Household appliance for cooking food and related operating method

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a household appliance for cooking food comprising a frame defining a cooking compartment that can be controlled in temperature and has an access opening; a door connected hingedly to the frame and switchable between a cooking position in which it is positioned to close the opening of the cooking compartment, an access position in which it leaves the opening of the cooking compartment free so as to allow the introduction and extraction of food from the cooking compartment, and a ajar position, intermediate between the cooking position and the access position, in which the door is at least partially spaced apart from the opening of the cooking compartment; opening members configured to act on the door to switch it between the cooking position and the ajar position. A feature of the household appliance is that it comprises an suction unit placed in fluid communication with the cooking compartment and configured to extract at least part of a volume of air present in said cooking compartment when the door is in the ajar position or access position.

1 . Household appliance for cooking food, comprising:
 a frame defining a temperature-controllable cooking compartment adapted to receive food to be cooked, said cooking compartment having an opening configured to allow the introduction and extraction of the food into/from the cooking compartment;   a door hingedly connected to the frame and switchable between a cooking position in which it is positioned to close the opening of the cooking compartment, an access position in which it leaves the opening of the cooking compartment free so as to allow the introduction and extraction of said food into/from the cooking compartment, and a ajar position, intermediate between the cooking position and the access position, in which the door is at least partially spaced apart from the opening of the cooking compartment, the door having a hinging portion rotatably connected to the frame, and a pushing portion opposite the hinging portion;   opening members configured to act on the door to switch the door between the cooking position and the ajar position;   a suction unit placed in fluid communication with the cooking compartment and configured to extract at least part of a volume of air present in said cooking compartment when the door is in the ajar position or access position   
       wherein the opening members are configured to abut on the pushing portion of the door and exert a force adapted to switch the door from the cooking position to the ajar position. 
     
     
         2 . Household appliance according to  claim 1 , wherein opening members are integrated in the frame. 
     
     
         3 . Household appliance according to  claim 2 , wherein:
 the opening of the cooking compartment has a perimeter contour having an upper edge;   the opening members are integrated into the frame at the upper edge of the perimeter contour.   
     
     
         4 . Household appliance according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the door is rotatably connected to the frame around an axis of rotation at the hinging portion, the door rotating around the axis of rotation assumes different angles with respect to the opening of the cooking compartment;   the opening members are configured to rotate the door around the axis of rotation to switch it from the cooking position to the ajar position.   
     
     
         5 . Household appliance according to  claim 1 , wherein the opening members are configured to make the door perform a rotation comprised between 5° and 15°. 
     
     
         6 . Household appliance according to  claim 1 , wherein the opening members comprise a push rod configured to exert a pushing action on the door to switch it from the cooking position to the ajar position. 
     
     
         7 . Household appliance according to  claim 6 , wherein the opening members comprise motorization members configured to move the push rod between an extracted position in which it at least partially projects from the frame with respect to the opening of the cooking compartment, and a retracted configuration in which it is arranged internally to the frame. 
     
     
         8 . Household appliance according to  claim 7 , wherein the motorization members are configured to move the push rod along a direction transverse to the opening of the cooking compartment. 
     
     
         9 . Household appliance according to  claim 1 , comprising an electronic control unit in signal communication with the opening members, said electronic control unit having a user interface configured to send an actuation signal of the opening members so as to switch the door between the cooking position and the ajar position. 
     
     
         10 . Household appliance according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the frame comprises an extraction slit in fluid communication with the cooking compartment when the door is in the ajar position or access position;   the suction unit is in fluid communication with the extraction slit to extract through said extraction slit at least part of the volume of air present in the cooking compartment when the door is in the ajar position or access position.   
     
     
         11 . Household appliance according to  claim 10 , wherein:
 the door comprises a cooling gap;   the extraction slit is in fluid communication with said cooling gap when the door is in the cooking position;   the suction unit is configured to generate a cooling flow in the cooling gap when the door is in the cooking position.   
     
     
         12 . Household appliance according to  claim 10 , wherein:
 the opening of the cooking compartment has a perimeter contour having an upper edge;   the extraction slit is arranged at said upper edge of the perimeter contour of the opening.   
     
     
         13 . Household appliance according to  claim 12 , wherein the extraction slit extends parallel to said upper edge of the perimeter contour of the opening. 
     
     
         14 . Household appliance according to  claim 1 , comprising:
 a hob arranged above the cooking compartment and having an extraction opening for cooking fumes;   a downdraft hood comprising the suction unit, said downdraft hood having a first extraction duct configured to fluid-dynamically connect the suction unit with the cooking compartment, and a second extraction duct configured to fluid-dynamically connect the suction unit with the extraction opening of the hob.   
     
     
         15 . Method of operating a household appliance, wherein:
 said household appliance for cooking food comprises:
 a frame defining a temperature-controllable cooking compartment adapted to receive food to be cooked, said cooking compartment having an opening configured to allow the introduction and extraction of the food into/from the cooking compartment; 
 a door hingedly connected to the frame and switchable between a cooking position in which it is positioned to close the opening of the cooking compartment, an access position in which it leaves the opening of the cooking compartment free so as to allow the introduction and extraction of said food into/from the cooking compartment, and a ajar position, intermediate between the cooking position and the access position, in which the door is at least partially spaced apart from the opening of the cooking compartment, the door having a hinging portion rotatably connected to the frame, and a pushing portion opposite the hinging portion; 
 opening members configured to act on the door to switch the door between the cooking position and the ajar position; 
 a suction unit placed in fluid communication with the cooking compartment and configured to extract at least part of a volume of air present in said cooking compartment when the door is in the ajar position or access position wherein the opening members are configured to abut on the pushing portion of the door and exert a force adapted to switch the door from the cooking position to the ajar position 
   said method comprising the steps of:
 bringing the cooking compartment to a predetermined operating temperature with the door in the cooking position while the suction unit is in a first operating configuration; 
 actuating the opening members to switch the door from the cooking position to the ajar position; 
 at the same time as the actuation of the opening members, bringing the suction unit into a second operating configuration, different from the first operating configuration, to extract at least part of the air present in the cooking compartment; 
 maintaining the suction unit in the second operating configuration as long as the door is in the ajar position; 
 returning the suction unit to the first operating configuration when the door is in the access position or in the closing position. 
   
     
     
         16 . Method according to  claim 15 , wherein:
 in the first operating configuration the suction unit is deactivated or configured to generate an extraction flow having a first volumetric flow rate value P 1 ;   in the second operating configuration, the suction unit is configured to generate an extraction flow having a second volumetric flow rate value P 2  greater than the first volumetric flow rate value.   
     
     
         17 . Method according to  claim 15 , wherein the step of actuating the opening members comprises the sub-steps of:
 actuating the motorization members of the opening members to switch the push rod from the retracted position to the extracted position;   maintaining the push rod in the extracted position as long as the door is in the ajar position;   actuating the motorization members of the opening members to switch the push rod from the extracted position to the retracted position when the door is brought into the access position.