SQUASH BALL WARMING OVEN

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a squash ball warming oven. The warming oven has an internal convection heat source capable of maintaining a constant temperature over long periods of time. Removable wire racks are mounted within the warming oven. The wire racks have indentations sized and shaped to hold squash balls. Arranging the squash balls in indentations on the wire rack prevents them from touching while warming, resulting in rapid and even warming. By gently and evenly warming squash balls, performance of the ball is easily improved for players of all levels.

Claims

1. An apparatus for warming squash balls, the apparatus comprising: an oven body, the oven body having external faces and an internal warming chamber; a heat source positioned in the internal warming chamber; one or more wire racks removably mounted in the internal warming chamber, wherein the wire racks comprise an array of one or more indentations sized and shaped to hold a squash ball.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the heat source is a convection heat source.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the heat source is capable of heating the internal warming chamber to a temperature between 95 F.-110 F.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the heat source is capable of heating the internal warming chamber to a temperature of 100 F.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a control panel on an external face of the oven body.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the control panel comprises a temperature control.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the control panel comprises a duration control.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more wire racks are comprised of intertwined wire.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a fan positioned in the internal warming chamber.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a hopper positioned on a top face of the oven body, the hopper having a channel connecting the hopper to the internal warming chamber.

11. An apparatus for positioning squash balls within an oven, the apparatus comprising: a leading edge and a trailing edge; a plane connecting the leading edge and trailing edge; one or more troughs set in the plane, wherein the troughs comprise a rounded depression in the plane, wherein the shape of the troughs in the plane are rectangular and perpendicular to the leading edge, wherein the troughs are parallel with respect to each other.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising: an even number of linear troughs on the plane; a curved trough connecting two adjacent linear troughs at the trailing edge of the plane.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the troughs in the plane are trapezoidal in shape, and wherein the troughs are not parallel with respect to each other.

14. An apparatus for positioning squash balls within an oven, the apparatus comprising: a leading edge and a trailing edge; a plane connecting the leading edge and trailing edge; an array of indentations set in the plane; wherein the indentations are sized and shaped to receive a squash ball.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising one or more temperature sensors.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the temperature sensor is an infrared sensor in electromagnetic connection with a squash ball.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the temperature sensor is a contact sensor in thermal contact with a squash ball.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] FIG. 1 depicts a front view of an exemplary squash ball warming oven;

[0012] FIG. 2 depicts a top-down view of an exemplary wire rack for a squash ball warming oven;

[0013] FIG. 3 depicts a top-down view of an exemplary squash ball warming oven including a hopper;

[0014] FIG. 4 depicts a front view of an exemplary squash ball warming oven including a hopper;

[0015] FIGS. 5A-5C depict exemplary squash ball racks for a squash ball warming oven;

[0016] FIGS. 6A-6B depict exemplary squash ball racks for a squash ball warming oven;

[0017] FIGS. 7A-7B depict a front view of an exemplary squash ball warming oven;

[0018] FIGS. 8A-8B depict a cutaway side view of an exemplary squash ball warming oven; and

[0019] FIG. 9 depicts a front view of an exemplary squash ball warming oven.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The present invention is directed to a squash ball 140 warming oven. Warming a squash ball 140 before play increases the bounce height and overall performance of the ball 140. For the highest performance, even and gentle warming is preferred.

[0021] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary squash ball 140 warming oven 100. The oven 100 may have a door 110 allowing access to an internal warming chamber 120 on the front face and temperature and duration controls 130 on an adjacent external face. In an alternative embodiment, the oven may open on the top face. The controls 130 in some embodiments may be on an opposing external face to the door 110.

[0022] A door 110 opens to allow access to the internal warming chamber 120 of the oven 100, and securely closes to prevent user injury. The door 110 may be connected by a hinge to the body of the oven 100. In some embodiments the door 110 is hinged on a vertical edge of the oven 100, allowing the door 110 to swing open from side to side. Alternatively, the door 110 may be hinged at the bottom edge of the oven 100, allowing the door 110 to swing open from the top down, much like a conventional oven door. In some embodiments the door 110 may be hinged at a top edge of the oven 100, allowing the door 110 to swing open from the bottom up.

[0023] A control panel 130 may be positioned on the top or front face of the oven 100, adjacent or opposed to the position of the door 110. The control panel 130 may have controls for power, temperature, duration of warming, among other suitable controls. The temperature control may allow selection of an operating temperature. The operating temperature may be static, or may be a ramping or cyclical temperature. In some embodiments, the temperature control allows a static temperature selection between 95 degrees Fahrenheit and 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

[0024] A duration control allows for the selection of the time the squash balls 140 are warmed. For example, the duration may be set between 1 minute and 1 day, though other suitable durations are possible.

[0025] The internal warming chamber 120 of the oven 100 has a heat source. In some embodiments, the heat source is a convection heat source. Convection heat allows for quick heating and less hot spots within the oven 100. The internal warming chamber 120 may also have an internal fan. Utilizing a convection oven with an internal fan further minimizes hot spots, allowing for even warming of the squash balls 140.

[0026] A gentle temperature, such as 100 degrees Fahrenheit, in a convection oven 100 allows for safe, consistent, and continuous warming for extended periods of time. This keeps the squash balls 140 warm and ready for play on demand.

[0027] The internal warming chamber 120 of the squash ball 140 warming oven 100 may have one or more racks 150. The racks 150 may be made of intertwined wire, as shown in FIG. 2, though other suitable materials may be used. Gaps within the rack 150 between the wires allow for free airflow below the squash balls 140, resulting in even warming. The racks 150 may be removable from the internal warming chamber 120 of the oven 100 to allow for easier placement of squash balls 140.

[0028] In addition, a ball temperature sensor 160, 170 can be integrated into the oven or a handheld thermometer (IR, for example) can be used to monitor the temperature of the balls 140 and the heating can be automatically and/or manually adjusted based on the readings.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 2, each rack 150 may include indentations 190 sized and shaped to hold a squash ball 140 stationary within the oven 100. The indentations 190 may be evenly spaced in an array on the rack 150, allowing for multiple squash balls 140 to be held without touching each other. Keeping the balls 140 from touching each other and keeping them stationary allows for faster and more even warming.

[0030] Exemplary squash ball 140 warming ovens 100 may warm a range from 1 ball 140 to hundreds of balls 140 depending on the size of the oven's 100 body and the number of racks 150 used. As shown in FIGS. 2, 9 balls 140 may be placed on each rack 150, though other arrays of indentations 190 may be used to hold more or fewer squash balls 140.

[0031] As shown in FIGS. 5A-5C, each rack 150 may be structured with several rows of sloping troughs 200 with the racks 150 arranged in the oven 100 such that balls 140 placed through a ball loading hopper 210 opening 220 formed in the top of the oven 100 and towards the rear of the oven 100 will roll towards the front of the rack 150. As the first balls 140 dropped into the oven 100 will be positioned near the front of the oven 100 and will heat to a desired temperature, the balls 140 can be removed from the oven 100 first. Moreover, and with reference to FIGS. 7A-7B and 8A-8B, temperature sensors 160, 170 can be positioned at the front of the trough 200 and in alignment with a ball 140 that rolls to the front of the trough 200 in order to monitor the temperature of the balls 140. Either an IR camera type temperature sensor 160, such as in FIGS. 7A and 8A, or a contact pad sensor 170, such as in FIGS. 7B and 8B, positioned within and at the front of the troughs 200 and in a positioned such that the balls 140 will roll on top of the contact pad sensor 170 can be employed. An alarm (visual such as a light, or aural such as a buzzer) can be incorporated into the oven 100 and electronically connected to the temperature sensor 160, 170 such that when the ball 140 reaches a desired temperature, the alarm can alert the user and the ball 140 can be removed from the oven 100, at which point a ball 140 positioned in the trough 200 behind the removed ball 140 will roll in the trough 200 to the front of the rack 150, and another ball 140 can be dropped into the oven 100 through the ball loading opening 220.

[0032] In an alternate embodiment, instead of loading the balls 140 through openings 220 positioned at the rear of the oven 100 and into troughs 200 that are essentially straight and in parallel with one another, a rack 150 having a series of a serpentine shaped troughs 200 that slopes downwardly from the leading point of the end point of the trough 200 and with the leading edge being adjacent the front of the oven 100, as shown in FIG. 5B. Thus, in this embodiment the ball loading opening 220 can be positioned at the front edge of the oven 100 and aligned with the leading point of the trough 200. As with the linear trough 200 design, temperature sensors 160, 170 can be integrated into the troughs 200 at their trailing points.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 3, the warming oven 100 can incorporate a loading hopper 210 on the top face of the oven 100. The loading hopper 210 accepts multiple squash balls 140 at a time and feeds them one at a time or multiple at a time into the warming oven 100. The hopper 210 has access to the internal warming chamber 120 through an opening 220 or multiple openings 220 in the top face of the oven 100. This allows for easy deposit of squash balls 140 into the oven 100, and for an automatic feed of balls 140 into the oven if multiple balls 140 need to be warmed.

[0034] FIG. 4 depicts a squash ball 140 warming oven 100 with a plurality of balls 140 loaded into the internal warming chamber 120. As shown, multiple balls 140 may be loaded into the hopper 210 on the top of the oven 100 and subsequently deposited into the oven rack 150. This allows users to deposit multiple balls 140 onto the oven rack 150 without opening the oven door 110.

[0035] FIGS. 5A-5C show exemplary oven racks 150 for use within a warming oven 100. As shown in FIG. 5A, an oven rack 150 can have multiple parallel, sloping troughs 200 capable of rolling balls 140 from the deposit opening 220 of the oven to the front edge of the oven 100. The front edge of the rack 150 can have cut outs 180 for access for temperature sensors 160, 170 to the balls 140.

[0036] FIG. 5B shows an alternative embodiment of an oven rack 150 having serpentine, sloped troughs 200. The serpentine troughs 200 can hold rows of balls 140 parallel to each other. Balls 140 can be placed on the rack 150 manually from a door 110 in the oven 100 or dropped into the warming chamber from a hopper 210. When dropped from a hopper 210, the balls 140 land initially at the rear edge of the troughs 200 and roll to the front edge toward the temperature sensors 160, 170. Similar to the parallel rack 150 of FIG. 5A, the front edge of the rack 150 can have cut outs 180 for access for temperature sensors 160,170 to the balls 140.

[0037] FIG. 5C illustrates an exemplary rack 150 for a warming oven 100 having indentations 190. The rack 150 may have any array of indentations 190 with each indentation 190 holding a squash ball 140 in place for warming. The indentations 190 keep balls 140 from contact with one another so as to allow for airflow and even warming.

[0038] FIGS. 6A-6B show various views of an exemplary oven rack 150 for a warming oven 100 having tapered, semi-parallel troughs 200. Balls 140 may be deposited from a hopper 210 onto the rack 150. The tapered, semi-parallel troughs 200 allow the balls 140 to roll to the front edge of the rack 150 for temperature sensing and easy removal. The balls 140 can roll to the front edge of the rack 150 by way of troughs 200 that drop in elevation from the rear to the front. The balls 140 may also roll to the front of the rack 150 by way of troughs 200 that get wider from rear to front, allowing for the ball 140 to drop, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B. Alternatively, balls 140 may move from the rear to the front of the oven by way of a mechanical screw pushing the balls. Alternatively, a fan may be used to move the balls 140 from the rear to the front of the oven.

[0039] FIG. 7A illustrates an exemplary warming oven 100 having infrared (IR) temperature sensors 160. Temperature sensors 160 can be placed within the warming oven 100 in electromagnetic connection with the squash balls 140. Each IR temperature sensor 160 can sense the temperature of an individual ball 140 for accurate warming. Multiple temperature sensors 160 may be used to measure the temperature of multiple balls 140. Temperature sensors 160 may be placed toward the front of the internal warming chamber 120 to monitor the temperature of balls 140 to be removed first. Temperature sensors 160 may also be positioned under each ball 140 in the oven. As shown, three sensors 160 are used for a rack 150 with three troughs 200, though any practical array of sensors 160 may be used. The IR temperature sensors 160 may be placed below, above, or in any practical orientation in electromagnetic connection with the balls 140.

[0040] FIG. 7B illustrates an exemplary warming oven 100 having contact thermal sensors 170 for measuring the temperature of the balls 140. The thermal sensors 170 in this embodiment are in thermal contact with the balls 140. Multiple temperature sensors 170 may be used to measure the temperature of multiple balls 140. Temperature sensors 170 may be placed toward the front of the internal warming chamber 120 to monitor the temperature of balls 140 to be removed first. Temperature sensors 170 may also be positioned under each ball 140 in the oven 100. As shown, three sensors 170 are used for a rack 150 with three troughs 200, though any practical array of sensors 170 may be used. The contact temperature sensors 170 may be placed below, above, or in any practical orientation in electromagnetic connection with the balls 140.

[0041] FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate cutaway views of exemplary embodiments, particularly detailing the temperature sensors 160, 170 in relation to the squash balls 140. As shown in FIG. 8A, a squash ball 140 may be positioned on a rack 150 toward the front of the oven 100. The rack 150 may have a cut out 180 enabling line of sight for the IR sensor 160 to the ball 140. The IR sensor 160 measures the temperature of the ball 140 for accurate warming.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 8B, in an alternative embodiment the temperature sensor 170 may be in thermal contact with the ball 140. Similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 8A, the ball 140 may be positioned on a rack 150 toward the front of the oven 100. The rack 150 may have a cut out 180 over which the ball 140 is positioned. The cut out 180 allows for thermal contact between the temperature sensor 170 and the ball 140. While only one temperature sensor 170 is shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, any practical array of sensors may be utilized.

[0043] FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary warming oven 100 with multiple balls 140 inside. The balls 140 are positioned on a rack 150 inside the warming chamber 120. Balls 140 may be positioned in any array on the rack 150 within the troughs 200 of the rack 150. In this embodiment, balls 140 at the front of the oven 100 are positioned above a cut out 180 in the rack 150. Thermal sensors 170 are placed below the cut outs 180 with the sensor 170 in thermal contact with the balls 140. Temperature of the balls 140 may be tracked, and a display or alert may be used to indicate the temperature of the balls 140. Users may open the door 110 of the oven 100 to remove ready-to-use balls 140.

[0044] Combining a low-temperature convection oven 100 with a rack 150 having an array of indentations 190 or troughs 200 provides for stable, quick, and easy warming of squash balls 140. This squash ball warming oven 100 may be used by players of all skill levels and results in warmed, high-performance balls 140 on demand.

[0045] The use of the terms a and an and the and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms comprising, having, including, and containing are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning including, but not limited to,) unless otherwise noted. The term connected is to be construed as partly or wholly contained within, attached to, or joined together, even if there is something intervening.

[0046] The recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein.

[0047] All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., such as) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate embodiments of the invention and does not impose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed.

[0048] No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.

[0049] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. There is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form or forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.