A COOKER AND A HEATING ELEMENT THEREFOR

Abstract: A cooker predominantly for table top use may have several functions by using both sides for heating elements and by energizing only the upwards facing side. The thickness of the cooker is less than double the thickness of just mounting two cookers back-to-back. In one embodiment a gravity controlled switch controls the energy supply to only the upwards facing side at any one instant.

Description: A cooker and a heating element therefor. The invention relates to a cooker comprising sources of heat or other energy and a cover for the top surface. Many cookers are built into a cooktop which forms an integral part of a kitchen element at the required height and in conjunction with certain kitchen utensils in order to form a practical lay-out for preparing food. Smaller kitchens or kitchenettes may make use of a free¬ standing cooker standing on a work surface consisting of one or two cookplates which are controlled by knobs e.g. on the front of the cooker and supported by small legs. This kind of cooker serves a useful purpose and may be stored in case there is a severe space restriction. It is frequently desirable to have access to a variety of dedicated cookplates, not necessarily simultaneously, and one free-standing cooker of the kind described will frequently not provide this variety. One solution for this problem is to store e.g. two cookers and to use one at a time. This is felt to be impractical in that one has to be disconnected and stored and the other connected in the actual situation of use. The invention aims to redress this situation in that the cooker is particular by comprising two surfaces which have different configurations which are put in use by using the upwards facing surface. This configuration permits the retaining of one electrical supply which does not need to be broken or changed. The cooker does not take up more space than one which has a single function only. In practical use the cooker may be flipped during the preparation of food while it must be considered that certain uses may require a heat resisting layer on the table to face a heated surface which is flipped down. All in all this configuration is a most useful one. Another aspect of the invention relates to the type of heating element which is useful in a configuration as that described above. One manner of constructing a double-faced cooker would be to provide a body with openings on both sides into which are fitted traditional heating elements or induction heating elements. The latter are characterised by consisting only of coils and a core structure for concentrating the field, the whole being driven by an electronic converter of mains power into high-frequency (typically 25-45 kHz) power. This type of construction does not derive any advantage from the fact that the construction is designed to be double-faced, each function is simply repeate . It is another purpose of the invention to provide an improved energy supplying element for particular use in a double-sided cooker. This is obtained in that opposing elements are integrated back to back so that the height of the element corresponds to the required distance between the two faces of the cooker. This distance is smaller in the case of the invention than in a normal case of mounting two traditional elements back to back. In the case of a radiant heating element one such unit has an integral insulating body in which two systems of radiant heat elements, such as heating coils, are fitted. A radiant heating element typically consists of a number of heating wires or coils at the bottom of a well in insulating material. The required insulation thickness for efficient direction of the radiant heat does not need to be doubled at the bottom of each heat radiating well. An advantageous embodiment is constructed by means of a plate of insulating material separating the two sets of heating wire or coil on either side of the heater, each face of said plate being joined to a ring of insulating material. In this way a complex molding operation for insulating material may be avoided, and the heating element will be made out of standard parts . The plate may be structurally strong in order to support the heating wire or coils and the rings may be made of a more "fluffy" ceramic material which combines low weight with high insulation efficiency and heat tolerance. In the case of an induction heating element, the core structures may be integrated into one unit, thereby eliminating the need for a separate flux path for each set of field lines. That part of the core structure which forms the dividing line between the two induction heating elements needs one thickness only, thereby reducing the weight of the double sided cooker to less than double the weight of two single-sided cookers back- to-back and at the same time obtaining the advantage of a reduced thickness of the complete double-face cooker. As mentioned above, the power supply to the cooker may be permanent, and a particular advantage may be obtained by letting a gravity controlled switch decide which face, namely that facing upwards at the time, should be energized. A cooker according to the invention may be stored away, not only in a traditional cupboard, but more advantageously in a vertical well formed in the worktop or unit top. The power supply may be taken permanently from the bottom of the well, and a safety device may consist in yet another gravity controlled switch ensuring the total disconnection of power to the cooker when it is vertical rather than horizontal. The invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the drawing, in which Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of a double-sided cooker, Fig. 2 shows embodiments of double-sided heating elements, arid Fig. 3 shows an embodiment of a double-sided element built of separate parts. In Fig. 1 is shown a double-sided cooker 1 resting on a worktop T with heating element 2 facing upwards and element 3 facing downwards. The cooker 1 is positioned next to a well 4 in the worktop. Only one heating element is shown, although there is obviously room for others next to the one shown. The heating element consists of an insulating body 5 supporting two sets of heating wires or coils 6 and 6' . In Fig. 2 are shown three different configurations of double-sided heating elements which all have essentially circular top and bottom surfaces. In Fig. 2c is shown one embodiment where it is possible to turn the cooker in such a way that greater part of the cooker surface is a heater, e.g. for frying. In Fig. 3 is shown a principle of construction of a heating element according to the invention. An insulating plate 7 is provided on each side with heating coils or wires 6 and 6' which are surrounded by cicular rings 8 and 8' for for providing sideways insulation, i.e. upwards direction of the heat radiation. Both sides of the double-sided cooker are supplied with vitro- ceramic plates 9 and 9' . Various supporting brackets for fixing the heating element and the vitro-ceramic plates into the double-sided cooker are not shown. In all the described embodiments it is equally possible to use induction energy transfer elements instead of heating elements, and embodiments in which coils and surrounding magnetic and thermally stable material are integrated in to a solid block will constitute a very stable and useful combination of features for a cooker. The use of the induction principle for this application has the great advantage that there is no residual heat which might compromise the worktop when the double-sided heater is flipped.

Claims: P A T E N T C L A I M S 1. A cooker, in particular for placing on a surface and comprising a plurality of heating elements or other elements capable of transferring energy to a cooking vessel, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the heating elements or other elements are placed back- to back in an integral fashion in a common support. 2. A cooker according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that only the heating elements or other elements facing upwards are energized in use. 3. A cooker according to claim 1 or 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that opposing elements are integrated back to back so that the height of the element corresponds to the required distance between the two faces of the cooker. 4. A cooker according to claim 3 using heating elements, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that it comprises a plate of insulating material separating the two sets of heating wire or coil on either side of the heater, each face of said plate being joined to a ring of insulating material . 5. A cooker according to claims 1-3 using induction heating elements, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the core struc¬ tures are integrated into one unit. 6. A cooker according to any of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that a gravity controlled switch controls the energizing of the upwards facing heating element or other element. 7. A cooker according to any of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that a gravity controlled switch controls the switching-off of the cooker when it is stowed vertically in a well in a worktop or unit top.

Inventors: ESKILDSEN CHRISTIAN, MOREAU ALAIN, ESKILDSEN, CHRISTIAN, MOREAU, ALAIN
Applicants: ELECTROLUX AB, ESKILDSEN CHRISTIAN, MOREAU ALAIN, AKTIEBOLAGET ELECTROLUX, ESKILDSEN, CHRISTIAN, MOREAU, ALAIN
Application year: 1996
Main classification: H05B3
IPC codes: H05B3, H05B6