Patent Publication Number: US-6903309-B2

Title: Cooking appliance having concealed cooking feature

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention pertains to the art of cooking appliances and, more particularly, to a cooking appliance having a concealment feature in the form of a pivotally mounted upper cooking surface arranged above and concealing a lower cooking surface. 
   2. Discussion of the Prior Art 
   In the art of cooking appliances, it has become popular to offer cooktops having a variety of different cooking surfaces. Specifically, manufacturers have tried to design cooktops that offer a variety of different cooking surfaces without enlarging the size of the cooktop. In order to avoid enlarging the overall cooktop size, manufacturers have developed designs that either combine various cooking surfaces or offer modular, special purpose cooking cartridges. For instance, various types of cooking surfaces are offered in cartridge form which can be interchanged according to the instantaneous need of a consumer. While this option provides the consumer with a variety of different cooking options without increasing the overall size of the cooktop, the cartridges themselves can be unwieldy. In addition, cartridges require specific storages requirements, e.g. large cabinet space, thus reducing the availability of additional storage in the kitchen or another location which can make the use of such cartridges somewhat inconvenient. However, having the versatility of multiple cooking surfaces is still seen to outweigh the few disadvantages associated with replaceable cartridges. 
   Other known designs include incorporating different types of cooking surfaces on a single cooktop, examples of which include grills, griddles, and standard burners of various sizes. As with the cartridge option, the overall footprint of the cooktop is not increased, however, the availability of sufficient cooking surfaces is limited. A grill or griddle is not a replacement for a burner. Accordingly, a consumer who wishes to have available multiple burners is restricted by the size of the cooktop. Therefore, regardless of these prior proposed designs, there still exists a need in the art for a cooktop having a variety of different cooking surfaces while maintaining the overall size of the cooktop, such that the cooktop can fit into standard areas and meet the requirements of a residential kitchen. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is directed to a cooking appliance having a concealed cooking feature taking the form of a pivoting upper cooking unit which, when raised, reveals a lower cooking unit nestled within the cooking appliance. Most preferably, the cooking appliance includes an outer frame within which is arranged a lower or first cooking zone. The lower cooking zone incorporates at least one lower cooking surface including a first heating element associated therewith. The upper cooking unit includes a second cooking zone and is pivotally connected to the outer frame such that the upper cooking unit is movable between open and closed positions. The upper cooking unit preferably incorporates a plurality of second heating elements carried within the overall second cooking unit. 
   In addition to the upper and lower cooking zones, the cooking appliance of the present invention includes a plurality of control members for selectively operating each of the various first and second heating elements. In a preferred form of the invention, the control members operate the second cooking unit when the second cooking unit is in the closed position, and operate the first cooking unit when the second cooking unit is in the open position, thereby allowing access to the lower cooking zone. 
   Additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts in the several views. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a cooking appliance incorporating a concealed cooking feature constructed in accordance with the present invention in a closed or lowered position; 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the cooking appliance of  FIG. 1  in a raised or open position; 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the cooking appliance in a raised or open position; and 
       FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional side view of the cooking appliance of FIG.  3 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   With initial reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a cooking appliance, generally indicated at  2 , is shown to take the form of a cooktop mounted upon a kitchen countertop  4 . Cooking appliance  2  includes a first frame portion  8  having a front panel  10 , and a second frame portion  20  pivotally connected to first frame portion  8 . Front panel  10  includes a plurality of control members  12 - 15  and an elliptical notch  17  as will be detailed more fully below. Second frame portion  20  is movable between a closed or lowered position ( FIG. 1 ) whereby cooking is performed on an upper cooking zone  25 , and an open or raised position whereby cooking is performed in a lower cooking zone  27  (FIG.  2 ). Arranged upon upper cooking zone  25  are a plurality of cooking areas  30 - 33  and a downdraft fan unit  40 . In the embodiment shown, upper cooking zone  25  is depicted as a smooth electric under glass arrangement. However it should be understood that upper cooking zone  25  may take the form of gas under glass, or even conventional surface mounted electric or gas burners, while still remaining within the scope of the present invention. 
   As best seen in  FIG. 2 , first frame portion  8  includes a base  48 , as well as front, rear and opposing side walls  49 - 52 . Side walls  49 - 52  terminate, at an uppermost portion thereof, in a peripheral rim  55 . Mounted on rim  55  is a switch  60 , the operation of which will be discussed further below. Arranged on base  48  is a first lower cooking surface  70  and a lower downdraft fan unit  79  having an associated fan control knob  80 . As shown, first cooking surface  70  takes the form of a grill  71 . However, it should be understood that first cooking surface  70  may take any conventional form without departing from the scope of the present invention. As will be detailed more fully below, arranged below first cooking surface  70  is an associated first heating element (not shown). In a manner known in the art, grill  71  includes a plurality of raised portions  85  adapted to support an article of food to be cooked, and a peripheral rim  86  adapted to contain drippings associated with a cooking process. 
   Second frame portion  20  is pivotally connected to peripheral rim  55  through hinges  90 ,  91 . As indicated above, second frame portion  20  is defined by upper cooking zone  25  that includes an upper surface  100 , a lower surface  101 , as well as front, rear and opposing side members  102 - 105 . Carried within second frame portion  20  are a plurality of second heating elements  110 - 113 . Each of second heating elements  110 - 113  is associated with a respective one of the plurality of cooking areas  30 - 33 . 
   Having described the components of cooking appliance  2 , a preferred method of operation will now be set forth. In accordance with the invention, cooking appliance  2  can be used to perform a wide variety of cooking operations. For example, with second frame portion  20  in the closed or lowered position of  FIG. 1 , cooking operations can be performed on one or more of upper cooking areas  30 - 33 , such as with the use of conventional pots, pans, and the like. Depending upon the particular need of a cook, one or more of the plurality of heating areas  30 - 33  can be utilized, at which time a respective one of control members  12 - 15 , which are shown for exemplary purposes to be in the form of rotary knobs, is operated to activate the respective heating element(s)  110 - 113 . 
   If a grilling or other cooking operation is desired, lower cooking zone  27  can be accessed by grasping second frame portion  20  at elliptical notch  17  to cause second frame portion  20  to raise through pivoting hinges  90  and  91 . As second frame portion  20  is raised, the position of switch  60  is changed, thereby transferring the functions of control members  12 - 15  from the operation of upper cooking zone  25  to lower cooking zone  27 . In one form of the invention, upon exposing lower cooking zone  27 , control member  12  is rotated to begin heating a portion of first cooking surface  70 . In the most preferred form of the invention, first cooking surface  70  will have multiple associated heating elements, control of which is divided between control knobs  12  and  13 . If operation of downdraft fan unit  79  is required during the cooking process, switch  80  is shifted to activate downdraft fan unit  79 . 
   Another form of the present invention is shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4  wherein like reference numbers represent corresponding parts to that of the first embodiment described above. More specifically, a cooking appliance  2   a  incorporating a concealed cooking feature in accordance with the invention includes a second cooking surface  120  arranged adjacent to grill  70  within first cooking zone  27 . Additionally, hinges  90  and  91  are replaced by raised portions  124  and  125  on a first frame portion  8   a  to which a second frame portion  20   a  is pivotally mounted. As depicted, second cooking surface  120  takes the form of a griddle  126 . However, it should be understood that other conventional cooking surfaces would be acceptable. 
   In accordance with this embodiment, an updraft fan unit  129  having an associated control  130  and a light  140  including an associated control  141  are carried within second frame portion  20   a . Updraft fan unit  129  includes an inlet  150 , shown generally in the form of a plurality of slits arranged along lower surface  101  of second frame portion  20   a . To accommodate a flow of air through updraft fan unit  129 , a rotating duct  153  is carried within a lower portion of second frame portion  20   a  (see  FIG. 4 ) and an outlet duct  154  is provided in a rear portion of first frame portion  8   a.    
   In the embodiment of  FIGS. 3 and 4 , a user has a choice of using different cooking surfaces arranged within second cooking zone  27 . The user can also choose to activate updraft fan unit  129  or light  140  as considered necessary. In a preferred form of the present embodiment, the user can selectively operate different zones on either first cooking surface  70  or second cooking surface  120  through operation of respective control members  12 - 15 . For example, if a user desires to cook pancakes on the entire second cooking surface  120 , both control knob  14  and  15  are operated to control the temperature of surface  120 . However, if only a portion of surface  120  is needed, either control knob  14  or  15  is operated. 
   Although described with reference to preferred embodiments of the invention, it should be readily understood that various changes and/or modifications can be made to the invention without departing from the spirit thereof. For instance, it should be readily apparent that the arrangement and type of heating zones can greatly vary in accordance with the invention. In addition, downdraft and/or updraft fan units can also be employed. Although common control members have been advantageously utilized for controlling the various heating elements in each cooking unit, separate controls could also be provided without departing from the invention. In addition, although the invention has been described with specific reference to a cooktop mounted on a kitchen countertop, it should be recognized that the invention could also be employed in other cooking appliance arrangements, such as part of a range. In general, the invention is only intended to be limited by the scope of the following claims.