Chrome Grill

Field of the Invention

The present technology pertains to kitchen appliances, in particular, electrical cooking appliances with chromium plated cooking surfaces.

Background of the Invention

Electrical cooking appliances such as grills (and toaster grills) are usually available with an upper and a lower cooking surface, often with nonstick coatings on both the cooking surfaces to avoid food sticking. Cooking surfaces made of stainless steel are also known. While a non-stick coating simplifies the clean-up process, it is easily scratched and sometimes damaged by high heat. Further, non-stick coatings are not optimally energy-efficient. Stainless steel cooking surfaces on the other hand, are energy efficient and more durable. However, food sticking and taste transfer between foods can be a problem for stainless steel appliances, and cleaning can be problematic.

Summary and Objects of the Invention

It is an object of the present technology to provide a scratch-resistant, energy efficient grill with improved cooking performance and reduced taste transference between foods.

Accordingly, there is provided an electrical cooking device, the cooking device comprising a cooking surface that has a chromium coating, the cooking surface being adapted to receive heat from an electrical heating element.

There is also provided a cooking device, the cooking device comprising an upper housing further comprising a top plate, a base further comprising a bottom plate, wherein a cooking surface of the bottom plate is chromium coated.

Brief Description of the Drawing Figures

In order that the invention be better understood, reference is now made to the following drawing figures in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of a grill;

Figure 2 is a cross section view of the grill in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a perspective view of an oven ring; Figure 4(a) is a perspective view of a foldable oven ring; Figure 4(b) is a perspective view of the foldable oven ring in Figure 4(a), partially folded

Figure 4(c) is a perspective view of the foldable oven ring in Figure

4(a), almost fully folded;

Figure 5(a) is a perspective view of a second foldable oven ring; Figure 5(b) is a perspective view of the foldable oven ring in Figure 5 (a), partially folded;

Figure 5(c) is a perspective view of the foldable oven ring in Figure

5(a), almost fully folded;

Figure 6(a) is a perspective view of a third foldable oven ring; Figure 6(b) is a perspective view of the foldable oven ring in Figure 6(a);

Figure 6(c) is a perspective view of the foldable oven ring in Figure

6 (a), almost fully folded; and Figure 7 is a cross section view of a cooking plate.

Best Mode and Other Embodiments

As shown in Figure 1, a grill 10 comprises an upper housing 11 and a base 12. The upper housing 11 further comprises a top cooking plate 17, and the base 13 further comprises a bottom cooking plate 12. There may be a U- shaped frame 14 around the upper housing 11. The U-shaped frame 14 has a front handle portion 15 and is pivotally mounted onto the base 12 at a rear mounting position 16. The upper housing 11 pivots on the centre 18 of the U shaped frame to allow the top plate to be parallel to the bottom plate for an initial portion of the grill's opening, in this case about the first 50mm. There

may be user controls 19 arranged on the exterior of the chrome grill, such as variable temperature settings or power switches or independent temperature control of top and bottom plates. The embodiment shown here includes an optional oven ring 30 that can be placed between the top and bottom plates 17, 12. The top plate 17, bottom plate 12, and the oven ring 30 are removable for easy cleaning and are dishwasher safe.

Referring to Figure 2, the upper housing 11 and the base 13 each carries its own heating element that is concealed respectively by the removable top and bottom plates 17, 12. The back side of the top plate 17 comprises a raised channel 21 that extends upwardly and contains a heat transfer or positioning groove 23. The positioning groove receives an upper heating element 22 carried within the upper housing. The back side of the top plate 17 is non- reflective, permitting efficient heat absorption from the heating element. The cooking surface 27 of the top plate 17 can be flat or ribbed, and may have a dark coloured non-stick coating to avoid food sticking and to effectively radiate heat.

The bottom plate 12 includes a channel 24 which extends downwardly from the back side of the plate 12 and has a lower positioning groove 25. The lower positioning groove receives and conceals a lower element 26 carried by the base 13. The underside 28 of the bottom plate 12 is non-reflective, permitting efficient heat absorption from the heating element. The cooking surface 29 of the bottom plate is preferably flat and chromium coated, with a mirror finish. The chromium coating is energy efficient, and has a 40% to 50% faster heat up time than PTFE non-stick surfaces due to reduced heat radiation. The chromium is also a hard surface that is more scratch resistant, less prone to taste transference and has slightly better non-stick qualities than Stainless Steel. A hard, trivalent chromium plating is preferred.

In preferred embodiments where oven rings are provided, the top and bottom plates 17, 12 have vertically aligned peripheral grooves 36, 37 wherein the oven rings are placed. In these examples, the peripheral grooves 36, 37 are provided exterior to the positioning grooves 22, 25 for the heating elements 23, 26.

As shown in Figure 3, the oven ring 30 comprises a rectangular rim 31 and a heat resistant handle 32 on each side portion 33. The rim 31 encloses an

λ

area of similar dimensions as the top and bottom plate 31, 32, and has a depth 34 for cooking foods such as fish. The inner surface of the oven ring 35 preferably has a non-stick coating. When placed between the top and the bottom plates 17, 12, the oven ring 30, along with the cooking surfaces of the plates, produce an oven effect. In the space enclosed by the oven ring, the chrome plated bottom cooking surface enables efficient heating and improved cooking performance, while the non-stick top cooking surface and the inner surface of the oven ring create radiant heat, allowing for an oven effect.

In some embodiments, the oven ring 30 may be foldable or otherwise collapsible for storage purposes.

As shown in Figure 4(a), an example of a foldable oven ring 40 comprises two foldable side portions 41. Each short side portion 41 includes a vertical, central hinge 42. The hinge 42 may protrude outwardly from the side portion 41 and form an exterior rib 44, which may be used as a handle. As shown in Figure 4(b), the four corners 43 of the oven ring 40 are non-rigid hinges, allowing the side portions 41 to fold relative to the long sides 45, 46. Figure 4(c) depicts a folded heat cloche. The hinges 42 move towards each other during folding.

Figure s(a) depicts another foldable oven ring 50. In this example, the folding hinges 51 are located on the longer sides 52, 53. Handles 54 are located on the shorter side portions 55. The longer portions 52, 53 can be folded so that the hinges 51 move towards each other, as shown in Figure 5(b). Figure 5(c) depicts a folded oven ring 50. As the oven ring 50 is folded, the folding hinges 51 move toward and pass each other because the segments 57, 58 of the longer sides 52, 53 are unequal in length.

Figure 6 (a) depicts a further example of a foldable oven ring 60. The oven ring 60 in this example comprises three preferably polymeric hinges 61 and one corner located clasp 62. As shown in Figure 6(b), the clasp 62 is formed between a longer sidewall 63 and a shorter sidewall 64. The shorter sidewall 64 in this example includes a handle 69. In this embodiment, the first shorter sidewall 64 terminates a protruding lip 65 that is received by an elastomeric clamping groove 66 in the longer sidewall 63. As shown in Figure 6(c), when the clasp 62 is opened, the oven ring 60 can be folded along the polymeric hinges 61 in a zigzag shape 68. The aforementioned sidewalls 63, 64

form the end pieces of this "strip" 67, and the single handle 69 does not interfere with folding.

In a restaurant-style preparation, fish may be cooked in a two step process. First, the fish is pan fried to caramelise and crisp the skin, and then it is transferred to an oven to finish cooking. The combination of the features in the above described grill and oven ring produces the same cooking result in a simple one step or one appliance process.

Referring to Figure 7, the top or bottom cooking plate or any heated cooking surface 70 has a top layer. The top layer 71 is the chrome or chromium coating. Chrome bonds with steel, therefore the next (or second) layer 72 is made of steel, preferably stainless steel. The steel may require pre-treatment or pre-plating with other metals such as copper or nickel. In particularly preferred embodiments, the cooking plate 70 further comprises a third layer 73 that is placed adjacent to the heating element. The third layer 73 is made of a material that absorbs and distributes heat quickly. For example, the third layer 73 can be an aluminium layer.

The second and third layers are metallic and may be bonded or clad. Alternatively, brazing, such as induction brazing, may be applied to join the two layers together. In some embodiments, the second and third layers may be mechanically joined.

While the present invention has been disclosed with reference to particular details of construction, these should be understood as having been provided by way of example and not as limitations to the scope or spirit of the invention.