Device and implementation thereof for repairing damage in a cooking appliance
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsPatrick Galbreath, Mark Heimerdinger
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A cooking appliance such as a microwave oven is provided with a sacrificial region for repairing damage caused by arcing and related failure modes. The sacrificial region incorporates a component that, when damaged, is removable from the cooking appliance for replacement by another component of similar construction. In one implementation, a sacrificial component is utilized in a microwave oven with a heated cavity subject to microwave radiation from a magnetron. The sacrificial component in this example includes an aperture that communicates with an opening in the cavity, and through which the radiation impinges into the heated cavity.
Claims20
A cooking appliance, comprising:
- a magnetron providing radiation;
- a heated cavity comprising a cavity wall defining an opening exposing the heated cavity to the radiation, the opening in the cavity wall defining a closed perimeter;
- and
- a sacrificial component defining an aperture in communication with the opening to permit radiation to pass through the sacrificial component and into the heated cavity, wherein the sacrificial component is removable from the heated cavity and is positioned inside of the heating cavity and in proximity to the magnetron, and wherein the aperture in the sacrificial component is sized and shaped so that no portion of the aperture extends beyond the closed perimeter of the opening in the cavity wall.
In a microwave oven with a heated cavity for cooking food therein, the heated cavity comprising a cavity wall with a top cavity wall, a bottom cavity wall, a rear cavity wall, and a pair of opposing side cavity walls, the heated cavity exposed to radiation from a magnetron via an opening in the cavity wall, the opening in the cavity wall defining a closed perimeter, said microwave oven comprising:
- a sacrificial component defining an aperture therethrough positioned with respect to the opening so as to permit radiation to pass to the heated cavity through the sacrificial component, wherein the sacrificial component is positioned inside of the heating cavity in proximity to the magnetron and is secured to the heated cavity in a manner that permits the sacrificial component to be removed from said microwave oven, and wherein the aperture in the sacrificial component is sized and shaped so that no portion of the aperture extends beyond the closed perimeter of the opening in the cavity wall.
A microwave oven, comprising:
- a magnetron;
- a heated cavity receiving radiation from the magnetron, the heated cavity including a cavity wall defining an opening exposing the heated cavity to the radiation, the opening in the cavity wall defining a closed perimeter;
- a cover coupled to the cavity wall, the cover comprising a surface covering the opening;
- a plate located between the surface and the cavity wall, the plate defining an aperture in communication with the opening to permit radiation to pass through the plate and into the heated cavity during operation of the magnetron, wherein the plate is removable from the heated cavity and is positioned outside inside of the heating cavity in proximity to the magnetron, and wherein the aperture in the plate is sized and shaped so that no portion of the aperture extends beyond the closed perimeter of the opening in the cavity wall.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.