EP3844442A1

EP3844442A1 - A cooking device comprising an illumination element

Info

Publication number: EP3844442A1
Application number: EP19737681.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Ihsan Arslantekin; Erol Karaer; Engin CEYHAN; Muhammet EREN
Original assignee: Arcelik AS
Current assignee: Arcelik AS
Priority date: 2018-08-31
Filing date: 2019-06-28
Publication date: 2021-07-07
Anticipated expiration: 2039-06-28
Also published as: WO2020043359A1; EP3844442B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cooking device (1) comprising a cooking cavity (2) wherein the materials to be cooked are placed; a casing (3) in the form of a box with the front side open which surrounds the cooking cavity (2); and an illumination element which has a light source (4) disposed on the casing (3) so as to be outside the cooking cavity (2) and at least one optical waveguide (5) connected to the light source (4) from one end and connected onto the casing (3) from the other end so as to illuminate the inner volume of the cooking cavity (2), thus enabling the cooking cavity (2) to be illuminated by transmitting the light from the light source (4) to the end connected onto the casing (3).

Description

A COOKING DEVICE COMPRISING AN ILLUMINATION ELEMENT

The present invention relates to a cooking device comprising an illumination element.
In cooking devices, illumination elements are used to illuminate the inner volume of the cooking cavity in order to monitor the cooking state of the foodstuff in the cooking cavity without opening the door providing access into the cooking cavity. Since the cooking state can be observed through the glass door without opening the door, no heat loss occurs in the cooking cavity. In the state of the art, various embodiments are developed such that the illumination element efficiently illuminate the entire cooking cavity. In some of these embodiments, illumination elements having an optical waveguide which transfers the light from the light source into the cooking cavity are used. The optical waveguide commonly includes a bundle of optical fibers or alternatively an optical light pipe. However, said optical waveguide has a very fragile structure almost like glass. Therefore, after the illumination element is disposed into the cooking device, the forces acting on the cooking device, for example during the transport or use of the cooking device cause the illumination element to be damaged at the region of the cooking device where the same is disposed, even to break to become unusable.
In the state of the art Turkish Patent Document No. TR2016/12442, an oven comprising an illumination means is disclosed.
The aim of the present invention is the realization of a cooking device comprising an illumination element which is not easily damaged due to the loads acting thereon.
The cooking device realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention, explicated in the first independent claim and the respective claims thereof, comprises at least one mounting gap arranged on the casing, and at least one connection element which has a through hole and which keeps the end not connected to the light source of an optical waveguide, which carries the light emitted by the light source of the illumination element providing the illumination of the inner volume of the cooking cavity, in said through hole so as to at least partially absorb the impacts acting on said end. By attaching to the casing the end, providing the illumination of the inner volume of the cooking cavity, of the optical waveguide, which is produced from a very fragile material preferably such as glass, so as to absorb the impacts acting thereon, said end is prevent from being damaged due to forces acting on the casing during the use or transport of the cooking device.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the connection element comprises a head which is wider than the mounting gap. During the fixing of the connection element to the casing, first the connection element is inserted into the mounting gap on the casing and is moved along said mounting gap until the head is contact with the casing walls surrounding the mounting gap. After the head bears against the walls defining the mounting gap, the head is preferably riveted to the casing, thus fixing the connection element to the casing. Consequently, the connection element is enabled to be fixed to the casing preferably by means of rivets in an easy and low-cost manner.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the cooking device comprises at least one elastic element which is mounted into the connection element and which flexibly bears the end of the optical waveguide which illuminates the inner volume of the cooking cavity in the through hole. The forces acting on the casing, in particular on the connection element during the use or transport of the cooking device are absorbed by means of the elastic element, and said forces are prevented from acting on the optical waveguide positioned in the elastic element and thus damaging the optical waveguide.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the connection element comprises at least one housing which enables the elastic element to be held on the wall surrounding the through hole. By being connected with said housing, the elastic element can be easily mounted into the through hole without any expertise.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the elastic element is a helical spring which is compressed as a result of the force acting thereon so as to absorb said force. By using the low-cost helical spring as the elastic element, the cost of the cooking device is prevented from increasing noticeably.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the housing comprises a plurality of slots therein which are suitable for receiving the curves of the helical spring. Thus, the helical spring can be easily and quickly mounted into the connection element by being rotated through the slots in the housing without requiring any expertise.
By means of the present invention, in the cooking device, by mounting the illumination element, which has the light source and the optical waveguide produced from a fragile material and carrying the light emitted by the light source so as to illuminate the inner volume of the cooking cavity, onto the casing of the cooking device by means of the connection element and the elastic element, the forces acting on the optical waveguide are prevented from damaging the optical waveguide.
The cooking device realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention is illustrated in the attached figures, where:
Figure 1 - is the perspective view of the cooking device of the present invention.
Figure 2 - is the partial cross-sectional schematic view of the connection of the illumination element of the cooking device of the present invention onto the casing.
Figure 3 - is the exploded schematic view of the connection of the illumination element of the cooking device of the present invention onto the casing.
The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:

Cooking device
Cooking cavity
Casing
Light source
Optical waveguide
Illumination element
Mounting gap
Through hole
Connection element
Head
Elastic element
Housing

The cooking device (1) comprises a cooking cavity (2) wherein the materials to be cooked are placed; a casing (3) in the form of a box with the front side open which surrounds the cooking cavity (2); and an illumination element which has a light source (4) disposed on the casing (3) so as to be outside the cooking cavity (2) and at least one optical waveguide (5) connected to the light source (4) from one end and connected onto the casing (3) from the other end so as to illuminate the inner volume of the cooking cavity (2), thus enabling the cooking cavity (2) to be illuminated by transmitting the light from the light source (4) to the end connected onto the casing (3). When the inner volume of the cooking cavity (2) is desired to be illuminated, the light source (4) is activated, and the light emitted by the light source (4) is carried by the optical waveguide (5), thus the inner volume of the cooking cavity (2) is enabled to be illuminated by means of the other end of the optical waveguide (5) which is not connected to the light source (4). The optical waveguide (5), which enables the light to be carried from the light source (4) so as to illuminate the inner volume of the cooking cavity (2), is preferably in the form of a glass tube.
The cooking device (1) of the present invention comprises at least one mounting gap (7) arranged on the casing (3), and at least one connection element (9) which is inserted into the mounting gap (7) and which has a through hole (8) and which keeps the end not connected to the light source (4) of the optical waveguide (5) in said through hole (8) so as to at least partially absorb the impacts acting on the optical waveguide (5). Thus, during the use or transport of the cooking device (1), the forces acting on the casing (3), in particular on the connection element (9) keeping therein the end of the optical waveguide (5) are absorbed by the connection element (9), thus preventing said forces from reaching the optical waveguide (5) and damaging the optical waveguide (5).
In an embodiment of the present invention, the connection element (9) comprises a head which is wider than the mounting gap (7). When the connection element (9) is inserted into the mounting gap (7), the head (10), which is wider than the mounting gap (7), does not enter the mounting gap (7) and bears against the surface of the casing (3) surrounding the mounting gap (7). In this position the connection element (9) is fixed onto the casing (3) by riveting the head (10) onto the casing (3). Thus, the connection element (9) is enabled to be easily and rigidly joined with the casing (3).
In an embodiment of the present invention, the cooking device (1) comprises at least one elastic element (11) which is fitted into the connection element (9) and which flexibly bears the end, which is not connected to the light source (4), of the optical waveguide (5) in the through hole (8). Thus, in case of a force acting on the connection element (9), the elastic element (11) stretches thanks to its elastic properties so as to prevent the acting force from reaching the optical waveguide (5) and thus damaging the optical waveguide (5).
In an embodiment of the present invention, the connection element (9) comprises at least one housing (12) on the walls thereof surrounding the through hole (8), which enables the elastic element (11) to be borne in the through hole (8). Thus, preferably after the connection element (9) is inserted into the mounting gap (7) so as to fixed onto the casing(3), the elastic element (11) is connected with the housing (12) and then easily fitted into the through hole (8).
In an embodiment of the present invention, the elastic element (11) is a helical spring which is compressed as a result of the force acting thereon so as to absorb said force. By using the low-cost helical spring as the elastic element (11), the cost of the cooking device (1) is prevented from increasing noticeably.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the housing (12) comprises a plurality of slots therein which are suitable for receiving the curves of the helical spring. Thus, the helical spring is rotated by means of the slots in the housing (12) to be easily borne into the through hole (8).
By means of the present invention, in the cooking device (1), the illumination element (6), which has the light source (4) and the optical waveguide (5) produced from a fragile material and carrying the light emitted by the light source (4) so as to illuminate the inner volume of the cooking cavity (2), is mounted onto the casing (3) of the cooking device (1) by means of the connection element (9) and the elastic element (11) such that the optical waveguide (5) is prevented from being damaged by the forces acting thereon.

Claims

A cooking device (1) comprising a cooking cavity (2) wherein the materials to be cooked are placed; a casing (3) in the form of a box with the front side open which surrounds the cooking cavity (2); and an illumination element (6) which has a light source (4) disposed on the casing (3) so as to be outside the cooking cavity (2) and at least one optical waveguide (5) connected to the light source (4) from one end and connected onto the casing (3) from the other end so as to illuminate the inner volume of the cooking cavity (2), thus enabling the cooking cavity (2) to be illuminated by transmitting the light from the light source (4) to the end connected onto the casing (3), characterized by at least one mounting gap (7) arranged on the casing (3), and at least one connection element (9) which is inserted into the mounting gap (7) and which has a through hole (8) and which keeps the end not connected to the light source (4) of the optical waveguide (5) in said through hole (8) so as to at least partially absorb the impacts acting on the optical waveguide (5).
A cooking device (1) as in Claim 1, characterized by the connection element (9) comprising a head (10) which is wider than the mounting gap (7).
A cooking device (1) as in any one of the above claims, characterized by at least one elastic element (11) which is fitted into the connection element (9) and which flexibly bears the end, which is not connected to the light source (4), of the optical waveguide (5) in the connection element (9).
A cooking device (1) as in Claim 3, characterized by the connection element (9) comprising at least one housing (12) on the walls thereof surrounding the through hole (8), which enables the elastic element (11) to be borne in the through hole (8).
A cooking device (1) as in Claim 3 or 4, characterized by the elastic element (11) which is a helical spring which is compressed as a result of the force acting thereon so as to absorb said force.
A cooking device (1) as in Claim 5, characterized by the housing (12) comprising a plurality of slots therein which are suitable for receiving the curves of the helical spring.