Abstract:
A transparent glass appliance door is provided with a reflective coating in the shape of a frame, resembling the conventional metal frame which usually surrounds and supports the glass. The reflective frame leaves a clear area through which the interior of the appliance can be viewed.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to appliances utilizing glass paneled doors such as beverage refrigerators, wine coolers, ovens and, more particularly, to a decorative door for such appliances. 
         [0003]    2. General Background and State of the Art 
         [0004]    In recent years, it has become popular to equip appliances such as beverage refrigerators, wine coolers, ovens and others with doors that incorporated a glass panel through which the interior and its contents could be viewed. Conventionally, a metal frame could be employed in which a glass pane could be installed. The frame could be polished and reflective or could be non reflective with a brushed textured surface. 
         [0005]    Some appliances have employed a glass door, eliminating the metal frame. In such embodiments, the glass was thick enough to be structurally sound and also sufficiently insulative as to maintain the temperature differentials between the interior and exterior of the appliance. :However, the aesthetics of a reflective frame are lost when the glass door is used without the metal frame. 
       INVENTION SUMMARY 
       [0006]    According to the present invention, a glass door is provided with a mirror coating which occupies the areas that would normally be covered by a reflective metal frame. In one embodiment, the mirroring can be on an external surface of an inner pane and a clear glass pane serves as outer pane to protect the inner pane and, incidentally, add to the insulative qualities of the resultant glass door. 
         [0007]    In alternative embodiments, the mirror coating can be applied to an inner surface of a glass pane so that it is protected from exterior elements and is not affected when the exterior of the pane is cleaned or subjected to potentially harmful encounters. In this embodiment, a second pane can be adjacent the mirrored surface to further protect the mirroring. 
         [0008]    The mirroring can be applied in several ways. It can be a foil or polyester film that is adhered to the glass. It can be vapor deposited on the glass surface. It also can be applied as a coating to the glass through techniques such as magnetron sputtering. The mirroring is applied to the surface adjacent the edges so that a frame effect is achieved. Yet another technique is the application of a reflective coating using silk screen printing; Where displays are provided that are to be viewed through the door, the mirroring can be absent over the displays. 
         [0009]    While less desirable, the mirror surfacing can be applied to an exterior surface. This would subject the mirror to potential environmental hazards as well as the potentially destructive hazards of cleaning or polishing the door. 
         [0010]    In preferred embodiments, double panes are utilized to enhance the insulative qualities of the resulting structure. Which surface provides the reflective effect can be a matter of aesthetics and design choice. Moreover, it is elementary that a pane with a mirror coating applied to a surface can be an inner pane with a clear outer pane cover or an outer pane with the coating on the inner surface. 
         [0011]    The novel features which are characteristic of the invention, both as to structure and method of operation thereof, together with further objects and advantages thereof, will be understood from the following description, considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which the preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only, and they are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a prior art appliance door; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a front view of an appliance door according to the present invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an appliance door according to the present invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a front view of a glass pane according to the present invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a side section view of the double pane door of  FIG. 2 , taken along line  5 - 5  in the direction of the appended arrows; 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  is a front view of an appliance door according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  is a front view of an appliance door according to another alternative embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0019]    Turning first to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a prior art appliance door  10 , in this case a door for a wine cooler cabinet. The door  10  includes a handle  12  and hinges  14  which permit the door  10  to open and close. As shown, the door  10  is bordered by a reflective metallic frame  16  in which a glass pane  18  is mounted. 
         [0020]    Through the glass pane  18 , the contents of the cabinet can be seen, here a plurality of wine bottles  20  resting on shelves  22 . A control panel  24  is located in the upper portion of the frame  16 . In the embodiment shown, the control panel  24  is used to set temperature and other parameters of the interior environment to maintain the wine at acceptable levels of temperature and humidity for optimum wine storage and preservation. 
         [0021]    Similar doors can be provided to other appliances in which it is desirable to view the interior of the appliance. This could include wine refrigerators, ovens and others. The prior art metal frame can have a mirror finish to satisfy aesthetic desires. 
         [0022]    Turning next to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , there is shown an appliance door  30  according to the present invention. The door  30  has a mirrored portion  32  which resembles or mimics the metal frame  16  of the prior art door  10 . As seen, the door is comprised of a pair of glass panes or panels  34 ,  36 , best seen in  FIG. 5 . The mirrored portion  32  can be applied to a back surface of an exterior pane  34  or the front surface of an interior pane. 
         [0023]    It is also possible to apply the mirrored surface to the back surface of an interior pane or the front surface of an exterior pane. The placement of the mirrored surface is dependant upon the thickness and clarity of the glass panes and is chosen with the goal of most closely resembling a prior art door in appearance. The panels  34 ,  36  are held together with u-shaped band  38  that surrounds them. A hinge  40  permits the door  30  to open and close. 
         [0024]      FIG. 4  is a single pane  50  to which a mirroring surface  52  is applied. The mirroring can be achieved by a polyester foil, vapor deposition, sputtering, silk screening, or any other available means. The mirroring surface  52  is applied to the periphery of the pane and extends to create a “frame”, leaving the central part of the pane transparent so that the interior of the appliance is visible through the pane. 50 . 
         [0025]    The pane  50  can be an interior pane or an exterior pane. The mirroring  52  can be on an interior or exterior surface of the interior pane or the exterior pane. In some applications, it is preferable that the mirroring be on the interior surface of an exterior pane with the reflective surface adjacent the pane so that it is visible through the pane at the exterior surface. 
         [0026]    Other applications could have the mirroring  52  on the exterior surface of an interior pane to be viewed through the exterior pane. Less desirable would be placement of the mirroring on the interior surface of the interior pane or on the exterior surface of an exterior pane. For the former, the thickness of the glass could attenuate the reflectivity while the latter places the mirroring in greater danger of damage. 
         [0027]    Turning next to  FIG. 5 , a side sectional view of the door  30  of  FIG. 2  is shown. As seen, the mirroring  32  can either be applied to the front surface  40  of the interior panel  36  or the rear surface  42  of the exterior panel  34 . It will be understood that the panes have been exaggerated to allow a better understanding of the covered structure. 
         [0028]    In  FIG. 6 , there is shown an alternative embodiment of the appliance door of the present invention. Door  80  is substantially similar to door  30  of  FIG. 2  with the main difference being that the u shaped channel/band  38  of  FIG. 2  is replaced here by fasteners  82  which hold the panes  84  and  86  (not shown) together. In all other respects, the door  30  and the door  80  are the same. 
         [0029]      FIG. 7  shows an appliance door  40  with an alternative pattern of mirroring  42 . Rather than the rectangular frame shaped mirror of the other alternatives, this embodiment permits the mirror frame  42  to have a more decorative pattern. Moreover, an artistic aesthetic can be employed to provide even more fanciful designs to surround the clear opening  44  which enables visualization of the contents of the interior of the appliance for which the door  40  is intended. 
         [0030]    While the specification describes particular embodiments of the present invention, those of ordinary skill can devise variations of the present invention without departing from the inventive concept.