Food grill assembly

Details Food grill assembly Food grill assembly

2000-09-28

2001-07-10

Simone, Timothy F. (Department: 1761)

Foods and beverages: apparatus

Cooking

With material pressing means

C099S353000, C099S372000, C099S379000, C099S385000, C099S389000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06257126

ABSTRACT:

S
TATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT Not applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a food grill assembly, and more particularly, a food grill assembly that is capable of cooking food products having different thicknesses.
Food grill assemblies are used in commercial establishments to quickly cook food products for customers. Some food grill assemblies typically have a heating surface upon which the food products are placed and a second heat source which is pivotal relative to the heating surface and is positioned above the food product. In this manner, the food product is placed on the heating surface and the second heat source is pivoted into place over the food product. The food grill assembly is then able to quickly cook the food product. The second heat source is far enough above the food product that it is not in contact with the food. In this situation, the topside of the food product may not be cooked as well or as thoroughly as the bottom side. It may be required to turn or flip the food product in order to cook the product thoroughly or evenly on both sides. This adds to the time that it takes to cook and serve the food product to the customer. Further, because of the construction of these food grill assemblies it is difficult to cook food products having varying or different thichnesses. For example, it may be desirable to cook a relatively thin and flat food product, such as a tortilla, at one point in time, while it may then be desirable to cook a relatively thick food product, such as a chicken breast. In such situation the known food grill assemblies are not capable of being adjusted to compensate for food products having different thicknesses.
In order to pivot the second heat source, some food grill assemblies have a hinge mechanism which only provides for the second heat source to be moved in an open or a closed position. Such mechanisms do not provide for any intermediate positioning of the second heat source. Additionally, the second heat source is typically heavy in weight and this causes the hinge mechanism to wear out over time. This could lead to a dangerous situation in which an operator of the food grill assembly could assume that the second heat source will stay in the open position only to have the hinge mechanism fail and fall onto the hand of the operator. Further, since these hinge mechanisms are constructed from metal, it is also possible that metal shavings due to the wear of the mechanism could get into the food that is being cooked.
Some known types of sources are quartz type heating devices. Such quartz heating devices are exposed to the food being cooked and as a result of this tend to be covered by food matter during or after the cooking process. It is then necessary to clean the quartz heating devices. Additionally, it is also possible that these quartz devices may break during use and need to be replaced, which takes away from the time the grill assembly could be cooking food for customers.
When a food grill assembly needs to be cleaned, one typical cleaning method is to hose off the assembly with water. One problem associated with using this procedure is that water is allowed to enter the area within which the heating element and the electrical wires are housed. If this occurs over time, the heating element may wear out prematurely and will have to be replaced. Therefore, it is important to prevent any water from leaking into the assembly.
Another problem associated with the use of food grill assemblies is how to capture and store any grease that is produced during cooking. Known food grill assemblies have had grease trays which were located in the back of the assembly which made it difficult to see how full the tray was or made it difficult to remove the tray. Other known food grill assemblies have had grease trays located at the front of the assembly, however, such trays were exposed which caused problems during cooking.
It has also been found that the heating elements which are used to heat the cooking surfaces are not efficient. For example, a heating element may heat one section of the cooking surface at a higher temperature than another section. This leads to uneven cooking of food products and increases the time required to cook food products. It would be advantageous to provide a heating element which could evenly heat the cooking surface and reduce or eliminate any heat differential along the cooking surface.
The present invention is designed to obviate and overcome many of the disadvantages and shortcomings experienced with the food grill assemblies discussed hereinbefore and with other food grill assemblies used in the past, and to provide a food grill assembly which can be easily utilized to cook food. Moreover, the food grill assembly of the present invention is more advantageous than the food grill assemblies previously used in that it is capable of cooking foods that have different thicknesses, is easy to clean, and is capable of easily capturing grease and water.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one form of the present invention, a food grill assembly for cooking a food product is disclosed which comprises a base, a lower platen ensemble associated with the base, the lower platen ensemble having a heat source and a surface upon which a food product to be cooked is placed, the lower platen ensemble further comprising a back wall and a pair of side walls which are integral with the lower platen ensemble with the walls forming a splash guard, an upper platen ensemble having a heat source, the upper platen ensemble having a surface which is adapted to be in contact with a food product to be cooked, a counterbalance assembly connected to the base, and a handle mechanism connected to the counterbalance assembly and the upper platen ensemble for providing pivoting movement of the upper platen assembly relative to the base, the counterbalance assembly for leveling the upper platen assembly relative to the lower platen assembly when the upper platen assembly is within a predetermined distance from the lower platen assembly.
In another form of the present invention, a food grill assembly for cooking a first food product having a first thickness and a second food product having a second thickness comprises a base, a lower platen ensemble associated with the base, the lower platen ensemble having a heat source and a surface upon which a food product to be cooked is placed, an upper platen ensemble having a heat source, the upper platen ensemble having a surface which is adapted to be in contact with a food product to be cooked, a counterbalance assembly connected to the base, a handle mechanism connected to the counterbalance assembly and the upper platen ensemble for providing pivoting movement of the upper platen assembly relative to the base between a first position which is capable of cooking a first food product having a first thickness and a second position which is capable of cooking a second food product having a second thickness, and a stop connected to the counterbalance assembly, the stop for limiting pivoting movement of the upper platen ensemble.
In still another form of the present invention, a food grill assembly for cooking two or more food products comprises a base, a lower platen ensemble associated with the base, the lower platen ensemble having a heat source and a surface upon which a food product to be cooked is placed, a back wall and a pair of side walls which are integral with the lower platen ensemble with the walls forming a splash guard, a first upper platen ensemble having a heat source, the first upper platen ensemble having a surface which is adapted to be in contact with a food product to be cooked, a second upper platen ensemble having a heat source, the second upper platen ensemble having a surface which is adapted to be in contact with a food product to be cooked, a first counterbalance assembly connected to the base, a second counterbalance assembly connected to the base, a first handle mechanism connected to the first counterbalance assembly and the f

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