Kitchen worktop arrangement

Abstract

A kitchen worktop arrangement, comprising a glass ceramic worktop plate having a top side and a bottom side averted from the top side, and being attached with its bottom side to the top side of a supporting plate; the supporting plate comprising at least one cut-out for arranging a cooking hob assembly, the cooking hob assembly being arranged at the bottom side of the glass ceramic worktop plate in a section averted from the cut-out, the cooking hob assembly defining at least one cooking section of the glass ceramic worktop plate, wherein the worktop plate comprises at least one bearing section projecting beyond the cooking section of the worktop plate, the bottom side of the bearing section being attached to the top side of the supporting plate; and wherein at least one mounting interface is secured at or to the bottom side of the glass ceramic worktop plate within or in the area of the cooking section for releasable coupling one or more components of the hob assembly to the bottom side.

1 . A kitchen worktop arrangement, comprising:
 a glass ceramic worktop plate having a top side and a bottom side averted from the top side, and being attached via its bottom side to a top side of a supporting plate;   the supporting plate comprising at least one cut-out for arranging a cooking hob assembly,   the cooking hob assembly being arranged at the bottom side of the glass ceramic worktop plate in a section of the cut-out, the cooking hob assembly defining a cooking section of the glass ceramic worktop plate,   wherein the worktop plate comprises at least one bearing section projecting beyond the cooking section of the worktop plate, a bottom side of the bearing section being attached to the top side of the supporting plate; and   wherein at least one mounting interface is secured at or to the bottom side of the glass ceramic worktop plate within or in an area of the cooking section for releasably coupling one or more components of the hob assembly to the bottom side of the glass ceramic worktop plate.   
     
     
         2 . The kitchen worktop arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one mounting interface is configured such that at least one said component of the hob assembly is mountable and dismountable from the bottom side of the glass ceramic worktop plate. 
     
     
         3 . The kitchen worktop arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one mounting interface comprises at least one fastening element, and wherein each said fastening element has a locking direction in parallel to the worktop plate, the locking direction being oriented perpendicularly to an edge of the cut-out and/or perpendicularly to a side of the worktop plate. 
     
     
         4 . The kitchen worktop arrangement according to  claim 3 , wherein the at least one fastening element is configured such that it is moveable from and/or can be transferred between a locking position to an unlocking position by manually engaging an unlocking tool with the at least one fastening element. 
     
     
         5 . The kitchen worktop arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one mounting interface is configured and arranged such that it is engageable by an unlocking tool from a bottom side of the worktop arrangement. 
     
     
         6 . The kitchen worktop arrangement according to  claim 5 , wherein the at least one mounting interface comprises one or more spring loaded snap elements configured such that engagement of said at least one mounting interface by said unlocking tool comprises passing over the one or more snap elements from a locking position into an unlocking position by elastically deforming at least in part the one or more spring loaded snap element. 
     
     
         7 . The kitchen worktop arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the cut-out is a circumferentially closed recess of the supporting plate, the recess being configured such that the hob assembly projects, in a mounted state, through or into the recess whilst being accessible from a bottom side of the worktop arrangement. 
     
     
         8 . The kitchen worktop arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the worktop plate projects a predetermined length beyond at least one side of the cooking section, wherein the at least one mounting interface is provided, such that in an ordinary mounted state of the cooking hob assembly, for at least one inner face side of the cut-out a predefined minimum distance to an adjacent side of a mounted hob assembly is defined. 
     
     
         9 . The kitchen worktop arrangement according to  claim 8 , wherein the minimum distance is defined such that the mounting interface can be freely moved between a locking position and an unlocking position without interfering, in the locking and/or unlocking position, with said at least one inner face side of the cut-out. 
     
     
         10 . The kitchen worktop arrangement according to  claim 1 , further comprising at least one further worktop plate having a top side and a bottom side averted from the top side, and being attached via its bottom side to the top side of said supporting plate; wherein the top side of the worktop plate and the top side of the at least one further worktop plate form a flush mounted working surface; and wherein a gap between the worktop plate and an adjacent further worktop plate is filled with a humidity-tight seal. 
     
     
         11 . The kitchen worktop arrangement according to  claim 10 , wherein the at least one further worktop plate is formed as an integral part of the supporting plate. 
     
     
         12 . The kitchen worktop arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one mounting interface is adhesively bonded to the bottom side of the worktop plate. 
     
     
         13 . A method for assembling the kitchen worktop arrangement according to  claim 1 , comprising:
 a step a) of providing the supporting plate;   a step b) of providing the glass ceramic worktop plate;   a step c) of providing the at least one mounting interface at the bottom side of the worktop plate;   a step d) of securing the bearing section of the worktop plate to the top side of the supporting plate at a counterpart bearing section; and   a step e) of releasably securing the one or more components of the hob assembly to the at least one mounting interface.   
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the step e) of releasably securing the one or more components of the hob assembly to the at least one mounting interface further comprises:
 engaging the at least one mounting interface with at least one counterpart mounting interface provided at the one or more components of the hob assembly by pushing the one or more components in a direction perpendicular to the bottom side of the worktop plate to thereby engage the mounting interface/s and counterpart mounting interface/s.   
     
     
         15 . An unlocking tool for engagement with the at least one mounting interface of the worktop arrangement according to  claim 1 , configured to move the at least one mounting element from and/or transfer it from a locking position to an unlocking position, and to disengage at least one spring loaded snap element of said at least one mounting element. 
     
     
         16 . The kitchen worktop arrangement according to  claim 5 , wherein engagement of said at least one mounting interface by said unlocking tool requires pushing the unlocking tool in a direction towards the bottom side of the worktop plate to thereby engage the unlocking tool with the mounting element and to unlock the one or more components from the mounting element. 
     
     
         17 . The kitchen worktop arrangement according to  claim 8 , said predefined minimum distance being between the at least one inner face side of the cut-out and one or more spring-loaded snap elements on said glass ceramic worktop plate. 
     
     
         18 . A kitchen worktop arrangement comprising:
 a supporting plate having a top side and a cut-out therethrough, said cut-out having a side wall defining a perimeter of said cut-out; and   a glass ceramic worktop plate having a top side and a bottom side, a plurality of fastening elements being attached to and extending from said bottom side at locations at or adjacent a perimeter of a cooking section of the glass ceramic worktop plate, said fastening elements being configured to releasably couple and thereby suspend a hob assembly from beneath said glass ceramic worktop plate in a position corresponding to said cooking section, a bearing section of said glass ceramic worktop plate being located adjacent to and extending beyond said cooking section thereof;   said glass ceramic worktop plate being attached via its bottom side to the top side of said supporting plate such that said cooking section of said glass ceramic worktop plate is smaller than, and located radially inward of, said cut-out in said supporting plate, wherein a minimum distance of not less than  1  centimeter is defined between said side wall of said cut-out and each of said fastening elements, said hob assembly being received through said cut-out in said supporting plate when it is installed and coupled to said fastening elements to thereby suspend said hob assembly from said bottom side of said worktop plate;   a moisture-tight seal between said top side of said supporting plate and said bottom side of said worktop plate in said bearing section thereof to avoid penetration of moisture between said worktop plate and said supporting plate toward said hob assembly when said hob assembly is installed and suspended from beneath said worktop plate;   each said fastening element comprising a snap projection extending downward from, in a direction perpendicular to, said bottom side of said worktop plate and having a snap nose projecting from said snap projection, said snap projection being biased in order to urge said snap nose into engagement with a complementary recess provided in an engagement surface of said hob assembly in order to couple said fastening element to said hob assembly.   
     
     
         19 . The kitchen worktop arrangement according to  claim 18 , configured such that translation of a tooth of an unlocking tool between said snap projection and said engagement surface of said hob assembly, upward from underneath said bottom side of said worktop plate in a direction perpendicular thereto, will deflect said snap projection against its bias thereby withdrawing said snap nose from said recess, wherein upon complete withdrawal thereof said hob will no longer be coupled to said fastening element and can be withdrawn therefrom downward in a direction perpendicular to the bottom side of said worktop plate through said cut-out in said supporting plate, said minimum distance between said side wall of said cut-out and each said fastening element being sufficient so as to avoid said supporting plate interfering with either said unlocking tool or the deflection of the snap element of said fastening element when said tool is used to decouple said hob assembly from said fastening element.