Oven with system for tray temperature detection

Abstract

An oven (10) comprises: a housing (1) having a heating device for heating a cavity (A) in the housing (1) for cooking; the controller is used for operating the heating device to cook; a tray holding device (TH) mounted to the cavity (A) and configured to hold a tray (D) inside the cavity (A) in a slidable manner and at a predetermined position; and a temperature sensor (TS) located on a side wall or a rear wall of the housing (1), the temperature sensor (TS) having a spring element, by means of which a measuring tip (TP) of the temperature sensor (TS) can be withdrawn into the cavity (A), in the withdrawn state, when the tray (D) is in an inner end position inside the cavity (A), the measuring tip (TP) of the temperature sensor (TS) can be withdrawn into the cavity (A), and in the withdrawn state, when the tray (D) is in an inner end position inside the cavity (A), the measuring tip (TP) of the temperature sensor (TS) can be withdrawn into the cavity (A). The measuring tip (TP) is in physical contact with the tray (D), and wherein the controller comprises at least one cooking algorithm configured to control the heating means based on the tray temperature measured by the temperature sensor (TS).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to an oven having a system for tray temperature detection. Background Art

[0002] During a cooking program, the temperature of the heating cavity is usually regulated due to the measurement of the temperature of the air inside the cavity. For this purpose, a temperature sensor is located somewhere in the cavity, or the temperature is estimated by a predefined routine. In order to further improve the control of the cooking results by controlling the temperature of the food, it would be useful to have more precise information about the temperature of the food or its vicinity at a specific moment. Different cooking methods will require more precise knowledge or estimates of the temperature of the food at different moments and stages of cooking. Summary of the invention

[0003] The object of the present invention is to improve the measurements within an oven cavity in order to obtain better information about the temperature of components within the oven cavity at a specific moment during cooking.

[0004] The object is solved by the subject-matter of the independent claims.

[0005] The invention relates to an oven according to claim 1.

[0006] Preferred embodiments are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

[0007] According to the present invention, an oven includes: a shell having a heating device, which is used to heat a cavity in the shell for cooking; a controller, which is used to operate the heating device for cooking; a tray holding device, which is mounted to the cavity and is configured to hold the tray inside the cavity in a movable manner and at a predetermined position; and a temperature sensor, which is located at a side wall or a rear wall of the shell, and has a spring element, through which a measuring tip of the temperature sensor can be withdrawn into the cavity, wherein in the withdrawn state, when the tray is at an inner end position inside the cavity, the measuring tip physically contacts the tray, wherein the controller includes at least one cooking algorithm, which is configured to control the heating device based on the tray temperature measured by the temperature sensor.

[0008] The heating means may be known heating components mounted on the top and / or bottom of the cavity, and / or heating means for heating the air circulated by the fan. The controller is part of the electronics of the oven and may be connected to a human-machine interface, a communication unit, so as to connect to a wireless device or a data platform (cloud, internet, remote computer, mobile phone, etc.). The tray holding device may comprise a telescopic or sliding guide mounted at a predetermined height of the side wall inside the cavity, and wherein one or more trays may be placed or attached to the guide so that the tray may slide along the fixed part of the guide together with the movable part of the guide, wherein the fixed part of the guide is mounted to the cavity side wall and moves between an external position where the tray can be attached to the guide and an inner end position (predetermined position) where the tray is completely inside the cavity. At the inner end position, the tray may reach the default withdrawal position of the temperature sensor and be in direct physical contact with the temperature sensor.

[0009] With respect to the tray, there may be an empirically estimated known or known correlation about the temperature distribution on the tray and / or about the thermal conductivity of the tray from its inner area to the edge where the temperature sensor measures the temperature. This may help estimate the temperature of the food by measuring the temperature with the temperature sensor. When the temperature sensor is located at the rear wall, the tray may touch the tip of the sensor at the inner end position. In another configuration, the temperature sensor or an additional temperature sensor (for redundancy reasons) may be located at the side wall of the cavity and contact the tray from one side, the inner end position or another position. For the side position of the sensor, the tray may have a corresponding side (a cutout, a tapered or inclined side, or a similar side) into which the tip of the temperature sensor may slide when the tray moves along the temperature sensor, so that the tip head of the sensor may be slightly pushed to the side wall overcoming its spring force. The temperature sensor may also include a position detection function for detecting contact with the tray, and when the tray contacts the sensor head, an automatic baking / cooking program may be started. The position detection function may be implemented, for example, by a switch in the head of the sensor, which may point to the tray.

[0010] Generally, it must be mentioned that the temperature sensor is able to measure the temperature of the tray using physical contact in combination with a suitable algorithm for cooking (different) foods, which can be run by the controller and based on the temperature measurement of the tray, which can help estimate the current temperature of the food and also ensure repeatable and reliable cooking results. The cooking algorithm can be selected by the user and / or the user can simply scan the food packaging (code) by a scanning device and the cooking parameters and / or the algorithm for controlling the heating device are automatically set due to the predefined program (algorithm) and the initial and / or iterative controlled tray temperature. The temperature sensor can also be applied to household appliances with a heating cavity and general (several) types of ovens.

[0011] The described oven arrangement represents an oven with a system for tray temperature detection adapted to a specific baking algorithm based on the knowledge and / or estimation of the tray temperature at a desired or predetermined moment.

[0012] The rear wall may be part of the cavity. In addition, the rear wall may be a lid that covers or closes the interior of the oven from the rear side, and may be located opposite the door of the oven. The term "positioned" may mean that the sensor is positioned in a broad sense, or specifically, that the sensor is also mounted somewhere.

[0013] According to another embodiment of the oven, the heating device comprises an infrared heater, and / or a first upper heater, and / or a second upper heater, and / or a fan heater, and / or a lower heater.

[0014] The heating device may have different components which may be controlled by a controller and used to provide a specific way of heating the cavity and / or food according to algorithm(s) which may use measurements from the temperature sensors.

[0015] According to another embodiment, the oven further comprises a scanning device for scanning a code of a cooking program.

[0016] The scanning device may be mounted inside the housing, wherein the housing may have an opening on the front or another side of the housing through which the code may be scanned. The code may be an EAN code or any other type of code that can be optically recognized. Other optical code or image detection devices may also be applied to identify the food to be cooked by an automatically selectable algorithm. A controller may be connected to the scanning device and configured to identify the scanned code and / or food and select at least one of the predefined algorithms for automatic cooking.

[0017] Generally, all features are also valid for a cooking appliance instead of an oven.

[0018] According to another embodiment of the oven, the tray is a tray for grilling, or a pizza stone, or a baking tray.

[0019] Special types of trays may be used which can contact the temperature sensor and are suitable for the temperature of which can be measured and adjusted by the heating device within the running algorithm. It is possible that only specially designed types of trays can contact the head of the sensor, for example trays with a protrusion in the direction towards the temperature sensor, so that when the user uses a classic baking tray, they may not contact the sensor.

[0020] According to another embodiment of the oven, the temperature sensor is pushed by the spring to a default pulled-out position and, when the tray is in the inner end position, the tray is physically able to directly contact the measuring tip and / or when the tray is in the inner end position, the measuring tip overcomes the spring force of the spring and is displaced a predefined distance from the default pulled-out position.

[0021] The default withdrawn position may be a state of the temperature sensor in which the tip of the body of the temperature sensor is in its maximum extended position, wherein the body may be fixed to the housing and the head end may extend into the cavity through the wall of the housing. When the tip is displaced a predetermined distance, direct contact between the tray and the tip of the temperature sensor may be improved. In this position, the tip actively pushes against the surface of the tray without moving the tray from the inner end position.

[0022] According to another embodiment of the oven, the cooking algorithm is configured to operate the heating device such that a predetermined cooking process is performed by operating at least one component of the heating device for a predefined time.

[0023] According to another embodiment of the oven, the temperature sensor has a position detection function for detecting contact with the tray.

[0024] The cooking process may be performed by operating at least one component of the heating device for a predefined time based on an expected temperature at the tray or the tray due to the predefined process, wherein the expected temperature may be estimated based on temperature measurements using a temperature sensor and based on knowledge of physical properties of the tray.

[0025] According to another embodiment of the oven, the tray holding device is configured to provide a locking function at the inner end position of the tray with a predefined locking force that needs to be overcome to release the tray from the inner end position, wherein the locking force is greater than a spring force of the spring.

[0026] When the oven door is opened, the tray holding device can receive the tray and then be pushed to the inner end position, in which the tray holding device (e.g., a telescopic guide) can be locked by a locking function with a protruding detail at the movable guide, which can be held in a locking counterpart at a fixed guide, which can be mounted to the cavity and holds the movable guide in the inner end position of the tray.

[0027] According to a further embodiment of the oven, the tray has predefined dimensions and may have a predetermined shape in order to reach the measuring tip when the tray is in the inner end position.

[0028] According to another embodiment of the oven, the temperature sensor has a telescopic structure, and the spring is installed inside the temperature sensor.

[0029] According to another embodiment, the oven further comprises an interface for receiving instructions for the controller and the cooking algorithm.

[0030] The algorithm or details of the cooking and heating process may be automatically selected by scanning the code and / or by user input.

[0031] By means of the spring, continuous contact between the temperature sensor and the tray can be achieved, which enables the contact temperature of the tray surface to be measured. The main benefit of this system can be to ensure reproducible cooking results and can make cooking simpler for the user and achieve better temperature measurement accuracy.

[0032] The user can choose between different cooking algorithms depending on the food to be prepared. Thus, the cooking algorithm can be selected by the user via a control panel or by scanning a code on the food packaging.

[0033] The (controller) oven can automatically set the required cooking parameters based on the scanned food. The user can put the food in the oven and confirm the start of the cooking process, where special algorithms can also be provided or predefined for special types of food (such as steak and pizza).

[0034] The temperature sensor may be arranged at a predetermined baking level having a predetermined height in the cavity, but may also be arranged at several levels, for example using several of the mentioned temperature sensors. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings.

[0036] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present invention and are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification. The accompanying drawings show comparative embodiments and embodiments of the present invention and are used together with the specification to explain the principles of the present invention. By reference to the following detailed description, other embodiments of the present invention and many expected advantages of the present invention will be easily appreciated as they become better understood. The elements of the accompanying drawings are not necessarily proportional to each other. Similar reference numerals represent corresponding similar parts.

[0037] Figure 1 A temperature sensor in a housing of an oven according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0038] Figure 2 A tray and a temperature sensor in a cavity of an oven according to an embodiment of the present invention are shown.

[0039] Figure 3 A tray holding device for a tray of an oven according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0040] Figure 4 The front side of an oven according to an embodiment of the invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] Although specific embodiments have been shown and described herein, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various alternative and / or equivalent implementations may be used to replace the specific embodiments shown and described without departing from the scope of the present invention. Generally, this application is intended to cover any modifications or variations of the specific embodiments discussed herein.

[0042] Figure 1 A temperature sensor in a housing of an oven according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0043] exist Figure 1 , a view from the inside of the housing 1 is shown, having a rear wall rw located on the opposite side of the door (not shown), and the rear wall is part of the cavity A. In addition, a fan cover fc can be mounted on the rear wall rw, and the sensor head TP can extend through the rear wall rw. The temperature sensor TS is fixedly mounted in the housing 1 (not shown) and extends through the rear wall rw, wherein there may be several continuous walls and / or covers, and / or panels, which together may represent the rear of the housing 1. The temperature sensor TS may have a tip TP, which may protrude into the cavity A through a pull-out opening in the rear wall rw. The tip TP may have a flat front surface (not shown) for contacting the flat surface of the tray.

[0044] Figure 2 A tray and a temperature sensor in a cavity of an oven according to an embodiment of the present invention are shown.

[0045] exist Figure 2 , the tray D is shown in the inner end position, and the tip TP of the temperature sensor TS extends to the inside of the cavity and contacts the surface of the tray. In this inner end position, the tray D pushes the tip TP toward the rear wall by a predetermined distance against the spring force. The tray D is shown as a component having a bowl shape, for example. The spring can be installed in the body or in the tip TP.

[0046] In this position of the tray, a locking force may be provided which needs to be overcome in order to release the tray from the inner end position, wherein the locking force is greater than the spring force of the spring.

[0047] Figure 3 A tray holding device for a tray of an oven according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0048] exist Figure 3, a tray holding device TH is shown, which may have a guide structure having a part that can be fixed to the housing and a slidable part that can slide along the fixed part. Figure 3 The fixed part fp may have a first locking detail HF-fp at a lower edge region, for example in a curved shape, where a peak (bridge) has to be overcome by pushing a second locking detail HF-mp of the movable part over the first locking detail HP-fp. The second locking detail HF-mp may be formed as a bracket which may be pushed over the peak of the first locking detail HP-fp, wherein the second locking detail HF-mp may be mounted at the lower end of the movable guide mp and may thus provide a locking function with a predetermined locking force at an inner end position of the tray. Figure 3 The right side portion shows an enlarged end of the guide TH.

[0049] The tray can be designed to fit a guide, such as a telescopic guide, with minimal clearance. The end position in which the tray can be positioned and moved with the movable guide can be retained in the inner end position by means of a retaining function or by means of a protrusion TH-E.

[0050] Figure 4 The front side of an oven according to an embodiment of the invention is shown.

[0051] exist Figure 4 In FIG. 1 , a front view of an oven 10 is shown, wherein there may be an opening in the front cover through which a scanning device SD inside can scan a code on a food package. Various other types of openings may be provided, and the scanning device SD may be connected to a controller (not shown) to provide information to a cooking algorithm. The scanning device SD may be mounted on a control panel behind glass.

[0052] In the foregoing detailed description, for the purpose of simplifying the present disclosure, various features are grouped together in one or more examples or instances. It should be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative rather than restrictive. It is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents.

Claims

1. An oven (10), comprising: - a housing (1) having a heating device for heating a cavity (A) in the housing (1) for cooking; - a controller for operating the heating device for cooking; - a tray holding device (TH) mounted to the cavity (A) and configured to hold the tray (D) inside the cavity (A) in a movable manner and at a predetermined position; as well as - a temperature sensor (TS) located at a side wall or a rear wall (rw) of the housing (1), the temperature sensor (TS) having a spring element, the measuring tip (TP) of the temperature sensor (TS) being able to be withdrawn into the cavity (A) by means of the spring element, wherein in the withdrawn state, when the tray (D) is located at an inner end position inside the cavity (A), the measuring tip (TP) is in physical contact with the tray (D), wherein the controller comprises at least one cooking algorithm, the cooking algorithm being configured to control the heating device based on the tray temperature measured by the temperature sensor (TS).

2. The oven (10) according to claim 1, wherein: The heating device comprises: an infrared heater, and / or a first upper heater, and / or a second upper heater, and / or a fan heater, and / or a lower heater.

3. The oven (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The oven (10) further comprises: a scanning device (SD) for scanning a code of a cooking program.

4. The oven (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The tray is a tray for grilling, or a pizza stone, or a baking tray.

5. The oven (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The temperature sensor (TS) is pushed to a default withdrawn position by a spring, and when the tray is in the inner end position, the measuring tip (TP) is able to be in direct physical contact with the tray (D), and / or when the tray is in the inner end position, the measuring tip (TP) overcomes the spring force of the spring and is displaced a predetermined distance from the default withdrawn position.

6. The oven (10) according to claim 5, wherein: The temperature sensor (TS) has a position detection function for detecting contact with the tray.

7. The oven (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The cooking algorithm is configured to operate the heating device such that a predetermined cooking process is performed by operating at least one component of the heating device for a predetermined time.

8. The oven (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein: The tray holding device (TH) is configured to provide a locking function at the inner end position of the tray (D) with a predetermined locking force that needs to be overcome to release the tray from the inner end position, wherein the locking force is greater than the spring force of the spring.

9. The oven (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein: The tray (D) has a predetermined size so as to touch the measuring tip (TP) when the tray (D) is in the inner end position.

10. The oven (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein: The temperature sensor (TS) has a telescopic structure, and the spring is installed inside the temperature sensor (TS).

11. The oven (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising an interface for receiving instructions for the controller and for the cooking algorithm.

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