Stovetop Oven Appliance

Abstract

A stovetop oven appliance includes a housing, a fire suppression system, a heating assembly, and a control assembly. The housing includes a cooktop and an oven compartment. The fire suppression system is designed to dispense fire suppression materials to at least one of the cooktop and the oven compartment. The heating assembly is designed to provide heat energy to the cooktop and the oven compartment. The control assembly includes a microprocessor, a manual interface mounted in the housing, and a remote interface, wherein the control assembly is designed to selectively or automatically control operation of the stovetop oven appliance.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] Not ApplicableSTATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

[0002] Not ApplicableTHE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

[0003] Not ApplicableINCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM

[0004] Not ApplicableSTATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR

[0005] Not ApplicableBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION(1) Field of the Invention

[0006] The disclosure relates to stoves and ovens and more particularly pertains to a new stovetop oven appliance for providing a user with a stovetop and oven that has remote controls and safety systems to provide manual and automatic operation of the stovetop oven appliance.(2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

[0007] The prior art relates to stoves and ovens. The prior art, as best understood, does not disclose a stovetop oven appliance that includes a housing, a fire suppression system, a heating assembly, and a control assembly that includes a microprocessor, a manual interface mounted in the housing, and a remote interface, wherein the control assembly is designed to selectively or automatically control operation of the stovetop oven appliance. The prior art further does not disclose a stovetop oven appliance that additionally includes a cleaning system that dispenses liquid cleaning material, a powered door, cameras, both electric and gas heating, a firebox for burning wood, backup power supply, and a safety bar for children.BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above in a stovetop oven appliance generally comprising a housing, a fire suppression system, a heating assembly, and a control assembly. The housing includes a cooktop and an oven compartment. The fire suppression system is designed to dispense fire suppression materials to at least one of the cooktop and the oven compartment. The heating assembly is designed to provide heat energy to the cooktop and the oven compartment. The control assembly includes a microprocessor, a manual interface mounted in the housing, and a remote interface, wherein the control assembly is designed to selectively or automatically control operation of the stovetop oven appliance.

[0009] There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

[0010] The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

[0011] The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

[0012] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a stovetop oven appliance according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0013] FIG. 2 is a close-up view of a portion of an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0014] FIG. 3 is a right side view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 4 is a close-up view of a portion of an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 5 is a close-up view of a portion of an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 6 is an exploded view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 7 is a front view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 8 is a rear perspective view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 9 is a left side view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 10 is a rear perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 11 shows an additional component of an embodiment of the disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0022] With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 11 thereof, a new stovetop oven appliance embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

[0023] As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 11, the stovetop oven appliance 10 generally comprises a housing 12, a fire suppression system 14, a heating assembly 16, and a control assembly 18. The housing 12 includes a cooktop 20 and an oven compartment 22. The fire suppression system 14 is designed to dispense fire suppression materials to at least one of the cooktop 20 and the oven compartment 22. The heating assembly 16 is designed to provide heat energy to the cooktop 20 and the oven compartment 22. The control assembly 18 includes a microprocessor 24, a manual interface 26 mounted in the housing 12, and a remote interface 28, wherein the control assembly 18 is designed to selectively or automatically control operation of the stovetop oven appliance 10. It should be understood that the control assembly 18 is operatively connected to any powered component of the stovetop oven appliance 10 to allow a user to selectively or automatically control the powered component. The cooktop 20 could be designed in different known ways with a plurality of heating elements, such as, for example, flame heating elements, radiant electric heating elements, a glass top or flat top cooking surface with heating elements underneath, and a flat top grill or griddle. These heating elements could be made in any reasonable combination to provide different cooking surfaces and styles. The oven compartment 22 also can be designed in different known ways, such as gas or electric heated, convection, or even air-fryer style. As shown in FIG. 11, the oven compartment 22 could even utilize a rotisserie unit 88 with a grease tray 90.

[0024] The housing 12 includes a door 30 pivotably mounted to a front portion of the oven compartment 22. As shown in the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 3, the door 30 includes a door panel 32 and a door drive unit 34 operatively connected to the control assembly 18 and designed to move the door 30 to open and close the oven compartment 22. The door 30 also includes a safety lock 36 operatively connected to the control assembly 18. As shown in FIG. 4, the safety lock 36 can have a release button 38 and locking mechanism 40 connected thereto.

[0025] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the housing 12 can also include a fire box 42 positioned below the oven compartment 22 to permit a user to burn wood therein to heat the oven compartment 22. A firebox barrier panel 44 can be located in the oven compartment 22. FIG. 6 also shows an example of trays 46, though any rack or tray that is common to ovens could be used in one possible embodiment.

[0026] In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the fire suppression system 14 includes a cooktop spraying unit 48 mounted on the housing 12 at the cooktop 20 and operatively connected to the control assembly 18. More than one cooktop spraying unit 48 could be included, such as shown in FIG. 1 where there are four disposed one at each corner of the cooktop 20. In at least one possible embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the fire suppression system 14 includes an oven spraying unit 50 mounted on the housing 12 in the oven compartment 22 and operatively connected to the control assembly 18. The fire suppression system 14 could be programmed to automatically activate if a hazardous condition is detected or could be manually activated by a user.

[0027] The heating assembly 16 could be an electric heating unit or a gas heating unit as is common for ovens and stoves. The components are not shown in any detail since such are well known in the stove and oven technologies. Alternatively, the heating assembly 16 could include both the electric heating unit and the gas heating unit. In this situation, both are selectively activatable by a user depending on preference or need. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 8, a backup power supply 52 is provided that can include a battery 54 to supply a limited amount of electric power in the event of a power loss, though alternatively this could be a gas tank 56 to supply a limited amount of fuel in the event of loss of gas supply. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 10, both the battery 54 and the gas tank 56 are included. The backups could provide a limited time of usage, such as two to five hours or possibly as long as 48 hours, depending on the type of use and the type of battery 54 or gas tank 56.

[0028] The manual interface 26 can be in the form of a touch screen (not shown in any detail) positioned in the housing 12 adjacent the cooktop 20, as is common to modern appliances. The remote interface 28 includes a remote control 58 in wireless communication with the microprocessor 24. Alternatively, the remote control 58 could be replaced or supplemented by a computer or mobile application. In one possible embodiment, one or each of the manual interface 26 and the remote interface 28 could be configured to receive voice commands. In another possible embodiment, the microprocessor 24 is programmed to shut off the stovetop oven appliance 10 after a maximum operating time. The microprocessor 24 can be programmed in a known manner to set cooking times, temperatures, stages of different times and temperatures in an overall cooking, baking, or warming procedure.

[0029] The control assembly 18 further includes a camera 60 designed to provide images of the stovetop oven appliance 10 to the remote interface 28. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 7, a first camera 60 is positioned adjacent the cooktop 20 to provide images of the cooktop 20 and a second camera 60 is positioned within the oven compartment 22 to provide images of the oven compartment 22. The cameras 60 could send images via the microprocessor 24 wirelessly to a display on the remote interface 28 for viewing by a user at a remote location, such as in another room in a house or building.

[0030] In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, and 9, the stovetop oven appliance 10 also includes a cleaning system 62 that includes a supply reservoir 64 mounted in the housing 12 and is designed to dispense liquid cleaning material to at least one of the cooktop 20 and the oven compartment 22. As seen in FIG. 7, the cleaning system 62 can include an oven sprayer assembly 66 positioned in the oven compartment 22 and operatively connected to the control assembly 18 and designed to dispense the liquid cleaning material onto surfaces of the oven compartment 22. As seen in FIGS. 1, 2, and 5, the cleaning system 62 can also include a cooktop sprayer assembly 68 positioned adjacent the cooktop 20 and operatively connected to the control assembly 18. The cooktop sprayer assembly 68 includes sprayers 70 and a wiper arm 72 movably mounted on the housing 12 at the cooktop 20, which could be a glass cooktop 20 or a traditional cooktop 20 with burner elements. The wiper arm 72 could have bristles for scrubbing, or possibly a scraper. The cooktop sprayer assembly 68 includes a powered drive unit 74 designed to move the wiper arm 72 back and forth over the cooktop 20 to clean the cooktop 20, such as in a guide track 76 in the example shown. The sprayers 70 could be mounted on the wiper arm 72 and connected by an extendable hose 78 to the supply reservoir 64. Other designs and positioning of the sprayers 70, such as at fixed locations around the cooktop 20, are within the scope of the disclosure.

[0031] In the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 4, the stovetop oven appliance 10 also includes a safety bar assembly 80 that includes a receptacle 82 at a front edge of the cooktop 20 and a safety bar 84 movably mounted in the receptacle 82. The safety bar 84 is extendable to minimize or prevent children from accessing the cooktop 20, wherein the safety bar assembly 80 includes a drive unit 86 to extend and retract the safety bar 84 and operatively connected to the control assembly 18.

[0032] In use, a user can automatically or selectively activate any of the powered components discussed above to perform their respective functions, such as turning on and off the heating assembly 16, whether gas or electric or a combination of the two, operating the cleaning system 62 to spray the cooktop 20 or oven compartment 22, activating the fire suppression system 14, open and close the door 30, watching the video feed from the camera 60, operating the backup power supply 52, and extending and retracting the safety bar 84.

[0033] With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0034] Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.

Claims

1. A stovetop oven appliance comprising:a housing comprising a cooktop and an oven compartment;a fire suppression system to dispense fire suppression materials to at least one of said cooktop and said oven compartment;a heating assembly to provide heat energy to said cooktop and said oven compartment; anda control assembly comprising a microprocessor, a manual interface mounted in said housing, and a remote interface, wherein said control assembly is configured to selectively or automatically control operation of said stovetop oven appliance.

2. The stovetop oven appliance of claim 1, wherein said housing comprises a door pivotably mounted to a front portion of said oven compartment, wherein said door comprises a panel and a drive unit operatively connected to said control assembly and configured to move said door to open and close said oven compartment.

3. The stovetop oven appliance of claim 2, wherein said door comprises a safety lock operatively connected to said control assembly.

4. The stovetop oven appliance of claim 1, wherein said housing comprises a fire box disposed below said oven compartment to permit a user to burn wood therein to heat said oven compartment.

5. The stovetop oven appliance of claim 1, wherein said fire suppression system comprises a cooktop spraying unit mounted on said housing at said cooktop and operatively connected to said control assembly.

6. The stovetop oven appliance of claim 1, wherein said fire suppression system comprises an oven spraying unit mounted on said housing in said oven compartment and operatively connected to said control assembly.

7. The stovetop oven appliance of claim 1, further comprising a cleaning system comprising a supply reservoir mounted in said housing and configured to dispense liquid cleaning material to at least one of said cooktop and said oven compartment.

8. The stovetop oven appliance of claim 7, wherein said cleaning system comprises an oven sprayer assembly disposed in said oven compartment and operatively connected to said control assembly and configured to dispense said liquid cleaning material onto surfaces of said oven compartment.

9. The stovetop oven appliance of claim 7, wherein said cleaning system comprises a cooktop sprayer assembly disposed adjacent said cooktop and operatively connected to said control assembly.

10. The stovetop oven appliance of claim 9, wherein said cooktop sprayer assembly comprises sprayers and a wiper arm movably mounted on said housing at said cooktop.

11. The stovetop oven appliance of claim 10, wherein said cooktop sprayer assembly comprises a powered drive unit configured to move said wiper arm back and forth over said cooktop to clean said cooktop.

12. The stovetop oven appliance of claim 1, wherein said heating assembly comprises an electric heating unit operatively connected to said control assembly and a backup power supply comprising a battery.

13. The stovetop oven appliance of claim 1, wherein said heating assembly comprises a gas heating unit operatively connected to said control assembly and a backup power supply comprising a gas tank.

14. The stovetop oven appliance of claim 1, wherein said heating assembly comprises both an electric heating unit and a gas heating unit that are and operatively connected to said control assembly and selectively activatable and a backup power supply comprising both a battery and a gas tank.

15. The stovetop oven appliance of claim 1, further comprising a safety bar assembly comprising a receptacle at a front edge of said cooktop and a safety bar movably mounted in said receptacle, wherein said safety bar is extendable to minimize or prevent children from accessing said cooktop.

16. The stovetop oven appliance of claim 1, wherein said safety bar assembly comprises a drive unit to extend and retract said safety bar and operatively connected to said control assembly.

17. The stovetop oven appliance of claim 1, wherein said manual interface comprises a touch screen disposed in said housing adjacent said cooktop, and said remote interface comprises a remote control in wireless communication with said microprocessor.

18. The stovetop oven appliance of claim 1, wherein said control assembly further comprises a camera configured to provide images of said stovetop oven appliance to said remote interface.

19. The stovetop oven appliance of claim 18, wherein said control assembly comprises two of said camera, wherein a first camera is disposed adjacent said cooktop to provide images of said cooktop and a second camera is disposed within said oven compartment to provide images of said oven compartment.

20. A stovetop oven appliance comprising:a housing comprising a cooktop and an oven compartment, wherein:said housing comprises a door pivotably mounted to a front portion of said oven compartment, wherein said door comprises a panel and a drive unit operatively connected to said control assembly and configured to move said door to open and close said oven compartment,said door comprises a safety lock operatively connected to said control assembly,said housing comprises a fire box disposed below said oven compartment to permit a user to burn wood therein to heat said oven compartment;a fire suppression system to dispense fire suppression materials to at least one of said cooktop and said oven compartment, wherein:said fire suppression system comprises a cooktop spraying unit mounted on said housing at said cooktop and operatively connected to said control assembly,said fire suppression system comprises an oven spraying unit mounted on said housing in said oven compartment and operatively connected to said control assembly;a cleaning system comprising a supply reservoir mounted in said housing and configured to dispense liquid cleaning material to at least one of said cooktop and said oven compartment, wherein:said cleaning system comprises an oven sprayer assembly disposed in said oven compartment and operatively connected to said control assembly and configured to dispense said liquid cleaning material onto surfaces of said oven compartment,said cleaning system comprises a cooktop sprayer assembly disposed adjacent said cooktop and operatively connected to said control assembly,said cooktop sprayer assembly comprises sprayers and a wiper arm movably mounted on said housing at said cooktop,said cooktop sprayer assembly comprises a powered drive unit configured to move said wiper arm back and forth over said cooktop to clean said cooktop;a heating assembly to provide heat energy to said cooktop and said oven compartment, wherein one of (A), (B), or (C):(A) said heating assembly comprises an electric heating unit operatively connected to said control assembly and a backup power supply comprising a battery,(B) said heating assembly comprises a gas heating unit operatively connected to said control assembly and a backup power supply comprising a gas tank,(C) said heating assembly comprises both an electric heating unit and a gas heating unit that are and operatively connected to said control assembly and selectively activatable and a backup power supply comprising both a battery and a gas tank;a safety bar assembly comprising a receptacle at a front edge of said cooktop and a safety bar movably mounted in said receptacle, wherein said safety bar is extendable to minimize or prevent children from accessing said cooktop, wherein said safety bar assembly comprises a drive unit to extend and retract said safety bar and operatively connected to said control assembly; anda control assembly comprising a microprocessor, a manual interface mounted in said housing, and a remote interface, wherein said control assembly is configured to selectively or automatically control operation of said stovetop oven appliance, wherein:said manual interface comprises a touch screen disposed in said housing adjacent said cooktop.said remote interface comprises a remote control in wireless communication with said microprocessor,said control assembly further comprises a camera configured to provide images of said stovetop oven appliance to said remote interface,said control assembly comprises two of said camera, wherein a first camera is disposed adjacent said cooktop to provide images of said cooktop and a second camera is disposed within said oven compartment to provide images of said oven compartment.

Images