Kitchen workplate with integrated cooking field

• US 6,080,975 A
• Filed: 08/05/1996
• Issued: 06/27/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Eduard Schramm, Kolja Kuse, Paul Grohs
• Original Assignee: Eduard Schramm, Kolja Kuse, Paul Grohs
• Inventors: Schramm, Eduard, Kuse, Kolja, Grohs, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Walberg, Teresa
• Assistant Examiner(s): PWU, JEFFREY C
• Application Number:
  US08/596,335
• Time in Patent Office: 1,422 Days
• Field of Search: 219/622, 219/624, 219/623, 219/627, 219/677, 219/662, 219/632, 219/218, 219/236
• US Class Current: 219/622
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/062 for cooking plates or the like

Abstract

A kitchen workplate with an integrated cooking has a stone workplate (1) and a cavity structure (0) milled out at a predetermined position in an underside of the stone workplate (1) in which an induction coil (3) is placed. The cavity structure (0) and the induction coil form a cooking field. A reinforcement (6) provides a mechanical stabilization in the region of the cooking field in order to prevent crack formation in the stone workplate (1) resulting from thermal effects. A plurality of metallic distance (7) spacers are disposed on the surface of the stone workplate (1) and mark a place for placing cooking utensils into the cooking field and provide a thermal insulation employing air as a medium of insulation.

Claims

1. A kitchen workplace with integrated cooking field, which connects two elements known in kitchen technology, that is on the one hand an energy transfer by primary heating of a cooking pot by means of an electromagnetic induction principle and on the other hand using stone as an easy care and insensitive material for kitchen workplaces, wherein a stabilized workplace of stone mechanically stabilized by way of armatures is employed, wherein the workplace includes a recess milled out for an induction coil disposed below the plate as a cooking field, without being interrupted by usual crack-outs for inserting a cooking field, wherein the workplace which is to be integrated in the cooking field has a seamless transition, that is an uninterrupted transition into the cooking field proper thereby allowing an additional use of the cooking field as a full value part of the remaining workplate as long as cooking does not take place, and wherein a work area disposed right and left from the cooking field is seamlessly connected with the cooking field to a large uninterrupted and seamless work area.

2. The kitchen workplate according to claim 1, wherein a stone plate homogeneous surface employed as a stove top is limited to a size of the cooking field, wherein the size of the cooking field is determined individually by number and size of induction coils to be employed, and wherein the cooking field can alternatively also be used as a full value work field.

3. The kitchen workplate according to claim 2, wherein a removable bow as a child safety is applied under the stone plate, wherein the bow is attached under the workplate and not on the workplate in order to avoid interruption of homogeneity of the workplate and in order not to limit the function, and wherein the bow is removable by a simple hand action without that interfering attachments remain on the workplate.

4. The kitchen workplate according to claim 2, wherein temperature sensors are employed on the cooking field, which temperature sensors are entered into material to be prepared, wherein a measurement signal is sent by the temperature sensor to a control apparatus of the induction coil by a feed line over a cable, which measurement signal allows a time and temperature sensitive control of the heat which heat is controlled by a computer.

5. The kitchen workplate according to claim 4, wherein the computer assumes a control circuit between a temperature measurement at the temperature sensor in the material to be prepared and a temperature setting, wherein the computer is a commercially available personal computer, which feeds the measurement signal of the temperature sensor through analogue/digital converters and which automatically controls the control apparatus of the induction coil, wherein the computer is activated and operated by a switch and monitor integrated into an operating panel, wherein the computer is freely programmable with suitable electronic storage media and thus can read in cooking programs, which take care that a control electronics on the one hand is run through and that archived temperature courses in the cooking program are automatically repeated depending on time with the temperature measurement at the temperature sensor.

6. The kitchen workplate according to claim 4, wherein an operating panel for a manual operation of the control apparatus is applied independent of where the cooking field and the casing of the control electronics are located, wherein the operating panel operates the computer and carries a liquid crystal display as a monitor used for the computer, and wherein the computer takes care freely programmable for the automatic control.

7. The kitchen workplate according to claim 6, wherein manual functions of the cooking field are controllable by infrared remote control and wherein a child safety is securable with said remote control.

8. The kitchen workplate according to claim 1, wherein weakly ferromagnetic properties of granite in connection with an electromagnetic resistance difference between a thin stone web between pot and coil and a thicker edge zone relative to the remaining workplate there is generated and effected a shielding of an edge zone of a magnetic field toward the pot material and thus a special geometry of the stone material surrounding the induction coil effects a reduction of magnetic stray fields.

9. A kitchen workplate with an integrated cooking field, comprising

a stone workplate having a continuous surface and an underside;

a first cavity structure milled out at a predetermined position in the underside of the stone workplate;

an induction coil placed into the first cavity structure, wherein the first cavity structure and the induction coil form a cooking field;

a reinforcement providing a mechanical stabilization in the region of the cooking field in order to prevent crack formation in the stone workplate resulting from thermal effects;

a plurality of metallic distance spacers entered into and disposed on the surface of the stone workplate and marking a place for placing cooking utensils into the cooking field and providing a thermal insulation employing air as a medium of insulation;

wherein the cooking field and the remaining stone workplate show a seamless continuous stone workplate with an uninterrupted transition to the cooking field from the top.

10. The kitchen workplate with an integrated cooking field according to claim 9, wherein the metallic distance spacers are removable from the surface of the stone workplate.

11. The kitchen workplate with an integrated cooking field according to claim 9, wherein the stone is a granite stone.

12. The kitchen workplate with an integrated cooking field according to claim 9, further comprising

a second cavity milled out at a predetermined position in the underside of the stone workplate;

a winding rod embedded into said second cavity;

a nut;

a support washer, wherein the nut and the support washer are disposed at the winding rod for pretensioning the winding rod, and wherein the winding rod embedded in the second cavity forms the reinforcement of the cooking field.

13. The kitchen workplate with an integrated cooking field according to claim 9,

wherein the diameter of the first cavity structure matches the diameter of the induction coil;

wherein a thickness of the workplate at the first cavity structure is at least 7 mm;

wherein the first cavity structure has a rounded edge,

wherein the first cavity structure is furnished with a chamfer, and wherein a rounding radius of the chamfer is dependent on the thickness of the workplate.

14. The kitchen workplate with an integrated cooking field according to claim 9, further comprising

a mica plate, wherein the induction coil is glued together with the mica plate into the first cavity with a temperature-resistant casting agent, and wherein the mica plate serves for protecting the induction coil against overheating;

an inlet plate made of a like material as a material of the workplate and including an inlet bore and inserted over the induction coil into the first cavity, wherein the inlet plate has such a thickness as to fill a remaining hollow space in the first cavity, and wherein open seams between a wall of the first cavity and the induction coil, and the induction coil and the inlet plate are filled with the casting agent and a carbon fiber;

wherein the first cavity has such a depth as to accommodate thicknesses of the induction coil and the inlet plate;

a current connection line connected to the induction coil;

additional required electric lines passing through the inlet bore of the inlet plate and fed to a control electronics;

a ferrite core disposed underneath the induction coil to shield an induction field in downward direction.

15. The kitchen workplate with an integrated cooking field according to claim 9,

wherein the workplate is formed of two superposed stone plates having the same thickness, and wherein the reinforcement of the workplate is provided by a continuous carbon fiber plastic plate having a thickness of about 3 mm and glued inbetween the two superposed stone plates.

16. The kitchen workplate with an integrated cooking field according to claim 9, wherein

the size of the cooking field is determined by the number and size of the induction coils installed in the workplate,

and wherein the cooking field alternately serves as a work surface.

17. The kitchen workplate with an integrated cooking field according to claim 9, further comprising

a removable child-safety bow-shaped guard attached to support washers underneath the workplate and extending over the width of the cooking field.

18. The kitchen workplate with an integrated cooking field according to claim 9, further comprising

a control apparatus of the induction coil disposed remote relative to the cooking field;

a personal computer connected to the control apparatus and employable as a board computer for automatically controlling the control apparatus;

a temperature sensor to be inserted into the material to be prepared;

an analogue digital arrester connected to the personal computer and to the temperature sensor, wherein the temperature sensor sends a temperature measurement value by means of a measurement signal to the personal computer by means of the analogue/digital converter, wherein the measurement signal allows a time-sensitive and temperature-sensitive control of heat supplied to the cooking field and controlled by the personal computer.

19. The kitchen workplate with an integrated cooking field according to claim 18, wherein the personal computer assumes control between the temperature measurement value in the material to be prepared and a preset temperature setting.

20. The kitchen workplate with an integrated cooking field according to claim 18, further comprising an operating panel attached to the control apparatus, wherein the personal computer is activated and operated through a switch and a monitor integrated into the operating panel.

21. The kitchen workplate with an integrated cooking field according to claim 18, further comprising electronic memory storage connected to the personal computer, wherein the personal computer is programmable based on an entering of cooking programs into the electronic memory storage, wherein said cooking programs induce that the control electronics on the one hand is activated, and wherein archived temperature courses in the cooking programs are automatically repeated depending on the time based on temperature measurement values delivered by the measurement signal.

22. The kitchen workplate with an integrated cooking field according to claim 20,

wherein the operating panel for a manual operation of the control apparatus is placed independent of the location of the cooking field and of the casing of the control electronics, wherein functions of the personal computer are in addition operable from the operating panel, and wherein the operating panel carries a liquid crystal display as a monitor used for the personal computer, and wherein the personal computer furnishes a freely programmable automatic control.

23. The kitchen workplate with an integrated cooking field according to claim 22, further comprising

an infrared remote control connected to the control apparatus, wherein the manual operation of the cooking field is controlled by the infrared remote control;

a removable child-safety bow-shaped guard, attached through support washers underneath the workplate, and securable with said remote control.

24. The kitchen workplate with an integrated cooking field according to claim 9, wherein the stone workplate is made of granite, wherein the granite exhibits weakly ferromagnetic properties, wherein an electromagnetic resistance difference exists between a thin stone web between the cooking pot and the induction coil and a thicker edge zone relative to the remaining workplate, wherein a shielding of the edge zone and a bundling of a magnetic field toward the cooking utensil is generated and effected, and wherein the geometry of the stone material surrounding the induction coil effects a shielding of magnetic stray fields.

25. The kitchen workplate with an integrated cooking field according to claim 9, wherein the stone workplate has a flat continuous upper surface;

wherein the thickness of the stone is from about 7 millimeters to 4 centimeters.

26. The kitchen workplate with an integrated cooking field according to claim 9, further comprising

a second cavity structure milled out of at a predetermined second position on the underside of the stone workplate, wherein a distance between the first cavity structure and the second cavity structure is smaller than the diameter of the first cavity structure.

27. The kitchen workplate with an integrated cooking field according to claim 17, wherein the bow-shaped guard extends along the front of and on top of the workplate;

wherein an elongated channel having a first expanding end and a second expanding end is milled out on the underside of the workplate;

wherein a tie rod is placed in the elongated channel;

wherein the tie rod is fastened with a first end in the first expanding end by way of a first nut and wherein the tie rod is fastened with a second end in the second expanding end by way of a second nut;

wherein a first end of the bow-shaped guard is attached to the first end of the tie rod and wherein a second end of the bow-shaped guard is attached to the second end of the tie rod.