Cooking appliance unit and cooking appliance base frame

Abstract

A cooking appliance unit has a movable cooking appliance base frame, by which the cooking appliance attached thereto is height-adjustable, more specifically as a function of the operating situation of the cooking appliance. The cooking appliance includes a controller which is configured to automatically adjust the height of the cooking pan as a function of the operating situation.

Claims

1. A cooking appliance unit comprising a cooking appliance base frame including a lifting system having at least one drive, by which the cooking appliance base frame is height-adjustable, for varying the pan height above the floor, and comprising a cooking appliance supported by the cooking appliance base frame and having at least one heatable pan, and a controller fir vertically adjusting the cooking appliance base frame, wherein the controller is configured to automatically vertically adjust the cooking appliance base frame so as to adjust the height of the pan as a function of the operating situation.

2. The cooking appliance unit according to claim 1, wherein the base frame and the cooking appliance form a structural unit.

3. The cooking appliance unit according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to vertically adjust the cooking appliance base frame as a function of the operating situation in the form of the operating mode of the cooking appliance.

4. The cooking appliance unit according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to vertically adjust the height of the cooking appliance base frame as a function of the operating situations in the form of cooking path phases.

5. The cooking appliance unit according to claim 4, wherein the controller is configured such that individual pan heights can be stored in it by a permanently provided operating unit for operating situations.

6. The cooking appliance unit according to claim 5, wherein the controller is configured such that individual pan basic heights and/or for different users can be stored in it by a permanently provided operating unit.

7. The cooking appliance unit according to claim 1, wherein the at least one pan is swivel-mounted.

8. The cooking appliance unit according to claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to adjust the height of the pan as a function of the pan angle.

9. The cooking appliance unit according to claim 8, wherein the controller is programmed such that the pan is moved downward tier emptying the pan by tilting it downward.

10. The cooking appliance unit according to claim 7, wherein the controller is programmed such that the pan is moved downward for emptying the pan by tilting it downward.

11. The cooking appliance unit according to claim 1, wherein specific vertical heights for the pan are stored in the controller at least for one of the following operating situations: loading the pan with food to be cooked; cooking the food to be cooked; tilting the pan for emptying; cleaning the pan; cooking employing an accessory part inserted into the pan; positioning an accessory part that can be moved up to the cooking appliance unit; and opening and closing the cover.

12. The cooking appliance unit according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured such that different user profiles with different pan heights can be stored in it.

13. The cooking appliance unit according to claim 1, wherein the controller for adjusting the height of the pan is also the controller for the cooking processes.

14. A cooking appliance base frame for a cooking appliance having at least one heatable pan, comprising a lifting system having at least one drive, by which the cooking appliance base frame is height-adjustable, for varying the pan height above the floor, and a top side of the base frame onto which the cooking appliance can be placed, the cooking appliance base frame being a structural unit separate from the cooking appliance so that the cooking appliance can be placed into the top side of the base frame, and wherein the cooking appliance base frame has a plurality of independently movable drives.

15. The cooking appliance base frame according to claim 14, comprising a communication interface with the cooking appliance, via which the lifting system can be electronically coupled to the controller of the cooking appliance.

16. The cooking appliance base frame according to claim 15, wherein the at least one drive is an electric motor drive or a hydraulic or pneumatic drive.

17. The cooking appliance base frame according to claim 15, wherein at least one guide is provided by which an upper part of the base frame is vertically displaceable in relation to a floor-side part.

18. The cooking appliance base frame according to claim 14, Wherein the at least one drive is an electric motor drive or a hydraulic or pneumatic drive.

19. The cooking appliance base frame according to claim 14, wherein at least one guide is provided by which an upper part of the base frame is vertically displaceable in relation to a floor-side part.

20. The cooking appliance base frame according to claim 19, wherein an operating unit by which the drive can be activated and deactivated.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In the drawings:

(2) FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a cooking appliance unit according to the invention; and

(3) FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a cooking appliance base frame according to the invention with a cooking appliance that can be positioned thereon to form a cooking appliance unit according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(4) FIG. 1 illustrates a cooking appliance unit 6, with a cooking appliance base frame 8 and a cooking appliance 10, which forms a structural unit with the cooking appliance base frame 8.

(5) The cooking appliance 10 comprises a central bridge 14, on each side of which a respective swivel-mounted pan 18 is attached. The right-hand pan 16 is depicted tilted forward in an emptying position, white the left-hand pan 16 is depicted in a horizontal position, in which a cooking operation takes place. For example, in the area of the central bridge 14, a controller 18 for the entire cooking appliance unit 6 is accommodated in the interior of the central bridge.

(6) Each pan 16 can be closed by its own swiveling cover 20; the opening and closing movements may be performed manually and/or by motor. The pans 16 are swiveled by motor.

(7) The cooking appliance base frame 8 is height-adjustable by motor and comprises a floor-side part 22 and an upper part 24 which is vertically adjustable in relation to the floor-side part and is firmly connected to the cooking appliance 10 or forms part of it.

(8) The height adjustment is effected by means of a lifting system 26, which is accommodated in the interior of the base frame 8 and comprises, for example, a plurality of electric-motor, hydraulic and/or pneumatic drives 28, which are attached to the floor-side part 22, on the one hand, and to the upper part 24, on the other hand.

(9) In addition to the drives, one or more guides 30 may be provided, for example linear guides, to hold the upper part 24 relative to the lower part 22 laterally during vertical displacement.

(10) Only by way of example, FIG. 1 illustrates a bellows 32 between the parts 22, 24, which covers the variable gap that occurs during height adjustment.

(11) Of course, a housing of the upper part 24 may also protrude around a section of the lower part 22 to allow a gap-free adjustment. In any case it is ensured that there is no risk of injury to the operator.

(12) Also, the cooking appliance base frame 8 need not, of course, have a box-shaped base frame as shown in FIG. 1; there may also be provided a frame with a narrow central column or two lateral feet or the like or a rear wall which allows adjustment and mechanically couples the two parts 22, 24 to each other.

(13) The controller 18 is coupled to the drives 28 to activate or deactivate them in a controlled manner. An operating unit 34, here in the form of a touch screen, is coupled to the controller 18.

(14) The cooking appliance 10 can be used to implement various operating modes such as, e.g., frying, deep-frying, cooking, pressure cooking, etc.; for this operating mode, different cooking path phases are either stored in the controller or can be initiated one after the other by the operator.

(15) Various cooking processes which the cooking appliance 10 carries out automatically are also stored in the controller 18. Cooking path phases are, for example, loading, cooking, possibly in several stages, unloading or emptying, and cleaning the pans 16.

(16) These operating modes and cooking path phases constitute operating situations. Depending on one or more operating situations, the height of the pans 16 can be and is automatically set and adjusted. The following non-exhaustive examples are explained in this context.

(17) Stored in the controller 18 are individual pan heights that are specific to the different operating modes and, if required, partly individual or individual for each operating mode. This may alternatively or additionally also apply to individual cooking path phases or all cooking path phases. If the operator selects deep-frying, for example, the pans 16 are moved to a very low position by means of the drives 28 for loading purposes, so that an accessory component, e.g. a deep-fryer basket, can be inserted into the pans 16 as easily as possible, even for short users.

(18) Subsequently, during deep-frying, the cooking appliance base frame 8 is moved up to give the operator a better view of the food to be cooked and allow him or her to grasp and shake the deep-fryer baskets more easily. At the end of the deep-frying process, the cooking appliance base frame is then moved back to a low position, which may be either the loading position or below or slightly above it.

(19) The individual cooking path phases can either be called up individually by the operator, or they are executed one after the other through stored cooking processes with successively running cooking path phases.

(20) The controller is thus configured to automatically adjust the height of the pans 16 as a function of the operating situation.

(21) Specific vertical heights for the pans 16 (the so-called pan heights) are stored in the controller 18 for at least some of the following operating situations: loading the pans 16 with food to be cooked; cooking the food to be cooked; tilting the pans 16 for emptying; cleaning the pans; cooking by means of an accessory part, such as the above-mentioned deep-fryer basket, that can be placed in at least one pan 16; positioning an accessory part that can be moved up to the cooking appliance unit 6; and opening and closing the cover.

(22) The approach of the accessory component can be detected, for example, by the accessory part containing an RFID chip that can be detected by the cooking appliance unit 6, so that as from its detection the cooking appliance is moved to the appropriate height. This allows, for example, an oil trolley to be moved up and the pans 16 are then brought to the pre-programmed height automatically or after the operating unit 34 has been appropriately touched.

(23) The pan height is measured from the upper edge 36 of the pan 16 to the floor 38.

(24) The controller 18 is configured such that an operator can store individual pan heights using the operating unit 34 for operating situations, e.g. for the operating modes and/or the cooking path phases. These pan heights can also be set individually for each operator separately, adjusted to his or her body height or to his or her preferences for carrying out specific activities at particular pan heights.

(25) Individual, so-called pan basic heights can also be stored for different users, starting from which, for example, the pan height can be individually adjusted.

(26) The pan heights can be stored individually for different users, including for operating modes and/or cooking path phases. In this way, each user can create and save his or her profile for the pan heights as a function of operating modes and/or cooking path phases.

(27) Depending on the user, there may be preferences, for example, as to which height should be used for which cooking process or how the pan heights should be varied in a cooking process.

(28) The embodiment according to FIG. 2 shows a cooking appliance base frame 8′ for a cooking appliance 10, which can be placed on a top side 40 of the upper part 24 and can be released from it again. The cooking appliance 10 and the cooking appliance base frame 8′ are structurally separate units here.

(29) The overall mode of operation may be similar to or the same as that of the cooking appliance unit according to FIG. 1, which has been discussed above.

(30) The cooking appliance base frame 8′ has an electronic communication interface 42, via which, for example by way of a cable or cables, a control-related communication with the cooking appliance 10 can take place. The cooking appliance 10 has an appropriate communication interface 44.

(31) Using these communication interfaces 42, 44, it is theoretically possible to actuate the lifting system 26 by means of the controller 18, as described above.

(32) Alternatively to this, the cooking appliance base frame 8′ has its own controller 46, as well as its own operating unit 48, which alone could be used to adjust the height of the top side 40 to adjust the cooking appliance 10. In this case, two operating units 34, 48 are provided.

(33) In the embodiment according to FIG. 2, the guides 30 may possibly be integrated in the drives 28, as is indicated in FIG. 2, so that separate guides 30 are no longer absolutely necessary.

(34) Furthermore, in the cooking appliance unit 6 according to FIG. 1 and the cooking appliance base frame 8 according to FIG. 2, it may be programmed in the controller 18 that the pan height is set as a function of the pan angle. To empty a pan 16, the cooking appliance base frame 8 will then move down automatically, for example in this case to a predefined position.

(35) If it is intended to make the pans 16 individually height-adjustable, they are not swivel-mounted to a central bridge 14, but to a bridge of their own, which then has one or more separate drives 28 that can be moved independently of the drive or drives of the other bridge.