Adjustable oven rack assembly for oven appliance
AssigneeHaier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
InventorsBrett Alan Farris, Steven Keith Root
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Oven appliance and associated methods for operating an oven appliance including an adjustable rack assembly. The oven appliance includes a cabinet defining a cooking chamber and a cabinet door. An adjustable rack assembly is positioned within the cabinet and includes a rack frame, vertical positioning assembly, a camera assembly, and a controller. The adjustable rack assembly is configured to move the rack frame in the vertical direction using data from camera assembly based on user preference or manufacturer default setting.
Claims20
An oven appliance defining a mutually orthogonal vertical direction, lateral direction, and transverse direction, the oven appliance comprising:
- a cabinet defining a cooking chamber;
- a cabinet door;
- and
- an adjustable rack assembly, the adjustable rack assembly comprising:
- a rack frame extending along a transverse direction between a front end and a rear end;
- a vertical positioning assembly supporting the rack frame within the cabinet;
- a camera assembly for obtaining images of the cooking chamber;
- and
- a controller in operative communication with the vertical positioning assembly and the camera assembly, the controller being configured to:
- obtain an image of the cooking chamber using the camera assembly;
- and
- operate the vertical positioning assembly to position the rack frame based at least in part on the image of the cooking chamber.
An adjustable rack assembly for an oven appliance, the adjustable rack assembly comprising:
- a rack frame extending along a transverse direction between a front end and a rear end;
- a vertical positioning assembly supporting the rack frame within a cabinet defining a cooking chamber;
- a camera assembly for obtaining images of the cooking chamber;
- and
- a controller in operative communication with the vertical positioning assembly and the camera assembly, the controller being configured to:
- obtain an image of the cooking chamber using the camera assembly;
- and
- operate the vertical positioning assembly to position the rack frame based at least in part on the image of the cooking chamber.
A method for operating an oven appliance, the oven appliance comprising a cabinet defining a cooking chamber;
- a cabinet door;
- and an adjustable rack assembly, the adjustable rack assembly comprising a rack frame extending along a transverse direction between a front end and a rear end, a vertical positioning assembly supporting the rack frame within the cabinet, and a controller in operative communication with the vertical positioning assembly and a camera assembly, the controller being configured to obtain an image of the cooking chamber using the camera assembly, and operate the vertical positioning assembly to position the rack frame based at least in part on the image of the cooking chamber;
- the method comprising:
- determining a position of the cabinet door;
- obtaining a target rack frame position defining an intended position of the rack frame;
- obtaining data from a camera to determine a height of an item defined by a container, vessel, and/or food item located on the rack frame;
- evaluating whether the height of the item will come into contact with a top of the cooking chamber when the rack frame would be positioned at the target rack frame position and updating the intended position of the rack frame accordingly;
- activating the vertical positioning assembly when the cabinet door is closed;
- and
- moving the rack frame via the vertical positioning assembly to the target rack frame position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.