Patent Publication Number: US-2019186756-A1

Title: Heating Appliance, in Particular Oven

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a heating appliance, in particular to an oven, with a housing enclosing a heatable interior, wherein the interior is bounded at the rear by a rear wall and at the front by a door which in a closed position closes a housing opening allowing access to the interior, wherein at least one product support for products to be heated, which can be removed from the housing after the door has been opened, is accommodated in the housing. 
     Heating appliances of this type, e.g. baking ovens, have a housing enclosing a heatable interior, which can also be described as a muffle or baking muffle. The housing consists of a heat-resistant material, e.g. a steel material. In conventional heating appliances, the side walls of the housing are fitted with slide-in rails for product supports, in the case of a baking oven cooking product supports such as baking sheets or grids, at the side walls. At the front, the heating appliance is bounded by a door, which is designed as a downward-pivotable hatch as a rule. After the door has been opened, the interior of the housing is accessible and the product support can be pulled out together with the product. As the door is being opened, the heated air in the interior of the housing escapes to the outside. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is based on the problem or creating a heating appliance of the type referred to above which offers a higher degree of energy efficiency than conventional heating appliances. 
     This problem is solved by a heating appliance with the features of the independent claim  1 . Further developments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims. 
     The heating appliance according to the invention is characterised in that a bulkhead movably guided by guide means between an operating position located in the region of the rear wall and a closed position, in which it is pulled out into the region of the housing opening and closes the housing opening substantially completely, is located in the interior. 
     If the door is opened and the product support is pulled out, the bulkhead once again closes the interior or the cavity of the heating appliance, and the entire interior volume of heated air is lost only once. In its closed position, the bulkhead acts as a kind of door or closure and on the one hand allows the easy removal of the product support and on the other hand allows working with the door open without any further hot air flowing outside from the interior. The interior behind the bulkhead can immediately be brought up to temperature although the door is open. 
     In a further development of the invention, the bulkhead is coupled to the at least one product support by coupling means in such a way that the bulkhead can be moved by pulling out the product support from the operating position into the closed position. As in the case of common heating appliances, the handle on the product support effects the displacement of the bulkhead from its operating position into its closed position. In the closed position, the bulkhead is in the region of the housing opening, closing it substantially completely, with the result that the product support is at least partially and in particular almost completely outside the housing and can therefore be removed easily, e.g. even gripped at the sides, before it is removed from the bulkhead. 
     In principle, however, it would also be possible not to move the bulkhead from the operating position into the closed position by pulling out the product support, but rather to displace it from the operating position into the closed position by opening the door using suitable coupling means of another kind. 
     In a further development of the invention, the coupling means comprise at least one hook element and at least one hook holder for releasably holding the at least one hook element. In a particularly preferred way, the at least one hook element is located on the product support and the hook holder is located on the bulkhead. In principle, however, it would also be possible to locate the hook element on the bulkhead and the hook holder on the product support. Compared to this arrangement, however, the location of the hook element on the product support is advantageous, being easier to convert and therefore more cost-effective. Furthermore, conventional product supports can be retrofitted with such hook elements, which could also be described as hang-in hooks. 
     In a particularly preferred variant, the hook holder has several hang-in members lying on top of one another in the vertical direction of the bulkhead for hanging in an associated hook element. 
     The hang-in members are expediently located in at least one holder slot formed in the bulkhead and extending in the vertical direction and occupy the slot width of the holder slot. This has the advantage that the bulkhead has no parts which project forwards, i.e. towards the interior in the operating position, but the hang-in members are recessed in the slot, so that the bulkhead as a whole forms a flat surface interrupted by at least one holder slot and in particular by two holder slots. 
     The hang-in members are expediently designed to be pin- or bolt-like. 
     In a further development of the invention, the guide means are designed such that they are secured to the rear wall on the one hand and to the bulkhead on the other hand. 
     In a particularly preferred way, the guide means are designed such that there is no contact with the side walls. The guide means can therefore be secured to the rear wall on the one hand and to the bulkhead and the surroundings of the side walls on the other hand. 
     It is possible that the guide means have a guide linkage consisting of several guide arms, which is movable in the manner of an accordion while guiding the bulkhead between the operating position and the closing position. A telescopic guide could be used as an alternative to the accordion guide linkage. 
     For ventilating and venting the interior of the housing, at least one ventilation hole is expediently formed in the bulkhead. 
     In a particularly preferred way, the heating appliance is designed as a baking oven. In this case, the housing could be described as a muffle. The product supports would be cooking product supports in this case. The product supports, in particular the cooking product supports, could be tray- or grid-like. The cooking product supports, for example, could have the form of a baking sheet and/or a backing rack and/or grid. Several such cooking product supports are expediently assigned to the baking oven, e.g. several baking sheets or grids, but it is also possible for several cooking product supports such as baking sheets or grids to be accommodated in the interior of the housing and hooked by means of their hook elements into associated hang-in members on the holder of the bulkhead. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A preferred embodiment is illustrated in the drawing and will be explained in greater detail below. Of the drawing: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the heating appliance according to the invention, the bulkhead of the heating appliance being in the closed position. 
         FIG. 2  shows the heating appliance from  FIG. 1  without its housing, showing the guide means for guiding the bulkhead. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the heating appliance from  FIG. 1 , with housing but without bulkhead. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIGS. 1 to 3  show a preferred embodiment of the heating appliance  11  according to the invention. The heating appliance  11  is explained below using an oven, in particular a baking oven, as an example In principle, however, the invention could also be used in a steamer or a microwave, although with a microwave there is no need to retain hot air, but the invention rather focuses on the easier removal of the product support. 
     As  FIG. 1  shows in particular, the heating appliance  11  has a housing  12 , which in the case of a baking oven could also be described as a muffle or baking muffle. As a rule and in the embodiment described here, the housing  12  is rectangular or cuboid in design. It is made of a heat-resistant material, in particular a steel material. 
     The housing  12  encloses a heatable interior  13  bounded at the rear by a rear wall  14  and at the front by a door  15 . In the illustrated embodiment, the door  15  is an oven hatch which blocks access to the interior  13  in the closed position. The housing  12  further comprises to opposite side walls  16   a,    16   b,  a floor  17  and a ceiling wall  18  located opposite thereof. 
     At least one product support  19  for product to be heated is accommodated in the housing  12 . By way of example, the product support  19  is shown in the form of a baking sheet having a support section  20  and a raised edge section  21  extending around the support section  20 . 
     In the interior  13  of the housing  12 , there is located a bulkhead  22 , which is movably guided by guide means  23  between an operating position  24  located in the region of the rear wall  14  and a closed position  26 , in which it is pulled out into the region of the housing opening  25  and closes the housing opening  25  substantially completely. 
     As  FIGS. 1 and 2  show in particular, the bulkhead  22  is plate-shaped and likewise consists of a steel material. 
     The bulkhead  22  has a rectangular shape and closes the likewise rectangular housing opening  25  virtually completely in the closed position  26 , as a result of which the interior  13  now lying behind the bulkhead  22  in the closed position  26  can immediately be brought up to temperature. 
     As mentioned above, the bulkhead  22  is movably guided by guide means  23  between the operating position  24  and the closed position. 
     As  FIG. 2  shows in particular, the guide means  23  are designed such that they are secured to the rear wall  14  on the one hand and to the bulkhead  22  on the other hand. There is no contact with the side walls  16   a,    16   b.    
     As  FIG. 2  shows in particular, the guide means  23  comprise two guide units  27   a,    27   b,  each of which is, at a mutual transverse distance, joined to the housing  12  on the one hand and to the bulkhead  22  on the other hand. 
     Each of the guide units  27   a,    27   b  has a guide linkage  29   a,    29   b  consisting of several guide arms  28   a,    28   b,  which is movable in the manner of an accordion while guiding the bulkhead  22  between the operating position  24  and the closed position  26 . 
     As  FIG. 2  shows in particular, the guide arms  28   a,    28   b  are designed as pivotably connected swivel arms. 
     Each of the guide linkages  29   a,    29   b  has two swivel arms, of which a first is pivotably mounted about a housing-side first pivot axis  30   a  and a second is pivotably mounted about a product support-side second pivot axis  30   b,  the two pivot axes being pivotably connected to each other via a third pivot axis  30   c.    
     The guide means  23  are further provided with a synchronisation device (not shown) for synchronising the movement of the guide units  27   a,    27   b  during the travel of the product support  19  coupled to the guide units  27   a,    27   b  by way of the bulkhead  22 . 
     As mentioned above, the bulkhead  22  is coupled to the at least one product support  19  in the form of the baking sheet by coupling means  31  in such a way that the bulkhead  22  can be moved from the operating into the closed position  26  by pulling out the product support  19 . 
     The coupling means  31  comprise two hook elements  32   a,    32   b  on the product support  19  and associated hook holders  33   a,    33   b  on the bulkhead  22  for releasably holding the hook elements  32   a,    32   b.    
     As  FIG. 3  shows in particular, the hook elements  32   a,    32   b  are secured to the edge section  21  of the baking sheet and projects towards the rear therefrom. 
     On the bulkhead  22  there are located two hook holders  33   a,    33   b,  which lie in the region of the outer edge sides and each of which has hang-in members  34  located on top of one another in the vertical direction of the bulkhead  22  for hanging in the associated hook elements  32   a,    32   b  at the baking sheet. 
     As  FIG. 2  shows in particular, the hang-in members  34  are designed as pins or bolts and located in holder slots  34   a,    34   b  belonging to the hook holders  33   a,    33   b  and extending in the vertical direction of the bulkhead  22 , occupying the slot width of the associated holder slot  34   a,    34   b.    
     In the illustrated embodiment, there are therefore provided in the region of the two side walls of the bulkhead  22  holder slots  35   a,    35   b,  in which are located three hang-in members  34  arranged on top of one another, in particular with regular spacing. As a result, the baking sheet can be placed at different heights on the bulkhead, depending on the selection of hang-in members  34 . 
     As  FIG. 2  shows in particular, at least one ventilation hole  36 , in particular a pattern formed from several ventilation holes, is formed on the bulkhead  22  for ventilating and venting the interior  13  of the housing  12 . 
     During the operation of the oven, the door  15  is closed and the bulkhead  22  is in its operating position  24  in the region of the rear wall  14  of the housing  12 . The interior  13  is heated to a suitable temperature, so that cooking products on the baking sheets, grids or the like are heated to a corresponding temperature. At the end of the cooking process, the door  15  or oven hatch is opened, and the baking sheet can be pulled out of the housing  12  manually, but in contrast to conventional ovens, it is not yet removed from the housing  12 , but the extraction of the baking sheet causes a displacement of the bulkhead  22  from the operating position  24  into the closed position  26 , in which the housing opening  25  is substantially closed completely by the bulkhead  22 . The baking sheet is now substantially completely outside the housing  12 , but is still located on the bulkhead  22 . The bulkhead  22  screens the interior of the housing  12 , so that it can quickly be brought up to temperature again. The baking sheet can be removed from the bulkhead  22  by disengaging the hook elements from the associated hang-in members  34  on the bulkhead  22 , but it can also be gripped at the sides, thereby avoiding an unfavourable slant of the support section of the baking sheet, which may be covered by liquid such as gravy.