Welbilt Inc.

The Frymaster Corporation

Lincoln Foodservice Products, Inc.

Vulcan-hart Corporation

Gas Research Institute

Merco/savory, LLC

Gerald W Sank

Clement J Luebke

Frank A Slade

Douglas Scott Jones

William Day

David W Harter

George M Price

James T Grob

Elbert M Hubbard

Craig A Farnsworth

Robert L Himmel

Jason David Schreiner

Cecil K Taylor

Paul Molloy

Keith A Stanger

A cooking device that is capable of rapidly cooking food products such as in toasting bread products or cooking pizza. The cooking device uses air impingement from above and/or below the food product. In some cases an infrared heater is additionally used to impart a desired color and crunchiness about a surface of the food product. In some cases, a boost in thermal energy is applied to the bottom of the food product vis-&#xe0;-vis the top thereof. In some cases, the boost is due to an extra heater, which may be gas or electric. The device is particularly adapted for toasting bread products, cooking sandwich products (toasting the bread and heating the sandwich filler) and/or cooking pizza. Rapid cooking times are achieved by delivering more thermal energy to the top or bottom of the food product, depending on the type thereof, to give quality and speed. For example, a pizza can be cooked to have a crisp bottom without burning a cheese topping.

High speed cooking device and method

A cooking device that is capable of rapidly cooking food products such as in toasting bread products or cooking pizza. The cooking device uses air impingement from above and/or below the food product. In some cases an infrared heater is additionally used to impart a desired color and crunchiness about a surface of the food product. In some cases, a boost in thermal energy is applied to the bottom of the food product vis-&agrave;-vis the top thereof. In some cases, the boost is due to an extra heater, which may be gas or electric. The device is particularly adapted for toasting bread products, cooking sandwich products (toasting the bread and heating the sandwich filler) and/or cooking pizza. Rapid cooking times are achieved by delivering more thermal energy to the top or bottom of the food product, depending on the type thereof, to give quality and speed. For example, a pizza can be cooked to have a crisp bottom without burning a cheese topping.

A cooking appliance which is capable of rapidly toasting a food product disposed therein by air impingement and infrared heating to provide a cooked food product having the desired color and crunchiness about its surface. The appliance is particularly adapted for cooking sandwich products, toasting the bread and heating the sandwich filler. The appliance includes an air impingement assembly that delivers columns of heated air to the food product and an infrared heater assembly that produces infrared energy. The appliance delivers the impingement air from above the food product and the infrared energy from below. Alternatively, the appliance delivers the impingement air from above and below the food product and the infrared energy from below.

High speed variable size toaster

A contact toaster has a housing with a product inlet, product outlet and at least one toasting chamber defined in the housing. A heated platen is mounted in the housing and has a platen surface arranged for toasting the food products. A flexible endless belt, which when rotated, is arranged to pass the food products in a toasting path along the platen between the belt and the platen. An infinite controller acts to selectively displace the belt to adjust the distance between the belt and the platen to any value between minimum and maximum distance limits to accommodate food products of different widths. A guide is situated between the belt and the infinite controller so that the controller is in contact with at least one area of the guide. The infinite controller includes a variable distance element with a cam surface which is settable to any selected point of the cam surface between minimum and maximum cam radial limits to move the guide and belt to any belt to a selected platen distance that can have any value equal to or intermediate the maximum and minimum distance limits.

Contact toaster with infinite adjustment

Various representative commercial cooking devices are disclosed wherein a recirculating flow of heated air, at a food cooking temperature, is created within a housing in which a horizontally disposed food support and cooking member, such as a perforated metal plate, a solid griddle plate or a metal broiling grate, is positioned. A plenum structure is utilized to convert a portion of the continuously recirculated air into a spaced series of relatively high velocity heated air impingement jets which are caused to laterally diffuse and at least slightly overlap prior to striking at least one side surface of the food support structure. In this manner, each food support structure side surface subjected to such diffused jet impingement is evenly blanketed with heating air to thereby very uniformly transfer heat from the air to the food support structure, and thus to the food supported thereby, at an accelerated rate.

Commercial hot air impingement cooking apparatus

Various representative commericial cooking devices are disclosed wherein a recirculating flow of heated air, at a food cooking temperature, is created within a housing in which a horizontally disposed food support and cooking member, such as a perforated metal plate, a solid griddle plate or a metal broiling grate, is positioned. A plenum structure is utilized to convert a portion of the continuously recirculated air into a spaced series of relatively high velocity heated air impingement jets which are caused to laterally diffuse and at least slightly overlap prior to striking at least one side surface of the food support structure. In this manner, each food support structure side surface subjected to such diffused jet impingment is evenly blanketed with heating air to thereby very uniformly transfer heat from the air to the food support structure, and thus to the food supported thereby, at an accelerated rate.

A commerical, dual tier pizza cooking oven is formed from substantially similar but relatively inverted lower and upper modules. The lower module has a housing, with a cooking chamber therein, which is floor supported in an elevated position by suitable depending support legs and has a downwardly projecting fan and heating section used to create a recirculating flow of air, heated to a suitable food cooking temperature, through the housing. The upper module housing is stacked on top of the lower module housing, and its fan and heating section projects upwardly therefrom and also operates to create a recirculating flow of heated air through its cooking chamber. Perforated metal food support plates are horizontally disposed in each of the two cooking chambers for support the pizzas to be cooked. Plenum structures on opposite sides of the support plates in each of the two cooking chambers operate to receive portions of the heated air recirculated therethrough and convert them to series of heated air cooking jets which evenly blanket the opposite sides of the support plates in a manner transferring heat thereto at an accelerated rate to thereby rapidly and evenly cook the pizzas or other food items supported on the plates.

Stacked duel module commercial hot air impingement cooking oven

Cooking oil contained in a fuel-fired deep fat frypot is heated utilizing a recirculating flow of combustion gas produced by an induced flow fuel-air burner. A squirrel cage type centrifugal fan draws a fuel-air mixture inwardly through the burner into an inlet chamber in which the combustion gas is formed. The hot combustion gas is discharged from the fan into a supply chamber, flowed from the supply chamber into and through external heating passages extending rearwardly along the opposite exterior side surfaces of the frypot, and then enters an external heating passage extending along the rear frypot wall. From this rear passage the combustion gas is drawn forwardly through generally triangularly shaped heating tubes extending horizontally through the frypot cooking zone, into and through a return plenum, into the fan where it is mixed with a fresh supply of combustion gas from the inlet chamber, and is then discharged into the supply chamber. During burner operation excess combustion gas is discharged to atmosphere through an appropriate vent stack. A motorized inlet damper is mounted on the inlet plenum and is operable to admit ambient air thereinto to rapidly lower the recirculating gas temperature to prevent oil temperature overshoot. Rigid insulation material is positioned in lower interior portions of the heating tubes to increase the gas flow velocity therethrough and to shield the lower 'cold zone' of the frypot from tube heat. In an alternate embodiment of the frypot the fuel-air burner is replaced with electric heating elements operatively disposed within the supply chamber.

High heating efficiency deep fat cooking frypot

A catalytic combustion and heat transfer device for use in a deep fat fryer is disclosed, characterized by increased efficiency and heat transfer. The device includes a hollow elongated heat exchanger having a generally oval interior cross-sectional configuration. A catalytic burner is mounted within a combustion end of the heat exchanger and a unique core buster and heat exchange fin arrangement is mounted within the flue end of the exchanger. The fin arrangement comprises a plurality of generally U-shaped tapered fins arranged in opposed pairs and connected with the inner side wall surface of the exchanger, with the leg portion of each opposed pair extending toward each other in spaced relation. The core buster is arranged between the opposed pairs of fins in contiguous relation with the free end edges thereof to define a plurality of channels within the fins, respectively. A spark ignition device is mounted adjacent the catalytic burner to ignite a combustion mixture supplied to the burner. Heat and flue gases are deflected by the core buster to the heat exchange fins and fin channels to increase the transfer of heat to the exterior surface of the heat exchanger.

Catalytic combustion deep fat fryer

A deep fat fryer includes an open-top vessel having at least one trough-shaped container adapted to hold a quantity of cooking oil. A pulse combustion burner is provided for heating the oil and includes a combustion chamber adapted to be immersed in the oil. A mixer head receives controllable air and fuel flows and an ignitor within the mixer head initiates combustion. A cabinet is provided for supporting the vessel and the burner. A tailpipe receives the combustion products and carries the same into an exhaust decoupler which is located adjacent the inlet end of the combustion chamber and which substantially enclosed the mixer head and at least a portion of a vent pipe. The exhaust decoupler and the tailpipe are arranged in heat exchange relationship with the vessel wall. A continuously operating air blower is provided to minimize burner start-up time and to cool electronic control circuitry used to regulate the oil temperature and the operating periods of the burner.

Pulse combustion deep fat fryer

A deep-fat fryer has a tank of inverted U-shaped configuration formed in either a single compartment or divided into two compartments by a medial divider formed of two parallel spaced panels with an insulated space between the panels; first and second infrared type gas burners are positioned facingly adjacent inner walls of the lower side portions of the vat and receive a measured amount of pressurized combustion air which is mixed with fuel gas to heat radiant tile elements of the burner to radiate heat against the vat walls with the combustion air being substantially less than that of conventional systems so that it is substantially no more than the minimum amount necessary to complete combustion. Flue gas is exhausted upwardly along side flue means to an upper horizontal gas discharge passageway extending beneath the upper portion of the vat to a vertical flue housing at the rear of the assembly with vanes provided in the gas discharge path for conducting heat to the vat. Either the single compartment or both compartments of the divided vat or one compartment of the divided vat can be heated by actuating either one or both of the infrared gas burner assemblies.

Growing community of inventors

Pasadena, MD, United States of America

Gerald W Sank