Drive assembly for a cooking appliance

Abstract

The invention relates to a drive assembly for a cooking appliance, the cooking appliance being used for preparing food and having a cooking chamber (1) which is designed to receive the food, and an installation space (2) which is separated from the cooking chamber (1) by a partition (3), the drive assembly comprising a motor (4) for driving a fan wheel (5) which is installed in the cooking chamber (1) and is connected to the motor (4) via a shaft extending through the partition (3); motor electronics (6) for controlling the motor (4); an operating element (12) for receiving operating commands; an electromechanical controller (8) which interacts with the operating element (12) and is designed to process the operating commands and to provide, at the output end, operating variables for the motor (4); at least one connecting line (7, 17) which extends from the electromechanical controller (8) to the motor electronics (6) and via which (7, 17) the operating variables provided by the electromechanical controller (8) at the output end are fed to the motor electronics (6) at the input end; and a network connection (10) connected to the electromechanical controller (8), wherein the motor electronics (6) keep operating programs for the motor (4) available and are designed to execute the operating programs on the basis of the operating variables present at the input end. The invention also relates to a cooking appliance having such a drive assembly.

Description

[0001]

[0002] Applicant: Hanning Elektro-Werke GmbH & Co. KG

[0003] Holter Street 90

[0004] 33813 Oerlinghausen

[0005] Our reference HAN2501PCT

[0006] Date: November 13, 2025

[0007] Drive arrangement for a cooking appliance

[0008] The invention relates to a drive arrangement for a commercial cooking appliance used for the preparation of food, in particular an oven or a combi steamer.

[0009] Cooking appliances exist on the market in numerous variations. Particularly inexpensive cooking appliances, which are still manufactured in large quantities, typically feature a drive system with an asynchronous motor and only an electromechanical control unit for driving the motor. This unit uses relays or contactors to switch the motor's power supply on and off. In the simplest case, the asynchronous motor is operated at a constant speed in a single direction of rotation for a predetermined period and is designed for a specific market based on the supply voltage and mains frequency. Such cooking appliances do without (motor) electronics or regulated operation.

[0010] It is also known to operate the asynchronous motor reversibly, i.e., in two directions of rotation, and / or to run it at two different speeds, either fast or slow, by using a suitable winding or circuit configuration and adjusting the number of poles. The control of the asynchronous motor is still handled solely by the electromechanical control system.

[0011] The object of the present invention is to provide an improved drive arrangement for a cooking appliance.

[0012] To solve this problem, the invention has the features of claim 1. Accordingly, the drive arrangement according to the invention for a cooking appliance, which provides a cooking chamber for holding food and an installation space separated from the cooking chamber by a partition, comprises a motor for driving a fan wheel installed in the cooking chamber and connected to the motor via a shaft extending through the partition, as well as motor electronics for controlling the motor. Furthermore, the drive arrangement comprises a mechanical or manually operated control element for receiving operating commands from a user and an electromechanical control unit that interacts with the mechanical control element and is configured to process the operating commands and to provide operating parameters to the motor.The electromechanical control is provided in addition to the motor electronics and is implemented separately from them. Furthermore, the drive arrangement includes at least one connecting line from the electromechanical control to the motor electronics, whereby the operating parameters provided by the electromechanical control at its output are supplied to the motor electronics at its input via this connecting line, and a mains connection connected to the electromechanical control. The motor electronics maintain operating programs for the motor. They are configured to execute these operating programs depending on the operating parameters applied at the input and thus drive the motor in a predetermined manner.

[0013] The particular advantage of the invention lies in the fact that cost-effective cooking appliances, which have only a comparatively limited range of functions or ease of use, can be equipped and upgraded with the drive arrangement according to the invention. The invention provides for replacing the existing asynchronous motor of these cooking appliances with a new motor and motor electronics adapted to the motor. All other components that the cooking appliance had without motor electronics can continue to be used. In particular, the electromechanical control unit, which establishes the connection to the operating element, is connected to the now additionally provided motor electronics via the connecting cables. The operating commands entered via the continued use of the operating element are processed in the electromechanical control unit as before.Simple operating parameters for the new motor, derived from the operating commands, are then transmitted to the motor electronics via the connecting lines.

[0014] The new motor electronics provide operating programs for the motor, enabling it to operate in a predetermined manner, but now with significantly greater flexibility and, in particular, controlled operation. For example, the motor electronics can have a data memory for storing the operating programs. Specifically, the motor's speed and direction of rotation can be variably set and repeatedly changed via the motor electronics. The existing electromechanical control then ultimately serves only to start the cooking process or initiate motor operation. Once the cooking process has started or the motor operation has been initiated, the new motor electronics take over motor operation.The invention therefore provides for transferring functions for driving the motor from the electromechanical control to the motor electronics and additionally utilizing the further capabilities of the motor electronics to expand the range of functions and thus achieve improved cooking results. The operating programs can be easily adapted to the specifications and special features of different appliance manufacturers.

[0015] A key feature of the cooking appliances according to the invention is that they have electromechanical controls and additional motor electronics. The motor electronics are specifically designed for the controlled operation of the cooking appliance.

[0016] Integrating the drive arrangement according to the invention into the cooking appliance represents a cost-effective and simple functional upgrade. The upgrade will be carried out primarily at the factory. For example, it is then unnecessary to develop a completely new cooking appliance. Instead, an existing design can be adopted and expanded. For instance, cooking appliances already in commercial use can be functionally upgraded by having a technician remove the existing asynchronous motor on-site, install the new motor with its electronics, and connect the electronics to the existing electromechanical control system via the connecting cables.

[0017] The drive arrangement according to the invention can, for example, and preferably, provide a synchronous motor, in particular a BLDC motor or a permanent magnet synchronous motor. Advantageously, such motors require less copper or iron and are therefore smaller and lighter. In addition, these motors, in conjunction with the motor electronics, can be individually controlled in a variety of ways, operated at variable speeds, and in two directions of rotation.

[0018] In a further development of the invention, the motor electronics provide the function of a frequency converter. They are configured to drive the motor at different mains frequencies and / or with varying directions of rotation and / or speeds. Optionally, the motor electronics can also have a wide-range voltage input. Advantageously, such motor electronics allow the drive arrangement to be designed uniformly across different markets, regardless of the mains frequency and / or the different mains or supply voltage. Operation at, for example, 50 Hz or 60 Hz and 120 V or 240 V can be achieved with the same motor electronics. The resulting high-volume production of the motor electronics, combined with the decreasing number of variants, ensures low costs.

[0019] According to a further development of the invention, an additional mains connection is provided for supplying electrical energy to the motor electronics and / or the motor. This additional mains connection is connected to the motor electronics via a separate connecting cable. Advantageously, the motor electronics can be permanently supplied with power by providing this additional mains connection. This avoids the need to switch the motor electronics on and off solely via the mains connection of the electromechanical control unit. This increases the service life of the electronic components of the motor electronics and the motor. According to a further development of the invention, a converter is assigned to the electromagnetic control unit, which adjusts or reduces the voltage level of the command variables provided at the output side by the electromechanical control unit.In particular, the converter can be designed to convert the operating commands provided by the cooking appliance with the asynchronous motor (without motor electronics) at 120 or 240 V AC to, for example, 24 V DC. These converted operating commands are then made available to the motor electronics as input and processed by them.

[0020] In a further development of the invention, an external command transmitter and a receiver that interacts with the external command transmitter are provided. The receiver is assigned to the motor electronics and interacts with them in such a way that further operating commands generated by the external command transmitter and received by the receiver execute further operating programs for the motor that are stored in the motor electronics. For example, pushbuttons, DIP switches, or digital hex coding switches can be used as external command transmitters.

[0021] According to a further development of the invention, the external control transmitter and the receiver are connected wirelessly, and in particular via radio or WLAN. Specifically, it can be provided that the motor electronics are controlled via the external control transmitter by using a radio remote control, a tablet, or a mobile phone as the external control transmitter.

[0022] According to a further development of the invention, the drive arrangement can provide a plurality of motors controlled by a single, common motor electronics unit. Advantageously, providing multiple motors and using a single motor electronics unit offers a cost-effective way to functionally enhance a cooking appliance with different cooking zones. In particular, the motor electronics unit can be designed such that different operating programs are used for the different motors, or that the motors are individually controlled and operated.

[0023] The various operating programs for the motor can, for example, implement individual forward / reverse rotation or variable speed operation. To improve cooking results, the operating time intervals for the motor(s) can be individually configured and adjusted. For example, custom current-voltage ramps can be programmed to start and stop the synchronous motors.

[0024] Further advantages, features, and details of the drive arrangement according to the invention can be found in the dependent claims, the drawings, and the following description. Features mentioned therein can be essential to the invention individually or in any combination. Thus, the disclosure relating to the individual aspects of the invention can always be referenced reciprocally. The drawings serve only as examples to clarify the invention and are not intended to be limiting.

[0025] They show:

[0026] Fig. 1 shows a schematic representation of a drive arrangement for a cooking appliance in a first embodiment variant,

[0027] Fig. 2 shows a schematic representation of the drive arrangement for the cooking appliance in a second embodiment variant,

[0028] Fig. 3 shows a schematic representation of the drive arrangement for the cooking appliance in a third embodiment variant,

[0029] Fig. 4 shows a schematic representation of the drive arrangement for the cooking appliance in a fourth embodiment and

[0030] Fig. 5 shows a schematic representation of the drive arrangement for the cooking appliance in a fifth embodiment.

[0031] Fig. 1 shows a first embodiment of a cooking appliance for preparing food, comprising a housing 9 and a cooking chamber 1 provided in the housing 9, and an installation chamber 2, also arranged in the housing 9, separated from the cooking chamber 1 by a partition 3. The installation chamber 2 accommodates various functional components of the cooking appliance, for example, a heating module (not shown) for temperature control of the cooking chamber 1, as well as parts of a drive assembly. The drive assembly serves to drive a fan wheel 5 of the cooking appliance, which is provided in the cooking chamber 1.

[0032] The drive assembly comprises, as its essential functional components, a motor 4 and motor electronics 6 spatially assigned to the motor 4. The motor 4 drives the fan wheel 5 via a shaft that extends through the partition 3 separating the cooking chamber 1 and the installation space 2. The drive assembly also includes an electromechanical control unit 8, which interacts with the motor electronics 6 via a connecting cable 7, as well as a manually operated control element 12 and a power supply connection 10. The power supply connection 10 is connected to the electromechanical control unit 8 via a connecting cable 11 and provides the electrical energy for operating the motor 4 and the other functional components of the drive assembly. The control element 12 is integrated into the housing 9 of the cooking appliance. It is connected to the electromechanical control unit 8 via a control cable 13.

[0033] The drive arrangement of the cooking appliance serves to upgrade a classic, cost-effective cooking appliance without motor electronics, which typically has an asynchronous motor directly controlled by the electromechanical control unit 8 via relays and / or contactors (not shown). According to the invention, this motor is replaced by the motor 4 with its associated motor electronics 6. Replacing the asynchronous motor with the combination of motor 4 and motor electronics 6 expands the operational capabilities of the cooking appliance and provides new functions that were not available with the cooking appliance without motor electronics, leading to improved cooking results. Since ultimately only the asynchronous motor of the classic cooking appliance needs to be replaced with the new motor 4 and motor electronics 6, and the conventional electromechanical control unit 8 needs to be connected to the motor electronics 6, the modification effort is minimal.In particular, a complete redesign of the cooking appliance and its drive system is not required. Therefore, it is possible to further develop the classic cooking appliance cost-effectively without motor electronics. The drive system according to Fig. 1 provides the extended functionality by having the new motor electronics 6, integrated into the cooking appliance, offer various operating programs for the motor 4. These operating programs can, for example, provide for the motor 4 to run at a specific operating frequency with different speeds and / or directions of rotation, ultimately leading to an improvement in the cooking result. In particular, the motor electronics 6 are configured to operate the cooking appliance according to the invention in a controlled manner.

[0034] The electromechanical control unit 8 ultimately serves the drive arrangement only as an interface to the operating element 12 and the mains connection 10. It receives operating commands via the operating element 12, processes them, and provides operating parameters on the output side. In this case, the operating parameters are, for example, solely a start and / or stop signal for the operation of the motor 4.

[0035] The operating parameters are detected by the motor electronics 6, which then takes over the actual control of the motor 4. For this purpose, the motor electronics 6 provides operating programs that allow the motor 4 to be controlled individually and, for example, the speed or direction of rotation of the motor 4, and thus of the fan wheel 5, to be varied with the aim of improving the cooking result. According to the invention, it is therefore provided that functions from the electromechanical control 8 are transferred to and extended within the motor electronics 6.

[0036] The motor 4 and the motor control unit 6 are supplied with energy via the central mains connection 10 of the cooking appliance. This mains connection is implemented, for example, as a 50 or 60 Hz connection at 120 or 240 V AC. The energy for the motor electronics 6 and the motor 4 is supplied via the connecting cable 7.

[0037] In the present embodiment, the electric motor 4 can be implemented as a BLDC motor or permanent magnet synchronous motor. It is therefore significantly smaller than mains-powered asynchronous motors and has a higher efficiency. At the same time, the number of drive configuration variants can be reduced if the motor electronics 6 provide a frequency converter function and a wide-range voltage input. It can then be used in 50 Hz and 60 Hz networks at 120 V and 240 V AC voltage, regardless of the mains frequency. This design of the motor electronics 6 also allows the target speed of the motor 4 to be variably set or preset within the limits relevant for cooking, baking, warming, or defrosting.

[0038] A second embodiment of the drive arrangement according to Fig. 2 corresponds essentially to embodiment 1. To avoid repetition, reference is made here to the preceding explanations.

[0039] In addition, the cooking appliance provides a further mains connection 14, which is assigned to the motor 4 in the motor electronics 6 and is connected to the motor electronics 6 via a further connection cable 15. This additional mains connection 14 ensures that the motor electronics 6 is permanently connected to the mains. This prevents the motor electronics 6 and the motor 4 from being switched on and off via the mains connection 10 of the electromagnetic control 8, which could negatively impact the service life of the electronic components of the motor 4 and the motor electronics 6.

[0040] Fig. 3 shows a third embodiment of the drive arrangement. Like the second embodiment, it includes the additional mains connection 14, the additional connecting cable 15, and the functional components of the first embodiment. In addition, the drive arrangement has a converter 16 associated with the electromechanical control unit 8. The converter 16 serves to adjust the voltage level of the operating parameters provided at the output of the electromechanical control unit 8. In particular, it can be provided that the operating parameters are supplied as 24 V DC signals. This involves reducing the voltage from 120 or 240 V to 24 V and converting the AC voltage provided at the mains connection into a DC voltage. This is possible because the motor 4 and the motor electronics 6 are supplied with electrical energy via the additional mains connection 14 and the additional connecting cable 15.

[0041] A fourth embodiment of the drive arrangement for a cooking appliance according to Fig. 4 comprises the functional components of the third embodiment. However, instead of a single connecting cable, a bundle of four individual connecting cables 17 runs from the electromechanical control unit 8 or the converter 16 to the motor electronics 6. The multiple connecting cables 17 serve to utilize different actuation signals that were already used for variable speed or direction of rotation control of the previously provided asynchronous motor. Therefore, the electromechanical control unit 8 can, for example, provide more than just a start or stop signal. It can also provide a signal for reversing the direction of rotation or for adjusting the speed.The different signals provided via the various connecting lines of the connecting line bundle 17 can be processed as operating parameters and input signals for the motor electronics 6. However, their use or processing is not mandatory according to the invention.

[0042] Fig. 5 shows a fifth embodiment of the drive arrangement, which largely corresponds to the drive arrangement according to Fig. 4. In addition, a receiver 18 is assigned to the motor electronics 6, which interacts wirelessly with an external control transmitter 19. The external control transmitter 19 can be, for example, a radio connection, a tablet, or a mobile phone.

[0043] The external control unit 19 generates further operating commands, which are transmitted by the receiver 18 to the motor electronics 6 and serve to execute further operating programs for the motor 4. The motor electronics 6 keeps these further operating programs available.

[0044] By providing the external control transmitter 19 and the receiver 18, further individual functions can be made available, thereby expanding the functionality of the cooking appliance. For example, special operating programs for cooking different dishes can be accessed and executed.

[0045] Identical components and component functions are identified by the same reference symbols.

[0046] marked. Reference list

[0047] 1 cooking chamber

[0048] 2 Installation space

[0049] 3 Partition wall

[0050] 4 engine

[0051] 5 fan wheel

[0052] 6 Motor electronics

[0053] 7 connecting lines

[0054] 8 electromechanical control 9 housing

[0055] 10 Network connection

[0056] 11 Connection line

[0057] 12 Control element

[0058] 13 Control line

[0059] 14 Network connection

[0060] 15 Connection cable

[0061] 16 converters

[0062] 17 Connecting cable bundles 18 Receivers

[0063] 19 Commanders

Claims

Patent claims 1. Drive arrangement for a cooking appliance used for the preparation of food, comprising a cooking chamber (1) designed to hold the food and an installation space (2) separated from the cooking chamber (1) by a partition wall (3). a motor (4) for driving a fan wheel (5) installed in the cooking chamber (1) and connected to the motor (4) via a shaft extending through the partition (3), a motor electronics (6) for controlling the motor (4), a control element (12) for receiving manual operating commands, an electromechanical control (8) that interacts with the operating element (12) and is configured to process the operating commands and to provide operating parameters to the motor (4) on the output side, - at least one connecting line (7, 17) leading from the electromechanical control (8) to the motor electronics (6), wherein the operating parameters provided on the output side by the electromechanical control (8) are provided on the input side to the motor electronics (6) via the connecting line (7, 17), a mains connection (10) connected to the electromechanical control (8), wherein the motor electronics (6) provides operating programs for the motor (4) and is set up to execute the operating programs depending on the operating parameters applied on the input side.

2. Drive arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that motor (4) is designed as a synchronous motor and preferably as a BLDC motor and / or a permanent magnet synchronous motor.

3. Drive arrangement according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the motor electronics (6) has a wide voltage range input.

4. Drive arrangement according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the motor electronics (6) is designed and configured in the manner of a frequency converter to drive the motor (4) at different mains frequencies and / or with variable direction of rotation and / or variable speed.

5. Drive arrangement according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a further mains connection (14) is provided which is configured to supply the motor electronics (6) and / or the motor (4) with electrical energy, and / or that the motor electronics (6) is connected to the further mains connection (14) via a further connecting line (15).

6. Drive arrangement according to claim 5, characterized in that a converter (16) is associated with the electromechanical control (8) which is configured to reduce a voltage level of the operating variables provided on the output side by the electromechanical control (8).

7. Drive arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that an external command transmitter (19) and a receiver (18) cooperating with the external command transmitter (19) are provided, wherein the receiver (18) interacts with the motor electronics (6) such that further operating commands generated via the external command transmitter (19) and received by the receiver (18) execute further operating programs stored in the motor electronics (6).

8. Drive arrangement according to claim 7, characterized in that the external command transmitter (19) and the receiver (18) are wirelessly connected, preferably via radio and / or WLAN.

9. Drive arrangement according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that a single motor electronics unit (6) and a plurality of motors (4) are provided, wherein the single motor electronics unit (6) serves to control the plurality of motors (4).

10. Cooking appliance with a drive arrangement according to one of claims 1 to 9.

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