WO2018001509A1

WO2018001509A1 - Warming drawer with an improved sealing perfomance

Info

Publication number: WO2018001509A1
Application number: PCT/EP2016/065491
Authority: WO
Inventors: Altan OZKOK; Ilhan OFLUGIL; Oguz TAN; Servet TURGUT
Original assignee: Arcelik AS
Current assignee: Arcelik AS
Priority date: 2016-07-01
Filing date: 2016-07-01
Publication date: 2018-01-04
Anticipated expiration: 2019-01-01
Also published as: TR201709376A2

Abstract

The present invention relates to a warming drawer (1) for warming food, comprising: a housing (2) which comprises a cavity (3) for receiving the food, and an aperture (4) for accessing the cavity (3); a tray (5) for supporting the food, wherein the tray (5) is extendably disposed into the cavity (3); and a drawer front (6) for opening/closing the aperture (4), wherein the drawer front (6) is disposed onto the front end of the tray (5), wherein the warming drawer (1) further comprises a sealing skirt (7) which is disposed onto the inner surface of the drawer front (6), and adapted to circumferentially protrude into the aperture (4) when the drawer front (6) is in the closed state, and to seal in the warm air contained within the cavity (3), wherein the housing (2) is provided without an elastic gasket around the aperture (4).

Description

WARMING DRAWER WITH AN IMPROVED SEALING PERFOMANCE

The present invention relates to a warming drawer for warming food.

Warming drawers are commonly known in the art. A warming drawer generally comprises: a housing which comprises a cavity for receiving the food, and an aperture for accessing the cavity; a tray for supporting the food, wherein the tray is extendably disposed into the cavity; a drawer front for opening/closing the aperture, wherein the drawer front is disposed onto the front end of the tray; and an elastic gasket which is disposed around the aperture in the front wall of the housing. When the drawer front is in the closed state, it presses against the elastic gasket. Thereby, the warm air contained within the cavity is prevented from escaping.

US2007/0158327 A1 discloses a prior art warming drawer.

A problem with the prior art warming drawer is that the elastic gasket wears out on frequent opening/closing and on long-term heat exposure. In such instances, the sealing performance of the elastic gasket decreases, and must be replaced by a service personnel. Moreover, the elastic gasket increases the maintenance costs and the production costs both in terms of material and labor.

An objective of the present invention is to provide a warming drawer that solves the aforementioned problem of the prior art in a cost effective way and which has an improved sealing performance.

This objective has been achieved by the warming drawer as defined in claim 1. Further achievements have been attained by the subject-matters respectively defined in the dependent claims.

In the warming drawer of the present invention, the housing is provided without an elastic gasket around the aperture. The warming drawer of the present invention comprises a sealing skirt which is disposed onto the inner surface of the drawer front, and adapted to circumferentially protrude into the aperture when the drawer front is in the closed state, and to seal in the warm air contained within the cavity.

A major advantageous effect of the present invention is that the need for using an elastic gasket in the warming drawer has been obviated by virtue of the sealing skirt. Thereby, the production costs and the maintenance costs can be reduced both in terms of material and labor. Thereby the sealing performance has been improved.

In an embodiment, the sealing skirt is disposed at least onto the lateral edges and the upper edge of a support bracket which joins the drawer front to the tray. This embodiment is particularly advantageous as the warming drawer can be easily assembled or retrofitted with the support bracket of the present invention.

In another embodiment, the support bracket, including the sealing skirt is formed from sheet metal. This embodiment is particularly advantageous as the size and shape of the sealing skirt can be individually matched with the aperture of the housing during the sheet metal working. Thereby, the warming drawers with different food capacities can be easily manufactured with the matching sealing skirts. Alternatively the support bracket may be produced from a heat resistant plastic material.

In another embodiment, the drawer front is linked to a push-in pop-out mechanism for opening/closing the aperture. In general, the aforementioned elastic gasket is relatively massive at its corner sections and would have flexed non-uniformly as the drawer front is pushed, and thus would have prevented proper opening/closing of the drawer front through the push-in pop-out mechanism. This embodiment is particularly advantageous as the warming drawer can be easily and reliably opened/closed through the push-in pop-out mechanism in the absence of the elastic gasket.

In another embodiment, the drawer front is provided without a handle. When opening/closing the warming drawer, the user pushes the drawer front with a predetermined force so as to actuate/reset the push-in pop-out mechanism. This embodiment is particularly advantageous as the warming drawer becomes more space saving in the absence of the handle.

In another embodiment, the warming drawer has a heating unit for heating the food. In alternative embodiments, the heating unit is built into the warming drawer or provided separately from the warming drawer.

In other alternative embodiments, the sealing skirt has a u-shaped or L-shaped cross section. This embodiment is particularly advantageous as the sealing skirt protrudes into the aperture and prevents the warm air from escaping.

In another embodiment, the aperture is formed into the front wall of the housing. In this embodiment, the front wall is provided without holes/projections for mounting the elastic gasket. This embodiment is particularly advantageous as the warming drawer can be easily assembled or retrofitted with the front wall of the present invention.

In another embodiment, the warming drawer can be used as a free-standing apparatus. In other alternative embodiments, the warming drawer can be installed into a kitchen cabinet or into a cooking appliance.

Additional features and additional advantageous effects of the warming drawer according to the present invention will become more apparent with the detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 – is a schematic perspective view of a warming drawer according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 – is another schematic perspective view of the warming drawer of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 – is a schematic perspective exploded view of the warming drawer of Fig. 1;

Figure 4 – is a schematic perspective view of the support bracket of the warming drawer of Fig. 1;

Figure 5 – is another schematic perspective view of the support bracket of Fig. 4.

The reference signs appearing on the drawings relate to the following technical features.

Warming drawer
Housing
Cavity
Aperture
Tray
Drawer front
Sealing skirt
Support bracket
Push-in pop-out mechanism
Heating unit
Front wall

The warming drawer (1) is suitable for warming food (1) (Fig. 1). The warming drawer (1) comprises: a housing (2) which comprises a cavity (3) for receiving the food, and an aperture (4) for accessing the cavity (3); a tray (5) for supporting the food, wherein the tray (5) is extendably disposed into the cavity (3); and a drawer front (6) for opening/closing the aperture (4), wherein the drawer front (6) is disposed onto the front end of the tray (5) (Fig. 2).

The warming drawer (1) of the present invention further comprises: a sealing skirt (7) which is disposed onto the inner surface of the drawer front (6), and adapted to circumferentially protrude into the aperture (4) when the drawer front (6) is in the closed state, and to seal in the warm air contained within the cavity (3), wherein the housing (2) is provided without an elastic gasket around the aperture (4) (Fig. 3).

In an embodiment, the warming drawer (1) further comprises: support bracket (8) for supporting the drawer front (6) (Fig. 3). In this embodiment, the lower edge of the support bracket (8) is disposed between the inner surface of the drawer front (6) and the front end of the tray (5) (Fig. 1 and Fig.2). In this embodiment, the sealing skirt (7) is disposed at least onto the lateral edges of the support bracket (8) and onto the upper edge of the support bracket (8) (Fig. 4 and Fig. 5).

In another embodiment, the support bracket (8), including the sealing skirt (7) is formed from sheet metal. In this embodiment, the sealing skirt (7) is obtained through bending the sheet metal circumferentially inwardly into the aperture (4) (Fig. 4 and Fig. 5).

In another embodiment, the warming drawer (1) further comprises: a push-in pop-out mechanism (9) which is linked to the drawer front (6) for opening/closing the aperture (4) (Fig. 1).

In another embodiment, the drawer front (6) is provided without a handle.

In another embodiment, the warming drawer (1) further comprises: a heating unit (10) for heating the food within the cavity (3) (Fig. 2).

In another embodiment, the horizontal cross section of the sealing skirt (7) is u-shaped. In this embodiment, the vertical cross section of the sealing skirt (7) is L-shaped or u-shaped (Fig. 4 and Fig. 5).

In another embodiment, the housing (2) comprises a front wall (11) (Fig. 1). In this embodiment, the aperture (4) is formed into the front wall (11) (Fig. 3). In this embodiment, the front wall (11) is provided without holes for mounting the elastic gasket and without projections for mounting the elastic gasket (Fig. 1).

The kitchen cabinet (not shown) of the present invention comprises one or more warming drawers (1).

The cooking appliance (not shown) of the present invention comprises one or more warming drawers (1).

A major advantageous effect of the present invention is that the need for using an elastic gasket in the warming drawer (1) has been obviated by virtue of the sealing skirt (7). Thereby the production cost and the maintenance costs can be reduced both in terms of material and labor. Thereby the sealing performance has been improved. Other advantageous effects of the present invention can be taken from the above-described embodiments.

Claims

A warming drawer (1) for warming food, comprising: a housing (2) which comprises a cavity (3) for receiving the food, and an aperture (4) for accessing the cavity (3); a tray (5) for supporting the food, wherein the tray (5) is extendably disposed into the cavity (3); and a drawer front (6) for opening/closing the aperture (4), wherein the drawer front (6) is disposed onto the front end of the tray (5), characterized by further comprising: a sealing skirt (7) which is disposed onto the inner surface of the drawer front (6), and adapted to circumferentially protrude into the aperture (4) when the drawer front (6) is in the closed state, and to seal in the warm air contained within the cavity (3), wherein the housing (2) is provided without an elastic gasket around the aperture (4).
The warming drawer (1) according to claim 1, characterized by further comprising: support bracket (8) for supporting the drawer front (6), wherein the lower edge of the support bracket (8) is disposed between the inner surface of the drawer front (6) and the front end of the tray (5), and wherein the sealing skirt (7) is disposed at least onto the lateral edges of the support bracket (8) and onto the upper edge of the support bracket (8).
The warming drawer (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the support bracket (8), including the sealing skirt (7) is formed from sheet metal.
The warming drawer (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by further comprising: a push-in pop-out mechanism (9) which is linked to the drawer front (6) for opening/closing the aperture (4).
The warming drawer (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the drawer front (6) is provided without a handle.
The warming drawer (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by further comprising: a heating unit (10) for heating the food within the cavity (3).
The warming drawer (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the horizontal cross section of the sealing skirt (7) is u-shaped; and the vertical cross section of the sealing skirt (7) is L-shaped or u-shaped.
The warming drawer (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the housing (2) comprises a front wall (11), wherein the aperture (4) is formed into the front wall (11), and wherein the front wall (11) is provided without holes and projections for mounting the elastic gasket.
A kitchen cabinet characterized by comprising one or more warming drawers (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 8.
A cooking appliance characterized by comprising one or more warming drawers (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 8.