Electric heating element for a cooking appliance
AssigneeMaytag Corporation
InventorsShelton T. Barnes, Perry A. Bennett, Valerie L. Hern-Fonseth, David C. Ometer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An electric heating element for use in an oven cavity of a cooking appliance includes laterally spaced fore-to-aft extending side leg portions which are interconnected by a frontal portion, with each of the side leg portions having an inwardly directed section, followed by an outwardly directed section which leads to the frontal leg portion through respective arcuate corner portions. The electric heating element preferably constitutes a sheathed, resistance coil type element used to provide enhanced uniform heating of the oven cavity for various cooking functions, particularly baking and toasting operations.
Claims18
An electric heating element for use in a cooking appliance including an oven cavity having top, bottom, rear and side walls, as well as an open front adapted to be selectively closed off by a pivotally mounted door, comprising:
- first and second laterally spaced side leg portions adapted to extend forward within the oven cavity;
- and a frontal leg portion interconnecting the first and second side leg portions, each of said first and second side leg portions including an inwardly directed section, followed by an outwardly directed section which leads to the frontal leg portion, each of the first and second side leg portions further including an elongated, substantially straight, fore-to-aft extending section leading to the inwardly directed section in one direction and to a terminal electrical connector in another direction.
An electric baking element comprising:
- first and second spaced side leg portions, each of the first and second side leg portions including a first leg section leading to a second leg section and then a third leg section, with the first leg section constituting by an elongated, substantially linear section, with the second leg section of the first side leg portion extending towards the second side leg portion and the second leg section of the second side leg portion extending towards the first side leg portion, and with the third leg section of the first side leg portion extending away from the second side leg portion and the third leg section of the second side leg portion extending away from the first side leg portion;
- and
- a frontal leg portion interconnecting the first and second leg portions.
A method of heating a compact oven cavity of a cooking appliance used for both baking and toasting operations comprising:
- activating an electric baking element provided adjacent a bottom wall of the oven cavity, with the baking element including forward extending side leg portions having fore-to-aft extending, elongated straight rear sections leading to inwardly directed sections followed by outwardly directed sections which lead to a frontal portion of the baking elements.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.