The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 16, 1999
Filed:
Feb. 24, 1999
Jason David Schreiner, Palm Harbor, FL (US);
Gerald W Sank, Palm Harbor, FL (US);
Merco/Savory, Inc., Fort Wayne, IN (US);
Abstract
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.