Microwave oven

Abstract: A fan housing configured for incorporation during assembly into a microwave oven is disclosed and includes an outlet (112) through which air is directed. A filter is directly mounted to the fan housing (110) over the outlet (112). In the preferred embodiment, there are two fan housings (110) each having an outlet (112) and a filter (108) directly mounted to each fan housing (110) over each outlet (112).

Description: The present invention relates to a fan housing configured for incorporation during assembly into an air duct in a microwave oven, the housing having an outlet through which air is directed into the air duct by a fan disposed in the housing. Such a fan housing is known from US-A-4418261. A microwave oven is an appliance that utilizes microwave energy to cook food. Typically, a microwave oven is mounted to a wall above a gas or electric hob of a conventional stove and incorporates a ventilator for filtering cooking odours. A conventional microwave oven is illustrated in Figure 4 and includes a main body 10 defining a cooking chamber 11 and an electrical component compartment 12. The front of the cooking chamber 11 has a door 13 is hingedly mounted to one side of the main body 10 to enable the cooking chamber to be opened and closed. The electrical component compartment 12 contains a magnetron 12a for generating microwave energy and for directing it into the cooking chamber 11, and a high-voltage transformer 12b for providing a high voltage to the magnetron 12a. A control panel 14 on the front of the electrical component compartment 12 enables the cooking operation to be controlled. An air vent 40 is formed in the bottom of the main body 10 beneath the cooking chamber 11 to allow for the inflow of odour, smoke, etc. from foodstuffs being cooked on the hob beneath the microwave oven. The air entering the vent 40 is filtered and is directed back into the room. A conventional ventilator is illustrated in Figure 5 and comprises an upper duct 18 located in an upper portion of the main body 10 for guiding air that is introduced via the air vents 40 back outside. The front of the upper duct 18 is provided with a grill 20. A pair of duct cases 15, each having an air intake 15a and an air outlet 15b, are mounted towards the rear of the upper duct 18 and a fan 16 is installed within each of them. An electric motor 17 is positioned between the duct cases 15 and is connected to the fans 16. The upper duct 18 also includes a filter 19 vertically supported on each side by a pair of rails 21 to filter air before it passes through the grill 20. When the microwave oven is operated, the high voltage transformer 12b energizes the magnetron 12a which emits microwave energy to direct it into the cooking chamber 11 to cook food in the cooking chamber 11. At the same time, the ventilator operates to suck odour, smoke, etc. created by the food being cooked on the hob beneath the microwave in through the air vent 40 formed on the bottom of the main body 10, and through right and left paths (not illustrated) of the main body 10. The air is passed through the filter 19 via the outlets 15b of the duct cases 15 and is filtered thereby before being reintroduced back into the room through the grill 20. A problem with the conventional microwave oven filter described above is that it must be of a sufficient size to extend across the whole of the air duct 18 to ensure that all the air passing through the duct case 15 is filtered before being reintroduced into the room, even though a filter of such a large size is not required. The increase in size of the filter disadvantageously increases the manufacturing cost of the microwave oven and decreases its efficiency. It is an aim of the present invention to overcomes or substantially alleviate the problems associated with the conventional air filtering technique. A fan housing according to the present invention is characterised in that a filter is directly mounted to the fan housing over the outlet. In the preferred embodiment, the filter is co-extensive with the outlet. Preferably, the filter is removeably mounted. Preferably, the or each filter is located between two pairs of elongate protrusions, each pair being formed on the fan housing on opposite sides of the outlet. Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a cut-away perspective view of a microwave oven in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a filter assembly for a microwave oven in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a filter assembly for a microwave oven in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 is a perspective view of a conventional microwave oven from the bottom; Figure 5 is a cut-away perspective view of a conventional microwave oven. A cut-away perspective view of a microwave oven is illustrated in Figure 1 and includes a main body 100 defining a cooking chamber 101, and an electrical component compartment 102. A door 103 is hingedly mounted to the front of the cooking chamber 101 to enable it to be opened and closed. The electrical component compartment 102 contains a magnetron 102a for producing microwave energy and for directing it into the cooking chamber 101, and a high voltage transformer 102b for applying high voltage to the magnetron 102. A control panel 104 is mounted on the front of the electrical component compartment 102 to enable the microwave oven to be controlled. The microwave oven also has a ventilator for filtering odour, smoke, etc. generated by the cooking process by a hob, disposed beneath the microwave oven, and for filtering air circulating around a kitchen or room. The ventilator includes an upper duct 120 mounted on an upper part of the cooking chamber 101, a path (not illustrated) on both sides of the main body 100 for guiding the outside air flowing through the main body 100, and a grill 107 installed at the front of the upper duct 120 for venting air to the outside. The ventilator includes a pair of fan housings 110 each having an intake 111 and an outlet 112 in the rear of the upper duct 120. A fan 105 is housed in each of the fan housings 110 for providing a flow of air, and a motor 106 is interposed between the fan housings 110 for rotating the fans 105 simultaneously. The upper fan duct 120 has filters 108 for filtering air before air is vented to the room through the grill 107. As shown in Figure 2, the filters 108 are directly mounted to the outlets 112 formed on the front of the fan housings 110, and are of the same size as each of the outlets 112. A pair of rails 113 are each formed at upper and lower portions of the respective outlets 112 and the filters 108 are inserted between them and are retained in position thereby. That is, both upper and lower edges of the filters 108 are inserted between the rails 113 in a manner that the filters 108 are fixed to the outlet 112. A perspective view of a filter assembly for a microwave oven in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in Figure 3. Similar reference numerals denote similar reference parts throughout the preferred embodiments of the present invention. This embodiment is identical to the embodiment described above except that the whole of the front of the fan housings 110 provide the outlets 112 and the filters are correspondingly larger to cover the outlets 112. The filters of the preferred embodiments are each directly mounted to the front of the outlets of the respective duct cases, and may be of the same size as that of the respective outlets of the duct cases. This results in a reduction in the size of the filters thus lowering the overall production costs.

Claims: A fan housing configured for incorporation into an air duct in a microwave oven, the housing having an outlet (112) through which air is directed into the air duct by a fan disposed in the housing, characterised in that a filter (108) is directly mounted to the fan housing (110) over the outlet (112). A fan housing according to claim 1, wherein the filter is co-extensive with the outlet. A fan housing according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the filter (108) is removably mounted. A fan housing according to claim 3, wherein the filter (108) is located between two pairs of elongate protrusions (113), each pair being formed on the fan housing (110) on opposite sides of the outlet (112). A microwave oven including a fan housing according to any preceding claim. A microwave oven having a plurality of fan housings, each fan housing being in accordance with any of claims 1 to 4.

Inventors: KANG JUN-HONG, KIM SUN-KI, KANG, JUN-HONG, KIM, SUN-KI
Applicants: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD, SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
Application year: 1997
Main classification: H05B6
IPC codes: H05B6, F24C7