Patent Publication Number: US-11378281-B2

Title: Home appliance having a low back rear vent trim

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to a home cooking appliance having a low back rear vent trim, and more particularly, to a home cooking appliance having a low back rear vent trim that exhausts flue gases exiting from an exhaust channel in the upward direction out of the rear vent trim and includes a heat shield disposed between a back panel of the rear vent trim and the flue gases flowing in the rear vent trim. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A conventional home cooking appliance, such as a free standing range, includes a housing having a cooking compartment, such as a baking oven, convection oven, steam oven, warming drawer, etc., and a cooking surface formed, for example, by cooking grates disposed over gas burners on top of the housing. A conventional range (e.g., slide-in, free standing, etc.) is installed in a cooking area of a home kitchen with a rear wall of the appliance facing a back wall of the kitchen. The appliance may be disposed between counters with floor cabinets below the counters. The kitchen may include wall cabinets mounted on the back wall of the kitchen either over the cooking surface of the range or over the adjacent floor cabinets, and/or another appliance or component, such as an over-the-range (OTR) microwave oven or an OTR convection microwave oven over the cooking surface. 
     Industry standards and regulations commonly dictate acceptable temperatures of the combustible back wall of the kitchen behind the appliance, acceptable temperatures of cabinets or components over the range or adjacent to the range, as well as acceptable door and other surface temperatures for the appliance, during high temperature events, such as during a normal baking and/or self-cleaning cycle of the oven while all burners on the cooktop are on a highest heat setting. To comply with the industry standards and regulations, an appliance must be able to exhaust flue gases from the cooking compartment while maintaining acceptable door temperatures of the appliance, acceptable surface temperatures of the appliance, acceptable temperatures of a combustible back wall of the kitchen behind the appliance, and acceptable temperatures of cabinets or components over the range or adjacent to the range. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention recognizes that conventional appliances may include various structures and techniques designed to manage and dissipate the hot air being exhausted from the appliance in order to attempt to comply with the industry standards and regulations. Some conventional appliances use costly designs and door construction that increase the air flow through the door and the housing, and/or use greater air flow and louder fans. Some conventional free standing ranges may be provided with a rear vent trim kit or assembly, which may adapt the free standing range for the environment in which the free standing range is placed. For example, some appliances may be configured to be positioned such that the rear wall is close to a combustible surface, such as a back wall of a kitchen. Given the excessive temperatures potentially seen within an exhaust channel of an oven, the present invention recognizes that during operation of a cooking compartment, heat from the hot flue gases being exhausted through a rear vent trim can be transferred to the rear wall of the appliance, thereby increasing a temperature of the rear wall of the appliance. The temperature of the rear wall of the appliance during operation may greatly affect a required minimum clearance between the rear wall of the appliance and a combustible back wall of the kitchen, compliance with industry standards, etc. 
     A conventional “low back” trim kit may be provided to adapt a free standing range for placement with a rear wall of the appliance adjacent to a back wall of a home kitchen. Such a low back trim kit may be arranged to space the free standing range away from a back wall of a kitchen so that air is permitted to circulate between the appliance and the back wall of the kitchen to keep the back wall of the kitchen at a cooler temperature than a temperature of the free standing range. The present invention recognizes that such conventional “low back” trim solutions also may direct a flow of hot flue gases being exhausted from the cooking compartment forward over a cooktop of the appliance in order to keep the hot flue gases away from the back wall of the kitchen. However, this may result in the hot flue gases being undesirably directed toward a user of the appliance, which may result in discomfort to the user and/or safety concerns associated with undesirable heating of other surfaces, such as undesirably heating surfaces of a control panel or control knobs of the appliance, the housing of the appliance, etc. 
     These problems and others are addressed by the present invention, which provides a home cooking appliance including a housing having a cooktop on a top of the housing and a cooking compartment in the housing, an exhaust channel that exhausts flue gases from the cooking compartment, and a rear vent trim at a rear side of the top of the housing and configured to guide the flue gases exiting from the exhaust channel in an upward direction out of the housing, the rear vent trim including a body having a front surface, a first side surface, a second side surface, and an upper surface, the upper surface including at least one opening in fluid communication with the exhaust channel, the at least one opening configured to permit the flue gases exiting from the exhaust channel to flow in the upward direction out of the rear vent trim, a back panel closing a rear side of the body, and a heat shield disposed between the back panel and the flue gases flowing in the rear vent trim, wherein the heat shield is spaced from the back panel and forms an air gap between the back panel and the heat shield. In this way, the present invention can provide a low back rear vent trim that controls a flow of flue gases exhausting from the appliance and can exhaust the flue gases in an upward direction from the rear vent trim away from a user, thereby limiting or reducing heat exposure to the user and increasing safety and usability of the appliance, while at the same time reducing an amount of heat transferred from the flue gases to the back panel of the appliance, which in turn limits or reduces excessive heat exposure to a back wall of the kitchen. 
     In some exemplary embodiments, the heat shield can include one or more angled flanges configured to induce turbulent flow in the flue gases exiting in the upward direction from at least one opening of the rear vent trim. In other exemplary embodiments, the air gap between the back panel and the heat shield can be configured to guide cooling air in the upward direction between the back panel and the heat shield. In some exemplary embodiments, the rear vent trim can include side shields spaced from the side surfaces of the body of the rear vent trim. In still other exemplary embodiments, the back panel and/or the heat shield can include a plurality of embosses to support the heat shield on the back panel in a spaced manner from the back panel. In other exemplary embodiments, the back panel can include a stiffening rib extending along a portion of the back panel to prevent bowing or warping of the back panel during operation of the appliance. In still other exemplary embodiments, the rear vent trim can include one or more standoff brackets on a rearward facing surface of the back panel for providing a minimum clearance between the back panel and a back wall of the kitchen. 
     The exemplary embodiments can provide a low back rear vent trim having a heat shield capable of simply and efficiently preventing or isolating (e.g., completely preventing or isolating) the back panel of the appliance from being exposed (e.g., directly exposed) to flue gases being exhausted from one or more exhaust channels as the flue gases flow through the rear vent trim with a limited number of parts, thereby simplifying the overall complexity of the appliance while minimizing manufacturing costs. In addition to isolating the back panel from exposure to flue gases, the exemplary embodiments of the low back rear vent trim can provide an air gap between the heat shield and the back panel of the appliance configured to permit cooler air (e.g., air other than the flue gases, such as cooling air being circulated through the housing, outside air drawn through openings in the housing, etc.) to flow upward between the rear surface of the heat shield and the front surface of the back panel, thereby further reducing the temperature of these surfaces. The cooler air can be guided between the rear face or surface of the heat shield and the front face or surface of the back panel and then exhausted in an upward direction (e.g., vertical direction) from one or more openings in the upper surface of the rear vent trim, thereby forming a cooler curtain of air flowing along or hugging the back wall of the kitchen. 
     The exemplary embodiments of the low back rear vent trim can reduce an amount of heat that is transferred from the hot flue gases from the exhaust channel that flow over the front face or surface of the heat shield to the back panel, thereby limiting or reducing a temperature of the back panel during operation of the cooking compartment, which in turn limits or reduces the temperature exposure to a back wall of the kitchen. The exemplary embodiments of the low back rear vent trim can include a heat shield having an angled flange, deflector, or the like configured to direct, deflect, change the direction, etc. of the flow of flue gases flowing upward through the rear vent trim from one or more exhaust channels before, or concurrently as, the flue gases exit upward through one or more openings in the upper surface of the rear vent trim, thereby inducing a turbulent flow in the flue gases exiting in the upward direction from the rear vent trim. This turbulent flow in the flue gases can facilitate mixing of the hot flue gases with cooler ambient air and/or cooling air flowing upward from the rear vent trim from the air gap between the heat shield and the back panel of the appliance, thereby further reducing a temperature of the exhausted air, which in turn limits or reduces the temperature exposure to a back wall of the kitchen. 
     Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the following detailed description and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and other aspects and features of embodiments of the present invention will be better understood after a reading of the following detailed description, together with the attached drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a partial, perspective view of a home cooking appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a top view of a home cooking appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
         FIGS. 3A and 3B  are schematic cutaway side views of a home cooking appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded view of a rear vent trim of a home cooking appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a front perspective view of a rear vent trim of a home cooking appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a rear perspective view of a rear vent trim of a home cooking appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a front view of a rear vent trim of a home cooking appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a rear view of a rear vent trim of a home cooking appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 9  is a side view of a rear vent trim of a home cooking appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional, side view of a rear vent trim of a home cooking appliance taken along Section X 1 -X 1  of  FIG. 7 ; 
         FIG. 11  is a bottom view of a rear vent trim of a home cooking appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 12  is an exploded view of a rear vent trim of a home cooking appliance according to another exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 13  is a bottom view of a rear vent trim of a home cooking appliance according to the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 12 ; 
         FIG. 14  is a rear view of a rear vent trim of a home cooking appliance according to the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 12 ; 
         FIG. 15  is an exploded view of a rear vent trim of a home cooking appliance according to another exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 16  is a bottom view of a rear vent trim of a home cooking appliance according to the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 15 ; 
         FIG. 17  is a rear view of a rear vent trim of a home cooking appliance according to the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 15 ; 
         FIG. 18  is an exploded view of a rear vent trim of a home cooking appliance according to another exemplary embodiment of the invention; and 
         FIG. 19  is an exploded view of a rear vent trim of a home cooking appliance according to another exemplary embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention now is described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. 
     Referring now to the drawings,  FIGS. 1-19  illustrate exemplary embodiments of a home cooking appliance having a rear vent trim. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1-3B , an exemplary embodiment of a home cooking appliance  100 , such as a free standing range (FSR), will first be described. The home cooking appliance  100  can include a housing  102  with one or more cooking compartments  110 , such as a baking oven, convection oven, steam oven, warming drawer, etc., in the housing  102  and accessible through a door  104  in a front of the housing  102 . The home cooking appliance  100  can include a cooking surface  106  on a top of the housing  102 . The cooking surface  106  can include, for example, one or more cooking grates having an upper surface for supporting cookware over one or more gas burners  108 . The appliance is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, and can additionally or alternatively include other cooking compartments, such as one or more baking ovens, convection ovens, steam ovens, warming drawers, broil burner, etc., or one or more cooking surfaces, such as a griddle, an induction cooktop with a glass ceramic cooking surface, etc. The appliance  100  can include a control panel having a plurality of user input features, such as one or more control knobs  112  for controlling the operation of the burners  108 , the cooking compartment, etc. 
     The housing  102  can include a rear vent trim  200  for exhausting air from within the appliance, such as hot flue gases from one or more oven compartments  110  conveyed by one or more exhaust channels  114  (e.g., oven flues). The rear vent trim  200  can take various forms depending on the particular appliance, arrangement of cooking compartment(s), cooktop or burners, desired aesthetics of the appliance, and/or the location in which the appliance will be installed, such as adjacent to a kitchen wall, in a kitchen island, adjacent to cabinetry or other accessories such as a fume hood, etc., among other things. For example, the rear vent trim  200  can be configured to be raised up from the cooking surface by various amounts such as a high back, low back, high shelf, etc. In the illustrated example, the housing  102  includes a low back rear vent trim  200  on the top of the housing  102  and at a rear side of the cooking surface  106 . The rear vent trim  200  extends upward from the top of the appliance and includes a body  220  having an upper surface with one or more openings  222  (e.g., vent cutouts) for exhausting air from within the appliance, including flue gases from one or more exhaust channels  114 . The rear vent trim  200  is configured to control and manage the flow of the exhausted air (e.g., hot air/flue gas) to minimize temperatures on a user and adjacent surfaces, such as surfaces of kitchen cabinetry adjacent to or above the appliance, surfaces of a combustible back wall (see BW in  FIG. 2 ) of the kitchen, etc. In this way, the rear vent trim  200  can improve compliance of the appliance with industry standards and regulations and maintain passing combustion results at the gas burners  108 , while also improving comfort of a user, for example, by minimizing a temperature of air flowing toward the user, minimizing noise to the user, etc. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the appliance  100  can be configured to be positioned such that a back panel  210  of the rear vent trim  200  is close to a combustible surface, such as a back wall BW of a kitchen. The temperature of the back panel  210  of the appliance  100  during operation of the appliance greatly affects a required minimum clearance C 1  between the back panel  210  of the appliance  100  and a combustible back wall BW of the kitchen, in order to minimize heat transfer from the back panel  210  to the back wall BW of the kitchen. As will be explained in greater detail with reference to the exemplary embodiments, an example of a rear vent trim  200  can include one or more stand-off brackets  260  or the like to maintain a predetermined minimum clearance C 1  between the back panel  210  and the back wall BW of the kitchen. The present invention recognizes that, during operation of the cooking compartment, heat from the hot flue gases being exhausted from one or more exhaust channels  114  through the rear vent trim  200  can be transferred to the back panel  210  of the appliance, thereby increasing a temperature of the back panel  210 , which may affect the required minimum clearance C 1 . The exemplary embodiments provide a rear vent trim  200  that is capable of reducing the amount of heat transferred from the oven exhaust channels  114  to the back panel  210  of the appliance or an accessory of the appliance, thereby limiting or reducing the temperature exposure to a back wall BW of the kitchen to which the back panel  210  of the appliance  100  is adjacent. The present invention can minimize a required minimum clearance C 1  between the back panel  210  of the appliance  100  and a combustible back wall BW of the kitchen, which faces the back panel  210  of the appliance, while maintaining compliance with industry standards and regulations. The exemplary embodiments provide a rear vent trim  200  that is capable of directing hot exhaust air upwards from the rear vent trim  200  rather than forwards towards the user, thereby further increasing safety of the overall appliance  100 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 3A-19 , exemplary embodiments of a rear vent trim  200  for a home cooking appliance  100  will now be described. The rear vent trim  200  can include a body  220  having, for example, a front surface, a first side surface, a second side surface, and an upper surface. The body  220  can be formed, for example, by a weldment of components, such as a weldment of stainless steel panels forming a rectangular structure with an open rear side. The upper surface of the body  220  can include one or more openings  222  in fluid communication with the exhaust channel  114 . The one or more openings  222  can be configured to permit the flue gases A 1  exiting from the exhaust channel  114  to flow in an upward direction out of the rear vent trim  200 . The rear vent trim  200  can include a back panel  210  closing a rear side of the body  220 . A height of the back panel  210  can be larger (e.g., taller) than the height of the open rear side of the body  220  such that the back panel  210  can extend further downward than the open rear side of the body  220 , for example, to close an additional region of the housing  102 , to facilitate coupling of the rear vent trim  200  to the housing  102 , and/or to facilitate guiding of cooling air used to cool components of the appliance  100  upward along the rear of the housing  102  and out of the housing  102 . One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the body  220  and back panel  210  can have other arrangements and configurations within the spirit and scope of the invention, such as a body without an open rear side, a body with a partially open rear side, a back panel  210  integrally formed with the body  220 , etc. In the illustrated examples, the rear vent trim  200  is a so-called low back rear vent trim in which the rear vent trim  200  extends up from the rear side of the top of the housing  102 . In these examples, the upper surface of the body  220  of the rear vent trim  200  is disposed at an elevated position with respect to the cooking surface  106  on the top of the housing  102 . However, other types, arrangements, and configurations of a rear vent trim can be provided. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 4-10 , in some examples, the back panel  210  can include one or more stiffening ribs  212  or the like extending along a portion of the back panel  210 . Such stiffening ribs  212  can provide structure or support to the back panel  210  to minimize or prevent bowing or warping of the back panel  210  due to heating of the back panel  210  during operation of the appliance  100 , such as during high heat output cooking operations, self-cleaning operations, etc. In the illustrated examples, the back panel  210  includes a pair of laterally extending stiffening ribs  212  stamped into a surface of the back panel  210 . However, other configurations of one or more stiffening ribs  212  are possible, such as vertical or angled ribs, discrete ribs coupled to the back panel  210 , etc. 
     The rear vent trim  200  can include one or more standoff brackets  260  on a rearward facing surface of the back panel  210  such that the standoff brackets  260  extend closer to a back wall BW of a kitchen than the back panel  220  of the housing  102  of the appliance  100  to provide a predetermined clearance C 1  between the appliance  100  and the back wall BW of the kitchen. The exemplary standoff brackets  260  can have various shapes or configurations and can be separate components coupled to the back panel  210  or components that are integrally formed with, or stamped into, the back panel  210 . In some examples, a plurality of standoff brackets  260  can be spaced across a width of the rear vent trim  200 . The number of standoff brackets  260  may vary depending on features of a particular model of appliance, such as a width of a particular appliance. 
     The back panel  210  can include one or more openings configured to couple the back panel  210  to the housing  102  or another component of the appliance  100 , as well as cutouts, louvers, or other features to facilitate a flow of air, such as cooling air, into or out of the back of the appliance  100 . 
     With reference again to  FIGS. 3A-17 , the rear vent trim  200  can include one or more heat shields  230  spaced from an inward facing surface of the back panel  210 . The heat shield  230  can include a plate portion having a front surface configured to be exposed (e.g., directly exposed) to flue gases A 1  being exhausted from the one or more exhaust channels  114  and to guide the flue gases A 1  in the upward direction through the body  220 . The heat shield  230  can include a rear surface facing the back panel  210 . The heat shield  230  can be supported on the back panel  210  such that the heat shield  230  is spaced from the back panel  210  to form an air gap G between a rear face or surface of the heat shield  230  and a front face or surface of the back panel  210 . The heat shield  230  can be configured to prevent or isolate (e.g., completely prevent or isolate) the back panel  210  from being exposed (e.g., directly exposed) to flue gases A 1  being exhausted from the one or more exhaust channels  114  as the flue gases A 1  flow through the rear vent trim  200 . 
     As shown, for example, in  FIGS. 3B, 10, and 11 , in addition to isolating the back panel  210  from being exposed to flue gases A 1 , the air gap G also can be configured to permit cooler air A 2  (e.g., air other than the flue gases A 1 , such as cooling air being circulated through the housing  102 , outside air drawn through openings in the housing  102 , etc.) to flow upward between the rear surface of the heat shield  230  and the front surface of the back panel  210 , thereby further reducing the temperature of these surfaces. The cooler air A 2  can be guided between the rear face or surface of the heat shield  230  and the front face or surface of the back panel  210  and then exhausted in an upward direction (e.g., vertical direction) from one or more openings in the upper surface of the body  220 , thereby forming a cooler curtain of air A 2  flowing along or hugging the back wall BW of the kitchen. 
     The location, size, and shape of the heat shield  230  can vary depending on a type and configuration of an appliance, the particular physical dimensions of one or more components of an appliance such as an amount of available space between the exit of the exhaust channel  114  and the upper surface of the body  220 , the number of cooking compartments and/or flues and the respective exhaust channel location(s), the air flow through the exhaust channel, etc. A plate portion of the heat shield  230  can be configured to be parallel (or substantially parallel) to the front surface of the body  220  and/or the back panel  210 . In other exemplary embodiments, the plate portion of the heat shield  230  can be configured to be at an angle with respect to the front surface of the body  220  and/or the back panel  210 . 
     In the examples in  FIGS. 3A-17 , the back panel  210  can include a plurality of first embosses  214  facing the heat shield  230  and the heat shield  230  can include a plurality of corresponding second embosses  234  facing the back panel  210 . The embosses  214  can be coupled or secured to the embosses  234  to support the heat shield  230  on the back panel  210  in a spaced manner from the back panel  210  with only minimal direct physical contact. In other examples, the back panel  210  can include a plate portion having a plurality of embosses  214 , and a plate portion of the heat shield  230  can be coupled to or secured to the embosses  214  of the back panel  210  such that the heat shield  230  is spaced from the back panel  210  with only minimal direct physical contact, as shown in  FIG. 18 . In still other examples, the heat shield  230  can include a plate portion having a plurality of embosses  234  that are coupled to or secured to a plate portion of the back panel  210  to support the heat shield  230  on the back panel  210  in a spaced manner from the back panel  210  with only minimal direct physical contact, as shown in  FIG. 19 . A plurality of fasteners or other fixation devices, such as one or more rivets, screws, welds, and/or heat resistant adhesives, or the like, can couple or secure the embosses  214 ,  234  to each other or to the plate surface of the heat shield  230  or back panel  210 , or the embosses  214 ,  234  can be configured to engage each other or engage the plate surface of the heat shield  230  or back panel  210 . As a result, the heat transfer from one solid to another solid (e.g., metal to metal) can be substantially limited to heat transfer through the embosses and/or one or more fixation devices. Accordingly, the heat shield  230  can reduce an amount of heat that is transferred from the hot flue gases from the exhaust channel  114  that flow over the front face or surface of the heat shield  230  to the back panel  210 , thereby limiting or reducing a temperature of the back panel  210  during operation of the cooking compartment, which in turn limits or reduces the temperature exposure to a back wall BW of the kitchen to which the wall  210  of the appliance  100  is adjacent. 
     The location, size, and configuration of the embosses  214 ,  234  can vary depending on a type and configuration of an appliance, such as the number of cooking compartments and/or flues in the appliance, the heat output of the appliance, etc. For example, the embosses  214 ,  234  can have a circular shape or another shape. The embosses  214 ,  234  can be arranged to avoid or minimize proximity to particularly high temperature locations of the heat shield  230 . For example, the embosses  214 ,  234  can be arranged to avoid being placed directly adjacent to or above the exit of one or more exhaust channels  114 , to minimize a number or proximity of embosses  214 ,  234  with respect to the exit of one or more exhaust channels  114 , etc. The embosses  214  and/or  234  can have a unique arrangement (e.g., non-symmetrical) that permits installation and assembly of the heat shield  230  on the back panel  210  in only a single possible position, thereby insuring that the heat shield  230  can only be installed in the correct position. The embosses  214  and/or  234  can be integrally formed on one or more of the heat shield  230  and/or the back panel  210  or separate components coupled to one or more of the heat shield  230  and/or the back panel  210 . 
     With reference again to  FIGS. 3A-17 , the heat shield  230  can include an angled flange, deflector, or the like  232  configured to direct, deflect, change the direction, etc. of the flow of flue gases A 1  flowing upward through the body  220  of the rear vent trim  200  from the one or more exhaust channels  114  before, or concurrently as, the flue gases A 1  exit upward through the one or more openings  222  in the upper surface of the body  220  of the rear vent trim  200 , thereby inducing a turbulent flow in the flue gases A 1  exiting in the upward direction from the at least one opening of the rear vent trim, as schematically illustrated by the dashed airflow lines shown in  FIG. 3B . This turbulent flow in the flue gases A 1  can facilitate mixing of the hot flue gases A 1  with cooler ambient air and/or cooling air A 2 , thereby further reducing a temperature of the air A 1 , which in turn limits or reduces the temperature exposure to a back wall BW of the kitchen. 
     The angled flange  232  can extend from an upper edge of the heat shield  230 . In some examples, as shown in the examples illustrated in  FIGS. 4-11 , the angled flange  232  can extend along an entire length of the upper edge of the heat shield  230  or substantially an entire length of the upper edge of the heat shield  230  (e.g., between the side shields  240 ,  250  described below with reference to  FIGS. 15-17 ). In other examples, the angled flange  232  can extend along only a portion of a length of the upper edge of the heat shield  230 , such as along only a central portion of the length of the upper edge of the heat shield  230 , as shown in the examples illustrated in  FIGS. 12-17 . The angled flange  232  can be centered along the length of the heat shield  230  or offset from the center. In other examples, the angled flange  232  can extend from other parts or regions of the heat shield  230 , such as from a face of the heat shield  230 . The angled flange  232  can be a single, continuous flange or a plurality of angled flanges  232  can be provided. The angled flange  232  can be integrally formed with the heat shield  230  or a separate component coupled to a part of the heat shield  230 . In the illustrated examples, the angled flange  232  is a planar flange. However, in other examples, the flange  232  can have multiple angles and/or have one or more curved portions. 
     The location, size, and shape of one or more angled flanges  232  on the heat shield  230  can vary depending on a type and configuration of an appliance, such as the number of cooking compartments and/or flues in the appliance, the heat output of the appliance, the desired turbulent flow to be induced, etc. The angled flange  232  can extend from the heat shield  230  at a predetermined angle to induce the desired turbulent flow in the vertical direction. 
     With reference again to  FIGS. 3A-17 , the side edges or lateral ends of the heat shield  230  can be spaced from the side surfaces of the body  220 . In some examples, the rear vent trim  200  can include a pair of side shields  240 ,  250  spaced from the side surfaces of the body  220 . The side shields  240 ,  250  can be disposed between the side edges or lateral ends of the heat shield  230  and the side surfaces of the body  220 . Each of the side shields  240 ,  250  can include an inward facing surface configured to guide the flue gases A 1  in the upward direction through the body  220  and an outward facing surface facing the respective side surface of the body  220  and spaced from the respective side surface of the body  220  by a predetermined amount. The inward facing surfaces of the side shields  240 ,  250  can extend vertically to guide the flue gases A 1  vertically upward through the body  220 . In some examples, the inward facing surfaces of the side shields  240 ,  250  can extend at an angle to guide the flue gases A 1  through the body  220 . 
     In other examples, as shown for example in  FIGS. 15-17 , the side shields  240 ,  250  can include one or more angled elements  242 ,  252  (e.g., flanges, plates, etc.) extending therefrom (e.g., extending toward the exit of the exhaust channel  114 ) to more efficiently guide the flue gases A 1  exiting the exhaust channel  114  into the space defined by the inward facing surfaces of the heat shield  230 , side shields  240 ,  250 , and front wall of the body  220 . 
     The side shields  240 ,  250  can include one or more features for fastening the side shields  240 ,  250  to the body  220  and/or back panel  210 , such as one or more flanges configured to be coupled to the body  220  and/or back panel  210 , for example, via one or more rivets, screws, welds, and/or heat resistant adhesives, or the like. 
     The present invention has been described herein in terms of several preferred embodiments. However, modifications and additions to these embodiments will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon a reading of the foregoing description. It is intended that all such modifications and additions comprise a part of the present invention to the extent that they fall within the scope of the several claims appended hereto.