IMPROVED CONSUMER ORIENTED COMBINED COUNTER AND COOKING UNIT USING INDUCTION HEATING

• US 3,740,513 A
• Filed: 09/23/1971
• Issued: 06/19/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: John L. Matrone, Philip H. Peters Jr
• Original Assignee: John L. Matrone, Philip H. Peters Jr
• Inventors: Peters, Philip H. Jr., Matrone, John L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Albritton, C. L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Reynolds, B. A.
• Application Number:
  US05/183,005
• Time in Patent Office: 635 Days
• Field of Search: 219/10.49,10.75,10.77,10.79,218,494,10.67 312/236,237 126/39J
• US Class Current: 219/622
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 77/08 for incorporating apparatus operated by power, including water power; for incorporating apparatus for cooking, cooling, or laundry purposes
• CPC Class Codes: F24C 15/30 Arrangements for mounting stoves or ranges in particular locations
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 2213/07 Heating plates with temperature control means
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/062 for cooking plates or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/1209 induction cooking plates or the like and devices to be used in combination with them
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 40/00 Technologies aiming at improving the efficiency of home appliances, e.g. induction cooking or efficient technologies for refrigerators, freezers or dish washers

Abstract

An improved combined counter and electric cooking unit using induction heating coils for inductively heating metal base cookware. The unit is formed by a housing having a substantially continuous insulating top surface of an attractive appearance covering the top of the housing and a plurality of induction heating coils supported within the housing beneath the insulating surface at particular heating site locations where heating is to be performed. The insulating surface is transparent to magnetic induction fields with little or no losses and includes at particular heating site locations, areas which are transparent to infrared head whereby the temperature of metal base cookware disposed at the heating site locations can be directly viewed for controlling operation of the induction heating coils. The control and power supply circuitry for the high frequency excitation electric current supplied to the respective induction heating coil, may be enclosed within the housing below the insulating surface or at some remote location. The insulating surface preferably is from the class of materials comprising plastics, tile, certain glasses, stoneware, ceramics, Pyrex, pyro-ceramics, marble, slate, natural stone, wood, specially treated wood and the like. The cooking site locations and infrared heat transparent areas may be formed from special materials such as a pyro-ceramic secured within appropriate openings, and the remainder of the smooth top insulating material may be formed from a much cheaper plastic material having the requisite characteristics of good appearance. Otherwise, the entire smoothtop insulating surface must have the capability of withstanding relatively high temperatures of the order of 450* F. The housing may be formed in the manner of a standard countertop which could be then custom used as a table (with legs supplied separately) or as a countertop surface range combination or as a pass through (kitchen-dining room) range surface combination, etc., or may be formed in the manner of a conventional range all of which have continuous, smooth-top surfaces to facilitate cleaning. If desired one of the induction heating units and/or induction coil alone and its overlying insulating surface can be made to be removable to allow for remote location cooking and/or warming. In addition, the unit could be built to have a special electrical jack into which a separate remote and portable induction coil and overlying insulating surface unit can be plugged to provide remote cooking and warming. In this case plugging in the remote unit automatically disconnects the built in counter induction coil. Providing a number of wall plugs allows plugging in the remote unit(s) in different locations.

Claims

2. An improved combined counter and electric cooking unit according to claim 1 wherein the smooth-top insulating surface is fabricated from the class of materials comprising plastics, tile, certain glasses, stoneware, ceramics, Pyrex, pyro-ceramics, marble, slate, natural stone, wood and the like.

3. An improved combined counter and electric cooking unit according to claim 1 wherein the housing is in the form of a countertop table with the smooth-top insulating surface forming the top surface of the table and leg room is provided below the housing for allowing stools, chairs and the like to be drawn up to the surface for use in the manner of a table whereby the smooth-top insulating surface serves as both a table top and a cooking surface that can be readily cleaned.

4. An improved combined counter and electric cooking unit according to claim 1 wherein the housing is in the form of a conventional electric range unit and the insulating smooth-top surface forms a smooth, continuous surface that can be readily cleaned.

5. An improved combined counter and electric cooking unit according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the heating coils including the overlying smooth-top insulating surface and associated control and power supply circuitry are removable from the housing to allow for remote location cooking and/or warming, and upon being mounted in place within the housing, the insulating surface thereof is contiguous to and provides an essentially continuous smooth continuation of the countertop surface for the top of the housing.

6. An improved combined counter and electric cooking unit according to claim 1 wherein the infrared heat transparent areas formed in the smooth-top insulating surfaces are voids or openings in the insulating surfaces which allow the bottom of metal base cookware disposed over the openings to be directly viewed through the openings from a point below the insulating surface.

7. An improved combined counter and electric cooking unit according to claim 6 wherein the smooth-top insulating material is not transparent to infrared heat rays, and the opening is closed with a material which is transparent to infrared heat rays, and the entire surface of the insulating material and the infrared transparent material filling the opening is continuous and smooth so as to facilitate cleaning of the surface.

8. An improved combined counter and cooking unit according to claim 7 wherein the housing is in the form of a countertop table with the insulating smooth-top surface forming the top surface of the table and leg room is provided below the housing allowing stools, chairs and the like to be drawn up to the smooth-top surface for use in the manner of a table whereby the insulating smooth-top surface serves as both a table top and a cooking surface that can be readily cleaned.

9. An improved combined counter and electric cooking unit according to claim 8 wherein at least one of the heating coils including the overlying smooth-top insulating surface and associated control and power supply circuitry are removable from the housing to allow for remote location cooking and/or warming, and upon being mounted in place within the housing the insulating surface thereof is contiguous to and provides an essentially continuous smooth continuation of countertop surface for the top of the housing.

10. An improved combined counter and electric cooking unit according to claim 8 wherein the insulating smooth-top surface is fabricated from the class of materials comprising plastics, tile, certain glasses, stoneware, ceramics, Pyrex, pyro-ceramics, marble, slate, natural stone, wood and the like.

11. An improved combined counter and electric cooking unit according to claim 7 wherein the housing is in the form of a conventional electric range unit and the insulating smooth-top surface formS a smooth, continuous surface that can be readily cleaned.

12. An improved combined counter and electric cooking unit according to claim 11 wherein at least one of the heating coils including the overlying insulating surface and associated control and power supply circuitry are removable from the housing to allow for remote location cooking and/or warming, and upon being mounted in place within the housing, the insulating surface thereof is contiguous to and provides an essentially continuous smooth continuation of the countertop surface for the top of the housing.

13. An improved combined counter and electric cooking unit according to claim 11 wherein the smooth-top insulating surface is fabricated from the class of materials comprising plastics, tile, certain glasses, stoneware, ceramics, Pyrex, pyro-ceramics, marble, slate, natural stone, wood and the like.

14. An improved combined electric cooking unit and table using induction heating coils for inductively heating metal base cookware comprising a housing having a substantially continuous smooth-top insulating surface of attractive appearance covering the top of the housing, said housing providing leg room below the insulating smooth-top surface for allowing stools, chairs and the like to be drawn up to the smooth-top surface for use in the manner of a table, and means supporting a plurality of induction heating coils beneath the insulating surface in close proximity thereto at particular heating site locations where heating is to be performed, said smooth-top insulating surface being transparent to magnetic induction fields with little or no losses and also supporting the control circuitry and power supply for supplying high frequency excitation electric currents to the respective induction heating coils.

15. An improved combined electric cooking unit and table according to claim 14 wherein the insulating surface includes at particular heating site locations, areas which are transparent to infrared heat whereby the temperature of the metal base cookware disposed at such locations can be directly viewed and controlled by infrared heat temperature sensors comprising a part of the induction heating coil control and power supply circuitry.

16. An improved combined electric cooking unit and table according to claim 15 wherein the insulating smooth-top surface is fabricated from the class of materials comprising plastics, tile, certain glasses, stoneware, ceramics, Pyrex, pyro-ceramics, marble, slate, natural stone, wood and the like.

17. An improved combined electric cooking unit and table according to claim 16 wherein at least one of the heating coils including the overlying smooth-top insulating surface and associated control and power supply circuitry are removable from the housing to allow for remote location cooking and/or warming, and upon being mounted in place within the housing, the insulating smooth-top surface thereof is contiguous to and provides an essentially continuous smooth continuation of the countertop surface for the top of the housing.