EP0831276A1

EP0831276A1 - Kitchen cooking assembly

Info

Publication number: EP0831276A1
Application number: EP97830094A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Mauro Bompani
Original assignee: Fox SpA Di Renzo Bompani & C
Current assignee: Fox SpA Di Renzo Bompani & C
Priority date: 1996-09-17
Filing date: 1997-03-04
Publication date: 1998-03-25
Also published as: IT239811Y1; ITTO960187U1; ITTO960187V0

Abstract

A kitchen cooking assembly (1) comprising a vitroceramic hob (3) lowerly provided with electric heating elements (8) and with an electronic control unit (5) including touch-sensitive controls, arranged on the upper face of the hob (3), for the heating elements (8), and an electric built-in oven (4) adjacent to the vitroceramic hob (3). The oven (4) is provided with respective control and adjustment members (5a) which are also arranged on the vitroceramic hob (3) and are also consisting of touch-sensitive controls.

Description

The present invention is related to kitchen cooking assemblies, comprising a vitroceramic hob lowerly provided with electric heating elements and with an electronic control unit for said electric heating elements, including touch-sensitive controls arranged on the upper face of the vitroceramic hob, and an electric built-in oven placed adjacent to the vitroceramic hob and provided with respective control and adjustment members.

Vitroceramic hobs of the above-referenced type, examples of which are disclosed in European Patent Applications EP-A-0443924 and EP-A-063231, are presently spreading over the market as a valid alternative to conventional gas or radiant plate stoves, due to the remarkable advantages provided thereby in terms of functionality, safety, aesthestetics and easy cleaning.

Traditionally, the built-in ovens which together with these vitroceramic hobs make up the cooking assembly are equipped with an autonomous front panel bearing the related control and adjustment members, normally including rotary knobs and push buttons. Since as a rule the oven is located beneath the vitroceramic hob, and thus at a relative low position, operating these control and adjustment members is anything but confortable and convenient. Moreover, forward projection of the control and adjustment members is anti-aesthetical and may result troublesome owing to encumbrance thereof.

With the object to overcome the above drawbacks, the present invention is directed to a kitchen cooking assembly of the type set forth in the above, the primary feature of which resides in that the control and adjustment members of the oven are also arranged on the vitroceramic hob and are also consisting of touch-sensitive controls.

These control and adjustment members of the oven, as well as the controls for the heating elements of the vitroceramic hob, may be located in proximity of any of the vitroceramic hob sides, and may also be operatively associated to a remote control device.

The invention will now be disclosed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, purely provided by way of non-limiting example, in which:

figure 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of akitchen cooking assembly according to the invention, and
figure 2 is a partially exploded view of figure 1.

In the drawings, reference numeral I generally designates a cooking assembly according to the invention, intended to be built into a kitchen furniture generally indicated as 2.

The cooking assembly 1 comprises a vitroceramic hob 3 arranged horizontally, and a built-in oven 4 located beneath the vitroceramic hob 3.

The vitroceramic hob 3 is provided inferiorly, in a generally conventional fashion, with electric heating elements 8 of the radiant or halogen type, or combinations thereof, as well as with an electronic control unit generally indicated as 5, including touch-sensitive controls and related analogic and/or digital visual displays, arranged on the upper surface of the hob 3.

The oven 4, of a conventional electric type, is also provided with respective control and adjustment members which, according to the fundamental feature of the invention, are also located on the upper face of the vitroceramic hob 3 and are also consisting of touch-sensitive controls. In the case of the shown example, the control and adjustment members of the oven 4, indicated as 5a, are included in the electronic control unit 5 of the vitroceramic hob 3, which is positioned adjacent to the right side thereof with reference to the drawings. In alternative, the control and adjustment members 5a of the oven 4 and the controls 5 of the heating elements 8 of the hob 3 may be separated from each other and positioned along any other side of the vitroceramic hob 3.

The power circuitry of the oven 4, indicated as 6 in figure 2, is connected to the control and adjustment members 5a, arranged as previously clarified on the vitroceramic hob 3, through wirings 7.

With the arrangement according to the shown example, the control unit 5 of the cooking assembly 1 thus provides the following functions:

switching on/off the vitroceramic hob 3 andor the oven 4;
power adjustment of the heating elements 8;
selection of the oven 4 functions;
thermostatic regulation of the oven 4;
power adjustment of the grill of the oven 4;
programming cooking time of the oven 4.

A remote control device may also be operatively associated to the electronic control unit 5 for controlling the sections thereof respectively corresponding to the vitroceramic hob 3 and to the oven 4.

Naturally the details of construction and the embodiments may be widely varied with respect to what has been disclosed and illustrated, without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention, such as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

Kitchen cooking assembly (1), comprising a vitroceramic hob (3) provided inferiorly with electric heating elements (8) and with an electronic control unit (5) of said heating elements (8), including touch-sensitive controls arranged on the upper surface of the vitroceramic hob (3), and an electric built-in oven (4) placed adjacent to said vitroceramic hob (3) and provided with respective control and adjustment members, characterized in that said control and adjustment members (5a) of the oven (4) are also arranged on the vitroceramic hob (3) and are also consisting on touch-sensitive controls.
Cooking assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that said control and adjustment members (5a) of the oven (4) and said controls (5) of the electric heating elements (8) are located in proximity of any of the vitroceramic hob (3) sides.
Cooking assembly according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that said control and adjustment members (5a) of the oven (4) and said controls (5) of the electric heating elements (8) are grouped together.
Cooking assembly according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that said control and adjustment members (5a) of the oven (4) and said controls (5) of the electric heating elements (8) are separated from each other.
Cooking assembly according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that said control and adjustment members (5a) of the oven (4) and said controls (5) of the electric heating elements (8) are operatively associated to a remote control device.