Patent Publication Number: US-2016220057-A1

Title: Cooking appliance with different modes for cooking different types of food products

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to provisional application Ser. No. 62/110,481, filed Jan. 31, 2015, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The present invention relates generally to cooking appliances used for baking foods such as crusted foods, and more particularly to an oven capable of cooking different types of food products relatively quickly and properly. 
     Cooking appliances such as portable or tabletop cooking appliances that are used for baking crusted-type foods, e.g., breads, pizzas, calzones, and the like, are well known. One drawback associated with at least some known cooking appliances is that they may be designed for only cooking a single type of food product. To cook a single type of food product, an oven may be designed to provide heat energy (e.g., infrared, convection, etc.) in a manner that facilitates optimizing cooking of that single type of food product, but that is inefficient and/or ineffective in cooking different types of food products. 
     For example, a cooking appliance may be designed to only cook a first type of food product (e.g., frozen pizza). Accordingly, if the same cooking appliance is used to cook a second type of food product (e.g., deep dish pizza), the second type of food product may be cooked improperly (e.g., unevenly heated, underheated, burned, soggy, etc.) in the cooking appliance. 
     Moreover, at least some known cooking appliances may have relatively long pre-heat times (e.g., 15 minutes or longer). This results in relatively long overall cook times, which are generally undesirable. 
     There is need, therefore, for cooking appliance (e.g., a pizza oven) that is capable of cooking different types of food products quickly and properly. 
     SUMMARY 
     In one embodiment, a cooking appliance generally comprises a housing defining an interior space, a tray assembly positionable within the interior space, the tray assembly configured to support a food product. The cooking appliance further comprises at least one lower heating element positioned below the tray assembly within the interior space, at least one upper heating element positioned above the tray assembly within the interior space, and a controller configured to operate the at least one upper and lower heating elements in accordance with a selected mode of a plurality of selectable modes, wherein operating parameters for the at least one upper and lower heating elements vary between the plurality of selectable modes. 
     In another embodiment, a method of cooking a food product positioned on a tray assembly generally comprises receiving the tray assembly and food product in an interior space of a cooking appliance, the cooking appliance including at least one lower heating element positioned below the tray assembly within the interior space, and at least one upper heating element positioned above the tray assembly within the interior space. The method further comprises receiving, at the cooking appliance, a user selection of a mode from a plurality of selectable modes, wherein operating parameters for the at least one upper and lower heating elements vary between the plurality of selectable modes, and cooking the food product in accordance with the user selected mode. 
     In another embodiment, a pan assembly for use with a cooking appliance generally comprises a rack comprising a frame and a plurality of substantially parallel rods extends across the frame, and a conductive pan coupled to the rack, wherein the conductive pan is coated with a ceramic coating that is both temperature resistant and abrasion resistant. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a cooking appliance in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a front view of the cooking appliance shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of the cooking appliance shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of the cooking appliance shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a portion of the interior of the cooking appliance shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a portion of the interior of the cooking appliance shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a front view of a portion of the cooking appliance shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the cooking appliance shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the cooking appliance shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the cooking appliance shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view of the cooking appliance shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 12  is a bottom view of the cooking appliance shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 13  is a top perspective view of a pan assembly that may be used with the cooking appliance shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 14  is a bottom perspective view of a pan assembly that may be used with the cooking appliance shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 15  is a perspective view of a tool that may be used with the pan assembly shown in  FIGS. 13 and 14 ; 
         FIG. 16  is a perspective view of the tool shown in  FIG. 15  and the pan assembly shown in  FIGS. 13 and 14 ; 
         FIG. 17  is a perspective view of the cooking appliance shown in  FIG. 1  including the tool shown in  FIG. 15  and the pan assembly shown in  FIGS. 13 and 14 ; and 
         FIG. 18  is a schematic view of one embodiment of a heating element that may be used with the cooking appliance shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     With reference now to the drawings and in particular to  FIGS. 1-12 , a cooking appliance according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is generally indicated  100 . In this embodiment, the cooking appliance  100  is an oven for cooking food products, such as crusted foods (e.g., breads, pizzas, calzones, and the like). For example, the cooking appliance  100  may be a pizza oven. The cooking appliance  100  includes a housing  102  having an interior space  104  defined therein. To cook a food product, the food product is placed within the interior space  104 , as described herein. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1-13 , the housing  102  includes a top  105 , a bottom  106 , a front  108 , a back  110 , and two sides  112 . The back  110  and the sides  112  include vents  114  for dissipating heat generated during operation of the cooking appliance  100 . Two hooks  116  extend from at one of the sides  112  to facilitate hooking a tool (not shown in  FIGS. 1-13 ) onto the housing  102 . Spacing components  118  extend from the back  110  to facilitate spacing the back  110  at least a predetermined distance from an object or surface (e.g., a wall) when positioning the cooking appliance  100 . A set of legs  120  extend from the bottom  106  to support the housing  102  on a surface (e.g., a countertop). 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1-13 , a door  130  is pivotably coupled to the front  108  of the housing  102 . The door  130  is pivotable between an open position (as shown in  FIG. 2 ) and a closed position (as shown in  FIG. 3 ). In the open position, the interior space  104  is exposed to facilitate inserting and removing a food product from the cooking appliance  100 . During cooking, the door  130  is placed in the closed position to facilitate heating the interior space  104 . The door  130  includes a handle  132  and a window  134  that enables a user to view the food product during cooking. In this embodiment, the door  130  is pivotably coupled to a lower portion of the front  108 . Alternatively, the door  130  may be coupled proximate to an upper portion of the front  108 , proximate to at least one side portion of the front  108 , and/or coupled to the any portion of the housing  102  using any suitable coupling mechanism that enables the door  130  to function as described herein. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 4-6 , the interior space  104  of the cooking appliance is substantially defined by a top surface  140 , a bottom surface  142 , a back surface  143 , and two side surfaces  144 . A pan guide  146  is coupled to each side surface  144 . Each pan guide  146  defines a means  148  for receiving a pan assembly, as described in detail below. The means may include, for example, a groove, a slot, a shelf, etc. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , a lower heating element  150  extends between the side surfaces  144 , and is positioned proximate the bottom surface  142 . In this embodiment, the lower heating element  150  is a halogen heating element. Alternatively, the lower heating element  150  may be any type of heating element that enables cooking appliance  100  to function as described herein. For example, the lower heating element  150  may include a quartz-type heating element, a ceramic-type heating element, a halogen-type heating element, a calrod-type heating element, etc. A means  152  to prevent incidental contact with the lower heating element  150  is also positioned within the interior space  104 , and in this embodiment, extends between the side surfaces  144 . The means  152  facilitates preventing a user from accidentally contacting and damaging the lower heating element  150  when inserting and removing a food product from the cooking appliance  100 . The means may include, for example, a crossbar, a barrier, a flange, and/or any other structure that facilitates preventing a user from contacting the lower heating element  150 . Although one lower heating element  150  is shown in  FIG. 5 , in other embodiments, the cooking appliance  100  may include any number of lower heating elements  150 . The lower heating element  150  may have a maximum power output of, for example, up to 2200 Watts (W). For example, in one embodiment, the lower heating element  150  has a maximum power output of 450 W. Further, in some embodiments, the maximum power output may be more than 2200 W. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , a plurality of upper heating elements  160  extend between the side surfaces  144 , and are positioned proximate the top surface  140 . In this embodiment, each of the upper heating elements  160  is a quartz-type heating element. Alternatively, the upper heating elements  160  may be any type of heating element that enables cooking appliance  100  to function as described herein. For example, the upper heating elements  160  may include a quartz-type heating element, a ceramic-type heating element, a halogen-type heating element, a calrod-type heating element, etc. Although three upper heating elements  160  are shown in  FIG. 6 , in other embodiments, the cooking appliance  100  may include any number of upper heating elements  160 , including a single upper heating element  160 . The upper heating elements  160  may have may have a combined maximum power output of, for example, up to 2200 W. For example, in one embodiment, each of the upper heating elements  160  has a maximum power output of 375 W, for a combined output power of 1125 W. In some embodiments, at least some of the upper heating elements  160  have different maximum power outputs from each other. For example, a front-most or a rear-most upper heating element  160  may have a higher maximum power output than the remaining upper heating elements  160 . 
     In this embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 7 , the front  108  of the cooking appliance  100  includes a mode selection knob  202  and a timer knob  204 . The mode selection knob  202  and timer knob  204  shown in  FIG. 7  are examples of input devices for selecting a mode and setting a cook time. Alternative input devices usable with the cooking appliance may include, for example, slide switches, buttons, toggle switches, touch screens, user interfaces, and/or any other type of suitable input device. Further, in some embodiments, a user may select a mode and/or set a cooking time using a computing device (e.g., a tablet, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a mobile phone, etc.) as the input device, where the computing devices communicates remotely with the oven over a wired and/or wireless network, such as the Internet, or any other communications medium (e.g., Bluetooth®). For example, the user may use a software application on a computing device that enables to input a selected mode and/or set a cooking time, where the input information is communicated from the computing device to the cooking appliance  100 . Further, the cooking appliance  100  may communicate information to the computing device (e.g., remaining cook time) to notify the user. 
     In this embodiment, by rotating the mode selection knob  202 , a user can select different modes of operation for the cooking appliance  100  based on the type of food product to be cooked. Specifically, the operation of the lower heating element  150  and the upper heating elements  160  are adjusted based on the selected mode, as described in detail herein. In this embodiment, a controller (e.g., a microcontroller), controls the operation of the lower heating element  150  and the upper heating elements  160  based on the mode selected using the mode selection knob  202 . The front  108  of the cooking appliance  100  also includes an indicator  206  (e.g., an LED) that indicates when the cooking appliance  100  is on. 
     At least one input device (e.g., the mode selection knob  202 ) enables a user to select a cooking mode from a plurality of selectable cooking modes for the cooking appliance  100 . Each of the selectable modes may correspond to, for example, cooking a different type of food product. Although examples of specific modes are described herein, other modes not specifically described are within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , in this embodiment, the selectable modes include a bake mode  210 , a frozen snack mode  212 , a fresh/frozen mode  214 , a rising crust mode  216 , and a deep dish mode  218 . The fresh/frozen mode  214 , the rising crust mode  216 , and the deep dish mode  218  are designed for cooking different types of pizza, while the bake mode  210  and the frozen snack mode  212  are designed for cooking other types of food products. Although this embodiment includes five selectable modes, those of skill in the art will appreciate that the cooking appliance  100  may include any suitable number of selectable modes. 
     Each mode includes an associated set of operating parameters. These operating parameters are designed to facilitate optimizing the cooking of a particular type of food product (i.e., the type of food product corresponding to the mode having the associated operating parameters). Although specific modes and associated operating parameters are described herein, those of skill in the art will appreciate that the cooking appliance  100  may include other modes and/or other operating parameters than those specifically described herein. 
     In this embodiment, the bake mode  210  and the deep dish mode  218  have the same set of operating parameters. These parameters facilitate improved cooking (e.g., faster and more uniform cooking) of, for example, deep dish pizzas. Specifically, in the bake mode  210  and the deep dish mode  218 , once the temperature (as measured by a temperature probe (not shown)) in the interior space  104  reaches 375°, the lower heating element  150  and the upper heating elements  160  are both modulated between being off (e.g., substantially zero power output) and being fully on (i.e., operating at the maximum power output). That is, to maintain a temperature of 375°, the lower heating element  150  and the upper heating elements  160  are either both off or both fully on. The temperature probe may be located, for example, proximate the controller or within the interior space  104 . 
     In this embodiment, the frozen snack mode  212  and the fresh/frozen mode  214  have the same set of operating parameters. These parameters facilitate improved cooking of, for example, fresh and frozen pizza, and other frozen food products (e.g., fish sticks, mozzarella sticks, etc.). Specifically, in frozen snack mode  212  and the fresh/frozen mode  214 , once the temperature in the interior space  104  reaches 625°, the lower heating element  150  remains fully on, while the upper heating elements  160  are modulated between being off and being fully on. That is, the upper heating elements  150  are modulated on and off independent of the lower heating element  150 , which remains fully on. 
     In this embodiment, the rising crust mode  216  has a set of associated operating parameters that facilitate improved cooking of, for example, rising crust pizza. Specifically, in the rising crust mode  216 , once the temperature in the interior space  104  reaches 625°, the lower heating element  150  remains fully on, while the upper heating elements  160  are modulated between being off and being partially on (i.e., operating at a predetermined percentage of the maximum power output that is less than the maximum power output). For example, the upper heating elements  160  may be modulated between being off and operating at approximately 50% of the maximum power output. 
     As noted above, other modes and/or operating parameters in addition to those specifically described above are contemplated by the present disclosure. For example, the cooking appliance  100  may include a broil mode, where the lower heating element  150  is off and the upper heating elements  160  are on (i.e., either fully or partially on). In another example, the cooking appliance  100  includes a toast mode, where the lower heating element  150  is partially on and the upper heating elements  160  are fully on. In another example, only some of the upper heating elements  150  are turned on during operation. In yet another example, the lower heating element  150  and/or the upper heating elements  160  may be modulated between being fully on and being partially on. In yet another example, the lower heating element  150  and/or the upper heating elements  160  may be modulated between a first partially on setting (e.g., 75% of the maximum power output) and a second partially on setting (e.g., 25% of the maximum power output). 
     Referring back to  FIG. 3 , the front  108  includes a means  300  configured to receive a substantially planar tray  302 . The means  300  may include, for example, a slot, a shelf, a groove, and/or other structure for receiving the tray  302 .  FIG. 8  shows the tray  302  partially inserted into the means  300 . The tray  302  catches crumbs, grease, fat, etc. that drops from the food product during cooking. Further, the tray  302  is removable from the cooking appliance  100  for easy disposal of the contents of the tray  302 . The tray  302  or a surface of the housing  102  may form the bottom surface  142 . 
     As described above, the pan guides  146  receive a pan assembly.  FIG. 8  shows a pan assembly  400  fully inserted into the cooking appliance  100 , and  FIG. 9  shows the pan assembly  400  partially inserted into the cooking appliance  100 . The pan assembly  400  supports the food product during cooking and facilitates uniform heating of the food product, as described herein. 
       FIG. 13  is a top perspective view of the pan assembly  400 , and  FIG. 14  is a bottom perspective view of the pan assembly  400 . As shown in  FIGS. 13 and 14 , the pan assembly  400  includes a substantially planar pan  402  coupled to a rack  404 . The rack  404  includes a frame  406  and a plurality of substantially parallel rods  408  extending across the frame  406 . The pan  402  may be coupled to the rack  404  using any suitable mechanism (e.g., fasteners, a snap-fit connection, welding, etc.). Further, in some embodiments, the pan  402  is not coupled to the rack  404 . In this embodiment, the pan assembly  400  is coupled to the rack  404  by crimping edges of the pan  402  over the frame  406 . Further, to insert the pan assembly  400  into the interior space  104 , portions of the frame  406  are received in the means  148 . 
     A support bar  410  extends between the two innermost rods  408 . The support bar  410  facilitates engaging a tool (not shown in  FIGS. 13 and 14 ) for inserting and removing the pan assembly  400  from the cooking appliance  100 . In other embodiments, the rack  404  may include structures other than a support bar (e.g., a pin, a flange, etc.) for engaging the tool. 
     In this embodiment, the pan  402  and the rack  404  are both metallic (e.g., aluminum). Alternatively, the pan  402  and the rack  404  may be made of any suitable conductive material. For example, in some embodiments, the pan  402  and/or rack  404  may be aluminum, steel, copper, ceramic, or glass. The pan  402  and the rack  404  should both be resistant to relatively high temperatures. Further, the rack  404  should have a sufficiently rigid structure and structural integrity to support the pan  402 . 
     To efficiently heat the food product, the pan  402  has a relatively large surface area with a relatively small thickness. For example, in one embodiment, the pan  402  has a thickness of approximately 2 millimeters (mm). Alternatively, the pan  402  may have any thickness that enables the pan  402  to function as described herein. Because of the large surface area and small width, the pan  402  is able to absorb heat from the lower heating element  150  relatively quickly, and transfer that absorbed heat to the food product efficiently and uniformly. 
     Further, in this embodiment, the pan  402  includes a ceramic coating that provides a nonstick surface, as well as several other advantages. For example, the ceramic coating enables the pan  402  to withstand higher temperatures, as well as be more abrasion resistant. The ceramic coating may also be corrosion resistant. Further, when heated, the ceramic coating emits infrared radiation in a band that is conducive to crisping crust on crusted foods (e.g., pizza). The ceramic coating may include, for example, enamel, porcelain, anodized metal (e.g., aluminum oxide), etc. In some embodiments, the ceramic coating includes an engineered ceramic coating (e.g., ceramic suspended in a binding material). Further, the ceramic coating may have a color tone configured to absorb heat energy. For example, the ceramic coating may have a substantially black color tone. 
     In some embodiments, the ceramic coating may be a resin ceramic coating (e.g., an organic PTFE resin nonstick coating with a small percentage (e.g., 5-10%) of additive ceramic particles used as reinforcements), a hybrid ceramic coating (e.g., an organic PTFE resin nonstick coating with a large percentage (e.g., 30-40%) of additive ceramic particles used as reinforcements), or a Sol-Gel ceramic coating (e.g., an inorganic coating which goes through a hydrolysis reaction when mixed and baked to create a ceramic layer which is approximately 80-90% ceramic, and which does not contain any PTFE or PFOA). 
     One possible ceramic coating is, for example, CeraSol SR-STBK01. CeraSol SR-STBK01 used as the ceramic coating may have, for example, an emissivity of 0.905 and an emission power of 4.19×10 2  Watts per square meter (W/m 2 ). 
     Moreover, the lower heating element  150  may generate uneven amounts of heat along its length, and the wide, thin configuration of the ceramic coated pan  402  facilitates balancing out the uneven heat to more uniformly and evenly cook the food product. Further, the pan  402  is relatively lightweight, and is able to expand at higher temperatures without restriction to reduce any deformation. 
       FIG. 15  is a perspective view of one embodiment of a tool  500  that may be used to insert and remove the pan assembly  400  from the cooking appliance. The tool  500  includes a head  502  coupled to a handle  504 . In this embodiment, the head  502  is metallic and the handle  504  is an insulating material. The handle  504  includes a depression  506  that receives a user&#39;s thumb when the user is holding the handle  504 . The handle  504  also includes an aperture  508  defined therethrough to facilitate hanging the tool  500  on the hooks  116 . 
     The head includes a plate member  510  and a pair of prongs  512  that curve towards the plate member  510 . As shown in  FIGS. 16 and 17 , to hold the pan assembly  400  with the tool  500 , the tool  500  is maneuvered such that the prongs  512  engage the frame  406  and the plate member  510  engages the support bar  410 . The plate member  510  includes a notch  516  that facilitates hanging the tool  500  on the hooks  116 . Specifically, one of the hooks extends through the notch  516  and one of the hooks extends through the aperture  508 . 
     The tool  500  is able to be engaged/disengaged with the pan assembly  400  relatively easily by rotating the tool  500  relative to the pan assembly  400 . Accordingly, to insert the pan assembly  400  into the cooking appliance  100 , the user can engage the tool  500  with the pan assembly  400 , insert the pan assembly  400 , and then disengage the tool  500  from the pan assembly. Similarly, once cooking is finished, to remove the potentially hot pan assembly  400 , the user can engage the tool  500  with the pan assembly  400 , and remove the pan assembly  400  from the cooking appliance  100  using the tool  500 . 
       FIG. 18  is a schematic view of a quartz-type heating element  600  that may be used for the upper heating elements  160 . The heating element  600  includes a substantially linearly extending tube  602  having a first end  604 , a second end  606 , and a body  608  extending from the first end  604  to the second end  606  such that the tube  602  has a length C. A filament  610  is disposed within and extends along the length C of the tube  602  substantially from the first end  604  of the tube  602  to the second end  606  of the tube  602 . A first electrical lead  612  is connected to the filament  610  near the first end  604  of the tube  602 , and a second electrical lead  614  is connected to the filament  610  near the second end  606  of the tube  602 . 
     A first end cap  616  is attached to the first end  604  of the tube  602  about the first electrical lead  612  such that the first electrical lead  612  passes through (i.e., is supported within and extends outward from) the first end cap  616 . Similarly, a second end cap  618  is attached to the second end  606  of the tube  602  about the second electrical lead  614  such that the second electrical lead  614  passes through (i.e., is supported within and extends outward from) the second end cap  618 . In this manner, the first end cap  616  supports the first electrical lead  612 , and the second end cap  618  supports the second electrical lead  614 . Moreover, the end caps  616 ,  618  are useful in connecting the heating element  600  to the side surfaces  144 . Suitably, a first insulator  630  is sandwiched between the first end cap  616  and the tube  602 , and a second insulator  632  is sandwiched between the second end cap  618  and the tube  602 . The insulators  630 ,  632  facilitate insulating the end caps  616 ,  618  against conductive heat transfer from the tube  602  to the end caps  616 ,  618  when the heating element  600  is energized by passing electrical current through the filament  610  via the electrical leads  612 ,  614 . 
     In this embodiment, the end caps  616 ,  618  are fabricated from a ceramic material, and the filament  610  is fabricated from a tungsten material or nickel-chromium-iron composite material. Moreover, the filament  610  is a coiled wire in the illustrated embodiment, with the diameter of each coil and the number of coils being selectable to suit a desired wattage of the heating element  600  and to suit a desired amount of infrared energy emitted from the heating element  600  when the heating element  600  is energized. In that regard, the tube  602  is fabricated from a quartz glass material that may be transparent, translucent (e.g., frosted), or at least partially coated with a reflective material (e.g., a metallic material) to suit a desired amount (and direction) of infrared energy transmitted through the tube  602 . Notably, in other embodiments, the heating element  600  may be configured in any suitable manner that facilitates enabling the heating element  600  to function as described herein (e.g., the filament  610  of the heating element  600  may not be coiled in some embodiments, or in other embodiments the tube  602  may not extend linearly but, rather, may extend along a curvilinear path). 
     Moreover, the space surrounding the filament  610  within the tube  602  is open (i.e., the inside of the tube  602  is either under vacuum with gas, or not sealed and exposed to the ambient air). As such, infrared energy emitted from the energized filament  610  is permitted to travel from the filament  610  through the tube  602  with minimal obstruction in some embodiments). Such a configuration of the heating element  600  is distinguishable from a calrod-type configuration in which a filament is surrounded by a powdered material and packed within a metal tube such that infrared energy emitted from the filament is obstructed and absorbed by the powdered material in order to heat the metal tube via conduction. 
     As such, the quartz-type heating element  600  disclosed herein provides heating properties that are superior to a calrod-type heating element. For example, the quartz-type heating element  600  emits more infrared energy in a more focused manner to facilitate quicker heat-up and better control of energy incidence onto a food product in cooking appliance  100  (e.g., to enable rapid cycling of the amount of infrared energy incidence onto the food product). As such, the quartz-type heating element  600  disclosed herein permits the cooking appliance  100  to be used in a plurality of alternate configurations to heating a food product in a ways that would not be effective (or practical) via a calrod-type heating element (e.g., broiling a food product using the upper heating elements  160  would not be effective or practical using a calrod-type heating element). Notably, in alternative embodiments of the cooking appliance  100 , the upper and lower heating elements  150  and  160  may each be any suitable type of heating element other than a quartz-type heating element, such as, for example, a ceramic-type heating element, a halogen-type heating element, a calrod-type heating element, etc. 
     The cooking appliances described herein provide multiple heating modes for cooking different types of food products (e.g., different types of pizza). By selecting a mode that corresponds to a type of food product to be cooked, the cooking appliances described herein are able to adjust upper and lower heating elements to facilitate improved cooking of that type of food product. As compared to at least some known cooking appliances, the cooking appliances described herein cook a food product more quickly, and more uniformly. Further, the pan assemblies described herein are configured for use at higher temperatures than at least some known cooking pans, and provide more uniform cooking of food products than at least some known cooking pans. Moreover, the cooking appliances described herein facilitate improving the crispiness of crusted food products. 
     By using different modes for different food product (e.g., by controlling upper and lower heating elements independently), the amount of heat energy emitted to the food product can be controlled, improving cooking results. That is, in the embodiments described herein, the cooking mode of the cooking appliance can be modified to address differences in the type of food product being cooked by changing the configuration of energy (e.g., convection, infrared, etc.) being delivered to the food product. 
     Moreover, by controlling energy delivery to a food product as described herein, the cooking appliances disclosed have substantially reduced pre-heat times, relative to at least some known cooking appliances. Accordingly, unlike at least some known cooking appliances, the systems and methods described herein enable cooking different types of food products efficiently and properly using the same cooking appliance. 
     When introducing elements of the present invention or the preferred embodiment(s) thereof, the articles “a”, “an”, “the”, and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising”, “including”, and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. 
     As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.