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US 5,044,264 AGranted
Cooking apparatus for producing grill stripes on cooked products
OwnerRobert B. Forneyinventor
Life of this patent
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OwnerRobert B. Forneyinventor
Estimating the term…
A belt grill or belt cooking apparatus, of the general type previously known for rapidly cooking meat, grilled sandwiches, etc. in a travelling path through the apparatus, has improvements enabling the belt cooking grill to impart grill stripes or grill patterns on the product as it is cooked. In one embodiment the improved belt cooking apparatus has upper and lower heat platens with ridges or other types of embossings, with the moving belts being formed of a flexible material capable of good heat transfer and good wear resistance at elevated temperatures. The ridges or embossings press the belt into the food product, causing greater heat transfer at the ridges than between them, and thus forming a series of grill stripes on the product while the product is also cooked. In another embodiment, the belts are formed of stainless steel, with corrugations, embossings or ridges which press directly against the moving feed product as it is cooked, to effect grill stripes due to greater heat transfer along the lines of pressure.
In a belt cooking apparatus or belt grill having a pair of spaced apart opposed heated platens and a pair of endless belts on rollers, positioned such that one of the belts travels adjacent to and against each of the heat platens so as to conduct heat from the heat platens to food products engaged between the belts, and with the two belts advancing at substantially the same speed, the improvement comprising means associated with the belts and platens for effecting increased heat transfer along selected lines on at least one of the belts as compared to remaining areas of the belts, while still providing sufficient heat to cook the food products at such remaining areas of the belts, so as to form grill lines on the food products at the positions of greater heat transfer.
In a belt cooking apparatus or belt grill having a pair of spaced apart opposed heated platens and a pair of endless belts on rollers, positioned such that one of the belts travels adjacent to and against each of the heat platens so as to conduct heat from the heat platens to food products engaged between the belts, and with the two belts advancing at substantially the same speed, the improvement comprising the belts being formed of stainless steel, and at least one of the stainless steel belts having a surface with a plurality of raised portions or embossings positioned to engage the food products with greater pressure than at the remaining areas of the belt, whereby increased heat transfer to food products is effected at said raised portions or embossings as compared to remaining areas of the belts while still providing sufficient heat to cook the food products at such remaining areas of the belts, so as to form grill lines on the food products at the locations of the raised portions or embossings.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.