EP0549933A1

EP0549933A1 - Oven door

Info

Publication number: EP0549933A1
Application number: EP92121061A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Orio Puricelli
Original assignee: Fulgor SpA
Current assignee: Fulgor SpA
Priority date: 1991-12-30
Filing date: 1992-12-10
Publication date: 1993-07-07
Also published as: IT222130Z2; ITMI911135U1; ITMI911135V0

Abstract

An oven door for household ovens, includes a series of three internal panels (23) which are mutually spaced by a first interspace (31) and by a second interspace (35). A fourth external panel (51) is fixed to the frame (21) so as to define a third interspace (53) together with the outermost internal panel. The second and third interspaces are mutually connected by openings (39) formed respectively on the lower and upper edges. A fan generates an air current in these interspaces in order to keep the fourth external panel at low temperature.

Description

The present invention relates to an oven door, particularly for household ovens.
It is known to provide household ovens with doors wherein the outer surface remains at a relatively low temperature even when the oven operates at its maximum operating temperatures.
The "cold" door, in household ovens, in addition to being mandatory according to the statutory provisions of some countries, is useful most of all in pyrolytic ovens, which reach internal temperatures of approximately 500°C during the self-cleaning operation.
Normally, the cold door has an interspace between the outermost panel, the one which may be touched by the user, and an internal panel. An aspirator, normally located in the upper part of the oven, is connected to the interspace, which is in turn connected to the outside by means of lower openings in order to generate a circulation of cold air, drawn from the outside, in the interspace, thus keeping the external panel at a temperature which is substantially lower than that of the internal panel which is closest to the cooking compartment.
Known cold doors have the disadvantage of having a considerable size: for an effective elimination of the heat it is in fact necessary to provide a relatively large interspace.
One aim of the present invention is to provide a cold door, with air circulation, which has smaller dimensions than the conventional doors.
Another aim of the invention is to provide a door for household ovens with improved insulation characteristics.
Within the scope of these aims, an object of the invention is to provide a cold door which can be manufactured without increasing the production costs with respect to conventional cold doors.
This aim, these objects and others which will become apparent hereinafter are achieved by an oven door characterized in that it comprises a frame adapted to be hinged at an opening of the oven, said frame comprising, from the compartment toward the outside, a first panel and a second panel, said first and second panels being separated by a first interspace, a third panel separated from said second panel by a second interspace, and a fourth external panel separated from said third panel by a third interspace, said second and third interspaces being connected to the outside and to aspiration means, said aspiration means being adapted to allow the circulation of air to cool said panels.
Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a reading of the detailed description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of an oven door according to the invention, illustrated only by way of a non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a lateral sectional elevation view, taken along a median plane, of an oven provided with a door according to the invention;
Figure 2 is a lateral sectional detail view of the door, taken along a median plane;
Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the door.

With reference to the above figures, a household oven, generally designated by the reference numeral 1, of the pyrolytic type, is shown. The oven has a cooking compartment 3 and a front door 5 which is hinged in a downward position so that it can be opened downward to gain access to the compartment, in a per se known manner.
The oven also includes an aspiration assembly 7 which is constituted by a fan 9 connected to the upper part of the door 5 by means of a duct 11.
The duct 11 has a first series of lower openings 13 and a second series of upper openings 15 which are formed on the front edge of the oven at the door 5 and are connected thereto as described hereinafter.
The oven 1 also has a venting system for expelling the combustion residues generated during the self-cleaning operation of the oven. The venting system substantially comprises a catalytic element 17 through which the residues pass before they are expelled from the cooking compartment by means of the venting duct 19.
The oven door according to the invention comprises a frame 21 which is centrally open and is adapted to support a first series of internal panels 23 and an external panel 25. As customary in household ovens, the panels are made of transparent material in order to allow visual inspection of the cooking compartment without having to open the door.
The series of internal panels comprises, starting from the side directed toward the compartment 3: a first panel 27 and a second panel 29, separated by a first interspace 31, and a third panel 33 separated from the second panel by a second interspace 35.
The panels 27, 29 and 33 are fixed to one another and to the frame 21 by means of metal sections 37. The metal sections have openings 39 at the second interspace 35. Openings 39 are adapted to connect the interspace to the outside. The first interspace 31 is instead isolated.
The lower and upper edges of the third panel 33 are also respectively associated with an upper fastening member 41 and with a lower fastening member 43 which cooperate to fasten the third panel and have openings 45 for the passage of air. The fastening members 41 and 43 are constituted by metal sections and have a heat-reflecting surface directed toward the compartment 3 so as to constitute a screen which reflects the heat inward.
At the lower edge of the third panel there is also a baffle 47 which substantially embraces the section 43 and is adapted to direct the flow of air which arrives from below toward the outermost panel. The baffle 47 is also provided with openings 49 for the passage of the air in the interspace 35.
Door 5 has a fourth panel 51 which is fixed to the outside of the frame 21 so as to define a third interspace 53 with the third panel 33. The third interspace 53 is connected to the outside in a downward position by means of openings (not shown) formed along the lower edge of the frame. In an upward position, the third interspace is connected both to the outside, at the handle 55, and to the openings 13 of the aspiration duct 11.
The operation of the oven door according to the invention is as follows. The fan 9 generates a negative pressure in the duct 11 and thus in the third interspace 53; outside air therefore enters both from the lower side of the door and through the handle 55, generating a current through the second and third interspaces.
In this manner, the outer surface of the panel 51 and the handle 55 have a sufficiently low temperature.
Advantageously, insulating material 57 is also arranged in the region comprised between the frame 21 and the fixing elements 41 and 43.
In practice it has been observed that the invention achieves the intended aim and objects, providing a cold door structure for household ovens which has a considerably reduced bulk.
The particular execution of the second interspace 35 allows to considerably lower the temperature of the door, also by virtue of the presence of the heat-reflecting screen 41 and 43 and of the baffle 47.
The oven door according to the invention is susceptible to numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the inventive concept. All the details may furthermore be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.
In practice, the materials employed, as well as the dimensions, may be any according to the requirements.
Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly, such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the scope of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims

Oven door characterized in that it comprises a frame (21) adapted to be hinged at an opening of the oven, said frame comprising, from the compartment toward the outside, a first panel (27) and a second panel (29), said first and second panels being separated by a first interspace (31), a third panel (33) separated from said second panel by a second interspace (35), and a fourth external panel (51) separated from said third panel by a third interspace (53), said second and third interspaces being connected to the outside and to aspiration means (9), said aspiration means being adapted to allow the circulation of air to cool said panels.
Oven door according to claim 1, characterized in that said third panel is associated with said door by means of an upper fastening member (41) and a lower fastening member (43), said fastening members being perforated (45) so as to allow the flow of air from outside toward the inside of said second interspace and from said second interspace toward said aspiration means.
Oven door according to claim 2, characterized in that each of said fastening members constitutes a screen which has a reflecting surface directed toward the inside of said compartment.
Oven door according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a baffle (47) which is associated with said lower fastening member in said third interspace, said baffle being adapted to direct a flow of air arriving from below toward the internal surface of said fourth panel.