Patent Application
20240292501
The present disclosure relates to aircraft ovens, and more particularly to cavity plates in aircraft microwave ovens.
Microwave ovens can have a cavity plate upon which the food for cooking is placed. In some configurations, rather than set the food for cooking on a rotating plate, instead there can be a reflective stirrer blade in a cavity below the cavity plate. In aircraft, this cavity plate can present design challenges. For example, the cavity must be sealed but an aircraft microwave oven undergoes pressure changes as the cabin pressure changes during a flight. The sealing on the cavity plate can be compromised as cabin pressure changes. Other aircraft-related issues for the sealing of cavity plates include turbulence, which can displace the cavity plate and compromise the seal.
The conventional techniques have been considered satisfactory for their intended purpose. However, there is an ever present need for improved systems and methods for sealing cavity plates within aircraft microwave ovens. This disclosure provides a solution for this need.
A seal for a cavity plate in a microwave oven is described herein. The seal includes a seal body having an outward sealing surface defined around a seal perimeter. The outward sealing surface is configured to seal against inward facing walls of a microwave oven. The seal body also includes an inward sealing surface spaced inward from the outward facing surface. The inward sealing surface is configured to seal against an outer edge of a cavity plate. The seal further includes a plurality of seal supports extending from the seal body on a cavity side of the seal body for maintaining cavity spacing between a bottom microwave oven surface and the seal body.
The seal body and seal supports can be of a single material with a first flexibility. The seal body can include for each of the seal supports, a reinforcement member having a second flexibility that is more rigid than the first flexibility. The reinforcement member can be seated in a pocket of the respective seal support. Alternatively, or additionally, the reinforcement member can wrap around the respective seal support.
The seal body can define a plate shape with an aperture therethrough for accommodating blades of a rotating stirrer and the seal body defines a plate shape, where each of the seal supports all extend from one side of the plate shape. The outward facing sealing surface can include a flange extending from a main portion of the seal body in a direction opposite that of the seal supports. The sealing flange can extend about the perimeter of the seal body and can be configured to sealingly engage inward facing walls of a microwave oven.
A cavity plate assembly for a microwave oven can include a plate body and a seal as described above. In the cavity plate assembly, the plate body can be sealed against the inward sealing surface of the seal body.
A microwave oven can include a cooking compartment defined by a plurality of inward facing side walls, an inward facing top wall, and an inward facing bottom wall. The microwave oven also can include a microwave magnetron mounted above the top wall and a stirrer positioned on the bottom wall. The microwave oven can include a cavity plate assembly (e.g. as described above) sealing off a cavity of the cooking compartment housing the stirrer from a main portion of the cooking compartment.
In the microwave oven, the seal body can define a plate shape, where each of the seal supports all extend from one side of the plate shape spanning from the plate body to the bottom wall of the cooking compartment. The outward facing sealing surface can include a flange extending from a main portion of the seal body in a direction opposite that of the seal supports. The sealing flange can extend about the perimeter of the seal body and can be sealingly engaged with inward facing walls of a microwave oven. The sealing engagement can be configured to permit maintenance removal and resealing of the cavity plate assembly without use of adhesives. The microwave oven can include inward projecting dimples extending from at least two of the inward facing sidewalls so that the cavity plate assembly rests on the dimples.
These and other features of the systems and methods of the subject disclosure will become more readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings.
So that those skilled in the art to which the subject disclosure appertains will readily understand how to make and use the devices and methods of the subject disclosure without undue experimentation, embodiments thereof will be described in detail herein below with reference to certain figures, wherein:
Reference will now be made to the drawings wherein like reference numerals identify similar structural features or aspects of the subject disclosure. For purposes of explanation and illustration, and not limitation, a partial view of an embodiment of an aircraft microwave oven in accordance with the disclosure is shown in
A seal 102 for a cavity plate 104 in a microwave oven 100 is described herein. The seal 102 can include a seal body 106, where the seal body 106 can include an outward sealing surface 108 defined around a seal perimeter 110. The outward sealing surface 108 can be configured to seal against inward facing walls 112, 114, 144, 142 of the microwave oven 100. The seal body 106 can also include an inward sealing surface 116 spaced inward from the outward facing surface 110. The inward sealing surface 116 can be configured to seal against an outer edge 118 of the cavity plate 104 (e.g. as shown in
The seal body 106 can also include, for each of the seal supports 120, a reinforcement member 124. The seal body 106 and seal supports 120 may be made of a single material having a first flexibility, while the reinforcement members 124 may be made of a second material having a second flexibility that is more rigid than the first flexibility of seal body 106 and seal supports 120. In embodiments, the reinforcement member 124 can be seated in a pocket 126 of the respective seal support, for example as shown in
With continued reference to
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Referring back to
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The methods and systems of the present disclosure, as described above and shown in the drawings, provide for improved sealing within aircraft microwave ovens. For example, the cavity plate assembly as described allows for controlled plate positioning, and reduces the risks of vibration induced failures (e.g. turbulence leading to dislocation) even at maximum content load. An integrated cavity plate seal therefore provides the opportunity for smaller cavity plates, which in turn will allow for a more reliable seal design.
While the apparatus and methods of the subject disclosure have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that changes and/or modifications May be made thereto without departing from the scope of the subject disclosure.
