BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cooking appliance including French-style doors constructed in accordance with the invention, with the doors being shown in a fully closed position;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cooking appliance of FIG. 1 showing the French-style doors in a fully open position;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another cooking appliance including French-style doors constructed in accordance with the invention, with the doors being shown in a fully closed position;
FIG. 4 is an upper perspective view of a door linkage system constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention with the doors in a closed position;
FIG. 5 is an upper perspective view of the door linkage system of FIG. 4 with the doors moving towards an open position;
FIG. 6 is an upper perspective view of a door linkage system of FIG. 5 with the doors in a fully open position;
FIG. 7 is a top view of a door linkage system used to control the doors of the cooking appliance of FIG. 1 or 3 illustrated with the French-style doors in a fully closed position;
FIG. 8 is a top view of the door and linkage system similar to FIG. 5, but with the doors open a small amount;
FIG. 9 is a top view similar to FIG. 8, but with the doors opened a slightly greater amount, such as about 3-5°;
FIG. 10 is a top view of the door linkage system of FIG. 9 with the doors moved further towards the fully open position;
FIG. 11 is a top view of the door linkage system of FIG. 10 with the doors moved even further towards the fully open position;
FIG. 12 shows an oven cavity of the cooking appliance exposed as the doors are fully opened;
FIG. 13 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the doors of the cooking appliance of FIG. 12, particularly illustrating the construction of a first gasket;
FIG. 14 is an enlarged perspective view of another one of the doors of the cooking appliance of FIG. 12, particularly illustrating the construction of a second gasket; and
FIG. 15 shows the cooking appliance of FIG. 12 in another perspective view with the doors open.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
With initial reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a cooking appliance constructed in accordance with the present invention is generally indicated at 2. As depicted, cooking appliance 2 constitutes a wall oven. However, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to this particular model type and can be incorporated into various types of oven configurations, e.g., cabinet mounted ovens, as well as both slide-in and free-standing ranges. In any event, in the embodiment shown, cooking appliance 2 constitutes a single wall oven unit including a frame 4 (best seen in FIG. 3) that supports, at least in part, an oven cavity 6. Oven cavity 6 includes a top wall 8, a bottom wall 9, a rear wall 10 and opposing side walls 11 and 12 that collectively define a frontal opening 14. In a manner known in the art, frontal opening 14 is surrounded by a face frame portion 17 which provides an overall aesthetic finish to cooking appliance 2. Preferably, face frame portion 17 is provided with first and second openings 19 and 20 which, as will be discussed more fully below, lead to frame 4. Face frame portion 17 is also provided with additional openings 23 and 24 that form part of an overall airflow system of cooking appliance 2.
In a manner known in the art, cooking appliance 2 includes a control panel 38 having a plurality of control elements. In accordance with the embodiment shown, the control elements are constituted by first, second and third sets of oven control buttons 40-42, as well as a numeric pad 43. Control panel 38 is adapted to be used to input desired cooking parameters and establish operating conditions for cooking appliance 2. More specifically, first, second and third sets of control buttons 40-42, in combination with numeric pad 43 and a display 45, enable a user to establish particular cooking operations that are performed within oven cavity 6. As the oven control is known in the art and does not form part of the present invention, it will not be discussed further herein.
In accordance with the invention, cooking appliance 2 is provided with French-style doors that are adapted to selectively seal across frontal opening 14. More specifically, cooking appliance 2 includes a first door 52 and a second door 53 that are pivotally mounted relative to frame 4 and adapted to be moved from a fully closed position, as represented in FIG. 1, to a fully open position, as represented in FIG. 2, to provide access to oven cavity 6. As will be clear from the remaining figures, doors 52 and 53 swing outward about substantially vertical axes established by upper hinges 54 and 55 (FIG. 4) and lower hinges (not shown).
In a manner known in the art, each door 52, 53 is provided with a corresponding outer panel 57, 58 having a respective central transparent zone or window 59, 60. In addition, each door 52, 53 is provided with a corresponding handle 61, 62 that enables a consumer to shift doors 52 and 53 between open and closed positions. In order to provide a proper seal about frontal opening 14, each door 52, 53 includes an inner panel 65, 66 about which extends a peripheral seal or gasket as discussed in detail below. In addition, first door 52 is provided with a flange 67 that serves as an intermediate sealing surface for second door 53. That is, when both first and second doors 52 and 53 are moved to the closed position of FIG. 1, flange 67 traverses an intermediate gap or opening (not separately labeled) laterally between doors 52 and 53. Although not part of the present invention, doors 52 and 53 are shown to include a plurality of openings indicated generally at 70 and 71 on inner panels 65 and 66. Openings 70 and 71 allow a flow of air to pass from within doors 52 and 53 into openings 23 and 24 and around oven cavity 6. The airflow minimizes the conduction of heat from oven cavity 6 to outer panels 57 and 58 of doors 52 and 53. In any event, in order to provide a consumer easy access to oven cavity 6, cooking appliance 2 is provided with a door linkage system 68 (FIG. 2) that interconnects first and second doors 52 and 53. Linkage system 68 operates such that movement of either one of first and second door 52 and 53 causes the other one of first and second doors 52 and 53 to move or shift in a corresponding manner as will be detailed more fully below.
FIG. 3 is presented to simply illustrate that the overall design of the cooking appliance can vary in accordance with the invention. In particular, this figure indicates control panel 38a having control knobs 73 and 74 which, along with an enlarged display 43a, are used in programming the appliance for a cooking operation. In any case, various configurations can be employed without departing from the invention as will become fully evident from the following invention description.
Reference will now be made to FIGS. 4-6 in describing a linkage system 200 constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Linkage system 200 includes a first control arm 210 having a first end 211 which is pivotally connected to door 52 and extends to a second end 212 through an intermediate portion 213. In addition, linkage system 200 includes a second control arm 218 having a first end 219 which is pivotally connected to door 53 and extends to a second end 220 through an intermediate portion 221. In a manner discussed more fully below, first and second control arms 210 and 218 interconnect first and second doors 52 and 53 such that operation of one door, for example door 52, will result in a similar movement to second door 53.
In accordance with the invention, linkage system 200 includes a stationary control arm or support member 237 having a first end 238 fixedly mounted relative to frame 4 and extending to a second end 239 through an intermediate portion 240. In a manner which will be discussed more fully below, a section of intermediate portion 240 includes a camming surface 242. First and second control arms 210 and 218 are operatively connected to support member 237 through a linkage control arm 244. More specifically, linkage control arm 244 includes a first end 247 pivotally connected to intermediate portion 240 of support member 237 at a pivot point or axis 249. First end 247 extends to a second end 254 through an intermediate portion 258. For reasons which will be described more fully below, second end 254 is provided with a plurality of openings, indicated generally at 260.
In accordance with this form of the invention, linkage system 200 includes a tensioning bracket 284 connected to linkage control arm 244 through a pivot pin 285. Tensioning bracket 284 includes a first end 286 that extends to a second end 287. Second end 287 is provided with a plurality of apertures, indicated generally at 289. With this arrangement, a spring 292 is fastened at one of the plurality of apertures 289 and one of the plurality of openings 260 on linkage control arm 244 to provide tension to first and second control arms 210 and 218. More specifically, by selecting between the plurality of apertures 289 and/or plurality of openings 260, a desired tension can be placed on linkage control arm 244. In any event, tensioning bracket 284 is shown to include a cam follower 294 provided at first end 286. As will be described more fully below, cam follower 294 cooperates with camming surface 242 and linkage control arm 244 to guide doors 52 and 53 between a closed position, as represented in FIG. 4, through an intermediate position, as represented in FIG. 5, to a fully open position as represented in FIG. 6.
As best shown in FIG. 4, when doors 52 and 53 are in the closed position, linkage control arm 244 rests upon cam follower 294 with the tension in spring 292 being at a minimum level. As doors 52 and 53 transition towards the intermediate position, linkage control arm 244, through a force provided by first and/or second door control arms 210 and 218, transitions along an arcuate path causing cam follower 294 to travel along camming surface 242. In addition, spring 292 provides tension to first and second control arms 210 and 218 to ensure that doors 52 and 53 do not swing open freely. However, once cam follower 294 passes over a high portion (not separately labeled) of camming surface 242, tensioning bracket 284 aids in shifting doors 52 and 53 to the fully open position. Once doors 52 and 53 reach the fully open position as shown in FIG. 6, cam follower 294 rests at a bottom portion or notch section 304 of camming surface 242. By positioning cam follower 294 in notch section 304, doors 52 and 53 are maintained in a fully open position allowing a consumer to freely introduce a food item into oven cavity 6.
At this point, it is possible to shift doors 52 and 53 to the closed position as represented in FIG. 4. Accordingly, a consumer need operate either door 52 and/or 53 to close cooking appliance 2. That is, by operating either door 52 or 53, a respective control arm 210, 218 exerts a force on linkage control arm 244. Linkage control arm 244 is guided back to the home position, with cam follower 294 moving along camming surface 242. More specifically, tensioning bracket 284, in combination with cam follower 294, ensures that doors 52 and 53 transition smoothly towards the closed position. As cam follower 294 transitions over a top portion (not separately labeled) of camming surface 242, spring 292 pulling on linkage control member 244 aids in the overall closing and sealing of doors 52 and 53.
At this point, it should be understood that various linkage systems can be designed to carry out the required closure timing of the French-style doors for the cooking appliance of the invention. For instance, the linkage systems disclosed in pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/206,219 entitled “Door Linkage System for an Oven Having French-Style Doors”, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, could be employed. Even if the linkage system is varied, it is important to provide flexibility for setting the particular timing of the closing of the doors in order to prevent undue wear on door seals.
This advantageous feature of the invention is best seen in connection with FIGS. 7-11 where like reference numbers represent corresponding parts to those disclosed above. In FIG. 7, doors 52 and 53 are fully closed, with an inner portion 300 of a first door seal or gasket 305 provided about door 52 engaging a portion of door 53. The embodiment depicted illustrates door 53 being provided with a lateral extension member 315 against which gasket 305 seats. However, it should be understood that door 53 could itself be formed for sealing engagement by gasket 305. The preferred configuration of gasket 305, as well as a gasket 335 provided on door 53, will be detailed more fully below with reference to FIGS. 12-15 where like reference numbers represent similar parts as discussed above. At this point, it is important to note that, as doors 52 and 53 are opened, only a very limited relative movement is required to unseat inner portion 300 of gasket 305. Actually, as shown in FIG. 8, only a few degrees of door movement, preferably 3-5° of movement, is required for this disengagement to occur. As the contact has been broken at this initial stage, no potential for any wear or abrasion of gasket 305 will occur throughout the remainder of the door opening process. In any case, FIGS. 9-11 show further opening stages as well wherein, advantageously, gasket 305 is not touched by any other surface through the door movement range. In fact, both gaskets 305 and 335 are cleared from further surface contact with a relatively minimum door opening range of movement as clearly illustrated in these figures. As previously stated, avoiding unnecessary contact with gaskets 305 and 335 minimizes potential wear and abrasion so as to significantly increase the life and effectiveness of each gasket 305, 335. However, it is the significant wear and abrasion that can occur between gasket 305 and door 53 that is particularly avoided.
As clearly shown in FIGS. 12-15, gasket 305 preferably extends annularly about an entire inner peripheral portion 350 of door 52. In the embodiment shown, gasket 305 includes opposing, substantially parallel gasket side portions 355, 356 and 357, 358, with side or center portion 357 actually being adapted to engage door 53. On the other hand, gasket 335 only extends about three-fourths of an inner peripheral portion 375 of door 53. That is, gasket 335 includes an upper and lower, substantially parallel gasket side portions 377 and 378 that are joined by a single gasket side portion 379. Therefore, upper and lower side portions 377 and 378 terminate at upper and lower portions 380 and 381 of extension member 315. With this arrangement, a tight seal can be established without seal-to-seal contact and only one seal member, i.e., gasket 305, having to engage the opposing door, i.e., door 53.
Based on this construction, the particular structure and arrangement of gaskets 305 and 335 themselves provide for enhanced seal life. In particular, door linkage system 200 of the present invention overcomes an issue of slop in the mechanism by intentionally moving one of doors 52 and 53 farther than the other of doors 52 and 53 when doors are first opened. For example, instead of doors 52 and 53 opening evenly, door 52 initially moves significantly farther than door 53, breaking contact between gasket 305 and a mating portion or extension member 315 of door 53. In the most preferred form of the invention, the oven cavity 6/cabinet shell 4, as well as extension member 315, is provided with a porcelain coating. With this construction, each of gaskets 305, 335 is only seated against porcelain coated surfaces to minimize wear caused by surface roughness.
As discussed above, annular gasket 305, or more particularly gasket side member 357, does not make contact with the side (not separately labeled) of door 53. Instead, the gasket side member 357 of gasket 305 contacts extension member 315 of door 53. Extension member 315 places the contact surface mostly behind gasket 305. As doors 52 and 53 are opened, the timing established by linkage system 200 pulls gasket 305 away from extension member 315. By breaking the contact early in the door opening process, gasket 305 is saved from any unnecessary crushing or abrasion.
An additional feature of the invention is that different rates of movement are imparted to doors 52 and 53 when nearing closed positions in order to help assure good contact of the center seal. That is, the timing established by linkage system 200 continues to pull doors 52 and 53 closed until gasket side portion 357 makes contact with extension member 315, thereby providing a mechanically advantaged force to balance a force applied by a door closure spring (not separately labeled). In any case, although described with reference to preferred embodiments of the present invention, it should be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and/or modifications can be made to the invention without departing from the spirit thereof.
Patent Application
20070246036
