Support bar attachment for an electric heater element
US6097003A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 9, 1998 |
| Grant date | Aug 1, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 9, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH05B3/16
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An apparatus (10) supports an electrical heating element (H) which is mounted in an oven (O). When supplied with electricity, the element heats the oven to cook food. During an operating cycle, the heating element expands and contracts along its length. The apparatus comprises a support bar (12) including an elongate plate (16) and bracketry (14) for mounting the plate to an inner wall (T) of the oven. The support bar extends orthogonally of a longitudinal axis of the heating element when the heating element is installed. The plate has spaced openings (18), each of which is sized for a length of the heating element to be fitted in an opening. Each opening comprises a slot one end of which extends into the body of the plate for a portion of the plate to cover the slot. The other end of the slot is open to receive the heating element, the portion of the heating element received in each slot being fitted into the covered end of the slot. The segments of the heating element are constrained in the slots when the heating element heats up due to flow of electricity through the element so the segments expand only along a desired axis of the heating element.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.