BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[002] In the ovens of the state of the art, particularly in electric or gas household in-built ovens, there is a need to cool the control panel, electromechanical or electronic components. Still, in the specific case of gas ovens it is also necessary to drive the hot air from the cooking chamber to the exterior of the household appliance.

[003] These needs are based, among other reasons, the oven, when in operation, heats its surroundings, and may damage its components, as for example, the electrical circuits that are associated with the operations of such household appliance.

[004] In this sense, it is noted a large amount of solutions developed for the purpose of cooling this heated air. The document US 4,601 ,279 discloses a solution that comprises a lower channel of ambient air supply, disposed below the cooking chamber, and a mixed aperture, that is, an aperture of both ambient air supply and hot air exhaust, disposed below the control panel of the oven. The oven described in this document describes and also illustrates that the lower channel of air supply extends to the upper portion of the cooking chamber, passing through the posterior part of the oven. In the upper portion of the oven, on the cooking chamber, there is a fan connected to an air exhaust channel. In this way, the fan imposes an airflow and directs the hot air through the exhaust channel to the said aperture positioned beneath the panel.

[005] Another document of the state of the art that discloses a similar solution is the US 3,485,229, This document shows a lower channel of air supply, which passes through the back of the oven, and a hot air outlet disposed at the bottom of the control panel of the oven. These characteristics are also present in the documents US 3,889,099, US 4,763,638 and US 3,310,046.

[006] Still, some solutions from the state of the art foresee the air outlet above the control panel, as it is the case of the system described in the document FR 2 726 633. Even so, this document also shows that the air supply channel has its air inlet aperture located at the bottom of the oven, wherein this channel extends through the rear portion of the household appliance.

[007J Even in view of the various solutions presented by the state of the art, some problems still persist in this field of cooling systems for household ovens.

[008] As for the solutions described in the documents US 4,601 ,279, US 3,485,229, US 3,889,099, US 4,763,638 and US 3,310,046, it is noted that the hot air is expelled by openings located at the bottom of the control panel. Therefore, in the case of gas ovens or electric ovens, it is important to consider that this hot air coming out just below the control panel causes the panel to warm up, so as to cause discomfort to the user who needs to handle the command interface of the oven disposed thereon.

[009] In addition to these disadvantages, both in gas ovens and electric ovens, there are still other drawbacks. Overall, the solutions predict large and bulky ducts for air circulation. This can be seen in the documents mentioned herein as examples. In some cases there is at least one air inlet located at the bottom of the cooking chamber that connects to a large volume duct that passes through the back of the oven.

[010] As a consequence of the large volume required for the construction of canals, ducts or cavities, there is a greater cost involved in the manufacturing of the oven, for example, it is used a greater amount of plates and other materials. Furthermore, the overheating of the surface of the front pane! causes unnecessary discomfort and disorders to the consumer, which also leads to its dissatisfaction and weakening of the product's trademark in view of the market. Moreover, depending on how much the front panel region is heated, there may even be a safety hazard to the consumer (burnings).

[01 1 J Furthermore, it should be commented that the ovens generally have an equal height for a given size, which is a limiting factor. Thus, with this limited height, the ventilation systems and the cooking chamber/cavity "compete" by space, i.e., they should be allocated within such defined space. In this way, the oven in order to offer a cooking chamber/cavity with a large capacity, the ventilation system must be compact.

[01 2] In this sense, the current state of the art lacks a cooling system for ovens, particularly for household gas or electrical built-in ovens, which can overcome the drawbacks and disadvantages exposed above.

OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION

[013] Therefore, the present invention basically aims to solve the problems of components overheating and in the oven-handling regions, in addition to offering a compact, low-cost system, which allows to offer an oven with a bigger useful volume (for the cooking cavity/chamber, for example), without having to change the dimensions of the product.

BRjEF DESCRIPTOR OF THE INVENTON

[014]The objectives of the present invention are achieved by means of a cooling system for oven, wherein the oven comprises at least one front control panel, a cooking chamber beneath the front control panel and an opening and closing door of the cooking chamber. The system comprises: an air inlet; an air supply channel f!uidically connected to the air inlet; an air outlet; an exhaust channel fluidically connected to the air outlet; an air circulation device disposed between the air supply channel and the exhaust channel, wherein the air circulation device is capable of imposing an air flow from the air supply channel to the exhaust channel. The air outlet is disposed above the front control panel and the air inlet is disposed at the front portion of the oven, at the bottom region of the front control panel and above the door. The air supply channel is disposed below the exhaust channel, wherein, between the supply channel and the exhaust channel, it is provided a dividing wall.

BRSEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[015] The present invention will be described in detail based on the figure indicated below, in which:

[016] The figure 1 is a side cross-sectional view of the superior portion of a household oven.

DETAILED DESCR!PTION OF THE INVENT!QN

[017] The object of the present invention will be further described in detail and explained based on the attached drawing, which present a merely illustrative and non-limiting character, given that adaptations and modifications can be made without, with it, escaping the scope of the claimed protection.

[018] The present invention refers to a cooling system for an oven. In an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, the oven is a household, of built-in type, and it could be a gas or electric oven. In reference to figure 1 , the said oven comprises a front control panel 4, a cooking chamber V below the front control panel 4, wherein the cooking chamber V is the space for preparing food. The front control panel 4 comprises the interface by which a user can command the functions of the oven. Moreover, the said oven also comprises a door, which allows the closure of the cooking chamber V and the access to its interior.

[019] The cooling system of the present invention is disposed on the cooking chamber V and behind the front control panel 4 of the oven, as shown in Figure 1 . As shown in the figure, the system does not extend to the posterior portion of the cooking chamber, and, thus, occupies less space in relation to the systems of the state of the art.

[020] The cooling system of the present invention comprises an air inlet 2 disposed at the front portion of the oven, and, more precisely, at the bottom region of the front control panel 4 and above the door 3. The air inlet 2 can be accomplished in several ways within the scope of the present invention, such as, for example, one or several small orifices or cavities. Fluidically connected to this air inlet 2, the system of the present invention comprises an air supply channel 7. Through this channel 7, the air from the external environment to the oven circulates into the system of the present invention. As if can be observed from figure 1 , the air supply channel 7 extends from the air inlet 2 to an air circulation device 5, wherein such extension takes the direction of the rear portion of the oven.

[021 ] The system of the present invention also comprises an air outlet 1 disposed above the control panel 4. In the same way as the air inlet 2, the air outlet 1 can be accomplished in several ways within the scope of the present invention, wherein it is also possible to carry it out as one or more orifices, for example. Fluidically connected to this air outlet 1 , the system of the present invention comprises an exhaust channel 6, which extends from the air circulation device 5 to the air outlet 1 , in the direction of the front portion of the oven 1 1 . The exhaust channel 6 has the function of driving the air from the inside of the cooling system to the outside of the oven, through the air outlet 1 .

[022] The air supply channel 7 is disposed below the exhaust channel 6, wherein, between the supply channel 7 and the exhaust channel 6, it is provided a dividing wall 9. The dividing wall 9 extends from the proximity of the air circulation device 5 to the air outlet 1 . In a preferential embodiment of the present invention, as illustrated in figure 1 , the dividing wall 9 is tilted, wherein its closest end to the air outlet 1 is higher than the closest end to the air circulation device 5. In this way, the air supply channel 7 comprises a fairly large volume without the need to use the rear portion of the oven to make ducts, as it occurs in the state of the art.

[023] The already mentioned air circulation device 5 is disposed between the air supply channel 7 and the exhaust channel 6, being capable of imposing an air flow from the air supply channel 7 to the exhaust channel 8. In an embodiment of the present invention, the air circulation device can be a tangential type fan. Evidently, other devices can be employed within the scope of the present invention.

[024J Optionally, in the event that the present invention is carried out in gas ovens, the cooling system can also comprise an auxiliary duct 8 connecting the cooking chamber V of the oven to the air supply channel 7, as shown in figure 1 . In this way, the hot air that is inside the cooking chamber V can circulate and be directed to outside of the oven, meeting the safety specifications. However, for such air directing to occur satisfactorily, the auxiliary duct comprises an elongated body which projects into the air supply channel 7. From this particular construction, it prevents that the colder air, which enters through the air inlet 2, may block the outlet of the hot air from the inside of the cooking chamber V, due to the speed with which the air passes through (due to the device 5 that suctions it), which could occur if the auxiliary duct 8 was a mere orifice disposed between the air supply channel 7 and the cooking chamber V.

[025] As it can be appreciated, the system of the present invention overcomes the disadvantages and drawbacks of the state of the art. The air outlet 1 being disposed above the front control panel 4 prevents the hot air from contacting the surface of the panel 4 itself. Thus, the problems of the emergence of rust and overheating of panel 4 and the electronic/electromechanical components behind pane! 4 are overcome. Moreover, in view of the layout and construction of the system of the present invention, it saves a considerable internal space in the oven. Therefore, it is possible to manufacture an oven with a larger internal usable volume, with the same external dimensions, with the employment of less material and hence lower cost.