Patent Application
20160166110
The present invention relates generally to kitchen appliances and more particularly to toasters.
Pop-up toasters are well known. Conventional pop-up toasters generally have a housing with at least one food item receiving slot defined within the housing. Corresponding to and aligned with each of the food item receiving slots is a spring-loaded food item support contained within the housing. Each food item support holds a bread, pasty product, or other similar food product (e.g., frozen waffle) while one or more heating elements (also within the housing) apply heat to the bread product, thereby toasting the bread product. Toasters are capable of toasting many different types of food items; the term “bread products” is used generically herein to refer to all of the different types of food items that may be toasted by a toaster. The food item support is movable between an up position and a down position by way of a lifter knob. The lifter knob is external to the housing and affixed to the food support by way of a lifter arm and lifter bracket. Thus, the lifter knob, lifter arm, lifter bracket, and food item support tray selectively move up and down in unison.
The food item support is biased toward its up position. In the up position, a bread product may be inserted onto the food item support. When in the down position, an electrical circuit is completed which starts a toast cycle and applies power to the heating elements to toast the bread product.
The food item support moves up and down between two opposing grill wire assemblies. The bottoms of the grill wire assemblies are typically affixed at pivot points and the tops of the grill wire assemblies selectively move inward and outward such that the grill wire assemblies selectively pivot. The tops of the grill wire assemblies are biased outward by way of biasing springs. When the lifter bracket moves down, the lifter bracket pulls the biasing springs, which causes the grill wire assemblies to pivot inward. The inward pivoting of the grill wire assemblies causes the grill wire assemblies to grab and hold the bread product during toasting. However, because of the pivoting movement of the grill wire assemblies, the bread product is held only at or near the top portion of the bread product and the bottom portion of the bread product is not held. Thus, movement of the top portion of the bread product is restricted but movement of the bottom portion of the bread product is not restricted. As a result, the application of heat to the bread product during the toasting cycle can cause the bottom portion of the bread product to curl. Such curling is undesirable because the toasted bread product will not sit flat upon a plate when removed from the toaster. Moreover, the unsupported portion of the bread product may be closer/farther from a heating element than the supported portion of the bread product. The unequal distance between the two portions of the bread product can lead to uneven toasting, which is undesirable from the user's perspective.
It is desired that there be a new mechanism that is capable of toasting a bread product while holding the entire bread product such that movement of the entire bread product is restricted and curling is prevented. The toaster of the following disclosure accomplishes the above and other objectives and overcomes at least the above-described disadvantages of conventional toaster and methods of toasting.
A kitchen appliance for toasting bread products and the like is disclosed herein. In one embodiment of the subject appliance, the toaster comprises a housing having at least one food item receiving slot defined in a top surface and at least one spring-loaded food item support that is selectively movable between an up position and a down position and is biased toward the up position. The at least one food item support would be aligned with the at least one food item receiving slot. First and second opposing end plates are provided within the housing. At least the first end plate having first and second horizontal opposing slots defined therein. Further, first and second opposing grill wire assemblies are positioned between and generally perpendicular to the first and second end plates. The grill wire assemblies would be parallel to each other. The first and second opposing grill wire assemblies comprise a first guide arm projecting through a corresponding one of the first and second horizontal slots in the first end plate. One or more springs are included for biasing the first and second opposing grill wire assemblies toward each other. A lifter bracket is selectively movable between an up position and a down position to thereby selectively move the food item support between its up position and its down position. First and second pivoting guide rods cooperate with the first guide arm of a corresponding grill wire assembly such that each guide rod restrains inward movement of a corresponding one of the first and second grill wire assemblies when each guide rod is in a first position and such that each guide rod does not restrain inward movement of a corresponding one of the first and second grill wire assemblies when each guide rod is in a second position.
A toaster as disclosed herein may further provide that the guide rods in a second position are pivoted inwardly (toward each other) relative to the first position of each guide rod. Each guide rod can further cooperate with the lifter bracket such that the lifter bracket restrains inward pivoting movement of the guide rods when the lifter bracket is in its up position and such that the lifter bracket does not restrain inward pivoting movement of the guide rods when the lifter bracket is in its down position. Each of the first and second pivoting guide rods may comprise an outwardly arcuate lower portion.
In addition to the toaster, as described above, other embodiments of the invention are directed to a method for toasting a food item. Such a method comprises a step of receiving a food item through a food item receiving slot defined in a top surface of a housing of a toaster and onto a spring-loaded food item support that is selectively movable between an up position and a down position and biased toward the up position; the food item support being aligned with the food item receiving slot. The method further comprises a step of lowering, in response to user action, a lifter bracket that is selectively movable between an up position and a down position to its down position, thereby moving the food item support to its down position. There is further a step of allowing, in response to the lowering of the lifter bracket to its down position, first and second pivoting guide rods to inwardly pivot from a first position to a second position. An addition step of allowing, in response to the first and second pivoting guide rods inwardly pivoting from the first position to the second position, first and second opposing grill wire assemblies to move inwardly toward each other is also provided. The first and second opposing grill wire assemblies being positioned within the housing between and generally perpendicular to first and second end plates. Each of the first and second opposing grill wire assemblies comprising a first guide arm projecting through a corresponding one of first and second opposing horizontal slots in the first end plate, each of the first and second pivoting guide rods cooperating with the first guide arm of a corresponding grill wire assembly such that each guide rod restrains inward movement of a corresponding one of the first and second grill wire assemblies when each of the first and second pivoting guide rods is in its first position and such that each of the first and second pivoting guide rods does not restrain inward movement of a corresponding one of the first and second grill wire assemblies when each of the first and second pivoting guide rods is in its second position.
In one embodiment of the method disclosed herein, each of the first and second pivoting guide rods further cooperates with the lifter bracket or a lifter guide such that the lifter bracket or lifter guide restrains inward pivoting movement of the first and second pivoting guide rods when the lifter bracket is in its up position and such that the lifter bracket does not restrain inward pivoting movement of the first and second pivoting guide rods when the lifter bracket is in its down position. The method may further comprise first and second pivoting guide rods that comprise an outwardly arcuate lower portion. The method may also comprise allowing, in response to the lowering of the lifter bracket to its down position, third and fourth pivoting guide rods to inwardly pivot from a first position to a second position. Each of the first and second opposing grill wire assemblies would further comprise a second guide arm projecting through a corresponding one of first and second opposing horizontal slots in the second end plate. Each of the third and fourth pivoting guide rods would cooperate with the second guide arm of a corresponding grill wire assembly such that each of the third and fourth pivoting guide rods also restrains inward movement of a corresponding one of the first and second grill wire assemblies when each of the third and fourth pivoting guide rods is in its first position and such that each of the third and fourth pivoting guide rods does not restrain inward movement of a corresponding one of the first and second grill wire assemblies when each of the third and fourth pivoting guide rods is in its second position.
Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale. The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of the disclosure, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. It should be understood, however, that the disclosure is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown, wherein:
Certain terminology is used in the following description for convenience only and is not limiting. The words “lower,” “bottom,” “upper,” and “top” designate directions in the drawings to which reference is made. The words “leftward,” “rightward,” “inward,” “outward,” “up,” “upward,” “down,” and “downward” refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of the device, and designated parts thereof, in accordance with the present disclosure. Unless specifically set forth herein, the terms “a,” “an” and “the” are not limited to one element, but instead should be read as meaning “at least one.” The terminology includes the words noted above, derivatives thereof and words of similar import.
Embodiments of the appliance disclosed herein provide a toaster that enables a user to toast a bread product that is fully supported within the toaster during the toasting cycle to minimize or prevent undesirable curling of the bread product.
Referring now to
Lifter knobs 22 are external to the housing 11. Each lifter knob 22 corresponds to two food item receiving slots 15. When a user placed a bread product in one or more of the food item receiving slots the user pushes down the corresponding lifter knob 22 to retract the bread product into the toaster and begin the toasting cycle. Each lifter knob 22 is connected to a corresponding lifter arm 24 (seen in
Reference is now made to
Lifter bracket 26 is located within the housing 11 and is connected to the lifter arm 24, which in turn is connected to lifter knob 22 such that the lifter bracket 26 moves down when a user pushes lifter knob 22 down and lifter bracket 26 moves up when the toasting cycle is complete. An electromagnet holds the lifter bracket down during the toasting cycle and releases the lifter bracket to return to its up position. The lifter bracket 26 is biased toward its up position by spring 82. Only one lifter knob 22, one lifter arm 24, and one lifter bracket 26 is illustrated in
Referring now to
Referring now to
The first grill wire assembly 32 further comprises a first guide arm 36 and a second guide arm 40. The second grill wire assembly 34 further comprises a first guide arm 38 and a second guide arm 42. The first guide arm 36 of the first grill wire assembly 32 projects through the first horizontal slot 48 (the horizontal slot 48 is seen in
Referring now to
Referring now to
With reference to
The inward biasing force against the first grill wire assembly 32 (discussed above) causes the first guide arm 36 of the first grill wire assembly 32 to push inward against the first pivoting guide rod 54 and causes the second guide arm 40 of the first grill wire assembly 32 to push inward against the third pivoting guide rod 64. Similarly, the inward biasing force against the second grill wire assembly 34 causes the first guide arm 38 of the second grill wire assembly 34 to push inward against the second pivoting guide rod 56 and causes the second guide arm 42 of the second grill wire assembly 34 to push inward against the fourth pivoting guide rod 66. However, when the lifter bracket 26, and thus the lifter guide 27, is not in the down position, the cooperation between the lifter guide 26 and the first pivoting guide rod 54 prevents the first pivoting guide rod 54 from being pivoted inward by the inward force from the first guide arm 36 of the first grill wire assembly 32. That is, the lifter guide 27 in the up position prevents the first pivoting guide rod 54 from pivoting inward despite the inward force being applied to it. Because the third pivoting guide rod 64 is connected to the first pivoting guide rod 54 (via the first connecting rod 68), the third pivoting guide rod 64 is also prevented from pivoting inward (seen in
When the lifter knob 22 is pushed down by a user, the lifter bracket 26 and associated lifter guide 27 correspondingly move downward from the up position of
The lifter guide 27 may prevent the first and second pivoting guide rods 54, 56 from pivoting beyond a certain angle but does not restrain the inward pivoting movement from the vertical or parallel position. As there is a connection between the first pivoting guide rod 54 and the third pivoting guide rod 64, the third pivoting guide rod 64 also pivots inwardly. Similarly, because of the connection between the second pivoting guide rod 56 and the fourth pivoting guide rod 66, the fourth pivoting guide rod 66 also pivots inwardly. (The inwardly pivoted positions of the third and fourth pivoting guide rods 64, 66 are not illustrated.)
The inward pivoting of the first and third pivoting guide rods 54, 64 allows the first grill wire assembly 32 to move inward, and the inward pivoting of the third and fourth pivoting guide rods 56, 66 allows the second grill wire assembly 34 to move inward. Thus, the first and second grill wire assemblies 32, 34 move inward toward each other. The first and second grill wire assemblies 32, 34 will move inward until the first and second grill wire assemblies 32, 34 contact the inserted bread product (or reach the mechanical limit as presented by, e.g., opposing slots 48, 50), and the inwardly biasing force on the first and second grill wire assemblies 32, 34 will cause the first and second grill wire assemblies 32, 34 to hold and support the bread product during the toasting cycle. The inward position of the first and second grill wire assemblies is illustrated in
When the toasting cycle is complete, the lifter bracket 26 with lifter guide 27 begins to move upward such that lifter guide contacts the guide rods above the outward arcuate portions thereby causing the first and second pivoting guide rods 54, 56 to pivot outwardly (i.e., to return to a vertical, parallel position). The outward pivoting of the first and second pivoting guide rods 54, 56 in turn applies outward force, respectively, on the first guide arm 36 of the first grill wire assembly 32 and the first guide arm 38 of the second grill wire assembly 34, thereby causing outward movement of the first and second grill wire assemblies 32, 34.
The operation of toaster 10 and a method for toasting a food item using toaster 10 will now be described with reference to
When the toasting cycle is complete, which may be determined using a thermostatic switch, a timing device, a combination thereof, or cancellation instruction from a user), the electromagnet is de-energized thereby releasing the lifter bracket 26 to return to its up position. As the lifter bracket 26 moves upward, the lifter bracket 26 forces the first and second pivoting guide rods 54, 56 to pivot outward and back to the first position (seen in
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
