CN203828757U - Baking oven - Google Patents

Abstract

The oven of the present invention includes a housing with an internal heating compartment, an upper heating element and a lower heating element. The upper and lower heating elements are independently controllable between zero power and full power, depending on the mode of operation selected by the user.

Description

oven

technical field

The utility model relates to an oven, in particular to an oven selectively operated in multiple modes.

Background technique

A variety of ovens exist for heating and cooking various foods. For example, existing ovens are used to bake bagels, heat sandwiches, bake desserts, grill meats, and reheat leftovers. Heating and cooking these foods is typically accomplished by operating upper and lower heating elements within the oven, with temperature and time control of these heating elements through a user interface device or control panel.

While existing ovens are generally adequate for what would be considered average performance, there is still room for improvement in terms of ease of use, compactness and performance including temperature and time control of the upper and lower heating elements. In particular, existing ovens are only particularly suitable for baking or baking a limited number of certain foods, and only the temperature and time are controllable to a certain extent.

Utility model content

One object of the present utility model is to provide an oven.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an oven with multiple pre-programmed modes of operation.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an oven with preset and adjustable temperatures and cooking times.

An object of the present invention is to provide a compact oven.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an oven with a digital display and control.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an oven with independently controllable heating elements.

The oven of the present invention includes a housing with an internal heating compartment, an upper heating element and a lower heating element. The upper and lower heating elements are independently controllable between zero power and full power, depending on the mode of operation selected by the user.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided an oven comprising: a housing having an internal heating compartment; at least one upper heating element proximate to the top of the heating compartment, the at least one upper heating element operating at zero power operating at a first wattage between zero power and full power; and at least one lower heating element proximate the bottom of said heating compartment, said lower heating element operating at a second wattage between zero power and full power.

Preferably, said first wattage is the same as said second wattage.

Optionally, the first wattage is different from the second wattage.

Preferably, said first wattage is approximately halfway between zero power and full power; and said second wattage is full power.

Optionally, said second wattage is approximately halfway between zero power and full power; and said first wattage is full power.

Preferably, user interface means control said upper and lower heating elements in accordance with a selected mode of operation.

Preferably, said at least one upper heating element comprises two upper heating elements; and said at least one lower heating element comprises two lower heating elements.

Preferably, the heating element is a tubular heating element.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an oven comprising: a housing having an internal heating compartment; an upper heating element; and a lower heating element; wherein the upper heating element and the lower heating element operate at zero power and The full power is independently controllable.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an oven according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing internal components of the oven of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a schematic side sectional view of the oven of FIG. 1 .

Detailed ways

Referring to FIG. 1 , an oven 10 is shown. The oven 10 includes an insulated housing 12 defining an interior heating compartment 14 . The compartment 14 is accessible through a door 16 having a transparent front panel 18 . In one embodiment, the door 16 is pivotally connected to the housing 12 at its lower edge. As shown, the door 16 also has a handle 20 that allows a user to open the door 16 to provide access to the compartment 14 . A plurality of feet 22 supports the housing 12 for spacing relative to a countertop or other surface.

As further shown in FIG. 1 , the front of the housing 12 includes a user interface device 24 including a graphical display 26 (eg, LCD) and an array of user controls as discussed below.

As best shown in FIG. 2 , the interior compartment 14 includes one or more pairs of opposing slots 28 for slidably receiving one or more removable brackets 30 . The inner compartment 14 is heated by four tubular heating elements 32, 33 configured to generate radiant heat. Two heating elements 32 are positioned close to the ceiling or top of the compartment 14 , while two heating elements 33 are positioned along the floor or bottom of the compartment 14 . In one embodiment, the tubular heating elements 32, 33 are heater, e.g. stainless steel A heater, but any other type of heating element known in the art, such as quartz, tungsten, halogen, etc., may also be used without departing from the broader scope of the invention. In a preferred embodiment, the top heating element 32 is capable of operating at 700 watts (full power). Likewise, in the preferred embodiment, the bottom heating element 33 is also capable of operating at 700 watts (full power).

As shown in FIG. 3 , the heating elements 32 , 33 are shown to generate radiant heat about the food 40 within the heating compartment 14 .

With further reference to Figure 2, the user interface device 24 is electrically connected to the heating elements 32, 33 and is configured to control the operation of the heating elements. In particular, said user interface means 24 comprises a microprocessor (not shown) and a control circuit configured to control said heating elements 32, 33 according to user input and according to a control algorithm stored in memory. Importantly, the upper and lower heating elements 32, 33 are independently controllable by the microprocessor and control circuitry. In particular, in the first mode both upper and lower heating elements 32, 33 can be operated at full wattage. In another mode, the upper heating element 32 is operated at full wattage while the lower heating element 33 remains in the off position. Conversely, in another mode, the upper heating element 32 remains in the off position while the lower heating element 33 operates at full wattage. In other modes, either or both of the upper and lower heating elements 32, 33 may operate at wattages between zero wattage (off) and full wattage. For example, one or both of the heating elements 32, 33 can be operated at half wattage.

In other embodiments, one or both of the heating elements 32, 33 may be operated at a wattage between zero wattage and full wattage for the first part of the cook/heat cycle, and at a different wattage. Wattage operation for the second part of the cook/heat cycle.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the user interface device 24 may have a button 34 and a knob, the button is used to select a function, time, temperature or chromaticity, and the knob is used to change the function, time, temperature or chromaticity. For example, after pressing the time button, the user can rotate the knob 36 until the desired time appears on the display 26 . Similarly, after pressing the temperature button, the user can rotate the knob 36 until the desired temperature is displayed on the graphic display 26 .

As mentioned above, it is important that the oven 10 is capable of operating in multiple modes. A user may select a mode by rotating the knob 36 until the desired mode appears on the graphic display 26 . In one embodiment, the user can select among at least the following modes: toast, bagel, sandwich, bake, roast, leftovers, and keep warm. In each of these modes, the microprocessor controls the upper and lower heating elements 32, 33 according to specific control algorithms to precisely heat or cook the desired food product.

In the "toast" mode, the user may select a desired toast shade using the button 34 and the knob 36 on the user interface device 24 . Once selected, both the bottom heating element 33 and top heating element 32 will be turned on at full wattage (top 700 watts, bottom 700 watts) until the toast reaches the desired shade, after which the heating elements 32, 33 will be controlled to their "closed" position.

In the "bagel" mode, the user may also select the desired shade of toast using the button 34 and the knob 36 on the user interface device 24 . However, in contrast to the "toast" mode, in which the top heating element 32 is turned on and operates at full wattage (700 watts in the preferred embodiment), while the bottom The heating element 33 is turned on and operates at half full wattage (350 watts in the preferred embodiment). Once the bagel has reached the selected shade, the heating elements 32, 33 will be controlled by the control circuit to their "off" position.

In the "Bake" mode, the user may use the button 34 and the rotary knob 36 to first select the desired temperature and time. In one embodiment, the default bake temperature is 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and the user can select a temperature between 160F and 500F. In the bake mode, both the upper and lower heating elements 32, 33 are operated at full wattage until a timer expires, at which time the heating elements 32, 33 are controlled to their "off" positions.

In the "roast" mode, the temperature is automatically set to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. The user can then use the knob 36 to select the desired roasting time. Pressing the start button will start the roast cycle, which will run until the timer expires. In the roast mode, only the top heating element 32 is "on" at full wattage (the bottom heating element 33 remains off).

In "leftovers" mode, the temperature is automatically set to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and the timer is automatically set to 20 minutes. The temperature and time can however be adjusted by the user using the buttons 34 and knob 36 on the user interface device 24 . In the leftovers mode, both the top and bottom heating elements 32, 33 are activated and operate at full wattage.

In "sandwich" mode or "sandwich" mode, the temperature is automatically set to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and a time of 15 minutes. Likewise, the user can adjust the temperature and time through the user interface device 24 . In any case, however, in the sandwich mode, the bottom heating element 33 operates at full wattage (700 watts in the preferred embodiment) and the top heating element 32 operates at half wattage (700 watts in the preferred embodiment). 350 watts in the example).

Finally, in the "keep warm" mode, the temperature is automatically set to 160 degrees Fahrenheit. The user can then select an operating time via said user interface means 24 . In the keep warm mode, the bottom heating element 33 operates at full wattage and the top heating element 32 remains in its "off" position.

As noted above, the oven 10 of the present invention can be operated using both preset and user-adjustable temperatures and cooking times. In the preset mode, the oven 10 is preprogrammed to deliver power to the heating elements according to the type of food to be heated.

As will be readily appreciated, independent control of the upper and lower heating elements 32, 33 allows the user to more precisely tailor the cooking/heating cycle to the type of food placed within the heating compartment 14, resulting in better tasting and better looking food. food. Additionally, control of the heating elements allows the oven 10 to be used to heat or cook foods that are not normally suitable for cooking in conventional ovens.

While the invention has been shown and described with respect to specific embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made thereto and elements thereof may be substituted without departing from the scope of the invention. for the equivalent. In addition, modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from its essential scope. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed in the above detailed description, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of this disclosure.

Claims (9)

1. An oven, characterized in that, comprising: a housing with an internal heating compartment; at least one upper heating element proximate the top of the heating compartment, the at least one upper heating element operating at a first wattage between zero power and full power; At least one lower heating element proximate the bottom of the heating compartment, the lower heating element operating at a second wattage between zero power and full power. 2. The oven according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first wattage is the same as the second wattage. 3. The oven according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first wattage is different than the second wattage. 4. The oven according to claim 1, characterized in that: said first wattage is approximately halfway between zero power and full power; and The second wattage is full power. 5. The oven according to claim 1, characterized in that: said second wattage is approximately halfway between zero power and full power; and The first wattage is full power. 6. The oven of claim 1, further comprising: User interface means for controlling the upper and lower heating elements in accordance with the selected mode of operation. 7. The oven according to claim 1, characterized in that: the at least one upper heating element comprises two upper heating elements; and The at least one lower heating element includes two lower heating elements. 8. The oven of claim 1, wherein: The heating element is a tubular heating element. 9. An oven, characterized in that, comprising: a housing with an internal heating compartment; upper heating element; and lower heating element; Wherein the upper heating element and the lower heating element are independently controllable between zero power and full power.