed drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a front view of the lower portion of an oven appliance provided with a drawer according to the invention, with open front door and central portion partially removed; and
Figure 2 shows a cross-section view taken along the line II-II of figure 1.

With reference to the drawings, the oven appliance 1, possibly to be recessed, which could even form part of a complete cooking appliance, shows immediately under the oven door 2, an extractable drawer 3 according to the invention, which is slidable in a hollow 6 under the zone of insulating muffle 4 of the oven, being separated from the outside by a tiltable door 5.
This door has been shown to be hinged at the lower side on the base frame of oven 1 preferably of the push-pull opening type. The associate device of snapping shut, of known type, has been generally designated with reference number 7 in Figure 1. When pushing in the direction of arrow F of Figure 2 onto the door 5 (hinged at the lower side and preferably slightly angled towards the inside, when closed, for haesthetical reasons) up to the position indicated in phantom, the device 7 releases as it is known and the door 5 can rotate about its pivoting axis until reaching the horizontal position represented in full line, still in Figure 2. The drawer 3 is thus capable of being extracted from the hollow 6 by sliding on suitable guides.
It should be appreciated that door 5 could however be hinged, differently from the illustrated embodiment, on the upper side or laterally on either side of the oven frame with vertical rotation axis.
In the first case with the drawer 3 in a forward position, the door 5 is above the drawer itself and in the second case the door 5 would extend parallel to a side of the extracted door.
In order to reduce friction and allow the drawer to slide irrespective of the degree of thermal expansion of the surrounding sheets of metal, the drawer 3 has an upper edge 9 bent outwards at least on both sides thereof such as to arrange that the drawer is supported on a pair of wheels 11 rotatable about aligned axes and mounted on opposite sides of hollow 6, at its front portion. A pair of side guides 13, being mounted on the walls of hollow 6, cooperates with a slot formed in the respective sliding blocks 15 which are integral with the drawer, as each of them is e.g. screwed on either sides of its bottom at the rear portion thereof, thus providing the required support of the sliding guide type from the bottom. In Figure 2 the drawer is shown partially open, while it should be appreciated that when it as completely opened a tab stop of a known type will prevent the drawer from a further extraction. This latter preferably has the protruding edge 9 also at the front side to render easier its gripping during the sliding forward and to lift the completely open drawer so that, being released from the stop means, from the lower guides and wheels 11, it can possibly be extracted, such as for cleaning the inside thereof or to have access to hollow 6 which thereby is left free.
It should be noted that preferably the drawer will be provided with a panel with shaped recesses, adapted for housing certain accessories relating to the oven.

Claims

1. A slidable drawer for cooking oven appliances, characterized in that it is housed in a hollow (6) directly underlying a door (2) of the actual oven hearth, from which it is separated by an insulating muffle (4), said hollow (6) being normally separated from the outside, with closed drawer (3), by a tiltable door (5), the drawer (3) having the upper side with a peripheral edge (9) protruding to the outside at least on both sides of the drawer for resting on a pair of wheels (11) which are mounted, rotatable about aligned axes, on opposite sides of said hollow (6), there being also provided elements of guide on the lower side (13,15).

2. A drawer according to claim 1, characterized in that said protruding edge (9) extends itself also on the front side of the drawer (3) and the latter can be extracted by upwardly lifting from a position of complete opening.

3. A drawer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said door (5) is hinged at the lower side and can rotate from a closed position to a horizontal position under the bottom of said drawer (3), a snapping shut device (7) being provided which can be released by pushing against the door (5) itself in a direction opposite to that of tilting.

4. A drawer according to claims 1 and 2, wherein said wheels (11) are mounted at the front portion of said hollow (6).

5. A drawer according to claim 4, wherein said lower guides comprise two blocks (15) with a slot being mounted on either sides of the rear portion of drawer (3), in the proximity of its bottom, and two side guides(13) which are integral with the walls of hollow (6), being adapted to slidably fit in said slots of blocks (15).