DOOR ASSEMBLY FOR AN OVEN APPLIANCE

Abstract

A door assembly (6) for selectively providing access to, or closing, an oven cavity (5) of an oven appliance, the door assembly comprising: an outer pane element (9) comprising an at least partially transparent region; an inner pane element (10) spaced apart from the outer pane element comprising an at least partially transparent region; optionally one or more center pane elements (11, 12) located between the outer pane element and the inner pane element and comprising an at least partially transparent region; and a camera assembly (7) comprising an optical sensor (38) for obtaining image data from within the oven cavity; characterized in that the door assembly (6) further comprises: an aperture (25) which is provided in one of the pane elements (9, 10, 11, 12) and which accommodates the camera assembly (7).

Claims

1. A door assembly for selectively providing access to, or closing, an oven cavity of an oven appliance, the door assembly comprising: an outer pane element comprising an at least partially transparent region; an inner pane element spaced apart from the outer pane element comprising an at least partially transparent region; optionally one or more center pane elements located between the outer pane element and the inner pane element and comprising an at least partially transparent region; a camera assembly comprising an optical sensor for obtaining image data from within the oven cavity; and an aperture provided in one of the pane elements and which accommodates the camera assembly.

2. The door assembly of claim 1, comprising at least one said center pane element.

3. The door assembly of claim 1, wherein the camera assembly comprises a housing configured for being mounted in the aperture.

4. The door assembly of claim 3, wherein the housing comprises one or more pawls for fixing the camera assembly within the aperture.

5. The door assembly of claim 3, wherein the housing comprises a first housing element configured to be mounted at the aperture at a first side of the pane element comprising the aperture, the housing further comprising a second housing element configured to be mounted at the aperture at a second side of the pane element comprising the aperture, opposite the first side.

6. The door assembly of claim 5, wherein the first and second housing elements are configured for engaging each other.

7. The door assembly of claim 3, wherein the housing comprises at least one aperture for flowing air through the housing.

8. The door assembly of claim 7, said at least one aperture of the housing comprises a first aperture in a region of the housing located on a first side of the pane element comprising the aperture, and a second aperture in a region of the housing located on a second side of the pane element comprising the aperture, opposite the first side.

9. The door assembly of any one of the preceding claim 1, wherein the camera assembly is mounted in an aperture that is provided in the outer pane element.

10. The door assembly of claim 1, further comprising one or more support elements configured to mount the pane elements in a spaced relationship.

11. The door assembly of claim 1, wherein at least the outer and/or inner pane element comprises regions in which transparency of the pane element is reduced or eliminated.

12. The door assembly of claim 1, further comprising an anti-reflection element that prevents or reduces light transmissivity of selected areas of the pane element which comprises the aperture in which the camera assembly is mounted.

13. The door assembly of claim 12, wherein the pane element which comprises the aperture in which the camera assembly is mounted comprises a coating or printing at least in the vicinity of the camera assembly.

14. A cooking oven comprising the door assembly of claim 1.

15. The cooking oven of claim 14, comprising a source for microwave radiation, wherein the door assembly comprises a microwave shielding mesh mounted alongside one of the pane elements, the cooking oven further comprising an image evaluation unit configured to analyze the camera images, to detect disturbances caused by the microwave shielding mesh, and to compensate these disturbances by processing data of the image data.

16. A door assembly for an oven appliance, the door assembly comprising: a first pane having an at least partially transparent region, an aperture being disposed in the first pane; a second pane having an at least partially transparent region; an air gap disposed between the first and second panes; and a camera assembly disposed through said aperture in the first pane, the camera assembly comprising a housing mounted within the aperture and configured to secure the camera assembly to the first pane, an optical sensor within said housing, said optical sensor being inclined with respect to said first pane and configured to obtain image data from within a cavity of said oven appliance when the door assembly is mounted to the appliance, and a lens disposed in a lens opening of the housing and optically aligned with the optical sensor; wherein the housing of said camera assembly protrudes into said air gap such that an air flow through said air gap will provide cooling to said camera assembly during use via convective heat transfer therewith.

17. The door assembly of claim 16, said housing further comprising a first cooling opening therein at a first side of said first pane, and a second cooling opening therein at a second side of said first pane, wherein said air flow through said air gap will induce a flow of cooling air from a space adjacent to the first side of the first pane through said first cooling opening, through said housing and then out therefrom through said second cooling opening, into said air gap.

18. The door assembly of claim 16, said first pane being an intermediate pane of the door assembly and said second pane being an inner pane of the door assembly configured to be disposed adjacent to the cavity of said oven appliance when the door assembly is mounted to the appliance; said door assembly further comprising an outer pane having an at least partially transparent region; a microwave shielding mesh disposed along a face of the inner pane; and a processor adapted to analyze image data from the optical sensor; said optical sensor being aimed to gather the image data from within said oven cavity during use through said microwave shielding mesh and through said inner pane; wherein said processor is configured to apply an algorithm to the image data in order to eliminate therefrom disturbances introduced by the microwave shielding mesh.

19. The door assembly of claim 16, said housing comprising a first housing portion inserted and received through said aperture in said first pane from the first side thereof; and a second housing portion inserted and received through said aperture from the second side thereof; said first and second housing portions being disposed in locking engagement with one another.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0045] The present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the drawings from which further features, embodiments and advantages will become apparent, and in which:

[0046] FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic sectional view of an oven appliance in accordance with the present invention;

[0047] FIG. 2 illustrates an enlarged sectional view of the oven appliance illustrated in FIG. 1;

[0048] FIG. 3 illustrates an enlarged sectional view of the door assembly of the oven appliance illustrated in FIG. 1;

[0049] FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of a pane element of a door assembly in accordance with the present invention;

[0050] FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a microwave oven in accordance with the present invention;

[0051] FIG. 6A is a front view of a camera assembly of a door assembly in accordance with the present invention;

[0052] FIG. 6B is a sectional view of the camera assembly along line B-B of FIG. 6A;

[0053] FIG. 6C illustrates an exploded view of the camera assembly shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B;

[0054] FIG. 7 illustrates an enlarged sectional view of a further embodiment of a door assembly in accordance with the present invention;

[0055] FIG. 8A is a front view of another embodiment of a camera assembly of a door assembly in accordance with the present invention;

[0056] FIG. 8B is a sectional view of the camera assembly along line C-C of FIG. 8A;

[0057] FIG. 8C illustrates an exploded view of the camera assembly shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B; and

[0058] FIG. 9 illustrates a schematic rear view of the upper portion of a door assembly in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0059] As illustrated in FIG. 1 which shows a schematic sectional view of an oven appliance in accordance with the present invention, the oven appliance comprises an oven cavity 5 and a door assembly 6 for selectively providing access to, or closing, the oven cavity 5.

[0060] In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, and in enlarged view in FIG. 2, the door assembly 6 comprises a series of pane elements which all have an at least partially transparent region so as to allow a user to look from the outside into the oven cavity 5. In the embodiment shown, the door assembly 6 comprises an outer pane element 9, an inner pane element 10 and two center pane elements 11 and 12 which all can be made of an at least partially transparent material such as glass or glass ceramics. In the upper region of the outer pane element 9 there is provided a handle 24 which facilitates manipulating the door assembly 6 during opening and closing.

[0061] In the accompanying drawings door assembly 6 is illustrated to comprise a camera assembly 7 which is mounted in an aperture 25 that is provided in the outer pane element 9.

[0062] As can be seen best in FIG. 1 camera assembly 7 is mounted at an elevated position with respect to the oven cavity 5, wherein as will be explained in further detail by reference to FIG. 3 the optical sensor of the camera assembly is mounted to be inclined with respect to the pane elements. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 the camera has a viewing angle, i.e. an angular range covered by the camera, of 50 degrees which in the illustrated oven geometry allows to view the mayor part of the oven cavity. Of course, the orientation of the optical sensor as illustrated by the longitudinal axis 8 of the optical sensor may differ from the one shown in the drawings, as well as cameras having a different viewing angle, such as a wider viewing angle, can be employed.

[0063] In order to provide for a door assembly in which the outer pane element 9 also during use of the oven appliance is at a temperature close to room temperature so that a user may touch the outer pane element 9 without having to fear an unpleasant temperature sensation, the pane elements are located at a distance to each other to thus provide for a gap between adjacent pane elements. These gaps serve as a thermal barrier by providing for a resistance to heat flow between adjacent pane elements. Furthermore, particularly for use of the door assembly in ovens in which the oven cavity may be heated to high temperatures such as by means of electrical heating elements, the gaps between adjacent pane elements can be used to remove heat from the panes by flowing air through the gaps.

[0064] In the illustrated embodiments the pane elements are held at a frame of which in FIGS. 1 and 2 an upper frame element 30 and a lower frame element 32 can be seen. Whereas outer pane element 9 is attached to the front sides of upper frame element 30 and of lower frame element 32, the center pane elements 11 and 12 are held at the upper and lower frame elements 30 and 32 by means of fixtures 34 which clamp the center pane elements 11 and 12 between adjacent fixtures and which provide for a spacing between the pane element. As illustrated in FIG. 2, inner pane element 10 is clamped between a protruding rim of upper frame element 30 and a hollow frame element 36 which carries the fixtures 34.

[0065] As can be best seen in FIG. 3 as well as in the views of FIGS. 6A to 6C, the camera assembly 7 which is installed at the outer pane element 9 comprises an optical sensor 38 which is mounted on a printed circuit board 13 on which there may be provided further elements for operating optical sensor 38 and/or for processing image data obtained from optical sensor 38. Printed circuit board 13 is encapsulated within a housing which comprises a first housing element 15 and a second housing element 16. In the illustrated embodiment first housing element 15 is designed as a hollow box-shaped element for accommodating the printed circuit board 13 and a second housing element 16 is configured as a cover or lid for the box-shaped first housing element 15. First housing element 15 has a circumferential wall having a shape which generally conforms to the shape of an aperture 25 provided in pane element 9 (see also FIG. 4).

[0066] First housing element 15 further has a protruding rim 42, which when the first housing element 15 has been inserted into aperture 25 rests against the front side of outer pane element 9. At its free end facing away from protruding rim 42, circumferential wall 40 may have a plurality of pawls protruding laterally outwards from circumferential wall 40 so as to provide for a latching of the first housing element 15 at the rim of aperture 25 when the first housing element 15 has been inserted into the aperture.

[0067] In the illustrated embodiment the camera assembly 7 is fixed at outer pane element 9 by inserting the first housing element 15 from the front side of outer pane element 9 into the aperture and then attaching the lid-shaped second housing element 16 to the first housing element 15. To provide for a latching engagement of the first and second housing elements, second housing element 16 comprises slots 44 into which on assembly of the camera housing elevated sections 46 of the circumferential wall of the first housing element 15 are inserted and are locked by means of pawls 48 provided at the elevated sections 46. The locking engagement of the first and second housing elements and 16 provides for a fixing of the camera assembly 7 within aperture 25 wherein there can be provided for a clamping action with respect to the pane element 9 by providing for resiliency of the protruding rim 50 of the second housing element 16, so that when pushing the second housing element 16 onto the first housing element 15 the protruding rim 50 is slightly deformed to thus provide for a clamping force against the portion of the pane element 9 that surrounds aperture 25.

[0068] As can be best seen in FIG. 3 and FIG. 6C the first housing element 15 comprises slanted support elements 52 for supporting the printed circuit board 13 at an angled orientation, so that when the camera assembly 7 is mounted within aperture 25 the optical sensor 38 is oriented such that its longitudinal axis 54 (see FIG. 7) extends at an angle so as to provide for a downwardly inclined view of the optical sensor 38. In order to provide for protection of the optical sensor and, as necessary, to assist in obtaining good quality images, the camera assembly 7 further comprises a lens 14 which covers an opening in the second housing element 16 where the optical sensor 38 is mounted.

[0069] FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of a door assembly which is configured for use in a microwave oven. While the general construction including the implementation of the camera assembly may be the same as in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the embodiment of FIG. 5 further comprises a microwave shielding mesh 23 which is mounted along the face of the inner pane element 10 which faces away from the oven cavity. To facilitate mounting of the microwave shielding mesh 23 which prevents microwave radiation from passing through the door assembly, FIG. 5 illustrates a mesh frame 26 which is attached to the inner pane element 10 and which extends along the circumference of the pane element to cover the area of the viewing window provided by the inner pane element 10.

[0070] For oven appliances in which the oven cavity can be heated to high temperatures, particularly in ovens that are configured to provide for a pyrolytic cleaning function in which the oven cavity is heated to temperatures as high as about 500° C., the door assembly advantageously is provided with an active air cooling function in which air is passed through the gaps between the pane elements.

[0071] In embodiments illustrated in the drawings, such active air cooling is implemented by providing, for example, above the oven cavity, for an electric fan that provides for a draft to a chamber 56 which when the oven door is closed communicates via an opening 58 in upper frame element 30 with a vent channel 17 which is formed by upper frame element 30 and frame element 36. By activating the fan and thus providing a draft in chamber 56, air is withdrawn from the gaps between the panes such as to be vented from the oven assembly, wherein the air within the gaps which has been warmed by taking up heat from the adjacent pane elements is replaced by cooler air that is drawn into the gaps via an air inlet 60 that is provided along the bottom edge of the door assembly (see FIG. 1).

[0072] While such air streams through the gaps between pane elements 9, 10 and 11 air illustrated in FIG. 7 as air streams 21, the cooling of the camera assembly 7 can be further improved by providing an air flow through the housing of the camera assembly 7 and in particular by providing for an air flow wherein ambient air is drawn into the housing, which air flow is depicted in FIG. 7 as stream 22. To this end the housing of the camera assembly 7 can be modified as shown in FIGS. 8A-C which illustrate a camera housing that differs from the one shown in FIGS. 6A-C in that the first housing element 15 along its bottom edge comprises air inlet openings 27 and the second housing element 16 comprises air outlet openings 28.

[0073] In operation of the oven and when the fan is operated, as it is illustrated in FIG. 7, air will be drawn into the gaps between the pane elements via the air inlet 60 provided along the bottom edge of the door assembly (see FIG. 1) to flow as streams 21 through the door assembly to be vented via vent channel 17 and chamber 56. Additionally, ambient air is drawn into the camera housing as stream 22 via the air inlet openings 27 in the first housing element 15, exits the housing via the air outlet openings 28 in the second housing element 16, and passes along lens 14 while joining the air flow 21 within the gap between outer pane element 9 and center pane element 12.

[0074] FIG. 9 illustrates the upper portion of a rear side of a pane element 9 in which there is mounted a camera assembly 7. The pane element is provided at its rear side with a printed frame 62 which extends along the edge of the pane element so as to cover any structural components that are to be concealed, but to leave a transparent viewing window 64 in the central region of the pane.

[0075] A cable channel 19 is attached to the pane and extends from the camera assembly 7 to a door column 18 where the door assembly is hinged to the oven housing. The cable channel 19 is provided to accommodate a cable that connects the camera assembly 7 with other parts of the oven assembly, such as a control unit or an interfacing unit (not shown).

[0076] As will be understood from the foregoing description the aperture for accommodating the camera assembly basically can be arranged in any of the pane elements of the door assembly. In ovens in which higher temperatures are reached in the oven cavity it may be advantageous to install the camera assembly in the outermost pane elements or in a center pane element next to the outer pane element.

[0077] Furthermore, while the camera assembly can be placed at any position in the respective pane element, there also may be provided more than one camera assembly which may be helpful when several regions of the oven, such as plural trays of the oven shall be monitored.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0078] 5 oven cavity [0079] 6 door assembly [0080] 7 camera assembly [0081] 8 longitudinal axis of optical sensor [0082] 9. outer pane element [0083] 10 inner pane element [0084] 11 center pane element [0085] 12 center pane element [0086] 13 printed circuit board [0087] 14 lens [0088] 15 first housing element [0089] 16 second housing element [0090] 17 vent channel [0091] 18 door column [0092] 19 cable channel [0093] 21 air stream [0094] 22 air stream [0095] 23 microwave shielding mesh [0096] 24 handle [0097] 25 aperture [0098] 26 mesh frame [0099] 27 air inlet opening [0100] 28 air outlet opening [0101] 30 upper frame element [0102] 32 lower frame element [0103] 34 fixture [0104] 36 frame element [0105] 38 optical sensor [0106] 40 circumferential wall [0107] 42 protruding rim of 15 [0108] 44 slot [0109] 46 elevated section of 40 [0110] 48 pawl [0111] 50 protruding rim of 16 [0112] 52 slanted support element [0113] 54 longitudinal axis of 38 [0114] 56 chamber [0115] 58 opening [0116] 60 air inlet [0117] 62 printed frame [0118] 64 viewing window [0119] 66 anti-reflection section