EP2905541A1

EP2905541A1 - Housing for a kitchen hob, flush-mounted kitchen hob, method for manufacturing a housing of a kitchen hob and method for flush-mounting a kitchen hob

Info

Publication number: EP2905541A1
Application number: EP14154672.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Alwin Neukamm; Heino Hauschildt; Stefan Bayerlein
Original assignee: Electrolux Appliances AB
Current assignee: Electrolux Appliances AB
Priority date: 2014-02-11
Filing date: 2014-02-11
Publication date: 2015-08-12

Abstract

A housing (170) for a flush-mountable kitchen hob (100) is presented that has an area (165) to accommodate heating elements and an area (130, 140) to accommodate human interface elements. Beneficially, the housing (170) in a first area (165) has a larger thickness than in the second area (130, 140). This allows it to integrate kitchen hobs with a larger width into smaller size standard kitchen cabinets in a manner where the cutout into a workplate has to have only the size of the width (225) of the first area (165) of the housing, whereas the second area can overlap the workplate or can be integrated in a milled area of the workplate and thus use the space available over an adjacent kitchen cabinet to support the flush-mountable kitchen hob.

Description

In modern household environments, in particular in kitchens, adaptation to the modern lifestyle of customers becomes more and more important. This includes flexibility in color and size and adaptability to changing environments as well. In particular, due to more and more dense population and increased living costs in major cities, affordable apartments tend to get smaller. Related to this, the furniture of the living environment also has more and more different sizes and is adapted to exploit less available space more efficiently. Above that available time for the preparation of food and the usual household tasks becomes less in a more and more planned digital lifestyle. Thus, it is also important that household appliances take account of this situation and manufacturers strive to improve the devices in terms of flexibility and efficiency.
In this sense the European patent application EP 0990855 A2 discloses a cooking area with integrated timer. Control and heating functions of a flush-mounted kitchen hob according to this document are integrated in a single housing. The drawings of this disclosure show indication and operation elements in front of the separate cooking areas.
The invention is based on the problem to provide more independence for a flush-mounted cooking hob from a cabinet size of the kitchen furniture.
This problem is solved by the invention by a housing for a flush-mounted kitchen hob according to claim 1, a kitchen hob according to claim 10, a method for manufacturing the housing of a kitchen hob according to claim 13 and a method for flush-mounting a kitchen hob according to claim 14.
Advantageous embodiments of the invention are given in the dependent claims.
Advantageously, a housing for a flush-mounted kitchen hob according to an embodiment of the present invention features two integrated areas, one of which is adapted to accommodate the heating elements, whereas another is accommodated to accommodate at least a human interface element. In this manner, the housing according to this embodiment exploits the fact that heating elements usually have a larger depth than control or indication elements. Thus, while arranging them in different areas it is possible to provide a non-uniform box-shaped housing that is more flat in the area where the human interface element is located. In this manner, a full cabinet width of a standard kitchen cabinet can be used to accommodate the deeper part of the housing where the heating elements are located, whereas on the other hand the flatter part of the housing can extend into the surface area of an adjacent kitchen cabinet.
Usually, this is no problem as a workplate in common kitchens covers more than one piece of a plurality of adjacent kitchen cabinets. The second area of the housing including the human interface element can thus be integrated into the workplate without having to completely cutout the workplate and e.g. only milling a surface part from it, as beneficially the flatter area has less depth than the width of the workplate.
Advantageously, in a further development of an embodiment of the housing according to the present invention, the second area is located lateral to the first area, because in this manner the cabinet width of an associated kitchen furniture to build in the flush-mounted kitchen hob can be exploited to a maximum to use up the maximum available mounting width of the kitchen cabinet for accommodating the first, thicker area of the flush-mounted kitchen hob.
Favorably, according to a further development of an embodiment of the housing of the present invention, this is made from sheet metal, because sheet metal allows a flexible shaping of the housing without involving complicated technical manufacturing processes. Thus, by e.g. punching a corresponding desired form into the sheet metal and bending the borders as desired an optimum shaped housing is formed.
Favorably, according to a further development of an embodiment of the housing according to the present invention, the first area is located centrally between two second areas. In this manner, the surface area of two respectively three adjacent kitchen cabinets can be exploited for the flush-mounted kitchen hob giving the user high flexibility in selecting the width of the flush-mounted kitchen hob and presenting him a large area to prepare his meals.
Favorably, according to a further development of an embodiment of the kitchen hob according to the present invention, the width of the first area is adapted to the width of a standard size kitchen cabinet. In this manner, a maximum mounting width available in a kitchen cabinet can be exploited even for smaller standard size kitchen cabinets, while at the same time a larger surface area can be covered by the flush-mounted kitchen hob. Advantageously, according to a further development of the housing of the flush-mounted kitchen hob, the depth of the second area is adapted to fit into the thickness of a workplate. In this manner, the cutout for the kitchen hob can be limited to a central area, e.g. where the first area of the housing is located, while for the second area no cutout needs to be prepared.
Advantageously, only a small surface area corresponding to the depth of the second area of the housing needs to be removed in order to present a kitchen hob that is seamlessly mounted into the workplate.
Beneficially, according to a further development of an embodiment of the housing according to the present invention, there is a bridging area between the first area and the second area which comprises a least depth of all three areas. In this manner, a cabinet wall of a kitchen cabinet can be beneficially used to properly position the flush-mounted kitchen hob in a sideward non-slidable manner, thus even more facilitating the mounting process of the flush-mounted kitchen hob, as the sidewalls of the cabinet where the hob is mounted serve to position the flush-mounted kitchen hob by engaging the bridging area between the first area and the second area and thus preventing a sideward movement of the kitchen hob.
Advantageously, according to a further development of an embodiment of the housing according to the present invention, the depth of the first area is larger than the thickness of a standard workplate. In this manner, a cutout only for the first area needs to be provided for mounting the flush-mounted kitchen hob, while at the same time the flush-mounted kitchen hob can be positioned in an exact manner in the cutout in the workplate. Beneficially, according to a further development of an embodiment of the housing according to the present invention, the area of the least thickness, the so-called bridging area, has a width that at least allows to fit a sidewall of a standard kitchen cabinet into it, meaning the width should be at least as large as the thickness of a sidewall of a standard kitchen cabinet.
Advantageously, a flush-mounted kitchen hob according to the present invention has a housing that has features of the housing according to the present invention. In this manner, a flexible flush-mountable kitchen hob can be presented that can cover a larger area of a workplate, in particular an area that is larger than the width of a standard size kitchen cabinet. Such a flush-mounted kitchen hob is appealing to a customer and allows a flexible meal preparation due to a comfortable larger surface area. A separate box for control and indication elements can be omitted. This provides a more stable and reliable monolithic housing that requires less external connections and is easier to mount.
Advantageously according to a further development of an embodiment of the kitchen hob according to the present invention, the human interface element comprises a power control. In this manner, operating elements are presented in a safe distance of the heating elements and are easy to operate.
Beneficially, according to a further development of an embodiment of the kitchen hob according to the present invention, the human interface element comprises a function indication. In this manner, the function indication, such as e.g. a display for temperature or power, can be located in a safe distance from the cooking pots and thus has less risk to be covered by spillage and consequently can be read in a more reliable manner.
Advantageously, according to the method for manufacturing the housing of a kitchen hob, sheet metal is bent to the right shape in particular to form a housing that has less depth in the second area and more depth in the first area. In this manner, a technically simple manufacturing process is provided, while at the same time providing a stable housing conforming to the features of the present invention.
Advantageously, according to the method for mounting a flush-mounted kitchen hob according to the present invention, only a cutout for the first area needs to be prepared in order to mount the flush-mounted kitchen hob according to the present invention. In this manner, a kitchen hob of various sizes and widths can be adapted to the maximum width of a standard size kitchen cabinet, while the second area can be overlapping a workplate on an adjacent cabinet.
Beneficially, according to a further development of the method for mounting a flush-mounted kitchen hob according to the present invention, a workplate area adjacent to the cutout can be milled to a depth of the second area and thus the whole kitchen hob can be seamlessly integrated in the workplate, which beneficially remains more stable due to a smaller cutout.
Subsequently, the invention will be further explained on the basis of embodiments shown in drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1: shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a kitchen hob according to the present invention; and

Fig. 2: shows a side view of an embodiment of the kitchen hob according to the present invention with an enlarged detail.

As Fig. 1 shows in form of a preferred embodiment, a housing 170 of a flush-mounted kitchen hob comprises e.g. four heating elements 105, 110, 115 and 120 that maybe e.g. implemented as inductive heating elements, but can also be implemented as resistive heating elements or of other suitable type. The inventors have found out that housings of kitchen hobs can be improved. Thus, these heating elements are accommodated in a first area 165 which has a certain larger depth as the heating elements conform to certain size requirements in terms of e.g. cooling elements for associated coils and electronics.
Further, in the housing 170 of this embodiment, a second area 130 and 140 is indicated. In this case, two second areas are shown that are adjacent to the first area 165. Without constraints to the invention, it is also conceivable that the human interface elements are housed on one side of the area 165 and thus e.g. only a second area 130 or 140 may be required, which in such a case could also be a little larger than indicated in this embodiment.
The flush-mounted kitchen hob 100 includes human interface elements such as e.g. temperature- or power- indication or the like associated to an area 130 and 140. In the second area 130 an indication element 135 is shown which might be indicating a cooking temperature, a certain adjusted cooking power of a respective heating element. Also any indication of an automated function of the flush-mounted kitchen hob 100 that needs to be presented to the user operating the kitchen hob 100 can be presented there. Further, control elements 137 and 139 are shown which might be related to power control, time control or selection functions of a human interface element 132. In a mirror image fashion regarding the heating elements, indication elements 145, respectively control elements 150 and 155 are shown in a human interface element 142 associated to the second area 140.
Beneficially, the respective human interface elements to the right 132 serve to control or indicate heating elements 115 and 110, whereas the human interface element 142 serves to indicate or control heating elements 120 or 105. The housing 170 of this embodiment may be beneficially shaped of sheet metal. For manufacturing e.g. a suitable sized sheet metal piece is punched out accordingly and then bent into the desired shape in a known manner. This allows an easy manufacturing of the housing of the flush-mounted kitchen hob according to the present invention, while at the same time providing a stable housing that can be manufactured at an affordable price.
As Fig. 2 shows, the side view 200 of this embodiment of the flush-mounted kitchen hob shows an heat resistant cooktop area 210 and the first area 165 as well as two second areas 130 and 140 as explained in the context of Fig. 1. The first area 105 has a larger width 207 as the one of the second area 201. In the second area, parts of the housing 240 and 230 cover the respective human interface elements 132 and 142. The same holds true for the first area where housing areas 205 and 210 cover the areas of respective heating elements 105 and 110.
An exemplary cooling element 112 is shown which e.g. serves to cool the coils and associated electronics of an inductive heating element. Also indicated is a width 225 of the first area 165. A standard size of a kitchen cabinet is e.g. 0.6 m may take other widths as required be future Kitchen furniture. Beneficially, the width of the first area exploits the maximum available width of a standard sized kitchen cabinet. The areas 130 and 140 may thus cover a surface area of another adjacent kitchen cabinet. In an enlarged view 250, a detail of the area 130 is shown. A human interface element 132 can be identified, whereas the insulating top material, such as glass ceramics 210, is also depicted. Further, the housing area 230, e.g. made of sheet metal, can be identified, and a bend 235 can be seen. This bend is in the area of a bridging area between the first area and the second area where the housing in this area 238 has a lesser depth 260. By manufacturing the housing of the flush-mounted kitchen hob with such e.g. a recess, the area of lesser thickness as a bridging area between area 1 and area 2 can serve to be placed above a sidewall of a standard sized kitchen cabinet and thus serve to securely position the flush-mounted kitchen hob and prevent it from lateral movement during its mounting due to the engagement of the sidewall of a kitchen cabinet with the bridging area having a lesser thickness 260.
Especially embodiments of the invention advantageously:

create different levels for heating coils and user interfaces having different heights;
provide a housing that is completely closed and has no gap to get in touch with electronic;
consists only of one part. Thus there is no need to rivet, screw, weld or anything else;
allows a user interface that can be placed left and right an different installation level;
Allows to be built in for hobs larger than 60cm in 60cm standard furniture;
saves production cost by using one part instead of e.g. three;
saves assembly costs by avoiding a handling and fixation process;
is more solid due to one part design; and
promotes new integrated hobs.

List of reference numerals

100:: flush-mounted kitchen hob
105, 110, 115, 120:: heating element
130, 140:: second area
165:: first area
170:: housing
132, 142:: human interface element
135, 145:: indication
137, 139, 150, 155:: control element
210:: cooking surface
212, 214:: bridging area
225:: width of first area
230, 240, 205, 210:: housing areas
107, 112:: cooling elements
207:: depth of first area
201:: depth of second area
260:: depth of bridging area
238:: area of housing
235:: bent area

Claims

Housing (170) for a flush-mounted kitchen hob (100), comprising:
- at least a first area (165) to accommodate a heating element (105, 110, 115, 120);

- at least a second area (130, 140) to accommodate at least a human interface element (132, 142),
wherein the depth (207) of the housing in the first area (165) is less than the depth (201) of the housing in the second area (130, 140).
Housing (170) according to claim 1, wherein the second area (130, 140) is located lateral to the first area (165).
Housing (170) according to any one of the previous claims, wherein at least the bottom of the housing (210, 205, 230, 240) is made of sheet metal comprising a bent portion (235) between the first area (165) and the second area (130, 140).
Housing (170) according to any one of the previous claims, comprising two second areas (130, 140) wherein the first area (150) is centrally located.
Housing (170) according to any one of the previous claims, wherein the first area (165) has a width (225) adapted to fit within a standard size width of a kitchen cabinet.
Housing (170) according to any one of the previous claims, wherein the second area (130, 140) has a depth (210) adapted to fit into a thickness of a standard workplate.
Housing (170) according to any one of the previous claims comprising an area of least depth (260) between the first area (165) and the second area (130, 140).
Housing (170) according to any one of the previous claims, wherein the depth (207) of the first area (165) is larger than the thickness of a standard workplate.
Housing (170) according to any one of the claims 1 to 8, wherein the area of less thickness (212, 214) has a width equal or larger than the width of a wall of a standard size kitchen cabinet.
Flush-mountable kitchen hob (100) comprising a housing (170) according to any one of the claims 1 to 9.
Kitchen hob (100) according to claim 10, wherein the human interface element (132, 142) comprises a power control (150, 155, 132, 137).
Kitchen hob (100) according to any one of the claims 10 to 11, wherein the human interface element (132, 142) comprises a function indication (135, 145).
Method for manufacturing the housing (170) of a kitchen hob (100), wherein a bottom (205, 210, 212, 214, 230, 240) is bent from sheet metal in a manner that an area adapted to accommodate a human interface element is bent to have a smaller thickness than an area adapted to accommodate a heating element (105, 110, 115, 120).
Method for flush-mounting a flush-mountable kitchen hob according to any one of the claims 11 to 13 in a workplate covering a cabinet, comprising:
preparing a cutout in at least the size of the first area in the workplate;

overlapping the second area with the area of an adjacent cabinet.
Method for flush-mounting the flush-mountable kitchen hob (100) according to claim 14, further comprising:
milling into the workplate to the depth of the second area (201) and flush-mounting the kitchen hob within the cutout and the milled area of the workplate.