Electric heating – Heating devices – Combined with container – enclosure – or support for material...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-05
2001-01-09
Pelham, Joseph (Department: 3742)
Electric heating
Heating devices
Combined with container, enclosure, or support for material...
C219S400000, C126S02100R
Reexamination Certificate
active
06172338
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of cooking appliances and, more particularly, to a system for cooling portions of a cooking appliance, preferably utilizing natural, unforced convection to provide a flow of air used to keep certain portions of the cooking appliance at appropriate temperatures in order to protect control and/or wiring components of the appliance from overheating.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In general, it is fairly common to provide a system to cool a domestic oven or the like so that the exterior of the oven is safe to touch during operation of the oven and to further protect various control components and instruments from extreme heat. This condition can be particularly important in pyrolytic self-cleaning ovens. Such ovens are designed to reach rather extreme temperatures, such as in the order of 400° C., in order to effect proper cleaning by incineration of grease and other food stuff which normally accumulates on the oven walls through routine use. Even at lower operating temperatures, the back and sides of the oven may be close to certain wiring, other appliances, cabinetry, etc. such that protecting these other elements is desired.
Prior art ovens have often relied upon forced air cooling systems for controlling the exterior temperatures. Such forced air cooling systems have also been used to protect the various instruments and controllers present in a typical domestic oven from extreme heat. However, all such forced air cooling systems have particular cost and reliability concerns. Specifically, the fan, its motor and associated controls add to the expense of the overall appliance and, often times, represent another reliability concern. To avoid the problems of using a forced air cooling system in an oven, U.S. Pat. No. 4,241,718 proposes to use a convection cooling system in a pryolytic self-cleaning type range. While the '718 patent does address the main problems associated with using a cooling fan in an oven by eliminating the fan altogether and using a convection driven air cooling system, the patented arrangement is only designed to cool the front and top of an oven. Therefore, no provision is made within the patent for cooling the bottom or back of the range unit. Often, several electrical components are located on the back of an oven, such as, for example, the connection for the electrical power cord etc.
Actually, one regulated design parameter for an electrical cooking appliance concerns assuring that the wiring of the appliance is well protected from exposure to extreme temperatures. In a domestic range, the oven cavity is typically spaced from a supporting surface by a lower storage drawer. This vertical spacing provides a significant amount of area in the lower back portion of the appliance for attachment of wiring for the appliance. More specifically, the internal wiring for baking and broiling elements of the range is capable of being exposed to rather high temperatures, but the plug-in cord for the range needs to be connected to the range in a zone which is maintained relatively cool.
There has now been introduced into the market a range incorporating upper and lower ovens. While such a range provides certain versatility advantages over a conventional range having only a single oven cavity, the dual oven arrangement means that room for the lower drawer is no longer present and the connection zone for the plug-in cord is arranged adjacent at least one oven cavity so as to be, at least potentially, exposed to higher temperatures.
Based on the above, there exists a need in the art of cooking appliances for a cooling system which can cool certain portions of an appliance by providing for a flow of air across or adjacent these portions. In addition, there exists a need for a cooling system for a cooking appliance which relies on natural convection of cooling air in order to avoid the need for any type of forced air system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, a cooking appliance includes a cabinet and at least one oven cavity, with the cabinet being generally defined by front, bottom, top, side wall and back panel portions. The cabinet carries various leg members used to lift the cabinet away from a supporting surface, such as a floor in a kitchen, so as to define a gap extending beneath the appliance. With this arrangement, air is permitted to flow, beneath the appliance, from the front of the appliance towards its back.
Within the cabinet, a main back panel is provided, with the main back panel being arranged between a rear wall of the oven cavity and the back cabinet panel. The air flowing beneath the appliance is directed into a cooling space between the oven cavity and the main back panel. In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the back panel terminates short of the main back panel and a first set of louvers is provided in the main back panel at a relatively low position to enable the air to flow into the cooling space. A second set of louvers is provided at a relatively high location in the main back panel. With this arrangement, a flow of cooling air is directed beneath the appliance, into a lower section of the cooling space, through the first set of louvers, upward within the cooling space generally adjacent the rear wall of the oven cavity, and into a zone between the main back panel and the back cabinet panel, either through the second set of louvers or additional openings provided in the main back panel. Numerous outlets are formed in the back panel, preferably at various levels, to allow the flowing air to escape.
In the most preferred form of the invention, the cooking appliance takes the form of a range having upper and lower oven cavities. Therefore, the cooling system of the invention can be used to cool surfaces generally adjacent to either or both of the oven cavities. One particular advantage of this overall arrangement is that a power cord attachment zone, located at a relatively lower section of the main back panel, will remain below a temperature which could cause damage to the sheathing or wires of the power cord.
Additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment, when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts in several views.
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Barnes Shelton T.
Bennett Perry A.
McGuffey Norman T.
Diederiks, Jr. Everett G.
Maytag Corporation
Pelham Joseph
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