Cooking appliance

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10794602-B2
Application number	US-201615151854-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 11, 2016
Priority date	May 12, 2015
Publication date	Oct 6, 2020
Grant date	Oct 6, 2020

Abstract

A cooking appliance includes a cabinet that defines an exterior of the cooking appliance, a cooking unit provided within the cabinet, the cooking unit configured to perform cooking using a first heat source, a drawer provided under the cooking unit, the drawer configured to perform cooking using a second heat source and to be inserted in and withdrawn from the cabinet, and a damping module configured to absorb a closing shock transmitted to the drawer based on the drawer being closed by being inserted into the cabinet.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A cooking appliance, comprising:
a cabinet that defines an exterior of the cooking appliance;
a cooking unit located within the cabinet, the cooking unit being configured to perform cooking using a first heat source;
a drawer located under the cooking unit, the drawer being configured to perform cooking using a second heat source and to be inserted in and withdrawn from the cabinet;
a damping module configured to absorb a closing shock transmitted to the drawer during the insertion of the drawer into the cabinet from a preset insertion position to a fully inserted position;
a slider located at each of both lateral sides of the drawer;
a guide part located within the cabinet and configured to guide the slider to thereby allow sliding movement between the slider and the guide part; and
a link member located at the slider,
wherein the damping module comprises a holding member that is configured to selectively engage with the link member at the preset insertion position of the drawer and an elastic unit that is configured to move the drawer in a closing direction from the preset insertion position to the fully inserted position,
wherein the elastic unit comprises a second body and an elastic member accommodated in at least one portion of the second body,
wherein the second body defines a second guide slot that is located at a front end portion of the second body and that is configured to enable the link member to be selectively locked to or separated from the holding member,
wherein the holding member comprises a first locking portion and a second locking portion that are spaced apart from each other in a preset interval along a length direction of the holding member, and a second projection that is located at a front end of the first locking portion and that is configured to be selectively inserted into or withdrawn from the second guide slot,
wherein the link member comprises a third locking portion configured to engage between the first locking portion and the second locking portion at the preset insertion position of the drawer,
wherein the second projection is configured to be withdrawn from the second guide slot based on a rear end of the third locking portion of the link member pushing the second locking portion at the preset insertion position of the drawer,
wherein the rear end of the third locking portion defines a slit configured to receive the first locking portion to enable the first locking portion to be fitted into the slit along a length direction of the third locking portion, and
wherein the slit of the third locking portion and the first locking portion of the holding member are configured to, in an event when the second projection is separated from the second guide slot by an external shock, engage with each other as the drawer is pushed in the closing direction before the rear end of the third locking portion of the link member pushes the second locking portion at the preset insertion position of the drawer.

2. The cooking appliance of claim 1 , wherein the damping module is configured to absorb the closing shock of the drawer during the insertion of the drawer from the preset insertion position to the fully inserted position, and wherein the damping module is configured to automatically close the drawer by moving the drawer in the closing direction.

3. The cooking appliance of claim 1 , wherein the damping module is provided at one side of the guide part and is oriented to be parallel with the guide part.

4. The cooking appliance of claim 3 , wherein the damping module and the guide part are spaced apart from each other by a preset interval, and wherein at least one end portion of both end portions of the damping module and the guide part are fixed to each other by at least one fixing bracket to maintain the preset interval.

5. The cooking appliance of claim 4 , wherein each of the end portions of the damping module is fixed to a location corresponding to the guide part by the at least one fixing bracket.

6. The cooking appliance of claim 5 , wherein the at least one fixing bracket comprises a first fixing bracket and a second fixing bracket,
wherein a first end portion of the damping module is fixed to a rear end portion of the guide part by the first fixing bracket, and
wherein a second end portion of the damping module is fixed to a preset location between a front end portion and the rear end portion of the guide part by the second fixing bracket.

7. The cooking appliance of claim 1 , wherein the damping module further comprises:
a hydraulic damper configured to absorb the closing shock of the drawer during the insertion of the drawer from the preset insertion position to the fully inserted position,
wherein the elastic member is oriented to be parallel with the hydraulic damper, and
wherein a front end portion of the hydraulic damper and a front end portion of the elastic unit are fixed to the holding member.

8. The cooking appliance of claim 7 , wherein the hydraulic damper comprises a first body and a piston rod configured to reciprocate in and out of the first body, and
wherein a first guide slot having a preset length is defined in the second body to guide a first projection provided at the holding member.

9. The cooking appliance of claim 8 , wherein the first body and the second body are integrally formed with each other.

10. The cooking appliance of claim 1 , wherein the second guide slot includes a first inclined plane inclined at a preset first inclination angle with reference to a virtual line in parallel with the guide part and a second inclined plane inclined upward at a preset second inclination angle from a front end of the first inclined plane, and wherein the second inclination angle of the second inclined plane is greater than the first inclination angle of the first inclined plane.

11. The cooking appliance of claim 1 , wherein, while the drawer is being withdrawn from a fully closed state to a preset withdrawal position, and as the third locking portion engages between the first locking portion and the second locking portion, the holding member and the link member are configured to maintain a mutually locked state, and
wherein, in a state in which the drawer is disposed at the preset withdrawal position, and as the second projection of the holding member is inserted into the second guide slot and the first locking portion allows the third locking portion to move in a direction opposite to the closing direction, the link member is configured to be separated from the holding member.

12. The cooking appliance of claim 11 , wherein the preset insertion position is a position at which the second projection is inserted into the second guide slot, wherein the preset withdrawal position is a position at which the second projection is withdrawn from the second guide slot, and wherein the preset insertion position and the preset withdrawal position are identical to each other.

13. The cooking appliance of claim 1 , wherein the third locking portion is symmetrically provided to each of both end portions of the link member with reference to a center of the link member.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Choi Moonho

Classifications

• F24C15/168 Primary

  with telescopic rail systems · CPC title

• F24C15/18

  Arrangement of compartments additional to cooking compartments, e.g. for warming or for storing utensils or fuel containers; Arrangement of additional heating or cooking apparatus, e.g. grills · CPC title

• F24C15/34 Primary

  Elements and arrangements for heat storage or insulation · CPC title

• F24C1/04

  simultaneously · CPC title