Cooking appliance having a cable pull device for automatically pivoting a door

Abstract

A cooking appliance includes a housing having a cooking chamber, and a door configured to close the cooking chamber. The door is arranged on the housing in a pivotable manner and capable of being lowered into a storage space in the housing. A drive unit automatically implements a movement of the door along a movement path. The drive unit includes a motor and a cable pull device, which is coupled to the motor and the door such that the movement of the door is implemented as a function of a motorized actuation of the cable pull device.

Claims

1. A cooking appliance, comprising: a housing having a cooking chamber; a door configured to close the cooking chamber, said door being arranged on the housing in a pivotable manner and capable of being lowered into a storage space in the housing; a drive unit configured to automatically implement a movement of the door along a movement path, said drive unit including a motor and a cable pull device, said cable pull device being coupled to the motor and the door such that the movement of the door is implemented as a function of a motorized actuation of the cable pull device; and a damping module configured to damp the movement of the door along the movement path, which is not implemented by the drive unit, wherein the movement path of the door represents only a partial movement path of a complete movement path between a closed position of the door and a fully opened position of the door, a remaining movement path of the door, which is not implemented by the drive unit, extends between the closed position of the door and a start of the partial movement path, the door includes a hinge, said damping module being coupled to the hinge of the door, and the damping module is directly flanged to the hinge.

2. A cooking appliance, comprising: a housing having a cooking chamber; a door configured to close the cooking chamber, said door being arranged on the housing in a pivotable manner and capable of being lowered into a storage space in the housing; a drive unit configured to automatically implement a movement of the door along a movement path, said drive unit including a motor and a cable pull device, said cable pull device being coupled to the motor and the door such that the movement of the door is implemented as a function of a motorized actuation of the cable pull device; and a carriage coupled to the door, said cable pull device being coupled to the carriage, wherein the carriage includes a brake unit, which is connected to the door to damp a coupling of the door to the carriage, when the door is in a coupling position, and the brake unit is a hydraulic brake unit.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described in more detail below with reference to schematic drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of an inventive cooking appliance;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of subcomponents of the cooking appliance according to FIG. 1 with a door in the fully closed position;

(4) FIG. 3 shows the view of the components according to FIG. 2 with the door in a fully opened position;

(5) FIG. 4 shows a view of the components according to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 of a door in a position, in which the further movement path of the door into the opened position is brought about by a drive unit with a motor;

(6) FIG. 5 shows a view from FIG. 2 with some subcomponents from FIG. 2; and

(7) FIG. 6 shows a view from FIG. 3 with some subcomponents from FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

(8) Identical elements or those of identical function are shown with the same reference characters in the figures.

(9) FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of a cooking appliance 1 configured as an oven. The cooking appliance 1 has a housing 2, in which a cooking chamber delimited by a muffle (not shown) is configured. Food to be prepared can be placed in the cooking chamber. The front of the cooking chamber can be closed by a door 3, which is shown in the closed end position in FIG. 1. A handle 4 by way of example is configured on the front face of the door 3.

(10) The cooking appliance 1 also has an operating device 5, which has a display unit 6 and operating elements 7 and 8, the position and configuration of which are simply by way of example.

(11) Cooking zones 9, 10, 11 and 12, the position and number of which are also simply by way of example, are also shown. The cooking zones 9 to 12 can also not be present.

(12) The lower region 13 of the door 3 can be pushed or lowered into the housing 2, as is the case when the door 3 is moved from the closed end position shown in FIG. 1 to the fully open end position. The door 3 is then arranged in a lowered manner in a free space in the housing 2, said free space forming a storage space 14 arranged below the cooking chamber and separated therefrom by a corresponding separating wall.

(13) The door 3 is connected to movement units 15 and 16 shown and marked by way of example and can be pivoted and moved into and out of the cited storage space 14 by means of these.

(14) FIG. 2 shows subcomponents of the cooking appliance 1. It shows a view into the storage space 14 in order to show the components for said automatic movement of the door 3. The door 3 here is shown in the fully closed position as in FIG. 1. The cooking appliance 1 has a drive unit 17. Said drive unit 17 has a motor 18. An automatic movement of the door 3 can be brought about by means of the drive unit 17. The drive unit 17 has a cable pull device 19 with a cable 20. Said cable pull device 19 is coupled to the motor 18 and the door 3. A movement of the door 3 can be brought about as a function of a motorized actuation of the cable pull device 19 with the motor 18.

(15) As shown in FIG. 2, the cable 20 in the exemplary embodiment here is deflected by way of a number of deflection points 21 and 22 to achieve particularly effective movement of the cable 20 and to configure the space in a compact manner.

(16) It can also be seen in FIG. 2 that the door has a carrier 23, which supports a door leaf 24 of the door 3.

(17) The view in FIG. 5 shows the design according to FIG. 2 without the door leaf 24 so that it is possible to see all round the carrier 23.

(18) The carrier 23 has bearing parts 25 and 26, which are shown in FIG. 5. These bearing parts 25 and 26 are configured as U-shaped in particular. Two rollers 27 and 28 in particular are configured respectively thereon. A coupling to the door leaf 24 is provided by way of said rollers 27 and 28, with corresponding guide channels being arranged on vertical side edges of the door leaf 24, in which said rollers 27 and 28 engage and roll along accordingly.

(19) The door leaf 24 is also connected to coupling pegs 29 and 30, which are configured on brackets of the carrier 23.

(20) The bearing parts 25 and 26 are also connected respectively to a hinge 31 and 32. The hinges 31 and 32 in particular have a spring element 33 and 34 respectively. The carrier 23 runs along guide channels 35 and 36. The bearing parts 25 and 26 also engage in said guide channels 35 and 36, in particular by way of further rollers, only the roller 37 of the bearing part 25 being shown in FIG. 5.

(21) As also shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 5, the cable pull device 19 is advantageously coupled to a carriage 38 that is present in particular. The carriage 38 is guided in a guide facility 39. The guide facility 39 is arranged on a base 40, which delimits the bottom of the storage space 14. The guide facility 39 is configured to guide the carriage 38 in a straight line, in particular in the depthwise direction (z direction) of the cooking appliance 1.

(22) The carriage 38 has a separate brake unit 41. The brake unit 41 is connected to the carrier 23 of the door 3, when the carriage 38 is coupled to the door 3. The brake unit 41, which can be in particular a hydraulic brake unit, damps said coupling between the carrier 23 and the brake unit 38.

(23) As shown in FIG. 5, the cooking appliance 1 is also configured with at least one separate damping module 42, in particular with two damping modules 42 and 43, which are coupled to the hinges 31 and 32, in particular being directly flanged thereto.

(24) FIG. 3 shows the component arrangement according to FIG. 2, but with the door 3 in the fully opened state in contrast to the view in FIG. 2 and therefore in an opened end position, in which the door 3 is lowered into the storage space 14. FIG. 3 also shows the peripheral guide tracks or guide channels at least on one side of the door leaf 24. A corresponding guide channel 44 is provided to hold the rollers 27 and 28.

(25) FIG. 6 also shows a reduced component arrangement, in which the door leaf 24 and the enclosing flange or frame are not shown. FIG. 6 shows a further deflection point 45, in particular a deflection roller, which is not shown or cannot be seen in FIG. 5.

(26) FIG. 4 shows the component arrangement according to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. However in FIG. 4 the door 3 and therefore also the door leaf 24 are shown in an intermediate position between the fully closed position and the fully opened position. In this intermediate position the door leaf 24 is at an angle α between 15° and 25°, in particular between 17° and 19°, to the vertical position and therefore to the fully closed position according to FIG. 2.

(27) Provision is made in particular for the automatic movement of the door 3 by the drive unit 17 only to take place over a partial path from said intermediate position, as shown in FIG. 4, to the fully opened position according to FIG. 3, or in the reverse direction during the closing movement from the fully opened position in FIG. 3 to said intermediate position in FIG. 4.

(28) In one embodiment of the invention provision is made for the movement of the door 3 from said intermediate position to the closed position, as shown in FIG. 2, or from said fully closed position according to FIG. 2 to said intermediate position according to FIG. 4 not to take place by way of the drive unit 17. Provision can be made for said movement over the further partial path, which is not brought about automatically by way of said drive unit 17, to take place by way of a different device. This device can be configured with the spring elements 33 and 34 and can bring about said movement.

(29) The damping modules 42 and 43 damp the movement of the door 3 from the intermediate position according to FIG. 4 to the fully closed position according to FIG. 2. Provision is then also advantageously made for damping from the fully closed position according to FIG. 2 to the intermediate position according to FIG. 4.

(30) As the cable pull device 19 is coupled to the carriage 38 and the movement of the cable 20 is brought about by the motor 18, the movement of the carriage 38 forward and backward is also brought about by the motor 18, in that the cable 20 initiates the same movement correspondingly for the carriage 38.

(31) In order preferably to achieve gentle closing of the door 3 here too, the carriage 38 is set so that it does not push the door 3 to its closed end position, as shown in FIG. 2, but only to said intermediate position according to FIG. 4. The remainder of the then also preferably gentle closing movement, which takes place by way of the damping module 42 or the damping module 43, is brought about by the spring force of the spring elements 33 and 34.

(32) As the door 3 opens, the force of its weight exceeds the spring force of the spring elements 33 and 34 beyond a certain opening angle, in particular beyond the opening angle according to the intermediate position in FIG. 4. The brake unit 41 is then preferably present to prevent unwanted dynamic escalation of vibration due to said further movement from the intermediate position according to FIG. 4 to the opened position according to FIG. 3.

(33) Provision is preferably made for a coupling between the carrier 23 and the carriage 38 by way of the brake unit 41 that is preferably present only to be brought about in the intermediate position according to FIG. 4 and for there to be no coupling to the carriage 23 on the movement path between said intermediate position and the closed position of the door 3.