Configurable oven rack system

Abstract

An oven to facilitate heating a food item is disclosed that includes an oven box one or more upper heating elements, and one or more lower heating elements. The oven box has a floor, a ceiling spaced across a height of the oven box from the floor, and at least one side wall that extends between the floor and the ceiling to at least partially delineate an interior of the oven box from an exterior thereof. The one or more upper heating elements are spaced proximate the ceiling relative to the one or more lower heating elements. The one or more lower heating elements are spaced proximate the floor relative to the one or more upper heating elements. The one or more lower heating elements are arranged in a first pattern and the one or more upper heating elements arranged in a second pattern. The first pattern is different than the second pattern.

1 . An oven rack system to facilitate heating a food item, the system comprising:
 an oven rack comprising:
 an array of oven slots to receive correspondingly shaped and sized ovens, 
 a respective slot electrical interface for each oven slot to provide electrical coupling for each correspondingly shaped and sized oven when each correspondingly shaped and sized oven is inserted into a respective oven slot; 
   a plurality of loadable ovens insertable into the oven slots, each loadable oven comprising:
 one or more heating elements, 
 one or more respective doors, and 
 a respective oven electrical interface, wherein a respective slot electrical interface of an oven slot is electrically coupled to a respective oven electrical interface when a loadable oven is inserted into a respective oven slot in the oven rack; 
   a common electrical power distribution bus coupled to the respective slot electrical interfaces of the oven slots, the common electrical power distribution bus operable to power individual oven slots containing loadable ovens; and   a temperature control system to control a temperature of one or more loadable ovens within the plurality of loadable ovens by regulating the one or more heating elements of the ovens, the temperature control system including at least one processor and at least one processor-readable medium communicatively coupled to the at least one processor.   
     
     
         2 .- 6 . (canceled) 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the array of oven slots contained in the oven rack is configured to translate in a horizontal direction, in a vertical direction, in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction, or horizontally and vertically in a looping configuration within the oven rack. 
     
     
         8 .- 9 . (canceled) 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the array of oven slots contained in the oven rack is configured to rotate within the oven rack about a central axis. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 one or more cameras and/or one or more proximity sensors to confirm whether an oven is loaded in an oven slot, determine a position of an oven door, confirm whether an oven is loaded with a food item, or combinations thereof.   
     
     
         12 .- 13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the array of oven slots in the oven rack is constructed to receive one or more correspondingly shaped and sized refrigeration units that are loadable in the oven slots. 
     
     
         15 . (canceled) 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the temperature control system is configured to modify a cooking profile of an oven based on one or more of quantity, size, and heating coefficients of food items that were recently cooked; humidity; starting temperature of the oven; or peak cooking temperature of the oven. 
     
     
         17 .- 22 . (canceled) 
     
     
         23 . An oven rack system to facilitate heating a food item, the system comprising:
 an oven rack comprising:
 an array of oven slots to receive correspondingly shaped and sized ovens, 
 a respective slot electrical interface for each oven slot to provide electrical coupling for each correspondingly shaped and sized oven when each correspondingly shaped and sized oven is inserted into a respective oven slot; 
   a plurality of loadable ovens insertable into the oven slots, each loadable oven comprising:
 one or more heating elements, 
 one or more respective doors, and 
 a respective oven electrical interface, wherein a respective slot electrical interface of an oven slot is electrically coupled to a respective oven electrical interface when a loadable oven is inserted into a respective oven slot in the oven rack; and 
   one or more of:   a transfer robot comprising:
 a robotic arm located in a cargo area and movable with respect to at least a first one of a pair of side walls, and 
 an end tool mechanically coupled to the robotic arm and selectively positionable to selectively interact with each of the ovens of the array of ovens; or 
 a conveyor system housed within the oven rack and configured to translate or rotate the array of oven slots within the oven rack. 
   
     
     
         24 .- 25 . (canceled) 
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 23 , wherein the end tool of the robotic arm is selectively positionable to selectively insert a respective food item into each of the ovens of the array of ovens or withdraw the respective food item from each of the ovens of the array of ovens. 
     
     
         27 .- 28 . (canceled) 
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 23 , wherein the robotic arm includes a finger extension to selectively interact with the one or more respective doors of each of the ovens of the array of ovens. 
     
     
         30 . (canceled) 
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 23 , wherein the robotic arm includes one or more of:
 robotic-based electrical key, a robotic-based mechanical key, a robotic-based transmission signal, a robotic-based actuation gripper, or combinations thereof configured to open oven doors, insert the ovens into the array of oven slots, or remove the ovens from the array of oven slots;   one or more cameras or one or more proximity sensors to confirm a position of a food item.   
     
     
         32 .- 102 . (canceled) 
     
     
         103 . An oven rack system to facilitate heating a food item, the system comprising:
 an oven rack comprising:
 an array of oven slots to receive correspondingly shaped and sized ovens, 
 a respective slot electrical interface for each oven slot to provide electrical coupling for each correspondingly shaped and sized oven when each correspondingly shaped and sized oven is inserted into a respective oven slot; and 
   a plurality of loadable ovens insertable into the oven slots, each of the loadable ovens comprising: one or more respective doors, a respective oven electrical interface, and an oven box, the oven box comprising:
 a floor, a ceiling spaced across a height of the oven box from a floor of the oven box, at least one side wall that extends between the floor and the ceiling to at least partially delineate an interior of the oven box from an exterior thereof, one or more upper heating elements proximate the ceiling, and one or more lower heating elements proximate the floor, 
   wherein the one or more upper heating elements have a different pattern than a pattern of the one or more lower heating elements.   
     
     
         104 . The system of  claim 103 , wherein a pattern formed by the one or more upper heating elements is individually matched to cooking characteristics of a food item's upper surface, and a pattern formed by the one or more lower heating elements is individually matched to cooking characteristics of a food item's lower surface to evenly cook the food items in the loadable ovens, when the cooking characteristics of the food item's upper surface are different from the cooking characteristics of the food item's lower surface. 
     
     
         105 . The system of  claim 103 , wherein the a pattern formed by the one or more upper heating elements and a pattern formed by the one or more lower heating elements include longitudinal heating elements, traverse heating elements, grid-patterned heating elements, cross-hatch patterned heating elements, radially extending heating elements, concentric-circular patterned heating elements, a series of zig-zagging heating elements, volute-patterned heating elements, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         106 .- 107 . (canceled) 
     
     
         108 . The system of  claim 103 , wherein individual elements of the one or more upper heating elements, individual elements of the one or more lower heating elements, or both, are movable to change cooking characteristics of the one or more heating elements and exchangeable with a second set of upper heating elements or lower heating elements that have a different pattern for food items with different cooking characteristics. 
     
     
         109 .- 133 . (canceled) 
     
     
         134 . The system of  claim 103 , further comprising:
 a support structure upon which the food item is placed during a cooking process, the support structure including elements that are spaced and patterned to have a minimum surface area in contact with the food items, wherein the elements are configured as a grate, a grill, a screen, a grid, cross-hatched, or combinations therein.   
     
     
         135 . The system of  claim 103 , wherein the elements of the support structure are one or more of movable, bendable, or exchangeable to change the minimum surface area in contact with a food item based upon the food item. 
     
     
         136 .- 139 . (canceled) 
     
     
         140 . The system of  claim 103 , further comprising an electronic communications bus that interfaces with each oven slot in the oven rack and is communicably coupled to any loadable oven that is inserted into an oven slot in the oven rack. 
     
     
         141 .- 159 . (canceled) 
     
     
         160 . The system of  claim 103 , further comprising:
 a combination refrigeration system, wherein the loadable ovens are thermally insulated units that each include one or more refrigerant coils in addition to having one or more heating elements.   
     
     
         161 . The system of  claim 103 , further comprising:
 a combination refrigeration system, wherein the array of oven slots in the oven rack are also constructed to receive correspondingly shaped and sized refrigeration units that are loadable in the oven slots instead of the loadable ovens.   
     
     
         162 .- 239 . (canceled)