Child-safe door latching system for a cooking appliance

A cooking appliance comprising:

• a cabinet;
• an oven cavity arranged within the cabinet, said oven cavity including an interior portion adapted to receive food items, and an open frontal portion;
• a door mounted for movement between an open position, wherein access to within the oven cavity is permitted through the open frontal portion, and a closed position, wherein the door extends across the open frontal portion;
• an electrically actuated latching mechanism adapted to interconnect the door and the cabinet, said electrically actuated latching mechanism being movable between a locked position which interconnects the door and the cabinet, and an unlocked position which enables movement of the door relative to the cabinet;
• and
• means for controlling activation of the electrically actuated latching mechanism in a first mode wherein the controlling means automatically activates the latching mechanism in conjunction with the activation of a self-clean cycle, and a second mode wherein the controlling means enables independent and selective activation of the latching mechanism.

A cooking appliance comprising:

• a cabinet;
• an oven cavity arranged within the cabinet, said oven cavity including an interior portion adapted to be heated, and an open frontal portion;
• a door mounted for movement between an open position, wherein access to within the cavity is permitted through the open frontal portion, and a closed position, wherein the door extends across the open frontal portion;
• a control panel including a plurality of control elements for establishing various heating functions associated with operation of the cooking appliance;
• and
• an electrically actuated latching mechanism for interconnecting the door and the cabinet, said latching mechanism being movable between a locked position which precludes movement of the door thereby preventing access to the oven cavity, and an unlocked position which enables movement of the door to access the oven cavity, wherein said latching mechanism is selectively operable independent of the heating functions of the cooking appliance.