Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Title: Support for extractable baking trays and/or baking grids
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a support for extractable bak-
ing trays and/or baking grids to be arranged in an oven cavity
of a baking oven, comprising pairs of opposed longish guiding
1o means disposed one above the other and extending along side
walls of the oven cavity, and slide elements comprising receiv-
ing means for receiving a baking tray and/or a baking grid and
being slidingly arranged at the guiding means. Moreover, the
present invention relates to a baking oven comprising such a
support.
Supports of the above mentioned kind are already know in prior
art. DE 103 30 348 B4 for example discloses a baking oven having
a support for extractable baking trays, which comprises a sup-
porting structure made of a plurality of metal rods and being
fixed to the side walls of an oven cavity. Attached to the sup-
porting structure are pairs of opposed longish rail-shaped guid-
ing means, which are disposed one above the other and extend
along side walls of the oven cavity. At each of these guiding
means one longish rail-shaped slide element is slidingly re-
ceived such that the slide element is sliding along the guiding
means. As receiving means for receiving a baking tray, the slide
elements comprise upwardly projecting pins, which are insertable
in corresponding openings of a baking tray to be received. Ac-
cordingly, the baking tray can be affixed on top of one pair of
opposed slide elements and can subsequently be pushed in or
drawn out of the baking oven by moving the slide elements along
the associated guiding means.
A further baking oven having a support of the above mentioned
kind for receiving extractable baking grids is described in EP-
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CONFIRMATION COPY
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A-0 091 666. This support comprises pairs of opposed longish
guiding means, which are disposed one above the other and extend
along side walls of the oven cavity. Each guiding means is
formed by two parallel metal rods of a metal rod supporting
structure arranged within the oven cavity. Moreover, the support
comprises slide elements, each in the form of a L-shaped metal
sheet profile, which are slidingly arranged at the guiding means
and are provided with receiving means for receiving a baking
grid. The receiving means are made integral with the guiding
means and are provided in the form of lugs, which encompass a
metal rod of the baking grid to be received. Accordingly, a bak-
ing grid can be affixed to the slide elements of the support and
can be pushed in or drawn out of the oven cavity by moving the
opposed slide elements along the associated guiding means.
When extracting a baking tray or a baking grid, which is re-
ceived by one of the above mentioned known supports, out of the
oven cavity, the slide elements are at least partially pulled
out along with the baking tray or baking grid, for which reason
there is a danger of getting burned when touching the slide ele-
ments, in particular after a baking tray or a baking grid has
been removed from the slide elements. Moreover, it is difficult
to position a baking tray or baking grid on the slide elements,
because the slide elements can freely move along the guiding
means and thus slip away. This is in particular cumbersome when
handling trays or grids, which are loaded with heavy objects,
such as a roasting tin.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a support
for extractable baking trays and/or baking grids of the above
mentioned kind as well as a baking oven comprising such a sup-
port, which are safe and easy to handle.
This object is solved by providing a support of the above men-
tioned kind with stopper means in such a manner, that the ex-
traction sliding movement of the slide elements along the guid-
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ing means is stopped before the slide elements project beyond
the oven cavity. Accordingly, except for the baking trays and/or
the baking grids received by the support, there are no compo-
nents which can project from the inside of the oven cavity.
Therefore, there is no danger of getting burned by projecting
components of the support, what renders the support safe and
easy to handle.
Preferably, biasing means are provided, in particular in the
form of at least one spring, for biasing the slide elements to-
wards the opening of the oven cavity. Thus, the biasing means
automatically move the slide elements towards the opening of the
oven cavity when the oven door is opened, such that a baking
tray or a baking grid received by the slide elements is auto-
matically extracted. The biasing means are tensioned again when
pushing in a baking tray or grid by closing the oven door.
According to one embodiment of the present invention at least
two opposed slide elements are interconnected by means of at
least one connecting element in order to achieve a synchronic
movement of these slide elements. Moreover, when biasing means
are provided, the interconnection of the slide elements is ad-
vantageous in that only one biasing means needs to be provided
for each pair of slide elements.
According to another embodiment, all slide elements are inter-
connected by at least one connecting element, preferably a con-
necting plate, in order to achieve a synchronic movement of all
slide elements. If biasing means are provided, the interconnec-
tion of all slide elements is advantageous in that only one bi-
asing means is necessary for biasing all the slide elements to-
wards the opening of the oven cavity.
According to one embodiment of the present invention the receiv-
ing means are at least partially punched and subsequently bent
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sections of the slide elements, i.e. the receiving means are at
least partially made integral with the slide elements.
The receiving means can comprise hook elements for encompassing
an upper side of a baking tray and/or a baking grid in order to
prevent a tilting of the tray or grid.
Moreover, the receiving means can comprise upwardly projecting
receiving elements, in particular welding studs, to be inserted
into corresponding openings provided in the baking trays and/or
baking grids to be received.
The guiding elements and/or the slide elements are preferably
made of plastics and/or aluminum and/or stainless steel.
Moreover, the present invention provides a baking oven having an
oven cavity and an oven door for closing the opening of the oven
cavity and comprising a support of the above defined kind.
According to one embodiment at least one protector, in particu-
lar a protector bar or rail, can be provided at the inner side
of the oven door for preventing a contact between a baking tray
and/or a baking grid and the oven door, wherein the at least one
protector is preferably releasably provided.
The foregoing and other objects of this invention are better un-
derstood by referring to the following detailed description of a
preferred embodiment of the present invention and the appendent
drawing, in which
Fig. 1 is a sectional view of an oven cavity comprising a
support for extractable baking trays and/or baking
grids according to an embodiment of the present in-
vention, wherein an oven door for closing the open-
ing of the oven cavity is opened by an opening an-
gle of about 25 ;
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Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the oven cavity shown in
figure 1, wherein the oven door is opened by an
opening angle of about 55 ; and
Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the oven cavity shown in
figure 1, wherein the oven door is opened by an
opening angle of 90 .
The baking oven 10, which is illustrated throughout the figures
without its outer housing to simplify matters, comprises an oven
cavity 12 for receiving food stuff to be cooked. The oven cavity
12 is defined by two side walls 12a, a back wall 12b, a top wall
12c and a bottom wall 12d. In the front of the oven cavity 12 an
opening 14 is provided, which can be opened and closed by means
of an oven door 16. For receiving extractable baking trays 17 or
baking grids (not shown), a support 18 is arranged within the
oven cavity 12.
The support 18 comprises a supporting structure 20, which is
made of a plurality of metal rods and is fixed to the side walls
12a of the oven cavity 12. Moreover, the support 18 comprises
pairs of opposed longish rail-shaped guiding means 24, which are
disposed one above the other, extend along the side walls 12a of
the oven cavity 12 and are fixed to the supporting structure 20.
At each of the guiding means 24 a rail-shaped slide element 26
is slidingly arranged such that it can be moved along the asso-
ciated guiding means 24. A contacting surface of each guiding
means 24 and/or of each slide element 26 may be provided with a
slide coating in order to achieve an easy relative motion be-
tween these components. Alternatively, rolling elements, such as
balls, may be arranged between each slide element 26 and the as-
sociated guiding means 14.
In order to limit the movement of the slide elements 26 along
the associated guiding means 24 stoppers 27a, b are formed at
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both end portions of each guiding means 24. The stoppers 27a, b
are provided as projections which project from the guiding means
24 towards the slide elements 26 and stop their movement at a
predetermined position. The stoppers 27a, which are arranged at
the front end of each guiding means 24 close to the opening 14
of the oven cavity 12, are positioned in such a manner that the
movement of the slide elements 26 along the guiding means 24 is
stopped before the slide elements project beyond the oven cavity
12. Accordingly, except for the baking trays 17 and the baking
grids received by the support 18, there are no components which
can project from the inside of the oven cavity 12. Therefore,
there is no danger of getting burned by projecting components of
the support 18.
Each slide element 26 comprises two receiving means for receiv-
ing a baking tray 17 or a baking grid, namely a hook element 28
for encompassing an upper side portion of a baking tray 17 or a
baking grid, which is formed as a punched and subsequently bent
section of the slide element 26, and an upwardly projecting re-
ceiving element 30 in the form of a welding stud, which is to be
inserted in known fashion into a corresponding opening (not
shown) provided in the baking trays 17 and the baking grids to
be received.
All slide elements 26 are interconnected by means of connecting
plate 32, which is arranged at the end face of the slide ele-
ments 26 facing towards the back wall 12b of the oven cavity 12.
Accordingly, the movement of the slide elements 26 along the
guiding means 24 is synchronized by means of the connecting
plate 32.
Moreover, the support 18 comprises biasing means in the form of
a spring 36, which is arranged at and guided by the bottom guid-
ing means 24. The spring 36 biases the connecting plate 32 and
thus the slide elements 26 towards the opening 14 of the oven
cavity 12. Accordingly, the slide elements 26 are automatically
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pushed towards the opening 14 of the oven cavity 12 when opening
the oven door 16, as it is shown in the sequence of figures 1 to
3, such that the baking trays 17 held by the slide elements 26
are automatically extracted from the oven cavity 12.
s
In order to prevent a contact between the baking trays 17 and
the oven door 16 when opening and closing the oven door 16, the
latter is provided with a protector rail 38 at its inner side.
Thus, a damage of the inner side of the oven door 16, which is
often formed by a glass plate, can be avoided. The protector
rail 38 is releasably fixed to the oven door 16 by means of
screws (not shown).
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