Oven door glass with interlocking mechanism

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016290658-A1
Application number	US-201514676955-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 2, 2015
Priority date	Apr 2, 2015
Publication date	Oct 6, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Provided is a door for a cooking appliance, such as an oven range, with multiple spaced apart glass panels. An interlocking mechanism promotes a proper installation of the glass panels, and interferes with the installation of the glass panels or with operation of the appliance if at least one of the panels is not properly installed. A switch with a plunger can be installed in the door, which allows the appliance to operate only when a failsafe electrical circuit is closed corresponding to a selected position of the plunger when the door is closed. The plunger is prevented from retaining that selected position if at least one of the glass panels is improperly installed or if a top cap is not properly seated or installed above the glass panels.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A door for a cooking appliance configured to receive a plurality of glass panels for installation therein, said door comprising:
a rear surface adapted to close a cooking cavity of the cooking appliance and a front surface opposite the rear surface; a removable top cap for providing access to install or remove the plurality of glass panels in or from the door; and an interlocking mechanism effective to promote a correct installation of said plurality of glass panels.

2 . The door of claim 1 , said interlocking mechanism comprising at least one bracket disposed adjacent a bottom portion of the door, said bracket being translatable along a translation path extending in a direction between said front and rear surfaces, said bracket being biased either forward or rearward along said translation path by a biasing force such that in its fully biased position a first cammed portion of said bracket is aligned with an insertion path of a first glass panel within said door, said first cammed portion being at an angle relative to said translation path such that on insertion of said panel a leading edge thereof will exert a downward force on said first cammed portion that urges the bracket along said translation path against said biasing force.

3 . The door of claim 2 , said first cammed portion being substantially linear when viewed from the side.

4 . The door of claim 2 , said translation path being a horizontal path.

5 . The door of claim 2 , said bracket further comprising a second cammed portion spaced from the first cammed portion by a first substantially horizontal portion, and a second substantially horizontal portion adjacent the second cammed portion opposite the first horizontal portion.

6 . The door of claim 5 , said first substantially horizontal portion being dimensioned such that in the fully-biased position of the bracket the first substantially horizontal portion of said bracket is aligned with an insertion path of a second glass panel within said door.

7 . The door of claim 6 , said insertion paths of said first and second glass panels being substantially parallel and spaced from one another.

8 . The door of claim 6 , said first cammed portion and first substantially horizontal portion of said bracket being dimensioned such that full insertion of said first glass panel results in translation of said bracket to an intermediate position along said translation path such that said second cammed portion is brought into alignment with said insertion path of said second glass panel.

9 . The door of claim 8 , said second substantially horizontal surface being at least partially in an insertion path of a third glass panel within said door in said intermediate position of said bracket.

10 . The door of claim 9 , said second cammed portion and second substantially horizontal portion of said bracket being dimensioned such that full insertion of said second glass panel after said first glass panel has been fully inserted results in translation of said bracket to a final position along said translation path such that the second substantially horizontal portion is withdrawn from said insertion path of said third glass panel.

11 . The door of claim 1 , said interlocking mechanism comprising at least one bracket disposed adjacent a bottom portion of the door, said bracket being translatable along a translation path extending in a direction between said front and rear surfaces, said bracket being biased either forward or rearward along said translation path by a biasing force, said bracket comprising first and second cammed portions separated from one another by a first substantially horizontal portion.

12 . The door of claim 11 , said bracket further comprising a second substantially horizontal portion adjacent said second cammed portion opposite said first substantially horizontal portion.

13 . The door of claim 12 , said bracket configured such that insertion of a first glass panel along a first insertion path within said door will cause translation of said bracket to an intermediate position along said translation path via exertion of a downward force against said first cammed portion, and such that subsequent insertion of a second glass panel along a second insertion path within said door will cause further translation of said bracket to a final position along said translation path via exertion of a downward force against said second cammed portion.

14 . The door of claim 1 , said interlocking mechanism comprising a bar extending laterally along at least a partial width of said door and disposed adjacent a bottom portion thereof, said bar being translatable along a translation path extending in a direction perpendicular to the bar's length between said front and rear surfaces, said bar being biased either forward or rearward along said translation path by a biasing force, said bar comprising first and second cammed surfaces separated from one another by a first substantially horizontal surface.

15 . The door of claim 14 , said bar further comprising a second substantially horizontal surface adjacent said second cammed surface opposite said first substantially horizontal surface.

16 . The door of claim 15 , said bar configured such that insertion of a first glass panel along a first insertion path within said door will cause translation of said bar to an intermediate position along said translation path via exertion of a downward force against said first cammed surface, and such that subsequent insertion of a second glass panel along a second insertion path within said door will cause further translation of said bar to a final position along said translation path via exertion of a downward force against said second cammed surface.

17 . The door of claim 1 , wherein the interlocking mechanism interferes with installation of at least one of the plurality of glass panels or with the installation of the top cap if at least one of the plurality of glass panels is not installed properly.

18 . The door of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of glass panels is slidably retained in the door from each side of the door by a pair of channel support members.

19 . The door of claim 1 , further comprising a switch having a plunger that allows the cooking appliance to operate only when said plunger is in a selected position.

20 . The door of claim 19 , wherein improper installation of at least one of the plurality of glass panels prevents said plunger from retaining said selected position with the top cap installed when the door is closed.

21 . The door of claim 19 , said top cap having a window therein through which said plunger extends when said door is closed with said top cap installed, wherein said plunger is depressed by a portion of the innermost glass panel accessible through said window.

22 . A cooking appliance comprising:
a cooking cavity enclosed by a housing; and the door of claim 1 for closing the housing.

23 . The cooking appliance of claim 22 , wherein the interlocking mechanism interferes with installation of at least one of the plurality of glass panels or with the installation of the top cap if at least one of the plurality of glass panels is not installed properly.

24 . The cooking appliance of claim 23 , said interlocking mechanism comprising at least one bracket disposed adjacent a bottom portion of the door, said bracket being translatable along a translation path extending

Assignees

• Electrolux Home Prod Inc

Inventors

• Phillips Bryan Thomas
• Martin Brian
• Baas Steven

Classifications

• F24C15/028

  Stoves doors · CPC title

• F24C15/34 Primary

  Elements and arrangements for heat storage or insulation · CPC title

• F24C15/045 Primary

  being dismountable, e.g. giving access for cleaning · CPC title

• F24C7/085

  on baking ovens · CPC title