Home appliance having a locally stored temperature probe

Abstract

A home appliance includes a housing and a temperature probe storage system, such as a deployable storage compartment assembly, configured to store a temperature probe in a position in which the temperature probe is concealed from view in a first instance and visible and accessible to a user in a second instance.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A home appliance comprising:
 a housing; and   a temperature probe storage system configured to store a temperature probe in a position in which the temperature probe is concealed from view in a first instance and visible and accessible to a user in a second instance.   
     
     
         2 . The home appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the temperature probe storage system comprises:
 a deployable storage compartment assembly configured to store and at least partially enclose the temperature probe,   wherein a part of the deployable storage compartment assembly is moveable from a first position in which the temperature probe is concealed from view and a second position in which the temperature probe is visible and accessible to the user.   
     
     
         3 . The home appliance of  claim 2 , wherein the deployable storage compartment assembly is recessed into a part of the housing. 
     
     
         4 . The home appliance of  claim 2 , wherein the housing is a cooking appliance housing having a cooking compartment and a door providing access to the cooking compartment, and
 wherein the deployable storage compartment assembly is recessed into a part of a frame of the cooking appliance housing surrounding an opening of the cooking compartment, the frame being concealed by a part of the door when the door is in a closed position.   
     
     
         5 . The home appliance of  claim 2 , wherein the housing is a cooking appliance housing having a cooking compartment and a door providing access to the cooking compartment, and
 wherein the deployable storage compartment assembly is recessed into a part of the door of the home appliance.   
     
     
         6 . The home appliance of  claim 5 , wherein the part of the door is an upper edge of the door such that the deployable storage compartment assembly is accessible to the user when the door is one of in an open state and a partially open state. 
     
     
         7 . The home appliance of  claim 5 , wherein the part of the door is a door handle of the door. 
     
     
         8 . The home appliance of  claim 2 , wherein the deployable storage compartment assembly is recessed into a part of a control panel of the home appliance. 
     
     
         9 . The home appliance of  claim 2 , wherein the housing is a housing of a ventilation appliance, and the deployable storage compartment assembly is recessed into a part of the housing of the ventilation appliance. 
     
     
         10 . The home appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an articulatable control panel,   wherein the temperature probe storage system is recessed into a part of the housing behind the articulatable control panel, and   wherein the articulatable control panel is movable between a first position in which the temperature probe storage system is concealed from view by the articulatable control panel and a second position in which the temperature probe storage system is visible and accessible to the user.   
     
     
         11 . The home appliance of  claim 10 , wherein the temperature probe storage system comprises:
 a deployable storage compartment assembly configured to store and at least partially enclose the temperature probe,   wherein a part of the deployable storage compartment assembly is moveable from a first position in which the temperature probe is concealed from view and a second position in which the temperature probe is visible and accessible to the user, and   wherein the part of the deployable storage compartment assembly is automatically deployed from the first position to the second position when the articulatable control panel is moved into the second position.   
     
     
         12 . The home appliance of  claim 2 , wherein the deployable storage compartment assembly includes an actuating device that controls a movement of the part of the deployable storage compartment assembly. 
     
     
         13 . The home appliance of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 a control panel having a user input device for controlling an operation of the home appliance; and   an actuating device that controls movement of the part of the deployable storage compartment assembly from the first position to the second position, the actuating device being in communication with the control panel,   wherein the actuating device selectively moves the part of the deployable storage compartment assembly from the first position to the second position based on a user input to the control panel.   
     
     
         14 . The home appliance of  claim 2 , wherein the deployable storage compartment assembly includes an access cover that is substantially flush with a surrounding surface of a part of the appliance when the deployable storage compartment assembly is in a closed position. 
     
     
         15 . The home appliance of  claim 2 , wherein the deployable storage compartment assembly comprises:
 a body configured to receive the temperature probe, the body forming the part of the deployable storage compartment assembly moveable from the first position to the second position;   a support frame moveably supporting the body; and   an access cover that is one of adjacent to and substantially flush with a surrounding surface of a part of the appliance when the deployable storage compartment assembly is in the first position.   
     
     
         16 . The home appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the temperature probe storage system includes at least one insulation element to restrict heat transfer from other components of the home appliance to components of the temperature probe storage system. 
     
     
         17 . The home appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the temperature probe storage system includes a wireless charging device configured to charge the temperature probe. 
     
     
         18 . The home appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the temperature probe storage system includes a direct contact charging device configured to charge the temperature probe. 
     
     
         19 . The home appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the housing is a cooking appliance housing having a cooking compartment and a door providing access to the cooking compartment, and
 wherein the temperature probe storage system comprises:
 a casing recessed into a part of a frame of the cooking appliance housing surrounding an opening of the cooking compartment, the frame being concealed by a part of the door when the door is in a closed position; and 
 a pop-out temperature probe stored in the casing and moveable from a first position in which a part of the temperature probe is concealed from view by the casing and a second position in which the temperature probe is accessible to be removed from the casing by the user. 
   
     
     
         20 . The home appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the housing is a cooking appliance housing having a cooking compartment and a door providing access to the cooking compartment, and
 wherein the temperature probe storage system comprises:
 one or more retainers on a part of a frame of the cooking appliance housing surrounding an opening of the cooking compartment, the frame being concealed by a part of the door when the door is in a closed position, 
 wherein the one or more retainers are configured to removably secure the temperature probe in a fixed position.