EP1741990A2

EP1741990A2 - Oven Tray Assembly

Info

Publication number: EP1741990A2
Application number: EP06116835A
Authority: EP
Inventors: James Finbar Lucey; Christopher Dykes
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-07-08
Filing date: 2006-07-07
Publication date: 2007-01-10
Also published as: EP1741990A3; IES20050457A2

Abstract

A portable oven tray assembly (1) comprising at least one support (2a,2b) and a plurality of cooking trays (3). Each tray is attachable to the at least one support and arranged one above the other with a spacing (7) between them. At least one of the plurality of trays (3) is adapted such that it is moveable with respect to the support between an upright preloading position, and a substantially horizontal loading position to facilitate the easy loading of items of food onto the tray.

Description

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an oven tray assembly for cooking food. More particularly, it relates to a free standing portable oven tray assembly on which food may be placed for cooking in an oven.

Background to the Invention

A well known apparatus used to cook fast food items such as burgers and steaks is a combination oven. These ovens cook the food using a combination of hot air and steam.
One method for cooking fast food items in such ovens involves the loading of food on pans. The food is loaded on their edge onto the pans, which are then placed horizontally into the oven. However this arrangement is not ideal for the cooking of the food, due to the reduced circulation of air around each item of food. Consequently, the resulting cooked items tend to be unevenly heated.
Another method of cooking fast food items in combination ovens is where the items to be cooked are placed directly onto trays which are supported by tray supports or racks provided in the oven. The racks are typically provided at equi-spaced vertical intervals on the oven walls. The trays may be removed from the oven when not required. One of the disadvantages of having the racks affixed to the oven walls is that the number of racks which can be used with an oven is predetermined upon manufacture of the oven.
Another drawback of such cooking racks is that it can be difficult to load and unload items of food. This is particularly evident where the racks or shelves are located in close proximity to each other. It is also necessary to remove each tray individually from the oven to remove the cooked food.
Furthermore, the capacity of the oven is restricted by the number and spacing of the racks, this can reduce the capacity by up to 75% when heating/cooking shallow products such as beefburgers or steaks e.g. a 6 rack oven can only accommodate 6 trays.

Object of the Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide an oven tray assembly which provides for a quick and easy loading and unloading of food items.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention provides an oven tray assembly for use with a oven comprising at least one support; and a plurality of cooking trays, each tray being attachable to the at least one support, one above the other with a spacing between them, wherein at least one of the plurality of trays is adapted such that it is moveable with respect to the at least one support between an upright preloading position, and a substantially horizontal loading position.
The provision of two loading positions of the oven tray assembly simplifies the loading and unloading of food. The trays can be loaded external to the oven one at a time without interfering with adjacent trays.
Preferably, at least one of the plurality of trays is pivotably attached to the at least one support for enabling the movement of the tray between the preloading and the loading position.
Desirably, one side of each tray is pivotably attachable to the at least one support.
The assembly may further comprise a protrusion attached to each of the trays at the side opposite the attachable side, the protrusion adapted to provide stability to the tray.
The support may include at least one restrainer, each restrainer associated with one of the at least one of the plurality of trays and adapted to retain the tray in the preloading position.
The tray may be movable from the preloading to the loading position by applying pressure to the restrainer.
The trays may be moveable from the loading to the preloading position by inversion of the oven tray assembly.
Optionally, the assembly may further comprise a detachable handle for moving the oven tray assembly.
The trays may be detachably attached to the at least one support.
The tray located at the lowest vertical position in the at least one support may be immovably attached to the at least one support.
The tray assembly may further comprise two supports for attachment of the trays.
Preferably, the spacing between each tray is equal.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the oven tray assembly of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the assembly showing a tray moving to the preloading position;
Figure 3 is a side view of the assembly;
Figure 4 is a front view of the assembly;
Figure 5 is a rear view of the assembly;
Figure 6 is a view of the assembly showing the detachable handle prior to attachment; and
Figure 7 shows a side view of the assembly showing the top tray in the preloading position.

Detailed Description of the Drawings

The oven tray assembly 1 of the present invention will now be described with reference to the preferred embodiment as illustrated in Figures 1 to 7. It comprises a pair of vertical supports 2a, 2b to which a plurality of wire cooking trays 3 are attached spaced apart one above another. The trays 3 are moveable with respect to the supports 2 between an upright preloading position and a substantially horizontal loading position.
Each tray 3 is in the form of a rectangular frame 22 across which a plurality of crossbars 23 extend. The frame 22 has a free side 20 and an opposing attachment side 21, for attaching the tray 3 to the supports 2.
Each support 2 comprises an L-shaped member having a base portion 5 and an upright portion 4. The base portion 5 is dimensioned to be substantially equal to the length of the crossbars 23. The upright portion 4 comprises a front face 15, back face 16 and two side faces 17. Each side face 17 is provided with a plurality of attachment means 6 in the form of apertures located at equi-spaced levels in height along the length of the face 17. The apertures are arranged such that each aperture of one side face is located opposite an aperture of the other side face, thus forming an aperture pair.
A cooking tray 3 is attached to the supports 2 by passing its attachment side 21 through an aperture pair located on support 2a, and then through the aperture pair located at the corresponding level on support 2b. The distance between the supports 2a, 2b is set to be that which provides the optimum distribution of the load of a tray between both supports 2.
It will be appreciated that the above described arrangement enables each cooking tray 3 to be pivotable about its attachment end 21. In the described embodiment, all of the cooking trays except one are thus pivotable when attached to the supports 2. The tray attached to the supports 2 at the lowest vertical position is not pivotable, due to it also being attached to the base portion 5 of each support 2.
A protrusion (or spacer) 7 is incorporated into the free end 20 of each tray 3. The protrusion 7 is located either at a point which is directly in line with each upright portion 4 of the supports 2, or at a location adjacent to this, with the protrusion of every alternative level of tray being located at the same position, as shown in the figures. The protrusions 7 are adapted to provide support to the tray and to assist in providing the desired vertical spacings between the trays. This also ensures that the entire frame 22 of a tray remains substantially horizontal in the loading position, and not only those portions of a tray adjacent the attachment end 21.
As shown in the drawings the protrusion 7 may be formed by indenting the front portion of the rectangular frame 22 to form U-shaped or V-shaped protrusions or legs, which act as spacers between adjacent trays 3. In the lowermost tray the protrusions 7 act as feet to support the front of the assembly. In an alternative arrangement (not shown) the protrusions 7 are formed by plates or brackets welded to the front rim of each of the trays 3.
According to an optional feature of the invention, a detachable handle 8 is also attachable to the supports 2, to enable the oven tray assembly 1 to be easily moved into and out of the oven. As shown in Figure 6, the handle 8 is substantially U-shaped, and comprises two legs 9 connected at respective junctions 12 to a joining portion 10. An upright member 11 is attached to each of the junctions. A hook 13 is located on the upright member 11. The handle 8 is secured in place by catching each hook 13 to the attachment end 21 of one of the trays at a location adjacent the supports 2, as shown in Figure 6.
As previously mentioned, the trays 3 are moveable with respect to the supports 2 between an upright preloading position and a substantially horizontal loading position. The provision of two loading positions facilitates the easy loading and unloading of items of food onto the oven tray assembly 1, as will be explained in more detail in the paragraphs below.
In use, the oven tray assembly 1 should first be moved to the preloading position, as shown in Figure 7. This may be achieved by inverting the oven tray assembly 1 so that the attachment ends 21 of the trays 3 pivot about the supports 2 until the trays are positioned substantially to the vertical or beyond. Alternatively, the trays 3 may be moved to an upright position by hand. This is the preloading position of the rack.
After placing the oven tray assembly 1 in the preloading position, the oven tray assembly 1 is ready for loading. This is carried out by moving the trays one level at a time to the loading position. The process is begun by moving the tray 3 located at the lowest level in height on the supports 2 back to the horizontal. In this position, the tray is in the loading position, and can be loaded with items of food for cooking. Any suitable item of food may be placed on a tray, such as for example burgers or steaks. The food can be loaded directly from their packaging at supply temperature, which typically ranges from -20C to +10C. In the described embodiment, the dimensions of each tray are suitable for loading up to 12 burgers.
This process of moving trays from their preloading to loading position is continued in sequential order of ascending tray level until no further trays remain in the preloading position. At this point, the oven tray assembly 1 will be fully loaded and ready for placing in an oven.
This technique provides a very simple and quick procedure for loading items of food onto the oven tray assembly 1. As all trays positioned above a tray 3 that is currently being loaded are located in the vertical preloading position, they do not obstruct the loading of the current tray.
The placing of the oven tray assembly into an oven may be facilitated by the handle 8. Once the assembly is loaded into the oven, the handle 8 can be detached, to enable the oven door to be closed. Alternatively, where a handle is not provided, the assembly may be placed in the oven by hand or by any other suitable means.
When the items of food on the oven tray assembly have been cooked by the oven to the desired amount, the oven tray assembly can be removed from the oven, with the items of food remaining on the trays. The assembly may removed from the oven by means of the detachable handle where provided, to prevent a user having to hold the heated trays. Alternatively, where a handle is not provided, the assembly may be removed from the oven by hand using protective equipment, or by any other suitable means.
In order to remove the items of food from the individual cooking trays, a tray may be pivoted about the support members 2 such that the items of food are discharged from the tray. Alternatively, the entire assembly may be rotated through 90 degrees so that the complete contents of the assembly is automatically discharged under gravity. A receiving tray may be positioned below the assembly such that it can receive the items of food as they fall from the trays.
In an alternative embodiment of the invention (not shown), each aperture pair is associated with a restrainer located on the supports. The restrainer enables the temporary securement of a tray in an upright position when moved to the preloading position. The restrainers are pressure activated. A tray may be released from the preloading to the loading position by applying gentle pressure against its restrainer.
The dimensions of the cooking trays 3 are selected so as to provide a secure fit when placed within the cavity of an oven with which the oven tray assembly 1 is to be used. In one embodiment of the invention, the trays are 530 x 350mm, with a 20mm spacing between each of the trays, and the height of the oven tray assembly is set such that four assemblies may be stacked on top of one another in a 6 rack oven. This size of assembly enables a user to easily lift it and thus results in an extremely portable assembly. However, it will be appreciated that any other size of assembly could equally be used, depending on the required use.
The oven tray assembly of the present invention has numerous advantages over prior art techniques. The provision of two loading positions of the oven tray assembly simplifies the loading and unloading of food. The trays can be loaded external to the oven one at a time without interfering with adjacent trays. When the oven is free for use, the portability of the oven tray assembly enables the assembly to be simply lifted into the oven. In addition, the loading of items of food external to the oven reduces the time required between heating cycles, and consequently increases productivity. Furthermore, the unloading of the items of food is simple, as the assembly may simply be rotated through 90 degrees until the items of food discharge under gravity. The two positions of the oven tray assembly also enable the trays to be easily cleaned.
The oven tray assembly is also designed to provide easy manoeuvring of trays between their two positions. The provision of a detachable handle also results in safer operation of the assembly, in particular when removing the trays from a high temperature oven, as no hot handling of the trays is required.
The placing of items of food directly onto the trays provides for uniform heat transfer rate to the food items, so that at the end of the heating cycle the items of food will be at a uniform temperature throughout. This avoids local overheating. Furthermore, the time required to achieve the desired cooking temperature is minimised. The oven tray assembly additionally maximises the capacity of the ovens for slender items. For example, in contrast to a prior art oven rack arrangement, where a 6-rack oven would accommodate 6 trays, the assembly of the present invention enables 4 assemblies each holding 4 trays to be accommodated in such an oven.
The words "comprises/comprising" and the words "having/including" when used herein with reference to the present invention are used to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.
It is appreciated that certain features of the invention, which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

Claims

An oven tray assembly for use with a oven comprising:
at least one support; and

a plurality of cooking trays, each tray being attachable to the at least one support, one above the other with a spacing between them;
wherein at least one of the plurality of trays is adapted such that it is moveable with respect to the at least one support between an upright preloading position, and a substantially horizontal loading position.
An oven tray assembly as claimed in Claim 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of trays is pivotably attached to the at least one support for enabling the movement of the tray between the preloading and the loading position.
An oven tray assembly as claimed in Claim 2, wherein one side of each tray is pivotably attachable to the at least one support.
An oven tray assembly as claimed in Claim 3, further comprising a protrusion attached to each of the trays at the side opposite the attachable side, the protrusion adapted to provide stability to that tray.
An oven tray assembly as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the support includes at least one restrainer, each restrainer associated with one of the at least one of the plurality of trays and adapted to retain the tray in the preloading position.
An oven tray assembly as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the tray is movable from the preloading to the loading position by applying pressure to the restrainer.
An oven tray assembly as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the trays are moveable from the loading to the preloading position by inversion of the oven tray assembly.
An oven tray assembly as claimed in any of the preceding claims further comprising a detachable handle for moving the oven tray assembly.
An oven tray assembly as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the trays are detachably attached to the at least one support.
An oven tray assembly as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the tray located at the lowest vertical position in the at least one support is immovably attached to the at least one support.
An oven tray assembly as claimed in any of the preceding claims further comprising two supports for attachment of the trays.
An oven tray assembly as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the spacing between each tray is equal.