Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6361181
-
Patent Number
6,361,181
-
Date Filed
Monday, February 28, 200024 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, March 26, 200222 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- O'Shea; Sandra
- Alavi; Ali
Agents
- Diederiks, Jr.; Everett G.
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 362 92
- 362 125
- 362 253
- 362 155
- 362 94
- 126 198
- 126 200
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
An appliance, such as an oven, including a cavity adapted to receive food items has an open frontal portion which can be closed off by means of a pivotable door. The door is provided with a transparent zone which enables viewing of the cavity when the door is closed. Mounted within the door is a lighting device which can be used to selectively illuminate the cavity. Preferably, the transparent zone is defined by a window pack assembly including a pair of spaced first and second transparent panels between which is arranged the lighting device such that the lighting device illuminates the cavity through one of the transparent panels. Wires are directed to the lighting device through the door, while entering a cabinet of the appliance adjacent a hinge axis area associated with the door.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of appliances and, more specifically, to the incorporation of a lighting unit in an access door for an appliance, particularly in a door incorporating a window unit which enables viewing of an interior of the appliance without opening of the door.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In the art of appliances, such as cooking appliances taking the form of ranges or wall units, it is common to provide a window unit in an oven door of the appliance in order to enable food being cooked to be examined without opening the door and losing a considerable amount of heat. In accordance with many known arrangements, the window units incorporate spaced, substantially parallel, transparent plates which are mounted within the door as a unit or pack. In general, these transparent panels can be clear or tinted.
It is also common to provide a light within a cavity of the appliance which can be selectively activated in order to illuminate the cavity for enhanced viewing. That is, when the door is closed, the cavity will often be quite dark and examining the food being cooked through the window unit requires the cavity to first be illuminated. In the prior art, such lighting arrangements have been mounted to either the top, rear or side walls of the oven cavity and wired to a button or switch for controlling the activation of the light. Even in cooking appliances incorporating ovens which do not have window units, lights are still often provided, with the lights being automatically activated upon opening of an oven door.
Because of the extreme temperatures which can be developed in an oven cavity during operation of a cooking appliance, particularly if the appliance incorporates a self-cleaning feature, provisions must be made to protect the wiring and other heat sensitive elements of the lighting unit from being damaged during operation of the appliance. Furthermore, mounting a lighting unit within the oven cavity requires a hole to be formed in at least one wall of the cavity, thereby altering the overall integrity of the cavity and possibly providing a unintended escape zone for heat generated within the cavity.
Although these problems particularly exist in relation to oven cavities, it would also be desirable to illuminate other types of appliance cavities as well. In any event, based on the above, there exists a need in the art of appliances for a lighting arrangement for use in illuminating a cavity of the appliance, yet will enable the integrity of the cavity to be maintained and will assure that all the components of the lighting unit will not be exposed to possible damaging conditions, particularly in the case of exposure to heat in connection with a lighting unit for an oven cavity.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to illuminating an interior cavity of an appliance. More particularly, the appliance includes an interior cavity having an open frontal portion and a door which is movable between an open position for accessing the interior cavity and a closed position for essentially sealing off the cavity. The door is provided with a window unit which permits viewing of the cavity when the door is closed. In order to enable food items to be viewed through the window unit, a lighting device is carried by the door for illuminating the cavity.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the appliance constitutes an oven having a door in which is mounted a multi-panel window pack assembly and a lighting device positioned between the panels. The lighting device incorporates a bulb which is arranged within a housing that directs the output from the bulb through a portion of the window pack and into the oven cavity. Power is delivered to the lighting device by routing wires within the door to a location directly adjacent the hinge axis for the door and then to the shell portion of the appliance.
With this construction, the wires and other potentially heat sensitive elements of the lighting device are isolated from the heat generated within the oven cavity during operation of the appliance. In addition, this arrangement simplifies the overall assembly of the appliance as the lighting device can be incorporated as part of a window pack mounted between inner and outer panels of the door. Integrating the lighting device with the window pack simplifies the overall assembly process, thereby reducing overall assembly costs.
Additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment thereof when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts in the several views.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of an oven range incorporating a door mounted light arrangement in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2
is a top, partial sectional view of a door and cavity forming part of the oven range of
FIG. 1
; and
FIG. 3
is an enlarged, partial cross-sectional view of a portion of the door and cavity shown in FIG.
2
.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
With initial reference to
FIG. 1
, a cooking appliance
2
, generally taking the form of an oven range, includes a cabinet shell
4
provided with a cooktop
7
. As illustrated, appliance
2
constitutes an electric oven such that cooktop
7
is provided with a plurality of electric heating elements
10
—
13
. At this point, it should be noted that although appliance
2
is shown to constitute an electric range, the invention is equally applicable to various other types of appliances, including gas ranges, microwave ovens, wall ovens and the like.
In a manner known in the art, appliance
2
includes a control panel
16
, an interior oven cavity
19
having an associated door
21
, and a lower drawer or bin
24
. More specifically, drawer or bin
24
is provided with a handle
27
and is adapted to be slid into and out of shell
4
, with bin
24
defining in order to access an interior storage compartment (not shown) therein. Door
21
is also provided with a handle
30
at an upper portion
32
thereof. Door
21
is adapted to pivot at a lower portion
35
to enable selective access to within oven cavity
19
. In a manner also known in the art, door
21
is provided with a transparent zone
38
for viewing oven cavity
19
while door
21
is closed as will be discussed more fully below.
Also shown for the sake of completeness, control panel
16
includes a plurality of control knobs
42
-
45
for use in selectively activating and deactivating heating elements
10
-
13
respectively. In accordance with the most preferred embodiment of the invention, the heating of oven cavity
19
is electronically controlled such that control panel
16
includes a display zone
51
, as well as a set of control buttons
54
-
57
which enable a desired bake, broil, clean or keep warm operation to be established. In addition, an operational mode cancel button
58
, as well as a light activation button
59
, is provided on one side of display zone
51
. On the opposing side of display zone
51
, there is provided a operating set button
62
, a timer button
63
, cook and stop time buttons
64
and
65
, a clock button
66
and a number pad
68
.
In general, the above-described structure of appliance
2
is known in the art and is only provided here for the sake of completeness. The present invention is particularly directed to the incorporation of a lighting device
76
within door
21
. Reference will now be made to
FIGS. 1-3
in describing the preferred construction and mounting of lighting device
76
. As shown, door
21
includes an inner panel
80
and an outer panel
83
which are connected together with a window pack assembly
86
arranged therebetween. Window pack assembly
86
includes a first transparent panel
90
and a second transparent panel
92
which are interconnected by a plurality of brackets, two of which are indicated at laterally spaced positions at
95
and
96
. As shown, each bracket
95
,
96
includes bent, generally U-shaped end portions
99
and
100
which receive side portions (not separately labeled) of first and second transparent panels
90
and
92
respectively. In this manner, first and second transparent panels
90
and
92
can be interconnected prior to assembly within door
21
such that window pack assembly
86
is preassembled and mounted within door
21
as a integrated unit. As will become more evident below, it is preferable to integrate lighting device
76
into window pack assembly
86
as well.
In the most preferred embodiment of the invention, interconnecting bracket
95
is provided with an opening
102
into which extends lighting device
76
. Lighting device
76
includes a light mounting bracket
105
having a central section
107
to which is secured a bulb housing
109
that carries a bulb
112
. Light mounting bracket
105
also includes a first angled end
115
that is attached to a light directing housing
118
, as well as a second angled end
121
that is secured to bracket
95
by means of one or more threaded fasteners
125
.
As perhaps best shown in
FIG. 3
, housing
118
includes a first end
127
which extends to directly adjacent an inner surface
130
of first transparent panel
90
, as well as a second end
132
which projects through opening
102
. First end
127
is opened such that light illuminating from bulb
112
is directed through first transparent panel
90
into oven cavity
19
when door
21
is closed. Most preferably, housing
118
and central section
107
of light mounting bracket
105
have light reflecting surfaces which direct the light emitted from bulb
112
in the desired direction, i.e., into cavity
19
. The mounting of housing
118
between first and second transparent panels
90
and
92
is enhanced by having second end
132
of housing
118
project through opening
102
. Therefore, this overall mounting arrangement limits the movement of housing
118
relative to the remainder of window pack assembly
86
.
Based on the above description, it should be readily apparent that the activation of lighting device
76
will cause cavity
19
to be illuminated through first transparent panel
90
. Since lighting device
76
is located behind first transparent panel
90
, it is not directly subjected to the extreme heat which can be developed within oven cavity
19
and, in fact, is insulated from this heat by first transparent panel
90
. Secondly, since housing
118
of lighting device
76
is secured to bracket
95
, lighting device
76
is integrated with window pack assembly
86
to ease the mounting of the overall arrangement within door
21
. In the preferred embodiment shown, lighting device
76
is mounted in an upper left comer of window pack assembly
86
, but this position could be readily changed without departing from the invention.
As also shown, bulb housing
109
has a pair of wires
134
and
135
extending therefrom. Given that window pack assembly
86
is arranged between inner and outer panels
80
and
83
of door
21
, wires
134
and
135
can be readily routed within door
21
and then into shell
4
. More specifically, wires
134
and
135
are routed downwardly within door
21
and enter shell
4
through an aperture
137
formed in a crosspiece
138
as clearly shown in FIG.
1
. In a manner known in the art, crosspiece
138
generally extends along a pivot axis for door
21
. Therefore, wires
134
and
135
enter cabinet shell
4
of the appliance
2
generally along or directly adjacent this pivot axis. With this arrangement, a minimum amount of slack is required for wires
134
and
135
and the opening and closing of door
21
is not hampered by the incorporation of lighting unit
76
therein. Of course, a wireless lighting device could also be utilized, but this is not the preferred embodiment.
Based on the above, it should be readily apparent that lighting device
76
can be readily incorporated into appliance
2
during the assembly step for window pack assembly
76
. In addition, lighting device
76
can function to illuminate oven cavity
9
upon engagement of button
59
. In any event, although described with respect to a preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be readily understood that various changes and/or modifications can be made to the invention without departing from the spirit thereof. For instance, although lighting device
76
has been shown to be incorporated between first and second transparent panels
90
and
92
, it should be readily apparent that lighting device
76
could be provided at other locations within door
21
, such as above, below or to the side of transparent zone
38
, while enabling light generated by bulb
112
to be directed into cavity
19
. In addition, lighting device
76
preferably utilizes an incandescent bulb
112
, but it should be understood that various other types of lighting devices could also be readily utilized, including fluorescent, fiber optics and the like, without departing from the spirit of the invention. In general, the invention is only intended to be limited by the scope of the following claims.
Claims
- 1. In an appliance including an interior cavity having an open frontal portion adapted to receive food items and a door mounted for pivotal movement between an opened position, wherein access to within the cavity is permitted, and a closed position, wherein the door extends across the open frontal portion, a cavity viewing assembly comprising:a window unit mounted to the door for permitting viewing of the cavity when the door is in the closed position, said window unit including first and second, spaced transparent panels; and a lighting device for illuminating the cavity, first through the first transparent panel, then into the cavity.
- 2. The cavity viewing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the lighting device is mounted within the door.
- 3. The cavity viewing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the appliance comprises an oven and the cavity constitutes an oven cavity.
- 4. The cavity viewing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the door includes an inner panel and an outer panel, said first transparent panel being located closer to the inner panel than the outer panel.
- 5. The cavity viewing assembly according to claim 4, wherein said lighting device is located between the first and second transparent panels.
- 6. The cavity viewing assembly according to claim 5, wherein the first and second transparent panels are integrated into a window pack assembly and the lighting device is directly attached to the window pack assembly.
- 7. The cavity viewing assembly according to claim 6, wherein the lighting device includes a light directing housing secured to the window pack assembly.
- 8. The cavity viewing assembly according to claim 7, wherein a portion of the light directing housing projects out of the window pack assembly.
- 9. The cavity viewing assembly according to claim 2, wherein said lighting device receives power through a plurality of wires which are routed through the door.
- 10. The cavity viewing assembly according to claim 9, wherein the door is hinged about a substantially horizontal axis and the appliance includes a cabinet shell, said wires exiting the door and entering the cabinet shell directly adjacent the horizontal axis.
- 11. A cooking appliance comprising:an oven cavity including an interior portion, adapted to receive food items to be cooked, and an open frontal portion; a door mounted for movement between an open position, wherein access to within the cavity is permitted through the open frontal portion, and a closed position, wherein the door extends across the open frontal portion; a window unit mounted to the door, said window unit permitting viewing of the cavity when the door assumes the closed position; and a lighting device for illuminating the cavity, said lighting device being attached within the window unit for movement in unison with the door.
- 12. The cooking appliance according to claim 11, wherein the window unit includes a first transparent panel, said lighting device illuminating the cavity through the first transparent panel.
- 13. The cooking appliance according to claim 12, wherein the door includes an inner panel and an outer panel, said first transparent panel being located closer to the inner panel than the outer panel.
- 14. The appliance according to claim 11, wherein said lighting device receives power through a plurality of wires which are rotated through the door.
- 15. An appliance comprising:a cavity including an interior portion, adapted to receive food items, and an open frontal portion; a door mounted for movement between an open position, wherein access to within the cavity is permitted through the open frontal portion, and a closed position, wherein the door extends across the open frontal portion, said door including an inner panel and an outer panel; a window unit mounted to the door, said window unit permitting viewing of the cavity when the door assumes the closed position, wherein the window unit includes a first transparent panel, which is located closer to the inner panel than the outer panel, and a second transparent panel which is spaced from the first transparent panel; and a lighting device for illuminating the cavity, said lighting device being attached to the door for movement in unison with the door and located between the first and second transparent panels for illuminating the cavity through the first transparent panel.
- 16. The appliance according to claim 15, wherein the first and second transparent panels are integrated into a window pack assembly and the lighting device is directly attached to the window pack assembly.
- 17. The appliance according to claim 16, wherein the lighting device includes a light directing housing secured to the window pack assembly.
- 18. The appliance according to claim 15, wherein the appliance comprises an oven and the cavity constitutes an oven cavity.
- 19. The appliance according to claim 11, wherein the door is hinged about a substantially horizontal axis and the appliance includes a cabinet shell, said wires exiting the door and entering the cabinet shell directly adjacent the horizontal axis.
US Referenced Citations (8)