Patent ID: 7735480

Claim:
A cooking appliance comprising: a frame; an oven cavity supported, at least in part, by the frame, said oven cavity including top, bottom, rear and opposing side walls that collectively define a cooking chamber having a frontal opening; first and second doors pivotally mounted relative to the frame for movement between an open position, wherein the cooking chamber is exposed through the frontal opening, and a closed position, wherein the first and second doors combine to extend across and close off the frontal opening; and a locking mechanism for selectively securing the first and second doors in the closed position, said locking mechanism including: a support plate; a motor mounted to the support plate, said motor including an output shaft; an eccentric drive member mounted for rotation with the output shaft of the motor; first and second latch members, each of the first and second latch members including a first end portion pivotally attached to the eccentric drive member, a second end portion defining a hook element and an intermediate portion extending between the first and second end portions; and a guide mechanism mounted to one of the support plate and the first and second latch members wherein, upon activation of the motor, said eccentric drive member shifts the first end portions of the first and second latch members about an eccentric axis causing the guide mechanism to direct the second end portions of the first and second latch members to a locking position leading the hook members into engagement with the first and second doors.