Mounting Assembly for Cooking Appliances

The present invention relates to a mounting assembly for mounting a cooking apparatus on a wall in a kitchen. The present invention relates, more particularly, to a mounting assembly for mounting a combined cooking apparatus such as a combined microwave oven and range hood (which is referred to as a space saver hereinbelow) on a wall in a kitchen.

The combined microwave oven and range hood, namely a space saver, is heavy and is difficult to mount on a wall in a kitchen.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a novel mounting/demounting assembly for cooking appliances.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a mounting assembly for mounting a space saver on a wall in a kitchen.

Other objects and further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

To achieve the above objects, pursuant to an embodiment of the present invention, a mounting plate is provided, which is secured to a wall in a kitchen. The mounting plate includes a support member for supporting a body of the space saver.

The present invention will be better understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view for explaining a mounting operation of a space saver through the use of an embodiment of a mounting assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the space saver and the mounting assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a mounting plate included in the mounting assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an engaging member and a coupling member included in the mounting assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an operational mode of the engaging member and the coupling member of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing an operational mode of the mounting assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a mounted condition of the space saver in a kitchen; and

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a space saver of prior art.

Generally, a space saver 2, which is a combination of, for example, a microwave oven and a range hood, is disposed above a gas range 1 as shown in FIG. 7, and secured to a wall in a kitchen.

In the conventional system, to mount the space saver 2 on the wall, a cover housing 3 is first demounted from a body 4 of the space saver 2 as shown in FIG. 8. The cover housing 3 is secured to the wall through the use of screws. Then, the body 4 of the space saver 2 is accommodated in the cover housing 3 in such a manner that the body 4 slides on a pair of rails 5 secured to the cover housing 3.

In the above-mentioned conventional system, the mounting operation is troublesome because the cover housing 3 must be demounted from the body 4 of the space saver 2. The internal components disposed in the body 4 are exposed and, therefore, there is a possibility that the internal components may be damaged. Furthermore, lead wires must be correctly connected through the cover housing 3. The above-mentioned mounting operation is difficult to perform because the heavy body 4 of the space saver 2 must be manually supported in a relatively high place and exactly accommodated on the pair of rails 5 provided in the cover housing 3.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a mounting operation of a space saver through the use of an embodiment of a mounting assembly of the present invention. The mounting assembly of the present invention includes a mounting plate 7 which is separate from a space saver body or housing 6 and adopted to be secured to a wall in a kitchen, and a coupling member 20 provided at the back of the space saver body 6.

FIG. 3 shows the mounting plate 7 which has a plurality of small apertures 9 formed at desired positions. A pair of engaging portions 12 which may be trapezoid in shape with a hollow central portion are formed at both corners of the upper section of the mounting plate 7, and engaging projections 11 are provided at desired positions on the bottom edge of the mounting plate 7. A pair of reinforcing ribs 19 are secured to the mounting plate 7.

A microwave oven and a range hood (not shown) are disposed in the space saver body 6. A pair of apertures 13 are formed in a rear wall of the space saver body 6 at positions corresponding to the engaging portions 12 formed on the mounting plate 7. A pair of coupling members 20 are provided near the respective apertures 13 in order to fix the space saver body 6 to the mounting plate 7. Engaging indents 10 are formed near the bottom edge of the rear wall of the space saver body 6 at positions corresponding to the engaging projections 11 provided on the mounting plate 7. The engaging indents 10 accommodate the engaging projections 11 when the space saver body 6 is mounted on the mounting plate 7.

The coupling member 20 includes, as shown in FIG. 4, a rotatable rod 15 rotatably secured to a rear wall 6' of the space saver body 6 by a pin 14, and actuating rod 17 rotatably secured to one end of the rotatable rod 15 through the use of a pin 16. The coupling member 20 is constructed so that the rotatable rod 15 is engaged by the engaging portion 12 which is projected through the aperture 13, thereby tightly supporting the space saver body 6 on the mounting plate 7. An opening 21 is formed at one end opposite to the portion where the actuating rod 17 is secured to the rotatable rod 15. The coupling member 20 will be fixed to the inner surface of the rear wall 6' of the space saver body 6 by means of a screw 18 which is disposed through the opening 21 formed in the actuating rod 17 and an opening 22 formed at a desired position in the rear wall 6' of the space saver body 6.

The mounting operation of the space saver is conducted in the following manner. First, the mounting plate 7 is secured to the wall through the use of screws 8. The space saver body 6 is mounted on the mounting plate 7 in a manner that the engaging projections 11 provided on the mounting plate 7 are accommodated in the engaging indents 10 formed on the space saver body 6 and, then, the space saver body 6 is rotated so that the rear wall 6' contacts the mounting plate 7. The engaging portions 12 are received through the apertures 13 so that the engaging portions 12 are exposed to the inside of the space saver body 6.

The rotatable rod 15 is rotated so that the rotatable rod 15 is received by the engaging projection 12. By this rotating movement, the actuating rod 17 is shifted upward till the opening (screwed opening) 21 confronts the opening 22 formed in the rear wall 6' of the space saver body 6. The screw 18 is disposed through the screwed opening 21 and the opening 22 and, then, reaches a screwed opening 23 formed at the corresponding portion in the mounting plate 7, whereby the rotatable rod 15 is held at the engaged condition with respect to the engaging projection 12 and the space saver body 6 is tightly secured to the mounting plate 7 as shown in FIG. 6.

The demounting operation can be conducted in the reversed order of the mounting operation.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.