The present disclosure relates to an actuated door opening mechanism, and more particularly an actuated door opening mechanism for a cooking appliance or device operated by a touch sensor device.
In conventional cooking appliances such as microwave ovens, a cooking chamber is provided to house an associated food product while having a closed or substantially sealed barrier. The sealed barrier is insulated and prevents the unwanted leakage of microwave energy or heat to the surrounding atmosphere while the cooking appliance is in use. The sealed barrier of the cooking chamber is oriented to allow a user or homeowner to have sufficient access to the associated food product that is cooked within the appliance.
Generally, access to the cooking chamber is provided by a door that has certain structural and functional attributes necessary to maintain a sealed barrier. These characteristics include providing insulation within the door and body of the cooking device, as well as having geometrically interconnected contoured edges aligned between the body and the door when closed. Hinges are provided about the door and have sufficient strength or reinforcement to allow for smooth operation and to prevent binding during opening and closing movements. The hinges are preferably located outside of the cooking chamber and do not impinge upon the sealed barrier. The door remains closed during use of the cooking device to prevent unwanted leakage of microwave energy or heat loss.
It is also known for cooking devices to include an interlock switch that provides a signal to the cooking device indicating when the door is in the closed position. When the door is opened, the interlock switch provides a signal to the cooking device indicating to shut off power supplied to the cooking chamber simultaneously with the opening of the door. This safety feature is generally known within the prior art and prevents the unwanted leakage of microwave energy from the cooking chamber.
Additionally, cooking devices include an opening mechanism to allow an associated user to open a securely closed door for access to the cooking chamber. There are many different types of door opening mechanisms available that are known within the prior art. Opening mechanisms are designed to rely upon an applied force supplied by the associated user to disengage a latch from a retaining member located within a guide hole or aperture contained by the body of the cooking device. Retaining members are known to be comprised of an arrangement of springs, guide members, and pivot joints within the body that receive and hold a latch to securely close the door to the body or housing of the cooking device.
Many cooking devices use a handle operatively mounted to an exterior surface of the door to manipulate the latch and thereby engage or disengage the door from the body. Other devices use a statically mounted handle whereby the latch is manipulated by a spring force coupled with an angular shaped or hooked portion of the latch to engage or disengage the door from the retaining member. However, a predetermined force must be applied to the handle by the user to overcome the spring force and effectively open and close the door of these cooking devices.
It is also known in the prior art to provide a push button or plunger type opening mechanism. Typical push buttons are mounted to the face of the cooking device and arranged adjacent to the door to manipulate the springs, guide members, etc., of the retaining member. However, push buttons also require an associated force provided by a user to manipulate the retaining member which disengages the latch and opens the door.
The associated force must be substantial enough to displace the latch from the arrangement within the body of the cooking device. The required force required to open/close the door varies as a function of the retaining member orientation and spring force constants, as well as a number of possible geometric design arrangements. Mechanical bindings and internal guide member friction forces also affect the amount of associated force necessary to displace the retainer and disengage the latch. Additionally, the position of the user relative to the cooking device. The user may be holding a food dish or tray and be unable to supply the required force to overcome the spring or latching force to open or close the door.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need to provide an opening mechanism for a cooking device that does not require a substantial associated force to open the door for access to the cooking chamber.
The present disclosure relates to a touch sensor used as an opening mechanism that allows a user to open the door of a cooking device without applying a large opening or closing force.
A preferred opening mechanism includes a body defining a cooking chamber and a door operatively mounted to the body to provide access to the cooking chamber while maintaining a closed barrier while in use. A touch sensor or tactile switch is mounted substantially flush to the exterior of the body and provides a signal to an actuator retaining member when engaged by an associated finger or dielectric object. The touch sensor/tactile switch comprises a substantially planar boundary area that can detect the presence of an associated finger or dielectric object within the boundary area. An actuator retaining member is located within the body of the cooking device that operatively receives and holds the latch. The latch engages the actuator retaining member while the door is in a closed position and thereby maintains a sealed barrier for the cooking chamber. The latch is released from the actuator retaining member when a signal is provided by the touch sensor. Further, the actuator retaining member provides a positive drive force to the latch and places the door in the open position without the use of an associated substantial force.
Touch sensor or tactile switch systems and displays coupled with a mechanism capable of providing a positive drive force eliminate the need for a substantial force applied to handles, mechanical buttons, keypads, keyboards, and pointing devices. For example, a user can carry out a sequence of instructions by touching an on-display touch screen to generate a signal to operate the appropriate function. The actuator retaining member also advantageously supplies a positive drive force to effectively disengage the latch from the retainer and thereby open the door.
A preferred embodiment includes a door opening mechanism for a cooking device that has a touch sensor/tactile switch and an actuator. An elongated bracket is provided within the door subject to a spring force and connects to a pawl and latch which extend outwardly towards the body to engage an actuator and retaining member, respectively located within the body. The touch sensor/tactile switch provides a signal to the actuator that supplies a positive drive force to the pawl thereby displacing the elongated bracket subject to the spring force and disengaging the latch from the retaining member and thereby opening the door without the use of substantial force.
Another preferred embodiment uses a capacitive touch screen as the touch sensor. The capacitive touch screen is responsive to an input or a conductive object such as a finger or a dielectric object. The capacitive touch screen measures capacitance caused by the touch, and uses the measured capacitance to determine touch presence. The touch screen recognizes the difference in capacitance and provides an output signal indicating touch occurrence.
Still another preferred embodiment uses a resistive touch screen as the touch sensor. The resistive touch screen includes two thin, electrically conductive layers separated by a narrow gap. The resistive touch screen registers the touch when the two conductive layers come into contact which causes a change in the electrical current and generates the signal.
Yet another preferred embodiment provides feedback to a user when a haptic or touch event is acknowledged on the touch sensor. The feedback can be visual, audible, or physical, or any combination of the three, to verify that a touch has occurred.
Still other benefits and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent upon reading and understanding the following detailed description.
Referring to
The face 230 of the microwave 100 preferably has a control panel 240 for the general control of the microwave 100 and to select the desired mode of cooking, a timer, a display, clock, etc. A touch sensor or tactile switch 250 is provided on a portion of the face 230 to allow an associated user to open the door 130 by bringing a finger or other dielectric object into contact or proximity with the touch sensor. The touch sensor 250 is generally mounted flush along the face 230 and includes a boundary area 260 that is generally rectangular but may also be arranged in any practical geometric shape that can be adapted to encompass any available area based on the design criteria of the face 230. There are several types of sensor technologies that are known within the prior art and this disclosure is not limited in this regard. Known technologies include the use of capacitive, resistive, surface wave, strain gauge, optical imaging, and infrared technologies amongst others that can sense the finger or dielectric object in contact with or closely adjacent with the touch sensor. Tactile switches can be activated by either buttons or through a protective film. Of course, touch sensors and tactile switches are preferred embodiments but the present disclosure should not be limited to these arrangements.
With additional reference to
More particularly, the latch 170 has a hooked portion 340 that is adapted to engage the bracket 270 inwardly of the inclined plane 280 as the latch is advanced through the slot 200, slides over the inclined surface 280, and into the cavity 290. The hooked portion 340 extends past a pinnacle or shoulder 350 of the inclined plate 280 where a segment of the latch is received through an opening 360 provided within the cavity 290. The hooked portion 340 is shaped to engage the bracket 270 to lock the door in the closed position.
Once the door 130 is in the process of being closed by an associated user, the hooked portion 340 of the latch 170 engages the base 310 of the inclined surface 280 and forces the latch 170 to shift in an upward direction while maintaining a substantially perpendicular orientation in relation to the door 130. An elongated bracket 320 is mounted within the door 130 and interconnects the latch 170 to a plurality of similar latches to allow for the uniform motion of the latches engaging similar brackets. The elongated bracket 320 is biased by a spring force represented by reference numeral 330 located within the door 130 and urges the latch over the pinnacle 350 of the inclined surface thereby locking the door 130 in the closed position subject to overcoming the predetermined spring force 330.
An actuator 370 is mounted to the bracket 270 and oriented to physically abut or engage the hooked portion 340 when the door is in the closed position. The actuator 370 may include any conventional automated mechanism including but not limited to a solenoid valve, a rotating cam, or linear drive. As shown in
Retaining members 400, 410 include interlock switches 420, 430 mounted to respective brackets 440, 450. Interlock switches are generally well known in the prior art and function as a shut off switch linked to the operation of the microwave oven 100. The brackets 440, 450 have a substantially similar arrangement as bracket 275 from
The interlock switches 420, 430 have actuating arms 460, 470, respectively, which are used utilized in such a way that depression of the actuating arms 460, 470 by latches 170, 180 also depress projections or buttons 480, 490 that activate the interlock switches 420, 430. The actuating arms 460, 470 are located adjacent to inclined plates 500, 510 in such a way that the segments 520, 530 of the latches 170, 180 protrude though openings 540, 550 of cavities 560, 570 and depress the respective actuating arms 460, 470 when the door 130 is in the closed position. When depressed, the interlock switches 420, 430 provide a signal indicating that the door is closed thereby allowing the operation of the microwave oven 100. Release of the actuating arms 460, 470 releases the buttons 480, 490 and, in turn, deactivates the interlock switches 420, 430 to shut off operation of the microwave oven.
Pawl 190 is mounted to elongated bracket 320 in a substantially parallel arrangement to latches 170, 180. The elongated bracket 320 provides uniform motion of latches 170, 180 and pawl 190 subject to the biasing spring force 330 within the door 130. The pawl 190 selectively penetrates slot 220 and is aligned to engage actuator 580. The actuator 580 is mounted within the body 110 of the microwave oven 100 and preferably arranged between retaining members 400, 410 for selective operative interaction of head portion 590 of the pawl 190 with the actuator 580.
The actuator 580 includes a drive pin 600 that is operatively connected to the solenoid or drive base 610. The actuator 580 is electrically interconnected with the touch sensor 250 to receive an open signal from the touch sensor 250. In response to the signal, the drive pin 600 is extended from the drive base 610 to engage the head portion 590 and move the pawl 190 in an upward, release direction. The actuator 580 drives the pawl 190 a predetermined distance to raise the elongated bracket 320 and displace the latches 170, 180 upwardly to a disengaged position relative to inclined surfaces 500, 510 and open the door of the microwave oven.
The actuator 580 may use alternative drive mechanisms including but not limited to a solenoid, rotating cam, rack and gear linear drive, etc. In addition, the touch sensor 250 may also provide feedback or a haptic effect indicating to an associated user that the sensor has been actuated. For example, the feedback may include a physical, visual or audible notification.
The disclosure has been described with respect to the preferred embodiments. Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur to others upon reading and understanding the preceding detailed description. It is intended that the disclosure be construed as including such modifications and alteration in so far as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.