COOKING APPLIANCE HAVING A SPECIFIC DOOR-OPENING DEVICE FOR THE AUTOMATIC PIVOTING OF A RETRACTABLE DOOR OF THE COOKING APPLIANCE, AND METHOD

Abstract

A cooking appliance includes a door for closing a cooking compartment and a guide device which guides the door when moving into and out of a stowage compartment and includes a guide track in a stowage-compartment delimiting wall and a guide carriage connected to the door and including a guide runner guided in the guide track and connected to a connecting rod of the guide carriage. A door-opening device automatically moves the door between closed and open positions and includes a coupling rod which is mechanically coupled directly to the connecting rod such as to permit a relative movement between the coupling rod and the connecting rod, and which is mounted for rotation about an axis of rotation oriented in a heightwise direction so that, when the coupling rod is pivoted about the axis of rotation, the connecting rod is carried along in a depthwise direction of the cooking appliance.

Claims

1.-15. (canceled)

16. A cooking appliance, comprising; a housing delimiting a stowage compartment; a door for closing a cooking compartment, said door designed for retraction into the stowage compartment; a guide device designed to guide the door when being moved into the stowage compartment or out of the stowage compartment, said guide device including a guide track in a wall which delimits the stowage compartment, and a guide carriage connected to the door and including a guide runner guided in the guide track and connected to a connecting rod of the guide carriage; and a door-opening device for automatic movement of the door at least in one region over an entire movement path measured between a closed position and an open position of the door, said door-opening device including a coupling rod which is mechanically coupled directly to the connecting rod such as to permit a relative movement between the coupling rod and the connecting rod, and which is mounted for rotation about an axis of rotation oriented in a heightwise direction so that, when the coupling rod is pivoted about the axis of rotation, the connecting rod is carried along in a depthwise direction of the cooking appliance.

17. The cooking appliance of claim 16, further comprising a base designed to delimit the stowage compartment, said coupling rod having in the depthwise direction a rear end mounted rotatably to the base.

18. The cooking appliance of claim 16, wherein the coupling rod has a front end in the depthwise direction, said front end of the coupling rod being coupled to the connecting rod which is oriented in a widthwise direction.

19. The cooking appliance of claim 16, wherein the coupling rod is pivotable about the axis of rotation in a horizontal plane between a pushed-out position and a pulled-in position.

20. The cooking appliance of claim 19, wherein the coupling rod is pivotable between the pushed-out position and the pulled-in position via a pivot range which is greater than 30° and less than or equal to 90°.

21. The cooking appliance of claim 16, wherein the coupling rod includes a carrier which is oriented in the heightwise direction and is coupled directly to the connecting rod.

22. The cooking appliance of claim 21, wherein the carrier includes a vertical bar.

23. The cooking appliance of claim 21, wherein the carrier is a U-shaped bracket which surrounds the connecting rod.

24. The cooking appliance of claim 16, wherein the door-opening device includes a motor, with which the coupling rod is rotatable about its axis of rotation.

25. The cooking appliance of claim 24, further comprising a base designed to delimit the stowage compartment, said motor being arranged under the base and outside of the stowage compartment.

26. The cooking appliance of claim 16, wherein the coupling rod is embodied in one piece and in a longitudinally stable manner

27. The cooking appliance of claim 16, wherein the coupling rod is embodied as a telescopic rod including two subrods which are displaceable relative to one another.

28. The cooking appliance of claim 27, wherein the door-opening device includes a motor arranged on the coupling rod, one of the two subrods being displaceable relative to the other one of the two subrods by the motor.

29. The cooking appliance of claim 16, wherein the coupling rod has a length between 350 mm and 550 mm and/or a diameter between 8 mm and 18 mm.

30. The cooking appliance of claim 16, wherein the coupling rod has a length between between 400 mm and 500 mm.

31. A method for pivoting a door of a cooking appliance, said method comprising: connecting a guide carriage to a door of the cooking appliance; connecting a guide runner of the guide carriage to a connecting rod of the guide carriage; mechanically coupling a coupling rod of a door-opening device directly to the connecting rod such as to enable a relative movement between the coupling rod and the connecting rod and mounting the coupling rod for rotation about an axis of rotation oriented in a heightwise direction of the cooking appliance so that, when the coupling rod is pivoted about the axis of rotation, the connecting rod is carried along in a depthwise direction of the cooking appliance, thereby allowing the door-opening device to automatically move the door between closed and open positions, as the door is guided during movement into a stowage compartment or out of the stowage compartment via the guide runner in a guide track, which is embodied in a wall delimiting the stowage compartment.

Description

[0027] Exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be described in greater detail making reference to schematic drawings, in which:

[0028] FIG. 1 shows a perspective representation of an exemplary embodiment of a cooking appliance according to the invention;

[0029] FIG. 2 shows a perspective representation of subcomponents of a base assembly of the cooking appliance according to FIG. 1 and a door of the cooking appliance according to FIG. 1 in a partially open position;

[0030] FIG. 3 shows a perspective representation of the components according to FIG. 2 with the door in an almost fully open position;

[0031] FIG. 4 shows a perspective partial representation of a base assembly of the cooking appliance according to FIG. 1;

[0032] FIG. 5 shows a partial representation of the base assembly according to FIG. 4 with a coupling rod of a door-opening device and a connecting rod of a guide device, wherein the door is arranged here in the closed state;

[0033] FIG. 6 shows a partial representation of the base assembly with a door, which is arranged in the closed end position and is thus arranged such that it is retracted in the stowage compartment;

[0034] FIG. 7 shows a representation of subcomponents of a base assembly of the cooking appliance with a further exemplary embodiment of a door-opening device;

[0035] FIG. 8 shows a perspective representation of the cooking appliance with a further exemplary embodiment of a door-opening device;

[0036] FIG. 9 shows a perspective representation of subcomponents of the door-opening device according to FIG. 8; and

[0037] FIG. 10 shows a perspective representation of a cable pulley as a component of the door-opening device according to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9.

[0038] In the figures, the same or functionally identical elements are provided with the same reference characters.

[0039] FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a cooking appliance 1, which can be for example an oven or a microwave cooking appliance or a steam cooking appliance or corresponding combination appliance.

[0040] The cooking appliance 1 has a housing 2, in which a muffle 3 is arranged. With its walls, the muffle 3 delimits a cooking compartment 4. The cooking appliance 1 also has a door 5, which is arranged movably on the housing 2. In particular, the muffle 3 of the cooking appliance 1, which muffle delimits the cooking compartment 4 with its walls, is also to be considered part of the housing 2. The door 5 can therefore be arranged on the muffle 3. The door 5 is arranged such that it closes the cooking compartment 4 on the front side.

[0041] Furthermore, the cooking appliance 1 has a stowage compartment 6 which is separate to the cooking compartment 4 and thus from the cooking compartment 4. This stowage compartment 6 is embodied below the cooking compartment 4 in the heightwise direction (y direction). The stowage compartment 6 is embodied to receive the door 5 in the open state of the door 5. The door 5 can be retracted into the stowage compartment 6 in the open state.

[0042] FIG. 2 shows a perspective representation of an exemplary embodiment of a base assembly 7 of the cooking appliance 1 with a door 5 arranged thereon. The stowage compartment 6 is shown here in the base assembly 7, which stowage compartment is delimited by a base 8, a ceiling wall 9 (FIG. 4) and side walls 10 and 11. For the sake of clarity, the ceiling wall 9 is not shown in FIG. 2.

[0043] FIG. 2 shows opposite hinges 12 and 13 (not shown in FIG. 2), which are arranged such that they sit on top of the side walls 10 and 11. The hinges 12 and 13 are embodied with an identical design, so that the explanation below is given only for hinge 12. Said hinge has a hinge housing 14 (FIG. 4) and a hinge bracket 15 arranged rotatably thereon. Here, the hinge bracket 15 is embodied in particular to be U-shaped. The hinge bracket 15 is coupled to the door 5. To this end, the door 5 has guide tracks, of which one guide track 16 is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, which are disposed on opposite vertical side edges 5a, 5b (FIG. 1) and are open to the side. Pulleys 17 and 18 (FIG. 4), which are arranged rotatably on the hinge bracket 15, engage into this guide track 16.

[0044] The door 5 is shown in an intermediate position between the closed position and the fully open position. The cooking appliance 1 has a guide device 19. With this guide device 19, the door 5 is guided in the base assembly 7 between the closed position and the open position or between the open position and the closed position. The guide device 19 has a guide track 20. The guide track 20 is embodied in the side wall 11. A corresponding guide track is embodied on the opposite side wall 10. Furthermore, the guide device 19 has a guide carriage 21. The guide carriage 21 has a guide runner 22 and a connecting rod 23. The connecting rod 23 connects two separate guide runners 22 of the guide carriage 21, which are disposed opposite one another. The guide runner 22 is guided in the guide track 20. A further, opposite guide runner 22 is guided in the guide track of the side wall 12. The guide carriage 21 is separated from the hinges 12 and 13. The hinges 12 and 13 are correspondingly arranged in a fixed position on the base assembly 7. The guide carriage 21, on the other hand, is displaceable in the base assembly 7 in the depthwise direction (z direction).

[0045] The guide carriage 21 is arranged below the hinges 12 and 13 in the heightwise direction.

[0046] Furthermore, the cooking appliance 1 has a door-opening device 24. The door-opening device 24 has a coupling rod 25. The coupling rod 25 is mechanically coupled at its front first end 26 to the connecting rod 23. In particular, the coupling rod 25 has a carrier 27 at this end 26. Said carrier can be a vertical bar. The carrier 27 is preferably embodied as a U-shaped bracket. This surrounds the connecting rod 23. This coupling rod 25 is mounted rotatably on an opposite rear end 28. An axis of rotation A is oriented in the heightwise direction. The pivot bearing is correspondingly arranged in a fixed position when viewed as a whole. Furthermore, the door-opening device 24 has a motor 29, which is shown only symbolically in FIG. 2. In particular, said motor is arranged below the stowage compartment 6. In particular, it is arranged below the base 8.

[0047] The coupling rod 25 extends in a horizontal plane. This is also embodied over the entire pivot path of the coupling rod 25.

[0048] If the door 5 is opened starting from its closed position, this takes place at least partially, in particular fully automatically over its entire movement path by way of the door-opening device 24.

[0049] For example, the door-opening movement can be started by actuating the control element 30 (FIG. 1). The control element 30 can be embodied on the housing 2 or on the door 5 itself.

[0050] During this automatic movement, a pivoting movement of the coupling rod 25 about the axis of rotation A is initiated by the motor 29. As a result, the coupling rod 25 is displaced relative to the connecting rod 23 with its front end 27 in this widthwise direction. The pivoting movement then causes the connecting rod 23 to be drawn backward in the depthwise direction. In FIG. 2, which shows an intermediate position of the door 5, the connecting rod 23 has correspondingly already traveled a certain path backward in the depthwise direction. When the coupling rod 25 is pivoted further in the clockwise direction, the connecting rod 23 is also drawn further backward and the door 5 coupled directly thereto is also drawn into the stowage compartment 6.

[0051] FIG. 3 shows the corresponding component arrangement as shown in FIG. 2 and the door 5 in an intermediate position having been moved further into the stowage compartment 6. For the sake of clarity, the ceiling wall 9 is not shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3.

[0052] FIG. 4 shows a perspective representation of the base assembly 7 when viewed from the front side. The door 5 is not shown here.

[0053] FIG. 5 shows a partial representation of the base assembly 7, wherein the ceiling wall 9 is removed. The position of the coupling rod 25 assumed when the door 5 is arranged in the closed state is shown here. It can be seen that the coupling rod 25 is oriented in the horizontal plane with its longitudinal axis B at an angle greater than 0°, in particular greater than 15°, and less than 45° to the depthwise direction (z direction). If, as already explained above, the door 5 is now opened and pivoted into the stowage compartment 6, this movement path takes place automatically, guided by the door-opening device 24. In this context, FIG. 6 shows a perspective representation of subcomponents, wherein the end position of the door 5 in the stowage compartment 6 is shown here. In this state, the coupling rod 25 is oriented fully in the widthwise direction and arranged in the depthwise direction behind the door 5 in the stowage compartment 6. The connecting rod 23 arranged above the coupling rod 25 in the heightwise direction is also arranged in the widthwise direction. In this position, the coupling rod 25 and the connecting rod 23 are positioned practically one above the other and extending in the same direction, namely in the widthwise direction. As can be seen here, the carrier 27 is arranged such that it is movable relative to the coupling rod 25 at this front end 26, in particular mounted thereon such that it can be rotated about an axis of rotation oriented in the heightwise direction.

[0054] FIG. 7 shows a perspective plan view of a further exemplary embodiment. This embodiment differs from the embodiment explained above in that the coupling rod 25 is formed not from a one-piece, fixed-length rod but instead from two subelements. Provision is made for a first subrod 25a and a second subrod 25b separate thereto, which is displaceable relative to the first subrod 25a in the direction of the longitudinal axis B. Here, the motor 29 is preferably arranged directly on the coupling rod 25. This motor 29 causes the axial relative displacement of the two subrods 25a and 25b. This change of length in turn causes a rotational movement of the entire coupling rod 25 about the axis of rotation A. This is because, with this change of length, for example when the coupling rod 25 is pulled together, the connecting rod 23 is drawn linearly backward in the depthwise direction and, on account of the mechanical operating principle in which the coupling rod 25 is oriented at a 90° angle to the connecting rod 23, the connecting rod 23 is drawn backward and the coupling rod 25 rotated about the axis of rotation A. When the connecting rod is pushed out of the stowage compartment 6 by the increase in length of the coupling rod 25 which has now taken place, the connecting rod 23 is pushed linearly forward in the depthwise direction and, as a result, a pivoting of the coupling rod about the axis of rotation A is in turn initiated.

[0055] FIG. 8 shows a perspective representation of a further exemplary embodiment of a cooking appliance 1. In this embodiment, it is provided that the door-opening device 24 has a cable pull device 30. This cable pull device 30 has a cable 31. Furthermore, the cable pull device 30 has a motor 31. This motor 31 is arranged in a above the receiving compartment or the cooking compartment 4 and above the muffle 3 in the heightwise direction. To this end, a component compartment is embodied between the ceiling of the muffle 3 and the ceiling of the housing 2. The motor 31 has a claw coupling 32. It has an electric motor 33. Furthermore, a drive shaft 34 is provided. Moreover, a loose bearing 35 and a fixed bearing 36 separate thereto are embodied. Furthermore, a first cable pulley 37 is provided, which is connected to the drive shaft 34. The cable 31 is fastened to this first cable pulley 37 and is rolled down or up as a function of the rotational movement of the first cable pulley 37. Moreover, the cable pull device 30 has a second cable pulley 38. This arranged on the hinge 13. In particular, it is arranged in the depthwise direction on a rear end of the hinge housing of the hinge 13 such that it is mounted in a rotatable manner. The second cable pulley 38 is a cable deflection pulley. The cable 31 is deflected thereby. The cable 31 is connected directly to the U-shaped hinge bracket 15, as shown in FIG. 9. To this end, the hinge bracket 15 has a receptacle 39 in which the cable 31 is fastened.

[0056] FIG. 10 shows a perspective representation of the first cable pulley 37. It has a groove 40. The cable 31 is guided in this groove 40.

LIST OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS

[0057] 1 Cooking appliance [0058] 2 Housing [0059] 3 Muffle [0060] 4 Cooking compartment [0061] 5 Door [0062] 5a, 5b Side edges [0063] 6 Stowage compartment [0064] 7 Base assembly [0065] 8 Base [0066] 9 Ceiling wall [0067] 10 Side wall [0068] 11 Side wall [0069] 12 Hinge [0070] 13 Hinge [0071] 14 Hinge housing [0072] 15 Hinge bracket [0073] 16 Guide track [0074] 17 Pulley [0075] 18 Pulley [0076] 19 Guide device [0077] 20 Guide track [0078] 21 Guide carriage [0079] 22 Guide runner [0080] 23 Connecting rod [0081] 24 Door-opening device [0082] 25 Coupling rod [0083] 25a First subrod [0084] 25b Second subrod [0085] 26 Front first end [0086] 27 Carrier [0087] 28 Rear end [0088] 29 Motor [0089] 30 Cable pull device [0090] 31 Motor [0091] 32 Claw coupling [0092] 33 Electric motor [0093] 34 Drive shaft [0094] 35 Loose bearing [0095] 36 Fixed bearing [0096] 37 Cable pulley [0097] 38 Cable pulley [0098] 39 Receptacle [0099] 40 Groove [0100] A Axis of rotation [0101] B Longitudinal axis [0102] x Widthwise direction [0103] y Heightwise direction [0104] z Depthwise direction