Glass-ceramic worktop

Abstract

The present invention relates to an advantageously interactive item of furniture and/or appliance comprising: at least one worktop formed from at least one substrate made of a monolithic glazing material and of area larger than 0.7 m.sup.2, said substrate having a lightness L* higher than 10, a light transmission T.sub.L lower than 50%, an opacity indicator higher than 90, and if needs be a haze higher than 15%; at least one heating element; at least one light source, in particular intended to light up one or more zones or one or more elements or displays of the substrate, in particular by projection, this source for example being located plumb with the substrate; and at least one interface for communicating with at least one element of the worktop such as the one or more light sources and/or the one or more heating elements and/or if needs be wirelessly with at least one external element.

Claims

1. An article of furniture and/or appliance, the article comprising: at least one worktop formed from one substrate made of a monolithic glazing material made of glass-ceramic and having an area larger than 2 m.sup.2, said substrate having a lightness L* higher than 10, a light transmission T.sub.L lower than 50%, an opacity indicator higher than 90, and a haze higher than 15%; at least one heating element; at least one light source configured to signal one or more zones or one or more elements or displays of the substrate by projection from above the substrate, said light source being located plumb with the substrate such that the substrate acts as a screen; and at least one communication interface, which communicates with at least one element of the worktop.

2. The article of claim 1, wherein a thickness of the substrate is at least 2 mm.

3. The article of claim 1, wherein the substrate has a flatness lower than 0.1% of a diagonal of the substrate.

4. The article of claim 1, wherein the substrate is opaque and/or weakly transmissive and is bulk tinted or colored with white or any color of lightness L* higher than 10, darker colors such as black or dark brown being excluded, and the substrate comprises a glazing material having these properties.

5. The article of claim 1, wherein the substrate or the glazing material comprises colorants and/or is equipped with a coating providing it with a different hue.

6. The article of claim 1, comprising at least one inductive heater.

7. The article of claim 1, wherein at least one cooking location on the worktop or other zone or element or function or decoration is signaled, on activation and/or permanently, by one or more light sources, or by a permanent decoration, or both.

8. The article of claim 7, wherein at least one cooking location on the worktop or other zone or element or function or decoration is signaled by at least one light source, upon activation of at least one light source, said source being placed above the substrate or on the same side as the visible face of the substrate, and allowing a luminous display to be formed via projection onto this face, which then forms a screen.

9. The article of claim 1, wherein the at least one light source is activatable via contact with a surface of the worktop, with an interface, with an external system, or a combination thereof, or by a movement.

10. The article of claim 1, comprising a plurality of light sources placed so that an angle between each source, or between each element transmitting light to the worktop, and a normal to the worktop is between 5 and 60 in order to minimize effects of shadows projected by a person using the worktop.

11. The article of claim 1, wherein the at least one communication interface enables wireless communication.

12. The article of claim 1, wherein the at least one communication interface allows various signals initiated via contact or a movement to be transmitted in order to activate various components and/or allow data to be downloaded and/or transmitted.

13. The article of claim 1, wherein the at least one communication interface allows one or more elements to be controlled.

14. The article of claim 1, wherein the at least one worktop comprises one or more functional and/or decorative coatings.

15. The article of claim 1, wherein the at least worktop is mounted on at least one or more than one supporting element thus forming, with said supporting elements, a table, an unapertured or not unit, or a counter.

16. The article of claim 1, wherein the substrate has a haze higher than 15%.

17. The article of claim 4, wherein the substrate is opaque and weakly transmissive.

18. The article of claim 17, wherein the substrate has a flatness lower than 0.1% of a diagonal of the substrate.

19. The article of claim 1, wherein the glass-ceramic comprises, by weight percent, the following constituents: SiO.sub.2: 55-70%; Al.sub.2O.sub.3: 18-24%; Li.sub.2O: 2.5-4.5%; K.sub.2O: 0-2.0%; Na.sub.2O: 0-2.0%; ZnO: 1.5-4%; MgO: 0.20-5%; CaO: 0-1%; BaO: 0-3%; SrO: 0-1.4%; TiO.sub.2: 1.8-5%; ZrO.sub.2: 0-2.5%; P.sub.2O.sub.5: 0-8%; and B.sub.2O.sub.3: 0-5%.

Description

(1) Other details and advantageous features will become more apparent below from the description of a nonlimiting embodiment of the invention, given with reference to the appended drawings in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of an item of furniture and/or appliance according to the invention;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a schematic top view of a similar item of furniture and/or appliance (the utensils on the surface and the underlying unit elements are not shown); and

(4) FIG. 3 shows a schematic side view in which a side panel of the unit (23) has been removed in order to allow certain components of the item of furniture and/or appliance to be seen.

(5) In this example the item of furniture and/or appliance (1) according to the invention comprises a unit (2) formed from a carcass (4) surmounted by a worktop (5) formed from at least one monolithic glass-ceramic substrate (6) of 2.2 m.sup.2 area. This substrate is for example a translucent white-colored plate of the same type as those sold under the reference KeraWhite by Eurokera, this plate having a smooth upper face and a smooth lower face (this face possibly also being provided with studs) and a thickness of 4 mm, and having a lightness L* of 81.51, a haze of 96.9%, a light transmission T.sub.L of 19.4% and an opacity indicator of 96.9. This substrate is for example obtained by proceeding in the way described in patent application WO9906334 but while decreasing the run speed through the ceramitization furnace by 50%.

(6) This substrate may if needs be also be colored or equipped with a resin layer on its lower face in order to give the substrate a hue, and for example is equipped with a coat of paint based on a silicone resin giving it a gray hue, the worktop (coated substrate) thus having a lightness L* of 79.45, a haze of 100%, a light transmission T.sub.L of 1.53% and an opacity indicator of 99.94, this coat having been applied to the glass-ceramic substrate after its manufacture.

(7) Alternatively, this substrate may also for example be a translucent cream-colored plate of the same type as those sold under the reference KeraBiscuit by Eurokera, this plate having a smooth upper face and a smooth lower face (this face possibly also being provided with studs), and a thickness of 4 mm, and having a lightness L* of 81.76, a haze of 95.4%, a light transmission T.sub.L of 29.17% and an opacity indicator of 98.5.

(8) In both cases, the glass-ceramic substrate obtained has a flatness of less than 2 mm (the flatness obtained being between 2 and 3 mm for a speed decreased by only 25%, and being more than 15 mm for a speed that is unchanged relative to that used in the aforementioned application to obtain a plate of standard size smaller than 0.4 m.sup.2), the flatness required to obtain good optical properties and good coupling and thermal efficiency properties in particular being lower than 3 mm and preferably lower than 2 mm.

(9) The item of furniture and/or appliance furthermore comprises in the present example three heating elements (7), inductors for example, placed under the plate (6) and fixed to a supporting member (10). These inductors are in the present case arranged in the middle of the worktop, but they could equally well be located at one end of the worktop.

(10) The item of furniture and/or appliance also comprises three light sources (8) intended to signal the cooking locations, and placed above the substrate (plumb above the worktop). These sources allow the cooking locations to be signaled, for example by way of a disk or circle of colored light (9) delimiting each location (the colors possibly if needs be being identical or different for each location) and encircling the inductors, when these sources are activated, or even when the heating elements are activated if the sources are connected to said elements via an appropriate interface. The sources (8) are for example formed by a plurality of LEDs borne by a base housed in a profile, and for example integrated into an extractor hood (14) located plumb above the worktop. These sources, apart from signaling heating zones, may also or alternatively serve to illuminate (locally or entirely) the worktop, or to display by projection various items of information, such as data to be displayed, culinary recipes (11), etc.

(11) The item of furniture and/or appliance furthermore comprises at least one interface (12) (hidden by the substrate) for communicating with the heating elements, and, if needs be, with the light sources, this interface also communicating wirelessly with an external system for example taking the form of a touch-sensitive tablet (13) for controlling the activation of various zones or functions of the plate or item of furniture and/or appliance. The external system may advantageously be movable and be kept on the worktop (FIG. 1) or be used to remotely activate (FIG. 3) various zones or functions. Alternatively or cumulatively, the interface could also comprise or be connected to an integrated control panel, located on the surface of the substrate (2), for controlling the activation of various zones and functions, in particular of the substrate.

(12) The item of furniture and/or appliance also comprises other elements, especially electrical cables (15) for the activation of the heating elements and for the activation of the sources, and comprises drawers (15) or cupboards (17) arranged in the carcass supporting the worktop, for storing various articles, etc. The item of furniture and/or appliance may also comprise other elements, for example the worktop may comprise a trim and the substrate may be coated with an optionally localized permanent decoration, an enamel decoration for example. The carcass may be unapertured or comprise various voids (such as the void (18)), or incorporate other elements (for example a built-in oven, etc.). The worktop (5) may be used for various purposes, such as for writing (as symbolized by the paper and pen (19)), to hold objects (as symbolized by the tableware (20)) while also allowing food to be cooked (as symbolized by the cooking recipients (21)), etc. If needs be, the carcass may also be replaced by supporting legs (for example only the panels 22 and 23, or four legs at the four corners, components located under the worktop in this case preferably being hidden by a localized housing of a few centimeters thickness, under the substrate) like those of a table.

(13) The item of furniture and/or appliance according to the invention may especially and advantageously be used to create a new range of interactive and multiuse units especially integrating cooking zones or a cooking function.