GB2179139A - Gas ovens - Google Patents

Abstract

A gas oven, especially a small oven having a height of less than 200mm, incorporates an upper panel 5 spaced inwards from the top wall of an outer casing to provide a passage 9 therebetween, and a burner 7 disposed at the rear of the oven so that in use heated air (which includes the products of combustion) is caused to pass forwardly either through the passage 9 or cooking chamber to be discharged into the cooking chamber or passage 9 as the case may be at the front of the oven and is discharged therefrom via a flue opening at the rear of the oven. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Gas ovens This invention relates to gas ovens, more especially small ovens, that is to say ovens in which the cooking chamber has a height of less than 200mm. In the case of electric cookers small ovens are often combined, for example, with a larger oven to form a double oven appliance. However it has been found that the temperature within the cooking chamber of small gas ovens with rear mounted burners tends to be uneven, and it is thought that this is because the height of the oven is insufficient to enable the heated air (including products of combustion) to circulate efficiently by normal convection currents.

An object of the invention is to obviate this difficulty.

According to the invention a gas oven comprises a casing having a front opening closeable by a door and having within it a cooking chamber bounded at the top by an upper panel spaced inwardly from the top wall of the casing to provide a passage therebetween, a gas burner disposed at the rear of the oven so that in use heated air is caused to pass forwardly either through the passage or cooking chamber to be discharged into the cooking chamber or passage as the case may be at a position adjacent the front of the oven, at least one flue opening being provided for the subsequent discharge of the heated air from the rear of the cooking chamber or passage respectively.

Such an arrangement has been found to provide a good circulation of heated air through the cooking chamber, resulting in a substantially uniform cooking temperature within the chamber, even in the case of small ovens as above defined.

The oven may incorporate a screen spaced inwardly from the back wall of the oven to form a rear passage therebetween, the burner being disposed so that the heated air passes upwards through the rear passage before passing into the upper passage or the cooking chamber as the case may be.

In an oven in which the heated air is caused to pass first through the cooking chamber and then to the flue through the upper passage, the screen may be in the form of a metal sheet upstanding from the rear edge of a shelf arranged to support food to be cooked within the oven. Such a shelf may be of the usual wire grid form, and the oven sides may be provided with a series of runners to enable the shelf to be supported at different heights as may be required.

In the case where the heated air is caused to pass first through the upper passage and then through the ocoking chamber, the open ing through which heated air is discharged into the cooking chamber from the upper passage is preferably associated with a flap which is normally open but is arranged to close automatically when the door of the oven is opened, in order to prevent hot air emerging from the discharge opening from being fed directly through the door opening.

This is particularly advantageous in the case of ovens fitted with a drop down door having a handle adjacent its top edge, as it avoids the possibility of hot air being discharged directly from the upper space on to the hands of a person opening the door while the oven is in use, and attempting to operate control knobs located above.

Moreover it prevents control knobs located along the upper part of the oven front, as is frequently the case, from being overheated and possibly damaged when the door is opened.

An oven in accordance with the invention, having a cooking chamber with a height of less than 200mm, may be disposed above a larger oven, for example one having a cooling chamber with a height of at least 300mm, to form a free standing double oven gas cooker.

Two ovens in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to Figs. 1 to 7 of the accompanying schematic drawings, in which: Figure 1 represents sectional side view in diagrammatic form of the first oven, Figures 2 and 3 represent, also diagrammatically, a sectional plan view and a perspective view of part of the oven, Figure 4 represents a front view of the oven, Figures 5 and 6 show parts of the oven illustrated in Fig. 1 in an enlarged form, and Figure 7 represents a sectional side view of the second oven.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 4, the first oven comprises a casing 1 formed of sheet metal wrapped around to form the top, bottom and two sides of the oven, and having a height of approximately 200mm.The back of the casing is closed by a panel 2, also of sheet metal, and the front is closeable by a door 3 hinged along the bottom edge, as at 3.1. A door seal of known kind is provided as at 3.2.

Inner rear and upper panels 4, 5 extending the full width of the casing are spaced respectively from the back panel 2 and from the top of the casing and, within the space 6 formed between the back panel 2 and the inner rear panel 4, there is located a burner 7 disposed beneath an open-bottomed and lidded metal box 8, sealed to panels 2 and 4 at the back and front respectively, and with its sides fixed to the base of casing 1. The inner rear panel 4 is sealed to the roof of casing at the left and right sides, leaving an open area A in the centre equal to the width of the lid 8' of the box 8, from which the heated air from the burner is introduced into an upper space 9 formed between the upper panel 5 and the top of the casing, the air passing forwardly along the space 9, to be discharged into the cooking chamber 11 adjacent the door 3.

Openings 12 formed in the lower part of the rear panel 4 at the sides of the burner box 8 allow the heated air to pass from the cooking chamber 11 into the space bounded by the panel 4 and the back wall 2 of the casing, at each side of the metal box 8 and then through further openings 13 in the back wall 2, and into a flue 14.

Such an arrangement has been found to ensure a good circulation of the heated air around the cooking chamber 11, and provide a substantially uniform cooking temperature within the chamber.

The opening 15 from which heated air is discharged from the space 9 into the cooking chamber 11 is fitted with a flap 16 which is hinged along its top edge and is normally held open when the door 3 is closed. This is achieved by means of an actuating member 17 pivotally mounted on a side wall of the oven casing as shown more clearly in Figs. 5 and 6.

With the door 3 open the weight of the flap 16 causes it to hang downwards and close the discharge opening 15, the actuating member 17 being held in the position shown in Fig. 5. However, when the door 3 is closed it engages a forwardly extending projection 18 at the lower end of the actuating member 17, causing the latter to pivot in the anticlockwise direction (in the views illustrated) to the position shown in Fig. 6.

This causes the upper end 19 of the actuating member to engage the flat 16 and pivot it forwardly into the open position, allowing hot air from the space 9 to be discharged into the cooking chamber 11 as previously explained.

Closure of the flap 16 when the door is opened avoids the hot air from the space 9 from being discharged directly through the door opening when the door 3 is opened.

With the flap 16 closed when the burner is operating the slight back pressure which is created causes the hot air to pass through openings 22 at the sides of the burner box 8 to be discharged through the flue openings 13 and/or through one or more openings, as at 23 in the back of the box 8, directly into the flue 14.

The second oven also comprises a sheet metal casing 1 similarly dimensioned to that of the first oven, being similarly closed at the back by a panel 2 of sheet metal and at the front by a door 3 hinged along the bottom edge at 3.1.

An internal panel 5 is located approximately 25mm from the top of the casing, and extends the full width of the casing from the back panel 2 to a position approximately 25mm from the front of the oven. The panel 5 has a hole 24, about 50mm in diameter disposed centrally between the two sides a short distance from the front edge of the panel.

The base 25 of the casing 1 is provided at the rear with a transversely extending opening 26 beneath which is located a burner 7.

A series or runners (not shown) are provided in the oven sides for supporting a shelf 27 in the form of a wire grid of conventional form at different heights within the oven, the shelf being provided along its rear edge with an upstanding heat shield 28 of sheet metal.

In use of the oven, heated air (including products of combustion) pass forwardly through the cooking chamber, and into the passage 29 between the panel 2 and the top of the casing through the hole 20 and also through the gap 30 between the front edge of the panel 5 and the door 3, as indicated by the arrows, and then passes rearwardly along the passage to a flue 32 at the rear of the casing.

It has been found that this oven also ensures a good circulation of air around the cooking chamber, with a substantially uniform cooking temperature within the chamber.

In practice either of the two small ovens described above may be disposed at the top of a larger, conventionally-sized oven, shown in part at 31 in Figs. 1 and 7. The smaller and larger ovens can share a common flue.

In practice the smaller and larger ovens will normally be surrounded by heat insulation and mounted within an outer housing (not shown) carrying the controls for both ovens, these conveniently being located along the front of the housing above the door 3, with the complete assembly forming a free-standing gas cooker.

Claims (10)

1. A gas oven comprising a casing having a front opening closeable by a door and having within it a cooking chamber bounded at the top by an upper panel spaced inwardly from the top wall of the casing to provide a passage therebetween, a gas burner disposed at the rear of the oven so that in use heated air is caused to pass forwardly either through the passage or cooking chamber to be discharged into the cooking chamber or passage as the case may be at a position adjacent the front of the oven, at least one flue opening being provided for the subsequent discharge of the heated air from the rear of the cooking chamber or passage respectively.

2. A gas oven according to Claim 1 incorporating a screen spaced inwardly from the back wall of the oven to form a rear passage therebetween, a burner being disposed so that the heated air passes upwards through the rear passage before passing into the upper passage or the cooking chamber as the case may be.

3. A gas oven according to Claim 2 in which the heated air is caused to pass first through the upper passage, the screen is in the form of a metal sheet upstanding from the rear edge of a shelf arranged to support food to be cooked within the oven.

4. A gas oven according to Claim 3 wherein the oven sides are provided with a series of runners to enable the shelf to be selectively supported at different heights.

5. A gas oven according to Claim 2 in which the heated air is caused to pass first through the upper passage and then to the flue through the cooking chamber, the opening through which heated air is discharged into the cooking chamber from the upper passage is associated with a flap which is normally open but is arranged to close automatically when the door of the oven is opened, in order to prevent hdt air emerging from the discharge opening from being fed directly through the door opening.

6. A gas oven according to any preceding Claim in which the oven is provided with a drop-down door having a handle adjacent its top edge.

7. A gas oven according to any preceding Claim wherein the height of the cooking chamber is less than 200mm.

8. A free-standing gas cooker incorporating an oven according to Claim 7 disposed above a larger oven.

9. A free-standing gas cooker comprising a first oven having a cooking chamber with a height less than 200mm, disposed above a second oven having a cooking chamber with a height of at least 300mm.

10. A gas oven substantially as shown in and as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 1 to 6 or Fig. 7 of the accompanying drawings.