Oven appliance with dual opening doors

Abstract

An oven appliance having a pair of doors that open together to provide access to the cooking chamber of the appliance is provided. The doors are mechanically connected with other each such that the opening of one door also causes the other door to open—e.g., a user of the appliance can open both doors using only one door. The mechanism that allows for the simultaneous opening of the doors can be readily contained within the cabinet of the oven—substantially or completely hidden from the user's view.

1 . An oven appliance, comprising:
 a cabinet defining a chamber for the receipt of food for cooking, the chamber accessed through an opening defined by the cabinet;   a heating element for providing heat to the food for cooking in the chamber;   a pair of doors mounted proximate to the opening, each one of said doors having an axis of rotation about which said door is rotatable so as to open or close access to the chamber through the opening;   a pair of drive gears, each of said drive gears connected with said doors and positioned along the axis of rotation of said door so as to rotate with said door; and,   a connecting member that extends between and is in contact with said pair of drive gears such that rotation of either one of said doors about its axis of rotation is transferred through said connecting member to the other of said doors to rotate said pair of doors simultaneously.   
     
     
         2 . An oven appliance as in  claim 1 , wherein said pair of drive gears comprises a pair of spur gears, and wherein said oven appliance further comprises a pair of door drive shafts, each one of said door drive shafts connecting one of said doors to one of said spur gears. 
     
     
         3 . An oven appliance as in  claim 1 , wherein said pair of drive gears comprises a pair of spur gears, each one of said spur gears positioned to rotate about the axis of rotation of one of said doors. 
     
     
         4 . An oven appliance as in  claim 3 , wherein said connecting member has a longitudinal axis and comprises a pair of rack gears, each one of said rack gears positioned in contact with one of said spur gears such that rotation of either one of said doors causes said connecting member to slide along its longitudinal axis. 
     
     
         5 . An oven appliance as in  claim 4 , wherein said rack gears are oriented to face each other. 
     
     
         6 . An oven appliance as in  claim 5 , wherein said rack gears and said spur gears are contained within said cabinet. 
     
     
         7 . An oven appliance as in  claim 1 , wherein said pair of drive gears comprises a pair of worm gears, and wherein said oven appliance further comprises a pair of door drive shafts, each one of said door drive shafts connecting one of said doors to one of said worm gears. 
     
     
         8 . An oven appliance as in  claim 1 , wherein said pair of drive gears comprises a pair of worm gears, each one of said worm gears positioned to rotate about the axis of rotation of one of said doors. 
     
     
         9 . An oven appliance as in  claim 8 , wherein said connecting member has a longitudinal axis and comprises a pair of spur gears, each one of said spur gears positioned in contact with one of said worm gears such that rotation of either one of said doors causes said connecting member to rotate about its longitudinal axis. 
     
     
         10 . An oven appliance as in  claim 9 , wherein said connecting member further comprises a shaft connected between said spur gears. 
     
     
         11 . An oven appliance as in  claim 10 , wherein said worms gears and said spur gears are contained within said cabinet. 
     
     
         12 . An oven appliance as in  claim 1 , wherein said pair of drive gears comprises a pair of first bevel gears, and wherein said oven appliance further comprises a pair of door drive shafts, each one of said door drive shafts connecting one of said doors to one of said first bevel gears. 
     
     
         13 . An oven appliance as in  claim 1 , wherein said pair of drive gears comprises a pair of first bevel gears, each one of said first bevel gears positioned to rotate about the axis of rotation of one of said doors. 
     
     
         14 . An oven appliance as in  claim 13 , wherein said connecting member has a longitudinal axis and comprises a pair of second bevel gears, each one of said second bevel gears positioned in contact with one of said first bevel gears such that rotation of either one of said doors causes said connecting member to rotate about its longitudinal axis. 
     
     
         15 . An oven appliance as in  claim 14 , wherein said pairs of first and second bevel gears are contained within said cabinet. 
     
     
         16 . An oven appliance as in  claim 14 , wherein said second bevel gears are positioned at opposite ends of said connecting member. 
     
     
         17 . An oven appliance as in  claim 16 , wherein said connecting member comprises a shaft connected between said second bevel gears. 
     
     
         18 . An oven appliance as in  claim 1 , further comprising a pair of door drive shafts, each one of said door drive shafts connected to, and extending between, one of said doors and one of said drive gears, and wherein each one of said door drive shafts is positioned along the axis of rotation of one of said doors so as to rotate with said door. 
     
     
         19 . An oven appliance as in  claim 1 , wherein said drive gears and said connecting member are contained within a panel of said cabinet located over the opening to the chamber. 
     
     
         20 . An oven appliance as in  claim 1 , wherein said drive gears and said connecting member are contained within said cabinet and below the opening to the chamber.