Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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COOKING RACK WITH REVOLVING APPARATUS
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Not applicable.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not applicable.
REFERENCE TO A MICROFISHE APPENDIX
Not applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The invention relates to cooking racks and, more particularly, to cooking
racks
having apparatus for facilitating handling, viewing and more even cooking of
food products.
Background Art
Various types of cooking racks are well known in the industry. For example,
steel
wire oven racks are often manufactured from a steel rod which is drawn, so as
to form steel wire.
These oven racks formed of steel wire products can be coated with various
types of materials.
Also, oven racks and other oven-related articles can be manufactured from
products other than
steel. Of course, any type of oven rack or similar product which is positioned
within an oven
cavity during use must be capable of withstanding normal cooking temperatures.
In addition, for
ovens which employ self cleaning cycles, the oven racks and other oven-related
articles located
within the oven itself must be capable of being subjected to and withstanding
temperatures which
substantially exceed normal cooking temperatures. Far example, steel wire oven
racks may be
subjected to temperatures above 900° F associated with self cleaning
cycles, common in today's
kitchen ovens.
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Several difficulties have existed over the years in the oven and other cooking
industries relating to such matters as handling of cooking racks and
associated food products
during and immediately following cooking operations, viewing of food products
during cooking
and relatively more "even" cooking of food products. These issues have been
approached with
various types of apparatus. For example, many of today's ovens include windows
or other
viewing apparatus in the oven doors and the like. Also, a substantial amount
of work has been
done in developing means for positioning and repositioning of oven racks
within oven cavities.
For example, oven racks often "slide" on brackets positioned on lateral sides
of the oven cavity.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, difficulties can still exist with respect to
handling of food
products during and immediately following the cooking process. The oven racks
themselves
tend to be extremely hot and difficult to manually manipulate. This also
causes problems with
respect to viewing. Still further, with the typical "stationary" position of
oven racks throughout
the entirety of a cooking process, it is sometimes difficult to achieve an
"even" cooking of food
products within typical oven cavities. This is true not only with respect to
oven cavities, but also
with respect to other cooking devices, such as outdoor grills, store-top
cooking burners,
commercial ovens, household ranges and the like.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the invention, a cooking rack is adapted for use in cooking
of
various food products by placing the products on the rack. The cooking rack
includes a main
oven rack constructed of materials capable of being subjected to relatively
high temperatures.
The main oven rack has a cutout portion extending perpendicularly through a
plane of the main
oven rack. A frame wire surrounds the periphery of the cutout portion. A
revolving apparatus is
included which has an outer peripheral frame. The revolving apparatus includes
support means
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for supporting the food products on the revolving apparatus. Pivot means are
pivotably coupled
to the main oven rack and connected to the revolving apparatus. The pivot
means permits the
revolving apparatus to rotate or otherwise revolve relative to the main oven
rack.
In accordance with other aspects of the invention, the cooking rack can
comprise
means for supporting the rack on a lower surface. In this situation, a plane
of the lower surface
is substantially parallel to the plane of the cooking rack. In accordance with
yet another aspect
of the invention, the cooking rack can include a plurality of cutout portions.
A plurality of the
revolving apparatus can be positioned within the cutout portions.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described with reference to the drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a revolving rack apparatus in accordance with
the
invention;
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the rack apparatus depicted in FIG. l;
FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the rack apparatus in accordance with the
invention, as depicted in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of the rack apparatus depicted in FIG. l;
FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of the rack apparatus depicted in FIG. 1,
taken
along section lines 5-5 of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a plan view of a second embodiment of a revolving rack apparatus in
accordance with the invention;
FIG. 7 is a front elevation view of the rack apparatus depicted in FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is a side elevation view of the rack apparatus depicted in FIG. 6;
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FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of a revolving rack
apparatus
in accordance with the invention, employing two revolving devices; and
FIG. 10 is a plan view of the rack apparatus depicted in FIG. 9.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The principles of the invention are disclosed, by way of example, in three
embodiments of revolving rack apparatus in accordance with the invention, as
described herein
and illustrated in FIGS. 1-10. The primary concept of the invention relates to
the use of
revolving devices which facilitate activities associated with the cooking of
food products. These
revolving devices can be circular in nature and can be manually turned by a
user or automatically
rotated through the use of a motor or similar apparatus, so as to
automatically rotate one or more
revolution racks. In this regard, the use of traditional oven racks requires a
user to handle food
products in order to move them about an oven cavity, for purposes of
facilitating viewing or
more even cooking. The racks with revolving apparatus in accordance with the
invention
eliminate the need for the user to handle the food products. In this regard,
the rack with the
revolving apparatus facilitates handling, viewing and more even cooking of
food products.
Although primarily described with respect to an rack which would typically be
utilized in
devices associated with ovens and the like, oven racks with revolving
apparatus in accordance
with the invention may be utilized with traditional household ranges,
commercial ovens,
barbeque grills and similar devices.
More specifically, and first primarily with respect to FIGS. 1- 5, a rack with
revolving apparatus 100 is illustrated in accordance with the invention. The
rack with revolving
apparatus 100 includes a traditional oven rack 102 having somewhat of a cutout
portion 104.
The main oven rack 102 may be constructed of metal wire or the like. The main
oven rack 102
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includes a front edge 106, left-side edge 108, rear edge 110 and right-side
edge 112. For
production purposes, the edges 106, 108, 110 and 112 may be formed of a
continuous frame wire
114.
For purposes of support and rigidity, a series of wire rails 116 extend
between the
front edge 106 and the rear edge 110 of the main oven rack 102. These wire
rails extend on each
side of the cutout portion 104. As primarily illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the
wire rails 116 may
be welded or otherwise connected to the top portion of the front edge 106 and
the rear portion of
the rear edge 110. In this regard, it should be noted that through the nubs
118 located at the rear
portions of the left-side edge 108 and right-side edge 112, the rear edge 110
is slightly raised
relative to the front edge 106. In this manner, the wire rails 116 can form a
"level" surface.
Surrounding the cutout portion 104, which is circular in nature, is a circular
frame
wire 120. The circular frame wire 120 may be continuous in nature and form a
circular
perimeter for the cutout portion 104. A series of intermediate wire rails 122
extend from the
front edge 106 to differing segment locations along the circular frame wire
120. The
intermediate wire rails 122 are welded or otherwise connected at the top
portions of the front
edge 106 and continuous frame wire 114. In addition, other intermediate wire
rails 122 extend
from the rear edge 120 to differing segment locations along the back half of
the circular frame
wire 120. These intermediate wire rails 122 are connected at the top portion
of the circular frame
wire 120 and the bottom portion of the rear edge 110.
Still further, the main oven rack 102 includes a pair of lower support rails
124
which are spaced apart in a parallel relationship, and extend through the
cutout portion 104 from
the front edge 106 to the rear edge 110. As primarily illustrated in FIGS. 1,
2 and 4, the
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intermediate wire rails 122 are welded or otherwise connected to the lower
portion of the front
edge 106 and the lower portion of the rear edge 110.
In accordance with the invention, the rack with revolving apparatus 100
includes
a revolving apparatus 130, again illustrated in FIGS. 1- 5. The revolving
apparatus 130
includes an outer and circular perimeter frame 132 primarily shown in FIGS. 1
and 2. The
circular perimeter frame 132 has a circumference slightly smaller than the
circumference formed
by the circular frame wire 120. Extending across segments of the circular
perimeter frame 132
are a series of revolving apparatus wires 134. As primarily shown in FIGS. 1
and 2, the
revolving apparatus wires 134 are parallel, with each wire 134 spaced
equidistant adjacent wires
134. The revolving apparatus wires 134 provide support for food items, and are
welded or
otherwise connected to the top portions of the circular perimeter frame 132.
Still further, the
revolving apparatus 130 includes an H-shaped pivot bracket 136, again as
primarily shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2. The H-shaped pivot bracket 136 includes a pair of U-shaped
brackets 138. Legs
140 of each of the U-shaped brackets 138 are connected to four of the
revolving apparatus wires
134 at the lower portions thereof. The connection to the revolving apparatus
wires 134 may be
by weldment or otherwise. At the central portion of the H-shaped pivot bracket
136 is a pivot
pin 142. The pivot pin 142 is rotatably connected to a base H-shaped bracket
144. The base H-
shaped bracket 144 includes legs 146 which are welded or otherwise connected
at their upper
portions to each of the lower support rails 124. This is primarily shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2. The
H-shaped pivot bracket 136 can be rotatably connected through the pivot pin
142 to the base H-
shaped bracket 144 through various conventional means, such as the use of
bushing and bearing
assemblies, sleeve assemblies and the like. Although not expressly shown in
detail in the
drawings, these assemblies may be conventional in nature.
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With the rack with revolving apparatus 100 having the forgoing structure, the
revolving apparatus 130, having support for food items on the revolving
apparatus wires 134, is
free to appropriately rotate or otherwise revolve relative to the main oven
rack 102, through the
pivot pin 142. In this manner, the user may readily manipulate and view food
products, without
necessitating actual touching of the food products themselves during and
immediately after
cooking. In addition, for purposes of relatively greater "even" cooking of
food products, rotation
during the cooking process can be used through rotation of the revolving
apparatus 130 relative
to the main oven rack 102.
A second embodiment of a rack with revolving apparatus 200 in accordance with
the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8. Therein, the rack with
revolving apparatus 200
includes a main oven rack 202 having a cutout portion 204. The main rack 202
includes a front
edge 206, left-side edge 208, rear edge 210 and right-side edge 212. Because a
substantial
amount of the structure of the rack 200 in accordance with the invention is
similar to the rack
100 in accordance with the invention, substantial detail is not required for
description of the rack
200. The edges 206, 208, 210 and 212 can be formed from a continuous frame
wire 214. The
rack 200 also includes a circular frame wire 220. The circular frame wire 220
forms the
perimeter of the cutout portion 204. Intermediate wire rails 222 extend from
the front edge 206
to segment portions of the circular frame wire 120, and are welded or
otherwise connected
thereto. Correspondingly, further intermediate wire rails 222 are welded or
otherwise connected
from the rear edge 210 to segment portions in the back half of the circular
frame wire 220.
Still fiuther, the rack 200 includes lower support rails 224 extending from
the
front edge 106 to the rear edge 110 through the cutout portion 204. In
addition to the main oven
rack 202, the rack 200 includes a revolving apparatus 230 having a circular
perimeter frame 232.
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Revolving apparatus wires 234 extend across segments of the circular perimeter
frame 232. An
H-shaped pivot bracket 236 is formed with U-shaped brackets 238. Legs 240 make
up the U-
shaped brackets 238, and are connected to four of the revolving apparatus
wires 234. A pivot pin
242 is also provided, similar to pivot pin 142 of the rack 100 in accordance
with the invention.
A base H-shaped bracket 244 is connected to the two intermediate wire rails
222. The H-shaped
pivot bracket 236 is rotatable relative to the base H-shaped bracket 244
through pivot pin 242
and other apparatus, such as bushings, sleeves, bearings or the like. As
illustrated primarily in
FIG. 8, the continuous frame wire 214, unlike the rack 100, provides for a
stand for the rack 200.
Also, it is apparent that the rack 200 is narrower in size with respect to the
main oven rack,
relative to the rack 100 with its main oven rack. The rack 200 in accordance
with the invention
could also be used as warmer rack or as a stand when the rack 200 is away from
the cooking
facilities, whether such facilities be an oven, grill or the like. Still
further, and unlike the rack
100, the rack 200 includes a motor 250 which can be connected in any
conventional manner
through wires 252 to the pivot pin 242 and the H-shaped pivot bracket 236. The
motor 250 can
be used to actuate movement of the pivot pin 242 and pivot bracket 236 in a
manner so that the
revolving apparatus 230 rotates relative to the main oven rack 202. In this
manner, rather than
the rack 200 being manually rotated, the rack can be automatically rotated.
Although FIG. 8
illustrates a motor 250, various other types of means could be utilized for
automated rotation of
the revolving apparatus 230. Also, the use of automated apparatus for
revolution of a rotatable
rack could be utilized with the rack 100 and other racks in accordance with
the invention.
FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate somewhat of a third embodiment of racks with
revolving
apparatus in accordance with the invention, but utilize the structure and
concepts illustrated with
respect to the rack with revolving apparatus 100. More specifically, FIGS. 9
and 10 illustrate a
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rack with revolving apparatus 300. The rack 300 includes a first revolving
apparatus 303 and a
second revolving apparatus 304. The revolving apparatus 302 and 304 are
associated with a
main oven rack 306. The main oven rack 306 has a structure similar to the
structure of the main
oven rack 102 previously described with respect to FIGS. 1 - 5. FIGS. 9 and 10
illustrate the use
of a pair of revolving apparatus associated with a single oven rack. Still
further, the oven rack
306 could be a grill rack or rack used with other types of cooking apparatus.
Also, FIGS. 9 and
illustrate the first revolving apparatus 302 being in one particular rotatable
position relative to
the oven rack 306, while the second revolving apparatus 304 is in a different
revolution state
relative to the oven rack 306. Because the first and second revolving
apparatus 302 and 304 are
10 structured as the revolving apparatus 130 associated with FIGS. 1 - 5, they
will not be described
in any greater detail herein.
In accordance with the foregoing, racks with revolving apparatus have been
described in accordance with the invention. These racks facilitate handling,
viewing and more
even cooking of food products. The revolving apparatus associated with the
invention can be
turned by user or can otherwise be automatically revolved, using a motor or
other electrical,
mechanical or electromechanical means. With the racks in accordance with the
invention, the
need for actual handling of food products in eliminated.
The racks in accordance with the invention can be made of various materials,
including metallic materials. Such racks may have finishes, such as chrome and
porcelain. As
earlier stated, the racks are not limited to conventional ovens, but may also
be utilized with
cooking burners, commercial ovens, grills or the like.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the pertinent arts that other
embodiments of
racks in accordance with the invention can be designed. That is, the
principles of a rack with
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revolving apparatus are not limited to the specific embodiments described
herein. Accordingly,
it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and other
variations of the above-
described illustrative embodiments of the invention may be effected without
departing from the
spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the invention.
