Illinois Tool Works Inc.

Premark Feg L.l.c.

Timothy L Cupp

Jeffrey L Frock

Atul Saksena

Michael B Reckner

A cooking appliance includes a housing, a cooking area or volume on or in the housing and a heater assembly for heating the cooking area or volume. The heater assembly includes a heater plate body with a surface having at least one groove therein. The groove includes both a deformable metal sheet element and a resistive heater element therein. The deformable metal sheet element is pressed between an outer surface portion of the resistive heater element and a surface portion of the groove to provide a thermal transfer path from the resistive heating element and to the heater plate body through the deformable metal sheet element.

Cooking appliance and related heater assembly

A steam generator for generating steam by boiling water, or other hot water heating device, in either case such as for use in a steam cooker or warewasher, includes a tank structure providing a heating chamber for holding water, and at least one heating element associated with the tank structure for heating water. The tank structure includes a main body wall having a U-shaped cross-sectional profile formed by opposed first and second side wall portions of the heating chamber and a curved bottom wall portion of the heating chamber, wherein the curved bottom wall portion is monolithic with the first and second side wall portions, wherein the main body wall is sheet metal material that has been curved.

Steam generator

A method for reducing energy consumption in a steam cooker that includes a steam cooking cavity, a steam generator for delivering steam along a steam path to the steam cooking cavity, a steam outlet from the steam cooking cavity to a first flow path leading to a drain path. The method involves: (a) utilizing a second flow path from the steam outlet to a vent stack to deliver excess steam flows from the steam cooking cavity up the vent stack rather than down to the drain box; (b) sensing temperature within the vent stack; and (c) utilizing sensed temperature within the vent stack to regulate power of a heating unit of the steam generator to produce steam in a controlled manner that reduces flows of excess steam out of the steam cooking cavity.

Steam cooking oven and method

A steam oven includes a cooking cavity for receiving food product and a water reservoir for receiving water to be heated to generate steam, the water reservoir defined in part by a bottom wall structure of the cooking cavity. A heater plate located adjacent the bottom wall structure delivers heat through the bottom wall structure to water in the water reservoir. A spring-loaded heater plate mount arrangement supports the heater plate adjacent the bottom wall structure while permitting some movement of the heater plate.

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Hillsboro, OH, United States of America

Timothy L Cupp