Patent Publication Number: US-6220239-B1

Title: Cooking appliance door with cooking-product supports

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a cooking appliance door with a door base, to which a front panel is secured at the front of the cooking appliance door; and an inner panel is secured at the rear of the cooking appliance door. Cooking-product support brackets are fastened at the rear of to the cooking appliance door. The invention also relates to a cooking appliance equipped with such a door. 
     Such a cooking appliance door is known from German Patent DE 197 38 507 C1. An oven-muffle door has an inner pane of glass or vitreous material, to which there is or are fastened one or more cooking-product support brackets for cooking-product supports, for example baking sheets or grilling grids. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a cooking appliance door which overcomes the disadvantages of the heretofore-known cooking appliance doors of this general type and which ensures a stable fastening of cooking-product support brackets. 
     With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a cooking appliance door, including a door base having a front side and a rear side; a front panel secured at the front side of the door base; an inner panel secured at the rear side of the door base and having openings formed therein; at least one cooking-product support bracket fastened at the rear side of the door base; and fastening elements extending through the openings formed in the inner panel for fastening the at least one cooking-product support bracket to the door base. 
     In other words, the object of the invention is achieved by the cooking-product support brackets being fastened directly to the door base through the use of fastening elements extending through openings in the inner pane. The door base is in this case made from a more stable and mechanically more resistant material than that of the inner pane, in order to be able without any problem without any problem to absorb forces without any problems. Such forces may occur when the cooking-product supports are hung onto the door base or door frame and are loaded. Metals and adequately mechanically and thermally resistant plastics are known in particular as materials for the door base, while a material typically used for the inner pane is glass. A further advantage according to the invention is that the direct fastening of the cooking-product support brackets to the door base or door frame allows the geometrical coordination of the cooking-product support brackets to one another as well as in relation to the door base and to the further door components fastened thereto to be carried out more precisely than in the case of a corresponding fastening to the inner pane. 
     To further improve the stability of the fastening of the cooking-product support bracket, the door base has a reinforcing plate, to which the cooking-product support bracket is additionally fastened. 
     A flexible spacing element is advantageously respectively secured between the inner pane and the cooking-product support bracket on the one hand and the door base on the other hand. As a result, particularly the fragile holes in the glass of the inner pane are flexibly covered and protected on both sides. 
     To simplify the construction of the door, the fastening elements secure an intermediate panel. The intermediate panel is provided between the front panel and the inner pane. This additional securing function can be performed particularly securely and in a way which is easy with regard to production and assembly. The fastening elements fasten at least one clamping strip to the door base. The at least one clamping strip secures the intermediate panel to the door base. 
     The cooking appliance door according to the invention is in particular advantageous for cooking appliances, such as baking ovens. 
     Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims. 
     Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a cooking appliance and in particular a cooking appliance door, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims. 
     The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a diagrammatically simplified side elevational view of a baking oven with the oven door closed and the oven door having a hook rail; 
     FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic front view of the baking oven door without the front panel and hook rails; and 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view, essentially along the line III—III in FIG. 2, illustrating the fastening of the hook rail to the door base. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to the figures of the drawings in detail and first, particularly, to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown a baking oven having a cuboidal baking oven muffle  1 , which is open at the front and has a muffle flange  3  running around its loading opening. A frame-shaped baking oven seal  5 , secured to the muffle flange  3 , runs around the loading opening. This opening can be closed in an essentially sealed manner through the use of a baking oven door  7  which is configured as an oven carriage with sliding cooking racks and is displaceably guided in a way known per se. The baking oven door  7  has a metallic, stable door frame or base  9 , which is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and which is completely covered at the front by a glass front panel  11 , which is transparent in partial regions. Also secured to the door frame  9 , as explained in more detail below, is a inner pane or inner panel  13 , which is a double-pane of toughened glass, which may be provided on its inner side, facing the loading opening, with a heat-reflective metal oxide layer. The door frame  9  is similarly covered essentially completely at its rear side by the inner plate or inner pane  13 , as is shown in FIG.  1 . In this case, the inner pane  13  extends over the entire loading opening of the baking oven muffle  1  and bears in an essentially sealed manner in particular against the frame-shaped baking oven seal  5 . Secured to the rear side of the oven door  7 , parallel to each other, are two metallic hook rails, known per se, for fixing, hanging or suspending cooking-product supports, such as baking sheets for example, as explained in more detail below with regard to FIG.  3 . Fastened to the upper end portion of the door frame  9  is a strip-shaped door grip part  15  of temperature-resistant plastic, extending over the entire width of the baking oven muffle  1  or the baking oven door  7 . By suitable openings in the front panel  11 , a bow-shaped door grip  17 , which is secured at the front, is fastened by screws to the door grip part  15 . The baking oven door  7  thus has at the front a completely uninterrupted contour, without any gaps or abutting edges, with the exception of the door grip  17 . The rear or inner side of the baking oven door  7  is also configured correspondingly, with only a small abutting edge or a small gap in the region between the inner pane  13  and the rear of the door grip part  15 . Except for this small gap, the inner pane  13  is secured invisibly, in other words hidden to a viewer. The inner pane  13  is secured to the door frame  9  without strips or frame elements reaching over the inner side of the inner pane  13 . 
     According to FIG. 2, two fastening profiles  21  are welded to the door frame  9  for receiving and securing sliding runners (not shown) of the oven door  7 . Approximately in its central region, the door frame  9  has a viewing window opening  23 , in which a viewing window pane  25  is secured. Screwed to the door frame  9  for this purpose are two profiled parts or clamping strips  27  (FIGS. 2,  3 ), which reach over the edges of the viewing window pane  25  through the use of an angled or bent holding region and pull and hold the pane against the door frame  9 . Both the front panel  11  and the inner pane  13  are transparent in the region of the viewing window pane  25 . The door frame  9  has screw openings  29  (FIG.  2 ), which are distributed over various regions of the door frame  9 . These screw openings  29  are located within a region bounded by a door inner seal  31  in a frame-shaped manner. The region enclosed by the door inner seal  31  is indicated by a broken line. The door inner seal  31  (see FIG. 3) is secured between the door frame  9  and the inner pane  13  (not visible in FIG.  2 ). 
     For spatially bracing or convexly curving the door inner pane  13  in a dish-shaped manner, fastening screws are adhesively bonded (not shown) on the side of the inner pane  13  facing the door frame  9 , at the points corresponding to the positions of the screw openings  29  in the door frame  9 . During the assembly of the baking oven door  7 , the inner pane  13  is fitted with its fastening screws into the corresponding screw openings  29  in the door frame  9 . By tightening nuts fitted onto the fastening screws, the inner pane  13  is pulled against the door inner seal  31 . On account of the suitably chosen vertical distances a 1  and horizontal distances a 2  between the fastening points  29  and the respective partial portion of the door inner seal  31 , an essentially dish-shaped convex curving of the door inner pane  13  takes place (not shown) as a result of the thickness of the seal  31  and its limited compressibility. A temperature gradient of the inner pane  13 , induced by the uneven heating up of the inner pane, increases the extent of the convex curvature in the desired direction on the basis of the defined pre-bracing or convex curving. That is to say that only the distance from the baking oven muffle  1  in the central region of the inner pane  13  is further increased. In its peripheral region, the inner pane  13  bears unchanged against the baking oven seal  5 , thereby preventing pressing on the baking oven door  7  or pressing the baking door open. 
     Three screw bolts  33  are welded to an angled foot portion of the hook rail or cooking-product support brackets  14 , one above the other and evenly distributed over the vertical extent of the hook rail  14 . The screw bolt  33  protrudes respectively through suitable openings in the inner pane  13  into the door interior, the diameter of these openings being greater than that of the screw bolt  33 . Provided between the hook rail  14  and the inner pane  13  is a temperature-resistant and flexible first lining  35 . Also provided, between the inner pane  13  and the door frame  9 , is a corresponding flexible second lining  37 . In this case, the linings  35 ,  37  may be formed of, for example, Teflon, silicone or sintered graphite. In the region of the opening in the door frame  9  provided for the screw bolts  33 , the door frame is embossed, in particular to reduce the distance between the inner pane  13  and the door base  9 . Also welded to the door base  9 , in the region of the embossing, is a reinforcing plate  39 , which is provided with corresponding openings and extends essentially over the entire vertical extent of the hook rail  14 . With the profiled part  27  interposed (FIGS. 2,  3 ), a screw nut  41  is screwed onto the screw bolt  33 . As a result, on the one hand the hook rail  14  is flexibly fastened to the door frame  9 , on the other hand the inner pane  13  is fastened to the door frame  9  flexibly and in such a manner that it is protected against direct contact with metal parts. Furthermore, the profiled part  27  is fastened to the door frame  9 , which clamps the viewing window pane  25  against the door frame  9  in the region of the viewing window opening  23 . In this case as well, corresponding sealing elements or flexible spacing elements may be provided.