OVEN RACK

Abstract

An oven rack frame may include a front portion, a first side portion, a second side portion, and a rear portion. The first side portion may have a first corner shape that extends from an edge of the front portion. The second side portion may have the first corner shape that extends from an opposite edge of the front portion. The first and second side portions may have the same corner shape that extends from each edge of the front portion. The first side portion may have a second corner shape that extends from an edge of the rear portion, with the second side portion having the same second corner shape, extending from an opposite edge of the rear portion. The first and second side portions may have the same or different corner shapes that extend from each edge of the rear portion.

Description

BACKGROUND

A conventional oven comprises a cooking chamber that is accessible by an oven door. One or more racks can be positioned within the cooking chamber and removable from the cooking chamber. The oven racks comprise a frame of rod-shaped material having a plurality of smaller rod-shaped elements supported by the frame. Typical oven racks comprise stainless steel or other suitable material that is able to withstand high temperatures and often high humidity environment within the oven.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One general aspect of the present disclosure includes a rack for an oven comprising: a frame including a front portion, a rear portion, a first side portion having a first corner shape that extends from a first edge of the front portion, and a second side portion having the first corner shape that extends from a second edge of the front portion, the first side portion having a second corner shape that extends from a first edge of the rear portion and the second side portion having the second corner shape that extends from a second edge of the rear portion; a plurality of first rods extending between the first side portion and the second side portion; and a plurality of second rods extending between the front portion and the rear portion, the plurality of second rods attached perpendicularly to the plurality of first rods, wherein the first corner shape is different shape from the second corner shape.

Another general aspect of the present disclosure includes an oven comprising: a cooking chamber comprising a bottom surface; and an oven rack configured to rest within the cooking chamber and to slide partially out of the cooking chamber when an oven door is opened and slide completely within the cooking chamber, the oven rack comprising a frame including a front portion, a rear portion, a first side portion having a first corner shape that extends from a first edge of the front portion, and a second side portion having the first corner shape that extends from a second edge of the front portion, the first side portion having a second corner shape that extends from a first edge of the rear portion and the second side portion having the second corner shape that extends from a second edge of the rear portion, wherein the first corner shape is different shape from the second corner shape.

Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the invention will be, or will become, apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be within the scope of the invention, and be encompassed by the following claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings and description. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the present disclosure.

Moreover, in the figures, like-referenced numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.

FIG. 1 is an illustration showing a perspective view of an oven rack in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 2a-2c are illustrations showing various arcuate corner shapes in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3a is an illustration showing a view of an oven rack's portion having an arcuate corner shape in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3b is an illustration showing a view of an oven rack's portion having an arcuate corner shape in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 4a-4d are illustrations showing various flat angle shapes in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5a is an illustration showing a perspective view of an oven in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5b is an illustration showing a view of a cooking chamber in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 6a-6c are illustrations showing the oven rack of FIG. 1 that slides into within the cooking chamber by an oven door toward a closed position in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects are described below with reference to the drawings in which like elements generally are identified by like numerals. The relationship and functioning of the various elements of the aspects may better be understood by reference to the following detailed description. However, aspects are not limited to those illustrated in the drawings or explicitly described below. It also should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale, and in certain instances details may have been omitted that are not necessary for an understanding of aspects disclosed herein, such as conventional material, construction, and assembly.

FIGS. 1-6 c illustrate an oven rack 100 or an oven 200 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the oven 200 may be built into a kitchen cabinet or the like, and the oven 200 may include gas or electric heating elements (not shown) and other accessory equipment (not shown). Such additional structures are not necessary for understanding the description herein, which is related to the structure of the oven rack 100 and the structure of the oven 200. Although the aspects of the disclosed embodiments are generally described herein with respect to a cooking appliance, in alternate embodiments any device having a heating chamber that includes a rack or similar supporting surface on which items can be placed for heating or drying, can be contemplated.

Referring to FIG. 1, the oven rack 100 including a frame, a support member 50, a plurality of first rods 60, and a plurality of second rods 70 is shown. In some embodiments, the frame may include a front portion 10, a first side portion 20, a second side portion 30, and a rear portion 40. The first side portion 20 may have a first corner shape 22 that extends from an edge of the front portion 10. The second side portion 30 may have the first corner shape 32 that extends from an opposite edge of the front portion 10. The first side portion 20 and the second side portion 30 may have the same arcuate corner shape 22, 32 that extends from each edge of the front portion 10, while in other embodiments the corner shape 32 with the second side portion 30 may be different from the corner shape 22 from the first side portion 20.

The first side portion 20 may have a second corner shape 24 that extends from an edge of the rear portion 40. The second side portion 30 may have the second corner shape 34 that extends from an opposite edge of the rear portion 40. The first side portion 20 and the second side portion 30 may have the same corner shape 24, 34 that extends from each edge of the rear portion 40, while in other embodiments the corner shape 34 with the second side portion 30 may be different from the corner shape 24 from the first side portion 20. The first side portion 20 and the second side portion 30 may have various corner shapes, such as an arcuate shape, a rounded shape, a corner shape, or rectangle shape. In some embodiments, the first corner shape 22, 32 may be different shape from the second corner shape 24, 34. For example, the first corner shape 22, 32 may be an arcuate shape and the second corner shape 24, 34 may be a corner shape. The arcuate shape 22, 32 may have a radius that is larger than a radius of the corner shape 24, 34.

In some embodiments, the plurality of first rods 60 extend between the first side portion 20 and the second side portion 30. The plurality of second rods 70 extend between the front portion 10 and the rear portion 40. The plurality of second rods 70 may be perpendicularly cross to the plurality of first rods 60 or in other embodiments the plurality of second rods 70 may cross the plurality of first rods 60 at non-perpendicular oblique angles, such as at angles between about 45 and just below 90 degrees (such as about 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, and 85 degrees), inclusive of all angles within this range. The term about is specifically defined herein to include the reference value plus or minus 5% of the reference value. In some embodiments the crossing first and second rods 60, 70 may be fixed to each other (such as welded or bonded or with adhesive) while in other embodiments, none of the crossing first and second rods 60, 70 are fixed to each other, while in still other embodiments, some of the crossing rods 60, 70 may be fixed to each other, such as every other, every third, or every fifth. One of ordinary skill in the art with a thorough review of this specification will understand construction of the rack with respect to this design feature and based upon the strength and the amount of permitted relative motion between the crossing rods is desired. The support member 50 is attached to the rear portion 40. In some embodiments, at least one part of the support member 50 may be inverted triangle shaped.

FIGS. 2a-2c are illustrations showing various arcuate corner shapes in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. The first side portion 20 and the second side portion 30 may have various corner shapes, such as an arcuate shape, a rounded shape, a corner shape, a squircle shape, or a superillipse shape. In some embodiments, the arcuate corner shape 22, 32 may be a shape intermediate between a square and a circle. The arcuate corner shape 22, 32 may be generated by separating four quarters of a circle and connecting their loose ends continuously with straight lines, or by separating the four sides of a square and connecting them with quarter-circles. In some embodiments, the first corner shape 22, 32 may have a radius. The radius of the first corner shape 22, 32 may be between 1.0 inches and 3.0 inches, or between 2.0 inches and 2.5 inches. The radius of the first corner shape may be 2.25 inches. In some embodiments, the radius of the first and/or second corner shapes may not be constant along the length of the corner shapes, which may change continuously.

Referring to FIG. 3a, a radius of first corner shape 22 that extends from the edge of the front portion 10 is shown. The first side portion 20 may have a first corner shape 22 that extends from an edge of the front portion 10. The radius of the first corner shape 22 may be between 1.0 inches and 3.0 inches, or between 2.0 inches and 2.5 inches. The radius of the first corner shape 22 may be 2.25 inches.

Referring to FIG. 3b, a radius of first corner shape 32 that extends from the opposite edge of the front portion 10 is shown. The second side portion 30 may have the first corner shape 32 that extends from the opposite edge of the front portion 10. The radius of the first corner shape 32 may be between 1.0 inches and 3.0 inches, or between 2.0 inches and 2.5 inches. The radius of the first corner shape 32 may be 2.25 inches. The radius of the first corner shape 32 that extends from the edge of the front portion 10 and the radius of first corner shape 32 that extends from the opposite edge of the front portion 10 may have the same shape.

FIGS. 4a-4d are illustrations showing various flat angle shapes in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. The first side portion 20 and the second side portion 30 may have one or more straight-line shapes. In some embodiments, a first internal angle α at a vertex of the oven rack 100 and a second internal angle β at another vertex of the oven rack 100 may be the same angle. For example, the oven rack 100 in an octagon shape may be a closed figure with sides of the same length and internal angles of the same size. In some embodiments, the first internal angle α and the second internal angle β may be between about 95 and 145 degrees (such as about 95, 100, 110, 120, 130, 135, 140 and 145 degrees), inclusive of all angles within this range. In other embodiments, the first internal angle α at a vertex of the oven rack 100 and the second internal angle β at another vertex of the oven rack 100 may be different angle. In some embodiments, the first corner shape 22, 32 may be different shape from the second corner shape 24, 34. The first corner shape 22, 32 may have a radius. The radius of the first corner shape 22, 32 may be between 1.0 inches and 3.0 inches, or between 2.0 inches and 2.5 inches. The radius of the first corner shape may be 2.25 inches. In some embodiments, the radius of the first and/or second corner shapes may not be constant along the length of the corner shapes, which may change continuously.

FIG. 5a is an illustration showing a perspective view of the oven 200 in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the oven 200 may include a handle 210, a window 220, an oven door 230, a command interface 240, and an oven housing 250. The oven rack 100 may be configured to rest within a cooking chamber 260 of the oven 200. The handle 210 may be used to open the oven door 230. The oven door 230 may include the window 220 to permit a user to visually inspect a cooking chamber 260 of the oven 200. The oven door 230 may include a hinge guide connected between the oven door 230 and a surface of the oven 200 to permit the oven door 230 to selectively open and close and to guide repeated motion of the oven door 230 with respect to the oven housing 250.

For example, the oven door 230 may be hingedly attached to a side surface of the oven 200 and may be pivotable to selectively open and close to access the cooking chamber 260. The command interface 240 may be used to control the general operations of the oven 200. For example, the command interface 240 may include one or more controls or switches that can be used to provide control inputs and commands for various functions, such as cook time, cook speed, a fan speed, and temperature adjustment function of the oven 200. In some embodiments, the command interface 240 may be in the form of push buttons or electronic switches. The handle 210, window 220, oven door 230, command interface 240, and oven housing 250 may be coated with a temperature resistant material.

FIG. 5b is an illustration showing a view of a cooking chamber 260 in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. The cooking chamber 260 may include a bottom surface 268, a top surface 269 connected to the bottom surface 268 with a pair of side walls 262, 264 and a back wall 266 extending between the pair of side walls 262, 264 and between the top surface 269 and bottom surface 268. The pre-formed shelving slots 270 may be positioned on the each pair of side walls 262, 264 of the cooking chamber 260. Each pre-formed shelving slot 270 may be mirror images of each other. The oven rack 100 may be configured to rest horizontally on each slot 270 of the cooking chamber 260. The width of oven rack 100 is dimensioned to fit within the cooking chamber 260 and is therefore less than a width of cooking chamber 260. The oven rack 100 positioned on the pre-formed shelving slots 270 may slide into and out of the cooking chamber 260. In some embodiments, the oven rack 100 may move on wheels mounted to each slot 270 so that the oven rack 100 may be easily moved between the forward and rear limits. When the oven rack 100 is positioned in the cooking chamber 260, the oven rack 100 may be moved inward until wheels rotating on ball bearings engage the rearmost ends of the cooking chamber 260. The oven rack 100 may be moved outward until the wheels engage the forward most ends of the cooking chamber 260.

Referring to FIGS. 6a-6b, a contact between an inner surface of the oven door 230, and specifically in this embodiment the window 220 with the first side portion 20 of the oven rack 100 is shown. In embodiments where the oven door 230 does not include a window 220 the inner surface of the oven door 230 may still contact the oven rack 100, and in embodiments where the oven door 230 includes the window 220, but the oven rack 100 is positioned at a location where it contacts the inner surface of the oven door 230 not including the window 220. In embodiments where the oven rack 100 that extends partially out of the cooking chamber 260 includes the first corner portion 22, rotating the oven door 230 toward the closed position may apply a force to corner portion 22 of the oven rack 100 to urge the oven rack 100 to slide into the cooking chamber 260. Specifically, the force F applied to the corner portion 22 may include a vector component Fx that is directed toward the rear wall 266 of the oven 200 and a second vector component Fy that is directed to the inner wall 266 of the oven housing 250 that is opposite the side of the oven housing 250 that supports the oven door 230. The force component Fx causes the rack 100 to move into the oven 200 toward the normal position, while the rack 100 does not move (either at all or significantly) toward the opposite side wall due to force component Fy due to the presence of the side wall 264 and the carrying components on the side wall 264.

Pivoting to oven door 230 in a closing direction may cause contact between the window 220 of the oven door 230 and the first side portion 20 when the oven rack 100 is disposed partially outside of the cooking chamber 260. This contact may cause the oven rack 100 to be urged into the cooking chamber 260 without damaging the window 220. For example, in an embodiment where the curved portion has a radius of 2.25 inches, the oven rack 100 may be pulled out up to about 9 inches and when the rack is contacted by the inner surface of the oven door 230 when being rotated in the closing direction, and the oven rack 100 slide back on the cooking chamber 260 without the potential damage for the window 220 (which might occur if the force applied to the oven rack 100 did not provide a sufficient Fx component to urge the oven rack 100 to move in the direction to return into the cooking chamber 260.) In other embodiments, where the oven door 230 is arranged at a different relative position the oven housing 250 and when the first corner portion 22 has a different radius, the distance that the oven rack 100 can extend from the oven housing 250 may vary. One of ordinary skill in the art with a thorough review and understanding of this specification will appreciate how to determine an appropriate curve or radius for the front corner 22, 32 for a desired possible rack extension with only routine optimization. Referring to FIG. 6c, the oven rack 100 may be configured to rest within a cooking chamber 260 of the oven 200 when the oven door 230 is closed.

In some embodiments, when the oven rack 100 is fully inserted into the cooking chamber 260, the oven rack 100 functions as cooking platforms to allow the heat generated by the heating elements to flow between the open portions of the oven rack 100 to fully surround the cooking chamber 260.

While various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described, the present disclosure is not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that numerous variations and modifications may be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the scope of the present invention, as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the advantages described herein are not necessarily the only advantages of the present disclosure and it is not necessarily expected that every embodiment of the present disclosure will achieve all of the advantages described.

Claims

1. A rack for an oven comprising: a frame including a front portion, a rear portion, a first side portion having a first corner shape that extends from a first edge of the front portion, and a second side portion having the first corner shape that extends from a second edge of the front portion, the first side portion having a second corner shape that extends from a first edge of the rear portion and the second side portion having the second corner shape that extends from a second edge of the rear portion;a plurality of first rods extending between the first side portion and the second side portion; anda plurality of second rods extending between the front portion and the rear portion, the plurality of second rods attached perpendicularly to the plurality of first rods,wherein the first corner shape is different shape from the second corner shape.

2. The rack of claim 1, wherein the first corner shape is an arcuate shape and the second corner shape is a corner shape.

3. The rack of claim 2, wherein the arcuate shape has a radius that is larger than a radius of the corner shape.

4. The rack of claim 3, wherein the radius of the arcuate shape is between 1.0 inches and 3.0 inches.

5. The rack of claim 4, wherein the radius of the arcuate shape is between 2.0 inches and 2.5 inches.

6. The rack of claim 5, wherein the radius of the arcuate shape is 2.25 inches.

7. The rack of claim 1, further comprising a support member that is attached to the rear portion, wherein at least one part of the support member is inverted triangle shaped.

8. The rack of claim 1, wherein at least one part of the first side portion is inverted triangle shaped, and at least one part of the second side portion is inverted triangle shaped.

9. The rack of claim 1, wherein the rack is coated with a temperature resistant material.

10. An oven comprising: a cooking chamber comprising a bottom surface; andan oven rack configured to rest within the cooking chamber and to slide partially out of the cooking chamber when an oven door is opened and slide completely within the cooking chamber, the oven rack comprising a frame including a front portion, a rear portion, a first side portion having a first corner shape that extends from a first edge of the front portion, and a second side portion having the first corner shape that extends from a second edge of the front portion, the first side portion having a second corner shape that extends from a first edge of the rear portion and the second side portion having the second corner shape that extends from a second edge of the rear portion,wherein the first corner shape is different shape from the second corner shape.

11. The oven of claim 10, further comprising a plurality of first rods that extend between the first side portion and the second side portion and a plurality of second rods that extend between the front portion and the rear portion, the plurality of second rods attached perpendicularly to the plurality of first rods.

12. The oven of claim 10, wherein the first corner shape is an arcuate shape and the second corner shape is a corner shape.

13. The oven of claim 12, wherein the arcuate shape has a radius that is larger than a radius of the corner shape.

14. The oven of claim 13, wherein the radius of the arcuate shape is between 1.0 inches and 3.0 inches.

15. The oven of claim 14, wherein the radius of the arcuate shape is between 2.0 inches and 2.5 inches.

16. The oven of claim 15, wherein the radius of the arcuate shape is 2.25 inches.

17. The oven of claim 10, wherein the oven door is hingedly attached to a surface of the oven and is pivotable to selectively open and close to access the cooking chamber, wherein pivoting to oven door in a closing direction causes contact between the oven door and the first side portion of the oven rack when the oven rack is disposed partially outside of the cooking chamber, wherein the oven door applies a force to the first side portion of the oven rack to urge the oven rack to slide into the cooking chamber.

18. The oven of claim 17, wherein the force to the first side portion includes a vector component that is directed toward a rear wall of the cooking chamber and a second vector component that is directed to a sidewall of the cooking chamber that is opposite a side that supports the oven door.

19. The oven of claim 10, further comprising a support member that is attached to the rear portion, wherein at least one part of the support member is inverted triangle shaped.

20. The oven of claim 10, wherein at least one part of the first side portion is inverted triangle shaped, and at least one part of the second side portion is inverted triangle shaped.

21. The oven of claim 10, wherein the rack is coated with a temperature resistant material.

22. The oven of claim 10, wherein the first corner shape and the second corner shape each is a straight-line shape.