EP2340401B1

EP2340401B1 - Oven comprising a pivoting rear cover

Info

Publication number: EP2340401B1
Application number: EP09741291.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Davut Ayhan Serabatir; Yalcin Yaman
Original assignee: Arcelik AS
Current assignee: Arcelik AS
Priority date: 2008-10-24
Filing date: 2009-10-22
Publication date: 2017-06-07
Anticipated expiration: 2029-10-22
Also published as: WO2010046415A1; EP2340401A1

Description

The present invention relates to an oven.
The ovens generally comprise a cabinet formed of metal sheet plates. The oven comprises a heater that heats the cooking volume wherein the foods to be cooked are emplaced, a fan disposed on the rear wall for circulating the heated air in the cooking volume and a motor for operating the fan. The cables of components such as the heater and motor fed by electricity are connected to a network line preferably from the rear wall. A cover is mounted on the rear wall from the sides by screws for isolating from the exterior and for preventing uncontrolled access to components such as the heater, the fan, motor etc.
When the motor and cables are desired to be controlled in the production line or when these need to be repaired during the after sales service, only the upper screws of the cover are dismounted thereby providing access while the cover is in the partially open position since the cables do not allow the cover to be entirely dislodged from place. Partially opening the cover makes reaching the desired places harder and increases the risk of occupational accidents.
In the state of the art European Patent Application No EP0768809 , an oven is described comprising a protective cover, mounted on the rear wall, which can be separated from the rear wall by dismounting the screws when desired to be opened. The cover is mounted on the rear wall for protecting the rear wall and the components thereon.
The covers in the technique cannot be opened smoothly due to the cables connected thereon and reaching the rear wall of the oven cannot be performed properly.
The US 5,205,274 discloses a convection heat transfer apparatus which incorporates an improved air circulating apparatus adapted to form air streams which impinge a food product. In one embodiment, the oven comprises a front door and a back wall that are hingedly secured to the side wall to facilitate cleaning and maintenance of the oven. Moreover, an axial flow fan is driven by a motor having a drive shaft extending through an opening in rear wall.
The US 4,277,659 discloses an oven comprising a power interlock switch that functions to cut off power supplied through a line cord, i.e. the electric cable, to the oven when a removable rear panel is taken out to facilitate cleaning of the oven. The power interlock switch is mounted on a fixed, i.e. not openable, rear panel of the oven.
Further relevant state of the art is found in EP 0 817 221 A . The aim of the present invention is the realization of an oven comprising a cover that covers the back side thereof which is easily dismountable during the service operation.
The oven realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention is explicated in the claims.
The oven comprises a quadrangular shaped cabinet that protects the cooking volume, wherein the cooking process is performed, from the exterior.
The oven furthermore comprises a cover, mounted on the rear side of the cabinet, which separates the components and the connections at the back of the cabinet from the exterior. The cover is mounted to the cabinet from one side to be pivotally openable around this side. The other sides of the cover are fixed to the cabinet when the cover is closed. When the rear wall of the cabinet is desired to be accessed for the purpose of service operation, the fastening elements are dismounted and the cover is opened towards the mounted side without dismounting therefrom.
The cover has an opening that allows the electric cables to go outside from the cover. The electric received from the network is delivered to the motor and the heater by means of these cables.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the opening is closer to one side of the cover than the other sides and the cover is mounted to the cabinet from this side. Consequently, short cables are allowed to be used and the cables are not virtually displaced while the cover is opened.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the oven comprises a terminal box on the opening. The terminal box provides the distribution of the electricity from the network in the power cable to the cables.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the oven comprises a bend formed by bending the rear sides of the side wall that connects the side walls with the rear wall and a cover attached on the bend.
The cover comprises at least one latch on its pivotably mounted side. The latch is fixed on a housing situated on the rear wall or the bend.
By means of the present invention, an oven is realized wherein the cover that is secured to the cabinet from one side can be entirely opened or closed as desired thereby the rear wall can be readily accessed.
The oven realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention is illustrated in the attached figures, where:

Figure 1 - is the rear perspective view of an oven.
Figure 2 - is the sideways schematic view of an oven.
Figure 3 - is the perspective view of an oven comprising a cover and while the cover is open in an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 - is the perspective view of the oven while the cover is mounted in an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 5 - is the view of detail A in Figure 4.
Figure 6 - is the perspective view of the oven after the cover is mounted in an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 7 - is the view of detail B in Figure 6.
Figure 8 - is the rear perspective view of the cover in an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 9 - is the view of detail C in Figure 8.
Figure 10 - is the top detailed view of the cover in an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 11 - is the view of detail D in Figure 10.

The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:

1. Oven
2. Cabinet
3. Rear wall
4. Side wall
5. Cover
6. Terminal box
7. Latch
8. Bend
9. Housing
10. Opening

The oven (1) comprises a cabinet (2) wherein the cooking process is performed, a rear wall (3) closing the back side of the cabinet (2) and side walls (4) that close the sides of the cabinet (2).
The oven (1) of the present invention furthermore comprises a cover (5) that covers the rear wall (3) and is secured from one side to the cabinet (2) to be pivotally openable from this side.
The oven (1) comprises a heater (R), a fan for circulating the heated air, a fan motor (M) that drives the fan and an electronic control unit that controls the performance of the cooking process. The fan is disposed between the rear wall (3) and the plate (P) situated at the rear portion of the cooking volume of the cabinet (2) whereon air vents are provided. The fan motor (M) is mounted on the rear wall (3). The cover (5) protects the rear wall (3) and hence the connections thereon against the impacts that may come from the outside. During production, after the cabinet (2) is mounted, the producer may need to reopen the cover (5) for example for controlling the fan motor (M). In the same manner, when the service personnel can access these regions by opening the cover (5) for example when the fan needs to be changed or the connections thereof needs repairing. When required, the cover (5) is opened entirely with one side being fixed to the cabinet (2) for reaching easily the rear wall (3) without entirely dismounting the cover (5) by means of securing the cover (5) from one side to the back side of the cabinet (2) to be pivotally openable from this side. When the cover (5) is closed, it can be secured to the cabinet (2) from the other sides by fastening elements such as screws etc. (Figure 3).
The cover (5) comprises an opening (10) that allows the electric cables (K) to go outside the cover (5) from the volume between the rear wall (3) and the cover (5) to be connected to the network. The cover (5) is secured to the cabinet (2) from its side nearest to the opening (10) to be pivotally openable around this side. The cables (K) that deliver electricity to the fan motor (M), the heater (R) and the control unit fed by electricity are connected to the network by being joined in a power cable passing from the opening (10) (Figure 1 and 3). When the cover (5) is opened, since the distance between the opening and the rear wall (3) will not increase too much relatively, the lengths of the cables (K) can also be kept relatively short, by means of pivotally opening the cover (5) around the side nearest the opening (10) whereto the cables (K) are connected (Figures 1, 3 and 8). The cover (5) comprises at least one latch (7) on its pivotally openable side. The cover (5) is moved by rotating on the latch (7) (Figures 5, 7, 9 and 11). In an embodiment of the present invention, the oven (1) comprises a bend (8) formed by bending the rear sides of the side wall (4) towards the rear wall (3) and at least one housing (9) situated on the bend (8) wherein the latch (7) is seated. The bend (8) that connects the side walls (4) with the rear wall (3) is the strongest portion of the cabinet (2) in the back side that can support the entire weight of the cover (5) at the connection point in the open position of the cover (5). At the same time, since the cover (5) is at the edge of the back side, it allows access to the entire rear wall (3) when opened (Figures 3, 4 and 5).
In another embodiment of the present invention, the oven (1) comprises at least one housing (9) on the rear wall (3) wherein the latch (7) is seated (Figure 5).
In an embodiment of the present invention, the oven (1) comprises a terminal box (6) disposed into the opening (10) whereto the cables (K) are connected. The power cable is provided at the end of the terminal box (6) opening to outside of the cover (5). By means of securing the cover (5) to the back side of the cabinet (2) to be pivotally openable from its side near the opening (10) and hence near the terminal box (6), the cables (K) joined in the terminal box (6) allow the cover (5) to be opened almost without any difficulty (Figure 1).
In another embodiment of the present invention, the latch (7) is configured in an inverse L shape such that one leg is secured to the side of the cover (5) and the other leg provides the cover (5) to be mounted to the housing (9) by sliding downwards from the top. The latch (7) is locked into the housing (9) due to the weight effect of the cover (5) (Figures 5, 7, 9, 10 and 11).
In a version of this embodiment of the present invention, a difference in level is formed between the cover (5) and the latch (7) by bending the leg of the latch (7) fixed to the cover (5) first to be vertical then to be parallel to the cover (5). Thus, the latch (7) is prevented from tightening while the cover (5) rotates and the cover (5) is enabled to bear against the side whereon it pivots (Figures 9, 10, and 11).
The latch (7) is preferably configured by cutting one side of the plate, wherefrom the cover (5) is bent to be produced by the deep drawing method, in the shape of an ear and making a cut out (T) at the lower side of the ear (Figure 9). The difference in level is obtained by bending the ear once to be vertical to the cover (5) then once to be parallel. Accordingly, the latch (7) is shaped as a step (Figures 5 and 11).
By means of the oven (1) of the present invention, the rear wall (3), including elements thereon which should not be damaged such as the fan motor (M) or the cables (K), is protected by a cover (5) which is closed such that it can be easily opened when desired. The latch (7) arranged on the side of the cover (5) and the housing (9) situated on the cabinet (2) wherein the latch (7) is fitted provides the cover (5) to be easily pivotally openable, without being obstructed by the cables (K).
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed above and an expert in the technique can easily introduce different embodiments. These should be considered within the scope of the protection postulated by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

An oven (1) that comprises a cabinet (2) wherein the cooking process is
performed, a rear wall (3) closing the back side of the cabinet (2) and side walls (4) that close the sides of the cabinet (2), electric cables (K) capable of delivering electricity,
characterized by a cover (5) that covers the rear wall (3) and which cover (5) is secured from one side to the cabinet (2) to be pivotally openable from this side and to be pivotally relative to the rear wall (3), whereby the cover (5) has an opening (10) through which the electric cables (K) go outside from the cover (5) from the volume between the rear wall (3) and the cover (5) to be connected to the network,
wherein the cover (5) is secured to the cabinet (2) from its side nearest to the opening (10) to be pivotally openable around this side,
wherein the cables (K) are configured to deliver electricity to a fan motor (M), a heater (R) and a control unit and are connected to the network by being joined in a power cable passing from the opening (10).
An oven (1) as in Claim 1, characterized by a terminal box (6) disposed into the opening (10) whereto the cables (K) are connected.
An oven (1) as in any one of the above Claims, characterized by a cover (5) comprising at least one latch (7) on its pivotally openable side.
An oven (1) as in Claim 3, characterized by a bend (8) formed by bending the rear sides of the side wall (4) towards the rear wall (3) and at least one housing (9) situated on the bend (8) wherein the latch (7) is seated.
An oven (1) as in Claim 3, characterized by at least one housing (9) situated on the rear wall (3) wherein the latch (7) is seated.
An oven (1) as in any one of the Claims 3 to 5, characterized by a latch (7) configured as an inverse L shape such that one leg is secured to the side of the cover (5) and the other leg providing the cover (5) to be mounted to the housing (9) by sliding downwards from the top.
An oven (1) as in Claim 6, characterized by a latch (7) whereby bending the leg fixed to the cover (5) first to be vertical then to be parallel to the cover (5) such that a difference in level is formed between itself and the cover (5).