General Electric Company

General Electric Corporation Gmbh

Arthur C Wilson

David Laurence Kinny

Ralph G Hawkins

Frank L Rice

Ray C Eigelbach

An oven rack for an oven provides includes a first portion and a second portion extending from the first portion. A pair of handles extend from the first portion to permit a user to easily grasp the oven rack. A support system is attached to the oven rack and extends from the first portion to contact a bottom surface of a cooking chamber when the oven rack is installed in the oven and permits the oven rack to be used as a countertop trivet rack. An oven rack is provided which increases the cooking capacity of the cooking chamber.

Trivet oven rack

An improved arrangement for insulating the oven liner in a domestic range in which a single batt of insulating material is wrapped around the top, bottom and side walls of the oven liner such that the opposite end portions of the batt overlap each over the entire top wall of the oven liner to provide a double layer of insulation over the top wall and a single layer over the side and bottom walls. The batt is held in place by the oven exhaust vent stack which pierces both overlapping layers. The use of the vent stack for this purpose, together with the reduced thickness of the batt covering the side walls, eliminates the need for bands to secure the batt.

Insulation system for domestic ranges

A range with a lift-up cooktop is provided with an integrally formed non-metallic combination cooktop locator and support rod race member to position the cooktop relative to the rang body when the lift-up cooktop is in its lowered position and to provide a non-metallic bearing surface for the support rod to slide against when the lift-up cooktop is raised and lowered.

Lift-up cooktop locator with combined function as support rod race

Compartment partition assembly and method for a refrigerator cabinet of the type having an outer shell, an inner liner with a rear wall and side walls and a partition separating the freezer and fresh food compartments. There is provided a channel having a bottom and upper and lower side walls formed on each of the side walls of the refrigerator liner. An insulating member is formed having a top, bottom, side, front and rear walls, the bottom wall of which overlies a plate defining a surface of the fresh food compartment. The top wall of the insulating member is formed to provide a drain and sealing system having troughs with exterior walls along the periphery of the top wall adjacent the side and rear walls of the insulating member and deflected inwardly by the rear wall of the liner and the upper side walls of the liner channels. This compartment partition assembly prevents any gaps or thermal leakage and provides a drain system for defrosting the freezer compartment.

Refrigerator compartment partition and method of assembly

A method of assembling a refrigerator cabinet having an outer metal shell with side walls, a plastic inner liner and an insulation partition separating a freezer and fresh food compartment. Mounting brackets each having a preset fastener location are mounted on each side of the outer shell adjacent the partition. The insulation partition is faced with a plastic mullion component having a cutout section at both ends. A flexible metal tension cross member is formed having a preset fastener opening at each end thereof spaced apart a distance such that when the flexible metal tension cross member is utilized to draw the cabinet side walls together and fastened at both ends at the preset fastener openings to the preset fastener locations on the partition mounting brackets the outer shell of the refrigerator cabinet will have the desired correct cabinet width.

Method of assembling a refrigerator

A cooking oven of the heat-cleaning type in which substantially all of the energy for heating the oven to heat-cleaning temperature is initially supplied by the upper or broil heating element. The broil unit is initially energized to raise the oven cavity temperature to the heat cleaning range during which time volatile portions of food by-products are evaporated, whereupon the broil unit is de-energized and the lower or bake heating element energized to maintain the temperature of the oven cavity in the heat cleaning range. The location of the lower bake unit relative to the lower wall of the oven cavity is dimensioned to insure that the temperature of the more difficult to clean front portion of the lower wall of the oven adjacent the door opening is maintained at heat-cleaning temperature for a time sufficient to effect removal of food by-products.

Pyrolytic oven cleaning system

A latch assembly for securing a microwave oven door with an inner liner to the front face of the microwave oven including two spaced latch pawls pivotally secured to an elongated support member in the door and projecting through the inner liner of the door and movable to latching and unlatching positions. The pawls are individually biased to the latching position and a vertical handle on the outside of the door is secured to a transverse vertical actuator member such that upon pulling the handle, the actuator member rotates and pivots the pawls in unison to the unlatching position. The actuator member has secured at each end thereof pivot rods extending longitudinally beyond the actuator member and into bushings secured to the support member at each end. There is provided means to bias the actuator member longitudinally in one direction. By this arrangement close tolerance relationships are maintained for precise latching and unlatching of the latch assembly.

Door latch assembly

A push-to-turn knob design for a rotary switch to prevent accidental actuation of the switch by requiring a two-step operation sequence. This operating function is obtained without modifying the design of the rotary switch. Hence, a standard rotary switch can be easily converted to a push-to-turn operating sequence.

Two-step control knob operation

An appliance, such as a domestic oven, with a removable oven door hinged to the appliance. The hinge system includes a pair of hinge mechanisms, where each mechanism includes a stationary bracket supporting a pivoted door guide, a spring-loaded hinged lever carried by the door guide, and a separable mating member in the door for cooperation with the door guide. The door guide includes a slip-on self-supporting wire spring that is operable whenever there is a partial removal of the door from the door guide to cause a locking action between the door guide and the support bracket. When the door is reinstalled on the hinge mechanism, the wire spring is unlocked from the support bracket so the door may be closed.

Removable door hinge system

A door construction for an appliance such as a baking and broiling oven for domestic use. The door has a counterbalance spring mechanism at each side of the door that includes a swing link interposed between the tension spring and the hinge lever of the door to obtain a door balancing torque that substantially follows the torque of the door as it moves between a vertical closed position and a horizontal fully open position.

Growing community of inventors

Louisville, KY, United States of America

Arthur C Wilson