Vehicle microwave oven with vibration damping unit

A microwave oven for a vehicle includes an elastic vibration damping unit, and a joint unit which joins a body of the microwave oven to a vehicle through the vibration damping unit. The joint unit fixes the body of the microwave oven to the vehicle while the vibration damping unit damps vibration and impact generated from the vehicle in motion. Accordingly, inner devices of the microwave oven are prevented from being damaged by the vibration and impact.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2002-58416, filed Sep. 26, 2002, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to microwave ovens, and more particularly, to microwave ovens for a vehicle, wherein inner devices of the microwave ovens are prevented from getting damaged by vibration and impact from movement of the vehicle.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, a microwave oven is an electrically operated oven which cooks food contained in its cooking cavity using high frequency electromagnetic waves ( microwave ). The microwaves are generated by an oscillation of a magnetron installed in a machine room of the microwave oven. That is, during an operation of the microwave oven, the magnetron inside the machine room radiates the microwave to the cooking cavity. The microwaves penetrate the food so as to repeatedly change a molecular arrangement of moisture laden in the food. That is, the molecules of the moisture are vibrated to generate a frictional heat within the food to cook the food.

Typically, microwave ovens are designed to be operated by AC power, and are used in a kitchen space having an AC power supply. However, in recent years, a microwave oven operated by DC power has been introduced and used in both indoors (at home or restaurants) and outdoors, especially in a mobile vehicle.

A conventional microwave oven for a vehicle is fixed to the vehicle so as to prevent the microwave oven from moving from its original fixed position regardless of vibration or impact applied to the microwave oven, during for example, where the microwave oven is carried by a moving vehicle.

However, in the conventional microwave oven for a vehicle, a joint unit such as a bolt directly joins a lower surface of a body of the microwave oven and the vehicle. In this case, the impact and vibration generated from the moving vehicle are directly transferred to the microwave oven. Accordingly, inner parts of the microwave oven including various devices which operate the microwave oven may be damaged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide a microwave oven for a vehicle provided with a vibration damping unit which damps vibration and impact generated by a moving of the vehicle, so as not to damage the microwave oven, and a joint unit which holds both the microwave oven and the vehicle.

To achieve the above and/or other aspects of the present invention, there is provided a microwave oven for a vehicle, comprising a body which forms an appearance of the microwave oven, a magnetron which generates microwaves and is contained in the body, a cooking cavity which is defined inside the body to contain food therein, and a vibration damping unit which damps vibration and impact generated in response to a movement of the vehicle and fixes the body to the vehicle.

The vibration damping unit may comprise a vibration damping member which is elastic and damps the vibration and impact, and a joint member which joins the body of the microwave oven and the vehicle through the vibration damping unit.

The joint member may include a joint shaft having a female screw machined part which is provided at one end thereof so as to be fixed to the vehicle, a supporting part which is extended in a radius direction from the one end so as to be supported by the vehicle, and a male screw machined part which is provided at the other end of the joint shaft so as to be fixed to the body.

The joint member may further include a nut which is supported by the vibration damping member, and set in the male screw machined part so as to join the vibration damping unit to the body. The body of the microwave oven may include a lower plate having a penetrating hole which receives the vibration damping unit therethrough. The lower plate may include a joining member which is set corresponding to the penetrating hole so as to secure the vibration damping member and the joint member to the body.

The joining member may comprise an upper cab which is a hollow cylindrical part having an opening at one end thereof and set on the penetrating hole of the lower plate, and a lower cab which is a hollow cylindrical part having an opening at one end thereof and fitted with the opening part of the upper cab.

The vibration damping member may comprise a first damper which supports an upper surface of the nut, a second damper which supports one or more side surfaces of the nut, and a third damper which supports a lower surface of the nut.

On the other hand, the vibration damping member may comprise an upper damper which is set on an upper part of the lower plate and a lower damper which is set on a lower part of the lower plate so as to have a part of the upper damper and a part of the lower damper meet at their ends to fill the penetrating hole. In this case, the male screw machined part of the joint shaft penetrates the lower damper, the penetrating hole and the upper damper so as to fasten the nut on top of the upper damper.

The penetrating hole may include a rib part which is extended downward from the penetrating hole so as to form a ring shape. The part of the upper damper projects downward and fills a part of an area formed by the rib part and the part of the lower damper projects upward and fills the remaining part of the area formed by the rib part. The part of the upper damper and the part of the lower damper meet at the rib part.

In contrast, the vibration damping member may be a single damper which is provided on an inner side of the lower plate and has a projecting part which extends from a lower surface of the damper so as to penetrate through the penetrating hole. In this case, the male screw machined part of the joint shaft penetrates the projecting part and the penetrating hole so as to fasten the nut on top of the vibration damping member.

The microwave oven may further include a flat washer which is provided between a lower surface of the nut and an upper surface of the vibration damping member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows a sectional view of a microwave oven for a vehicle according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 , the microwave oven for a vehicle comprises a body 10 which forms an appearance of the microwave oven and contains various devices including a magnetron (not shown) which generates microwaves to cook food. A base plate 10 B (also referred to as lower plate 10 B and lower surface 10 B see FIG. 2 ) which form a lower surface of the body 10 is fixed to the vehicle A to prevent the body 10 from moving regardless of vibration and impact, which are generated by a movement of the vehicle A, applied to the microwave oven.

The microwave oven is fixed to the vehicle A through a vibration damping unit (to be described herein below) which damps the vibration and impact caused by, for example, the movement of the vehicle A regardless of changing a speed of the vehicle A or a surface condition of a road on which the vehicle A is traveling.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show a vibration damping unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the vibration damping unit includes a vibration damping member 20 which is made of an elastic materials, for example, a rubber, so as to damp the vibration through an elasticity thereof, and a first joint member 30 which fixes the lower surface 10 B of the body 10 to the vehicle A through the vibration damping member 20 .

The first joint member 30 comprises a joint shaft 31 , a bolt 32 and a nut 33 . The joint shaft 31 fits the vehicle A at its lower end and fits the body 10 at its upper end. The bolt 32 and the nut 33 are fastened to the joint shaft 31 . The joint shaft 31 comprises a female screwed part 31 a which is a female screw machined at one end of the joint shaft 31 and fitted to the vehicle A, a supporting part 31 b which is extended in a radius direction to support the joint shaft 31 to the vehicle A, and a male screwed part 31 c which is a male screw machined at the other end of the joint shaft 31 to fit the body 10 , so as to set the body 10 in the vehicle A.

The lower plate 10 B of the body 10 includes a penetrating hole 11 to set the vibration damping unit, and a second joint member 12 which receives the vibration damping member 20 and the first joint member 30 . The second joint member 12 comprises an upper cab 12 a and a lower cab 12 b . The upper cab 12 a is a hollow cylindrical body with a radially extended part. The upper cab 12 a is closed at its upper end, but is opened at its lower end. The lower cab 12 b is a hollow cylindrical body which is opened at its upper end, but is closed at its lower end. The closed end of the lower cab 12 b includes an opening to receive the male screwed part 31 c of the joint shaft 31 .

The second joint member 12 is fixed to the lower plate 10 B using, for example, a bolt, so as to have the upper cab 12 a correspond to the penetrating hole 11 . The lower cab 12 b is fitted to the open part of the upper cab 12 a . In the second joint member 12 , the nut 33 , which is fitted with the male screwed part 31 c of joint shaft 31 , is supported by the vibration damping member 20 .

The vibration damping member 20 includes a first damping member 21 which supports an upper surface of the nut 33 , a second damping member 22 which surrounds to support a side part of the nut 33 , and a third damping member 23 which supports a lower surface of the nut 33 .

The female screwed part 31 a of the joint member 31 is set on the vehicle A by the bolt 32 . The male screwed part 31 c of the joint shaft 31 penetrates the lower cab 12 b and the third damping member 23 , and is fastened to the nut 33 .

Where vibration and impact generated from the moving vehicle are transferred to the nut 33 through the joint shaft 31 , they are met by the vibration damping member 20 provided between the joint shaft 31 , the nut 33 , and the joint member 12 . That is, the vibration and impact applied to the nut 33 are damped by the vibration damping member 20 , and less is transferred to the body 10 of microwave oven. Accordingly, the vibration damping unit prevents damage to the various devices contained in the body 10 of the microwave oven.

FIG. 4 shows a vibration damping unit according to another embodiment of present invention. FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of the vibration damping unit of FIG. 4 . As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 , the vibration damping unit, which is applied to a microwave oven for a vehicle, comprises a vibration damping member 40 and a joint member 50 .

The vibration damping member 40 is made of an elastic material, for example, a rubber, and damps the vibration and impact through an elasticity thereof. The joint member 50 fixes the lower surface 10 B of the body 10 to the vehicle A through the vibration damping member 40 . Accordingly, the vibration damping unit supports and connects the microwave oven with the vehicle A through use of the vibration damping member 40 and the joint member 50 .

The lower surface 10 B of the body 10 includes a penetrating hole 11 and a rib part 13 which extends downward from the penetrating hole 11 . The rib part 13 forms a ring shape and sets the vibration damping member 40 and the joint member 50 in the penetrating hole 11 .

The vibration damping member 40 comprises an upper damping member 41 which is set on the penetrating hole 11 to cover the penetrating hole 11 , and a lower damping member 42 which is set beneath the penetrating hole 11 to cover the penetrating hole 11 . The upper damping member 41 has a projecting part 41 a which projects downward to be fitted in the rib part 13 . The lower damping member 42 has a projecting part 42 a which projects upward to be fitted in the rib part 13 . The projecting parts 41 a and 42 a meet at their respective ends in the rib part 13 .

The vibration damping member 40 is set in the penetrating hole 11 by the joint member 50 . The joint member 50 comprises a joint shaft 51 which is fixed to the vehicle A at an end thereof and fixed to the vibration damping member 40 at the other end, a bolt 52 which fastens the joint shaft 51 to the vehicle A, and a nut 53 which fastens the vibration damping member 40 , along with the lower surface 10 B of the body, to the joint shaft 51 .

The joint shaft 51 includes a female screwed part 51 a , a supporting part 51 b , and a male screwed part 51 c to connect the microwave oven to the vehicle A. The female screwed part 51 a is a female screw machined at one end of the joint shaft 51 , and is fixed to the vehicle A. The supporting part 51 b extends from the one end of the joint shaft 51 and forms a ring shape in a radius direction to support the joint shaft 51 to the vehicle A. The male screwed part 51 c is a male screw machined at the other end of the joint shaft 51 , so as to fit with the vibration damping member 40 .

The bolt 52 holds both the vehicle A and the female screwed part 51 a of the joint shaft 51 so that the male screwed part 51 c penetrates the lower damping member 42 , the penetrating hole 11 , and the upper damping member 41 . The male screwed part 51 c is fastened to the nut 53 , which is on top of the upper damping member 41 . Accordingly, the body 10 of the microwave oven for a vehicle is set in the vehicle A. The nut 53 may be supported by a flat washer 54 , which is provided on top of the upper damping member 41 .

Where vibration and impact generated from the moving vehicle are transferred to the nut 53 through the joint shaft 51 , they are met by the upper damping member 41 and the lower damping member 42 provided between the lower plate 10 B and the flat washer 54 , and the supporting part 51 b of the joint shaft 51 and the lower plate 10 B of the body 10 , respectively. That is, the vibration and impact applied to the microwave oven is damped by the upper damping member 41 and the lower damping member 42 , and less is transferred to the body 10 of the microwave oven. Accordingly, the damping members 41 and 42 prevent the various devices contained in the microwave oven from being damaged.

FIG. 6 shows a vibration damping unit according to yet another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6 , the vibration damping unit, which is applied to a microwave oven for a vehicle, comprises a vibration damping member 60 and a joint member 70 .

The vibration damping member 60 is made of an elastic material, for example, a rubber, and damps vibration through an elasticity thereof. The joint member 70 holds both the lower plate 10 B of the body 10 and the vehicle A through the vibration damping member 60 .

The lower plate 10 B of the body 10 has a penetrating hole 11 so as to set the vibration damping member 60 and the joint member 70 therethrough. The vibration damping member 60 is fixed at an upper part of the lower plate 10 B of the body 10 to cover the penetrating hole 11 , using for example, nuts and bolts. The vibration damping member 60 has a projecting part 61 which projects downward through the penetrating hole 11 .

The joint member 70 comprises a joint shaft 71 which is fixed to the vehicle A at one end thereof and fixed to the vibration damping unit 60 at the other end, a bolt 72 , and a nut 73 which is fastened to the joint shaft 71 . The joint shaft 71 includes a female screwed part 71 a , a supporting part 71 b , and a male screwed part 71 c so as to set the body 10 of the microwave oven in the vehicle A. The female screwed part 71 a is a female screw machined at one end of the joint shaft 71 and is fixed to the vehicle A. The supporting part 71 b extends from the one of the joint shaft 71 , in a radius direction, to be supported by the vehicle A. The male screwed part 71 c is a male screw machined at the other end of the joint shaft 71 so as to be fixed to the lower plate 10 B of the body 10 through the vibration damping member 60 .

The female screwed part 71 a of the joint shaft 71 is fixed to the vehicle A by the bolt 72 . The male screwed part 71 c of the joint shaft 71 penetrates the penetrating hole 11 and the projecting part 61 of the vibration damping unit 60 , and is fastened to the body 10 using the nut 73 . Thus, the body 10 of the microwave oven for a vehicle is set in the vehicle A. The nut 73 may be supported by a flat washer 74 placed between the nut 73 and the vibration damping member 60 .

Where vibration and impact generated from the moving vehicle are applied to the nut 73 through the joint shaft 71 , they are met by the vibration damping member 60 provided between the supporting part 71 b of the joint shaft 71 and the lower plate 10 B of the body 10 . That is, the vibration damping member 60 damps the vibration, and less is transferred to the lower plate 10 B of body 10 . Accordingly, the various devices contained in the microwave oven are prevented from being damaged by the vibration and impact.

As described above, the present invention provides a microwave oven provided with a vibration damping unit which reduces the effect of the vibration applied to the microwave oven, and a joint unit which joins a body of the microwave oven to a vehicle. The joint unit joins the body to the vehicle through the vibration damping unit so as to reduce the vibration applied to the body of the microwave oven.