Cabinet door arrangement

A door arrangement for a cabinet or the like having an access opening communicating with an internal compartment includes an inner door mounted on the cabinet for movement about a first hinge axis to facilitate access to the cabinet compartment. The inner door has an opening therethrough and carries a second door for hinged movement about a second hinge axis laterally offset from the first hinge axis to facilitate access to the cabinet compartment by hinged movement about the second hinge axis, access to the cabinet compartment thus being obtainable by selective right-hand or left-hand opening of the door arrangement.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates generally to cabinets and the like having 
hinged doors enabling access to internal compartments, and more 
particularly to such a cabinet having a novel door arrangement enabling 
access to an internal compartment by right-hand or left-hand opening of a 
door, thus facilitating access from opposite sides of the cabinet door. 
It is a common practice when mounting a door on a cabinet or the like to 
provide either a left-hand or right-hand hinge axis depending on the 
intended location of the cabinet or other restrictions which might inhibit 
access to the door or full opening thereof. The conditions which suggest a 
particular hinge axis location generally apply equally to free standing 
cabinets, such as large commercial ovens and upstanding refrigerators and 
freezer units, and smaller size cabinets which may be supported on a 
countertop or support stand. Substantial economic savings can be realized 
when installation and accessibility considerations for a cabinet are 
minimized without hindering ease of opening and closing the cabinet door. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
One of the primary objects of the present invention is to provide a novel 
door arrangement for a cabinet or the like wherein access to a compartment 
within the cabinet may be obtained by right-hand or left-hand opening of 
an access door arrangement. 
A more particular object of the present invention is to provide a novel 
door arrangement for a cabinet or the like defining an internal 
compartment accessible through an access opening, wherein a first door is 
mounted on the cabinet for movement about a first substantially vertical 
hinge axis to enable opening and closing of an access opening in the 
cabinet, and wherein a second door is hingedly mounted on the first door 
for movement about a second substantially vertical hinge axis spaced 
laterally opposite the first hinge axis so as to enable access to the 
cabinet through an access opening in the first door, thereby facilitating 
access to the cabinet by selective right-hand or left-hand opening of the 
door arrangement. 
A feature of the door arrangement in accordance with the present invention 
lies in forming the first door as a generally rectangular open-centered 
frame non-releasably hinged to the cabinet and extending about the 
periphery of the cabinet access opening, and mounting the second door on 
the rectangular frame for movement with the frame and for hinged movement 
independent of the frame about a non-releasable generally vertical hinge 
axis spaced laterally from the frame hinge axis to enable access to the 
cabinet through selective left-hand or right-hand opening of the first and 
second doors. Another feature of the cabinet door arrangement in 
accordance with the present invention lies in providing sealing means 
between the cabinet and the outer or second door to provide a seal about 
the periphery of the cabinet access opening when the first and second 
doors are in closed relation with the cabinet. 
Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will become 
apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when 
taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein like references 
numbers designate like elements throughout the several views.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
Referring now to the drawing, a cabinet incorporating a door arrangement 
constructed in accordance with the present invention is indicated 
generally at 10 in FIG. 1. In the illustrated embodiment, the cabinet 10 
includes a substantially rectangular three-dimensional housing 12 having a 
front wall 12a, laterally opposite side walls 12b and 12c, a top wall 12d 
and a bottom wall 12e which are secured to each other along mutually 
engaging marginal edges so as to lie in mutually perpendicular planes. The 
rearward marginal edges of the side walls, top wall and bottom wall are 
preferably releasably secured to a rear wall (not shown) disposed parallel 
to the front wall 12a. The cabinet 10 may, for example, constitute a 
cabinet for an oven of a size enabling it to be supported on a countertop 
or support stand. Alternatively, the cabinet 10 may take the form of a 
free standing cabinet such as employed in refrigerators, freezers and 
relatively large commercial ovens of the type employing upper and lower 
oven compartments. 
In the illustrated embodiment, the rectangular housing 12 forms the 
external shell for an oven having an internal oven compartment 14. Access 
to compartment 14 is provided through a generally rectangular access 
opening 16 in the front wall 12a defined by substantially vertical 
laterally opposed marginal edges 16a and 16b. An outwardly extending 
flange or lip 18 is formed about the full periphery of the access opening 
16 and has a rounded outer surface which serves as a sealing flange or 
lip, as will be described. The opening 16 is off-set from the center 16 
axis of the rectangular housing 12 such that the left-hand edge of opening 
16 is disposed closely adjacent the left-hand side wall 12c of the 
cabinet. An upstanding wall 20 is supported internally of housing 12 in 
parallel relation to the side walls and establishes the right-hand margin 
or wall of the internal compartment 14. 
The internal wall 20 is spaced from the right-hand end wall 12b of housing 
12 to establish a compartment 22 for housing various components and 
electronic controls (not shown) for the oven. A control panel 24 is 
supported on the front cabinet wall 12a forwardly of compartment 20 and 
supports suitable control buttons, dials and/or switches for controlling 
operation of the oven in a known manner. The oven compartment 14 will 
generally house an internal insulated oven shell having heating means 
associated therewith and having means to support shelf racks and the like 
for supporting items to be heated within the oven compartment. An example 
of an oven of the type thus far described is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 
4,851,644 which is incorporated herein by reference. Such ovens are 
commercially available from Groen/Dover Corporation, Elk Grove Village, 
Ill. 
In accordance with the present invention, the cabinet 10 includes a door 
arrangement or system, indicated generally at 30, which enables access to 
the internal compartment 14 by selective opening of the door arrangement 
about either a left-hand or right-hand hinge axis. This is a significant 
advantage when access to the cabinet, and thereby the door arrangement 30, 
is restricted or otherwise impeded so that the ability to open the access 
door from either its left-hand or right-hand sides offers substantially 
improved operating efficiency and reduces installation or location 
considerations. 
The door arrangement 30 includes a first or inner door 32 which is hinged 
to cabinet housing 12 for opening about a left-hand hinge axis, and a 
second or outer door 34 which is hinged to the inner door for opening 
about a right-hand hinge axis. The first or inner door 32 takes the form 
of a substantially rectangular open-centered frame which includes a 
generally planar metallic plate portion 36 having an intermittent or 
longitudinally segmented hinge sleeve 38 fixed to or formed integral with 
a vertical left-hand edge of the frame. The hinge sleeve 38 is adapted for 
hinged connection through a hinge pin to a complimentary hinge sleeve 
formed on a hinge plate 40 which is secured to the forward housing wall 
12a adjacent the left-hand marginal edge 16a of access opening 16. In this 
manner, the inner door 32 is mounted for hinged movement about a first 
vertical hinge axis generally adjacent the left-hand boundary 16a of the 
rectangular access opening 16 in the cabinet housing. 
The rectangular door plate 36 is of sufficient size to overlie the full 
periphery of the cabinet access opening 16 and has a right-hand edge or 
margin 36a which is formed as a generally U-shaped channel in transverse 
cross-sectional configuration. Suitable latch means are provided to enable 
releasable latching of door 32 in a closed position relative to the 
cabinet housing 12. A generally U-shaped channel member 42 is fixed within 
the channel shaped edge 36a of the inner door plate 36 so as to establish 
an outer wall 42a which is generally coplanar with the planar plate 36. 
The wall 42a has an opening therethrough positioned to receive latch means 
in the form of a latch pin or bullet 44 which is fixed to and extends 
outwardly from the front housing wall 12a adjacent the right-hand marginal 
edge 16b of the cabinet access opening. The latch pin 44 has an enlarged 
conical head 44a adapted to be received through the opening in the channel 
wall 42a of door plate 36 when in closed position. Complimentary latch 
means (not shown) are carried within the channel formed between the 
channel shaped edge 36a of door plate 36 and the associated channel member 
42 to releasably couple with the head 44a of the latch pin 44 when the 
inner door is in closed position relative to the cabinet front wall 12a. 
The complimentary latch means may take the form of an inverted generally 
U-shaped wire spring carried on the inner surface of the channel wall 42a 
such that legs of the spring are disposed adjacent the latch pin receiving 
opening in wall 42a and resiliently straddle the latch pin 44 when the 
inner door 32 is in closed position. A door handle 48 is mounted on the 
outer surface of the channel shaped right-hand edge 36a of the inner door 
plate 36 for limited vertical movement. The handle 48 has a wedge shaped 
latch release member which extends into the channel edge 36a to enable 
release of the spring legs from the latch pin. An example of a latch 
mechanism of this type is disclosed in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 
4,851,644 which is incorporated herein by reference. 
The plate portion 36 of the inner door 32 has a rectangular opening 52 
formed therethrough of a size slightly larger than the access opening 16 
in the cabinet housing 12 so that opening 52 is centrally aligned with 
opening 16 when the inner door is in closed position. In accordance with 
present invention, the second or outer door 34 of the door assembly 30 is 
hinged to the inner door 32 through a hinge connection 54 which enables 
opening and closing of the inner door opening 52, and thereby the cabinet 
access opening 16, independently of the inner door 32. The hinge axis 54 
is disposed parallel to and laterally offset from the hinge axis 38. The 
outer door 34 is of similar size to the plate portion 36 of the inner door 
and is preferably made from suitable strength sheet metal. The outer door 
34 has a planar outer wall 34a having an in-turned right-angle flange 
formed about its full outer periphery, such as indicated at 34b. The 
right-hand flange 34b is connected to a hinge plate of the hinge 
connection 54. A plate 56 is fixed to the inner surface of the outer door 
wall 34a in parallel spaced relation to the left-hand flange 34b. A 
U-shaped channel 58 is fixed to and between the left-hand flange 34b and 
plate 56 so as to establish an outer surface 58a coplanar with the outer 
marginal edge of the peripheral flange 34b. 
To facilitate releasable latching of the outer door 34 in closed relation 
with the inner door 32, a latch pin or bullet 60 is fixed to and extends 
outwardly from the inner door plate 36 generally adjacent the hinge axis 
38 and intermediate the vertical height of the inner door. The latch pin 
60 is substantially identical to the latch pin 44 and has an enlarged 
generally bullet-shaped or conical head 64a adapted to be received through 
a suitable opening (not shown) formed in the opposed outer surface 58a of 
channel 58. The outer door 34 carries latching means within the channel 58 
for releasably latching or coupling with the latch pin 60, such as a 
resilient spring-type catch as described for the inner door 32. A handle 
62 is carried on the outer door 34 for vertical movement to release the 
spring catch from the latch pin 60 in similar fashion to handle 48 on the 
inner door 32. 
The outer door 34 carries a continuous rectangular seal 66 which is 
configured to extend through the rectangular opening 52 in the inner door 
and seal against the outer surface of the flange or lip 18 peripherally of 
the cabinet access opening 16 when the outer and inner doors are in closed 
relation with the cabinet 12. The seal 66 is generally S-shaped in 
transverse cross-sectional configuration and is retained against a 
rectangular insulation panel 68. The insulation panel 68 is preferably 
made from rigid insulation board and fills the area of the outer door 
within the perimeter defined by the plate 56 and the top, bottom and 
right-hand flanges 34b. A rigid rectangular plate 70 has a peripheral 
right-angle flange 70a which engages the seal 66 to retain it against the 
insulation panel. The plate 70 is, in turn, mounted on the outer door 34 
through a plurality of headed nuts, one of which is illustrated at 72 in 
FIG. 3, which extend through the insulation panel and receive headed 
screws 74. Spacers 76 maintain the plate 70 in predetermined spaced 
relation to the insulation panel 68. 
In operation, the outer door 34 is generally latched in closed relation 
with the inner door 32 as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. When it is desired 
to access the internal compartment 14 in the cabinet housing 12 through 
the access opening 16, such access may be obtained through either 
right-hand or left-hand opening of the door assembly 30. For example, 
should it be convenient to open the door assembly about a left-hand hinge 
axis, the operator manipulates the handle 48 to open both the inner and 
outer doors while in latched relation to each other as illustrated in FIG. 
3. On the other hand, should it be inconvenient or otherwise more 
difficult to open the door assembly about the left-hand hinge axis 38 by 
means of handle 48, the operator may manipulate handle 62 to open the 
outer door 34 about the right-hand hinge axis 54 relative to the inner 
door 32, thereby exposing opening 52 in the inner door for access to the 
cabinet compartment 14. 
The ability to open the cabinet door assembly 30 about either a left-hand 
or right-hand hinge axis through grasping of the right-hand or left-hand 
handles, respectively, greatly improves the convenience of accessing the 
cabinet compartment 14. This is particularly important when the cabinet 10 
is located or positioned where it is more convenient to open the door 
assembly about one hinge axis rather than the other. 
While a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated 
and described, it will be understood to those skilled in the art the 
changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the 
invention in its broader aspects. For example, the particular construction 
of the inner and outer doors 32 and 34 may take a number of alternative 
designs while maintaining the characteristics of optional left-hand or 
right-hand opening of the door arrangement or assembly. Various features 
of the invention are defined in the following claims.