Abstract:
A new toaster technology is provided for toasting food items. The toaster includes an inlet for receiving food items, an outlet for discharging the foot items after they are toasted and a toasting chamber located between the inlet and the outlet. In the preferred embodiment, the toasting chamber provides a toasting path for the food item during which the food item will be passed along two conveys—one vertical and one horizontal. Also, along the toasting path, the food item will be toasted by a platen heating surface, an impingement heating element and an infra-red heating element or a combination thereof.

Description:
This application is a continuation of U.S. application No. 10/822,420, filed on Apr. 12, 2004, now abandoned which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional application No. 60/462,129, filed Apr. 11, 2003. 

   FIELD OF INVENTION 
   The invention relates generally to devices for toasting food items such as sandwich buns, hamburger buns, bagels, muffins and the like and, more particularly, to an improved contact toaster that efficiently and completely toasts the food items quickly. 
   BACKGROUND 
   Toasted hamburger buns, bagels and muffins are highly valued by consumers for many reasons. For example, toasting a bun results in a caramelizing effect on its interior surface that provides a pleasing appearance and taste. This caramelizing effect also effectively seals the interior surfaces thereby preventing the absorption of juices from the meat and other ingredients, such as ketchup and mustard, into the bun. Accordingly, with the advent of fast-food restaurants that serve sandwiches, devices that efficiently toast a large number of buns in a very short period of time have become desirable. 
   In response to this demand, devices such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,261,257 to Henderson et al. and 4,530,276 to Miller have been developed. These toasting devices both feature a housing containing a platen having two opposed heating surfaces. Conveyor belts are positioned on opposite sides of the platen and are spaced therefrom. The two halves of a bun are inserted into inlets at the top of the housing so that they are received into the spaces between the platen and the conveyor belts. The conveyor belts in turn slide the internal surfaces of the bun halves across the platen so that they are toasted. When the bun halves reach the bottom of the conveyor belts, they are disposed upon a tray at the outlet of the housing. 
   While devices such as those disclosed in Henderson et al. and Miller have proven to be effective in the restaurant industry, they primarily provide only toasting of the interior surfaces of the bun halves. This is a disadvantage in that, for many reasons, it is desirable to toast the exterior surfaces (i.e. the top and bottom) of a bun as well as heat the bun body internally. Heating the bun exterior surfaces and body provides a softer and warmer overall quality to buns that consumers find pleasing. Heating the entire bun, as opposed to just the interior surfaces, also keeps the sandwich contents warmer longer. 
   In addition, if the food item toasted is something other than typical bun halves, toasting only one side may not be sufficient. For example, many restaurants serve double or triple-decker sandwiches that feature a bun middle section with two interior surfaces or faces. It would be clearly preferable to toast both of these faces. The same can be said for situations where, instead of typical bun halves, the food items being toasted are bread slices. Accordingly, a device that heats both sides and the body of food items would have greater effectiveness and versatility. 
   As a result, devices such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,610 to Stuck have been developed. The device of Stuck includes the same features as the two patents discussed above but adds a pair of resistance-type auxiliary heaters that are positioned in proximity to the conveyor belts. While this addition allows both sides of a bun half or similar food item to be heated, the device still suffers from a number of limitations. 
   The auxiliary heaters of Stuck toast the exterior surfaces of a pair of bun halves by radiating heat through the wire conveyor belts. This occurs as the bun halves are slid along the centrally positioned platen. Accordingly, the interior surface of each bun half is heated by contact with the platen while the exterior surface of each bun half is heated by radiated heat from the auxiliary heaters. Any heating of the bodies of the bun halves, however, occurs only by conduction of the heat from the surfaces. As a result, the heating of the bodies of the bun halves is much less than optimal. 
   In addition, the arrangement of Stuck limits the temperature level of the auxiliary heaters. More specifically, if the temperature of the auxiliary heaters is set too high, the wire conveyor belts will heat up and burn the exterior surfaces of the bun halves. This results in burnt belt marks on the exterior surfaces of the buns which consumers find undesirable. Furthermore, in extreme cases, the wire conveyor belts could burn down deep so that the bun halves are unusable. 
   Limiting the temperature of the auxiliary heaters limits the speed at which the device may be operated. This is a very critical consideration in the fast-food industry—that industry depends on providing high quality products at extremely fast speeds. If the temperature of the auxiliary heaters could be increased without burning belt marks into the buns, the device could toast many more buns in a shorter period of time. 
   As many restaurants, including fast-food chains, have expanded their melt selections, a need has arisen for toasting devices that offer increased flexibility. More specifically, it is desirable that toasting devices accommodate thicker food items, such as muffins and bagels, in addition to the halves of sandwich buns. 
   The toasting devices of Henderson et al., Miller and Stuck suffer from limited flexibility in that they are able to accommodate only a narrow range of food item sizes. In each device, the spacing between the conveyor belts and the centrally positioned platen may be increased only slightly due to the size of the toasting device housing. 
   In response to the prior art difficulties, the present invention as well as the toasting devices of U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,192,782 and 5,960,704, both to Agcaoili and March, the contents of which are both herein incorporated by reference, were developed. Moreover, the present invention represents an improvement from other prior art because of the speed in which the present invention toasts the food items. As noted above, in the fast food industry, toasting speed is a critical element to the business of food production. The faster the toasting process, the more quickly customers are served. However, it is equally as important to maintain the high quality toasting standards. 
   The prior art devices, generally, sacrifice toasting speed for quality—once the devices try to attain a certain toasting speed, the quality declines. For example, in the prior art devices, to maintain the toast quality for hamburger or sandwich buns, the toasting process requires approximately 35 seconds (for bagels and muffins, the toasting process requires even more time). Where the speed was reduced to below 35 seconds, the buns do not demonstrate a “completely toasted quality,” but rather the buns merely show a “browed” color. Such food items are not toasted thoroughly and never attain the caramelization necessary to seal the food item as described above. As such, prior art has not been able to develop a toaster device that can maintain the high quality of the slower processes at a high toasting speed. 
   Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved contact toaster that expediently toasts the interior and exterior surfaces of a food item. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved contact toaster that expediently and effectively heats a food item internally. 
   It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved contact toaster that may expediently, efficiently and completely toast a large number of food items in a short amount of time. 
   It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved contact toaster that may accommodate a wide variety of food item sizes. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is directed to an improved contact toaster for conveyorized toasting of bagels, sandwich buns, hamburger buns, muffins and similar food items that provides high quality, desirable toasted products at improved speeds. In particular, the present device provides for the toasting of food items of varying sizes and shapes at a much reduced speed over the prior art, but also maintains the high quality of the slower toasting devices. For instance, in one embodiment of the present invention, the toasting device can produce fully toasted hamburger/sandwich buns in under 17 seconds, fully toasted bagels in under 30 seconds and fully toasted muffins in under 50 seconds. 
   In this example embodiment of the present invention, the toasting device features a preferably steel or metal housing of varying dimensions having multiple inlets of varying size, for receiving the food items of various sizes and a preferably heated outlet or receiving area for discharging the foot items after they are toasted. This embodiment includes a toasting chamber that is located between the inlet and the outlet and may contain at least one, but preferably three conveyor belts. This embodiment also incorporates various electronic and mechanical controls, switches and other components including a drive system with an electric motor that activates the conveyor belts so that they may transport hamburger bun halves, bagels, muffins or other similar food items through the pathway. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a back elevational view of an embodiment of the improved universal contact toaster. 
       FIG. 2  is a left side perspective view of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  a front elevational view of an embodiment of the improved universal contact toaster. 
       FIG. 4  is a left side perspective view of  FIG. 2 . 
       FIG. 5  is vertical cross-sectional view of the left side or heel loading lunch mode side of the improved universal contact toaster taken along line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 6  is vertical cross-sectional view of the right side or crown loading lunch mode side of the improved universal contact toaster taken along line  6 - 6  of  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 7  is vertical cross-sectional view of the left side or muffin loading breakfast mode side of the improved universal contact toaster taken along line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 8  is vertical cross-sectional view of the right side or bagel loading breakfast mode side of the improved universal contact toaster taken along line  6 - 6  of  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 9  is a top cross-sectional view of the interior of the improved universal contact toaster looking from the top downward. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     FIG. 1  shows clearly the preferred embodiment of the improved universal contact toaster  1 . The preferred embodiment of the toaster  1  is made of steel or some type of heat resistant metal. The toaster  1  has a back side  2  and, as seen clearly in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , a front side  3 , a left side  6  and a right side  12 , a top  8  and a bottom  14 . The toaster  1  is energized by a power source (not shown) connected, preferably, by a cord  44  and an on/off switch  46 . 
   Also in the preferred embodiment, the toaster  1  has both a lower panel  4  and an upper panel  5 . In  FIGS. 1-4 , as shown, the upper panel  5  is in the closed position and the lower panel  4  is secured closed by fasteners  10   a  and  10   b.  However, the upper panel  5  can be manipulated open by gripping the upper panel  5  at the top  8  of the toaster  1  along the interior edge (not shown) of the upper panel  5  and moving the upper panel  5  in a downward direction at a hinge (not shown) to open the upper panel  5 . In this manner, the user can manipulate, clean or fix the inner workings of the toaster  1 . Also, both the lower panel  4  and the upper panel  5  include a series of vents  9   a  and  9   b  to prevent the toaster  1  from overheating. 
   As can be seen generally in  FIGS. 1-4 , the upper panel  5  in the preferred embodiment of the toaster  1  includes caution signs  16  (for user protection) and labels  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  and  11   d  to distinguish each inlet  13  so that a user does not attempt to put a food item  15  into the wrong inlet  13 . As seen more clearly in  FIGS. 5-8 , the applicable markings  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  and  11   d,  identify the heel inlet  17  for insertion of the heel  19 , the crown inlet  21  for insertion of the crown  23 , the muffin inlet  25  for insertion of the muffin  27  and the bagel inlet  29  for insertion of the bagel  31 . In addition, the labels reflect the correct orientation of the food item  15 , where applicable, for insertion into the toaster  1 . At the front of the inlets  25 ,  29  for the muffin  27  and bagel  31  is a flange  30   a  and  30   b  to support and guide the foot item  15  at the applicable inlet  13 . 
   Again, as can be seen generally in  FIGS. 1-4 , and more clearly in  FIGS. 5-8 , in the preferred embodiment of the toaster  1 , the muffin  27  and the bagel  31  enter their respective inlets  25  and  29  and move through the toaster  1 . As is discussed in greater detail below, the food items  15  move through the toaster  1  by way of a left side horizontal conveyor  33 , which, in the preferred embodiment, carries the heel  19  and the muffin  27 , and a right side horizontal conveyor  35 , which, in the preferred embodiment, carries the crown  23  and the bagel  29 . In addition, with respect to only the heel  19  and crown  23 , prior to moving onto the horizontal conveyors  33  and  35 , these food items  15  enter their respective inlets  17  and  19  and move through the toaster  1  to the horizontal conveyors  33  and  35  by moving down the vertical conveyor  37 . 
   As these food items  15  move through the toaster  1 , particles may fall from a particular food item  15 . The horizontal conveyors  33  and  35  and the vertical conveyor  37  are preferably made of interlocking material so as to allow the food particles to fall through rather than be stuck on the particular conveyor. In this manner, as can be seen clearly in  FIG. 1 , the particles fall onto a removable left side and right side tray  41  and  43 . This provides a user easy and quick access to clean the toaster  1 . 
     FIGS. 2 and 4  shows clearly the control knob  45  that adjusts the compression tension between the vertical conveyors  37  and the right and left grill platens  47  and  49 . As will be discussed in greater detail below, heel inlet  17  and the crown inlet  21  are of different sizes since the food items  15  are of different widths; however, within each food item category, the widths may differ as well. For example, for one size hamburger a crown may be of a different size than the crown for a different hamburger. As such, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the control knob  45  can modulate the gap  51  and  53  (see  FIGS. 5 ,  6 ) between each platen  47  and  49  and the vertical conveyor  37  and, therefore, apply more or less heat and pressure to the toasting food item  15 . The control knob  45  controls a mechanism (not shown) which adjusts the location of the platens  47 ,  49  with respect to the vertical conveyor  37 . 
   Also,  FIGS. 2 and 4  illustrate the outer facing portion of the air blower  55  which can be seen through the blower vent  56 . As can be seen more clearly in  FIGS. 5-8 , and discussed in additional detail below, the blower  55  will help apply impingement heat  105  to the food item  15  moving across the applicable horizontal conveyors  33  and  35 . The blower  55  also keeps hot air  107  away from the electronics housing  57  so as to prevent the electrical controls (not shown) from overheating. 
     FIGS. 2-8  demonstrate the receiving tray  59  of the preferred embodiment of the toaster  1 . As the food item  15  exists the toaster  1  through the outlets  61   a  and  61   b,  the food item  15  falls into the receiving tray  59 . The receiving tray  59  is attached to the toaster  1  preferably by fasteners  63  (a seen in  FIGS. 2-4 ). The receiving tray  59  also is heated. The heating source can be any one of a variety of means including, preferably, a foil heater (not shown) located within the receiving tray  59 . In this manner, the food item  15  retains the heat and crunchiness provided to it during the toasting process even if the user does not quickly remove the food item  15  from the receiving tray  59 . 
     FIGS. 3 and 4  provide a clear illustration of the front side  3  of the toaster  1 . In the preferred embodiment, the front side  3  includes a bifurcated from door  65 , which a user may open to clean or fix the internal workings of the toaster  1 . Similarly to the upper panel  5  on the back side  2 , the front door  65 , which has upper half  66  and lower half  68 , can be opened by the user manipulating knob  67  of the front door  65  and manipulating the front door  65 . The front door  65  preferably includes a series of vents  69   a  and  69   b  similar to the vents  9   a  and  9   b  to allow for air circulation within the toaster from overheating. The front side  3  also preferably includes a touch panel and a display  71  (however, other displays or monitors can be used), which can be used to control the change in the toaster  1  from breakfast mode to lunch mode (although other means to accomplish this change can be done including the manual operation of the toaster  1  by means of turning off the platens  47  and  49 ) and, in addition, provides information regarding the toaster  1  temperature, speed and general condition. 
     FIGS. 5-8  more clearly illustrate and distinguish the exterior  73  from the interior  75  of the toaster  1 . For example, as mentioned, the toaster  1  has two specific modes, the lunch mode and the breakfast mode. During both the lunch mode and breakfast mode, all the heating elements of the invention are on; however, in other embodiments, to save energy, a user, for example, may turn off the platens  47  and  49  during the breakfast mode since they are not in use. 
   In general, during the lunch mode, the user will insert the heel  19  and the crown  23  into their respective inlets  13  at the top  8 . As seen in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , during the lunch mode, the food items  15  are inserted into the inlets  13  and travel through the gap  51  and  53 . The food items  15  moves through the gap  51  and  53  by way of the vertical conveyor  37 . In the preferred embodiment, as seen clearly in  FIGS. 6 ,  8  and  9 , the vertical conveyor  37  has one large gear  81  that drives the conveyor  37 . The gear  81  is connected to drive motor on the right side  85 , but is not connected to the drive motor on the left side  83 . In the preferred embodiment, the gear  81  is connected to the motor  83  by a chain  87 . As seen most clearly in  FIG. 9 , the gear  81  turns the conveyor  37  through means of the axle  97 , which spans the width of the interior  75  of the toaster  1 . 
   The gear  81  drives four smaller gears  93   a,    93   b,    93   c,    93   d,  via shafts  97 ,  99  and vertical conveyor chain  91 . The vertical conveyor  37  is carried upon vertical conveyor chain  91 . In this manner, as the food item  15  enters the inlets  13 , it will be immediately conveyed down the vertical conveyor  37 , across the applicable platen  47  and  49 . 
   With respect to the platens  47  and  49 , as can be seen clearly in  FIGS. 5-8 , the platen for the heel  47  is of a greater width or gap than that for the crown  49 . As noted above, the basis for this differential is to allow the gaps  51  and  53  to vary based on the width of the narrow heel  19  versus that of the wider crown  23 . However, in both instances, in the preferred embodiment, the heel  19  and the crown  23  fit snuggly against the respective platens  47  and  49  as the food items  15  travel down the vertical conveyor  37 . 
   In the preferred embodiment, the platens  47  and  49  are heated by an embedded heating element (including, for example, calrods or other types of similar heating elements) cast into aluminum, bronze or other similar metals (not shown), but other methods may be used as well. The platens  47  and  49  essentially provide the first level of toasting for the heel  19  and the crown  23 . However, the muffin  27  and the bagel  31  do not get toasted by the platens  47  and  49 . Instead, as seen in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , as the muffin  27  and bagel  31  enter into the inlets  25  and  29 , respectively, the foot items  15  immediately drop down a slide  101  and directly onto the applicable horizontal conveyors  33  and  35 . Similarly, the heel  19  and crown  23  fall from the vertical conveyor  37  onto the slide  101  and then to the applicable horizontal conveyor  33  and  35 . Moreover, in the preferred embodiment, the food item  15  is oriented so that each food item  15  lands with the face  103  facing the top  8  on the applicable horizontal conveyor  33  and  35 . 
   As seen clearly in  FIGS. 5-8 , in the preferred embodiment, just as the food item  15  is transitioning from the slide  101  onto the applicable conveyor, its gets toasted by hot air impingement  105 . The impingement heat  105  starts or, in the case of the heel  19  and crown  23 , continues the toasting process of the foot item  15 . The impingement heat dries and further heats the food items  15  to enhance the toasting characteristics. The impingement heat  105  is created by the blower  55  blowing air  107  away from the electronics  57  and towards the foot item  15  coming down the slide  101 . The impingement air  105  hits the food item at both the beginning of the horizontal conveyor  111  and  113  and the end of the conveyor  115  and  117 . In the preferred embodiment, baffles  109   a,    109   b,    109   c  and  109   d  keep the impingement air  105  from escaping and, instead, directs the impingement heat  105  toward the foot item  15  at the beginning  111  and  113  and end  115  and  117  of the horizontal conveyors. Moreover, the impingement air  105  is warm as it comes from the blower  55 , but is further heated by the reflects  119   a  and  119   b,  which are preferably made from heat conducting metals or alloys, and reflect the heat given by the infrared heaters  121 , which are discussed in greater detail below. 
   In general, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, there are two horizontal conveyors  33  and  35  because the breakfast food items move at different speeds from the lunch food items and, in this manner, as necessary or useful, the user can regulate the speed of the horizontal conveyors  33  and  35  through the display  71 , as discussed above. Moreover, the horizontal conveyors  33  and  35  are energized similarly to the vertical conveyor  37  as described above. In particular, in the preferred embodiment, as can be seen clearly in  FIGS. 5-9 , the toaster  1  has the two drive motors  83  and  85  connected to the horizontal conveyors  33  and  35 . In both the breakfast  79  and lunch  77  modes, the horizontal conveyors  33  and  35  are activated so the motors  83  and  85  rotate the horizontal conveyors  33  and  35  by a connection to a gear  123   a  and  123   b  in the back end portion  113  and  115  of the applicable horizontal conveyor  33  and  35 . Again, the gears  123   a  and  123   b  are connected to the motor  83  and  85  by the chain  87  identified above or, as applicable depending on the conveyor, the second chain  125 . As seen most clearly in  FIG. 9 , the horizontal conveyors  33  and  35  have a series of standard gears and axles (seen generally at)  140  the move the conveyor belt itself. 
   The food item  15  will move across the applicable horizontal conveyor  33  and  35  in a direction  142  toward the receiving tray  59 . As the food item  15  moves across the applicable horizontal conveyor  33  and  35 , it is blasted with heat from the infrared heaters  121  (which can produce heat from a variety of means including, open wire, calrod, quartz or similar materials) that will further toast the food items  15  to imbue them with the thickness, crunchiness and coloring associated with high quality toasted products. This infra-red heaters  121  preferably will be controlled with watt regulation without temperature compensation; however, in other embodiments, temperature compensation may be used to control chamber temperature. In addition, underneath the horizontal conveyor belts  33  and  35 , are metal plates  144   a  and  144   b  which reflect heat from the infrared heaters  121  onto the food items  15  for further toasting. In the preferred embodiment, there are 8 infrared heaters; however, more or less may be used. The infrared heaters  121 , and the metal plates  144   a  and  144   b  cook the food items  15  to get that additional crispness, caramelization and/or browning just before the food items  15  exit the toaster  1  through the outlets  61   a  and  61   b  into the receiving tray  59 . As noted above, as the food items  15  exit the toaster  1 , the food items  15  also receive another blast of the impingement heat  105 . 
   It will also be appreciated that the speed of the various conveyors is controlled by the electronic controller  150  which regulates the speed of the motors  83 ,  85 .