U.S. patent application number 11/850717 was filed with the patent office on 2009-03-12 for oven rack apparatus and corresponding method.
Invention is credited to Timothy Scott Shaffer.
Application Number | 20090064989 11/850717 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40410016 |
Filed Date | 2009-03-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090064989 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Shaffer; Timothy Scott |
March 12, 2009 |
Oven Rack Apparatus and Corresponding Method
Abstract
An oven rack apparatus for supporting a cooking utensil in an
oven. The oven rack apparatus includes a support portion configured
to support the cooking utensil thereon. A handle portion is
disposed on a side of the support portion. The handle portion has
an extremely low thermal conductivity.
Inventors: |
Shaffer; Timothy Scott;
(LaGrange, KY) |
Correspondence
Address: |
General Electric Company;GE Global Patent Operation
PO Box 861, 2 Corporate Drive, Suite 648
Shelton
CT
06484
US
|
Family ID: |
40410016 |
Appl. No.: |
11/850717 |
Filed: |
September 6, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
126/337R ;
29/890.03 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y10T 29/4935 20150115;
F24C 15/16 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
126/337.R ;
29/890.03 |
International
Class: |
F24C 15/16 20060101
F24C015/16; B21D 53/02 20060101 B21D053/02 |
Claims
1. An oven rack apparatus for supporting a cooking utensil in an
oven, the oven rack apparatus comprising: a support portion
configured to support the cooking utensil thereon; and a handle
portion disposed on a side of the support portion, the handle
portion having a thermal conductivity of about 0.03 W/(m*K) or
less.
2. The oven rack apparatus according to claim 1, where the handle
portion is fabricated from a material having a thermal conductivity
of about 0.01 W/(m*K) or less.
3. The oven rack apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the handle
portion is fabricated from an aerogel material.
4. The oven rack apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the
aerogel material has a thermal conductivity of about 0.01 W/(m*K)
or less.
5. The oven rack apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the handle
portion extends about an entire length of the side of the support
portion.
6. The oven rack apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the handle
portion comprises a sheet portion folded over to be disposed on a
top and a bottom of the support portion.
7. The oven rack apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the handle
portion comprises a plurality of clips that fasten the sheet
portion to the support portion.
8. The oven rack apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the handle
portion comprises an adhesive that fastens the sheet portion to the
support portion.
9. The oven rack apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the handle
portion comprises a sheet portion folder over on the support
portion to be disposed on a top and a bottom of the support
portion.
10. The oven rack apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the
handle portion comprises a plurality of clips that fasten the sheet
portion to the support portion.
11. The oven rack apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the
handle portion comprises an adhesive that fastens the sheet portion
to the support portion.
12. An oven rack apparatus for supporting a cooking utensil in an
oven, the oven rack apparatus comprising: a support portion
configured to support the cooking utensil thereon; and means for
pulling the support portion out of and for pushing the support
portion into the oven, the means disposed on a side of the support
portion and having a thermal conductivity of about 0.03 W/(m*K) or
less.
13. An oven rack apparatus for supporting a cooking utensil in an
oven, the oven rack apparatus comprising: a support portion
configured to support the cooking utensil thereon; and a handle
portion disposed on a side of the support portion, the handle
portion having a thermal conductivity insufficient to cause a burn
on a hand of a user of the oven rack apparatus when the handle
portion is heated to a temperature in excess of 500 degrees
Fahrenheit and is touched by the hand of the user.
14. A method of fabricating an oven rack apparatus for supporting a
cooking utensil in an oven, the method comprising: forming a
support portion configured to support the cooking utensil thereon;
and disposing a handle portion, having a thermal conductivity of
about 0.03 W/(m*K) or less, on a side of the support portion.
15. The method according to claim 14, wherein disposing the handle
portion comprises providing the handle portion having a thermal
conductivity of about 0.01 W/(m*K) or less.
16. The method according to claim 15, wherein disposing the handle
portion comprises forming the handle portion from an aerogel
material.
17. The method according to claim 14, wherein disposing the handle
portion comprises forming the handle portion from an aerogel
material.
18. The method according to claim 14, wherein disposing the handle
portion comprises folding a sheet portion over a top and a bottom
of the support portion.
19. The method according to claim 14, further comprising: clipping
the sheet portion to the support portion to form the handle
portion.
20. The method according to claim 18, further comprising: adhering
the sheet portion to the support portion to form the handle
portion.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to an oven rack apparatus, such as an
oven rack apparatus used with an electric, natural gas, propane,
convection, microwave and/or combination oven, as well as a
corresponding method.
[0002] It is known to dispose one or more oven racks in an interior
cavity of an oven. The oven rack is pulled out from the interior
cavity of the oven to facilitate placement of a cooking utensil
(e.g., a pan) on the oven rack, so that foodstuffs disposed in the
cooking utensil can be heated in the oven. The oven rack is also
pulled out from the interior cavity to facilitate removal of the
cooking utensil from the oven. The oven rack is pushed in before
and/or after being pulled out so that a door of the oven can be
closed, thereby closing off the interior cavity.
[0003] The oven rack is generally made of a metal material that has
a relatively high thermal capacitance and a relatively high thermal
conductivity. When the interior cavity of the oven is heated to a
high temperature, in a relatively short time period, a temperature
of the oven rack becomes about equal to the high temperature of the
interior cavity.
[0004] If a user of the oven contacts the high temperature oven
rack, such as with a hand or finger, a relatively high heat flux is
initiated between the point of contact of the user and the oven
rack. The user can be burned or perceive that she has been burned
when the user attempts to pull out or push in the high temperature
oven rack without adequately insulating herself from the oven rack.
This can occur if the user does not use an oven mitt, for example,
because of the inconvenience of using, or the unavailability of,
the oven mitt that is separate from the oven rack.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The invention overcomes one or more of the above-discussed
or other disadvantages of an oven rack that is configured to be
disposed in an oven.
[0006] In an embodiment, the invention provides an oven rack
apparatus for supporting a cooking utensil in an oven, the oven
rack apparatus including a support portion configured to support
the cooking utensil thereon. A handle portion is disposed on a side
of the support portion. The handle portion has a thermal
conductivity of about 0.03 W/(m*K) or less.
[0007] In another embodiment, the invention provides an oven rack
apparatus for supporting a cooking utensil in an oven, the oven
rack apparatus including a support portion configured to support
the cooking utensil thereon. A means is used for pulling the
support portion out of and for pushing the support portion into the
oven. The means is disposed on a side of the support portion and
has a thermal conductivity of about 0.03 W/(m*K) or less.
[0008] In still another embodiment, the invention provides an oven
rack apparatus for supporting a cooking utensil in an oven, the
oven rack apparatus including a support portion configured to
support the cooking utensil thereon. A handle portion is disposed
on a side of the support portion. The handle portion has a thermal
conductivity insufficient to cause a burn on a hand of a user of
the oven rack apparatus when the handle portion is heated to a
temperature in excess of 500 degrees Fahrenheit and is touched by
the hand of the user.
[0009] In still another embodiment, the invention provides a method
of fabricating an oven rack apparatus for supporting a cooking
utensil in an oven. The method includes forming a support portion
configured to support the cooking utensil thereon, and disposing a
handle portion, having a thermal conductivity of about 0.03 W/(m*K)
or less, on a side of the support portion.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] The following figures illustrate examples of embodiments of
the invention. The figures are described in detail below.
[0011] FIG. 1 is a top isometric view of an oven rack apparatus in
accordance with embodiments of the invention.
[0012] FIG. 2 is a top isometric view showing the oven rack
apparatus of FIG. 1 unassembled.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
[0013] Embodiments of the invention are described below, with
reference to the figures. Throughout the figures, like reference
numbers indicate the same or similar components.
[0014] FIG. 1 is a top isometric view of an oven rack apparatus
100, while FIG. 2 is a top isometric view showing the oven rack
apparatus 100 unassembled. It is to be understood that embodiments
of the oven rack apparatus 100 can be used with an oven that is
disposed in a free-standing, slide-in or drop-in range or disposed
as a built-in, over-the-range or countertop oven, as well as with
an oven disposed anywhere else. It also is to be understood that
embodiments of the oven rack apparatus 100 can be used with an
electric, natural gas, propane, convection, microwave and/or
combination oven, as well as with any other type of oven.
[0015] As shown in the figures, the oven rack apparatus 100
includes a support portion 150 and a handle portion 170. Although
specific embodiments of the support portion 150 are shown and
described, including the specific shape of a grate shown in the
drawings, it is to be understood that the support portion 150 can
be any structure capable of supporting a cooking utensil thereon
when the oven rack apparatus 100 is disposed in an interior cavity
of an oven, such that: The oven rack apparatus 100 can be pulled
out from the interior cavity of the oven to facilitate placement of
a cooking utensil (e.g., a pan) on the support portion 150; the
oven rack apparatus 100 can be pulled out from the interior cavity
to facilitate removal of the cooking utensil from the support
portion 150; and/or such that the oven rack apparatus 100 can be
pushed in before and/or after being pulled out.
[0016] In embodiments of the invention, the support portion 150 is
made of a metal material that has a relatively high thermal
capacitance and a relatively high thermal conductivity. As a
result, when the interior cavity of the oven in which the oven rack
apparatus 100 is disposed is heated to a high temperature, in a
relatively short time period a temperature of the oven rack
apparatus 100, including the support portion 150, becomes about
equal to the high temperature of the interior cavity.
[0017] In a manner similar to that discussed above, if a user of
the oven contacts the high temperature support portion 150 (i.e.,
the support portion 150 that is at the high temperature), such as
with a hand or finger, a relatively high heat flux is initiated
between the point of contact of the user and the rack. The user can
be burned or perceive that she has been burned when the user
attempts to pull out or push in the high temperature support
portion 150.
[0018] For these reasons, the oven rack apparatus 100 includes a
handle portion 170 that has a relatively low thermal conductivity.
As a result, even when the user contacts the handle portion 170
that has been heated to a high temperature about equal to the high
temperature of the oven and/or about equal to the high temperature
of the support portion 150, a relatively low heat flux is initiated
between the point of contact of the user and the handle portion
170. The handle portion 170 is configured such that the heat flux
is insufficient to result in a burn and/or perception of a burn to
the user.
[0019] In embodiments of the invention, the handle portion 170 is
fabricated from an aerogel material. Aerogel is a low-density
solid-state material derived from gel in which the liquid component
of the gel is replaced with gas. A suitable aerogel material can
have a thermal conductivity approximately one half of a thermal
conductivity of thermal wool and approximately one third of a
thermal conductivity of fiberglass. It has been determined that use
of such an aerogel material, even when heated to a temperature
exceeding about 550 degrees Fahrenheit (about 288 degrees Celsius),
results in such a relatively low heat flux between the user and the
handle portion 170 that contact does not result in a burn and does
not result in perception of a burn, even when contact is maintained
indefinitely after the handle portion 170 has been moved from the
550 degrees Fahrenheit (about 288 degrees Celsius) environment to a
room temperature environment. By way of specific examples, a
thermal conductivity of the handle portion 170, such as an aerogel
material used to fabricate the handle portion 170, can be about
0.03 W/(m*K) or less, and in particular can be about 0.01 W/(m*K)
or less for specific aerogels, and can be from about 0.003 W/(m*K)
to about 0.017 W/(m*K) for a specific silica aerogel. When the
thermal conductivity of the handle portion is greater than about
0.03 W/(m*K), a typical user can no longer indefinitely maintain
contact with the handle portion 170 heated in the above manner,
without being burned or perceiving a burn. Rather, the time period
during which contact can be maintained without resulting in a burn
or the perception of a burn becomes finite and shortens
exponentially as the thermal conductivity of the handle portion 170
increases.
[0020] In embodiments of the invention, the handle portion 170 is
fabricated from an aerogel material that is flexible, but still has
limited compressibility and can act structurally firm when used as
a handle for the oven rack apparatus 100. In contrast, fiberglass
is highly compressible, and therefore cannot act structurally firm
when used as a handle for the oven rack apparatus 100.
[0021] A specific example of a suitable aerogel material, with one
or more of the desired thermal conductivity, flexibility and
limited compressibility, is PYROGEL 6270.RTM., which is
manufactured by Aspen Aerogels, Inc., of Northborough, Mass.
[0022] As shown in FIG. 2, in embodiments of the invention, the
handle portion 170 is fabricated from a sheet portion 171. As
understood from the above discussion, the sheet portion 171 can be
fabricated from an aerogel material. The sheet portion 171 can be
fastened to the support portion 150. Specifically, the sheet
portion 171 can be folded over, so as to be disposed on a top and a
bottom of the support portion 150. As shown in the drawings,
multiple clips 173 (such as two clips 173) are used to fasten the
sheet portion 171 to the support portion 150. Alternatively, or in
combination with the clips 173, the sheet portion 171 can be
adhesively attached to the support portion 150. An example of a
suitable adhesive includes, but it not limited to, a ceramic
adhesive. Still further, the sheet portion 171 can be fastened to
the support portion 150 in a manner other than that discussed above
and/or shown in the drawings. As shown in the figures, the handle
portion 170/the sheet portion 171 extends some portion of a front
side of the support portion 150, and is disposed about
symmetrically on the front side of the support portion 150.
Alternatively, the handle portion 170/the sheet portion 171 can
extend about an entire length of the front side of the support
portion 150. By this arrangement, the handle portion 170/the sheet
portion 171 fully covers an entire side of the support portion
150.
[0023] Embodiments of the present invention include a method of
fabricating the above-described oven rack apparatus 100. The method
can include forming the support portion 150, and disposing the
handle portion 170, as described in detail above.
[0024] This written description uses examples to disclose
embodiments of the invention, including the best mode, and also to
enable a person of ordinary skill in the art to make and use
embodiments of the invention. It is understood that the patentable
scope of embodiments of the invention is defined by the claims, and
can include additional components occurring to those skilled in the
art. Such other arrangements are understood to be within the scope
of the claims.
* * * * *