Patent Application
20180156468
The present disclosure relates to a cooking assembly. More particularly the present disclosure relates to a built-in oven and cooktop cooking assembly for recreational vehicle applications.
The recreational vehicle (RV) market has been growing in recent years. Increasingly, consumers want to retain the conveniences and luxuries of home while away from home. In particular, consumers are demanding more luxuries and aesthetic appeal in the kitchen.
Cooking appliances such as ovens and cooktops for use in the recreational vehicle industry are subject to numerous regulations. Such regulations impact design specifications of ovens such as but not limited to the location of air inlet ports and air outlet ports. For example, Article 1.21.3 of the American National Standard For Recreational Vehicle Cooking Gas Appliances states: “Vent openings and flue deflectors shall not be located on a front vertical surface below the 36 in (914 mm) level.” Additionally, these regulations also can constrain the size of such appliances. Therefore, maximizing the size of the cooking appliances while maintaining compliance with the regulations in the recreation vehicle industry is a constant goal of manufacturers.
The present disclosure provides a cooking assembly with slide in components. The cooking assembly provides a cabinet with cutouts configured to receive various components of the cooking assembly.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a cooking assembly is provided. The cooking assembly includes: a housing having: a front surface, a top surface, a bottom surface, a back surface, a first side surface, and a second side surface connected together to define a space; a first cutout formed in the front surface of the housing, the first cutout defined by a first side edge, a second side edge that is parallel the first side edge, a first top edge that is perpendicular to the first side edge and the second side edge, and a first bottom edge that is parallel to the first top edge and perpendicular to the first side edge and the second side edge; a second cutout sized formed in the top surface of the housing, the second cutout defined by a third side edge, a fourth side edge that is parallel to the third side edge, a second front edge that is perpendicular to the third side edge and the fourth side edge, and a second back edge that is perpendicular to the third side edge and the fourth side edge; an oven having a pivotal door on a front surface and a back panel parallel to and opposite the front panel and an oven enclosure, the oven at least partially positioned within the first cutout such that the first side edge, the second side edge, the first top edge and the first bottom edge are adjacent to the front surface of the oven; a cooktop at least partially positioned within the second cutout and coupled to the oven, the cooktop spaced apart from the front surface of the housing and the back surface of the housing; and a vent assembly coupled to the oven and forming a fluid flow path vertically out of the oven enclosure, the vent assembly adjacent to the back surface of the housing.
According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of assembling a cooking assembly is provided. The method of assembly includes: inserting an oven into a first cutout formed in the front panel of a housing, the oven having a front panel, a top panel, a bottom panel, a back panel, a first side panel, and a second side panel to define an oven enclosure, the oven enclosure in fluid communication with ambient air outside the oven, and the housing having a front surface, a top surface, a bottom surface, a back surface, a first side surface, and a second side surface; inserting a vent into a second cutout formed in the top surface of the housing such that the vent is in fluid communication with the oven enclosure; coupling the vent along a top panel at an air outlet of the oven adjacent to the back panel of the oven; inserting a cooktop into the second cutout formed in the top surface of the housing such that the cooktop is spaced apart from the front surface and the back surface of the housing.
The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this disclosure, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and will be better understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplifications set out herein illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner.
For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, which are described below. The embodiments disclosed below are not intended to be exhaustive or limit the invention to the precise form disclosed in the following detailed description. Rather, the embodiments are chosen and described so that others skilled in the art may utilize their teachings. It will be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. The invention includes any alterations and further modifications in the illustrative devices and described methods and further applications of the principles of the invention which would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.
Referring first to
Housing 10 includes a front surface 16, a back surface 17, a top surface 12, a bottom surface 19, and first and second side surfaces 14a and 14b (referred to collectively as side surfaces 14) to define an area within which oven 22, vent assembly 30, and cooktop 40 are installed as discussed further below. In some embodiments, housing 10 may include shelves and drawers for storage of, for example, kitchen equipment and tools and foodstuff. In some embodiments, housing 10 includes a countertop 11 and a cabinet 13 with heights 57 and 59 respectively. In some embodiments, countertop 11 and cabinet 13 are coupled to each other. For example, countertop 11 may rest flush or substantially flush on the top surface of the cabinet 13 and may join cabinet 13 at a butt joint. Countertop 11 can include a recess in which the top surface of the cabinet 13 fits such that at least a portion of the countertop 11 overhangs the cabinet 13. In some embodiments, counter top 11 and cabinet 13 are integrally formed with one another. Suitable materials for the countertop 11 include stone, such as quartz, granite, soapstone, limestone and marble, laminate, glass, wood, stainless steel, concrete, tile, and solid-surfacing materials containing for example acrylic, polyester or a combination of acrylic and polyester. Suitable materials for cabinet 13 include wood, laminate and thermofoil
With Reference to
In some embodiments, first cutout 18 has a height 64 and width 52 suitable for receiving the oven 22. For example, in some embodiments, first cutout 18 has a height 64 which may be as little as 19 inches, 19.5 inches, 20 inches, as great as 21 inches, 21.5 inches, 22 inches, or within any range defined between any two of the foregoing values. In some embodiments, height 64 is about 20.3 inches. In some embodiments, first cutout 18 has a width 52 which may be as little as 22 inches, 22.5 inches, 23 inches, as great as 24 inches, 24.5 inches, 25 inches, or within any range defined between any two of the foregoing values. In some embodiments, width 52 is about 23.5 inches.
As shown in
Second cutout 20 is configured to receive cooktop 40 and vent assembly 30 as described further below and is formed in the top surface 12 of housing 10 extending towards bottom surface 19. Second cutout 20 is defined by first and second side edges 20b, 20c, front edge 20d, and back edge 20a. First and second edges 20b and 20c may be parallel or substantially parallel and front edge 20d and back edge 20a may be parallel or substantially parallel. Further, first and second edges 20b and 20c may be perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to front edge 20d and back edge 20a.
Second cutout 20 has a height 72 which may be as little as 23 inches, 23.5 inches, 24 inches, as great as 25 inches, 25.5 inches, 26 inches, or within any range defined between any two of the foregoing values. As shown in
Second cutout 20 spans a portion of top surface 12 and is spaced from back surface 17, front surface 16, bottom surface 19, and side surfaces 14. First edge 20d of second cutout 20 is spaced from front surface 16 by a distance 70 that may be as little as 1 inch, 1.25 inches, 1.5 inches, as great as 1.75 inches, 1.85 inches, 2 inches, or within any range defined between any two of the foregoing values. In some embodiments, distance 70 is 1.625 inches. Side edges of 20b, 20c of cutout 20 are also spaced from side surfaces 14 by distances 68a and 68b as measured from edges 20b, 20c as shown in
Housing 10 with first cutout 18 and second cutout 20 defines a space having a depth 58 for accommodating oven 22 and cooktop 40. Depth 58 may be as little as 17 inches, 17.5 inches, 18 inches, as great as 19 inches, 19.5 inches, 20 inches, or within any range defined between any two of the foregoing values. In some embodiments, depth 58 is about 18.4 inches. Back edge 20a is spaced apart from back surface 17 by a distance 60. In some embodiments, distance 60 may be as little as 2 inches, 3 inches, 4 inches, as great as 6 inches, 7 inches, 8 inches, or within any range defined between any two of the foregoing values. In some embodiments, distance 60 is at least 2 inches.
As mentioned earlier, first cutout 18 is sized and shaped to receive oven 22 as shown in
Plates 31 and 35 are coupled to one another and positioned between shelves 44 and burner 42. Plate 31 is positioned closer to burner 42 than plate 35 and may include a plurality of apertures (not shown) to permit air to flow through plate 31. Plate 35 is removable and is positioned above plate 31 and may may block air flow through the center portion of the oven, directing air flow towards the walls of oven enclosure 50 and towards air outlet 49. In some embodiments, plate 35 may be removed from oven enclosure 50 such that heated air only moves through the apertures of plate 31 as the air ascends within oven enclosure 50.
As shown in at least
As also shown in
Vent cover 34 is coupled to vent 21 along the top surface of vent 32 and includes apertures 37. Vent cover 34 serves to distribute exiting air from oven 22. When heated air moves through conduit 33 of vent 32, vent cover 34 allows some of the heated air to continue moving vertically along arrow 61 through vent cover 34 without significantly changing its flow path. However, a portion of the heated air is unable to flow along this path due to the small size of apertures 37 along this flow path. As such, vent cover 34 funnels the remaining heated air outwards towards the edges of vent 32 and vent cover 34 such that the heated air can exit oven 22 through the apertures 37 provided on this part of vent cover 34 as indicated by arrow 63.
Vent cover 34 also prevents external debris from entering oven 22 due to the relatively small size of apertures 37. In an alternate embodiment, vent assembly 30 is made of a single piece where vent 32 and vent cover 34 are integrally formed.
Cooking assembly 100 includes a cooktop 40. When cooking assembly 100 is assembled, cooktop 40 is inserted into second cutout 20 (
After oven 22 is inserted into first cutout 18 and connected to the energy source 45 and power source 47, vent 32 of vent assembly 30 is inserted into second cutout 20 in the direction of arrow 76 such that vent 32 is coupled to oven 22 as shown in
After inserting vent 32, vent cover 34 is coupled to vent 32 as shown by arrow 78 in
After mounting vent cover 34 onto vent 32, cooktop 40 is connected to the energy source 45 as shown in
In the fully assembled configuration, oven 22 fits within first cutout 18 of housing 10, and the front panel 38 is substantially flush with front surface 16. Alternatively, the front panel 38 may protrude from the front surface 16. In some embodiments, the housing 10 may be positioned on a substrate, such as a floor, such that bottom surface 19 of housing 10 is on the substrate. When installed, housing 10 surrounds the front panel 38 of oven 22. For example, housing 10 is positioned below oven 22 between the floor and the oven 22 and above oven 22. Because oven 22 is positioned within first cutout 18, which does not extend to the floor, the front surface 16 of housing 10 maintains a flowing appearance below the oven 22. Additionally, because first cutout 18 does not extend to top surface 12, the front surface 16 of housing 10 maintains a flowing appearance above the oven. In contrast, typical slide-in oven models require a break or cutout to be formed in the kitchen cabinet from the top surface of the cabinet to the floor to enable the oven to be fit into a defined space extending the height of the cabinets. This design creates breaks in the cabinets and has less visual appeal.
Similarly, cooktop 40 may fit within second cutout 20 of housing 10 such that cooktop 40 is substantially flush with the top surface 12 of housing 10. Alternatively, cooktop 40 may protrude from the top surface 12 of housing 10. When cooktop 40 is installed, housing 10 surrounds the cooktop 40 on four sides. Because cooktop 40 does not extend fully from the front surface 16 to the back surface 17 (i.e., cooktop 40 does not adjoin or intersect front surface 16 or back surface 17), top surface 12 has a flowing appearance. In contrast, the top surface 12 would have a less flowing appearance if the cooktop 40 extended to front surface 16 at least because top surface 12 having distance 70 would be eliminated.
Moreover, in some embodiments when vent assembly 30 is coupled to oven 22 within housing 10, vent cover 34 is substantially flush with the top surface 12 of housing 10. In other words, the top surface of the vent cover 34 is in the same horizontal plane as top surface 12 of cooktop 40. Alternatively, vent cover 34 may protrude from the top surface 12 of housing 10. When vent cover 34 is installed, housing 10 surrounds vent cover 34 on four sides. Because vent cover 34 is positioned within second cutout 20 and does not extend fully from back surface 17 to front surface 16 (i.e., vent cover 34 does not adjoin or intersect back surface 17 of front surface 16), top surface 12 has a flowing appearance.
Having a two-part cooking assembly 100 comprised of a separate oven 22 and cooktop 40 provides for easier installation as each component is inserted and connected to their respective power and gas sources as appropriate. It also provides for easy removal of components of cooking assembly 100 such as cooktop 40. For example, for the removal of cooktop 40, a user would need to decouple cooktop 40 from oven 22, disconnect cooktop 40 from power source 47 and energy source 45, and pull cooktop 40 out of second cutout 20 for proper removal. Additionally, the two-part assembly provides flexibility to the consumer as a consumer has the choice of selecting from different types of ovens 22 and different types of cooktops 40 for cooking assembly 100 and is only constrained by the spatial limitations of first cutout 18 and second cutout 20 in housing 10. Furthermore, in recreational vehicles, there are regulations regarding the location of vent openings based on the size of the ovens. Because cooktop 40 and oven 22 are separated, oven 22 can be of a greater size since the size of cooktop 40 is not considered when complying with recreational vehicle regulations.
While this invention has been described as having exemplary designs, the present invention can be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims.
