Programmable electric toaster

An automatic electric toaster for food products comprising:

• a housing;
• toasting means located within said housing for receiving and radiantly toasting food products;
• automatic elevator means associated with said toasting means for lowering said food products from a first raised position to a second lowered position for toasting said food products;
• programmable control means for storing a toasting cycle program for operatively controlling said toasting means and generating signals to raise said elevator means when said toasting cycle is completed, said programmable control means including means for recording and operatively running a plurality of predetermined and preselected ones of said toasting cycle programs;
• said automatic elevator means comprising a toast support structure, a motor coupled to said programmable control means, said motor having a rotatable drive shaft, a start/stop control switch coupled to said motor, and means coupling said rotatable motor drive shaft to said toast support structure for selectively moving said toast support structure from said first raised position to said second lowered position for toasting upon operation of said control switch and from said second position to said first raised position for access upon generation of a signal from said programmable control means when said toasting cycle is completed;
• said motor drive shaft coupling means comprising a carriage assembly coupled to said toast support structure, a first elongated flat rectangular plate coupled to said rotatable motor shaft for rotating with said shaft, a second elongated flat rectangular plate pivotally coupled between said carriage assembly and said first plate such that the rotation of said first plate a first 180.degree. caused said second plate to move said carriage assembly and attached support structure from said first raised position to said second lowered position and rotation of said first plate a second 180.degree. caused said second plate to move said carriage assembly and attached toast support structure from said lowered position to said first raised position;
• a first orifice in the midsection of said first plate for receiving said motor drive shaft and rotating therewith;
• a second orifice at one end of said first plate;
• a third orifice in one end of said second plate;
• a first pin rotatably inserted in said second and third orifices such that rotation of said first plate moves in said second plate;
• a fourth orifice in the other end of said second plate;
• a second pin attached to said toast support carriage assembly and rotatably inserted in said fourth orifice such that rotation of said first plate a first 180.degree. moves said carriage assembly and said toast support structure from said first raised position to said second lowered position and rotation of said first plate a second 180.degree. moves said carriage assembly and said toast support structure from said lowered position to said raised position;
• a front end plate coupled to said housing;
• an elongated vertical slot in said front end plate, said toast support structure extending through said vertical slot and coupled to said carriage assembly;
• an upper guide plate having an orifice therein;
• a lower guide plate coupled to said housing and having an orifice therein;
• a vertically=extending orifice in said carriage assembly;
• and
• an elongated shaft extending vertically through said orifice in said upper guide plate, said carriage assembly and said lower guide plate for guiding said carriage assembly and said attached toast support structure between its lowered position and its raised position.