Patent Publication Number: US-2021180798-A1

Title: Oven rack

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a non-provisional application which claims priority to U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 62/946,758; filed Dec. 11, 2019, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     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. 2 a -2 c    are illustrations showing various arcuate corner shapes in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 3 a    is an illustration showing a view of an oven rack&#39;s portion having an arcuate corner shape in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 3 b    is an illustration showing a view of an oven rack&#39;s portion having an arcuate corner shape in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. 
         FIGS. 4 a -4 d    are illustrations showing various flat angle shapes in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 5 a    is an illustration showing a perspective view of an oven in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 5 b    is an illustration showing a view of a cooking chamber in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. 
         FIGS. 6 a -6 c    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. 2 a -2 c    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. 3 a   , 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. 3 b   , 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. 4 a -4 d    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. 5 a    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. 5 b    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. 6 a -6 b   , 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. 6 c   , 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.