Appliance and a rack assembly for the same
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A rack assembly for an appliance, the rack assembly defining a lateral direction and a vertical direction, the lateral and vertical directions being perpendicular to each other, the rack assembly comprising:
- a shelf for supporting food items and cooking utensils;
a geared rack that extends along the lateral direction;
a pair of gears positioned adjacent the geared rack, the gears meshing with each other and the geared rack;
an actuator assembly configured for selectively disengaging at least one gear of the pair of gears from the geared rack; and
a support link extending between and coupling at least one of the pair of gears to the shelf.
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Abstract
A rack assembly for an appliance includes a geared rack and a pair of gears. The gears of the pair of gears mesh with each other and the geared rack. The rack assembly also includes a shelf and a support link that couples that shelf to at least one of the pair of gears. The geared rack and pair of gears can assist with selectively adjusting a vertical height of the shelf.
12 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A rack assembly for an appliance, the rack assembly defining a lateral direction and a vertical direction, the lateral and vertical directions being perpendicular to each other, the rack assembly comprising:
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a shelf for supporting food items and cooking utensils; a geared rack that extends along the lateral direction; a pair of gears positioned adjacent the geared rack, the gears meshing with each other and the geared rack; an actuator assembly configured for selectively disengaging at least one gear of the pair of gears from the geared rack; and a support link extending between and coupling at least one of the pair of gears to the shelf. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An appliance, the appliance defining a vertical direction, a lateral direction, and a transverse direction, the vertical, lateral, and transverse directions being mutually perpendicular, the appliance comprising:
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a cabinet having interior walls that define a chamber, the interior walls of the cabinet including sidewalls spaced apart from each other along the transverse direction; a shelf assembly positioned within the chamber of the cabinet, the shelf assembly comprising a support feature mounted to the cabinet at one of the sidewalls of the cabinet; a geared rack mounted to the support feature, the geared rack extending along the lateral direction; a pairs of gears positioned adjacent the geared rack, the gears meshing with each other and the geared rack; an actuator assembly configured for selectively disengaging at least one of the pair of gears from the geared rack; a shelf for supporting items thereon; and a support link coupling at least one of the pair of gears to the shelf. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A rack assembly for an appliance, the rack assembly defining a vertical direction and a lateral direction that are perpendicular to each other, the rack assembly comprising:
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a shelf for supporting food items and cooking utensils; and a shelf adjustment assembly for supporting the shelf at various positions along the vertical direction, the shelf adjustment assembly comprising a geared rack that extends along the lateral direction; a pair of gears positioned adjacent the geared rack, the gears meshing with each other and the geared rack; and an actuator assembly configured for selectively disengaging at least one of the pair of gears from the geared rack. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification