Patent Publication Number: US-9404662-B2

Title: Microwave appliance

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present subject matter relates generally to microwave appliances, such as over-the-range microwave appliances. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Over-the-range microwave appliances are generally mounted above a cooktop of an oven range appliance. In addition to providing for heating of food and beverage items, certain over-the-range microwave appliances include a circulation system. When activated, the circulation system can draw fumes, smoke, grease, and/or steam away from the cooktop of the oven range appliance. Circulation systems generally include a fan for drawing a flow of air into the circulation system and a filter. The circulation assembly&#39;s filter can assist with removing dust, particulates, smoke, grease and/or other undesirable substances from air passing therethrough. 
     The filter is generally removable so that the filter can be serviced or replaced. However, removing the filter and properly replacing the filter can be difficult. Due to such difficulty, filters are commonly improperly oriented or positioned within the microwave appliance. Improperly replacing the filter within microwave appliance can negatively affect the circulation system&#39;s air filtration. In particular, air can bypass the filter when the filter is improperly installed. 
     Accordingly, a microwave appliance with features for assisting installation of a filter within the microwave appliance would be useful. In addition, a microwave appliance with features for assisting proper positioning and/or orienting a filter within the microwave appliance would be useful. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present subject matter provides a microwave appliance. The microwave appliance includes a cabinet and a duct. A filter is mounted to the duct at an opening of the duct. The filter has projections that are received within channels of the duct. The projections and channels can assist with properly positioning and/or orienting the filter within the duct. Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be apparent from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention. 
     In a first exemplary embodiment, a microwave appliance is provided. The microwave appliance includes a cabinet that defines a cooking chamber. A duct is mounted to the cabinet and defines an opening. The duct also defines a first pair of channels and a second pair of channels at the opening. A filter is mounted to the duct at the opening of the duct. The filter has a first pair of projections and a second pair of projections. Each projection of the first pair of projections is received within a respective one of the first pair of channels of the duct. Each projection of the second pair of projections is received within a respective one of the second pair of channels of the duct. 
     In a second exemplary embodiment, a microwave appliance defines a vertical direction, a lateral direction and a transverse direction. The vertical, lateral and transverse directions are mutually perpendicular. The microwave appliance includes a cabinet that defines a cooking chamber and extends between a top portion and a bottom portion along the vertical direction. A duct defines an opening adjacent the top portion of the cabinet. The duct also defines a first pair of channels and a second pair of channels at the opening. A filter is positioned at the opening of the duct. The filter has a frame, a first pair of projections and a second pair of projections. The first and second pairs of projections extend from the frame along the lateral direction. Each projection of the first pair of projections is received within a respective one of the first pair of channels of the duct. Each projection of the second pair of projections is received within a respective one of the second pair of channels of the duct. 
     These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended figures. 
         FIG. 1  provides a perspective view of a microwave appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of the present subject matter mounted to a kitchen cabinet above an oven range appliance. 
         FIG. 2  provides a side, section view of the exemplary microwave appliance and the oven range appliance of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  provides a section view of a duct and a vent cover of the exemplary microwave appliance of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  provides a perspective view of a filter of the exemplary microwave appliance of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIGS. 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9  provide perspective views of the filter of  FIG. 4  in various stages of being mounted to the duct of  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. 
       FIG. 1  provides a perspective view of a microwave appliance  10  according to an exemplary embodiment of the present subject matter mounted to an upper set of kitchen cabinets  14  above an oven range appliance  12 , e.g., along a vertical direction V. Microwave appliance  10  shown in  FIG. 1  is commonly referred to as an over-the-range microwave. It should be understood that, in alternative exemplary embodiments, the present subject matter may be used in any other suitable microwave appliance. Microwave appliance  10  defines a vertical direction V, a lateral direction L and a transverse direction T. The vertical direction V, the lateral direction L and the transverse direction T are mutually perpendicular and form an orthogonal direction system. 
     As discussed above, microwave appliance  10  is mounted to upper set of kitchen cabinets  14 . Upper set of kitchen cabinets  14  is positioned above a base set of kitchen cabinets  16 , e.g., along the vertical direction V. Base set of kitchen cabinets  16  includes countertops  18  and drawers  17 . Microwave appliance  10  is positioned above base set of kitchen cabinets  16 , e.g., along the vertical direction V. Oven range appliance  12  is received within base set of kitchen cabinets  16  below microwave appliance  10 . In particular, a cooking surface  30  of oven range appliance  12  is positioned, e.g., directly, below microwave appliance  10  along the vertical direction V. Microwave appliance  10  can include features such as an air handler or fan  52  ( FIG. 2 ) that can draw cooking vapors and/or smoke away from cooking surface  30 , e.g., and out of the kitchen containing microwave and oven range appliances  10  and  12 . 
     Microwave appliance  10  is configured for receipt of food items for cooking. In particular, microwave appliance  10  includes a cabinet or casing  20  and a door  22  that permits selective access to an interior of microwave appliance  10  and casing  20 . Door  22  includes a handle  24  that a user can pull to open door in order to insert food items into microwave appliance  10 . Microwave appliance  10  also includes controls  26  that permit a user to make selections for cooking of food items, e.g., a duration of a cooking cycle of microwave appliance  10  and/or a power setting for the cooking cycle of microwave appliance  10 . 
     As discussed above, oven range appliance  12  includes cooking surface  30 . Cooking surface  30  includes heated portions  32  that may be heated by heating elements (not shown), e.g., electrical resistive heating elements, gas burners, induction heating elements, and/or any other suitable heating element of combination of heating elements. Oven range appliance  12  also includes a door  36  that permits access to a heated compartment (not shown) of oven range appliance  12 , e.g., for cooking or baking of food items therein. A control panel  34  of oven range appliance  12  can permit a user to make selections for cooking of food items, e.g., a duration of a cooking cycle of oven range appliance  12  and/or a power setting for the cooking cycle of oven range appliance  12 . 
       FIG. 2  provides a side, section view of microwave appliance  10  and oven range appliance  12 . As may be seen in  FIG. 2 , casing  20  extends between a top portion  42  and a bottom portion  44 , e.g., along the vertical direction V. Thus, top and bottom portions  42  and  44  of casing  20  are spaced apart from each other, e.g., along the vertical direction V. Casing  20  defines a cooking chamber  40  configured for receipt of food items for cooking. Door  22  of microwave appliance  10  permits selective access to cooking chamber  40  of casing  20 . In particular, door  22  of microwave appliance  10  is selectively adjustable between an open position (not shown) and a closed position ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ). In the closed position, door  22  of microwave appliance  10  hinders access to cooking chamber  40  of casing  20 . Conversely, door  22  of microwave appliance  10  permits access to cooking chamber  40  of casing  20  in the open position. A user can pull on handle  24  of door  22  of microwave appliance  10  in order to shift door  22  from the closed position shown in  FIG. 2  to the open position. 
     Casing  20  also includes or defines a circulation duct or conduit  46 . Circulation conduit  46  has an inlet  48  and an outlet  50 . Circulation conduit  46  extends between inlet  48  and outlet  50 . Inlet  48  of circulation conduit  46  is positioned at or adjacent bottom portion  44  of casing  20 , e.g., such that inlet  48  of circulation conduit  46  faces cooking surface  30  of oven range appliance  12 . Conversely, outlet  50  of circulation conduit  46  is positioned at or adjacent top portion  42  of casing  20 , e.g., such that outlet  50  of circulation assembly  46  faces away from cooking surface  30  of oven range appliance  12 . Thus, inlet  48  and outlet  50  of circulation conduit  46  are spaced apart from each other, e.g., along the vertical direction V. Circulation conduit  46  may be formed by a discrete component mounted to casing  20  and/or be integrally formed with casing  20 . 
     Microwave appliance  10  also includes a fan  52 , such as an axial fan or a radial fan. Fan  52  is positioned within or adjacent circulation conduit  46 . Fan  52  draws or urges a flow of air (shown with arrows F) through circulation conduit  46  when fan  52  is in an activated state. Conversely, fan  52  does not draw or urge flow of air F through circulation conduit  46  when fan  52  is in a deactivated state. When fan  52  is in the activated state, flow of air F enters circulation conduit  46  at or through inlet  48  of circulation conduit  46 . Flow of air F is directed through circulation conduit  46  to outlet  50 , and flow of air F can exit circulation conduit  46  at outlet  50  of circulation conduit  46 . 
     A grease filter  54  is positioned within circulation conduit  46 . In particular, grease filter  54  is positioned at or adjacent inlet  48  of circulation conduit  46 . Grease filter  54  can assist with removing or filtering grease or other large particles from flow of air F when flow of air F passes through grease filter  54  at inlet  48  of circulation conduit  46 . Grease filter  54  may be constructed with an aluminum mesh or a baffle assembly. 
     Microwave appliance  10  also includes an air filter  56 . Air filter  56  is mounted to casing  20  such that flow of air F within circulation conduit  46  passes through air filter  56  when fan  52  is in the activated state. In the exemplary embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , air filter  56  is positioned within circulation conduit  46  at outlet  50  of circulation conduit  46 . It should be understood that in alternative exemplary embodiments, air filter  56  may be positioned at any other suitable location on microwave appliance  10 . 
     As may be seen in  FIG. 2 , air filter  56  is positioned downstream of grease filter  54  in flow of air F. In such a manner, grease filter  54  can filter grease and other large particles from flow of air F before flow of air F passes through air filter  56 . Grease filter  54  can improve a lifetime of air filter  56  by removing such contaminants from flow of air F rather than air filter  56 . Thus, grease filter  54  can be configured for removing relatively large particles from flow of air F, and air filter  56  can be configured for removing relatively small particles from flow of air F. Air filter  56  can include any suitable filter or mechanism for removing particles from flow of air F. For example, air filter  56  may include a charcoal air filter medium, a high-efficiency particulate air filter medium, or an electrostatic air filter medium. 
       FIG. 3  provides a section view of circulation conduit  46  and a vent cover  70  of microwave appliance  10 . As may be seen in  FIG. 3 , circulation conduit  46  defines an opening  74 . Opening  74  of circulation conduit  46  can be positioned at any suitable location on microwave appliance  10 . For example, opening  74  of circulation conduit  46  may be positioned at or adjacent top portion  42  of casing  20 . Thus, opening  74  of circulation conduit  46  may be positioned at or adjacent outlet  50  of circulation conduit  46 . As another example, opening  74  of circulation conduit  46  may be positioned at or adjacent inlet  48  of circulation conduit  46 . 
     Vent cover  70  is mounted to circulation conduit  46  at or adjacent opening  74  of circulation conduit  46 . Vent cover  70  has an outlet grill  72 . Vent cover  70  can assist with protecting circulation conduit  46 . In particular, outlet grill  72  can be sized to permit the flow of air F ( FIG. 2 ) through vent cover  70  while also hindering or preventing relatively large objects from passing through vent cover  70  into circulation conduit  46 . 
     Circulation conduit  46  defines a first pair of channels  76  and a second pair of channels  78  at or adjacent opening  74  of circulation conduit  46  (only one channel of first and second pairs of channels  76  and  78  is shown in  FIG. 3 ). First pair of channels  76  and second pair of channels  78  can be formed in any suitable manner. For example, first and second pairs of channels  76  and  78  may be embossed or molded on circulation conduit  46 . 
     First and second pairs of channels  76  and  78  can have any suitable shape. For example, circulation conduit  46  extends between a front portion  80  and a back portion  82 , e.g., along the transverse direction T. First channels  76  may extend linearly, e.g., rectilinearly, from front portion  80  of circulation conduit  46  towards back portion  82  of circulation conduit  46 . Conversely, second channels  78  may extend arcuately from front portion  80  of circulation conduit  46  towards back portion  82  of circulation conduit  46 . Thus, first and second pairs of channels  76  and  78  may have different shapes. 
     The channels of first pair of channels  76  are spaced apart from each other, e.g., along the lateral direction L. Thus, a respective channel of first pair of channels  76  may be positioned at or adjacent each lateral side of circulation conduit  46 . The channels of second pair of channels  78  are also spaced apart from each other, e.g., along the lateral direction L. Thus, a respective channel of second pair of channels  78  may be positioned at or adjacent each lateral side of circulation conduit  46 . First pair of channels  76  may also be positioned above second pair of channels  78 , e.g., along the vertical direction V. In addition, each channel of first pair of channels  76  has an entrance  84 , and each channel of second pair of channels  78  also has an entrance  86 . Each entrance  84  of first pair of channels  76  may be positioned at a respective entrance  86  of second pair of channels  78 . 
       FIG. 4  provides a perspective view of air filter  56  of microwave appliance  10 . Air filter  56  is mountable to circulation conduit  46  ( FIG. 3 ) at opening  74  of circulation conduit  46  as discussed in greater detail below. As may be seen in  FIG. 4 , air filter  56  has a frame  58  and a filter medium  60 . Filter medium  60  is disposed or mounted within frame  58 . Filter medium  60  can be any suitable filtering medium. For example, filter medium  60  may include a charcoal air filter medium, a high-efficiency particulate air filter medium, an electrostatic air filter medium, etc. or combinations thereof. 
     Air filter  56  also includes a first pair of projections  62  and a second pair of projections  64 . First pair of projections  62  and second pair of projections  64  can be formed in any suitable manner. For example, first and second pairs of projections  62  and  64  may be mounted to, embossed or molded on frame  58 . The projections of first and second pairs of projections  62  and  64  extend from frame  58 , e.g., along the lateral direction L. First and second pairs of projections  62  and  64  are receivable within first and second pairs of channels  76  and  78 , respectively, as discussed in greater detail below. Thus, a shape of first and second pairs of projections  62  and  64  may be complementary to a shape of first and second pairs of channels  76  and  78 , respectively. 
     Air filter  56  extends between a first side portion  66  and a second side portion  68 , e.g., along the lateral direction L. A respective one of first pair of projections  62  is positioned at each of first and second side portions  66  and  68  of air filter  56 . Similarly, a respective one of second pair of projections  64  is positioned at each of first and second side portions  66  and  68  of air filter  56 . Thus, the projections of first pair of projections  62  are spaced apart from each other, e.g., along the lateral direction L, and the projections of second pair of projections  64  are spaced apart from each other, e.g., along the lateral direction L. 
       FIGS. 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9  provide perspective views of air filter  56  in various stages of being mounted to circulation conduit  46 . As may be seen in  FIG. 5 , vent cover  70  is mounted to circulation conduit  46 . Turning to  FIG. 6 , a user of microwave appliance  10  can remove vent cover  70  from circulation conduit  46  to access or expose opening  74  of circulation conduit  46 . 
     As may be seen in  FIG. 7 , the user can position and align each projection of first pair of projections  62  with a respective one of first pair of channels  76  of circulation conduit  46 , e.g., each entrance  84  of first pair of channels  76 . Turning now to  FIG. 8 , the user can slide air filter  56  into circulation conduit  46  such that each projection of first pair of projections  62  is received within a respective one of first pair of channels  76  of circulation conduit  46 . The user can continue to slide air filter  56  into circulation conduit  46  until each projection of second pair of projections  64  is aligned with and positioned at a respective one of second pair of channels  78  of circulation conduit  46 , e.g., each entrance  86  of second pair of channels  78 . 
     Turning now to  FIG. 9 , the user can drop or rotate air filter  56  downwardly such that each projection of second pair of projections  64  is received within a respective one of second pair of channels  78  of circulation conduit  46 . In addition, the user can place air filter  56  (e.g., frame  58  of air filter  56 ) against tabs  88  positioned at a bottom portion  92  of circulation conduit  46 . Tabs  88  can hinder or prevent undesired movement of air filter  56  within circulation conduit  46 . In such a manner, air filter  56  can be removably mounted within circulation conduit  46 . Vent cover  70  ( FIG. 5 ) may also be replaced on circulation conduit  46  after air filter  56  is properly positioned within circulation conduit  46 . 
     As may be seen in  FIG. 9 , circulation conduit  46  extends between a top portion  90  and a bottom portion  92 , e.g., along the vertical direction V. Circulation conduit  46  defines a height HC along the vertical direction V at or adjacent opening  74  of circulation conduit  46 , e.g., between top and bottom portions  90  and  92  of circulation conduit  46 . Turning back to  FIG. 4 , air filter  56  also extends between a top portion  94  and a bottom portion  96 . Air filter  56  defines a height HA, e.g., between top and bottom portions  94  and  96  of air filter  56 . The height HC of circulation conduit  46  and the height HA of air filter  56  can be any suitable heights. For example, the height HA of air filter  56  may be greater than the height HC of circulation conduit  46  such that air filter  56  is angled within circulation conduit  46  when air filter  56  is mounted within circulation conduit  46  as shown in  FIG. 9 . When air filter  56  is angled within circulation conduit  46 , top portion  90  of air filter  56  is positioned above bottom portion  92  of air filter  56  along the vertical direction V, but top portion  90  of air filter  56  is not aligned with or positioned directly above bottom portion  92  of air filter  56  along the vertical direction V when air filter  56  is angled within circulation conduit  46 . 
     With air filter  56  angled within circulation conduit  46 , first and second pairs of projections  62  and  64  of air filter  56  and first and second pairs of channels  76  and  78  of circulation conduit  46  can assist with properly positioning air filter  56  within circulation conduit  46 . For example, such features can provide visual and mechanical feedback to the user of microwave appliance  10  installing air filter  56  within circulation conduit  46 . In addition, due to first and second pairs of projections  62  and  64  of air filter  56 , a width of air filter  56 , e.g., along the lateral direction L, may be greater than a width of portions of circulation conduit  46 , e.g., along the lateral direction L. Thus, air filter  56  may not fit within circulation conduit  46  without positioning first and second pairs of projections  62  and  64  of air filter  56  within first and second pairs of channels  76  and  78  of circulation conduit  46  as discussed above. In such a manner, a user can be prevented or hindered from improperly positioning air filter  56  within circulation conduit  46 . 
     This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.