Vacuum cooking or warming appliance
AssigneeAll-Clad Metalcrafters LLC
InventorWilliam A. Groll
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A cooking or food warming appliance having a heated heat sink plate situated in a vacuum environment within an outer shell. A food vessel intimately engages the heat sink plate along a food contacting surface thereof by virtue of the vacuum. The vacuum eliminates air gaps between the food contacting surface of the food vessel and the heat sink plate so as to provide instantaneous and uniform heating of the food vessel. The vacuum environment also provides thermal insulation for the heat sink plate whereby heat loss by convection is virtually eliminated.
Claims15
A cooking or warming appliance comprising:
- a. an outer shell;
- b. a food vessel having a cooking surface on an interior surface, said food vessel removably positioned within the outer shell and defining a space between an exterior surface of the food vessel and an interior surface of the outer shell when the food vessel is placed therein;
- c. sealing means co-acting between the outer shell and the food vessel;
- d. means for selectively activating and deactivating a vacuum condition in said space;
- e. a metal heat sink plate positioned within said space, adapted to forcibly and uniformly contact the exterior surface of the food vessel beneath said cooking surface when the vacuum is activated;
- f. electric heating means positioned within said space to heat said heat sink plate when the vacuum is activated;
- and
- g. means for spacing said heat sink plate and heating means from the interior surface of the outer shell, whereby said vacuum condition when activated surrounds said heat sink plate and heating means within said outer shell to permit heat to pass only by conduction from the heat sink plate to said cooking surface.
A food cooking or warming appliance comprising:
- a. an outer shell;
- b. a heat sink plate positioned within the interior of the outer shell;
- c. electric resistance heating means positioned within the shell associated with the heat sink plate for heating the plate to a desired temperature;
- d. a removable food vessel for selective placement within the outer shell, said vessel having a food contacting surface for placement adjacent to said heat sink plate;
- e. a lid adapted to selective engagement with one of the outer shell or the food vessel;
- f. a vacuum pump means communicating with the interior of the outer shell to selectively create a vacuum around the heat sink plate and heating means, and between the outer shell and one of the removable food vessel or lid, wherein said vacuum pump means is selectively deactivated to permit removal of one of the food vessel or lid from the outer shell;
- and
- g. a sealing means cooperating between one of the lid and the outer shell or between the food vessel and the outer shell.
A method of cooking or warming food comprising the steps of:
- a. providing an outer shell;
- b. providing a heat sink plate and electric heating means within the outer shell;
- c. providing vacuum means for selectively providing a vacuum around the heat sink plate and the heating means;
- d. providing a removable food vessel for placement in the outer shell whereby the food vessel forcibly and intimately contacts the heat sink plate, when the vacuum condition exists in a space between the food vessel and the outer shell, whereby the vacuum prevents heat loss through the outer shell;
- e. providing removable lid means adapted to selectively fit the outer shell and the food vessel;
- f. providing sealing means to selectively establish a vacuum tight seal between one of the lid and the outer shell during a preheating step and between the food vessel and the outer shell during a cooking or warming step;
- and
- g. deactivating the vacuum means to permit selective removal of one of the lid means or food vessel from the outer shell after respective preheating and cooking or warming steps.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.