Retractable Oven Rack Assembly With Full-Extension Shelf Stops
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current oven rack designs face limitations in extending fully outside the oven cavity due to support constraints, leading to difficulties in food positioning and removal, and either require complex double rack arrangements or reduce usable oven volume.
Innovation Solution
A retractable oven rack assembly featuring a slidable wire base with parallel wire sections and support rods allows full extension of a grid shelf, with built-in stops to prevent accidental ejection or contact with oven walls, maintaining simplicity and secure support.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the oven rack is supported by support slots or ledges in the oven cavity walls, then the rack is securely retained, but the rack cannot be extended fully outside the oven cavity
Solution Approach 1:
The rack system is divided into two separate racks: a fixed rack that remains supported by the oven cavity walls, and a movable rack that can be extended fully outside. This segmentation allows each rack to fulfill different functions - the fixed rack provides secure support while the movable rack enables full extension for easy food access.
2Length of moving object
If a double rack arrangement with rollers is used to allow full extension, then the rack can be extended outside the cavity, but the usable volume in the oven cavity is substantially decreased
Solution Approach 1:
The oven rack system is segmented into a fixed rack portion that occupies minimal space within the cavity and a movable rack portion that extends outside. This eliminates the need for space-consuming roller mechanisms inside the cavity, preserving maximum usable volume while still enabling full extension capability.
3Length of moving object
If a double rack arrangement with rollers is used to allow full extension, then the rack can be extended outside the cavity, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system separates the extension function into a simple movable rack that slides along the fixed rack, eliminating complex roller mechanisms. The segmentation allows the extension feature to be achieved through a straightforward sliding arrangement between two racks rather than through complicated mechanical linkages.
4Ease of operation
If the rack is extended well out of the cavity, then food items are easier to position and remove, but the rack may be inadvertently pulled completely out or pushed too far back
Solution Approach 1:
Stop members are positioned on the fixed rack to preemptively prevent the movable rack from being pulled completely out or pushed too far back into the cavity. These stops create preliminary counter-actions that limit the range of motion in both directions, ensuring the rack remains within safe operational boundaries while still allowing full extension for easy food access.
Data Source
AI summary
A retractable oven rack includes a slidable wire base with four wire sections extending generally horizontally around a periphery. Two of the wire sections extend parallel to each other along the width of the wire base and the other two extend parallel along the length. The four wires sections are connected to each other at their ends. A pair of support rods extend from and respectively parallel two of the wire sections along the length of the slidable wire base. The oven rack also includes a grid shelf having a pair of raised wire sections extending the length of the grid shelf that are slidably supported on the pair of support rods for allowing the grid shelf to be supported and slide on the pair of support rods.