CAVITY WRAPPER FOR A COOKING APPLIANCE

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to a cavity wrapper for a cooking appliance and, more particularly, to a cavity wrapper comprising a plurality of rack embossments and one or more structural embossments formed therein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Domestic cooking appliances can include an oven having a cavity wrapper that defines a cooking chamber, and one or more heating elements that are operable to heat air within the cooking chamber. The cavity wrapper typically includes a top wall, bottom wall, rear wall, and a pair of opposing side walls that collectively define the cooking chamber. Moreover, the cavity wrapper is typically formed from stamped sheet metal and can be made in sections that are adhered together via welding.

Each side wall of the cavity wrapper can include a plurality of rack embossments formed therein that that are vertically spaced and configured for supporting a rack at different levels within the cooking chamber. Such rack embossments can also add rigidity to the side walls of the cavity wrapper. However, the regions of the side walls between the rack embossments are typically flat (i.e., unstamped) and relatively flexible compared to the rack embossments.

Consequently, those regions can deflect and bow when subjected to high temperatures during cooking operations. Moreover, those regions are also more susceptible to damage during manufacture and/or shipping. These problems are particularly worse for larger cavity wrappers having taller side walls and thus larger and/or a higher number of regions between the rack embossments.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In accordance with a first aspect, a cavity wrapper for an oven appliance includes a top wall; a bottom wall; a rear wall; and a pair of opposing side walls, wherein the top wall, bottom wall, rear wall, and pair of opposing side walls collectively define a cooking chamber. Each side wall includes a plurality of rack embossments formed therein that are vertically spaced and configured for supporting a rack at different levels within the cooking chamber. Each side wall further includes one or more structural embossments formed therein, wherein each structural embossment is arranged between an associated pair of rack embossments.

In one example of the first aspect, each structural embossment extends longitudinally in a vertical direction.

In one example of the first aspect, each structural embossment extends between and connects its associated pair of rack embossments.

In one example of the first aspect, for each side wall, the one or more structural embossments includes one or more front structural embossments located at a front portion of the cavity wrapper, and one or more rear structural embossments located at a rear portion of the cavity wrapper, wherein each front structural embossment is horizontally aligned with an associated rear structure embossment.

In one example of the first aspect, for each side wall, the one or more structural embossments includes a first column of structural embossments that are vertically aligned.

In one example of the first aspect, for each side wall, the one or more structural embossments includes a second column of structural embossments that are vertically aligned.

In one example of the first aspect, for each side wall, each structural embossment of the first column of structural embossments is horizontally aligned with an associated structural embossment of the second column of structural embossments.

In one example of the first aspect, for each side wall, each structural embossment of the first column of structural embossments is arranged at a front portion of the cooking chamber, and each structural embossment of the second column of structural embossments is arranged at a rear portion of the cooking chamber.

In one example of the first aspect, each structural embossment for each side wall is horizontally aligned with an associated structural embossment of the other side wall.

In one example of the first aspect, for each side wall, each rack embossment protrudes toward the cooking chamber, and each structural embossment protrudes away from the cooking chamber.

In one example of the first aspect, each rack embossment includes a rack support portion that extends longitudinally in a horizontal direction.

In one example of the first aspect, each rack embossment includes a detent portion at an end of the rack support portion, and at least one structural embossment of the one or more structural embossments is arranged between and vertically aligned with the detent portions of its associated pair of rack embossments.

In one example of the first aspect, each rack embossment for each side wall is horizontally aligned with an associated rack embossment of the other side wall.

In one example of the first aspect, a cooking appliance includes the cavity wrapper and a heating element that is operable to heat air within the cooking chamber of the cavity wrapper.

In accordance with a second aspect, a cavity wrapper for an oven appliance includes a top wall; a bottom wall; a rear wall; and a pair of opposing side walls, wherein the top wall, bottom wall, rear wall, and pair of opposing side walls collectively define a cooking chamber. Each side wall includes a plurality of rack embossments formed therein that are vertically spaced and configured for supporting a rack at different levels within the cooking chamber, and a first column of structural embossments that are vertically aligned, wherein each structural embossment of the first column is arranged between an associated pair of rack embossments.

Each side wall further includes a second column of structural embossments that are vertically aligned, wherein each structural embossment of the second column is arranged between an associated pair of rack embossments. Each rack embossment for each side wall is horizontally aligned with an associated rack embossment of the other side wall.

In one example of the second aspect, each structural embossment extends longitudinally in a vertical direction and connects its associated pair of rack embossments.

In one example of the second aspect, for each side wall, each rack embossment includes a rack support portion that extends longitudinally in a horizontal direction, and a detent portion at an end of the rack support portion. Moreover, for each side wall, each structural embossment of the first column of structural embossments is arranged between and vertically aligned with the detent portions of its associated pair of rack embossments, and each structural embossment of the second column of structural embossments is arranged between and vertically aligned with the rack support portions of its associated pair of rack embossments.

In one example of the second aspect, for each side wall, each structural embossment of the first column of structural embossments is horizontally aligned with an associated structural embossment of the second column of structural embossments.

In one example of the second aspect, for each side wall, each structural embossment of the first column of structural embossments is arranged at a front portion of the cooking chamber, and each structural embossment of the second column of structural embossments is arranged at a rear portion of the cooking chamber.

In one example of the second aspect, for each side wall, each rack embossment protrudes toward the cooking chamber, and each structural embossment protrudes away from the cooking chamber.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an example cooking appliance having a cooktop and an oven;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of features of the oven, including a cavity wrapper and convection heating system; and

FIG. 3 is a cross-section view the cavity wrapper.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows an example cooking appliance 100 having an outer body 102 that defines an external appearance thereof. Specifically, the outer body 102 can include structural features (e.g., braces, struts, etc., not shown) as well as decorative features (e.g., outer panels adhered to the structural features). Alternatively, where the external panels have been engineered to be structurally robust against external loads, then those panels themselves may be or include the structural features to which other internal components of the appliance 100 are affixed. The cooking appliance 100 can be a domestic appliance configured for in-home use, or an industrial appliance for commercial applications. In the illustrated example, the cooking appliance 100 includes a cooktop 200 and an oven 300. The cooktop 200 is located at a top side of the cooking appliance 100 and includes at least one heating element 202. Specifically, the heating element 202 can be a gas burner, an electric resistive coiled wire, an induction element, or any other type of heating element.

The cooking appliance 100 further includes a door 104 pivotably coupled to the front of the appliance and configured to provide selective access to the oven 300. For example, a handle 106 is disposed on an outer surface of the door 104 and enables a user to open the door 104 to permit access to the oven 300. As schematically shown in FIG. 1, a display panel 108 and inputs 110 (e.g., rotatable dials, slidable switches, mechanical buttons, and/or electronic buttons) can be disposed on a front surface of the outer body 102 (e.g., in case of a front-control appliance). During operation, a user interacts with the inputs 110 to activate/control the cooktop 200 and/or the oven 300. The display panel 108 depicts operational information of the cooking appliance 100 and may even include selectable inputs (e.g., touch-inputs).

Moving now to FIG. 2, selected features of the oven 300 are shown in an exploded view, removed from the outer body 102. The oven 300 includes a cavity wrapper 400, a convection fan 500, a convection heating element 600, and a convection shroud 700. The cavity wrapper 400 includes a top wall 402, a bottom wall 404, a rear wall 406, and a pair of opposing side walls 408 that collectively define a cooking chamber 410. Moreover, The convection fan 500, convection heating element 600, and convection shroud 700 collectively form a convection system 800 of the oven 300.

The convection heating element 600 in the present embodiment comprises a single (continuous) electrically resistive wire having a plurality of bends. Meanwhile, the convection fan 500 is a centrifugal fan that can be operated to draw air toward the fan 500 along an axial direction and then redirect the air radially. Moreover, the convection shroud 700 is a substantially rectangular body that defines a plurality of intake apertures 708, 710, including a primary intake aperture 708 and a plurality of secondary intake apertures 710 located circumferentially about the primary intake aperture 708.

The fan 500 and heating element 600 can be mounted to the rear wall 406 of the cavity wrapper 400 such that the heating element 600 circumscribes the fan 500. Moreover, the shroud 700 can be mounted to the rear wall 406 such that it at least partially covers the fan 500 and heating element 600. In particular, the primary intake aperture 708 of the shroud 700 can be axially aligned with the fan 500. Additionally, the outer perimeter of the shroud 700 can be spaced from the rear wall 406 such that an exhaust opening is provided between the rear wall 406 and the outer perimeter of the shroud 700.

During a cooking operation, the convection fan 500 can be operated to draw air within the cooking chamber 410 through the primary intake aperture 708 of the shroud 700 and then redirect the air radially such that the air is discharged through the exhaust opening between the rear wall 406 and the outer perimeter of the shroud 700. Moreover, the heating element 600 can be operated to heat the air as it is discharged radially from the convection fan 500 and flows past the heating element 600. In this manner, the convection heating system 800 can be operated to heat and circulate air within the cooking chamber 410.

However, it is to be appreciated that the oven 300 can comprise additional and/or alternative heating systems for heating air within the cooking chamber 410 without departing from the scope of the disclosure. For example, the oven 300 can comprise a baking heating element located adjacent to the bottom wall 404 of the cavity wrapper 400, and/or a broil heating element located adjacent to the top wall 402 of the cavity wrapper 400. Moreover, the heating element(s) of the oven 300 can comprise other configurations and/or types of heating elements such as, for example, a gas heating element. Broadly speaking, the oven 300 can comprise any configuration having the cavity wrapper 400 and one or more heating elements for heating air within the cooking chamber 410 of the cavity wrapper 400.

The cavity wrapper 400 is formed from stamped sheet metal, and can be made in sections that are adhered together via welding. For instance, the cavity wrapper 400 in the present examples comprises a first piece of sheet metal 420 that is stamped and bent to form the rear wall 406 and opposing side walls 408 of the cavity wrapper 400. Meanwhile, the top wall 402 and bottom wall 404 are formed by separate pieces of sheet metal 422, 424 that are stamped and then welded to the first piece of sheet metal 420. In other words, each wall 402, 404, 406, 408 of the cavity wrapper 400 is formed by a single piece (e.g., portion) of sheet metal.

The side walls 408 of the cavity wrapper 400 will now be described in further detail. FIG. 3 shows a detailed view of the left side wall 408, and it is to be appreciated that the right side wall 408 has a similar but mirrored configuration.

As shown best in FIG. 3, each side wall 408 has a set of rack embossments 430 formed (e.g., pressed) therein that are vertically spaced and configured for supporting a rack at different levels within the cooking chamber 410. In particular, each rack embossment 430 includes an elongated rack support portion 434 that extends longitudinally in a front-rear horizontal direction and defines an upper support surface 438 for a rack. Moreover, the support surfaces 438 of the rack support portions 434 on each side wall 408 are horizontally aligned with the support surfaces 438 of the other side wall 408 (for the purposes of this disclosure, a plurality of objects are “horizontally aligned” if they are aligned along an imaginary horizontal plane). That is, each support surface 438 on the left side wall 408 is horizontally aligned with an associated support surface 438 on the right side wall 408.

In this manner, a cooking rack can be mounted within the cooking chamber 410 by resting left and right ends of the rack on a pair of associated rack support portions 434 on the left and right side walls 408. Moreover, the elevation of the rack within the cooking chamber 410 can be adjusted by resting the rack on a higher or lower pair of associated rack support portions 434 on the left and right side walls 408.

In some examples, each rack embossment 430 can further include a detent portion 440 for inhibiting forward/rearward movement of the rack when mounted on the rack embossment 430. In particular, the detent portion 440 of each rack embossment 430 can be provided at an end (e.g., the front end) of its rack support portion 434. Moreover, the detent portion 440 of each rack embossment 430 can define a recess 444 that can accommodate a corresponding stop element (e.g., projection) of the rack when mounted on the rack embossment 430, such that the detent portion 440 will inhibit forward/rearward movement of the stop element and the rack as a whole. In the present embodiment, each detent portion 440 is V-shaped, such that its recess 444 extends below the upper support surface 438 of its associated rack support portion 434. However, other shapes and configurations are possible without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

Each rack embossment 430 in the present embodiment further includes a guide portion 450 arranged at a front end of its detent portion 440, which is horizontally aligned with its rack support portion 434. However, the detent portion 440 and/or guide portion 450 may be excluded in some embodiments. Indeed, each rack embossment 430 may simply comprise the rack support portion 434 in some examples.

The complex geometries of the rack embossments 430 can help strengthen each side wall 408 at the rack embossments 430. Moreover, to help strengthen the areas between the rack embossments 430, each side wall 408 further includes a plurality of structural embossments 460a-f formed (e.g., pressed) therein, wherein each structural embossment 460a-f is arranged between an associated pair of rack embossments 430.

In particular, each side wall 408 in the present embodiment has a column 464a of front structural embossments 460a arranged at a front portion of the cavity wrapper 400, a column 464f of rear structural embossments 460f arranged at a rear portion of the cavity wrapper 400, and columns 464b-e of intermediate structural embossments 460b-e arranged between the front and rear columns 464a, 464f. The structural embossments 460a-f within each column 464a-f are vertically aligned with each other (for the purposes of this disclosure, a plurality of objects are “vertically aligned” if they are aligned along an imaginary vertical plane). Moreover, the structural embossments 460a of the front column 464a are vertically aligned with the guide portions 450 of the rack embossments 430, the structural embossments 460b of the foremost intermediate column 464b are vertically aligned with the detent portions 440 of the rack embossments 430, and the structural embossments 460c-f of the remaining columns 464c-f are vertically aligned with the rack support portions 434 of the rack embossments 430.

Each side wall 408 in the present embodiment thus has a plurality of rows 474i-vi of structural embossments 460a-e, wherein each row 474i-vi is arranged between an associated pair of rack embossments 430. The embossments 460a, 460c-f within each row 474i-vi are horizontally aligned with each other, while the embossment 460b in each row 474i-vi is slightly lower than the remaining embossments 460a, 460c-f. Moreover, the structural embossments 460a-f on each side wall 408 are horizontally aligned with associated structural embossments 460a-f on the other side wall 408. That is, each structural embossment 460a-f on the left side wall 408 is horizontally aligned with an associated structural embossment 460a-f on the right side wall 408.

Each structural embossment 460a-f is an elongated embossment that preferably extends longitudinally in the vertical direction. Moreover, each structural embossment 460a-f preferably extends between and connects its associated pair of rack embossments 430. However, it is to be appreciated that each structural embossment 460a-f may extend in non-vertical (e.g., horizontal or oblique) directions in some examples, and may not connect to one or both of its associated rack embossments 430.

The structural embossments 460a-f as described above can thus add rigidity to the regions of the side walls 408 between the rack embossments 430. In particular, the longitudinal extension of each structural embossment 460a-f in the vertical direction helps render the structural embossment 460a-f particularly resistant to bending moments about the horizontal front-rear direction. Moreover, by providing columns 464a-f of structural embossment 460a-f that extend between and connect associated pairs of rack embossments 430, a ladder configuration is achieved that ties the rack embossments 430 together and provides a particularly robust side wall 408.

Notably, the rack embossments 430 for each side wall 408 protrude toward the cooking chamber 410, such that the rack embossments 430 (and their rack support surfaces 438) are located inward relative to immediately adjacent portions of the side wall 408 (e.g., the structural embossments 460a-f). Put another way, the convex side of each rack embossment 430 will face the cooking chamber 410, while the concave side of each rack embossment 430 faces away from the cooking chamber 410. This enables the rack support surfaces 438 to support a rack that is slightly smaller in width than a distance between the immediately adjacent portions of the left and right side walls 408 (e.g., the structural embossments 460a-e).

Conversely, the structural embossments 460a-f for each side wall 408 protrude away from the cooking chamber 410, such that the structural embossments 460a-f are located outward relative to immediately adjacent portions of the side wall 408 (e.g., the rack embossments 430). Put another way, the concave side of each structural embossment 460a-f will face the cooking chamber 410, while the convex side of each structural embossment 460a-f faces away from the cooking chamber 410. This helps ensure that the structural embossments 460a-f will not interfere with mounting of a rack on the rack embossments 430, since a distance between associated structural embossments 460a-f on the left and right side walls 408 will be greater than the width of the rack.

Of course, it is to be appreciated that the cavity wrapper 400 can comprise other configurations of structural embossments 460a-f without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Broadly speaking, each side wall 408 of the cavity wrapper 400 can comprise any configuration having a plurality of rack embossments and one or more structural embossments formed therein, wherein each structural embossment is arranged between an associated pair of rack embossments. Moreover, the cavity wrapper 400 can be used in other types of cooking appliances than the example cooking appliance 100 described herein. Indeed, the cavity wrapper 400 can be used in any cooking appliance having one or more heating elements for heating air within the cavity wrapper 400.

The invention has been described with reference to example embodiments described above. Modifications and alterations will occur to others upon a reading and understanding of this specification. Example embodiments incorporating one or more aspects of the invention are intended to include all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims.