Toaster

A toaster for heating both a frankfurter and a frankfurter bun is disclosed. The toaster has a frankfurter heating chamber having associated first heating elements for heating at least two opposed surfaces of a frankfurter placed in said frankfurter heating chamber and at least one bun heating chamber having an associated second heating element for heating at least one surface of a bun placed in said bun heating chamber. The toaster includes an elevator having a first portion for supporting the frankfurter in the frankfurter heating chamber and a second portion for supporting the bun in the bun heating chamber. A connecting means connects the first portion to said second portion and permits a limited amount of play between said first and second portion. In one embodiment the connecting means includes a generally upside down U-shaped link bar. The first portion circumferentially restrains the frankfurter for at least a lower half of the frankfurter while simultaneously allowing radiant heat from said first element means to impinge on said restrained lower half of said frankfurter. A means for raising and lowering the elevator in the toaster is also disclosed. In one embodiment the elevator may be removable from said toaster to allow cleaning and the like.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a self-contained cooking appliance of the type 
used for toasting articles of food therein. In particular, this invention 
relates to a toaster suitable for toasting frankfurters and associated 
buns. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Frankfurters have been known and used in commerce extensively for a long 
time. They are a particularly popular snack food in North America. In the 
past, there have been numerous attempts to provide a suitable cooking 
appliance which will thoroughly cook a frankfurter with a minimum of time 
and inconvenience. Among the various frankfurter cooking devices 
suggested, are those of the type that pass an electrical current through 
the frankfurter thereby cooking the frankfurter and those of the type that 
employ radiant heating elements which provide heat to toast the 
frankfurter which is exposed to the heat from such elements. It has been 
found that the passing of an electrical current through the body of the 
frankfurter creates a dangerous and unsafe cooking device. Such a device 
is unsafe because if the device is turned on, without a frankfurter being 
placed across the two electrodes providing the electricity, then it is 
possible that live electrodes could become exposed thereby creating a 
serious health risk. This is clearly a disadvantage to this type of cooker 
and therefore this type of cooker is generally undersirable. 
A different problem arises with respect to radiant heating or toasting 
frankfurter cookers. An example of a radiant heating frankfurter toaster 
is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,792,653 which issued on Feb. 19, 1974, for 
an invention entitled A TOASTER in the name of Brian Davidson. This patent 
discloses a toaster which simultaneously heats a bun and a frankfurter. In 
their uncooked state, frankfurters are generally symmetrical, elongate 
cylinders with rounded ends. However, under the influence of the radiant 
heat from the toasting elements, the frankfurters typically will bend away 
from the longitudinal axis. Depending upon how much heat is directed to 
what portions of the frankfurter, the frankfurter will bend, curl or tend 
to split. The distortion of the frankfurter away from a generally 
symmetrical shape makes it very difficult to move the frankfurter in a 
direction along its longiduinal axis. A significant problem with respect 
to the device of this prior patent is the tendency of the frankfurter to 
deflect and jam in a frankfurter heating chamber. 
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, what is desired is a toaster which is constructed so that the 
frankfurter will not jam in the heating chamber upon being exposed to the 
heat from the heating elements. Additionally, it would be desireable to 
have a toaster which contained removeable components for the ease of 
cleaning such components. 
Therefore, according to the present invention there is provided, a toaster 
for heating both a frankfurter and a frankfurter bun said toaster 
comprising: a frankfurter heating chamber, said frankfurter heating 
chamber having an associated first element means for heating a frankfurter 
placed in said frankfurter heating chamber, said first element means 
heating said frankfurter on at least two opposed surfaces of said 
frankfurter, at least one bun heating chamber said bun heating chamber 
having an associated second element means for heating a bun placed in said 
bun heating chamber, said second element means heating said bun on at 
least one surface of said bun, an elevator, said elevator comprising a 
first portion for supporting said frankfurter in said frankfurter heating 
chamber, a second portion for supporting said bun in said bun heating 
chamber and a connecting means, said connecting means connecting said 
first portion to said second portion and permitting a limited amount of 
play between said first portion and said second portion, said first 
portion circumferentially restraining said frankfurter for at least a 
lower half of said frankfurter, and simultaneously allowing radiant heat 
from said first element means to impinge on said restrained lower half of 
said frankfurter, a means for raising and lowering said elevator, said 
elevator in a lower position supporting said frankfurter and said bun 
substantially within said respective frankfurter heating chamber and said 
bun heating chamber, and said elevator, in a raised position supporting 
said frankfurter and said bun with at least a portion of said frankfurter 
and said bun projecting outwardly of said respective frankfurter heating 
chamber and said bun heating chamber, through respective open tops of said 
chambers.

FIG. 1 shows at 10 a preferred form of toaster according to the present 
invention. The toaster 10 has an associated electrical cord 12 for 
providing power to the toaster 10 as described below. Also shown in FIG. 1 
is a front 14, a left side 16 and a top 18. A bottom 20 together with a 
rear 15 and a right side 17 complete the toaster 10. On each of the left 
side 16 and the right side 17 are handles 20. A knob 22 forms a part of 
the handle 20. Also shown is a timer adjuster 24 with an associated dial 
26. Turning now to the top 18 of the toaster 10 there are shown a 
frankfurter heating chamber 30 located between two opposed bun heating 
chambers 32 and 34. These heating chambers have respectively top openings 
31, 33 and 35. Also shown on top 18 are safety catches 36 and 38 which are 
described in more detail below. 
FIG. 2 shows an elevator 40 in exploded view out of the toaster 10. The 
elevator 40 comprises a first portion indicated generally at 42 for 
supporting a frankfurter in the frankfurter heating chamber 30 and a 
second portion 44 for supporting at least one bun in one of the bun 
heating chambers 32 or 34. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 the second 
portion 44 is comprised of a left-hand plate 46 and a right-hand plate 48. 
Also shown are respective tabs 47 and 49 extending upwardly from plates 46 
and 48. 
The elevator 40 is shown in enlarged view in FIG. 3. Connecting the first 
portion 42 to the second portion 44 is a link rod 50. The link rod 50 is 
generally in the shape of an upside down U and includes opposed generally 
vertical sections 52, 54 and an upper section 56 joining the two generally 
vertical sections 52, 54. The generally horizontal left-hand plate 46 is 
attached to generally vertical section 52 at upwardly extending tab 47. 
Similarly on the right-hand side, the generally horizontal right-hand 
plate 48 is joined to the generally vertical section 54 at the upwardly 
extending tab 49. These joints may be made rigid by any suitable means 
such as welding or the like. 
Turning to the first portion 42 as shown in FIG. 3, there are a pair of 
opposed upper rings 58 and 60 having a frankfurter restraining cage 62 and 
64 depending therefrom. Each frankfurter restraining cage 62, 64 is 
composed of three generally U-shaped members 66, 68 and 70. The following 
description is in respect of the cage 64, but it will be appreciated that 
the description applies equally to cage 62. The U-shaped members 66 and 68 
lie in two parallel planes as shown in FIG. 3. The U-shaped member 70 lies 
in a plane generally perpendicular or orthogonal to the parallel planes of 
U-shaped members 66 and 68. In this manner the cage 62 is created for 
restraining the frankfurter (not shown) during the course of toasting the 
frankfurter. The cages 62, 64 simultaneously restrain any frankfurter 
placed therein, and allow radiant heat to impinge upon the frankfurter. 
Also, as shown in FIG. 3, the upper rings 58 and 60 are attached to the 
link rod 50 in a manner shown at 72. Essentially, each upper ring 58 and 
60 has an opposed upwardly extending flange. These flanges are shown as 74 
and 76 in FIG. 3. The opposed flanges 74 and 76 are bent around the link 
rod 50 and each flange 74, 76 is secured to the opposite flange. The 
flanges 74, 76 are not secured to the link rod 50, so that the link rod 50 
is free to move somewhat in a pair of channels 77 formed between the 
opposed flanges 74 and 76. In this manner, a limited amount of play is 
permitted between the first portion 42 and the second portion 44 as 
illustrated by arrows 78. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the 
art that such a limited amount of play provides certain inherent 
advantages. For example, the elevator 40 will not easily be susceptible to 
breakage since a limited amount of movement or play is permitted. This is 
especially advantageous when removing the elevator 40 from the toaster 10 
to place it in a dishwasher or the like. 
Also shown in FIG. 3 is a raised loop 80 formed in the upper section 56 of 
the link rod 50. The raised loop 80 is of sufficient size that a fork tang 
or the like may be inserted into the loop 80 to lift the elevator 40 out 
of the toaster 10. 
Turning again to FIG. 2, it can be seen that channels 82 and 84 are formed 
between the top openings 31, 33 and 35. The channels 82, 84 accommodate 
the upper section 56 of the link rod 50 to allow the elevator 40 to be 
inserted into the toaster 10. Upon the elevator 40 being inserted into the 
toaster 10 the left-hand plate 46 and the right-hand plate 48 come into 
contact with and sit upon a generally horizontal bar 86. Grooves, 
indicated as 88 and 90, are formed in the left-hand plate 46 and the 
right-hand plate 48 to provide a secure seat on the bar 86. 
Between the chambers 30 and 32 and between the chambers 30 and 34 are 
located vertical insulating panels 92, 93. Each vertical insulating panel 
has a face towards the inside of the frankfurter heating chamber 30 and 
each of the insulating panels 92, 93, has a face towards the inside of a 
bun heating chamber 30 or 34. Heating elements are provided on these faces 
to produce radiant heat. FIG. 5 shows the panel 92, looking at the face 
which is towards the inside of frankfurter heating chamber 30. The panel 
has an element 94, which is wound around the panel 92 as shown. Beginning 
at the left hand side, the element 94 is fixed at a point 95. It is then 
brought through a notch 96 and passes up the front face to a top notch 97. 
The element 94 then passes along the rear face downwardly to a notch 98. 
The element 94 then passes upwardly along the front face to a further 
notch 99. The notch 99 has an upwardly directed point 100 and the element 
94 passes around the point 100 on the rear face, and then downwardly, 
along the front face to a further notch 100. The element 94 then passes 
across to the right hand half of the panel 92, across the rear face, and 
the pattern described above is repeated, in reverse order. 
The panel 93 carries an element 94 in an identical manner to that described 
above in respect of panel 92. It will now be appreciated that because 
there are two panels 92, 93, the frankfurter heating chamber 30 is heated 
from opposed sides, while the bun heating chambers 32, 34 are only heated 
from one side. 
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that a frankfurter 
requires more heat to become toasted, than does a bun. Further, the rate 
of toasting of either the frankfurter or the bun is dependent upon the 
amount of radiant heating impinging upon the bun or the frankfurter. The 
amount of radiant heating, in turn, is dependent upon the number of 
heating elements, and the distance the food is away from the heating 
elements. In order to provide for the simultaneous toasting of the bun and 
the frankfurter, and in order that the toasting of the bun and the 
frankfurter are completed simultaneously, a number of techniques have been 
utilized in the present invention. Firstly, in the bun heating chamber a 
spacing grill 102 is provided formed by a plurality of outwardly and then 
downwardly extending spacing elements 103. The grill 102 spaces the bun 
away from the elements 94, thereby slowing the rate of speed at which the 
bun toasts. Secondly, the bun heating chamber faces of the panels 92, 93 
have only half of the elements as are provided on the frankfurter heating 
faces of panels 92, 93. This is illustrated in FIG. 5 where there are 
shown eight strips of element 94 on the front face (for the frankfurter 
heating chamber 30) and only four strips on the rear face (for the bun 
heating chamber 32 or 34). 
Returning to FIG. 2, slots 104 are formed in each of the panels 92, 93 of 
the chambers 30, 32, 34 to enable the horizontal bar 86 to extend into all 
of the chambers 30, 32, 34 and to be free to move up and down. A spring, 
not shown in FIG. 2, is associated with the horizontal bar 86 and biases 
the bar 86 into the raised position. At one end of the bar 86 is attached 
the knob 22 shown in FIG. 1. By depressing the knob 22, the horizontal bar 
86 is also depressed, thereby lowering the elevator fully into the heating 
chambers 30, 32 and 34. 
Turning to FIG. 6, there is shown an end view of a catch mechanism 
indicated generally at 104 and a timing and release mechanism indicated 
generally at 106. The catch mechanism rides vertically upon a post 108 and 
can be lowered to engage the release mechanism 106 in a manner described 
below. The catch mechanism 104 is comprised of two parts, which are 
slideable relative to each other along the post 108. The first part is 
identified at 110. The first part 110 includes a flange 112. Part 110 is 
fixed to the horizontal bar 86 which is shown in dotted outline. The part 
110 sits on a second part 114 which together make up the catch mechanism 
104. The second part 114 includes a curved foot 116 with a toe 118. The 
first part 110 is nested on top of the second part 114. 
Also shown in FIG. 6 is an electrical relay 120 with a contact 122 and a 
plate 124. When the catch mechanism 104 is lowered on the post 108 by 
means of depressing the handle 22 the flange 112 contacts the plate 124 
thereby pushing the plate 124 into contact with contact 122. This 
completes the electrical connection for the relay 120 thereby allowing 
electrical power to be directed to the elements 94. This is illustrated in 
FIG. 7. 
Turning now to the release mechanism 106, there are shown a number of 
components. The first component is a guide plate 130 which is fixed to the 
toaster 10. The guide plate 130 has a vertical slot 132 as shown. Behind 
the guide plate 132 is a moveable plate 134. The moveable plate 134 has a 
horizontal slot 136 and the cam face 138. A notch 140 is also provided for 
the horizontal bar 86. Behind the moveable plate 134 is a toothed wheel 
142 and a smaller wheel 144. The smaller wheel has a pin 146 which fits 
into the horizontal slot 136. The smaller wheel 144 is rotatable and upon 
rotation of the wheel 144 the moveable plate 134 is raised and lowered. 
The travel of the moveable plate 134 is controlled by means of studs 146 
which slide in vertical slot 132. 
The toothed wheel 142 is attached to a spring and gear mechanism (not 
shown) which provides that the tooth wheel will rotate at a constant speed 
under a specific loading. 
Turning now to FIG. 7, it can be seen that the handle 22 has been displaced 
to the lowered position. The first part 110 is now closing the electrical 
contact 122. The second part 114 has been lowered the further amount and 
the toe 118 of the curved foot 116 is engaging the toothed wheel 142. From 
FIG. 7 it can be seen that the curved foot 116 is on the end of a 
rotatable arm 148 which is pinned at 150. A spring 152 on a short arm 154 
biases the toe 118 into the toothed wheel 142. The second part 114 also 
has another arm 156 to which is attached a spring 158. The other end of 
spring 158 is attached to the toaster 10 at 160. In the configuration 
shown in FIG. 7, the spring 158 is urging the second part 114 upwardly, 
while at the same time the spring 152 is urging the toe 118 into 
engagement with the toothed wheel 142. In this configuration the toothed 
wheel 142 is being rotated at a constant speed. 
Turning to FIG. 8, it can be seen that after the toothed wheel 142 has 
rotated a certain amount, the curved foot 116 of the second part 114 comes 
into contact with the cam face 138 of the moveable plate 134. As the foot 
116 slides along the cam face 138, the toe 118 is withdrawn from the teeth 
of the toothed wheel 142, thereby allowing the spring 58 to draw the 
second part 114 up, which in turn carries the first part 110 upwardly. As 
a result of the sudden disengagement of the toe 118 (shown in FIG. 9), the 
catch mechanism tends to pop upwardly. Consequently, a cushioning spring 
162 is provided between the top of the first part 110 and the toaster on 
post 108. This spring 162 is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Of course, when the 
second part 114 carries up first part 110, flange 112 disengages from 
plate 124 which, in turn, ceases contacting contact 122, thereby breaking 
the electrical power circuit for the element 94. 
It will now be appreciated that the length of time that the toasting 
elements are producing radiant heat, and the length of time that the 
frankfurter and the buns remain in the heating chambers can be varied by 
raising or lowering the point at which the foot 116 intersects the cam 
face 138. The cam face 138 can be raised or lowered by rotating the 
smaller wheel 144. On the outside of the toaster 10, the smaller wheel 144 
is connected to the timer adjuster 24. In this manner, an individual using 
the toaster 10 can select a pre-determined amount of time that the 
frankfurter and/or bun is exposed to the energized heating elements 
thereby enabling the user of the toaster 10 to select any desired degree 
of toasting. 
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that under the influence 
of radiant heating elements 94, the toasted frankfurters will tend to bend 
or buckle from their generally symmetrical shape. Consequently, to provide 
an elevator 40 having generally vertical movement can be difficult in that 
the frankfurter is likely to jam at the top opening 31. It will be 
appreciated from the foregoing description that a frankfurter placed in 
the first portion 42 will be supported for at least half its length by the 
cages 92, 94, and will be restrained by means of the cages 92, 94 from 
deflecting too much from its original symmetrical shape. To be effective, 
the depending cages 92, 94 must cover at least half of the length of the 
frankfurter and it is preferrable that the frankfurter be supported for 
about 3/4 of its length. 
Turning now to FIG. 4, there is shown a safety catch 38 which comprises a 
knob 170 sliding in a slot 172 and attached to a rod 174. The knob 170 can 
move the rod 174 across the channel 82 to prevent the upper portion of the 
link rod 50 from passing out of the toaster 10. In this manner the 
elevator 40 may be releasably secured within the toaster 10. 
Referring to FIG. 2, there is also shown a grease drip tray 178 which is 
insertable between the bottom 20 and the heating chambers 30, 32 and 34. 
In this manner any food particles or grease that may fall from the food 
being heated will be caught in the tray 178 which can later be easily 
removed for cleaning. 
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the foregoing 
description relates to particular preferred embodiments of the present 
invention and that other variations are possible within the broad scope of 
the invention. Some of these variations have been suggested above and 
others will be apparent to those skilled in the art.