Patent Application
20240263802
The present disclosure relates to oven products and, more particularly, to oven rack assemblies having retention mechanisms.
Various types of oven racks are well known in the industry. For example, steel wire oven racks are often manufactured from a steel rod which is drawn, so as to form steel wire. These oven racks formed of steel wire products can be coated with various types of materials. Also, oven racks and other oven-related articles can be manufactured from products other than steel. Of course, any type of oven rack or similar product which is positioned within an oven cavity during use must be capable of withstanding normal cooking temperatures which substantially exceed normal cooking temperatures. In addition, for ovens which employ self-cleaning cycles, the oven racks and other oven-related articles located within the oven itself must be capable of being subjected to and withstanding temperatures which substantially exceed normal cooking temperatures. For example, steel wire oven racks may be subjected to temperatures above 900° F. associated with self-cleaning cycles, common in today's kitchen ovens.
In many conventional ovens, the oven racks can have complex assemblies that can be difficult and costly to manufacture and assemble. The oven racks can be movable between various vertically disposed positions and be adjustable among the same. With the oven racks positioned as desired at various vertically adjusted locations, the oven racks often “slide” on ribs or roller bearing mechanisms positioned on the lateral sides of the oven cavity. These ribs, roller bearings or “ledges” may be separately manufactured and assembled components from the surfaces of the oven cavity and oven racks or, alternatively, may be integrated into the lateral surfaces of the oven cavity. Oven rack assemblies can also include a retention mechanism associated with the subframe that engages an outer surface of oven liner to hold the subframe within the oven cavity. Conventional retention mechanisms of this type can include complex assemblies utilizing spring-biased flippers, cams, and rivets. Further adding to the complexity of these retention mechanisms, each of the components must be able to withstand the expected temperatures within the oven.
In accordance with a first aspect, an oven rack assembly is disclosed that includes an oven rack configured to support items to be cooked or otherwise heated within an oven cavity, a subframe configured to engage the oven cavity in a stowed position to restrict movement thereof, and a slide system coupled to the oven rack and the subframe. The slide system is configured to allow the oven rack to be moved relative to the subframe between a retracted position and an extended position. The slide system includes a pair of slide devices, each having inner and outer members movable with respect to one another, where the inner member has inwardly extending mounts and the outer member has outwardly extending mounts. The slide system further includes a pair of rack brackets coupled to opposite sides of the oven rack, each rack bracket having a plurality of openings to receive the mounts of the inner member of the slide device therethrough to couple the slide device to the rack bracket, and a pair of subframe brackets coupled to opposite sides of the subframe, each subframe bracket having a pair of upwardly opening recesses and slot openings extending from the recesses, the recesses configured to allow the mounts of the outer member of the slide device to be disposed within the slot openings to couple the slide device to the subframe bracket.
In some examples, the oven rack assembly can include one or more of the following aspects: the mounts of the inner member can each include an outwardly extending retention tip; the mounts of the inner member can be rivets; the mounts of the outer member can be tabs and, optionally, can have angled retention tips; the recesses can have angled side edges and a flat bottom edge with the slot opening extending from the bottom edge; the plurality of openings of each rack bracket can include a hole and a keyhole; the rack brackets can be L-shaped brackets with a horizontal plate and a vertical plate, where the horizontal plate is coupled to the oven rack and the vertical plate has the hole and keyhole defined therein; the subframe brackets can be L-shaped brackets with a horizontal plate and a vertical plate, where the horizontal plate is coupled to the subframe and the vertical plate has the recesses and slot openings defined therein; the rack bracket can include a front wall extending forwardly of slide device; and/or the slide device can be a ball bearing slide device.
In accordance with a second aspect, a method of assembling an oven rack assembly is disclosed that includes coupling a pair of rack brackets to opposite sides of an oven rack, coupling a pair of slide devices to the rack brackets, coupling a pair of subframe brackets to opposite sides of a subframe, and coupling the pair of slide devices to the subframe brackets by inserting mounts of the slide devices into upwardly opening recesses formed in the subframe brackets and sliding the mounts into slot openings extending from the recesses.
In some examples, the method can include securing the pair of slide devices to the subframe brackets with fasteners after sliding the mounts into the slot openings. In further examples, sliding the mounts into the slot openings can include aligning openings of the slide devices and the subframe brackets to receive the fasteners therethrough.
In some examples, inserting the mounts of the slide devices into the upwardly opening recesses formed in the subframe brackets can include articulating the oven rack with the pair of slide devices coupled thereto downwardly until the mounts rest on bottom edges of the recesses. In further examples, sliding the mounts into the slot openings extending from the recesses can include sliding the mounts into slot openings extending from the bottom edges of the recesses.
Any of the above examples can also include one or more of the following aspects: coupling the pair of slide devices to the rack brackets can include inserting rear mounts of the slide devices into keyholes of the rack brackets, sliding the slide devices forward, and inserting front mounts of the slide device into an opening aligned with the front mounts when the slide devices are slid forward; coupling the pair of rack brackets to the opposite sides of the oven rack can include welding horizontal plates of the rack brackets to the oven rack at a plurality of locations spaced along a length thereof; and/or coupling the pair of subframe brackets to the opposite sides of the subframe can include welding horizontal plates of the subframe brackets to the subframe at a plurality of locations spaced along a length thereof.
An improved oven rack assembly is described herein that with an easier and faster assembly process than the conventional retention assemblies discussed above. The assembly includes a slide system with brackets coupled to opposite sides of an oven rack and subframe. The brackets include quick-connect features allowing slide devices of the slide system to be easily coupled thereto, allowing the brackets to be moved relative to one another.
The slide devices can be connected to a bracket mounted or otherwise coupled to the oven rack on an interior side thereof using inwardly extending mounts that extend through openings defined in the bracket. Thereafter, the slide devices, with the oven rack coupled thereto, can be connected to a bracket mounted or otherwise coupled to the subframe on an exterior side thereof using outwardly extending mounts. The subframe brackets can advantageously include upwardly open recesses, so that the mounts of the slide devices can be top-loaded into the recesses. Thereafter, the mounts of the slide devices can be shifted into slot openings extending from the recesses, which function to restrict vertical and further forward movement of the slide devices relative to the bracket. If desired, the slide devices can be secured to the brackets using a fastener after the mounts are fully received within the slot openings to prevent removal of the mounts from the slot openings to thereby ensure that the slide devices and subframe brackets remain secured together. This assembly process allows easy assembly despite the rigid structure of the components being assembled.
As shown in
The oven rack 12 includes an outer wire frame 18 extending around a surface area 20 of the oven rack 12. The outer wire frame 18 can have a continuous configuration as shown. The outer wire frame 18 forms a front 22, sides 24, and rear 26 of the surface area 20 of the oven rack 12. To support items to be cooked or otherwise heated within an oven, the oven rack 12 further includes a lattice of overlapping wires extending across the surface area 20. For example, the oven rack 12 can include a series of parallel and spaced apart longitudinal wires 28 that are configured to extend along a direction between the rear and front of an oven and at least one cross or lateral wire 30. By one approach, ends of the lateral wire(s) 30 may be welded or otherwise secured to the sides 24 of the outer wire frame 18. Additionally, ends of the longitudinal wires 28 may be welded or otherwise secured to the front 22 and rear 26 of the outer wire frame 18, and also to intersection points with the lateral wire(s) 30. If desired, a handle 32 can be formed at the front 22 of the outer wire frame 18. The handle 32 can be defined by shortened longitudinal wires 28 that do not fully extend to the front 22 of the outer wire frame 18 and a reduced width lateral wire 34 that does not extend fully between the sides 24 of the outer wire frame 18. With this configuration, the lateral wire 34, adjacent, full length longitudinal wires 28, and the front 22 of the outer wire frame 18 define an opening for the handle 32 extending through the surface area 20. Additionally, if desired, the oven rack 12 can also include a backstop 36 that is coupled to the rear 26 of the outer wire frame 18 and extends upwardly therefrom. The backstop 36 can provide a stop for items being placed on the oven rack 12 to ensure the items are fully supported by the oven rack 12.
Details of the subframe 16 are shown in
In the illustrated form, the subframe 16 includes front and rear cross or lateral wires 84, 86 and at least two longitudinal wires 88 extending between the front and rear lateral wires 84, 86. Ends of the longitudinal wires 88 are welded or otherwise secured to the lateral wires 84, 86 to define the central portion 76 of the subframe 16, which can be rectangular as shown. As shown, the front and rear lateral wires 84, 86 extend past the longitudinal members 88 to the lateral support portions 80. The support portions 80 can include one or more feet 90, 92 coupled to ends of the lateral wires 84, 86. For example, the support portions 80 can each include a front foot 90 coupled to the end of the front lateral wire 84 and a rear foot 92 coupled to the end of the rear lateral wire 84. The feet 90, 92 can include one or more horizontal base portions 94 that extend longitudinally and are configured to engage structure of an oven cavity, such as a liner rib, to support the oven rack assembly 10 within the oven cavity. It will be understood that even though the feet 90, 92 are illustrated as separate components, the feet 90, 92 can be combined into a single-piece structure or can be further separated into three or more structures. In the illustrated example, the movement restrictors 82 form a portion of the front feet 90, such that the movement restrictors 82 are located adjacent to a front of the subframe 16.
As discussed in more detail below, the slide system 14 can include a portion welded or otherwise coupled to the subframe 16. Pursuant to this, each of the support portions 80 of the subframe 16 can include one or more horizontal slide supports 96 spaced along a longitudinal depth thereof to which a portion of the slide system 14 is welded or otherwise secured. The slide supports 96 can be disposed adjacent and inward with respect to the base portions 94. Further, if desired, the slide supports 96 can be coplanar with the base portions 94.
In the illustrated example, the support portions 80 include one or more wire members 98 coupled to the lateral wires 84, 86. Each wire member 98 has one or more bends formed therein to create the structures shown. For example, as shown in
With this configuration, the front lateral wire 84 can be secured to the base portion 94 of the front foot 90 and the rear lateral wire 86 can be secured to the base portion 94 of the rear foot 92. Further, the ends of the lateral wires 84, 86 secured to the base portions 94 can be utilized as slide supports 96. Accordingly, the support portions 80 provide four spaced slide supports 96, with the front lateral wire 84, front foot 90, rear lateral wire 86, and rear foot 92 each providing one slide support 96.
With reference to
In the illustrated example of
Each subframe bracket 42 has an L-shaped vertical cross-section with a vertically disposed side portion or plate 52 and a horizontally disposed bottom portion or plate 54. As shown in
The slide devices 44, as primarily shown in
As shown, the inner member 56 is secured to the rack bracket 40 and the outer member 58 is secured to the subframe bracket 42 to thereby couple all of the components of the oven rack assembly 10 together.
The inner member 56 includes two inwardly extending mounts 70, which can be any suitable structure, such as rivets as shown, other fasteners, posts, etc., and the rack bracket 40 includes corresponding openings, such as a corresponding rear keyhole 66 and front hole 68 as shown. The keyhole 66 is horizontally oriented with the large portion thereof rearwardly and the relatively smaller portion forwardly. In the example of the rack bracket 40 having the inverted L-shaped vertical cross-section described above, the keyhole 66 and front hole 68 can be defined through the vertical portion or plate 48.
With this configuration, the rear mount 70 can be inserted into the large portion of the keyhole 66 and slid into the small portion of the keyhole 66, which aligns the front mount 70 with the front hole 68. By inserting the front mount 70 into the front hole 68, the rack bracket 40 is connected to the inner member 56. Additionally, the mounts 70 of the inner member 56 can include an outwardly extending retention tip, such as that with a fastener head or other flange, such that the mount 70 cannot be extracted through the smaller forward portion of the keyhole 66 and retraction is restricted through the front hole 68 by virtue of the mount 70 resting on the hole 68 and the retention tip overlapping the bracket 40 after being fully inserted therethrough. As shown, the mounts 70 are spaced along a longitudinal length of the inner member 56. Additional mounts and holes can be utilized as desired or required for a particular application.
Thereafter, the outer member 58 can be coupled to the subframe bracket 42. As shown, the outer member 58 includes outwardly extending mounts 72 spaced along a longitudinal length of the outer member 58. The subframe bracket 42 includes corresponding recesses 74 that open through a top edge of the bracket 42, such that the recesses 74 can be top-loaded with the mounts 72. The subframe bracket 42 further includes slot openings 75 that extend from the recesses 74 forwardly along the bracket 42. In the example of the subframe bracket 42 having the L-shaped vertical cross-section, the recesses 74 and slot openings 75 can be defined through the vertical portion or plate 52.
With this configuration, the mounts 72 can be inserted into the recesses 74 through the top edge of the bracket 42 and the slid forwardly so that the mounts 72 are received within the slot openings 75. Additionally, the mounts 72 can include a retention tip with an outwardly extending flange to engage the subframe bracket 42 and prevent the outer member 58 from being uncoupled from the bracket 42 until the mounts 72 are slid back into the recesses 74. For example, the retention tip can be a bent/angled tip as shown, a fastener, e.g., rivet, screw, bolt, head, or the like. In the illustrated example, the mounts 72 are flat, horizontally oriented tabs and the retention tips are bent ends of the tabs. Similarly, the slot openings 75 can have a thin configuration with a width to provide a small clearance for the tabs to allow easy assembly. Additionally, due to the small clearance, the slot openings 75 function to restrict movement of the slide devices 44 relative to the subframe brackets 42, and the subframe 16, both in a vertical direction and in a forward, horizontal direction.
In the illustrated example, the recesses 74 have tapered/angled edges such that the recesses 74 are wider at the top edge of the bracket 42 than at a bottom edge of the recesses 74, which can be flat as shown, giving the recesses 74 a trapezoidal shape. As shown, the slot openings 75 can extend from the bottom edges of the recesses 74 to easily slide the mounts 72 therein during assembly.
To hold the mounts 72 in the slot openings 75, the outer members 58 of the slide devices 44 and the subframe brackets 42 can include openings 77 that align when the mounts 72 are fully seated within the slot openings 75. Thereafter, a fastener, such as a rivet, screw, bolt, pin, etc., can be inserted through the aligned openings 77 to prevent the mounts 72 from being retracted from the slot openings 75.
A method of assembling the example oven rack assemblies described herein can include coupling the rack brackets 40 to opposite lateral sides of the oven rack 12 and coupling the subframe brackets 42 to opposite lateral sides of the subframe 16. The brackets 40, 42 can be coupled by any suitable mechanism, including welding, fasteners, e.g., rivets, screws, bolts, etc. With the oven rack 12 and subframe 16 having the respective brackets 40, 42 of the slide system 14 coupled thereto, the assembly 10 can then be assembled to a final configuration with to couple the slide devices 44 between the brackets 40, 42 with the following steps.
The slide devices 44 are first coupled to the rack brackets 40. With the above configuration, this process can include inserting rear mounts 70 of the slide devices 44 into the keyholes 66 of the rack brackets 40, sliding the slide devices 44 forward so that the rear mounts 70 seat within the relatively smaller portion of the keyholes 66, and inserting front mounts 70 of the slide device 44 into the front opening 68, which becomes aligned when the slide devices 44 are slid forward.
The slide devices 44 are then coupled to the subframe brackets 42 by inserting the mounts 72 of the slide devices 44 into the upwardly opening recesses 72 formed in the subframe brackets 42. Thereafter, the mounts 72 are slid into the slot openings 75 that extend from the recesses 74. Configured as described above, inserting the mounts 72 into the upwardly opening recesses 74 can include articulating the oven rack 12 with the pair of slide devices 44 coupled thereto downwardly until the mounts 72 rest on bottom edges of the recesses 74. Further, sliding the mounts 72 into the slot openings 75 can include sliding the mounts 72 along the bottom edges of the recesses 74 into the slot openings 75.
The method can include securing the slide devices 44 to the subframe brackets 42 with fasteners after the mounts 72 are slid into the slot openings 75. For example, sliding the mounts 72 into the slot openings 75 can align openings of the slide devices 44 and the subframe brackets 42, which can then be utilized to receive the fasteners therethrough.
The foregoing description is provided to enable a person skilled in the art to practice the various configurations described herein. While the subject technology has been particularly described with reference to the various figures and configurations, it should be understood that these are for illustration purposes only and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the subject technology.
The terms “substantially,” “approximately,” and “about” used throughout this Specification are used to describe and account for small fluctuations, such as due to variations in processing. For example, they can refer to less than or equal to ±5%, such as less than or equal to ±2%, such as less than or equal to 1%, such as less than or equal to ±0.5%, such as less than or equal to ±0.2%, such as less than or equal to ±0.1%, such as less than or equal to ±0.05%.
It should be appreciated that all combinations of the foregoing concepts (provided such concepts are not mutually inconsistent) are contemplated as being part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein. In particular, all combinations of claimed subject matter appearing herein are contemplated as being part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein.
It will be appreciated that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments. The same reference numbers may be used to describe like or similar parts. Further, while several examples have been disclosed herein, any features from any examples may be combined with or replaced by other features from other examples. Moreover, while several examples have been disclosed herein, changes may be made to the disclosed examples within departing from the scope of the claims.
Those skilled in the art will recognize that a wide variety of modifications, alterations, and combinations can be made with respect to the above described embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention, and that such modifications, alterations, and combinations are to be viewed as being within the ambit of the inventive concept.
Priority is claimed to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/442,867, filed Feb. 2, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63442867 | Feb 2023 | US |
