Maytag Corporation

Timothy J Arntz

Robert Z Whipple, Jr

Mark A Pickering

Sondra Denice Proffitt

S Todd Brooks

Dennis Michael Brandon Burns

Dustin L Hawkins

Michael E Bales

William D Barritt

John Scott Brown

Jeffrey B Ensley

Trieu Huynh

Steven Todd Brooks

Herbert Dustin Sims

William Darryl Sneed

Damien L Esprit

David M Lorenz

A cooking appliance includes a frame having a bottom wall for supporting heating elements and a peripheral side portion that extends from and about an outer periphery of the bottom wall so as to define a chassis upon which is arranged a cooktop. The peripheral side portion includes a plurality of openings that lead into the chassis. A control box is mounted in the chassis for housing control elements and associated electronics. The control box includes a plurality of side walls, with at least one of the side walls being provided with a vent which opens into the chassis. A fan is mounted within the chassis wherein, when the fan is activated, a cooling airflow is developed, with a first portion being drawn directly into the chassis, while a second portion first enters the control box housing before being directed into the chassis. A cover can be disposed beneath the chassis to guide and disperse the airflow.

Ventilation system for a cooking appliance

A microwave delivery system for a cooking appliance includes a toroidal waveguide, a launching zone and a waveguide cover. The launching zone includes opposing top, bottom and side walls that form a pathway for a microwave energy field to travel from a magnetron through the waveguide and into a cooking chamber. In accordance with one aspect of the overall invention, the bottom wall of the launching zone is aligned with a bottom surface of the waveguide to establish a direct conducting surface for the microwave energy field. The waveguide cover shields a hollow interior portion of the waveguide from cooking byproducts generated in the cooking chamber during a cooking process. The waveguide cover is preferably constituted by a metallic conductor having a finish that enhances the microwave energy field distribution in the cooking chamber.

Microwave delivery system for a cooking appliance

A rapid cook convection oven is constructed to efficiently cook a food item by breaking down a thermal insulation layer maintained about the food, while effectively removing contaminates from within a convection air flow. The rapid cook oven preferably includes both a microwave cooking system and a convection cooking system. The convection cooking system is provided with a dual flow fan adapted to simultaneously draw in an oven air flow from a cooking chamber and a fresh air flow from the surroundings. In order to reduce the presence of contaminates and, by extension, smoke, the two air flows are combined in a mixing chamber and passed over a heating element arranged within a combustion chamber prior to re-entry into the cooking chamber.

Rapid cook oven with dual flow fan assembly

An accelerated cooking feature for use in an appliance having an oven cavity includes a forced air convection system having an electronic control unit, a variable speed, bi-directional fan motor, and a directionally vented cover plate. The appliance operates in at least three modes, constituted by a convection mode, a radiant bake mode and a self-clean mode. In the convection mode, the controller operates the fan motor in a first direction at a speed dependent upon a selected cooking process, with various air streams being directed into distinct regions of the oven cavity. During the radiant bake mode, the controller operates the fan motor in a reverse direction to establish a uniform cooking environment. In the self-clean mode, high speed air currents are directed into the oven cavity and, in combination with a top broil element, perform a pyrolytic cleaning process.

Cooking appliance having accelerated cooking system

A cooking appliance includes a grilling grate supported directly above at least one heating element and situated adjacent to a downdraft grill. The grilling grate includes structure to effectively shield the heating element(s) from an air flow generated during operation of the downdraft system. More specifically, the grilling grate includes a grilling surface on an upper side, and a plurality of conductive heat members on a lower side. The conductive heat members have side portions which extend about the heating element in order to cloak the heating element from the effects of the airflow produced by the downdraft system thereby providing a more efficient means of energy transfer to the grilling surface.

Heater cloaking grill grate system for downdraft cooking appliance

A quick-cook type convection cooking appliance includes an oven cavity in communication with an air channel assembly incorporating a radial byproduct trap and filter assembly defining a concentric ring-type baffle filter having two cylindrical sets of opposing air baffles. As recirculating air passes outwardly between deflectors of the baffle, the air is accelerated by a nozzle-type effect prior to impacting a center zone of an outer baffle deflector. This arrangement causes part of liquid and/or solid phases, such as grease, fats, and moisture, of the air flow to be deposited or trapped between the baffles. The air flow is then redirected back towards the inner baffle where, once again, the air impacts an inner baffle deflector that removes additional byproducts from the air. Finally, the air exits with a high uniform air flow pattern between respective deflectors of an outer baffle.

Radial byproduct trap and filter assembly for a cooking appliance

A filtering system for a downdraft cooking appliance includes a filter assembly arranged directly below an air grill leading to a venting plenum. The filter assembly includes a liner which supports a filter element and is removably positioned inside the plenum. The filter element can be arranged inside the liner, attached thereto or insert molded into the liner material. The liner is preferably suspended from the air grill so as to be readily removable in unison with the grill for inspection, cleaning or replacement. In a preferred embodiment, the liner is formed with opposing, outwardly projecting flanges which slide into mating channels formed into the underside of the grill. With this arrangement, exposure of the wall surfaces of the plenum to the cooking byproducts is minimized, thereby greatly reducing any necessary cleaning of these surfaces.

Downdraft filter assembly for a cooking appliance

A gas burner mounting assembly includes a gas injector having a main body portion positioned between a chassis member of a gas cooking appliance and a ceramic based cooktop of the appliance. The gas injector also includes an upper body portion which extends through an aperture formed in the cooktop. A burner retention bracket is interposed between the main body portion of the gas injector and an underside of the cooktop. A resilient support preferably acts between the gas injector and the cooktop, although no rigid attachment is made between these elements. The gas injector is mechanically, fixedly secured to the cooktop in order to allow the gas injector to flex with the cooktop.

Growing community of inventors

Cleveland, TN, United States of America

Timothy J Arntz