High speed cooking device and method

A cooking device which comprises:

• a heating assembly that provides thermal energy to a top and a bottom of one or more food products such that said thermal energy delivered to said bottom is greater than said thermal energy delivered to said top, said heating assembly comprising a first air impingement assembly that provides upper columns of air to said top, a second air impingement assembly which provides lower columns of air to said bottom and an infrared heater that provides infrared heat directly to said bottom, wherein said infrared heater is disposed inside said second air impingement assembly.

A cooking device which comprises:

• a heating assembly that provides thermal energy to a top and a bottom of one or more food products such that said thermal energy delivered to said bottom is greater than said thermal energy delivered to said top, said heating assembly comprising a first air impingement assembly that provides upper columns of air to said top, a second air impingement assembly which provides lower columns of air to said bottom, an additional heater that heats the air that forms said upper and lower columns of air and an infrared heater that provides infrared heat directly to said bottom and that is disposed with respect to said lower columns of air so that said infrared heat and said lower columns of air are provided co-extensively to said bottom, and wherein said heating assembly provides a circulating air stream that is heated by said additional heater and is divided into a first path that includes said upper columns of air and into a second path that includes said lower columns of air, and wherein said infrared heater boosts the temperature of said circulating air stream in said second path above the temperature of said circulating air stream in said first path.

A cooking device which comprises:

• a heating assembly that provides thermal energy to a too and a bottom of one or more food products such that said thermal energy delivered to said bottom is greater than said thermal energy delivered to said top, said heating assembly comprising a first air impingement assembly that provides upper columns of air to said top, a second air impingement assembly which provides lower columns of air to said bottom, an infrared heater that provides infrared heat directly to said bottom and a cooling assembly that cools the air that forms said upper columns of air.

A cooking device which comprises:

• a heating assembly that provides thermal energy to a top and a bottom of one or more food products such that said thermal energy delivered to said bottom is greater than said thermal energy delivered to said top, said heating assembly comprising a first air impingement assembly that provides upper columns of air to said top, a second air impingement assembly which provides lower columns of air to said bottom and an infrared heater that provides infrared heat directly to said bottom, and wherein said heating assembly further comprises a temperature adjuster that alters the temperature of one of said upper and said lower columns of air.

A cooking device which comprises:

• a heating assembly that provides thermal energy to a top and a bottom of one or more food products such that said thermal energy delivered to said bottom is greater than said thermal energy delivered to said top, said heating assembly comprising a first air impingement assembly that provides upper columns of air to said top, a second air impingement assembly which provides lower columns of air to said bottom and an infrared heater that provides infrared heat directly to said bottom, wherein at least one of said upper columns and lower columns of air diffuse to form a blanket of impingement air on said respective top or bottom, wherein at least one of said first and second air impingement assemblies comprises a plurality of apertures shaped to provide said blanket of impingement air, and wherein said apertures have a cross-section shape which provides different BTU delivery rates at different levels within said blanket of impingement air.

A cooking device which comprises:

• a heating assembly that provides thermal energy to a top and a bottom of one or more food products such that said thermal energy delivered to said bottom is greater than said thermal energy delivered to said top, said heating assembly comprising a first air impingement assembly that provides upper columns of air to said top, an additional heater that heats the air that forms said upper and lower columns of air, and an infrared heater that provides infrared heat directly to said bottom and that is disposed with respect to said lower columns of air so that said infrared heat and said lower columns of air are provided co-extensively to said bottom, wherein said upper columns of air diffuse to form a blanket of upper impingement air on said top, wherein said first air impingement assembly comprises a plurality of apertures shaped to provide said blanket of impingement air, and wherein said apertures have a cross-section shape which provides different BTU delivery rates at different levels within said blanket of impingement air.

A method for cooking one or more food products comprising:

• a) providing a stream of air that is applied as columns of heated air to a top of said food product and providing infrared heat directly to a bottom of said food product;
• and
• b) controlling the thermal energy applied to said top and bottom of said food product so that the thermal energy applied to said bottom is greater than that applied to said top, wherein step (b) cools at least a portion of said stream of heated air.

A method for cooking one or more food products comprising:

• a) providing a stream of air that is applied via a plurality of apertures as columns of heated air to a top of said food product and providing heat to a bottom of said food product;
• and
• b) controlling the thermal energy applied to said top and bottom of said food product so that the thermal energy applied to said bottom is greater than that applied to said top, wherein said apertures have a cross-section shape which provides different BTU delivery rates at different levels within a blanket of impingement air formed by said columns of air.

A cooking device comprising means that includes a plurality of jet apertures for providing columns of impingement air that form a blanket of impingement air for cooking food products of different heights without adjustment of the distance between said jet apertures and said food products, and wherein said et apertures have a cross-section shape which provides different BTU delivery rates at different levels within said blanket of impingement air.

A method for cooking food products of different heights comprising:

• providing columns of impingement air via jet apertures that form a blanket of impingement air for cooking said food products of different heights without adjustment of the distance between said jet apertures and said food products, and wherein said jet apertures have a cross-section shape which provides different BTU delivery rates at different levels within said blanket of impingement air.