Oven appliance with airflow deflection

Abstract

An oven appliance includes a cabinet and a cooking chamber within the cabinet for receipt of food items for cooking. The cooking chamber is delineated by a plurality of walls including a bottom wall, a left side wall, a right side wall, and a back wall. A plurality of sliding rails extend in pairs from each of the left side wall and the right side wall. A heating chamber is defined below the cooking chamber. A heating element is positioned within the heating chamber. A plurality of air deflectors are positioned within the cooking chamber. The plurality of air deflectors are one of permanently or removably mountable on the back wall of the cooking chamber.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An oven appliance defining a vertical direction, a lateral direction, and a transverse direction, the vertical direction, lateral direction, and transverse direction mutually perpendicular, the oven appliance comprising:
 a cabinet;   a cooking chamber defined within the cabinet for receipt of food items for cooking, the cooking chamber delineated by a plurality of walls including a bottom wall, a left side wall, a right side wall, and a back wall;   a plurality of sliding rails extending in pairs from each of the left side wall and the right side wall, each pair of sliding rails of the plurality of sliding rails configured to hold a baking rack;   a heating chamber defined below the bottom wall of the cooking chamber, wherein a bottom surface of the bottom wall of the cooking chamber defines an uppermost boundary of the heating chamber;   a heating element positioned within the heating chamber;   a fan positioned at a back side of the heating chamber, the fan configured to pull air through the heating chamber and into the cooking chamber; and   a plurality of air deflectors positioned within the cooking chamber, the plurality of air deflectors one of permanently or removably mountable on the back wall of the cooking chamber.   
     
     
         2 . The oven appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the heating chamber comprises an inlet proximate one or more of a front side, the left side wall, and the right side wall of the heating chamber. 
     
     
         3 . The oven appliance of  claim 2 , wherein the heating chamber comprises an outlet at the back side of the heating chamber, the fan configured to pull air through the inlet, across the heating element, and out of the outlet. 
     
     
         4 . The oven appliance of  claim 3 , wherein the outlet at the back side of the heating chamber is positioned proximate the back wall of the cooking chamber such that air ejected from the outlet impinges on the back wall of the cooking chamber and rises vertically along the back wall of the cooking chamber. 
     
     
         5 . The oven appliance of  claim 4 , wherein each air deflector of the plurality of air deflectors is positioned on the back wall of the cooking chamber such that air may be deflected in the transverse direction away from the back wall of the cooking chamber and continue rising in the vertical direction away from the bottom wall of the cooking chamber. 
     
     
         6 . The oven appliance of  claim 1 , wherein each air deflector of the plurality of air deflectors is positioned at an angle between zero degrees and seventy degrees from the transverse direction towards an upward vertical direction. 
     
     
         7 . The oven appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising a first air deflector of the plurality of air deflectors positioned in the vertical direction between sliding rails of the plurality of sliding rails. 
     
     
         8 . The oven appliance of  claim 7 , further comprising a second air deflector of the plurality of air deflectors positioned in the vertical direction between other sliding rails of the plurality of sliding rails. 
     
     
         9 . The oven appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the heating element is one of an electric resistance element or a gas burner. 
     
     
         10 . An oven appliance defining a vertical direction, a lateral direction, and a transverse direction, the vertical direction, lateral direction, and transverse direction mutually perpendicular, the oven appliance comprising:
 a cabinet;   a cooking chamber defined within the cabinet for receipt of food items for cooking, the cooking chamber delineated by a plurality of walls including a left side wall, a right side wall, and a back wall;   a plurality of sliding rails extending in pairs from each of the left side wall and the right side wall, each pair of sliding rails of the plurality of sliding rails configured to hold a baking rack;   a heating chamber defined below the cooking chamber;   a heating element positioned within the heating chamber; and   an air deflector positioned within the cooking chamber, the air deflector one of permanently or removably mountable on the back wall of the cooking chamber.   
     
     
         11 . The oven appliance of  claim 10 , wherein the heating chamber comprises an inlet proximate one or more of a front side, the left side wall, and the right side wall of the heating chamber. 
     
     
         12 . The oven appliance of  claim 11 , wherein the heating chamber comprises an outlet at the back side of the heating chamber, such that air heated by the heating element may emanate from the outlet. 
     
     
         13 . The oven appliance of  claim 12 , wherein the outlet at the back side of the heating chamber is positioned proximate the back wall of the cooking chamber such that air emanating from the outlet impinges on the back wall of the cooking chamber and rises vertically along the back wall of the cooking chamber. 
     
     
         14 . The oven appliance of  claim 13 , wherein the air deflector is positioned on the back wall of the cooking chamber such that air may be deflected in the transverse direction away from the back wall of the cooking chamber and continue rising in the vertical direction away from the heating chamber. 
     
     
         15 . The oven appliance of  claim 10 , wherein the air deflector is positioned at an angle between zero degrees and seventy degrees from the transverse direction towards an upward vertical direction. 
     
     
         16 . The oven appliance of  claim 10 , further comprising a first air deflector positioned in the vertical direction between sliding rails of the plurality of sliding rails. 
     
     
         17 . The oven appliance of  claim 16 , further comprising a second air deflector positioned in the vertical direction between other sliding rails of the plurality of sliding rails. 
     
     
         18 . The oven appliance of  claim 10 , wherein the heating element is one of an electric resistance element or a gas burner.