Cooking apparatus, door latching construction therefor and methods of making the same

In a latching construction for a cooking apparatus having a cooking chamber means and a movable door means for opening and closing said cooking chamber means, said latch construction comprising a frame means, a movable latch member carried by said frame means and being movable between a non-latching position thereof that would permit said door means to be opened and closed and a latching position thereof that would lock said door means in its closed position if said door means is in its closed position at the time said latch member is moved to said latching position thereof, and drive means carried by said frame means and having moving means operatively interconnected to said latch member to move said latch member between said positions thereof only when said moving means of said drive means moves from a first position thereof to a second position thereof, the improvement wherein said latch member is movable from said non-latching position to a third position thereof by said drive means when said drive means tends to move said latch member from said non-latching position thereof to said latching position thereof and said moving means of said drive means moves from said first position thereof to said second position thereof, and switch means carried by said frame means for permitting the heating means of said cooking apparatus to heat clean said cooking chamber means only when said switch means is actuated, said latch member being adapted to actuate said switch means only when said latch member is in said latching position thereof.

In a method of making a cooking apparatus comprising the steps of forming a frame means, forming a cooking chamber means to be carried by said frame means, forming heating means to be carried by said frame means and be adapted to be actuated to heat clean said chamber means, forming switch means for permitting said heating means to heat clean said chamber means only when said switch means is actuated, forming a movable door means to be carried by said frame means for opening and closing said cooking chamber means, forming a movable latch member to be carried by said frame means and be movable between a non-latching position thereof that permits said door means to be opened and closed and a latching position thereof that locks said door means in its closed position if said door means is in its closed position at the time said latch member is moved to said latching position thereof, and forming drive means to be carried by said frame means and have moving means operatively interconnected to said latch member to move said latch member between said positions thereof only when said moving means of said drive means moves from a first position thereof to a second position thereof, the improvement comprising the steps of forming said latch member to be movable from said non-latching position to a third position thereof by said drive means when said drive means tends to move said latch member from said non-latching position thereof to said latching position thereof when said door means is not in a closed condition thereof and said moving means of said drive means moves from said first position thereof to said second position thereof, and disposing said latch member so as to be adapted to actuate said switch means only when said latch member is in said latching position thereof.

In a method of making a latching construction for a cooking apparatus having a cooking chamber means and a movable door means for opening and closing said cooking chamber means, said method comprising the steps of forming a frame means, forming a movable latch member to be carried by said frame means and be movable between a non-latching position thereof that would permit said door means to be opened and closed and a latching position thereof that would lock said door means in its closed position if said door means is in its closed position at the time said latch member is moved to said latching position thereof, and forming drive means to be carried by said frame means and have moving means operatively interconnected to said latch member to move said latch member between said positions thereof only when said moving means of said drive means moves from a first position thereof to a second position thereof, the improvement comprising the steps of forming said latch member to be movable from said non-latching position to a third position thereof by said drive means when said drive means tends to move said latch member from said non-latching position thereof to said latching position thereof if said door means should not be in a closed condition thereof and said moving means of said drive means moves from said first position thereof to said second position thereof, forming switch means to be carried by said frame means for permitting the heating means of said cooking apparatus to heat clean said cooking chamber means only when said switch means is actuated, and disposing said latch member so as to be adapted to actuate said switch means only when said latch member is in said latching position thereof.