Patent ID: 7640849

Claim:
A cooking appliance, comprising: a base for supporting the cooking appliance on a flat horizontal surface; a lower grill plate pivotally mounted by a pivotal mounting on said base to a desired angular position with respect thereto; an upper grill plate pivotally mounted by a pivotal mounting on said base over said lower grill plate to a desired angular position with respect to said lower grill plate and said base; said grill plates being formed with ribs defining channels for draining fluids from the food article to one of the edges of the grill plates; and an electrical heater for heating the two grill plates; the pivotal mountings of the lower and upper grill plates to the base being such as to permit: (a) the upper grill plate to be pivotted to an open position with respect to the lower grill plate for introducing and removing food articles between the two grill plates; (b) the upper cooking plate then to be pivotted to a closed condition with respect to the lower grill plate for contacting the food article between the two grill plates; and (c) both plates in said closed condition to be pivotted to any desired angular position with respect to the base for draining fluids from the food article while being cooked between the two grill plates.