Patent ID: 7973264

Claim:
A toaster oven comprising: a housing including an openable door member; a cavity liner residing within said housing, wherein said liner defines a cooking chamber, said liner comprising a top surface, a bottom surface, integrally formed sidewalls, and a back wall extending between said top and bottom surfaces defining a forward facing open end of said liner, wherein said door member is disposed in closing relation to said open end; heating means including at least one single-sided low-profile heating element, wherein said at least one single-sided low-profile heating element is constructed by wrapping a heating wire about a flat mica insulation board, wherein said single-sided low-profile heating element is installed internally of said cavity liner adjacent to said top surface thereof; a heater shifting mechanism for adjusting the distance of said single-sided low-profile heating element relative to a food item, wherein said heater shifting mechanism includes a spring actuated shift-button assembly, said shift-button assembly being directly attached to said single-sided low-profile heating element, said shift-button assembly extending through said top surface of said liner from an exterior of said housing into said cooking chamber, wherein said shift-button assembly functions to impart vertical movement to said single-sided low-profile heating element when manual pressure is applied to said shift-button assembly; temperature controlling means electrically interconnected to said at least one single-sided low-profile heating element for regulating the cooking temperature thereof; and function controlling means electrically interconnected to said at least one single-sided low-profile heating element.