US3724440A - Portable oven - Google Patents

Abstract

A portable gas or electric oven comprising a wire framework which is easily assembled and disassembled and which embodies means for efficiently supporting a burner in position for broiling or baking of foods supported in the oven, and which further embodies rigid wall portions and, if desired, a disposable wall covering which may be utilized during actual cooking processes and thereafter discarded, and which may be eliminated entirely for oven demonstration purposes.

Description

United States Patent 1 91 11 1 3,7 24,440 Clark et al. [451 Apr. 3, 1973 1 PORTABLE OVEN 2,058,836 10/1936 Silver ..l26/9 R 2,839,043 6/1958 La Born .....l26/9 B [75] lm'emors' Robert clarkAllenmwn 3,308,807 3/1967 Little eta]. ..126/275 R L. Helgeson, Macungie, both of Pa.

[73] Assignee: Raytheon Company, Lexington,

Mass.

[22] Filed: Feb. 25, 1972 [21] Appl. N0.: 229,423

[52] US. Cl. .l26/9 R, 126/275 [51] Int. Cl. ..F24c 1/16, A47j 37/07 [58] Field of Search.. ..l26/9, 25, 275, 29

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,234,596 3/1941 Heilman ..l26/275 R 2,048,769 7/1936 Anderson ..l26/9 R Primary Examiner-Edward G. Favors Attorney-Harold A. Murphy et al.

57 ABSTRACT A portable gas or electric oven comprising a wire framework which is easily assembled and disassembled and which embodies means for efficiently supporting a burner in position for broiling or baking of foods supported in the oven, and which further embodies rigid wall portions and, if desired, a disposable wall covering which may be utilized during actual cooking processes and thereafter discarded, and which may be eliminated entirely for oven demonstration purposes.

6 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTEUAPRS I975 3.724 440 SHEET 1 OF 2 F/G. Z

PATENTEDAPR 3 ms SHEET 2 BF 2 PORTABLE OVEN BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the business of manufacturing and selling appliances such as ovens, and particularly of the burners used therein, it is often desirable and practical to provide special portable demonstration units which can be quickly and easily assembled and disassembled for many reasons related to economy, weight reduction and space saving. Obviously it is not practical when promoting a particular burner unit, for example, to move a complete domestic oven around to various locations for this purpose. However, a large enough market does not exist which would warrant manufacture of demonstration units on a production basis.

Portable knock-down grills have been made for some time. However, in most known devices of this type the structures are usually unstable or difficult to assemble and disassemble. In most cases the devices require solid fuels and are not readily adaptable for use with gas or electric burners.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above and other objections to conventional devices are overcome by the present invention wherein there is provided a portable gas or electric oven which is comprised primarily of a group of wire frame elements which are structured to be assembled together as a relatively rigid unit which may be quickly and easily assembled and disassembled, which includes means for supporting an electric or gas burner in bake or broil position, which may be utilized as a demonstrator wherein clear viewing of a burner during operation is permitted, and which further includes a disposable enclosing wrapper for use during actual baking or broiling operations.

The assembly comprises wire-type front and rear supports, and a pair of opposite sides having upper and lower inwardly flanged areas which fit over the ends of wire uprights on the supports, the upper flanges resting upon transverse rod portions of the front and rear supports and thereby retaining the sides in their assembled positions. A bottom plate is also fitted upon the lower ends of the legs of the front and rear supports and is held in place by the lower flanges on the sides.

The supports are provided with supporting means on which a burner unit is restrainedly positioned in either broiling or baking position, and the sides have removably assembled therewith runners for use in supporting shelves for carrying food in a selected position to be broiled or baked, as the case may be.

The sides may be solid sheets of metal, or may be wire structures. A disposable metal foil bag or wrapper is also provided for enclosing the assembled unit when the unit is to be used for actual broiling or baking operations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an oven embodying the invention:

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of one of the end supports in the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of-the other end support in the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of one of the side panels of the device;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of a shelf support or runner;

FIG. 6 is an isometric view of a gas-fueled burner utilizable with the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an isometric view of an electric heating element to be used with the device;

FIG. 8 is an isometric view of an alternate side panel; and

FIG. 9 is an isometric view of a device including a disposable enclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring more particularly to the drawings, a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 1 as including a framework of wire supports comprising front and back supports 10 and 12 respectively, side panels 14 and bottom panel 16.

Front support 10, as seen best in FIG. 2, comprises a pair of spaced vertical posts 18 and 20 and upper and lower cross rods 22 and 24 respectively. Cross rods 22 and 24 are welded at their ends to the posts at points spaced a short distance from the ends thereof. The extended portions 18a and 20a of the lower ends of posts 18 and 20 thus become the front legs of the device.

The rear support 12 has a pair of spaced interval support posts 26 and 28 similar to posts 18 and 20, and spaced upper and lower transverse cross rods 30 and 32 respectively. Cross rods 30 and 32 are welded attheir ends to the posts 26 and 28 at points spaced a short distance from the ends thereof whereby the lower end portions 26a and 28a of the posts become the rear legs of the device.

Each side panel 14 comprises a metal sheet, which may be plated with chromium if desired to enhance heat reflectivity, and which has inturned flanges 14a and 14b along its respective upper and lower edges. The bottom plate 16 is a sheet of metal which also may be made highly heat reflective, particularly on its upper or inner surface, if desired.

The frame is assembled easily and quickly by first inserting legs 18a, 20a, 26a and 28a in openings provided therefor in bottom plate 16. Then one of the side panels 14 is mounted by inserting leg 18a of front support 10 and leg 26a of rear support 12 in openings 34 (FIG. 4) of bottom flange 14b of the selected side panel 14. Then the upper end of the side panel is mounted upon the upper ends of posts 18 and 26 by hooking the holes 36 therein over the ends of the posts 18 and 26. Upper flange 14a will then rest upon the cross rods 22 and 30. The lower flange 14b is disposed beneath the bottom plate 16 and holds it firmly up against cross rods 24 and 32. The other side panel 14 is similarly mounted on the upper and lower ends of the posts 20 and 28. This provides a relatively rigid oven structure wherein the sides and bottom are enclosed.

A heating unit, which may be a gas-fueled unit 38 or an electrical element 40, is adapted to be mounted either in the upper portion of the oven for broiling purposes or in the lower portion for baking. ln-FIG. l a gas-fueled unit 38 is shown in the broiling location. Details of such a gas burner are not believed necessary here except insofar as they are shown in FIG. 6.

The preferred unit 38 in FIGS. 1 and 6 is a radiant burner which includes a burner box 42 on the under side of which is a combustion screen structure 44 as is well known in the art. Such a radiant gas burner is shown and described in U. S. Pat. No. 3,122,197. At one end of the box 42 is a venturi 46 having at its outer end a duct cup 48 which is secured to the end of the venturi by'a collar 50. A gas feed line 52 is connected at one end to a gas supply such as a propane tank (not shown) and at its other end is connected to the duct cup in such a manner that air is supplied simultaneously with the flow of gas so that a suitable air-gas mixture passes through the venturi 46 into box 42 for combustion, when ignited, at screen 44.

So that the burner unit 38 may be retained in position in the top portion of the oven, two supporting brackets 54 extend from the end of the box opposite the venturi, as shown in FIG. 6. When the burner unit is in the upper position with its screen 44 facing down as shown in FIG. 1, the brackets 44 will rest upon a U- shaped bar 56 which is fixed to and extends inwardly from cross rod 22 of front support 10. Bar 56 actually is provided with two spaced indentations 58 (FIG. 2) which receive the brackets 54 and prevent the unit from easily sliding transversely of the oven along the bar. Each bracket is provided with a downwardly extending lug 60 which fits against the outer side of bar 56 to prevent movement of the burner unit toward the rear of the oven.

At the other end of the apparatus, the cross rod 30 of rear support 12 is provided with a U-shaped depressed portion 62 in which the venturi 46 is located. The duct cup collar 50 rests against the outer side of the rod 30 and thus prevents the burner unit from moving forwardly.

The lower cross rods 24 and 32 of front and rear supports and 12 are similarly provided with means for supporting the burner unit 38 in the lower or baking position. To accomplish this, the burner unit 38 is inverted so that its screen 44 faces upward. In this case the brackets 54 rest on bar 56a in indentations 58a, and venturi 46 rests on rear cross rod 32 in depressed portion 62a. Lugs 60a on the brackets 54 function with collar 50 to prevent dislocation longitudinally of the burner unit. When using the burner in this way for baking, a sheet of metal (not shown) must be placed above the burner to extend across the oven so that any food in contacted by heat via convection around the edges of the sheet. Without the sheet any cooking is achieved by radiated heat.

In FIG. 7 an electrical unit 40 is shown comprising a shallow concave support 64 within which a heating element 66 is suspended. Element 66 is supported at one end on one end portion 64a of the support. A rigid tube 68 has one end secured to the portion 64a of the support and has a ring or collar 70 at its other end. A cable 72 passes through the tube 68 to the heating element for supplying electrical current thereto.

At the opposite end 64b of the support 64 are located two brackets 74 similar to the brackets 54 on the gas burner 38. It will be apparent that the electrical unit 40 can be mounted in the broiling or baking position in the oven in a manner similar to the gas burner described above. The inner surface of support 64 may be reflectorized if desired.

The side panels 14 are provided with two spaced holes 90 which are adapted to receive hooked upper end portions 92 of vertically extending wirelike posts However, when it is desired to use the described portable apparatus for actual cooking, it probably will be preferable to utilize side panels having the shape shown in FIG. 8. Such a side panel 76 has spaced verti cal end strips 78 with upper and lower apertured end flanges 80 by which the panels are mounted on the front and rear supports in the same manner as panels 14. However, panels 76 comprise upper and lower cross rods 82-84 and connecting vertical posts 86 between the strips 78. Thus, the side panels 76 will accumulate much less soil during a cooking process than will the solid panels 14.

In order to prevent air currents from affecting a cooking pRocess there is also provided a generally bagshaped container 88 of aluminum foil, for example, which is adapted to fit over the entire oven. Thus, during a cooking process most of the splatter or spilled surfaces of the container 88. The container 88, being disposable, may thereafter be easily removed and discarded. The container 88 must, of course, be provided with means such as openings 90 near the bottom for permitting entrance of air into the device, and with an opening 92 at or near the top to function as a flue.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that a novel economical and easily assembled and disassembled portable oven structure has been provided in accordance with the objectives of this invention. It is to be understood, however, that modifications in the structure shown and described may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention as expressed in the accompanying claims. Accordingly, all matter shownand described is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

We claim:

1. A collapsible oven comprising a first pair of opposing side wall members, and a second pair of opposing side wall members detachably connected to and supported by said first pair of wall members and defining therewith an oven compartment, said first pair of opposing wall members having support means for removably supporting a heating unit in position of use thereon, a heating unit removably positioned on said support means, and means for supporting an article to be heated within the oven.

2. An oven as set forth in claim 1 wherein said first pair of side wall members each has upper and lower cross rods and a pair of vertical end rods connected to the respective adjacent ends of said cross rods, and said upper and lower cross rods carry heating unit supporting means whereby the heating unit may be positioned at different selected positions of use.

3. An oven as set forth in claim 2 wherein said support means comprises recess means for receiving said heating unit, and said heating unit has means interfitting with said recess means for preventing accidental lateral and longitudinal displacement of said heating unit. v

4. An oven comprising a framework having a first pair of opposing wall members, and a second pair of opposing wall members connected to and supported by said first pair of wall members, said first pair of wall members each having upper and lower cross rods and a pair of vertical end rods connected to the respective adjacent ends of said cross rods, and said second pair of members each having connecting means at the upper and lower ends thereof which interfit with said vertical end rods for support thereby, said vertical end rods being of a length to extend beyond the connections with said cross rods,and said second pair of wall members each having an inwardly angled upper and lower end portion having apertures therein aligned with the adjacent ends of said vertical rods, the extended ends of the rods penetrating said apertures for supporting said second pair of wall members.

5. An oven as set forth in claim 4 wherein said second pair of opposing wall members comprise sheets of metal extending parallel with and overlying respective adjacent vertical rods of said first pair of wall members and having apertured flanges on their upper and lower edges which are hooked over the adjacent ends of said vertical rods for support thereon.

6. An oven as set forth in claim 5 wherein said sheets of metal are vertically extending spaced strips connected by spaced wires.

Claims (6)

1. A collapsible oven comprising a first pair of opposing side wall members, and a second pair of opposing side wall members detachably connected to and supported by said first pair of wall members and defining therewith an oven compartment, said first pair of opposing wall members having support means for removably supporting a heating unit in position of use thereon, a heating unit removably positioned on said support means, and means for supporting an article to be heated within the oven.

2. An oven as set forth in claim 1 wherein said first pair of side wall members each has upper and lower cross rods and a pair of vertical end rods connected to the respective adjacent ends of said cross rods, and said upper and lower cross rods carry heating unit supporting means whereby the heating unit may be positioned at different selected positions of use.

3. An oven as set forth in claim 2 wherein said support means comprises recess means for receiving said heating unit, and said heating unit has means interfitting with said recess means for preventing accidental lateral and longitudinal displacement of said heating unit.

4. An oven comprising a framework having a first pair of opposing wall members, and a second pair of opposing wall members connected to and supported by said first pair of wall members, said first pair of wall members each having upper and lower cross rods and a pair of vertical end rods connected to the respective adjacent ends of said cross rods, and said second pair of members each having connecting means at the upper and lower ends thereof which interfit with said vertical end rods for support thereby, said vertical end rods being of a length to extend beyond the connections with said cross rods, and said second pair of wall members each having an inwardly angled upper and lower end portion having apertures therein aligned with the adjacent ends of said vertical rods, the extended ends of the rods penetrating said apertures for supporting said second pair of wall members.

5. An oven as set forth in claim 4 wherein said second pair of opposing wall members comprise sheets of metal extending parallel with and overlying respective adjacent vertical rods of said first pair of wall members and having apertured flanges on their upper and lower edges which are hooked over the adjacent ends of said vertical rods for support thereon.

6. An oven as set forth in claim 5 wherein said sheets of metal are vertically extending spaced strips connected by spaced wires.

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