WO2013000901A1

WO2013000901A1 - An oven

Info

Publication number: WO2013000901A1
Application number: PCT/EP2012/062341
Authority: WO
Inventors: Osman Cengiz; Mehmet Baris Gocer; Erdem KOK; Cumhur Ayvazoglu
Original assignee: Arcelik Anonim Sirketi
Priority date: 2011-06-27
Filing date: 2012-06-26
Publication date: 2013-01-03
Also published as: EP2724083A1; TR201106339A1; CN103620310A; CN103620310B

Abstract

The present invention relates to an oven (1) comprising a cooking cavity (2) wherein the trays (T) containing the foods to be cooked are placed, a casing (4) in the shape of a box with front side open, surrounding the cooking cavity (2), having two opposite side walls (3), a shelf (5) whereon the tray (T) can be placed, a movement mechanism (6) providing the shelf (5) to be moved upwards/downwards and a support unit (8) that can be detachably mounted on the inner surface of both of the two side walls (3) facing the cooking cavity (2), having carriers (7) providing more than one tray (T) to be placed one over the other and spaced apart in the cooking cavity (2), a sensor (9) which detects that the support unit (8) is mounted to the side wall (3) and a control unit (10) which prevents the movement mechanism (6) from moving the shelf (5) when the support unit (8) is detected to be mounted on the side wall (3) by the sensor (9)..

Description

AN OVEN

The present invention relates to an oven that comprises a movable shelf when desired and a support unit when desired for placing the trays.

In some state of the art ovens, support units mounted to the side walls are used having carriers which provide the trays to be placed one over the other and spaced apart in the cooking cavity.

In these embodiments, when the elevation of the tray inside the oven is required to be changed during cooking process, the user performs this activity himself/herself.

Again in other state of the art ovens, shelves are used whereon trays are placed and which can be moved upwards/downwards by means of a movement mechanism. In these embodiments, it is not possible to cook with more than one tray simultaneously inside the oven.

In the state of the art German Patent Application No. DE102004042827 and the United States Patent No. US5429043, cooking devices comprising movable shelves are explained.

In the European Patent Document No. EP0792087, a cooking device comprising a movable shelf and a method relating to the control of said movable shelf is described.

In the United States Patent Document No. US5543784, an oven is described that comprises a control unit which detects the presence of an object in the heating chamber and alerts the user if there is such an object.

In these state of the art embodiments, ovens are not explained wherein the movable shelf and the support unit are used together.

The aim of the present invention is the realization of an oven wherein the movable shelf or the support unit is used as per the preferences of the user.

In the oven realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention, explicated in the first claim and the respective claims thereof, both a shelf that can be moved by means of a movement mechanism and also a support unit having more than one support whereon the tray can be placed may be used selectively. When the user prefers to make effective cooking in only one tray, the tray is placed on the shelf and thus the elevation of the shelf during cooking and hence the position of the foodstuff in the cooking cavity is adjusted. On the other hand, when the user prefers to cook in more than one tray simultaneously, cooking is performed by placing the support unit inside the oven. When the support unit is placed into the cooking cavity, the support unit is detected by means of a sensor in order to prevent the shelf from hitting to the support unit by being moved and the control unit prevents the shelf from being moved.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a pin is disposed on the support unit providing the mounting thereof to the side wall. The pin is seated in a housing situated on the side wall. In this embodiment, the sensor is a switch situated opposite the housing. The pin, when seated in the housing, contacts the sensor and provides the completion of an electrical circuit that transmits signals to the control unit. Thus, the control unit receives the data that the support unit is mounted to the side wall and deactivates the movement mechanism.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit moves the shelf during cooking in accordance with the data stored in its memory. In this embodiment, if the support unit is placed into the cooking cavity, the control unit does not deliver a command for actuating the movement mechanism even if the data stored in the memory of the control unit states that the shelf must be raised or lowered in a stage of the cooking program. Therefore, the movement mechanism does not function and the shelf is not moved and thus a possible damage is prevented.

In another embodiment of the present invention, an adjustment means is provided in the oven which enables the user to move the shelf during cooking. In this embodiment, similarly if the support unit is placed inside the cooking cavity, the control unit does not transmit a command for actuating the movement mechanism even if the user activates the adjustment means. Thus, the risk of damaging the support unit or the movement mechanism by moving of the shelf is eliminated while the support unit is inside the cooking cavity.

In the preferred version of this embodiment, the oven comprises an alerter for warning the user if the user actuates the adjustment means while the oven support unit is mounted to the side wall. The alerter delivers the user information about the support unit being in the cooking cavity by giving visual or audible alarm to the user.

By means of the present invention, the oven is provided to perform safe cooking by using the movable shelf or the support unit as preferred.

The oven realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention is illustrated in the attached figures, where:

Figure 1 – is the schematic view of an oven.

Figure 2 – is the perspective view of an oven when the support unit is not in the cooking cavity.

Figure 3 – is the perspective view of the casing, the support unit, the shelf, the movement mechanism and the tray in an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 – is the front view of the casing, the support unit, the shelf, the movement mechanism and the tray in an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 – is the view of detail A in Figure 4.

Figure 6 – is the front view of the casing, the support unit, the shelf, the tray and the sensor in an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7 – is the view of detail B in Figure 6.

The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:

Oven
Cooking cavity
Side wall
Casing
Shelf
Movement mechanism
Carrier
Support unit
Sensor
Control unit
Pin
Housing
Adjustment means
Alerter

The oven (1) comprises

a cooking cavity (2) wherein the trays (T) containing the foodstuffs to be cooked are placed,
a casing (4) surrounding the cooking cavity (2), configured as a box with front side open, having two opposite side walls (3),
a shelf (5) whereon the tray (T) can be placed,
a movement mechanism (6) providing the shelf (5) to be moved upwards/downwards and
a support unit (8) that can be detachably mounted on the inner surface of the two side walls (3) facing the cooking cavity (2), having carriers (7) providing more than one tray (T) to be placed one over the other and spaced apart in the cooking cavity (2).

The oven (1) of the present invention furthermore comprises a sensor (9) which detects that the support unit (8) is mounted to the side wall (3) and a control unit (10) which prevents the movement mechanism (6) from moving the shelf (5) when the support unit (8) is detected to be mounted on the side wall (3) by the sensor (9). Thus, if the support unit (8) is placed into the oven (1), the accidents that might occur in the case of actuating the movement mechanism (6) are prevented.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the oven (1) comprises

at least one pin (11) situated on the support unit (8),
at least one housing (12) arranged on the side wall (3), wherein the pin (11) is seated for mounting the support unit (8) to the side wall (3) and
a sensor (9) in the form of a switch, whereto the pin (11) contacts when placed into the housing (12), which provides the control unit (10) to sense that the support unit (8) is mounted to the side wall (3).

Thus, the pin (11) presses on the sensor (9) when the pin (11) is placed into the housing (12). Consequently, the control unit (10) receives the data that the support unit (8) is mounted to the side wall (3) and prevents the movement mechanism (6) from moving the shelf (5).

In an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit (10) controls the movement of the shelf (5) in accordance with the cooking program selected by the user. In this embodiment, the control unit (10) prevents the movement mechanism (6) from moving the shelf (5) when the support unit (8) is detected to be mounted to the side wall (3) by the sensor (9) even if the cooking program selected by the user is a cooking program that requires the position of the shelf (5) to be changed. Thus, the probable damages are averted.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the oven (1) comprises an adjustment means (13) that provides the movement of the shelf (5) to be controlled by the user. In this embodiment, the control unit (10) prevents the movement mechanism (6) from moving the shelf (5) when the support unit (8) is detected to be mounted to the side wall (3) by the sensor (9) even if the user wants to move the shelf (5) by means of the adjustment means (13). Thus, the accidents that may occur when the user wants to actuate the movement mechanism (6) and move the shelf (5) by forgetting that the support unit (8) is mounted in the oven (1) are prevented.

In different embodiments of the present invention, the adjustment means (13) is an apparatus that provides adjustments to be made manually or electronically.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the oven (1) furthermore comprises an alerter (14) that warns the user in the case the user wants to change the elevation of the shelf (5) by means of the adjustment means (13) when the control unit (10) prevents the movement mechanism (6) from moving the shelf (5) since the support unit (8) is mounted to the side wall (3). Consequently, both the unwanted situation is prevented from occurring and also the user is provided to be informed.

In different embodiments of the present invention, the alerter (14) is an apparatus that provides to deliver audible or visual warnings.

By means of the present invention, in the oven (1), the selected use of both the movable shelf (5) and the support unit (8) is provided to be realized in a safe manner.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited by the embodiments disclosed above and a person skilled in the art 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) comprising

- a cooking cavity (2) wherein the trays (T) containing the foodstuffs to be cooked are placed,

- a casing (4) surrounding the cooking cavity (2), configured as a box with front side open, having two opposite side walls (3),

- a shelf (5) whereon the tray (T) can be placed,

- a movement mechanism (6) providing the shelf (5) to be moved upwards/downwards and

- a support unit (8) that can be detachably mounted on the inner surfaces of the two side walls (3) facing the cooking cavity (2), having carriers (7) providing more than one tray (T) to be placed one over the other and spaced apart in the cooking cavity (2),

characterized by a sensor (9) which detects that the support unit (8) is mounted to the side wall (3) and a control unit (10) which prevents the movement mechanism (6) from moving the shelf (5) when the support unit (8) is detected to be mounted on the side wall (3) by the sensor (9).
An oven (1) as in Claim 1, characterized by at least one pin (11) disposed on the support unit (8), at least one housing (12) disposed on the side wall (3) wherein the pin (11) is seated for mounting the support unit (8) to the side wall (3) and a sensor (9) in the form of a switch, whereto the pin (11) contacts when placed into the housing (12) and which provides the control unit (10) to sense that the support unit (8) is mounted to the side wall (3).
An oven (1) as in Claim 1 or 2, characterized by the control unit (10) that controls the movement of the shelf (5) in accordance with the cooking program selected by the user and prevents the movement mechanism (6) from moving the shelf (5) when the support unit (8) is detected to be mounted to the side wall (3) by the sensor (9) even if the cooking program selected by the user is a cooking program that requires the position of the shelf (5) to be changed.
An oven (1) as in Claim 1 or 2, characterized by an adjustment means (13) that provides the movement of the shelf (5) to be controlled by the user and the control unit (10) that prevents the movement mechanism (6) from moving the shelf (5) when the support unit (8) is detected to be mounted to the side wall (3) by the sensor (9) even if the user wants to move the shelf (5) by means of the adjustment means (13).
An oven (1) as in Claim 4, characterized by an alerter (14) that warns the user in the case the user wants to change the elevation of the shelf (5) by means of the adjustment means (13) when the control unit (10) prevents the movement mechanism (6) from moving the shelf (5) since the support unit (8) is mounted to the side wall (3).