Patent Abstract:
A grilling station for simultaneously grilling a variety of foods. The station includes a plurality of grilling ovens. Each of the grilling ovens has a housing with an opening for loading food into that housing. A first grilling unit is mounted in each housing for supporting food. A second grilling unit is mounted in each housing positionable above each respective first grilling unit and being vertically moveable in relation to the respective first grilling unit. The first and second grilling units in each of the housings connected to a respective control assembly to determine selectively the length of time energy is supplied to the grilling units providing selective separate grilling times in each of the housings.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Serial No. 60/442,622, filed Jan. 27, 2003, entitled “Grilling Oven”. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    This invention relates to an improved grilling station having a plurality of identical improved grilling ovens particularly adapted for use in a food preparation environment, such as, a commercial restaurant or the like.  
           [0003]    A problem frequently encountered in the operation of a commercial food preparation facility, such as a restaurant revolves around grilling foods. In a typical restaurant environment, a grill or broiler is used to cook foods such as steak, fish and chops. The steak is placed on the grill and the grilling person turns the steak after a period of time. The steak is then removed after a time to produce the steak with the desired amount of cooking, such as, rare, medium rare, medium, medium well, or well done. The degree of cooking of the steak is in great part dependant upon the experience, skill, ability, mood and judgment in particular of the grilling person.  
           [0004]    As a further example, should an order come into the kitchen for several steaks, one or more of which is to be well done, one or more of which is to be rare, one or more of which is to be medium, and one or more of which is to be medium well, the grilling person must place the steaks on the grill at different times, stagger the times that the steaks are on the grill for turning and for removal from the grill. Failure of the grilling person to monitor the cooking time of each of the steaks may result in one or more of the steaks being overcooked or undercooked. In the event that a steak is overcooked or undercooked and delivered at a temperature that is not desired when the steak is overcooked or undercooked, the customer is dissatisfied and the steak is sent back to the kitchen which disrupts the operation of the kitchen. Service is disrupted at the table. In addition, the restaurant may have steaks which may not be readily sold and a dissatisfied customer.  
           [0005]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a grilling station having a plurality of individual locations to grill individual foods, such as, steaks, to produce food which is cooked a proper amount of time. In addition, the food is grilled on the top and the bottom at the same time to eliminate the need for turning of the food. Furthermore, an indicator light is provided with each unit which indicates that the cooking for a particular unit has been completed. It follows that if it is not necessary for a grilling person to watch food on a grill. Thus, an experienced grilling person is not required, thereby effecting an economy in the labor rate. It is a further object to provide an improved grilling oven heated electrically so that the electricity may be interrupted when the oven is not is use to effect economy in operation. An additional object of the present invention is to provide a grilling oven wherein food may be easily loaded onto the grill and easily removed therefrom. The unit will also operate with the upper grill raised for use of cooking fish or melting cheese or other foods above burgers, steaks, or the like. Other objects and uses of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon perusal of the following specification in light of the accompanying drawing.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    The present invention is an improved grilling station for grilling a variety of foods simultaneously. The station includes a plurality of individual grilling ovens. Each of the ovens has a housing with an opening in the housing for loading food into the respective housing. Each oven has a first grilling unit for supporting food in the respective housing. Each grilling oven also includes a second grilling unit positionable above the respective first grilling unit and being movable relative to the first grilling unit. A control assembly is connected to the grilling units to determine selectively the length of time energy is supplied to the grilling units in each of the individual ovens to provide a separate grilling time in each of the grilling ovens. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING  
       [0007]    [0007]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a grilling station embodying this invention, in this instance, the station having six individual grilling ovens with a control assembly connected to the grilling ovens for regulating the grilling time in each of the ovens;  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of one of the grilling ovens of FIG. 1 with a top removed and shown in an open attitude for loading or unloading food in the oven, and a fillet positioned on a first grilling unit;  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of a portion of the grilling oven of FIG. 2 showing the door in an open attitude and a fillet resting on a first grilling unit, a portion of a regulator is shown broken away to show the interconnection between a slotted link and a stud on a lower platen;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the grilling oven of FIG. 3 but with the door shown in a closed attitude with a fish on the first grilling unit and a regulator holds a second grilling unit spaced away from the fillet;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the grilling oven of FIG. 2 with the door closed, but the regulator not connected to the second grilling unit, but rather the second grilling unit resting on a fillet; and  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of the control assembly in FIG. 1. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0013]    Referring now to the drawings, and especially FIG. 1, a grilling station  8  is shown therein including six improved individual grilling ovens  10 ,  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  and  20  enclosed in a cabinet  21 . The construction of each of the grilling ovens is identical to each other grilling oven. The station includes a control assembly  24  which is electrically connected to each of the grilling ovens to deliver electrical energy to each of the individual grilling ovens and to regulate the time of heating of each of the grilling ovens.  
         [0014]    Grilling ovens  10  and  12  have a common grease tray  26 , and grilling ovens  16  and  18  have a common grease tray  28 . Grilling ovens  14  and  20  have individual grease trays  30  and  32 , respectively. The grease trays collect grease generated by cooking in the ovens and are connected to the troughs to receive grease from the troughs.  
         [0015]    Referring now to FIG. 2, grilling oven  18  is shown therein with the top removed in order to show better the construction of the oven. Grilling oven  18  includes a housing  34  with an opening  36  on one side. A hinged door  38  is pivotally connected to the housing for selectively closing opening  36 . Hinged door  38  includes a face portion  40  with a handle  42  connected thereto. Face portion  40  is hingedly connected to yolk  44 , which is an integral portion of housing  36 . Door  38  has a inner panel  46  with elongated ears  48  and  50  formed integral therewith.  
         [0016]    Referring now to FIG. 3, one side of a mechanism interconnecting door  38  with an upper grilling unit  52  and a lower grilling unit  54  is shown therein. Upper grilling unit  52  includes a grooved platen  56  with a serpentine electric heating unit  58  in thermal engagement with the platen. The electrical heating unit  58  is electrically connected by cables  59  to a source of electric power through the control assembly  24 . In like manner, the lower grilling unit  54  includes a grooved platen  60  with a serpentine electric heating unit mounted on the lower side of the platen and having its construction identical to electrical heating unit  58 . The electrical heating unit connected to platen  60  is thermally connected thereto and is electrically connected to the control assembly through cables  61 .  
         [0017]    Ear  50  has an elongated link  62  connected at one end through a pin  64 . The other end of link  62  is connected to a bowed lever  66  through a pin  68  on one end of the bowed lever. Lever  66  pivots on an axle  70  which axle is mounted on housing  34 . As may be seen in FIG. 3, lever  66  has a roller  72  mounted on a roller axle  74  at the end opposite to the end connected to link  62 . Roller  72  is rotatably mounted in a track  78  connected to one side of platen  56 . A slotted link  80  has one end connected to ear  50  through a pin  82 . Slotted link  80  includes a slot  84  at the opposite end. A stud  86  connected to platen  60  is slidably mounted in slot  84 . The lower platen  60  is mounted on a support  88  which is rotatably supported on a rail  90 .  
         [0018]    It may be appreciated that only one side of the interconnected linkage between the door and the platens has been described in detail above. The linkage on the other side of the door and the platens is a mirror image of the linkage described above.  
         [0019]    Brackets  92  and  94  are secured to platen  56 . Each of the brackets  92  and  94  has an identical roller  96  rotatably mounted thereon. Rails  98  and  100  which are parallel to each other and mounted on the housing, as seen in FIG. 2. A second pair of rails  102  and  104  identical to rails  98  and  100  is mounted on the housing opposite to respective rails  98  and  100 .  
         [0020]    A manual control regulator  106  includes a lever  108  which is mounted on a pivot  110  supported by the housing. The regulator has a handle  112  for moving lever  108  about pivot  110 . Lever  108  includes an ear  114  which is engageable with a control flange  116  mounted on platen  56 . It may be appreciated that the position of regulator  106  determines the amount that platen  56  may move toward the lower grilling unit  54  thereby determining the spacing between the upper and lower grilling units.  
         [0021]    The control assembly  24  is a well known and conventional control assembly for controlling the length of time that electricity flows to the heating elements of each of the grilling ovens. The face of the control assembly is shown in FIG. 6. The controls for each grilling oven are in line. Each of grilling ovens  10 ,  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  and  20  is identified by number in tags  118 ,  120 ,  122 ,  124 ,  126  and  128 , respectively. Readout windows  130 ,  132 ,  134 ,  136 ,  138  and  140  are positioned adjacent to tags  118 ,  120 ,  122 ,  124 ,  126  and  128 , respectively. Set time switches  142 ,  144 ,  146 ,  148 ,  150  and  152  are positioned adjacent to respective readout windows  130 ,  132 ,  134 ,  136 ,  138  and  140 . Stop clear switches  154 ,  156 ,  158 ,  160 ,  162  and  164  are positioned adjacent to respective set time switches  142 ,  144 ,  146 ,  148 ,  150  and  152 . Start switches  166 ,  168 ,  170 ,  172 ,  174  and  176  are positioned adjacent to the stop clear switches  154 ,  156 ,  158 ,  160 ,  162  and  164 , respectively. A well-known and conventional keypad  178  is positioned below the switches for entering cooking times for each of the individual ovens.  
         [0022]    Signal lights  180 ,  182 ,  184 ,  186 ,  188  and  190  are mounted in each housing for grilling ovens  10 ,  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  and  20 , respectively. Each of the signal lights is connected to the control assembly for its respective oven.  
         [0023]    When a selected oven is put into use, the stop clear switch for that oven is actuated, which clears the circuit and extinguishes the signal light for the oven. Next, that oven&#39;s set time switch is actuated to allow acceptance of a time from the keypad. Keypad  178  is used to set the numerical number of minutes that electrical energy is to be supplied to the grilling units for the selected oven. The selected time in minutes is displayed on the respective readout window to allow the grilling person to determine whether the proper time for grilling has been keyed into the times through a conventional time circuit. The start switch is actuated so that a conventional timer in the timer circuit for the oven closes the circuit to allow energy to flow to the grilling units in the oven. Upon expiration of the selected time, the flow of energy to the grilling units is interrupted by the timer circuit and the respective signal light is actuated to indicate that the grilling is complete.  
         [0024]    The use of grilling oven  18  is described below, however each of the other ovens operates in a like manner. Hinge door  38  is pulled down to open the grilling oven. Downward pivoting of the hinge door moves the slotted link  80 . The initial movement of the slotted link causes the slot  84  to slide on stud  86  until the stud engages the oven end  192  of the slot. Then, the stud firmly engages the link to move the lower grilling unit partially into the opening for the grilling oven. Simultaneous with the movement of the lower grilling unit, pivoting of door  38  pulls elongated link  62  into the opening which causes lever  66  to pivot about axle  70  and swing roller  74  upward thereby pushing the upper grilling unit upward away from the lower grilling unit. It may be appreciated that initial movement of the hinge door has no effect on the movement of the lower grilling unit in view of the fact that the length of slot  84  must slide past stud  86  before there is any movement of the lower grilling unit. Thus, there is an initial vertical movement of the upper grilling unit away from the lower grilling unit before there is horizontal movement of the lower grilling unit.  
         [0025]    Once door  38  is open, the grilling oven may be loaded. Referring now to FIG. 2 by way of example, a beef fillet  194  is positioned on platen  60  of lower grilling unit. Door  38  is pivoted upward to close the door. The upward pivoting of door  38  moves the slotted link  80  causing slot  84  to slide on stud  86  until the stud engages the door end  196  of slot  84 . Further pivoting of the door with the stud in engagement with the door end of the slot causes the lower grilling unit to move into the housing. The upward pivoting of door  38  pushes elongated link  62  into the housing pivoting lever  66  about axle  70  to lower roller  74  which allows the upper grilling unit to drop down by the force of gravity. The upper grilling unit drops down until it rests on top of fillet  192  as shown in FIG. 5.  
         [0026]    It may be appreciated that it is desirable for the upper grilling unit to engage the upper surface of certain foods, such as, a beef fillet. However, other foods, such as, fish, may not withstand the weight of the upper grilling unit. A fish  198  is shown in FIG. 4 resting on the lower grilling unit. The descent of the upper grilling unit toward the lower grilling unit is controlled by regulator  102 . The cook or grilling person simply moves regulator  102  until the ear of the regulator is in a position to engage flange  78  and thereby prevent the upper grilling unit from coming into engagement with fish  198 .  
         [0027]    Irrespective of whether the upper grilling unit comes in contact with the food to be cooked or not, it is only necessary for the grilling person to first press the stop clear switch  162  to clear the time circuit, then press the set time switch  150  to activate the time. The grilling person then punches the numerical time on the keypad  178  which is displayed in the window  138 . Once the appropriate numerical time is set, start switch  174  is pressed to start the timer and connect the upper and lower grilling units to the source of electrical energy to be heated by their respective heating elements. Upon expiration of the time selected, the timer interrupts the flow of electricity to the heating elements and energizes signal lamp  188  to indicate that the cooking cycle is completed. Door  38  is opened and the food is removed from the grilling oven. Any grease that is generated by the cooking operation flows from the platen to a grease trough  200  positioned below and adjacent to the oven end of the platen. The grease flows from the trough to the grease tray  28  which may be readily removed for cleaning.  
         [0028]    It may be appreciated that with the instant station six different grilling times may be utilized, and it is not necessary for the grilling person to keep in mind which grilling oven is used for what purpose. The present arrangement reduces the opportunity for making an error by leaving the food too long on a grill, inasmuch as a time is selected and the grilling is interrupted upon the expiration of the selected time.  
         [0029]    Although a grilling station is shown with six grilling ovens, it is readily apparent that a grilling station may contain more or fewer grilling ovens to effect the required cooking in the amount which may be required for an establishment, such as, a restaurant.  
         [0030]    Although a detailed description of the present invention has been described in detail above, it is readily apparent that those skilled in the art may make various modifications and changes in the instant invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It is to be expressly understood that the instant invention is limited only by the appended claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 0