Electric heating – Heating devices – Combined with container – enclosure – or support for material...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-27
2001-06-26
Paik, Sang (Department: 3742)
Electric heating
Heating devices
Combined with container, enclosure, or support for material...
C099S400000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06252204
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a safety device for use with an electric food cooker, particularly a locking mechanism for safe operation of an electric grill. The preferred embodiment is an electric cooking apparatus comprising a molded plastic (phenolic resin or other thermosetting composition) base, a removable metal drip pan adapted to rest within the base and be supported by the base, a grill plate for cooking foods in a position above the drip pan, where the grill plate contains bars and slots which, respectively, cook the food placed on the grill plate and allow drippings or juices from the cooked food to pass through the grill plate, to be then captured on the drip pan without contacting the plastic base. The preferred embodiment also comprises an electric, resistance-type heater preferably disposed beneath the grill plate for heating the grill plate, the resistance heating element being sheathed or otherwise protected from the drippings from the cooked food, or cast within the grill plate, and a combination thermo-probe and temperature detector with thermostat for supplying power to the electric heater, and for engaging a safety lock actuator lever and pin hook which allow the unit to operate.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Food cooking devices of the grill type are divided into three general categories. The first employs charcoal burning to generate heat to grill foods placed on a grilling surface above the charcoal. The second utilizes gas, such as liquidized petroleum gas or propane, to supply heat. The third employs electricity to heat a grilling surface, usually in the form of an electric resistance heater. The present invention concerns the third category, namely electric cooking appliances for the grilling of food, although the invention may be employed in other electric cooking devices such as ovens or steamers, as will become apparent in the description below.
One of the major drawbacks of electric cooking appliances is that power may be supplied to a heater (usually a resistance-type heater) in the absence of safe operating conditions. For example, during use of the apparatus, the user may inadvertently turn on the electric heater and heat the grill plate, but without properly installing a drip pan or other means for catching hot drippings from the cooked food or means for deflecting heat upwards and away from the working surface on which the apparatus rests. As a result, when power is supplied to the heater and the foods are cooked, the hot drippings flow downward through the grill plate and onto the working surface on which the apparatus rests. The working surface may also be severely damaged by heat radiating from the heater, and can even catch fire depending upon the materials of which it is composed or the amount of fats and oils contained in the hot drippings.
Portable grill units often have a supporting base upon which the grill plate is designed to rest. Where the supporting base is composed of metal, metal alloy, or of a plastic or composite which resists very high temperatures associated with cooking or grilling food, a drip pan is optional. For example, in the charcoal type of griller, many embodiments do not employ a drip pan, allowing instead for the drippings to pass through the grill plate and directly onto the charcoal.
However, it is both economical and easier to manufacture a supporting base of plastic material which does not continuously resist the high temperatures generated to cook or grill food. Use of a supporting base in combination with a drip pan for catching hot drippings and possibly for deflecting heat away from the supporting base is advantageous in this type of device.
However, in an electrically heated device where a plastic supporting base is used, there are additional safety hazards. For example, the appliance may be inadvertently turned on where the supporting base is not properly positioned, or even absent entirely, endangering the user as well as damaging the base (and possibly the working surface on which the base rests). And, where the appliance is designed to be used with a combination of a drip pan and supporting base, the user may inadvertently turn on the electric heater and heat the grill plate, but without properly installing a drip pan or other means for catching hot drippings from the cooked food or means for deflecting heat upwards and away from the supporting base. As a result, when power is supplied to the heater and the foods are cooked, the hot drippings flow downward through the grill plate and onto the base, thus possibly damaging the base and creating a fire hazard. The base may also be severely damaged by heat radiating from the heater, and can even catch fire from such radiant heat, depending upon the materials of which it is composed or the amount of fats and oils contained in the hot drippings.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention has for its object to remove the risks described above in connection with the operation of an electric grill unit. In an apparatus according to the invention, a grill plate and a supporting base are locked together in the correct position for operation of the unit;
Another object of the invention is to provide a electric grill unit in which a grill plate, a drip pan, and a supporting base are locked together in the correct position for operation of the unit;
Another object of the invention is to provide an electric grill with a molded plastic base which supports a drip pan in the proper position to catch drippings from the cooked food and prevent damage to the plastic base by the hot drippings and radiant heat;
Another object of the invention is to provide an electric grill where the user cannot remove the grill plate when power is being supplied to the unit;
Another object of the invention is to provide an electric grill which will not operate without the drip pan in proper position within the base;
Another object of the invention is to provide an electric grill which prevents damage to the molded plastic base where the drip pan is not in proper position within the base;
Another object of the invention is to accomplish the above objects by means of a thermo-probe which allows the supply of electric power to the unit, while mechanically engaging the locking mechanism to hold the base, drip pan and grill plate in correctly positioned engagement;
Another object of the invention is to provide a locking mechanism which contains a sliding door built into the handle of the grill plate, where the locking mechanism rests in the locked position with the sliding door preventing insertion of the thermo-probe
Another object of the invention is to accomplish the above objects by means of a locking and engagement assembly where the grill plate and either or both of the base and drip pan must be in proper alignment with respect to one another and thereby exposing an opening shaped to accept the insertion of the thermal probe which allows the supply of electric power to the unit;
Another object of the invention is to provide a lever in the base having one substantially horizontal end and one offset end, the lever engages at the horizontal end with the drip pan so that the horizontal end is depressed and the offset end elevated to lift the sliding door mechanism, which allows insertion of the thermo-probe into the handle of the grill plate
In view of these objects and characteristics, it will be understood that to operate a preferred embodiment of the invention, the presence of the base, and the drip pan, as well as the correct positioning of the base, and the pan, as well as the correct positioning of the handle on the grill plate, will be necessary. Once correct positioning is obtained for these three elements, insertion of the thermo-probe into the handle of the grill plate is possible, and once inserted, locks the assembly into position unless and until the thermo-probe is removed.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1330877 (1920-02-01), Kuhn et al.
patent: 3068442 (1962-12-01), Kubik et al.
patent: 4528429 (1985-07-01), Dobson et al.
patent: 4650268 (1987-03-01), Dobson et al.
paten
Canelias Peter S.
Paik Sang
Poking Industrial Company Ltd.
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