Thermal management system and method for a connected oven

Abstract

The connected oven includes a cooking cavity defined by a back, a door opposing the bottom, a top adjacent the back and door, a bottom opposing the top, and opposing sidewalls adjacent the remainder of the walls, a user interface unit configured to receive instructions from the user, a sensor, and a thermal management system for minimizing or preventing thermal damage to heat-sensitive components arranged on the oven.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A connected oven, comprising:
 a heating element;   an oven body comprising an oven bottom, an oven back, and a dual-panel oven top, wherein the dual-panel oven top comprises:
 an exterior panel; 
 an interior panel arranged inferior the exterior panel, wherein the oven bottom, oven back, and interior panel cooperatively define a cooking cavity; 
   a cooling channel cooperatively defined between the exterior panel and the interior panel, the cooling channel defining:
 a fluid inlet arranged in the exterior panel proximal the oven door, wherein the interior panel comprises a solid segment coextensive with the fluid inlet; 
 a fluid outlet arranged in the oven back; 
 a fluid path between the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet; 
   a camera assembly comprising:
 a camera mounted to the interior panel and directed toward the oven bottom, wherein the camera is arranged substantially in the center of the interior panel; 
 a lighting system mounted to the interior panel, proximal the camera; and 
 a heatsink thermally connected to the cooling channel. 
   
     
     
         2 . The connected oven of  claim 1 , wherein an inferior surface of the interior panel comprises a low-reflectance coating. 
     
     
         3 . The connected oven of  claim 2 , wherein the low-reflectance coating is black. 
     
     
         4 . The connected oven of  claim 1 , wherein the fluid inlet comprises a first set of perforations in the exterior panel, and wherein the fluid outlet comprises a second set of perforations in the oven back. 
     
     
         5 . The connected oven of  claim 1 , wherein a plane of the fluid outlet is aligned with the fluid path, and a plane of the fluid inlet is aligned parallel the fluid path. 
     
     
         6 . The connected oven of  claim 1 , further comprising a convection element mounted to the oven back and fluidly connected to the fluid outlet, wherein the convection element is configured to draw cooling fluid from an ambient environment into the cooling channel through the fluid inlet. 
     
     
         7 . The connected oven of  claim 1 , wherein the lighting system comprises a set of light-emitting diodes. 
     
     
         8 . A connected oven, comprising:
 an oven body comprising an oven bottom, an oven back, and a dual-panel oven top, wherein the dual-panel oven top comprises:
 an exterior panel comprising a cooling channel inlet; 
 an interior panel arranged inferior the exterior panel, wherein the oven bottom, oven back, and interior panel cooperatively define a cooking cavity, the interior panel comprising a segment coextensive with the cooling channel inlet; 
   a heating element arranged within the cooking cavity;   a camera assembly mounted to the interior panel, the camera assembly comprising a camera directed toward the oven bottom;   a cooling channel arranged in the dual-panel oven top and thermally connected to the camera, the cooling channel fluidly connected to the cooling channel inlet and a cooling channel outlet defined by the oven body.   
     
     
         9 . The connected oven of  claim 8 , wherein the cooling channel is cooperatively defined by the exterior panel and the interior panel. 
     
     
         10 . The connected oven of  claim 8 , wherein the camera assembly further comprises a lighting system mounted to the interior panel proximal the camera. 
     
     
         11 . The connected oven of  claim 10 , wherein the lighting system comprises a set of light-emitting diodes. 
     
     
         12 . The connected oven of  claim 10 , wherein an interior face of the interior panel comprises a low-reflectance coating. 
     
     
         13 . The connected oven of  claim 8 , further comprising a printed circuit board (PCB) mounted to a superior face of the interior panel, wherein the PCB is electrically connected to the camera. 
     
     
         14 . The connected oven of  claim 8 , wherein the cooling channel outlet is defined by the oven back. 
     
     
         15 . The connected oven of  claim 14 , wherein the cooling channel inlet comprises a first set of perforations in the exterior panel, and wherein the cooling channel outlet comprises a second set of perforations in the oven back. 
     
     
         16 . The connected oven of  claim 8 , wherein a length of the cooling channel is less than a length of the exterior panel. 
     
     
         17 . The connected oven of  claim 8 , wherein the cooling channel outlet is aligned perpendicular a flow axis of the cooling channel, and wherein the cooling channel inlet is aligned parallel the flow axis. 
     
     
         18 . The connected oven of  claim 8 , further comprising a convection element mounted to the oven back and fluidly connected to the cooling channel, wherein the convection element is configured to draw cooling fluid from the ambient environment into the cooling channel through the cooling channel inlet. 
     
     
         19 . The connected oven of  claim 8 , wherein camera assembly further comprises a set of light-emitting diodes. 
     
     
         20 . The connected oven of  claim 19 , further comprising a heatsink connected to the camera assembly.