The present disclosure generally relates to a bumper, and more specifically, to an appliance bumper.
Many cooking appliances include a door hingedly coupled with a cabinet of the appliance. The door may be configured to selectively cover an access opening to a cooking compartment. For optimal thermal performance of an appliance, a good seal between the door and the cooking compartment is advantageous.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a cooking appliance includes a cabinet defining a cooking compartment, a front panel coupled with the cabinet, wherein the front panel defines an access opening in communication with the cooking compartment, a door hingedly coupled with the cabinet and configured to selectively cover the access opening and a bumper coupled with an aperture defined by one of the door and front panel. The bumper includes a cap defining a first end and a second end. The cap includes a disc-shaped portion disposed at the first end. An annular sidewall defines an interior therein, which is disposed between the first end and the second end of the cap. At least one flange projects from the annular sidewall, wherein at least one flange includes a first end and a second end and is sloped with respect to the disc-shaped portion of the cap. The second end of the flange is spaced further from the disc-shaped portion of the cap than the first end of the flange. A through-hole is defined by the second end of the cap. A fastener receiver is disposed within the interior of the cap. The bumper further includes a fastener having a shaft and a head. The shaft is disposed within the fastener receiver and the through-hole when the bumper is in a mounted state.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a bumper assembly for an appliance includes a cabinet having a front panel, a door hingedly coupled with the cabinet and configured to selectively contact the front panel, and a bumper coupled to one of the door and front panel. The bumper includes a cap having an annular outer sidewall defining an interior. At least one flange is coupled to the annular outer sidewall, the at least one flange extending along at least a portion of the annular outer sidewall. Further, the at least one flange includes a first end and a second end, the second end spaced further from the disc-shaped upper surface of the cap than the first end. The at least one flange also includes a stop that extends from the flange body and couples with the disc-shaped upper surface. The bumper further includes a through-hole in communication with the interior of the cap. A fastener is disposed within the interior and the through-hole when the bumper is in a mounted state.
According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a cooking appliance includes a cabinet having a front panel, wherein the front panel defines as access opening, a door hingedly coupled with the cabinet and configured to selectively cover the access opening, and a bumper coupled to one of the door and front panel. The bumper includes a cap defining an interior, and includes a disc-shaped upper portion at a first end of the cap. The cap includes an annular outer sidewall disposed between the first end of the cap and a second end of the cap. A first flange and a second flange are arranged in an opposing manner on the annular outer sidewall. A first stop extends from the first flange toward the disc-shaped upper portion and a second stop extends from the second flange toward the disc-shaped upper portion. A first wedge depends from the disc-shaped upper portion of the cap adjacent the first flange and a second wedge depends from the disc-shaped upper portion of the cap adjacent the second flange, wherein the first wedge and the second wedge are disposed adjacent an outer edge of the cap. The bumper further includes a through-hole defined by the cap, the through-hole having a diameter less than a diameter of the interior of the cap. A fastener having a shaft and a head is disposed within the through-hole and the head is disposed within the interior when the bumper is in a mounted state.
These and other features, advantages, and objects of the present disclosure will be further understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art by reference to the following specification, claims, and appended drawings.
In the drawings:
The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles described herein.
The present illustrated embodiments reside primarily in combinations of method steps and apparatus components related to a bumper for an appliance. Accordingly, the apparatus components and method steps have been represented, where appropriate, by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present disclosure so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein. Further, like numerals in the description and drawings represent like elements.
For purposes of description herein, the terms “upper,” “lower,” “right,” “left,” “rear,” “front,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the disclosure as oriented in
The terms “including,” “comprises,” “comprising,” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element proceeded by “comprises a . . . ” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.
Referring now to
Referring now to
The cooking appliance 10 may further include a plurality of user inputs 78 positioned on the cabinet 18. The user inputs 78 may include knobs, a touch display, or any other user input capable of providing instructions regarding the operation of the appliance 10 without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Referring now to
Still referring to
The bumper 14 may include a stop 126 disposed at the first flange end 114 of the flange 42. The stop 126 is configured to prevent rotation of the cap 30 in the mounted state. In some aspects, the stop 126 is coupled with the first end 102 of the cap. Optionally an upper portion of flange 42 on the cap 30 may provide a twist and lock feature for fastening the adjustable bumper 14 to the appliance 10.
Referring now to
Referring now to
Additionally, the cap 30 may include a wedge 160 depending from the first end 102. As illustrated in
Referring now to
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a cooking appliance may include a cabinet defining a cooking compartment, a front panel coupled with the cabinet, wherein the front panel defines an access opening in communication with the cooking compartment, a door hingedly coupled with the cabinet and configured to selectively cover the access opening and a bumper coupled with an aperture defined by one of the door and front panel. The bumper may include a cap defining an interior and having a first end spaced from a second end by an annular sidewall, at least one flange coupled to an outer surface of the annular sidewall, a through-hole defined by the second end, a fastener receiver disposed within the interior and fixedly coupled with the second end, and a fastener having a shaft and a head, the head having an elastomeric cover. The shaft may be disposed within the fastener receiver and the through-hole when the bumper is in a mounted state.
According to another aspect, an upper surface of the at least one flange may be sloped with respect to the first end of the cap.
According to another aspect, the at least one flange may include a stop disposed at an end of the at least one flange, the stop coupled with the first end of the cap and configured to prevent rotation of the cap in the mounted state.
According to another aspect, a pair of flanges may be disposed in an opposing manner on the annular sidewall.
According to another aspect, an upper surface of the elastomeric cover may be positioned one of planar with and above an upper surface of the cap in the mounted state.
According to another aspect, an aperture may be defined by the elastomeric cover, the aperture configured to allow access by a tool to the head of the fastener.
According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a bumper assembly for an appliance may include a cabinet having a front panel, a door hingedly coupled with the cabinet and configured to selectively contact the front panel, and a bumper coupled to one of the door and front panel. The bumper may include a cap having an annular outer surface defining an interior, at least one flange coupled to the outer surface, the at least one flange extending along at least a portion of the annular outer surface, a through-hole in communication with the interior, and a fastener having an elastomeric cover. The fastener may be disposed within the interior and the through-hole when the bumper is in a mounted state.
According to another aspect, a fastener receiver may be disposed within the interior of the cap.
According to another aspect, the fastener receiver may be molded within the cap, thereby forming a single piece.
According to another aspect, the at least one flange may include a first flange and a second flange disposed in an opposing manner on the annular outer surface.
According to another aspect, an upper surface of the elastomeric cover may be positioned one of planar with and above an upper surface of the cap in the mounted state.
According to another aspect, the at least one flange may include a stop disposed at an end of the at least one flange, the stop coupled with an upper portion of the cap and configured to prevent rotation of the cap in the mounted state.
According to another aspect, an upper surface of the at least one flange may be sloped with respect to an upper portion of the cap.
According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a cooking appliance may include a cabinet having a front panel, wherein the front panel defines as access opening, a door hingedly coupled with the cabinet and configured to selectively cover the access opening, and a bumper coupled to one of the door and front panel. The bumper may include a cap defining an interior, at least one fin coupled to an outer surface of the cap, wherein the at least one fin lies in a plane which intersects with a plane defined by an upper surface of the cap, a through-hole defined by the cap, the through-hole having a diameter less than a diameter of the interior, and a fastener having a shaft and a head, the head having an elastomeric cover. The shaft may be disposed within the through-hole and the head may be disposed within the interior when the bumper is in a mounted state.
According to another aspect, the at least one fin may include a first end and a second end and the second end is spaced further from the upper surface of the cap than the first end. According to another aspect, the bumper may include a stop disposed at an end of the at least one fin, the stop configured to prevent rotation of the cap in the mounted state.
According to another aspect, the at least one fin may include a first fin and a second fin arranged in an opposing manner on the outer surface.
According to another aspect, a first stop may be disposed on the first fin and a second stop may be disposed on the second fin, wherein the first stop and the second stop are disposed on a diameter segment of the cap.
According to another aspect, a fastener receiver may be disposed within the interior of the cap and in alignment with the through-hole.
According to another aspect, the fastener receiver may be molded within the cap, thereby forming a single piece.
It will be understood by one having ordinary skill in the art that construction of the described disclosure and other components is not limited to any specific material. Other exemplary embodiments of the disclosure disclosed herein may be formed from a wide variety of materials, unless described otherwise herein.
For purposes of this disclosure, the term “coupled” (in all of its forms, couple, coupling, coupled, etc.) generally means the joining of two components (electrical or mechanical) directly or indirectly to one another. Such joining may be stationary in nature or movable in nature. Such joining may be achieved with the two components (electrical or mechanical) and any additional intermediate members being integrally formed as a single unitary body with one another or with the two components. Such joining may be permanent in nature or may be removable or releasable in nature unless otherwise stated.
It is also important to note that the construction and arrangement of the elements of the disclosure as shown in the exemplary embodiments is illustrative only. Although only a few embodiments of the present innovations have been described in detail in this disclosure, those skilled in the art who review this disclosure will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible (e.g., variations in sizes, dimensions, structures, shapes and proportions of the various elements, values of parameters, mounting arrangements, use of materials, colors, orientations, etc.) without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the subject matter recited. For example, elements shown as integrally formed may be constructed of multiple parts or elements shown as multiple parts may be integrally formed, the operation of the interfaces may be reversed or otherwise varied, the length or width of the structures and/or members or connector or other elements of the system may be varied, the nature or number of adjustment positions provided between the elements may be varied. It should be noted that the elements and/or assemblies of the system may be constructed from any of a wide variety of materials that provide sufficient strength or durability, in any of a wide variety of colors, textures, and combinations. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present innovations. Other substitutions, modifications, changes, and omissions may be made in the design, operating conditions, and arrangement of the desired and other exemplary embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present innovations.
It will be understood that any described processes or steps within described processes may be combined with other disclosed processes or steps to form structures within the scope of the present disclosure. The exemplary structures and processes disclosed herein are for illustrative purposes and are not to be construed as limiting.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/994,755, filed on Aug. 17, 2020, entitled ADJUSTABLE BUMPER DESIGN FOR HOME APPLIANCES, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 16994755 | Aug 2020 | US |
Child | 18591396 | US |