Foods and beverages: apparatus – Cooking – Slice toaster or broiler
Reexamination Certificate
2002-06-11
2004-11-16
Alexander, Reginald L. (Department: 1761)
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Cooking
Slice toaster or broiler
C099S401000, C099S44300R, C099S447000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06817283
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a cooking device and method, and, in particular, to a cooking device and method that is capable of rapidly cooking bread products, such as pizza, muffins, bagels and the like, such that the cooked bread products exhibit a crunchiness. The cooking device is also capable of heating other food products, such as, meats, vegetables and/or garnishes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the fast food industry, there is an on going need for faster cooking times for high quality cooking of bread products, such as pizza, muffins, bagels and the like. One type of prior art toaster used in the fast food industry is a contact toaster. An example of a contact toaster is shown in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/257,149, filed on Feb. 24, 1999, assigned to the same assignee as this application, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,983,785, granted Nov. 16, 1999. This patent discloses a contact toaster in which a bread product is conveyed by a conveyor belt in pressure contact with a surface of a heated stationary platen. Contact toasters generally toast only one surface of a bread product, such as the surface that is pressured against the heated platen. Such contact toasters require a relatively long time to achieve high quality toasting of a bread product, such as a bagel or muffin. Increasing the speed of the conveyor belt and increasing temperature of the platen may decrease toasting time, but could burn the food product or produce product low in temperature.
An example of a non-contact toaster is the common household toaster that uses two electrical heater elements on either side of a slot that holds the bread product. Non-contact toasters of this type toast the opposed generally flat surfaces of a bread product. Such toasters generally include a rheostat control that allows regulation of the heater element temperature so that the temperature can be increased or decreased depending on the product being toasted. For example, the temperature may be increased to obtain better and faster toasting for a thick bread product, such as a muffin or a bagel. Frequently, the temperature for a desired toasting time is so hot that the bread product burns.
Tunnel ovens that use air impingement heating are known for cooking a broad range of food products, including pizza. An example of a tunnel oven is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,107. This patent discloses a pair of oppositely rotating conveyor belts arranged to form a gap along a cooking path. Separate heated air manifolds are positioned with each conveyor belt for directed pressurized hot air on the upper and lower surfaces of a pizza item conveyed along the cooking path in the gap. A tunnel oven of this type is capable of cooking a food product at high temperature in a short time without burning. However, there is still a need for tunnel ovens with even faster cooking times. Conventional tunnel ovens do not have any capability to impart crunchiness to the cooked food product.
The tunnel oven of U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,107 uses rectangularly cross-sectioned air jet apertures spaced from one another and from the food items so as to diffuse or plume prior to impingement on the food items. This provides a very even cooking pattern on the food items, thereby tending to prevent streaking on the surfaces thereof. The air jet arrangement allows air flow tuning without disturbing lateral imbalance across the air jet finger by adjustment of fan speed. This tuning, when used with vertical height adjustment of the upper plenum or air jet finger, accommodates food items of varying heights. That is, a manual vertical height adjustment is needed to accommodate food items of different heights.
Thus, there is a need for a tunnel cooking device with even faster cooking times.
There is also a need for a cooking device that can achieve high quality and fast toasting without burning and still provide the crunchiness of a toasted bread product.
There is also a need for a tunnel cooking device with tuning capability to accommodate food items of varying heights without adjustment of the vertical height of the air jet fingers.
The present invention provides a cooking device that meets the aforementioned need for faster toasting/cooking without burning and still providing crunchiness.
The present invention provides a cooking device that heats food products and garnishes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A cooking device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a housing having an inlet and an outlet. A toasting/cooking passageway is defined within the housing. A conveyor assembly moves food products inserted at the inlet along the toasting/cooking passageway. A heated air impingement assembly is arranged to deliver to a top surface of the food product hot air for heating the food product as well as for browning the top surface. An electrical heater is located below the passageway for delivering heat and infrared energy to a bottom surface of the food product. After toasting/cooking, the food products are delivered to the outlet.
The hot air has a temperature that rapidly heats the food product to a toasting temperature in less than 60 seconds. The hot air provides a temperature environment that facilitates the infrared heat to produce a crunchiness effect of the bottom and side surfaces of the food product by the end of the rapid toasting time.
The conveyor assembly has a conveyor belt loop that is spaced from the heated air impingement assembly by a gap. The passageway is located in the gap. Preferably, the air impingement assembly is adjustable by raising and lowering to vary its distance above the food product and thus vary the hot air velocity at the point of impingement.
Preferably, the heated air impingement assembly and the electrical heater assembly can be structured to provide two or more toasting/cooking areas along the passageway so that different toasting/cooking temperatures and air velocities can be employed.
In an alternate embodiment, the conveyor belt assembly has a pair of side by side lower belt loops that form side by side passageways with the air impingement assembly. This allows each passageway to be set for concurrent toasting/cooking of food products of different thickness or height. Alternatively, the passageway gaps can be the same so as to double the toasting/cooking capability of same thickness food products.
In another alternate embodiment heated impingement air is also delivered from below the food product. The electrical heating assembly is disposed relative to columns of the heated impingement air so that there is no substantial interference between the infrared energy and the impingement air.
In still another embodiment of the cooking device of the present invention, thermal energy is delivered to a top and a bottom of a food product such that the thermal energy delivered to one of the top and bottom is greater than that delivered to the other. The thermal energy is delivered at least in part by an air impingement assembly that provides upper columns of air to the top and lower columns of air to the bottom.
The delivery mechanism comprises a means for heating the air that forms the upper and lower columns of air and a first heater disposed between the means for heating and the bottom of the food product. Preferably, the first heater is disposed between the air impingement assembly and the bottom. The first heater preferably includes a heater element that is disposed to weave about the lower columns of heated air without being directly within the first columns of air. The air impingement assembly preferably includes a surface with a plurality of apertures through which the lower columns of heated air are delivered, and the heater element does not overlie any of the apertures.
In alternate embodiments, the first heater is disposed inside the air impingement assembly. The first heater element may be disposed to weave about jet apertures that form the lower columns of heated air so as to provide minimal interference therewith. Alternatively, the heater element may be dispo
Day, Jr. William
Harter David
Jones Douglas S.
Sank Gerald W.
Alexander Reginald L.
Lincoln Foodservice Products Inc.
Ohlandt Greeley Ruggiero & Perle LLP
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