STONE-LINING FOR OVEN

Abstract

A lining construction (10) for an oven (40), has a top panel (11), a base panel (12), a rear panel (13), a left side panel (14) and a right side panel (15), constructed from a stone material, such as engineered stone. The top panel (11), base panel (12), rear panel (13), left side panel (14) and right side panel (15) are supported on a structural framework (16) to form a lining cassette (20). The lining cassette (20) can then be engaged with and secured in a housing (32) of a range cooker (30), via mounting brackets (21). A single modular construction of lining cassette (20) can be combined with different sizes and configurations of housing (32) to provide an array of range cookers (30) with different configurations and numbers of ovens (40).

Claims

1. A lining construction for an oven, said lining construction comprising a top panel, a base panel, a rear panel, and left and right side panels, wherein at least two of said panels are constructed from a stone material.

2. The lining construction as claimed in claim 1, wherein all of said panels are constructed from a stone material.

3. The lining construction as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stone material is engineered stone.

4. The lining construction as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stone panels have a thickness of substantially 20 mm.

5. The lining construction as claimed in claim 1, wherein said panels are assembled in a structural framework thereby to form a lining cassette.

6. The lining construction as claimed in claim 5, wherein the structural framework is constructed from steel.

7. The lining construction as claimed in claim 5, wherein the lining cassette further comprises a layer of heat conductive material between the panels and the structural framework.

8. The lining construction as claimed in claim 7, wherein the heat conductive material comprises at least one of graphite and graphene.

9. An oven having a top panel, a base panel, a rear panel, and left and right side panels, wherein at least two of said panels are constructed from a stone material, and further comprising a door forming a front panel, said door and said panels together defining an oven chamber.

10. The oven as claimed in claim 9 having a lining construction, comprising a top panel, a base panel, a rear panel, and left and right side panels, wherein at least two of said panels are constructed from a stone material, and wherein the door and the lining construction together define the oven chamber.

11. The oven as claimed in claim 10 having a lining construction wherein said panels are assembled in a structural framework thereby to form a lining cassette, wherein the door and the lining cassette together define the oven chamber.

12. The oven as claimed in claim 11, further comprising high density insulation pads arranged externally of the lining cassette.

13. The oven as claimed in claim 9, being an electric oven.

14. The oven as claimed in claim 13, comprising one or more electric heating elements, arranged such that the panels convey radiant indirect heat from said heating element to the oven chamber.

15. The oven as claimed in claim 14, wherein a said electric heating element is located beneath the base panel.

16. The oven as claimed in claim 14, wherein a said electric heating element is located above the top panel.

17. A range cooker having one or more ovens, said one or more ovens each having a top panel, a base panel, a rear panel, and left and right side panels, wherein at least two of said panels are constructed from a stone material, and further comprising a door forming a front panel, said door and said panels together defining an oven chamber.

18. The range cooker as claimed in claim 17, having two ovens both heated by the same electric heating element.

19. The range cooker as claimed in claimed in claim 17, further comprising an external housing.

20. The range cooker as claimed in claim 19, wherein at least one of the external housing and/or the door are constructed from steel.

Description

[0024] In order that the present invention may be clearly understood, a preferred embodiment thereof will now be described in detail, though only by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0025] FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the components of an oven lining construction according to the first aspect of the present invention;

[0026] FIGS. 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d and 2e are, respectively, top, left side, bottom, front, and right side views of the components of FIG. 1 assembled to form a lining cassette;

[0027] FIG. 3 shows a top/front perspective view of a range cooker according to the third aspect of the present invention;

[0028] FIG. 4 shows front/side perspective view of the range cooker of FIG. 3, with the ovens open; and

[0029] FIG. 5 shows an enlarged front view of an open oven of the range cooker of FIG. 4.

[0030] Referring first to FIG. 1, there is shown an exploded view of the components of an oven lining construction, generally indicated 10, according to the first aspect of the present invention. The lining construction 10 comprises a top panel 11, a base panel 12, a rear panel 13, a left side panel 14 and a right side panel 15. All of the panels 11 to 15 are constructed from engineered stone with a thickness of 20 mm.

[0031] A structural framework 16 is provided, to which the stone panels 11 to 15 are secured during assembly, in order to form a lining cassette 20, as will be described in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 2a to 2e. The structural framework 16 is formed of mild steel. When assembled, the top panel 11, left side panel 14 and right side panel 15 are all secured to the inner surfaces of the structural framework 16. The base panel 12 and rear panel 13 are secured across the respective open faces of the structural framework 16, to form five sides partially defining an oven chamber, generally indicated 18, therewithin. The sixth side defining the oven chamber 18 is provided by an oven door 31 when the lining cassette 20 is assembled in a range cooker 30, as will be described in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

[0032] A perforated panel 17 is provided beneath the base panel 12. When assembled to form an oven 40 in a range cooker 30, the perforated panel 17 overlies the heating element (not shown) and regulates the even flow of heat to the base panel 12 and around the other stone panels 11 and 13 to 15 defining the oven chamber 18.

[0033] Other components of the lining construction 10 shown in FIG. 1 include mounting brackets 21 which enable the lining cassette 20 to engage in and be secured to a housing 32 of a range cooker 30. FIG. 1 also shows components of an oven tunnel 22, adapted to engage with an oven door 32 when assembled in range cooker 30, and a base support 23 for the perforated panel 17. As can also be seen, components of a vent 24 are provided, adapted to communicate with the oven chamber 18 via apertures 25 formed in the left side panel 14 and the structural framework 16.

[0034] Referring now simultaneously to FIGS. 2a to 2e, these show the components of the lining construction 10 of FIG. 1, now assembled to form a lining cassette 20. As noted above with reference to FIG. 1, the top panel 11, left side panel 14 and right side panel 15 are all secured to inner surfaces of the structural framework 16. Thus, in each of FIGS. 2a, 2b and 2e, the visible external surface is that of the structural framework 16, with the respective top 11, left side 14 and right side 15 panels being secured to the inner surface (not visible in FIGS. 2a, 2b, 2e) of the structural framework 16. Similarly in FIG. 2c, the visible external surface is the perforated panel 17 and the base support 23, with the base panel 12 being arranged to overlie the upper surface (not visible in FIG. 2c) of the perforated panel 17. In FIG. 2d, the rear panel 13 is visible through the oven tunnel 22.

[0035] As can be seen, the upper surface of the structural framework 16, and the lower surface of the base support 23, are each provided with a pair of mounting brackets 21. These enable the lining cassette 20 to engage with and be secured in a housing 32 of a range cooker 32, as will be described in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. It is intended that a single modular construction of lining cassette 20 may be utilised in combination with different housings 32 to provide an array of range cookers 30 of different sizes and with different numbers and configurations of ovens 40.

[0036] Referring now simultaneously to FIGS. 3 to 5, there is shown an assembled range cooker 30 according to the third aspect of the present invention. The range cooker 30 is formed with a stainless steel housing 32 in which lining cassettes 20 according to a preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention are mounted, thereby to define ovens 40. This particular embodiment of range cooker 30 has three ovens 40, though an array of different sizes and configurations of range cooker 30 may be provided, with different numbers and configurations of ovens 40.

[0037] Each oven 40 has a door 31, which provides the sixth side of the oven chamber 18 defined together with the lining cassette 20 supporting the stone panels 11 to 15. The oven chambers 18 can be seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, though due to the angle of the image, only the base panels 12 and right side panels 15 are visible.

[0038] The housing 32 also has a fourth door 33, shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 carrying manufacturer's branding. The fourth door 33 provide access to a control panel (not shown) including thermostatic controls, timing controls, etc. In common with conventional constructions, the range cooker 30 also comprises a hob 34 and hob covers 35. The hob 34 may desirably be heated by the same heating element (not shown) as one or more of the ovens 40.