GLASS CERAMIC WORKTOP

Abstract

An item of equipment includes at least one worktop formed of at least one substrate made of monolithic glass material with a surface area of greater than 0.7 m.sup.2. The substrate exhibits a luminosity L* of greater than 10, a light transmission T.sub.L of less than 50%, and an opacity indicator of greater than 90. The item of equipment also includes at least one heating element and at least one interface for communication with at least one element of the worktop, such as the heating element(s), and/or with at least one external element for wireless communication. The item of equipment is devoid of light source(s).

Claims

1. An item of equipment, comprising: at least one worktop formed of at least one substrate made of monolithic glass material with a surface area of greater than 0.7 m.sup.2, said substrate exhibiting a luminosity L* of greater than 10, a light transmission T.sub.L of less than 50%, and an opacity indicator of greater than 90, at least one heating element, at least one interface for communication with at least one element of the worktop, and/or with at least one external element for wireless communication, said item of equipment additionally being devoid of light source(s).

2. The item of equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the surface area of the substrate made of glass material is greater than 0.9 m.sup.2, the thickness of said substrate is at least 2 mm, and the thickness of the substrate is less than 15 mm.

3. The item of equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the substrate made of glass material occupies at least 50% of the surface area of the worktop.

4. The item of equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the substrate is made of tempered glass or of glass-ceramic.

5. The item of equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the substrate exhibits a flatness of less than 0.1% of the diagonal of the substrate.

6. The item of equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the substrate is opaque and/or is colored or tinted in its bulk, the coloring including white and any color with a lightness L* of greater than 10, the darker colors, such as black or dark brown, being excluded, and the substrate exhibits a luminosity L* of greater than 15 and/or a haze of greater than 20%, and/or a light transmission T.sub.L of less than 32%, and/or an opacity indicator of greater than 95 and of less than or equal to 100, the glass material forming the substrate being translucent or opaque.

7. The item of equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the substrate or the glass material comprises colorants and/or is provided with a coating conferring on the substrate or the glass material a different coloring from its own coloring.

8. The item of equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the item of equipment comprises, as heating element(s), one or more inductive heating means, the heating element(s) being located in one or more zones of the substrate or uniformly distributed under the substrate.

9. The item of equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cooking locations on the worktop, straight above the heating means, and/or other zones and/or elements and/or functions and/or decorations are signaled by means of a permanent decoration.

10. The item of equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heating element(s) or other component(s) of the item of equipment are capable of being activated by contact on the surface of the worktop and/or on the interface and/or on an external unit, or by movement.

11. The item of equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the interface is configured to perform wireless communication with a unit external to the worktop.

12. The item of equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the worktop comprises one or more functional and/or decorative coatings.

13. The item of equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the worktop is mounted on at least one or more supporting elements, thus forming, with said supporting elements, a table, an uninterrupted or interrupted piece of furniture, or a counter.

14. A worktop, comprising: at least one substrate made of monolithic glass material with a surface area of greater than 0.7 m.sup.2, said substrate exhibiting a luminosity L* of greater than 10, a light transmission T.sub.L of less than 50%, an opacity indicator of greater than 90 and a haze of greater than 15%.

15. A method, comprising: obtaining a substrate made of monolithic glass material with a surface area of greater than 0.7 m.sup.2, said substrate exhibiting a luminosity L* of greater than 10, a light transmission T.sub.L of less than 50%, an opacity indicator of greater than 90 and a haze of greater than 15%; and using the substrate with the item of equipment as claimed in claim 1.

16. The item of equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein said substrate exhibits a haze of greater than 15%.

17. The item of equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the thickness of said substrate is 3 to 30 mm.

18. The item of equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the substrate exhibits a flatness of less than 3 mm.

19. The item of equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the interface is configured to perform wireless communication with a unit external to the worktop to remotely active the heating zones and/or control different functions of the item of equipment.

20. The item of equipment as claimed in claim 8, wherein the one or more inductive heating means occupies at least 25% of the surface area of the substrate.

Description

[0050] Other advantageous characteristics and details will emerge below from the description of a nonlimiting embodiment of the invention, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

[0051] FIG. 1 represents a diagrammatic perspective view of an item of equipment according to the invention;

[0052] FIG. 2 represents a diagrammatic top view of a similar item of equipment (the utensils at the surface or the underlying elements of the piece of furniture not being represented);

[0053] FIG. 3 represents a diagrammatic side view in which a section of the piece of furniture (23) has been removed in order to reveal certain components of the item of equipment.

[0054] In this example, the item of equipment (1) according to the invention comprises a piece of furniture (2) formed of a casing (4) surmounted by a worktop (5) formed of at least one monolithic substrate (6) made of glass-ceramic, this substrate occupying the majority (in this instance all) of the surface (measured on the upper face) of the worktop. This substrate is, for example, a plate of translucent white color of the type of that sold under the KeraWhite reference by Eurokera, this plate exhibiting a surface area of 4.3 m.sup.2, a smooth upper face and a smooth lower face (it also being possible for this face to be provided with tear drops) and a thickness of 12 mm, and exhibiting a luminosity L* of 88.47, a haze of 97.3%, a light transmission T.sub.L of 19.0% and an opacity indicator of 97.0. This substrate is, for example, obtained by proceeding as in the patent application WO9906334 but by reducing the rate of passage in the ceramization furnace by 50%.

[0055] This substrate can also, if appropriate, be colored or provided with a resin layer on its lower face, in order to give a coloring to the substrate, for example be provided with a coat of paint based on silicone resin giving a gray coloring, the worktop (coated substrate) thus exhibiting a luminosity 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 layer having being applied to the glass-ceramic substrate after it has been prepared.

[0056] Alternatively, this substrate can, for example, also be a plate of translucent white color of the type of that sold under the KeraWhite TC reference by Eurokera, this plate exhibiting a surface area of 2.7 m.sup.2, a smooth upper face and a smooth lower face (it being possible for this face also to be provided with teardrops) and a thickness of 7 mm, exhibiting a luminosity L* of 80.34, a haze of 98.2%, a light transmission T.sub.L of 27.2% and an opacity indicator of 94.5.

[0057] In both cases, the substrate made of glass-ceramic obtained exhibits a flatness of less than 2 mm (the flatness obtained being between 2 and 3 mm for a rate reduced by only 25% and being more than 15 mm for a rate unchanged with respect to that used in the abovementioned patent application to order to obtain a plate with standard dimensions of less than 0.4 m.sup.2), the flatness desired for good optical properties and good coupling and thermal efficiency properties in particular being less than 3 mm and preferably less than 2 mm.

[0058] The item of equipment additionally comprises, in the present example, three heating elements (7), for example inductors, positioned under the plate (6) and fastened to a support (10). These inductors are, in the present case, distributed in the middle of the work surface but might just as easily be located at one end of the top.

[0059] The item of equipment also comprises decorations (9, 11), for example made of enamel, for example placed on the upper or lower face of the substrate. These decorations, for example in the form of circles of color (9) delimiting each location (it being possible for the colors, if appropriate, to be identical or different according to the locations) and encircling the inductors, make it possible, for example, to signal the cooking locations in order to prevent contact with them when the heating elements are activated. They can also consist of information, logos, images (11), and the like.

[0060] The item of equipment additionally comprises at least one interface (12) (hidden by the substrate) for communication with the heating elements, this interface also communicating wirelessly with an external unit in the form, for example, of a touch tablet (13) for the activation of different zones and functions of the plate or of the item of equipment. The external unit can be advantageously movable and lie on the worktop (FIG. 1) or be used for the remote activation (FIG. 3) of different zones or functions. Alternatively or cumulatively, the interface might also comprise or be connected to a permanent control panel located on the surface of the substrate (2) for the activation of different zones and functions, in particular of the substrate.

[0061] If appropriate, the item of equipment can also be combined with or comprise a suction hood (14) overhanging the worktop.

[0062] The item of equipment also comprises other elements, in particular electrical cables (15) for the activation of the heating elements, and comprises drawers (16) or cupboards (17) inserted into the casing supporting the worktop, for storing various articles, and the like. The item of equipment can also comprise other elements; for example, the worktop can comprise a trim, the substrate can be coated with a localized or nonlocalized fixed decoration, for example made of enamel, the casing can be uninterrupted or comprise different recesses (such as the recess (18)) or integrate other elements (for example a built-in oven, and the like). The worktop (5) can be used for different purposes, such as writing (as symbolized by the paper and the pen (19)), the support for objects (as symbolized by the tableware (20)), while making possible the cooking of food (as symbolized by the cooking receptacles (21)), and the like. If appropriate, the casing can also be replaced by supporting legs (for example only the walls 22 and 23, or four legs at the four corners, the item of equipment under the worktop in this case preferably being hidden by a localized enclosure with a thickness of a few centimeters under the substrate), such as a table.

[0063] The item of equipment according to the invention can in particular be advantageously used to produce a new range of interactive and multiuse pieces of furniture in particular integrating cooking zones or a cooking function.