The disclosure relates to a space-efficient multi-function kitchen appliance that includes at least one station for cooking and another station for refrigeration.
Many people live in small and/or cramped living quarters. In such case, the priority of eating self-cooked foods is not that high. Additionally, they also commonly do not want to move when they are working or watching a television monitor but at the same time they are hungry.
Aspects of the current disclosure pertain to a cabinet kitchen having a cooking drawer and a refrigeration drawer.
According to another aspect, a multi-function kitchen appliance includes first, second, and third compartments that are vertically superimposed with respect to each other.
According to another aspect, a cabinet kitchen includes a frame, a plurality of wheels, a tray, a cooking device, a storage compartment, and a refrigeration compartment. The wheels are mounted to a lower side of the frame. The tray may be slidably mounted to the frame for movement within a first position nested within the frame and a second position at least partially extending from the frame. The cooking device may be slidably mounted to the frame for movement within a first position nested within the frame and a second position at least partially extending from the frame. The storage compartment may be slidably mounted to the frame for movement within a first position nested within the frame and a second position at least partially extending from the frame. The cooking device is mounted to the frame below the tray, the storage compartment device may be mounted to the frame below the tray and the cooking device, and the refrigeration compartment may be mounted to the frame below the storage compartment.
These and other aspect of the disclosure will be evident from a review of the written disclosure and the related drawings.
The foregoing summary as well as the following detailed description, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, provide a better understanding, in which like reference numbers refer to like elements, and wherein:
As can schematically be seen in
The drawers 20, 30, 40, and 50 are vertically superimposed with respect to each other in the cabinet kitchen 10. Each of the drawers 20, 30, 40, and 50 include respective handles 21, 31, 41, and 51 schematically represented in the figures. Any desirable shape and configuration can be used for the handles 21, 31, 41, and 51. The handles 21, 31, 41, and 51 facilitate the opening and closing of the drawers 20, 30, 40, and 50 (and the movement of the drawers 20, 30, 40, and 50 between respective closed and extended positions). The drawers 20, 30, 40, and 50 are individually slidably coupled to the frame of the cabinet kitchen 10 by any desirable drawer-type coupling system.
The drawers 20, 30, 40, and 50 of the cabinet kitchen 10 include, from top to bottom, a tray drawer 50, a cooking drawer 20, a storage drawer 30, and a refrigeration drawer 40.
The controls 24 are located in a recess 23 associated with the surface containing the cooking area 22. More specifically, in the depicted embodiment, the controls 24 are located near the exposed front end of the cooking drawer 20. The controls include a plurality of switches 25a, 25b, 25c, and 25d. At least one of the switches affecting the ON/OFF power status to the cooking area 22 is pivotally coupled within the recess 24. When the switch 25a is in the horizontal position as is shown in
Further, if desired, the switch 25a can be a variable power switch and control not just ON/OFF, but also the level/intensity of the power/heat for the cooking area 22. For example, placing the switch 25a in a vertical position can be full power/heat, and placing the switch 25a in an intermediate position, such as 45° can be a medium power/heat, and placing the switch 25a in a horizontal position would turn the power/heat OFF.
The remainder of the controls 24 can be in any configuration. In one arrangement, there are additional switches 25b, 25c, and 25d that pivot similar to switch 25a. These switches 25b, 25c, and 25d can correspond to specific cooking regions 22a, 22b, 22c, etc. so that the user can select proper size of heat (e.g., size of the active cooking area) according to the size of the pot to be used. Indicia 26, such as increasing sizes of icons, on the front of the switches 25a, 25b, 25c, and/or 25d can correspond to the cooking regions 22a, 22b, 22c to make the selection of the appropriate cooking region more intuitive. Any desirable control configuration for the switches 22a, 25b, 25c, and 25d may be used. In one configuration, one switch, for example switch 25a, controls the power and the amount of heat, while the remaining switches 25b, 25c, and 25d control the selection of the size of the cooking area. In another arrangement, each switch 25a, 25b, 25c, and 25d would control the power to a designated cooking 22a, 22b, 22c. The number of cooking regions could correspond to the number of switches used. It is recognized that other control configuration s could be used within the spirit of the invention.
As shown in
The refrigeration drawer 30 may have cooler temperatures associated with its use as schematically represented by arrows 61. The storage drawer 30 being located between the cooking drawer 20 and the refrigeration drawer 40 serves as a temperature buffer zone between the heat and the cold so that heat from cooking drawer 20 and cold from the refrigeration drawer 40 do not meaningfully impact the other.
Accordingly, it can be seen the cabinet kitchen 10 and various aspects of it serve as a beneficial multi-appliance device. This is particularly true in small living spaces. It can serve as a device for storing foods in refrigerators and also for storing cooking-related utensils. It also provides the functionality to cook thereon with suitable controls and safety provisions. Additionally, it includes a slide out tray enabling the user to easily eat the cooked meal conveniently. As it is on wheels, it is mobile and can be moved to convenient locations.
It is recognized that alternative embodiments and configurations need not include all these drawers and/or may include additional drawers and/or the drawers may be in a different configuration. For example, one or more of the sections, such as the refrigeration section, need not be on sliding drawer system and could have a front access door if desired as is used for example on many small refrigerators.
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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0801.481-3 | Jun 2008 | SE | national |
This application is a continuation-in-part of International Application No. PCT/SE2009/000322 filed Jun. 23, 2009 entitled CABINET KITCHEN, which claims priority from Swedish Application No. 0801.481-3 filed Jun. 24, 2008 entitled CABINET KITCHEN, the entire contents of both are incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/SE2009/000322 | Jun 2009 | US |
Child | 12977863 | US |