EP0413208B1 - Stove with plug-in modulus - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a cooker with insertable module according to the first part of patent claim 1.

Cookers are now equipped with a variety of electrical control and switch assemblies, such as timers, hob controls, oven selection switches, oven temperature switches and the like. There are also electrical displays for these modules. The aforementioned assemblies are installed in the upper installation space of the cooker, the corresponding operating elements being combined in the cooker hood. When installing these modules, the stove manufacturer must do the wiring. Due to the number of these modules, the wiring effort for a stove has become very large. After this effort, the stove manufacturer also has to deal with special problems caused by the electronics, namely MOS protection (destruction of components made in MOS technology by electrical charging) and the so-called electromagnetic compatibility, i.e. the protection of the assemblies externally coupled electrical interference fields and network interference. These tasks, which increase the cost of assembling a cooker, often require close cooperation between the cooker manufacturer and the supplier of the individual assemblies for the purpose of trouble-free laying of connecting lines or corresponding arrangement of electronic components. The increasingly aggravating problems of the aforementioned type require remedial action.

From DE-U-8 024 164 a switch module for electrical household appliances has already become known, in which a plurality of operating elements are arranged in a panel. The necessary electrical modules for the individual operating elements are arranged on a circuit board behind the panel. A common control and power electronics for all operating elements is not provided in this known arrangement.

From US-A-3 828 163 a microwave oven has also become known, which has an operating panel with a plurality of operating elements on the side. A circuit board is attached to the back of this plate and is connected to a wiring with electrical components arranged inside the housing.

In contrast, the invention has for its object to propose the design of a stove cover in such a way that a pre-assembly is possible with all modules, electromagnetic compatibility is given and can be predetermined, and to minimize the wiring effort.

To achieve the stated object, the invention proposes the features of claim 1.

The basic idea of the invention is therefore to design the stove cover as part of a module which can be pushed into the stove, the module being designed as a housing and having both the entire electrical assemblies of the stove and the entire control and power electronics including the associated wiring. The stove cover module is thus already fully assembled and wired to the stove manufacturer, while ensuring predeterminable parameters for temperature safety and electromagnetic compatibility. This module only has to be inserted during assembly of the cooker and the electrical inputs and outputs must be contacted with those of the cooker via a plug connection or a wiring.

Such a modular construction has a number of advantages both for the stove manufacturer and for the supplier of the assemblies. The stove manufacturer no longer has any electronics problems to solve, so he no longer has to coordinate with his supplier. For his service, the stove cover can be easily exchanged with all components without the customer having to remove or partially dismantle the cooker if faults occurred in the cooker electronics or the components. For the supplier of the module, there is the advantage that pre-assembly and defined pre-wiring of all modules can be carried out in his own factory, that the electromagnetic compatibility can be tested and guaranteed, and that due to these circumstances there is considerable potential for saving common components, such as power supplies or electronic components.

In a preferred development of the invention it is provided that the module is designed as a closed metallic box and thus forms a Faraday cage. Guide rails are preferably provided on the side walls of this box for insertion into the stove.

To further simplify the module according to the invention, it can be provided that the control modules are each installed in the stove top without their own housing parts. After both dust protection and interference suppression are provided by the closed box, there is a first saving potential due to the aforementioned measure.

As a further saving measure can be provided in the sense of the invention that the operator tion modules are only designed as control units and are arranged on a common circuit board, that this circuit board also carries the common control electronics and the common power supply unit as well as the other modules, such as displays and relays, and that the circuit board is attached directly behind the stove top, which is suitable for the corresponding modules has recesses. This measure makes it possible to provide a single electronic control part for common functions of all assemblies, instead of technically training the function separately for each assembly instead. The use of a printed circuit board can significantly reduce the wiring effort for the stove top. Only the connections to the inputs and outputs of the module have to be provided.

In the event that the use of a common printed circuit board as a carrier for all assemblies is not an option, it can be provided according to an alternative further embodiment of the invention that the operating groups are only designed as operating parts and are installed in the stove top and that the common control electronics and the common Power supply are arranged on one or more printed circuit boards, which form inserts into the housing of the module. With this arrangement, the circuit boards can be placed at a location in the housing that is considered preferred for some reason.

In the sense of the invention it is provided as a further possibility to minimize the wiring effort that the wiring is designed as a ring line between all modules and is operated as a data bus. The corresponding information, assigned to an address for the individual modules, circulates on this. This ring line can optionally also be designed as an optical waveguide.

To better dissipate the heat in the module, it can have a fan and corresponding air inlet and air outlet openings.

There are various solutions for the construction of the housing, which can be selected according to the given requirements. In this sense, the housing can consist of several interconnectable housing parts, but it can also be constructed as a box-shaped lower part, one side of which forms the stove top and in which either a cover is placed or, when installed in the stove, the carrier plate for the Cooking plates are used as a lid-like closure of the module.

The invention is to be explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing in several exemplary embodiments.

• Figur 1 in einer Explosionsdarstellung in perspektivischer Sicht ein erstes Ausführungsbeispiel des Moduls;
• Figur 2 den Modul in einer teilweisen Darstellung in einer Sicht von hinten;
• Figur 3 den vorverdrahteten Modul in einer Sicht von oben;
• Figur 4 ein zweites Ausführungsbeispiel des Moduls in einer Sicht von oben;
• Figur 5 ein drittes Ausführungsbeispiel des Moduls in einer Darstellung wie Figur 1.

Show it:

• Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a first embodiment of the module;
• Figure 2 shows the module in a partial representation in a view from behind;
• Figure 3 shows the prewired module in a view from above;
• Figure 4 shows a second embodiment of the module in a view from above;
• FIG. 5 shows a third exemplary embodiment of the module in a representation like FIG. 1.

In Figure 1, the module according to the invention is shown in an exploded view. It has a front part which is designed as a stove top 1. The second housing part consists of a base plate 2, a rear wall 3 and side walls 4 and 5. The housing is closed by a cover 6. On the side walls 4 and 5 guide rails 7 and 8 are provided, with the aid of which the module in a stove in the Assembly is inserted.

The stove top shows schematically an electronic stove timer 9 with digital display of the digits, a display 10 for displaying the oven temperature, two switches 11 and 12 as an oven selector switch and oven temperature switch, four hotplate controllers 13 for controlling the power consumption of the hotplates of the cooker and four digital displays 14 for displaying the selected ones Regulation level of the hot plates.

On the inner rear wall 3 of the module, a plug-in multiplier 15 is provided, which distributes the supplied mains voltage to a series of contacts 15a, to which the individual mains supply lines of the modules 9, 10, 13 and 14 are connected. A power supply unit 16 common to all modules is symbolically represented by a transformer. The signal outputs or the switching outputs of the assemblies 9 to 14 are brought to the plug-in multiplier 17 and 18 by appropriate wiring.

The rear side of the rear wall 3 is visible in FIG. One recognizes the mains input plug connection 15 and the signal output plug connection 17 and the switching output plug connection 18. Furthermore, a fan 19 can be seen which sucks air into the module via an air inlet opening 20 in FIG. 1 and this air from the air outlet opening 21 Blows out module.

In Figure 3, the assembled module without cover 6 is shown in a view from above. The wiring of the individual assemblies to one another is indicated schematically by wires 22. You can tell this representation that the module is a complete device which is electrically connected to the stove only via input and output sockets.

FIG. 4 shows a further training option for the module according to the invention. The same components are identified by the same reference numerals as in FIG. 3. The special feature of this exemplary embodiment is the use of a printed circuit board 23 on which the assemblies 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 are arranged and connected to one another in an electrically conductive manner. This circuit board is held in the side walls 4 and 5 of the module in such a way that the aforementioned assemblies 9 to 14 protrude through corresponding openings in the stove top 1 and result in the outer picture recognizable in Figure 1 on the stove top 1.

The common power supply unit 16, a number of relays 24 and a common control circuit 25 for all modules are arranged on the rear side of the double-laminated circuit board 23. With such a configuration of the module, only wiring from the printed circuit board 23 to the network input 15 or to the signal output 17 or switching output 18 is to be carried out. This structure offers considerable savings potential with regard to the housing covers of modules 9 to 14 that are no longer available, the use of a single power supply unit and a common electronic control circuit for all modules 9 to 14, and the elimination of a substantial part of the wiring.

FIG. 5, in which the same components are again provided with the same reference numerals as in FIG. 1, shows a solution in which the individual assemblies 9 to 14 are fastened to the stove top 1 in a manner as shown in FIG. In contrast to the embodiment according to FIG. 3, however, a control circuit which is common to all modules is provided and is distributed over three printed circuit boards 26, 27 and 28. These printed circuit boards are designed as inserts 29 and 30 which can be loaded from above. Such an arrangement of the printed circuit boards can be of interest, for example, if there is not enough space on a common printed circuit board as shown in FIG. 4 for the entire electronics and / or if such a printed circuit board is not desired for other reasons.

As an additional interference suppression measure, a line filter can be provided in all of the exemplary embodiments in the area of the mains input plug connection 15. In order to prevent the switching processes in the assemblies from having repercussions on the network, network filters can also be provided on the output plug connections 18.

Claims (7)

1. A cooker having an insertable module which latter contains several operating subassemblies, the control electronics (25) common to all the operating subassemblies and the common mains-operated power supply (26) being arranged on one or more printed circuit boards which are designed as inserts in the housing, characterised in that the module is designed as a closed box-shaped housing, in which on the front side which is at the same time designed as a cookerfascia (1) the control parts of the operating subassemblies - such as for example cooker time switch (9), hot-plate regulators (13), displays (10) - are incorporated and in that the control parts are connected to the common control and power electronics for the cooker in the module.

2. A cooker according to claim 1, characterised in that a printed circuit board is provided which is arranged on the reverse of the front side, which carries the control parts as well as the common control and power electronics, the front side having recesses for the reception of the control parts.

3. A cooker according to claim 1, characterised in that the housing consists of the cooker fascia (1) as the front plate, a housing part which forms the rear wall (30), the base plate (2) and the side walls (4, 5), and of a lid part (6).

4. A cooker according to claim 1, characterised in that the housing is box-shaped in design - without lid - with integrated cooker fascia and in that the underside of the carrier plate for the hot-plates of the cooker serves as the lid.

5. A cooker according to claim 1, characterised in that the wiring between the subassemblies is operated as a data bus.

6. A cooker according to claim 5, characterised in that the wiring is fashioned with photoconductors.

7. A cooker according to claim 1, characterised in that the housing has a ventilator (19) as well as appropriate air inlet and air outlet apertures (21) for the cooling air.

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