Kitchen appliance for installation in camping vehicles in particular

In a kitchen appliance including a refrigerator and a cooker 7 and being intended and suitable for installation in camping vehicles, boats and the like, the cooker 7 is fixedly mounted on the upper side of the refrigerator including at least one gas burner 8 and the relating fittings 12, while the cover plate 13 of the cooker 7 can be assembled and disassembled. The burner 8 and the thermosensors 26 of the cooker 7 are movable in height in limited manner for bearing on a relating opening in the cover plate 13 from bottom and for being connected or screwed, respectively, to a burner head to be put thereon from top. The construction permits simple and quick installation and removal of the refrigerator together with the cooker 7.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The invention relates to a kitchen appliance including at least a 
refrigerator and a stove, suited for installation in camping vehicles like 
trailers and other travel vehicles. A further preferred field of use are 
leisure boats, like motor and sailing yachts. 
A refrigerator intended for this purpose usually has a front door through 
which the cooling compartment is accessible as well as a cooling unit 
arranged on the backside, usually an absorber unit which can be operated 
by a gas burner. In camping vehicles removal of the heat generated by the 
absorber unit is effected by aeration slots formed in the outside wall 
and/or the roof of the vehicle and permitting convection of the outside 
air. In boats the refrigerating unit is cooled by converging inside air. 
The service and surveillance members are arranged on a suitable place on 
the front face of the refrigerator. 
Camping vehicles and boats are equipped with an interior equipment which 
offers the possibility of installing a refrigerator of the above-explained 
kind and of a stove. In most cases therein the stove is installed on top 
of the refrigerator and a larder located beside the refrigerator 
accomodates a sink in its open top side. The refrigerator and the stove 
therein often originate from different manufacturers and are not mutually 
coordinated. Due to the cramped room conditions this mostly results in 
that for a removal of the refrigerator, e.g. for maintenance or cleaning 
of the cooling unit, at first the stove has to be disassembled, if 
necessary together with the sink. Moreover, because of the missing 
identity in dimensions often the existing room for installation can be 
utilized optimally. Finally, separate supply lines for the various units 
have to be provided for which each have to be equipped with separately 
operable blocking means. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The invention is based on the object of realizing a kitchen appliance of 
the kind cited in the beginning such that the lowest possible installation 
work is required for its installation into and removal from a given 
equipment and that the installation room for the refrigerator and a stove 
correlated thereto is utilized optimally as well as that energy supply 
elements are optimized. 
This object is achieved by the present invention such that on the upper 
side of the refrigerator a stove including at least a gas burner and the 
relating fittings is mounted fixedly, that the cover plate of the stove 
can be assembled and/or disassembled, respectively, independently from the 
other parts of the stove and that the burner and/or burners, respectively, 
is (are) movable in height in limited manner in order to bear on a 
realting opening in the cover plate from bottom and to be connected to a 
burner head put thereon from top. 
The refrigerator thus forms a constructional unit with the stove, which as 
total is mounted in the existing installation room. Only the cover plate 
is fixed to the built-in furniture of the vehicle. A connection between 
the cover plate and to stove only exists on the burners which from bottom 
reach into the openings of the cover plate and from top are connected to 
the burner heads. For removing the refrigerator, it will be sufficient to 
detach the burner from the burner heads and to fold it away downwardly and 
to pull out the refrigerator out of the opening to the front upon 
loosening of the screws on the kitchen furniture panelling. 
Thus, for easy separation of the stove from the cover plate, the connection 
between each burner and the relating burner head is built in form of a 
quick-seal coupling. 
The combination of the refrigerator and the stove provides the additional 
advantage that the service and surveillance elements for the stove as well 
as for the refrigerator can be combined. Preferably, they are arranged in 
a panel on the front side of the stove. 
A further advantage lies in that in contrast to the known constructions no 
separate gas lines are required any more for the stove and the 
refrigerator. Rather a common gas connection to the gas supply of the 
vehicle with a subdivision for the burners and the refrigerator will be 
sufficient, said branching preferably being located within the appliance 
in the area of the stove. The common gas line can be blocked by one single 
gas blocking means.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
The kitchen appliance in accordance with the present invention comprises a 
refrigerator having an inner room 1 for accomodating the goods to be kept 
cool, a door 2 on the front side and an absorber unit 3 on the rear side. 
In assembled condition the absorber unit is located with small distance to 
the outside wall 4 of the vehicle. Two groups 5 and 6 arranged one on top 
of the other, of air gaps in the outside wall 4 permit convection of 
external air for dissipating the heat produced by the absorber unit. 
On the top side of the refrigerator a gas stove 7 is fixedly installed, 
which stove in the shown embodiment has three burners 8. Each burner 8 is 
located on one end of an injector or mixing pipe 9 whose other end is put 
on an injector 10 for adjustable supply of a gas/air mixture. The injector 
10 together with the injector pipe 9 therein is pivotable in limited 
manner about a horizontal axis so that the burner can be tilted in upward 
and downward directions. 
A service panel accomodating the locks 11 for regulation of the individual 
burners 6 as well as the service and display elements 12 for the 
refrigerator is located on the frontside of the stove. 
In assembled condition of the stove 7 combined with the refrigerator this 
one is located below a cover plate 13 covering all parts of the stove 
except for the burner heads 16. Circular orifices are provided for the 
burners 8. 
The cover plate 13 is fixedly mounted on the built-in parts of the vehicle 
and cannot be removed without problems. In the shown embodiment it is 
formed in one piece with the sink 14 accomodated by the upper portion of a 
built-in cupboard 15 located beside the refrigerator. The cover plate 13, 
however, can only cover the installation field intended for the 
refrigerator and the stove. 
A burner head 16 having exit openings for the gas flame belongs to every 
burner 8. The connection of a burner with relating burner head 16 is 
effected by means of a quick-seal coupling. 
As already mentioned, the cover plate 13, maybe including the sink 
correlated thereto, is fixedly mounted on the built-in parts of the 
vehicle. Prior to installation of the refrigerator in the installation 
space provided therefor the burners 8 of the stove with the injection 
pipes 9 are tilted in downward direction. Therefore, the refrigerator 
including the stove mounted thereon can be pushed into the installation 
space without problems, the absorber unit 3 being sealed against the 
interior of the vehicle with suitable measurements. 
Upon the refrigerator with the stove 7 having been pushed in, the burners 8 
with the injection pipes 9 are tilted upwardly and, each burner 8 is 
connected to a burner head 16, if required, upon insertion of an O-shaped 
ring 17. For exact adjustment the stove can be mounted with its basic 
plate on the refrigerator in limitedly displaceable manner. 
As a rule each burner 8 has a thermosensor 26 (not shown) in form of a 
thermomember whose tip protrudes into the flame. The thermomember is fixed 
beside the burner head 16 on the cover plate 13 by means of a screw. 
Alternatively, said thermomember can also be built as separate part having 
an own holding member held by the quick-seal coupling between the burner 8 
and the burner head 16 on the bottom side of the cover plate 13 such that 
the tip of the sensor protrudes through an opening in the cover plate in 
upward direction. When loosening the connection between the burner and the 
burner head, also the hold becomes loose and the tip can be removed in 
downward direction from the cover plate. 
The unification of the refrigerator with the stove into an integrated 
structural unit permits a connection of these both units to one common gas 
connection. FIG. 3 shows a gas line 18 coming from a gas connection of the 
vehicle and having a branch 19 to the heating means of the refrigerating 
unit and to the burners 8 of the cooking areas. One single blocking cock 
is provided for the gas line 18. 
Ventilation and cooling of the stove is effected by heat conduction over 
the surface of the cover plate 13 and by aeration and ventilation by one 
or several slots 20 in the region of the service panel. 
As the stove and the refrigerator from a structural unit, the installation 
dimensions of the kitchen built-in cupboard 15 can be predetermined. 
Therein, the rearward cupboard wall 23 has a section 24 for accomodating 
the cooling unit 3. The section upon installation of the structural unit 
is completely closed by the refrigerator and an upper sealing band 25, so 
that no draught flow can occur in the camping vehicle through the air 
slots 5, 6. 
As can be seen, the refrigerator with the stove arranged thereon, can be 
installed and removed without great expense and labour also by persons not 
very skilled.