Methods and apparatus for assembling cooking appliances
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsTimothy Scott Shaffer, Anthony Leo Muth
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A rack assembly includes a pair of laterally spaced inner rails, wherein each inner rail includes a coating layer configured to withstand a self clean oven temperature, and a pair of laterally spaced outer rails, wherein each outer rail is slidably coupled to a corresponding inner rail, and each outer rail includes a coating layer configured to withstand a self clean oven temperature. The rack assembly also includes a plurality of bearings positioned between the inner rails and the outer rails, a lubricant to facilitate movement between the plurality of bearings and at least one of the inner rails and the outer rails, wherein the lubricant is configured to withstand a self clean oven temperature, and a cooking rack coupled to each inner rail.
Claims19
A rack assembly comprising:
- a pair of laterally spaced inner rails, each of said inner rails comprising an outer surface having a coating layer substantially covering said outer surface and configured to withstand a self clean oven temperature;
- a pair of laterally spaced outer rails slidably coupled to a corresponding said inner rail, each said outer rail comprising an outer surface having a coating layer substantially covering said outer surface and configured to withstand a self clean oven temperature;
- a plurality of bearings positioned between said inner rails and said outer rails;
- a lubricant to facilitate movement between said plurality of bearings and at least one of said inner rails and said outer rails, said lubricant configured to withstand a self clean oven temperature;
- and
- a cooking rack coupled to each said inner rail.
An oven assembly comprising:
- a main body defining an oven cavity therein;
- at least one heating element capable of heating said oven cavity to a self clean oven temperature;
- at least one cooking rack;
- and
- at least one rack assembly within said oven cavity and configured to support a respective one of said at least one cooking rack, each said rack assembly comprising:
- a pair of laterally spaced inner rails, each of said inner rails comprising an outer surface having a coating layer substantially covering said outer surface and configured to withstand a self clean oven temperature;
- a pair of laterally spaced outer rails slidably coupled to a corresponding said inner rail, each said outer rail comprising an outer surface having a coating layer substantially covering said outer surface and configured to withstand a self clean oven temperature;
- a plurality of bearings positioned between said inner rails and said outer rails;
- and
- a dry film lubricant to facilitate movement between said plurality of bearings and at least one of said inner rails and said outer rails.
A method of assembling an oven assembly, said method comprising:
- providing at least one rack assembly, wherein each rack assembly includes a pair of laterally spaced inner rails, a pair of laterally spaced outer rails, and a plurality of bearings, wherein each of the inner rails includes a coating layer substantially covering the inner rail and each of the outer rails includes a coating layer substantially covering the outer rail, wherein the coating layers are configured to withstand a self clean oven temperature;
- slidably coupling each inner rail to a respective outer rail;
- positioning the ball bearings between the inner and outer rails;
- lubricating the ball bearings with a lubricant configured to withstand a self clean oven temperature;
- and
- coupling an oven rack to each inner rail.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.