Kiln with hinged control panel
AssigneeSkutt Ceramic Products, Inc.
InventorsJames E. Skutt, Michael J. Hampel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A kiln assembly is disclosed, including a heated kiln with an attached control box containing controls connected to the kiln heater. The control box is mounted on the kiln by a hinge, and can be secured with a closure device. A thermally insulated baffle is disposed within the control box and is spaced rearwardly from the front of the control box, and is essentially coextensive with the length and width of the control box to form a chimney. Louvers are provided to allow the flow of air through the chimney. A bank of plugs and sockets is exposed on the baffle, and interconnects the controls with the heater.
Claims31
A kiln assembly comprising:
- an upright body defining an enclosed space and having an exterior;
- a heater associated with the body to heat the enclosed space;
- a control box disposed on the body, where the control box includes an interior;
- and
- a hinge mounting the control box to the exterior, and permitting the control box to be pivoted around a vertical axis along the direction of the upright body to permit access to the interior of the control box.
A kiln assembly comprising:
- a body defining an enclosed space and having an exterior and interior and a top opening;
- heater coils adjacent the body's interior to heat the enclosed space;
- a lid adjacent the body for closing the top opening;
- a control box;
- a hinge connecting the control box to the body's exterior and allowing the control box to pivot;
- a heater controller disposed within the control box to control the heat produced by the heater coils, wherein the heater controller has a plurality of electric outputs;
- and
- a connection between the electric outputs and the heater coils.
A kiln assembly comprising:
- a body defining an enclosed space and having an exterior;
- a heater associated with the body to heat the enclosed space;
- a hollow control box attached to the exterior, wherein the control box has a bottom and a top;
- louvers on the control box to allow the flow of air through the control box;
- wherein the louvers are located on the bottom and the top;
- wherein the louvers on the bottom are directed away from the exterior;
- and
- wherein the louvers on the top are directed towards the exterior.
A kiln assembly comprising:
- a body defining an enclosed space and having an exterior;
- a heater associated with the body to heat the enclosed space;
- a hollow control box attached to the exterior, wherein the control box has a front that faces outward and an open back that faces the exterior;
- a thermally insulated baffle disposed within the control box spaced rearwardly from the front, and having a length and width substantially coextensive with the length and width of the control box to form a chimney between the baffle and the front;
- and
- a heater controller disposed within the chimney, so that the baffle forms a heat shield protecting the heater controller from heat when the kiln is operational.
A kiln assembly comprising:
- a body defining an enclosed space and having an exterior and interior and a top opening;
- heater coils adjacent the body's interior and substantially surrounding the enclosed space to heat the enclosed space;
- a lid adjacent the body for closing the top opening:
- a control box attached to the exterior;
- a heater controller disposed within the control box, wherein the heater controller has a plurality of electric outputs;
- and
- a bank of plugs interconnecting the electric outputs to the heater coils via electrically conductive wires.
A kiln assembly comprising:
- a body defining an enclosed space and having an exterior;
- a heater associated with the body to heat the enclosed space;
- a control box disposed on the body, where the control box includes an interior;
- a first hinge mounting the control box to the exterior;
- and
- a second hinge mounting the control box to the exterior;
- where the first and second hinges are spaced apart and define an axis around which the control box is pivoted to permit access to the interior of the control box.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.