Oven door apparatus

A new and improved oven door apparatus for an oven which has a pair of sidewalls spaced from each other by a predetermined distance, which has a floor located between the pair of sidewalls, and which has a depth, comprising:

• a pair of guide channel assemblies connected to the pair of sidewalls of the oven, wherein each of said guide channel assemblies includes a straight vertical guide channel portion, a curved, right angled guide channel portion connected to said straight vertical guide channel portion, and a straight horizontal guide channel portion connected to said curved, right angled guide channel portion, wherein said straight vertical guide channel portion is connected to a sidewall of the oven adjacent to a front, open portion of the oven and wherein said straight horizontal guide channel portion is connected to a sidewall of the oven adjacent to a top portion of the oven,
• an articulated door assembly which includes a plurality of door panel assemblies connected together by articulated connection assemblies, wherein each door panel assembly includes four corners and wherein each door panel assembly includes a wheel assembly adjacent to each of said four corners, wherein said wheel assemblies are adapted to ride in said guide channel assemblies, wherein said articulated door assembly has a height in a closed orientation, and wherein said height of said closed articulated door assembly is less than the depth of the oven,
• a first gasket assembly located between a bottommost edge of a bottommost door panel assembly and a bottom portion of the oven,
• inter-door-panel-assembly sealing elements, supported on edge surfaces of adjacent door panel assemblies, for providing seals between adjacent door panel assemblies when said articulated door assembly is in a closed orientation,
• wherein said articulated connection assemblies connect adjacent door panel assemblies together, wherein said articulated connection assemblies include hinge assemblies connected between adjacent door panel assemblies, wherein said hinge assemblies are connected at inside edges of said door panel assemblies,
• wherein said inter-door-panel-assembly sealing elements are located on adjacent horizontal edges of adjacent door panel assemblies, wherein adjacent inter-door-panel-assembly sealing elements are automatically aligned with each other and automatically compressed against each other under a gravity influence when said door panel assemblies are in a closed orientation when adjacent edges of adjacent door panel assemblies are juxtaposed with each other in a horizontal orientation, wherein said inter-door-panel-assembly sealing elements are automatically aligned with each other and automatically compressed against each other under a gravity influence when said hinge assemblies move from said curved, right angled guide channel portion of said guide channel assemblies to said straight vertical guide channel portion of said guide channel assemblies.