Foods and beverages: apparatus – Cooking – With material pressing means
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-31
2001-02-27
Hendricks, Keith (Department: 1761)
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Cooking
With material pressing means
C099S386000, C099S389000, C099S392000, C099S44300R
Reexamination Certificate
active
06192789
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to devices for toasting food items such as sandwich buns, bagels, muffins and the like and, more particularly, to an improved contact toaster that efficiently toasts the food items' surfaces and warms them internally.
2. Description of Related Art
Toasted sandwich buns and bread slices, when used in making hamburgers and other sandwiches, are highly valued by consumers for many reasons. For example, toasting a bun results in a carmelizing effect on its interior surfaces that provides a pleasing appearance and taste. This carmelizing effect also effectively seals the interior surfaces thereby preventing the absorption of juices from the meat and other ingredients, such as ketchup and mustard, into the bun. Accordingly, with the advent of fast-food restaurants that serve sandwiches, devices that efficiently toast a large number of buns in a short period of time have become desirable.
In response to this demand, devices such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,261,257 to Henderson et al. and 4,530,276 to Miller have been developed. These toasting devices both feature a housing containing a platen having two opposed heating surfaces. Conveyor belts are positioned on opposite sides of the platen and are spaced therefrom. The two halves of a bun are inserted into inlets at the top of the housing so that they are received into the spaces between the platen and the conveyor belts. The conveyor belts in turn slide the internal surfaces of the bun halves across the platen so that they are toasted. When the bun halves reach the bottom of the conveyor belts, they are disposed upon a tray at the outlet of the housing.
While devices such as those disclosed in Henderson et al. and Miller have proven to be effective in the restaurant industry, they primarily provide only toasting of the interior surfaces of the bun halves. This is a disadvantage in that, for many reasons, it is desirable to toast the exterior surfaces (i.e.: the top and bottom) of a bun as well as heat the bun body internally. Heating the bun exterior surfaces and body provides a softer and warmer overall quality to buns that consumers find pleasing. Heating the entire bun, as opposed to just the interior surfaces, also keeps the sandwich contents warmer longer.
In addition, if the food item toasted is something other than typical bun halves, toasting only one side may not be sufficient. For example, many restaurants serve double or triple-decker sandwiches that feature a bun middle section with two interior surfaces or faces. It would be clearly preferable to toast both of these faces. The same can be said for situations where, instead of typical bun halves, the food items being toasted are bread slices. Accordingly, a device that heats both sides and the body of food items would have greater effectiveness and versatility.
As a result, devices such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,610 to Stuck have been developed. The device of Stuck includes the same features as the two patents discussed above but adds a pair of resistance-type auxiliary heaters that are positioned in proximity to the conveyor belts. While this addition allows both sides of a bun half or similar food item to be heated, the device still suffers from a number of limitations.
The auxiliary heaters of Stuck toast the exterior surfaces of a pair of bun halves by radiating heat through the wire conveyor belts. This occurs as the bun halves are slid along the centrally positioned platen. Accordingly, the interior surface of each bun half is heated by contact with the platen while the exterior surface of each bun half is heated by radiated heat from the auxiliary heaters. Any heating of the bodies of the bun halves, however, occurs only by conduction of the heat from the surfaces. As a result, the heating of the bodies of the bun halves is much less than optimal.
In addition, the arrangement of Stuck limits the temperature level of the auxiliary heaters. More specifically, if the temperature of the auxiliary heaters is set too high, the wire conveyor belts will heat up and burn the exterior surfaces of the bun halves. This results in burnt belt marks on the exterior surfaces of the buns which consumers find undesirable. In addition, in extreme cases, the wire conveyor belts could burn down deep so that the bun halves are unusable.
Limiting the temperature of the auxiliary heaters limits the speed at which the device may be operated. This is a critical consideration in the fast-food industry. If the temperature of the auxiliary heaters could be increased without burning belt marks into the buns, the device could toast many more buns in a shorter period of time.
As many restaurants, including fast-food chains, have expanded their menu selections, a need has arisen for toasting devices that offer increased flexibility. More specifically, it is desirable that toasting devices accommodate thicker food items, such as muffins and bagels, in addition to the halves of sandwich buns.
The toasting devices of Henderson et al., Miller and Stuck suffer from limited flexibility in that they are able to accommodate only a narrow range of food item sizes. In each device, the spacing between the conveyor belts and the centrally positioned platen may be increased only slightly due to the size of the toasting device housing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved contact toaster that toasts the interior and exterior surfaces of a food item.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved contact toaster that effectively heats a food item internally.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved contact toaster that may efficiently toast a large number of food items in a short amount of time.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved contact toaster that may accommodate a wide variety of food item sizes.
The present invention is directed to an improved contact toaster for conveyorized toasting of bagels, muffins and similar food items. The device features a housing having an inlet for receiving the food items and an outlet for discharging the food items after they are toasted. A toasting chamber is located between the inlet and the outlet and contains a pair of conveyor belts with a removable heated platen positioned between them. A drive system including an electric motor activates the conveyor belts so that they may transport bagel halves or other food items through the pathways between the conveyor belts and the platen. The pathways are sized so that a surface of each food item is slid across the platen as it moves through the pathway. This provides a toasting effect for that surface.
A pair of tensioners are positioned so that they engage the conveyor belts. The tensioners are shaped so that the pathways between the conveyor belts and platen taper inward to a minimum thickness and then expand outward again. As a result, food items are compressed and released as they travel through the pathways. Accordingly, food items are heated internally as they absorb heat from the platen in a sponge-like manner. The platen may feature a diamond-shaped cross section to increase the degree and rate of compression and release.
The toasting chamber also contains a pair of auxiliary heaters. One of each of the heaters is positioned proximate to one of each of the conveyor belts. As a result, food items are also toasted and heated internally with heat from the auxiliary heaters and conveyor belts as they are compressed and released in the pathways.
A pair of abutment members are mounted upon a pair of axial rods rotatably mounted in the housing of the device. One of each of the abutment members engages one of each of the pair of tensioners. As a result, the thickness of the pathways may be adjusted to accommodate food items of various sizes.
The platen may be removed so that thicker items, such as muffins, may be propelled by both conveyor belts so as t
Agcaoili Clark R.
March Scott P.
A. J. Antunes & Co.
Becker Drew
Hendricks Keith
Piper Marbury Rudnick & Wolfe
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