Automatic breadmaker with laterally-opening wide door

• US 5,493,955 A
• Filed: 10/25/1994
• Issued: 02/27/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: West Bend Housewares LLC (Focus Products Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: West Bend Company LLC
• Inventors: Belongia, David C., Klein, Annette T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Scherbel, David
• Assistant Examiner(s): ALEXANDER, REGINALD
• Application Number:
  US08/328,507
• Time in Patent Office: 490 Days
• Field of Search: 99/348, 99/341, 99/352, 126/21 A, 126/190, 126/194
• US Class Current: 99/348
• CPC Class Codes: A21B 7/005 in combination with mixing or kneading devices

Abstract

An automatic breadmaker has a floor, enclosing surfaces and a door which form the oven chamber. The door swings horizontally to create a front opening extending substantially to the oven floor, thus facilitating "wide-side" insertion and removal of the baking pan. When closed, the door extends upwardly from along the oven floor and rearwardly to a position directly above the pan. With the door open, insertion and removal of the pan is further facilitated by the resulting wide-mouth configuration. The pan has two driven kneading members spaced along its bottom for mixing dough. The loaf made by the new breadmaker is of normal configuration, has a risen topside extending along its length and has a size, shape and overall appearance closely resembling that of a normal bakery loaf.

Claims

1. In an automatic breadmaker of the type having:

drive means;

an oven chamber formed by a floor and by top, front and side enclosing surfaces, the top surface at a first level above the floor;

an access door which includes at least one of the enclosing surfaces; and

a pan in the oven chamber with a kneading member therein linked to the drive means, the improvement wherein;

the access door includes the front surface and at least major portions of each of the top surface and a first side surface each extending rearwardly from the front surface, the first side surface having a substantially vertical rear edge; and

the access door is hinged along its rear edge for front opening without any door movement above the first level;

whereby the access door is laterally swingable to permit multi-directional access to the oven chamber with the access door away from the front of the breadmaker.

2. The automatic breadmaker of claim 1 wherein:

the pan has a bottom which is longer than it is wide; and

the oven floor and the access door are each wider than the length of the pan to accommodate wide-side insertion of the pan into the oven chamber;

thereby to minimize the height of the breadmaker.

3. The automatic breadmaker of claim 2 wherein the access door, when closed, extends upwardly from along the oven floor and rearwardly to a position directly above the pan, whereby insertion and removal of the pan when the access door is open is further facilitated.

4. The automatic breadmaker of claim 3 wherein the access door includes a window allowing a user to view kneading and baking operations.

5. The automatic breadmaker of claim 2 wherein the pan has a spread pair of the kneading members therein, thereby facilitating automatic preperation of a loaf of bread having a risen topside extending along its length.

6. The automatic breadmaker of claim 5 wherein the pair of kneading members are spaced along the length of the pan, whereby dough in the pan will be reached by one or both of the kneading members.

7. The automatic breadmaker of claim 1 wherein the access door is swingable in a substantially horizontal direction to open the oven chamber.

8. The automatic breadmaker of claim 7 wherein the access door is pivotable about a substantially vertical axis.

9. The automatic breadmaker of claim 1 wherein the access door includes a window allowing a user to view kneading and baking operations.

10. The automatic breadmaker of claim 1 wherein the access door, when closed, extends upwardly from along the oven floor and rearwardly to a position directly above the pan, whereby insertion and removal of the pan when the access door is open is further facilitated.

11. In an automatic breadmaker of the type having a base, a motor secured with respect thereto, an oven chamber formed by a floor, fixed enclosing surfaces and an access door, and a pan in the oven chamber having a motor-driven kneading member therein engageable to motor-linked drive means at the oven chamber floor, the improvement wherein:

one of the enclosing surfaces is a top portion at a level above the floor and the floor extends beyond the top portion;

the access door is laterally swingable for front opening of the oven chamber to create an opening extending substantially to the oven floor, thereby to facilitate insertion and removal of the pan.

12. The automatic breadmaker of claim 11 wherein:

the pan has a bottom which is at least about 1.5 times longer than it is wide; and

the oven floor and the access door are each wider than the length of the pan to accommodate wide-side insertion of the pan into the oven chamber;

thereby to minimize the height of the breadmaker.

13. The automatic breadmaker of claim 12 wherein the access door, when closed, extends upwardly from along the oven floor and rearwardly to a position directly over the pan, whereby insertion and removal of the pan when the access door is open is further facilitated.

14. The automatic breadmaker of claim 12 wherein the pan has a spaced pair of the kneading members therein, thereby facilitating automatic preparation of a loaf of bread having a risen topside extending along its length.

15. The automatic breadmaker of claim 14 wherein the pair of kneading members are spaced along the length of the pan, whereby dough in the pan will be reached by one or both of the kneading members.

16. The automatic breadmaker of claim 11 wherein:

the access door has a front surface and a side surface extending rearwardly from the front surface and having a rear edge at the side of the breadmaker; and

the access door is swingable about an axis along the rear edge to open the oven chamber.

17. The automatic breadmaker of claim 11 wherein:

one of the enclosing surfaces includes a wall member having a front lateral edge;

the floor has a front edge forward of the front lateral edge of the wall member; and

the access door is hinged at the front lateral edge.