US 4,539,900 AGranted

Apparatus for heating food products

AssigneeInternational Food Equipment Inc.

InventorClaude A. Reed

Life of this patent

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Abstract

Food products, for example, hamburger patties, are more rapidly cooked than with existing system and with reduced shrinkage. A cooking appliance is provided having a plurality of parallel spaced heat transfer fins. An array of projecting cooking grills on which the hamburger patty is impaled are thermally connected to said heat transfer fins. This composite cooking appliance is substantially immersed in a liquid heating medium so that heat is transferred through the fins and projecting grills to the interior of the hamburger patty. In this way cooking is accomplished in a relatively short period of time, and the amount of fat and meat juices that are melted or boiled away is reduced. A system for placing the hamburger patty on the cooking grills transports the patty to the cooking grills, then allows the patty to be impaled onto the grills.

Claims3

Dependent claims

An appliance for imapling a food product onto heating grills, and which is adapted to impale hamburger patties onto such grills, preparatory to a cooking operation, the combination comprising:

a plurality of heat conductive grill means each of which has an end for insertion into the food product;
said plurality of grill means mounted in an array and adapted to be inserted as a group into the food product;
a container for a liquid cooking medium;
means for heating the liquid cooking medium;
means for moving said grill means and the food product relatively toward each other for impaling the food product onto said grill means;
said means for moving said grill means and the food product relatively toward each other including cam means, lever means cooperating with said cam means, and means for rotating said cam means such that said lever means applys sufficient force between said grill means and the food product so as to impale the food product on said grill means;
and
means for maintaining said grill means at least partially submersed in said liquid cooking medium for at least a portion of the time said food product is impaled on said grill means.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 06/604,925Filed 27 Apr 1984 · continuation
Priority: 18 Oct 1971
Granted: 10 Sep 1985
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification3 codes

A47J 37/06
Baking; Roasting; Grilling; Frying: roasters; Grills; Sandwich grills
A47J 37/044
Roasting apparatus with movably-mounted food supports or with movable heating implements; Spits: with conveyors moving in a horizontal or an…
A47J
Kitchen equipment

Family

Serial190,254Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 18 Oct 1971
Serial446,951Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 28 Feb 1974
Serial719,585Parent of this continuation · filed 1 Sep 1976
Serial909,795Parent of this division · filed 26 May 1978
Serial251,906Parent of this continuation · filed 7 Apr 1981
Serial457,530Parent of this continuation · filed 13 Jan 1983
US 4,446,775 AParent of this continuation · filed 8 May 1984
US 4,261,258 AParent of this division
US 3,996,874 AParent of this continuation-in-part
US 4,539,900 AThis patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.