GB2494866A

GB2494866A - Cooker with front vents in a cooking cavity roof

Info

Publication number: GB2494866A
Application number: GB1116150.2A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gareth James Attwood; Ray Bowen
Original assignee: Basic Holdings
Current assignee: Basic Holdings
Priority date: 2011-09-19
Filing date: 2011-09-19
Publication date: 2013-03-27
Anticipated expiration: 2031-09-19
Also published as: GB201116150D0; GB2494866B

Abstract

A cooking appliance has a cooking cavity below a control fascia 150, with a vent or vents 220 in the roof of the cavity towards the front of the appliance, and a flue 230 directing gases from the vent to exit ports 234 at the rear of the appliance. The appliance can have a grill electric element 121, an oven gas burner 122, a vertical grill shield 240, an angled upper surface 233 to the flue 230, a hob 110, and a second cooking cavity 130. Thus controls 140 are protected from hot gases without the need for a fan.

Description

Cooking appliance

Field

The present application relates to cooking appliances and in particular to stoves or ranges that are fuelled by both gas and electricity. The application more particularly relates to a stove or range that incorporates a gas fuelled oven and an electric grill.

Background

Cooking appliances are well known. Within the generic concept of same it is known to provide stoves or ranges that are fuelled by a variety of fuel sources. These include those stoves or ranges which are solely fuelled by one fuel source, such as electricity or gas. Other appliances are dual fuelled whereby a first fuel source, such as gas, may be used for the oven and a second fuel source, such as electricity, may be used for the grill elements.

Figure 1 is a section through portion of such a conventional cooking appliance 100. This example is of the type known as a standalone cooker and comprises a hob surface 110 located above a grill cooking cavity 120 which is located above a second cooking cavity 130. The features of the lower portion of the appliance 100 are not visible in this sectional view. The appliance has a front 132 and a back 134.

As is typical with these appliances the control knobs 140 or other user interfaces are provided on a front control fascia 150 of the appliance. For user comfort and ease of use these are typically provided above the grill cooking cavity 120 that houses the oven or grill. Grill elements 121 are provided in an upper region 123 of the grill cooking cavity 120 and may be gas or electrically powered. In this example cooking appliance the grill cooking cavity also provides an oven cooking function and heating for the oven is provided by a gas oven burner 122 which is located to the rear 125 of the cavity.

In use each of the oven burner 122 and/or grill elements 121 will generate heated air 160 (and combustion products if they are gas fuelled). This heated air will rise through convective principles and may pass outwardly from the cavity-heated air rising. In the absence of controlling the distribution of this escaping heated air, it would then pass over the front fascia 150. if this convective heating of the front fascia was not addressed it could lead to an excessive heating of the front fascia and a resultant danger to the user.

To address this problem it is known, and this cooking appliance is exemplary of this known technique, to provide a seal-gap 171 between a front door 170 of the oven, or grill, cavity and the main chassis. This allows for a forward venting of heated air or, a heated air/combustion product where the combustion is provided from a gas burner. At the same time an active fan element 173 is provided which draws air 174 in from the rear 134 of the appliance and then directs this cool air 172 between the vented heated air product 160 and the control fascia 150 to ensure that the control knobs 140 are not excessively heated. This however requires the use of a dedicated fan element 173 which needs to be housed within the chassis and whose operation generates a noise.

There is therefore a need to provide a cooking appliance that allows for operation of a cooking cavity below a control fascia but does not lead to an excessive heating of the control fascia and does not require the use of a fan element to dissipate or control said heat.

Summary

These and other problems are addressed by a cooking appliance that comprises a cooking cavity located below a control fascia of the cooking appliance. The appliance comprises one or more vents provided in a top forward portion of the cavity. The appliance further comprises a flue configured to capture heated air/combustion product escaping through those vents and direct that product rearwardly so that is exhausts at the rear of the appliance. In this way the present teaching advantageously obviates the need for the active fan element.

Accordingly, a first embodiment of the application provides a cooking appliance as detailed in claim 1. Advantageous embodiments are provided in the dependent claims.

Brief Description Of The Drawings

The present application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a section through portion of a prior art cooking appliance.

Figure 2 is a section through portion of a cooking appliance in accordance with the present teaching.

Figure 3 is a section through a complete cooking appliance incorporating the features of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a front perspective view of the cooking appliance of Figure 3.

Detailed Description Of The Drawings

Figures 2 through 4 show an example of a cooking appliance 200 provided in accordance with the present teaching. The appliance 200 shares many of the same features that were described above with reference to prior art cooking appliances and the same reference numerals will be used for similar parts.

In this exemplary arrangement the cooking appliance 200 has a front 132 and a back 134. A hob is provided on the top 135 of the appliance 200. As shown in Figure 4, this hob 110 typically comprises a plurality (401, 402, 403, 404) of individual cooking regions, which in this exemplary arrangement are gas fuelled.

The appliance has a first 120 and second 130 cooking cavity. The first cooking cavity 120 is located above the second 130 cavity and below the hob region 110. The first cooking cavity in this exemplary arrangement serves a dual purpose. It comprises a grill element 121 and also comprises an oven burner 122 which allows for use of this cooking cavity for both grilling and baking/roasting purposes.

The second cooking cavity 130 also comprises an oven burner 322. The oven burners for each of the first and second cooking cavities are desirably located to the rear 134 of the appliance. The two can be operated independently of each other. In this exemplary arrangement both of the oven burners are gas fuelled which means that they provide heat through a combustion of gas within the oven cavity. As a result their use generates a combustion product which needs to be vented outside of the oven cavities.

As detailed above, the first cooking cavity 120 provides both a grilling and oven function. The grilling function is provided by a grill element 121 provided in an upper region 123 of the cavity 120. As will be appreciated by those of skill, the footprint of the grill element is desirably substantially similar to the footprint of the roof 124 of the first cavity 120, the two being parallel with one another.

The grill element in this exemplary arrangement is electrically powered such that the cavity is of the type known as a dual fuel device-using both electricity and gas for the cooking process.

Similarly to that described with reference to the prior art, use of a cooking appliance causes a generation of heated air. Where the heated air is generated by combustion of gas it also results in the generation of combustion products.

These heated products need to be vented from the cavity.

To avoid a venting of heated air to the front of the cooking appliance the present teaching provides one or more vents 220 extending in a direction across the front of the cooking appliance. To optimise the exhaust function of the vents vis-a-vis the cooking performance of the cavity desirably two or more vents are provided. It will be appreciated that the size of the vents will be related to the number of vents. In an exemplary configuration three vents are provided.

Each of the vents of this exemplary arrangement has dimensions of the order 90-95 X 3-7mm in size with spacings of about 3-7 mm between each vent.The vents are provided in the roof 124 of the first cooking cavity. The vents are desirably located to the front 132 of the appliance and extend across the appliance substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the control fascia 150. The vents allow heated air and combustion product 221 to escape out from the cavity. The vents are desirably located behind a grill heat shield 240 which serves in this configuration a dual purpose. A first purpose, a traditional purpose, is to prevent inadvertent physical contact by a user with the grill element 121 when presenting a grill tray into the cavity 120. A second purpose which is specific to the present teaching is served by the judicious orientation of the vents 220 relative to the grill heat shield 240. By locating the vents 220 in the roof of the cavity behind the grill heat shield 240, the shield 240 serves to baffle and direct exhaust product generated within the cavity towards the vents 220. The shield 240 comprises a vertical member that extends downwardly from the roof of the cavity such that heated exhaust product rising within the cavity and travelling towards the front door of the cavity will encounter the shield and be directed towards the roof where it will exit through the vents.

To ensure that the vented air and combustion product are distributed out of the appliance in a controlled fashion, an appliance in accordance with the present teaching desirably further baffles the vented product from the first cavity to an exit at the rear of the appliance where it may escape.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3 this baffling may be provided by a flue or chimney 230 which is located above the first cavity 120 and below the hob 110.

The flue has one or more entry ports 231 which is(are) coincident with the vents provided in the roof of the first cavity. In this way the heated air products that exhausts from the cavity 120 enters directly into a volume 232 defined by the chimney. The chimney has an upper surface 233 which extends at an angle upwardly away from the entry ports towards the rear 134 of the appliance.

Heated air product 221 that enters into the chimney will rise in accordance with convection principles to the top of the chimney volume 232 where it will be directed by the upper surface 233 rearwardly.

One or more exit ports 234 are provided at the rear of the chimney. The heated air product is directed by the upper surface 233 towards these exit ports 234 where it then exits from the apphance. As is shown in Figure 2, the exits ports are desirably located behind the hob surface, and desirably below a grill façade 400-shown in Figure 4. In this way the heated air product is vented from the cavity behind the hob 110. In contrast to the arrangement of Figure 1, a user located to the front of the appliance does not have heated air product directed onto them. Mare importantly the controls 140 that are mounted within or on the front control fascia 150 are not exposed to any venting heated air product which means that they do not heat.

Desirably the angle at which the flue or chimney extends rearwardly is such as to allow a supporting of rear burners 301 of the hob on the surface 233 of the flue and at the same time ensure that the exit pods 234 are coincident with the vents 400 at the rear of the hotplate It will be appreciated that the present teaching p.rovides for a circulation of heated air from the rear of the cooking cavity 120 towards the front of the cooking cavity where it is then vented. By locating the vents towards the front of the appliance the heated air generated by the gas burner during oven operation is allowed to circulate within the oven where it is required as part of the cooking process. The vents located towards the front of the appliance and used in combination with a chimney or flue that directs vented air from the cavity rearwardly does not detract from the cooking performance and yet allows the temperature of the control fascia in a combi-oven to be maintained at a correct temperature without requiring a fan element.

The chimney upper surface desirably also provides a seat for operational components of the hob. As is shown in Figure 3 where the hob is gas powered, below the hob surface 110, hob elements are required. In the schematic of Figure 3 first 300 and second 301 hob elements are required for each of a first and second gas ring provided as part of the hob. The second hob element 301 is seated onto the upper surface 233 of the chimney or flue An independent support strut 303 (shown in Figure 2) provides the necessary support for the front burners whereas the rear burners are supported by the surface of the flue.

It will be appreciated that in accordance with the present teaching it is possible to dispense with a cooling fan and yet still maintain the front control fascia of the cooking appliance within a prescribed temperature. The use of passive cooling through judicious location of vents in an upper surface of the cooking cavity and their co-location with the entry port of a flue allows the direction of heated air and combustion products as appropriate from the front of the appliance to the rear where it then exits and escapes.

While the teaching has been described with reference to a dual cavity cooking appliance having first 410 and second 411 access doors to each of the first 120 and second 130 cavities that the present teaching does not have to be restricted to such a configuration. Whereas Figures 2 through 4 show the dual cavity configuration arranged with one above the other, other configurations could be provided as a side by side arrangement. Furthermore, a prime benefit of the present teaching is ensuring that heated air and combustion product from a cavity that is located close to a control fascia 150 does not cause a heating of said fascia and its associated controls 140. For that reason, the present teaching may be incorporated into appliances which only include a single cavity.

While the operation of the cavity in an oven configuration will ensure that a seal between the front door 410 and the cavity 120 prevents the escape of heated air to the front of the appliance, it will also be appreciated that even in a grilling mode where the door 410 may be left open that the location of the vents towards the front and in the roof of the cavity ensures that the heated air will preferentially exhaust the cavity through the vents and chimney as opposed to through an open door-the air being directed over and into the vents prior to presentation to the open door. In this way the teaching will operate in both an open and closed door configuration.

The words comprises/comprising when used in this specification are to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers steps, components or groups thereof.

Claims

<claim-text>Claims 1. A cooking appliance comprising a cooking cavity located below a control fascia of the appliance, the cooking cavity comprising one or more vents located in a roof of the cavity towards the front of the appliance, the appliance further comprising a flue having one or more entry ports located coincident with the one or more vents, and one or more exit ports located at the rear of the cooking appliance, wherein, in use, heated air and/or combustion products generated within the cooking cavity are vented through the vents and directed towards the rear of the appliance by the flue where they exit.</claim-text> <claim-text>2. The appliance of claim 1 comprising a hob located above the cooking cavity.</claim-text> <claim-text>3. The appliance of claim 1 or 2 wherein the cooking cavity is a first cooking cavity, the appliance further comprising a second cooking cavity.</claim-text> <claim-text>4. The appliance of claim 3 wherein the second cooking cavity is located below the first cooking cavity.</claim-text> <claim-text>5. The appliance of claim 3 wherein the second cooking cavity is located beside the first cooking cavity.</claim-text> <claim-text>6. The appliance of any preceding claim wherein the cooking cavity comprises a grill element and an oven burner which allows for use of the cooking cavity for both grilling and baking/roasting purposes.</claim-text> <claim-text>7. The appliance of claim 6 wherein the grill element is electrically powered.</claim-text> <claim-text>8. The appliance of claim 6 or 7 wherein the oven burner is a gas burner.</claim-text> <claim-text>9. The appliance of any preceding claim wherein the vents extend across the appliance substantially parallel with a longitudinal axis of the control fascia for the appliance.</claim-text> <claim-text>10. The appliance of any preceding claim wherein the flue defines a volume within which heated air products that exhaust from the cavity enter.</claim-text> <claim-text>11. The appliance of claim 10 wherein the flue comprises an upper surface which extends at an angle upwardly away from the entry ports towards the rear of the appliance.</claim-text> <claim-text>12. The appliance of claim 11 wherein the upper surface terminates at said one or more exit ports such that operably, the heated air product is directed by the upper surface towards the one or more exit ports where it then exits from the appliance.</claim-text> <claim-text>13. The appliance of claim 2 wherein the one or more exit ports are located to the rear of the hob such that heated air product is vented from the appliance behind the hob.</claim-text> <claim-text>14. The appliance of claim 6 comprising a grill shield provided forwardly of the grill element and the one or more vents, the vents being located between the grill element and the grill shield, such that operably the grill shield directs heated air and/or combustion products generated within the cooking cavity towards the one or more vents.</claim-text> <claim-text>15. The appliance of claim 14 wherein the grill shield comprises a vertical member extending downwardly from the roof of the cavity.</claim-text> <claim-text>16. A cooking appliance substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to one or more of Figures 2 to 4.Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows Claims 1. A cooking appliance comprising a cooking cavity located below a control fascia of the appliance, the cooking cavity comprising one or more vents located in a roof of the cavity towards the front of the appliance, the appliance further comprising a flue having one or more entry ports located coincident with the one or more vents, and one or more exit ports located at the rear of the cooking appliance, wherein, in use, heated air and/or combustion products generated within the cooking cavity are vented through the vents and directed towards the rear of the appliance by the flue where they exit, the cooking cavity comprising a grill element and an oven burner which allows for use of the cooking cavity for both grilling and (Y) baking/roasting purposes, and further comprising a grill shield provided forwardly of the grill element and the one or more vents, the vents being located between the grill element and the grill shield, such that operably C the grill shield directs heated air and/or combustion products generated within the cooking cavity towards the one or more vents.CJ
2. The appliance of claim 1 comprising a hob located above the cooking cavity.
3. The appliance of claim 1 or 2 wherein the cooking cavity is a first cooking cavity, the appliance further comprising a second cooking cavity.
4. The appliance of claim 3 wherein the second cooking cavity is located below the first cooking cavity.
5. The appliance of claim 3 wherein the second cooking cavity is located beside the first cooking cavity.
6. The appliance of claim 1 wherein the grill element is electrically powered.
7. The appliance of claim 1 or 6 wherein the oven burner is a gas burner.
8. The appliance of any preceding claim wherein the vents extend across the appliance substantially parallel with a longitudinal axis of the control fascia for the appliance. :ii9. The appliance of any preceding claim wherein the flue defines a volume within which heated air products that exhaust from the cavity enter.10. The appliance of claim 9 wherein the flue comprises an upper surface which extends at an angle upwardly away from the entry ports towards the rear of the appliance.11. The appliance of claim 10 wherein the upper surface terminates at said one or more exit ports such that operably, the heated air product is directed by the upper surface towards the one or more exit ports where it then exits from the appliance.12. The appliance of claim 2 wherein the one or more exit ports are located to the rear of the hob such that heated air product is vented from the appliance behind the hob.(V) 13. The appliance of claim 1 wherein the grill shield comprises a vertical member extending downwardly from the roof of the cavity.14. A cooking appliance substantially as hereinbefore described with C reference to one or more of Figures 2 to 4. C" (4</claim-text>