Abstract:
Apparatus can cook foodstuffs with a pot and at least one support assembly adapted to rest atop the pot. The support assembly has a pair of walls. Each of the walls is dependently mounted from the support assembly. The walls are spaced apart an adjustable amount. The support assembly also has a floor hinged to and spanning the pair of walls.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to cooking apparatus, and in particular, to apparatus having adjustable walls. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     There is increased concern about cooking foods thoroughly to eliminate bacteria. At the same time, consumers are interested in reducing the fat content in the cooked food below the levels normally associated with frying. 
     An efficient and popular method of cooking food is immersion in a heated liquid. A familiar cooker is a deep fryer where foodstuff is placed in a wire basket and lowered into a pot of hot oil. Food can also be cooked in a crock pot, which is typically a ceramic pot heated will electrical heater elements. 
     When used properly, these devices can kill bacteria, but cannot be used readily for many food products. One difficulty with the foregoing cooking devices is that the food products are kept loose. Some food products such as hamburger patties cannot be easily cooked in quantity when loosely placed inside such a cooking device. For example, liquid turbulence may break up the patties. 
     In U.S. Pat. No. 4,224,864 a number of horizontal, parallel plates are stacked together and slide on a number of posts. The plates are normally separated by springs but can be driven together by a cam lever to hold meat patties between the plates. Once secured, the patties can be immersed in a deep fry cooker. This reference does not allow a simple adjustment of the cooking space and will drive the plates against the food based on the force applied by the cam and spring. 
     In U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,426 a number of parallel shelves are held together by a chain or other device. When hoisted, the shelves separate to admit cheese. When lowered, the shelves collapse to hold the cheese in place. This reference does not concern cooking and does not allow adjustment of the space between shelves. Instead the shelf to shelf spacing is always the same. See also U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,368. 
     In U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,523 a hollow platform has a number of perforated dividers. Frozen food placed between the dividers can be defrosted by heating water that circulates through the dividers and past the frozen food. While vertical dividers are shown, the space between them is not adjustable. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,027 shows a divider in the form of a grid that can be placed in a variety of positions inside a frying basket. While the size of compartments inside the basket can thus be adjusted, the reference does not disclose an assembly with a hinged floor member. See also U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,227. 
     See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 474,446; 3,282,460; 3,552,297; 4,287,818; 4,297,942; 4,548,130; and 5,216,947. 
     U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,472,448 and 4,851,241 show sauces for treating meat products. See also U.S. Pat. No. 5,567,466. 
     Accordingly, there is a need for an improved cooking apparatus that can cook foodstuffs safely and efficiently in an adjustable cooking space. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the illustrative embodiments demonstrating features and advantages of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for cooking foodstuffs. The apparatus has a pot and at least one support assembly adapted to rest atop the pot. The support assembly has a floor and a pair of walls. Each of the walls is dependently mounted from the support assembly. The walls are spaced apart an adjustable amount. The floor is hinged to and spans the pair of walls. 
     By employing apparatus of the foregoing type, improved equipment is achieved for thoroughly and efficiently cooking foodstuffs. In a preferred embodiment, one wall is affixed to a support assembly. Another, movable wall is suspended from a shaft whose outer ends slide in arcuate slots formed in blocks mounted on the support assembly. The bottom edges of these two walls are spanned by a floor that is hinged to the two walls. The hinging is such that as the walls move together or separate, they remain parallel, although the floor may change its angle of elevation. 
     In this preferred embodiment, the support assemblies may be inserted or removed from bays in a lid that rests atop a pot containing a cooking fluid, such as a water-based sauce. Preferably, the pot contains electrical heating coils that are regulated by a thermostat to maintain a desired cooking temperature. 
     The apparatus may be formed as a small home cooking unit or as a larger commercial unit with many cooking bays. In a top end commercial unit, each cooking assembly in each bay includes a timer for scheduling the cooking interval for each bay. This unit can include perches or shelves between the walls of the support assemblies to allow food products to be vertically stacked without placing the entire weight of the stack on the bottom product. 
     With the preferred apparatus, food products such as hamburger patties, do not lose their shape, because the opposing walls of the assembly are in contact with the entire surface of the product. This contact is especially effective for embodiments where the walls are formed as a grid, as opposed to solid material. Moreover, the preferred embodiment is designed to hold the food products at a continuously adjustable range of thicknesses. Also, the food products need not be turned, and because they are separated, they do not stick together. Additionally, efficiency is greatly enhanced since the food products can be loaded at the same time, so they are ready at the same time. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The above brief description as well as other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more fully appreciated by reference to the following detailed description of presently preferred but nonetheless, illustrative embodiments in accordance with the present invention, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is an axonometric view of cooking apparatus in accordance with principles of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a detailed, exploded view of a portion of the support assembly of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3A is simplified, schematic, end view of the support assembly of FIG. 1 with the walls maximally separated; 
     FIG. 3B is simplified, schematic, end view of the support assembly of FIG. 1 with the walls brought close together; 
     FIG. 4 is a top view of a cooking apparatus that is an alternate to that of FIG. 1; and 
     FIG. 5 is a front elevational view, partly in section, of the cooking apparatus of FIG.  4 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the present apparatus is illustrated as a pot  10 , which may be a double-walled assembly formed as an inner container for holding a cooking fluid and an outer container spaced therefrom to make the pot  10  safe to touch. In one embodiment the inner container is ceramic and the outer container is a metal or plastic shell, although other materials may be used in other embodiments. The pot has a pair of horizontal handles  12 . 
     In this embodiment pot  10  is 14 inches (35.5 cm) long, 12 inches (30.5 cm) wide and about 10 inches (25.4 cm) tall, although other sizes and proportions are contemplated, depending upon the desired capacity, number of cooking bays, the type and number of food products to be cooked, etc. 
     As described further hereinafter, electrical heating coils may be placed between the inner container and the outer container. The electrical heating coils may be arranged in a conventional manner with a thermostat and manual controls to regulate the heating effect of these coils. 
     The pot  10  is fitted with a lid  14  containing four parallel slots or bays  16 , although a different number of slots may be employed in alternate embodiments. Lid  14  is shown with a pair of upright handles  18 , although such handles may be eliminated in alternate embodiments. Lid  14  may be secured to the pot  10  by appropriate fasteners. It is preferred, however, that lid  14  can be lifted to allow access to the insides of pot  10  for cleaning. 
     A support assembly is shown herein as including a plate  20  with an upright handle  22 . In this embodiment, plate  20  is 12 inches (30.5 cm) long and 2 inches (5 cm) wide, although other dimensions and proportions can be used in other embodiments. Plate  20  is preferably metal that is clad with an external, thermally insulating layer making plate  20  safe to touch. It will be appreciated that other heat resistant materials may be used in alternate embodiments. 
     A pair of wells  24  and  26  are shown supported by and depending from plate  20 . Walls  24  and  26  are shown as stainless steel grids bordered by thicker stainless steel rods. A pair of members  28  and  30  are shown as slotted blocks, which are attached to the underside of plate  20  by welding or attachment with appropriate fasteners. 
     Wall  24  has a rectangular outline and may be 11 inches (28 cm) wide and 8 inches (20 cm) tall, although other dimensions and proportions are anticipated for other embodiments. Wall  24  may be attached at its upper corners to the blocks  28  and  30  and, along its upper edge, to the underside of plate  20 . For this reason, wall  24  has notches  25 , allowing the wall to fit around the blocks  28  and  30 . Wall  24  is attached in such a way to keep it fixed in position relative to plate  20  without shifting or swinging. 
     Wall  26  also has a substantially rectangular outline with the same dimensions as wall  24 , except for somewhat larger notches  34  located in the two upper corners of wall  26 . The upper edge of wall  26  is attached to an upper peripheral rod  36 . Rod  36  is a shaft having on each end an annular flange  38  bordering a threaded end portion  40 . Threaded portion  40  is sized to slidably fit inside the arcuate slot  32  in block  28 . 
     Arcuate slot  32  essentially follows a quadrant of a circle extending between opposite corners of the block  28 . The upper end of the arcuate slot  32  breaches a vertical edge of block  28  to allow removal of the threaded end  40  of the shaft  36 . Accordingly, the shaft  36  can be moved up and away from (or down and toward) wall  24  by following arcuate slot  32 . The shaft  36  can be clamped into a desired position along the arcuate slot  32  by a clamping means, shown herein as knob  42 . Knob  42  may be a plastic handle with an internally threaded metal insert (not shown) sized to screw onto the threaded end  40  of shaft  36 . By tightening knob  42 , flange  38  can be pulled against the inside surface of the block  28  (same effect at block  30 ). Thus knob  42  and flange  38  grab the block and hold shaft  36  in position. 
     A floor  44  is shown hinged to the bottom edges of the walls  24  and  26 . Floor  44  is shown as a sheet metal panel, preferably 11 inches (28 cm) long and 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide, although other dimensions and proportions are contemplated for other embodiments. Floor  44  has a plurality of tabs  46  that are rolled as shown to embrace the lower edge of walls  24  and  26 . In other embodiments the flow  44  can be hinged to the walls by means of separate brackets or by conventional hinges. 
     Referring to FIG. 3A, the wall  26  is shown clamped at an upper extreme position in arcuate slot  32 . In this illustrated position, the wall  26  is in its highest position and spaced maximally from wall  24 . Positioned in this fashion, the floor  44  is held substantially horizontal. The wall  26  can also be lowered to the position shown in FIG.  3 B. In this illustrated position, the wall  26  is in its lowest position, closest to wall  24 . Also, the floor  44  is shown tilted, forming an oblique angle with wall  24  and an acute angle with wall  26 . By following slot  32 , the upper edge of wall  26  stays at a fixed distance from the center  48  of the circle defining slot  32 . Consequently, wall  26  acts as if it were hinged to a virtual panel that is hinged between center  48  and the upper edge of wall  26 . Accordingly, walls  24  and  26  stay parallel and act as two opposite sides of parallelogram with the other two sides formed by floor  44  and the above mentioned virtual panel. 
     The fixed wall  24  is shown in FIG. 3A fitted with a perch  50 . Perch  50  may be a number of horizontal pins attached to wall  24 . Perch  50  acts as a shelf so that food products  52  and  54  can be stacked vertically without unduly compressing the food product on the bottom of the stack. Perch  50  is aligned with openings in the grid of wall  26  to protrude through these openings when the walls  24  and  26  are brought together as shown in FIG.  3 B. In this Figure thinner food products  56  and  58  are shown between the walls  24  and  26 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, a commercial cooking apparatus is illustrated, which is an alternate to that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The illustrated apparatus is substantially larger and has fourteen bays. This apparatus has an overall length of 30 inches (76 cm), an overall width of 15 inches (38 cm), and an overall height of 16 inches (40.6 cm). In this embodiment, components having structure or functions similar to that illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 have the same reference numbers but increased by one hundred. 
     Here, pot  110  is in the form of a ceramic container mounted inside a sheet metal shell. The flow  111  of the ceramic container of pot  110  is slanted to drain towards outlet valve  160 . Pot  110  has a lid  114  with an inlet  162  shown fitted with a funnel  164 , for filling the pot  110 . Lid  114  is attached to pot  110  by hinges  166 . Thus, lid  114  can be swung about the hinges  166  by lifting lid  114 , using handles  118 . 
     The front of pot  110  has an inspection window  168 . This inspection window is relatively narrow and extends from the top of pot  110  down about one quarter the height of the pot. Window  168  is used to view the level  170  of the fluid inside pot  110 . The fluid level  170  is shown sufficiently high to almost reach the underside of the blocks  148 . 
     Each of the fourteen bays of pot  110  is shown with a support assembly including a support plate  120  with a strap  122 , which can connected to a lifting handle (not shown). As before, support plate  120  has mounted below it a block  148  with an arcuate slot to support a movable wall  126 . Again, a fixed wall  124  is mounted between the blocks  148  to the underside of support plate  120 . Fixed wall  124  is shown with a number of perches  150  to hold food products  172 . Walls  124  and  126  are again designed to have a variable spacing that can be changed by clamping the upper edge of movable wall  126  in the block  148 . 
     In this embodiment, each of the support panels  120  has a timer  174 . Each timer can be set for a predetermined time interval. This time interval is set depending upon the type of food being cooked. When the time interval elapses, a ready light  176  is illuminated. While individual timers and ready lights are illustrated, in alterante embodiments a single timer and ready light may be mounted on the lid  114  to serve all of the bays. Such an arrangement assumes that all the bays will be loaded and unloaded simultaneously. 
     To facilitate an understanding of the principles associated with the foregoing apparatus, its operation will be briefly described in connection with the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 (although the operation of the other embodiment will be similar). In operation, pot  10  will be first filled with a cooking fluid. Preferably, the pot  10  will be filled with a water-based sauce. This reduces the fat content of the food, in comparison to food that is cooked in an oil-based sauce. The internal heaters are then electrically powered to heat the sauce in pot  10 . When the sauce is sufficiently hot (depending upon the type of food to be cooked) the support assemblies can be loaded with foodstuffs. 
     The assembly in each of the bays  16  can be lifted by means of handle  22 . Next the knobs  42  are loosened (but need not be removed) to free the wall  26  from the blocks  28 . Consequently, wall  26  can be swung away from wall loaded against wall  24  and then wall  26  can be swung into back into a closed position. Specifically, the threaded end  40  of shaft (FIG. 2) can be slid back into arcuate slot  32 . Shaft  36  is then pushed toward wall  24  to grip the foodstuffs between the walls with an appropriate amount of force. As shaft  36  is adjusted, the floor  44  swings as illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B. During this adjustment the walls  24  and  26  remain parallel. Once properly set, the knobs  42  are tightened to clamp shaft  36  in position. 
     Once loaded, the support assemblies can be lifted by means of handles  22  and placed in the appropriate bay  16 . This process is repeated for each of the bays until each is loaded with the food to be cooked. It will be appreciated that not all bays need to be loaded with food in every cooking session. 
     The user will allow an appropriate amount of time to elapse so that the food inside pot  10  will be sufficiently cooked. Because the food is immersed in very hot liquid, there will be thorough cooking and elimination of bacteria. Also, where the hot liquid inside pot  10  is water-based, the fat content of the foodstuffs between walls  24  and  26  will be reduced by the leaching of fat into the liquid inside pot  10 . 
     The food can be unloaded by lifting the support assemblies by means of the handles  22 . The movable walls  26  can be freed by loosening the knobs  42 . As before, the wall  26  can swing away from block  28  and wall  24  to allow the food to fall out of the assembly. The process can be completed by closing wall  26  (either with or without a new load of uncooked food) by sliding shaft  36  back into slot  32  of block  28  and clamping the shaft by tightening knob  42 . Then the assembly can be replaced in the bay  16 , again using the handle  22 . 
     The operations with respect to the embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5 are similar. This latter embodiment, however, has additional features such as the timer  174 , which operates the ready light  176 . Also, the temperature of the cooking fluid can be established by a thermostat regulating the heater coils  178 . Moreover, since the walls  124  and  126  are taller, more foodstuffs can be placed between them. In this embodiment, two rows of perches  150  are employed to allow three rows of foodstuffs. In addition, the cooking fluid inside pot  110  can be quickly drained daily by opening drain valve  160 . The following day, the cooking fluid can be quickly added by filling pot  110  through opening  162  using funnel  164 . The filling can be controlled by observing level  170  through window  168 . Window  168  can be examined periodically throughout the day to refill pot  110  if necessary due to evaporation or migration of cooking fluid into food products that are subsequently removed. 
     It will be appreciated that various modifications may be implemented with respect to the above described, preferred embodiments. Instead of a threaded rod clamped by a knob, other embodiments may employ a series of notches for holding the shaft, or other types of holding mechanisms. While a grid is shown for the parallel walls, alternative walls may include sheet metal with perforations or slots. In still other embodiments, one of the walls may be imperforate. Also, the floor of the food supporting assembly may in some embodiments be perforated, be formed of a grid, or have some alterante structure. While keeping the walls that hold the food parallel is desirable, in some embodiments one may allow the walls to converge or diverge, especially for irregularly shaped food products. In some embodiments the cooking fluid may be heated by other means, such as a combustion source. 
     Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.