US 4,011,431 AGranted

Electric cooking appliance with reversible grill

OwnerMonte L. Levininventor

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Abstract

Electric cooker has cover containing electric heating element and base pan interposed by an invertible grill. Grill is formed with mating zones, preferably grooves, about either side to cooperate with a depending rib from the cover. Opposite faces of the grill present respectively a circular dam for hamburgers or the like, and a rectangular dam for sandwiches. Irrespective of which face is up and serving as a cooking surface, cooperation of rib and associated mating zone provide good heat transfer to grill from cover.

Claims7

Dependent claims

A versatile efficient electric fast cooker for hamburgers, sandwiches and the like comprising

a. a rectangular cover having on the bottom thereof a flat downwardly-facing cooking surface surrounded by a substantially rectangular downwardly porjecting heat-conducting continuous rib containing an electric heating element;
b. a drip-receiving box-like rectangular base pan having an open top, sidewalls, and a floor, said base pan adapted to mate with and support the cover;
c. hinge means connecting the cover and base pan;
d. a perforated, substantially flat two-sided invertible rectangular metal grill adapted to be received by the base pan, one of the sides constituting the hamburger-cooking side of the grill and presenting an inwardly facing, relatively circular wall surrounding a portion thereof, and the other side constituting the sandwich-grilling side of the grill and presenting an inwardly facing substantially rectangular wall surrounding a portion thereof, the grill having a continuous rectangular mating zone adjacent the periphery of each side and outward of said square and round walls respectively and adapted to align with and engage the rectangular downwardly projecting rib on the cover when the cooker is assembled, the outer surface of the rectangular wall being a smooth upward extension of the mating zone conforming closely to the shape of the inwardly facing upward portion of the rectangular rib, and a plurality of spaced portions of the outer surface of the circular wall also being smooth upward extensions the mating zone conforming closely to the shape of the inwardly facing upward portion of the rectangular rib;
and
e. support means in the base pan for engaging at least a portion of the underside of the grill to support the grill in the base pan, the support means and the grill being so shaped that irrespective of which surface is upward, the support means holds the grill up with the upward mating zone engaging the rib;
whereby when the cooker is assembled with the sandwich grilling side upward, the grill is adapted to support for cooking a square sandwich or the like, and when the cooker is assembled with the hamburger-cooking side upward, the grill is adapted to support for cooking a round hamburger or the like, in the respective instances the upwardly facing mating zone as well as the outer surface of the rectangular wall and at least some of said portions of the circular wall being in engagement with or very proximate the rib to provide effective heat exchange from the heating-element-containing rib to the grill.

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Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

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Abstract

A versatile efficient electric fast cooker for hamburgers, sandwiches and the like comprising

a. a rectangular cover having on the bottom thereof a flat downwardly-facing cooking surface surrounded by a substantially rectangular downwardly porjecting heat-conducting continuous rib containing an electric heating element;
b. a drip-receiving box-like rectangular base pan having an open top, sidewalls, and a floor, said base pan adapted to mate with and support the cover;
c. hinge means connecting the cover and base pan;
d. a perforated, substantially flat two-sided invertible rectangular metal grill adapted to be received by the base pan, one of the sides constituting the hamburger-cooking side of the grill and presenting an inwardly facing, relatively circular wall surrounding a portion thereof, and the other side constituting the sandwich-grilling side of the grill and presenting an inwardly facing substantially rectangular wall surrounding a portion thereof, the grill having a continuous rectangular mating zone adjacent the periphery of each side and outward of said square and round walls respectively and adapted to align with and engage the rectangular downwardly projecting rib on the cover when the cooker is assembled, the outer surface of the rectangular wall being a smooth upward extension of the mating zone conforming closely to the shape of the inwardly facing upward portion of the rectangular rib, and a plurality of spaced portions of the outer surface of the circular wall also being smooth upward extensions the mating zone conforming closely to the shape of the inwardly facing upward portion of the rectangular rib;
and
e. support means in the base pan for engaging at least a portion of the underside of the grill to support the grill in the base pan, the support means and the grill being so shaped that irrespective of which surface is upward, the support means holds the grill up with the upward mating zone engaging the rib;
whereby when the cooker is assembled with the sandwich grilling side upward, the grill is adapted to support for cooking a square sandwich or the like, and when the cooker is assembled with the hamburger-cooking side upward, the grill is adapted to support for cooking a round hamburger or the like, in the respective instances the upwardly facing mating zone as well as the outer surface of the rectangular wall and at least some of said portions of the circular wall being in engagement with or very proximate the rib to provide effective heat exchange from the heating-element-containing rib to the grill.

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