Warming drawer assembly
Patent Information
- Application Number
- EP2024712189
- Authority / Receiving Office
- EP · EP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2023-04-04
- Filing Date
- 2024-03-13
- Publication Date
- 2026-02-11
AI Technical Summary
Warming drawer arrangements in kitchens face limitations in providing a wide range of functions due to restricted installation space, necessitating a solution that enhances functionality while minimizing space usage.
Incorporating a plate or flat coil as a generating means for an alternating electromagnetic field on one side of the cooking space, which allows for even heating and defrosting, combined with radiant heat means for non-conductive items, and strategically placing generating components within the drawer to optimize space and functionality.
The solution enables a versatile warming drawer with extensive functions, including cooking, defrosting, and keeping food warm, while maintaining a compact design, allowing for efficient and even heating with minimal space requirements.
Smart Images
Figure EP2024056711_10102024_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
[0001] Warming drawer arrangement
[0002] Technical area
[0003] The invention relates to a warming drawer assembly for cooking food, comprising a housing and a drawer arranged displaceably within the housing by means of guide means, wherein the housing forms a cooking chamber with the drawer. Furthermore, the invention relates to a drawer for such a warming drawer assembly.
[0004] Background of the invention
[0005] Warming drawer assemblies are known from the prior art and are used in particular to keep prepared food warm, cook food, for example, at comparatively low temperatures, defrost food, and / or preheat dishes. There is a fundamental need to provide the most comprehensive range of functions possible in a warming drawer. Warming drawer assemblies are usually located in a kitchen cabinet or similar housing, particularly in a kitchen unit, and therefore the space available for the components installed in the warming drawer assembly is extremely limited.
[0006] A warming drawer is known, for example, from DE 102016 109 552 A1. Furthermore, the publications DE 10 2021 105 050 A1, US 2020 128628 A1, DE 102021 105 086 A1, and EP 3 701 769 B1 disclose cooking appliances with multiple functions, including at least one low-frequency generating device, for example, for inductively heating a food carrier.
[0007] Description of the invention
[0008] Based on the background of the invention, it is an object of the present invention to propose a warming drawer arrangement with a wide range of functions and a small space requirement.
[0009] The object of the invention is achieved by the features of the independent main claims. Advantageous embodiments are specified in the subclaims. To the extent technically feasible, the teachings of the subclaims can be combined arbitrarily with the teachings of the main and subclaims.
[0010] Advantages of the claimed aspects of the invention are explained below, and preferred modified embodiments of the aspects of the invention are described further below. Explanations, particularly regarding advantages and definitions of features, are essentially descriptive and preferred, but not limiting, examples. If an explanation is limiting, this will be expressly stated.
[0011] Where elements are designated by numbering, for example “first element”, “second element” and “third element”, this numbering is intended purely to differentiate the designation and does not represent any dependency of the elements on one another or a mandatory order of the elements. This means in particular that, for example, a device or a method does not have to have a “first element” in order to be able to have a “second element”. The device or method can also have a “first element” and a “third element” without necessarily having a “second element”. Multiple units of an element with a single numbering can also be provided, for example multiple “first elements”.
[0012] According to a first aspect of the invention, the object is achieved by a warming drawer arrangement for cooking a food item, comprising a housing and a drawer arranged displaceably in the housing by means of guide means, wherein the housing forms a cooking chamber with the drawer, wherein a first generating means for generating an alternating electromagnetic field penetrating the cooking chamber is arranged on at least one first side of the cooking chamber and wherein the first generating means is designed as a plate or flat coil.
[0013] To the extent that the warming drawer assembly is designed for cooking food, cooking in the narrower sense is particularly possible, i.e., raising the temperature of a food to at least a specific cooking temperature. However, cooking is also understood to include other ways of influencing the temperature of the food, such as defrosting or keeping it warm.
[0014] The housing of the warming drawer assembly is, in particular, integrally formed within a cabinet, which may include additional housings for drawers, built-in appliances, or as a cabinet compartment. Guide means are, in particular, designed as guide rails.
[0015] Insofar as the housing forms a cooking chamber with the drawer, this cooking chamber is designed in particular in a closed state of the drawer, wherein the cooking chamber in particular has a bottom of the drawer as a support area and is surrounded by the drawer and the housing and wherein, for example, the cooking chamber is completely surrounded by walls of the housing and / or the drawer.A generating means for generating an alternating electromagnetic field is designed, in particular, as a conductive electrode to which an alternating voltage is applied in the radio wave frequency range relative to another conductive body separated from the first generating means. This creates an alternating electromagnetic field, i.e., an electromagnetic field with alternating polarity, between the electrode and the other conductive body, for example, a conductive element of the housing, a ground, and / or another electrode, the two electrodes forming a capacitor together. The alternating electromagnetic field penetrates the food being cooked and generates ionic movement and the rotation of dipolar molecules within the food, resulting in uniform heating of the food.The frequency of the alternating electromagnetic field is preferably above 1 megahertz, preferably the frequency is in the radio wave range, in particular in the range from a few megahertz to a few hundred megahertz, for example in the medium frequency (MF) range from 300 kHz to 3 MHz and / or in the high frequency (HF) range from 3 MHz to 30 MHz and / or in the very high frequency (VHF) range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz and / or in the ultra high frequency (UHF) range from 300 MHz to 3 GHz.
[0016] One aspect is that the frequency of the alternating electromagnetic field is particularly preferably in the range of ISM bands, for example 6.765 megahertz to 6.795 megahertz and / or 13.553 megahertz to 13.567 megahertz and / or 25.565 megahertz to 27.405 megahertz and / or 40.66 megahertz to 40.70 megahertz and / or 433 megahertz to 444 megahertz.
[0017] The solution to the problem with the warming drawer arrangement described above therefore includes the teaching that a first generating means is arranged on one side of the cooking chamber and is designed as a plate or flat coil. With such a generating means, the cooking chamber, the shape of which is essentially predetermined for the specific drawer, can be easily permeated with the alternating electromagnetic field, so that the food contained therein is cooked evenly. Advantageously, the alternating electromagnetic field extends over a defined area, and there is no need to protect the cooking chamber against the escape of electromagnetic radiation. Another advantage is that the space required by the generating means is comparatively small, orBy being designed as a plate or flat coil, the heating element is designed in a form that allows it to be arranged in a space-saving manner, corresponding to the drawer-specific spatial conditions, namely flatly on one side of the cooking chamber. The provision of the first heating element allows for a diverse treatment of a food, in particular heating up to a specific cooking temperature and beyond, gentle and even defrosting of the food, and / or keeping the food warm. The warming drawer arrangement therefore offers a particularly comprehensive range of functions given the space constraints.
[0018] A first generating means configured as a plate, within the meaning of the present disclosure, also comprises an arrangement of multiple plates that together form a plate-shaped region, for example, in a tile-like arrangement. A flat coil is furthermore particularly preferably configured as a meandering coil or helical coil and can also comprise multiple coil parts that extend into different regions of the side of the cooking chamber and, in particular, act on different regions of the cooking chamber, and are particularly preferably controllable independently of one another.
[0019] In a preferred embodiment, a second generating means for generating an alternating electromagnetic field that permeates the cooking chamber is arranged on a second side of the cooking chamber, opposite the first side of the cooking chamber. The alternating electromagnetic field can then be particularly uniformly generated between the first generating means and the second generating means and can penetrate the food being cooked particularly efficiently.
[0020] Furthermore, a radiant heating element for generating radiant heat is particularly preferably arranged on at least one side of the cooking chamber. The radiant heating element is, in particular, a heating element, a hotplate, or the like, and is heated by generating a current flow due to the ohmic losses associated with the current flow. The functional scope of the warming drawer arrangement is thus expanded, in particular to the extent that it enables the heating of non-conductive items, such as tableware. Furthermore, the combined cooking of a food item using the alternating electromagnetic field and radiant heat is also possible.
[0021] Preferably, the first generating means and / or the second generating means is / are designed as a radiant heat means. For example, an alternating voltage for generating the alternating electromagnetic field and a current for heating the respective generating means through ohmic losses are alternately applied or generated at the first generating means and / or the second generating means. Alternation preferably occurs in quick succession so that no significant cooling of the respective generating means occurs during the time in which the alternating electromagnetic field is generated. Alternatively, the first generating means and / or the second generating means is / are designed parallel to or adjacent to the radiant heat means. In particular, a generating means and the radiant heat means can be designed as an electrode wire and a heating wire, which are wound or laid together in a coil shape.In a further embodiment, the first generating means and / or the second generating means is / are arranged on an outer side of the housing facing away from the cooking chamber. The clear space within the cooking chamber is thus not reduced by the generating means and is available for the food being cooked. Furthermore, the first generating means and / or the second generating means is / are protected from contamination by the food being cooked. Preferably, a wall of the housing in the region of the first generating means and / or the second generating means is non-conductive and thus allows the electromagnetic radiation of the alternating electromagnetic field to penetrate without interference. For example, the wall is made of glass or glass ceramic, wherein the radiant heating means can then also be provided on the outer side of the wall, the heat radiation from which also penetrates the glass or glass ceramic without significant losses.The advantage is that the glass or glass ceramic on the inside is easy to clean.
[0022] In a further embodiment, partially alternative to the previously described embodiment, but also combinable with it, the first generating means and / or the second generating means are arranged on an inner side of the housing facing the cooking chamber. This relatively close arrangement to the food enables particularly favorable and even cooking of the food, with the alternating electromagnetic field penetrating the food particularly well or being able to penetrate particularly deeply into it.
[0023] The guide means are preferably made of a non-conductive material, in particular a plastic. There is then no interaction between the guide means and the alternating electromagnetic field. In particular, no voltage is induced in the guide means. Accordingly, and with equivalent advantages, other components of the warming drawer assembly, in particular the walls of the housing and the drawer, are preferably also made of non-conductive material.
[0024] In a further embodiment, the first generating means or the second generating means is arranged in or on a base of the drawer. Advantageously, the generating means is then arranged directly beneath the food to be cooked and thus particularly close to the food, so that penetration of the food by the electromagnetic field is particularly efficient and with particularly deep penetration of the electromagnetic radiation into the food. Furthermore, the arrangement of the generating means in or on the base creates a space-saving integration of the generating means in the cooking chamber, in which in particular the clear space of the cooking chamber extending substantially above the base of the drawer is not reduced by the generating means and remains available for the food to be cooked. In the embodiment described above, a support region of the base is particularly preferably formed from a non-conductive material.The support area extends between the food being cooked and the first generating means or the second generating means. This support area is typically made of silicone or plastic. The support area then allows for loss-free penetration by the alternating electromagnetic field.
[0025] In a further embodiment, the drawer has a lid covering the cooking chamber, wherein the first generating means or the second generating means is arranged in or on the lid. The drawer is designed, for example, with the lid as a vacuum drawer or with a steam cooking function. By arranging the generating means in the lid, the generating means is space-saving and particularly advantageously arranged in terms of space utilization. Particularly preferably, the first generating means is arranged in or on the base of the drawer and the second generating means is arranged in or on the lid, so that together they form a condenser directly surrounding the food to be cooked.
[0026] In one of the previously described embodiments, in which a generating means is arranged in or on the drawer, the drawer preferably has a control unit for operating the first generating means and / or the second generating means. All devices necessary for operating the generating means(s) are then provided on the drawer, so that the drawer is a component largely independent of the housing. For example, only one contact point or one connection for a contact connection is then provided in the housing. The drawer can then be retrofitted to warming drawer arrangements without a generating means, and the generating means are particularly easily accessible, for example for maintenance.
[0027] The advantage of all embodiments in which the generating means or parts thereof are provided in the cooking chamber, in particular in or on the drawer, is that no installation space has to be provided on the housing outside the cooking chamber and that further housings can be formed directly on the housing or integrally therewith, for example for further drawers, built-in appliances or the like.
[0028] In principle and as already partially described above, means for providing (additional) functions are provided in or on the warming drawer arrangement in any combination of embodiments, in particular the radiant heat means already described, in particular designed as means for providing a grill function, means for providing a circulating air heating function, means for providing a microwave function going beyond that described above, such as a magnetron, means for providing an ultrasonic treatment function, means already described in some aspects for providing a steam cooking function, means already described in some aspects for providing an evacuation function and / or means for providing a cooling function.
[0029] According to a second aspect of the invention, the object is achieved by a drawer for a previously described warming drawer assembly according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein at least the first generating means or the second generating means is / are arranged in or on the bottom of the drawer and / or in or on the lid of the drawer. The drawer accordingly achieves the advantages described above with respect to the warming drawer assembly.
[0030] Short description of the drawings
[0031] The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings. The term "figure" is abbreviated to "Fig."
[0032] The drawings show
[0033] Fig. 1a is a schematic cross-sectional view of a warming drawer arrangement according to the first aspect of the invention in one embodiment;
[0034] Fig. 1 b is a schematic cross-sectional view of a warming drawer arrangement according to the first aspect of the invention in a further embodiment;
[0035] Fig. 2a is a schematic side view of a warming drawer arrangement according to the first aspect of the invention in a further embodiment;
[0036] Fig. 2b is a schematic side view of a warming drawer arrangement according to the first aspect of the invention in a further embodiment;
[0037] Fig. 3a is a schematic plan view of a warming drawer arrangement according to the first aspect of the invention in a further embodiment;
[0038] Fig. 3b is a schematic plan view of a warming drawer arrangement according to the first aspect of the invention in a further embodiment; and
[0039] Fig. 3c is a schematic plan view of a warming drawer arrangement according to the first aspect of the invention in a further embodiment.
[0040] Detailed Description of the Drawings The described embodiments are merely examples that can be modified and / or supplemented in a variety of ways within the scope of the claims. Each feature described for a specific embodiment can be used independently or in combination with other features in any other embodiment. Each feature described for an embodiment of a specific claim category can also be used correspondingly in an embodiment of a different claim category.
[0041] Figure 1a shows a warming drawer arrangement 1 in a first embodiment in a highly schematic lateral cross-sectional view. The warming drawer arrangement 1 comprises a housing 2, which is formed, for example, in a kitchen cabinet and has an upper wall 2.1, a lower wall 2.2, a right wall 2.3 and a left wall 2.4. A drawer 3 is slidably arranged in the housing 2 on guide means (not shown), of which only a base 3.1 is shown in the schematic view. The housing 2 and the drawer 3 together form a cooking chamber 6, wherein the base 3.1 forms a support area 4 for a food item 5 to be cooked located in the cooking chamber 6.
[0042] The upper wall 2.1 of the housing 2 is formed from glass in a central region 7.1. Outside the housing 2, in alignment with this central region 7.1, there is arranged a first generating means 8.1 for generating an alternating electromagnetic field (not shown in detail) that permeates the cooking chamber 6 for cooking the food 5. The first generating means 8.1 is designed as a conductive plate to which a voltage with a corresponding frequency for generating the alternating field in the range of a few megahertz to a few hundred megahertz is applied. A corresponding second generating means 8.1, also designed as a conductive plate, is arranged below the lower wall 2.2 with a central region 7.2 also made of glass and forms a capacitor arrangement with the first generating means 8.1. The alternating electromagnetic field is thus limited to the area between the generating means 8.1, 8.2.
[0043] Figure 1b shows an embodiment of the warming drawer assembly 1 that essentially corresponds to the embodiment in Figure 1a, in the same view, but with the first generating means 8.1 arranged within the cooking chamber 6 on an inner side of the upper wall 2.1. The first generating means 8.1 is then arranged closer to the food 5, so that the food 5 is better penetrated by the alternating field.
[0044] Figures 2a and 2b also show highly schematic side views of warming drawer assemblies 1, in which, in addition to the upper wall 2.1 and the lower wall 2.2, a rear wall 2.5 of the housing 2 is shown, and, in addition to the base 3.1, a front 3.2, a rear piece 3.3, and a lid 3.4 of the drawer 3 are shown. Using the lid 3.4, the drawer 3 is configured, for example, for a steaming function or an evacuation function.
[0045] In the embodiment according to Figure 2a, the first generating means 8.1 is arranged on an inner side of the upper wall 2.1 of the housing 2 and the second generating means 8.2 is arranged on an inner side of the lower wall 2.2 of the housing 2, so that the generating means 8.1, 8.2 surround the cooking chamber 6 when the drawer 3 is inserted into the housing 2 and are arranged relatively close to the food 5. A control unit 9 is then also arranged in the housing 2 and is connected to both generating means 8.1, 8.2. Furthermore, a central region 7.3 of the base 3.1 of the drawer 3 is made of glass to allow the electromagnetic alternating field to penetrate.
[0046] In the embodiment according to Fig. 2b, the lid 3.4 of the drawer 3 is designed as the first generating means 8.1, and the second generating means 8.2 is integrated into the base 3.1 of the drawer 3, with the support area 4 being formed from a non-conductive material. The generating means 8.1, 8.2 are then arranged particularly close to the food 5. Furthermore, the control unit 9 is integrated into the rear piece 3.3 of the drawer 3 and is connected by means of a flexible connecting means 10 to a connection point (not shown in detail) of the housing 2 for the power supply.
[0047] Figures 3a, 3b, and 3c show plan views of embodiments of the warming drawer assembly 1 with first generating means 8.1 configured as coils. Figure 3a shows a first generating means 8.1 configured as a meandering coil. Figure 3b shows a first generating means 8.1 corresponding to Figure 3a with a radiant heating means 11 configured as a heating wire, running parallel thereto. In Figure 3c, a first part 13.1 of the first generating means 8.1 and of the radiant heating means 11 extends over a first region 12.1 of the cooking chamber 6, and a second part 13.2 of the first generating means 8.1 and of the radiant heating means 11 extends over a second region 12.2 of the cooking chamber 6. The first part 13.1 and the second part 13.2 can each be controlled independently of one another. List of Reference Symbols
[0048] 1 warming drawer arrangement
[0049] 2 housings
[0050] 2.1 upper wall of the housing
[0051] 2.2 lower wall of the housing
[0052] 2.3 right wall of the housing
[0053] 2.4 left wall of the housing
[0054] 2.5 rear wall of the housing
[0055] 3 drawers
[0056] 3.1 Bottom of the drawer
[0057] 3.2 Front of the drawer
[0058] 3.3 Rear part of the drawer
[0059] 3.4 Drawer lid
[0060] 4 Support area
[0061] 5 Food to be cooked
[0062] 6 Cooking chamber
[0063] 7.1 middle area of the upper wall
[0064] 7.2 middle area of the lower wall
[0065] 7.3 middle area of the bottom of the drawer
[0066] 8.1 first means of production
[0067] 8.2 second means of production
[0068] 9 Control unit
[0069] 10 connecting devices
[0070] 11 Radiant heat sources
[0071] 12.1 first area of the cooking chamber
[0072] 12.2 second area of the cooking chamber
[0073] 13.1 first part of the first generating means and the radiant heat means
[0074] 13.2 second part of the first generating means and the radiant heat means
Claims
Patent claims 1. A warming drawer arrangement (1) for cooking food (5), comprising a housing (2); and a drawer (3) arranged displaceably in the housing (2) by means of guide means; wherein the housing (2) forms a cooking chamber (6) with the drawer (3); wherein a first generating means (8.1) is arranged on at least a first side of the cooking chamber (6); wherein the first generating means (8.1) is designed as a plate or flat coil, characterized in that the first generating means (8.1) is arranged and designed to generate an alternating electromagnetic field penetrating the cooking chamber (6) at a frequency greater than 1 megahertz.
2. Warming drawer arrangement (1) according to claim 1, wherein a second generating means (8.2) for generating an alternating electromagnetic field penetrating the cooking chamber (6) is arranged on a second side of the cooking chamber (6) opposite the first side of the cooking chamber (6).
3. Warming drawer arrangement (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a radiant heating means (11) for generating radiant heat is arranged on at least one side of the cooking chamber (6).
4. Warming drawer arrangement (1) according to claim 3, wherein the first generating means (8.1) and / or the second generating means (8.2) is / are designed as radiant heating means (11).
5. Warming drawer arrangement (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the first generating means (8.1) and / or the second generating means (8.2) is / are arranged on an outer side of the housing (2) facing away from the cooking chamber (6).
6. Warming drawer arrangement (1) according to claim 5, wherein a Wall (2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5) of the housing (2) in the region (7.1, 7.2) of the first generating means (8.1) and / or the second generating means (8.2) is non-conductive, in particular made of glass or glass ceramic.
7. Warming drawer arrangement (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the first generating means (8.1) and / or the second generating means (8.2) is / are arranged on an inner side of the housing (2) facing the cooking chamber (6).
8. Warming drawer arrangement (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the guide means are formed from a non-conductive material, in particular from a plastic.
9. Warming drawer arrangement (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the first generating means (8.1) or the second generating means (8.2) is arranged in or on a base (3.1) of the drawer (3).
10. Warming drawer arrangement (1) according to claim 9, wherein a support region (4) of the base (3.1) is formed from a non-conductive material.
11. Warming drawer arrangement (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the drawer (3) has a lid (3.4) covering the cooking chamber (6), and wherein the first generating means (8.1) or the second generating means (8.2) is arranged in or on the lid (3.4).
12. Warming drawer arrangement (1) according to one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the drawer (3) has a control unit (9) for operating the first generating means (8.1) and / or the second generating means (8.2).
13. Drawer (3) for a warming drawer arrangement (1) according to one of claims 9 to 12.