TECHNICAL FIELD

The object of the invention is an electric grill.

BACKGROUND

A grill is a device commonly used for heat treatment of food. A typical grill has a grate which heats the food placed thereon. Charcoal, gas and electric grills are commonly known. The electric grills are particularly useful for preparing food in catering facilities as they can be easily powered by electric heating energy. The electric grills can also be conveniently used in devices for automatic preparation of food.

An important element of every grill is its cooking grate. Its shape, material and method of supplying energy for heating the food placed thereon determine the effectiveness of heat transfer to the food, which has a direct impact on the usability of the grill and the efficiency of the entire heat treatment process of the food.

There is a need to provide an electric grill of a compact design that would allow effective heat treatment of food.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One aspect of the invention relates to an electric grill comprising a lower grate and an upper grate that are movable relative to each other between an open position and a closed position, wherein in the closed position the distance between the upper grate and the lower grate is smaller than in the open position, wherein the lower grate and the upper grate each comprise at least one heating rib, that comprises an integrated resistive heating element connected to a controlled electric power source.

The grill may further comprise a movable fork with at least two arms, wherein between the ribs of the lower grate there are slots that define a spacing width between the ribs that allow the fork arms to be inserted between the ribs.

The ribs of the lower grate may have a flat bulge in their middle part.

The ribs of the upper grate may have a flat bulge in their middle part.

The ribs of the lower grate and the ribs of the upper grate may have, in their middle part, a flat element terminated at one side with an element directed towards the opposite grate and on the other side with an element directed away from the opposite grate.

The grill may further comprise a tray positioned under the lower grate for collecting liquids dripping from the food piece placed on lower grate.

The upper grate may be pressed against the lower grate by means of a pressing mechanism.

The heating rib of the lower grate or the heating rib of the upper grate can be made of a flat bar of a rectangular cross-section made of resistance steel.

The ends of the heating ribs of the lower grate and the ends of the heating ribs of the upper grate can be attached to transverse connectors for supplying electrical power to the heating ribs.

The electric grill according to the invention has a compact design and allows effective heat treatment of food. It allows automatic placement and removal of the a food piece, as well as efficient collection of food liquids, including fats, while the food is heated.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, descriptions and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

The object of the invention is shown by means of example embodiments in a drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 shows an electric grill in a front perspective view;

Fig. 2 shows the electric grill in a front perspective view with a food piece placed between grates;

Fig. 3 shows the electric grill in a back perspective view with a fork;

Figs. 4A-4C show various examples of an arrangement of ribs of the grate in a top view;

Figs. 5A-5B show various examples of a shape of the grate in a side view;

Fig. 6 shows a functional schematic of the device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An electric grill according to the invention comprises a lower grate 10 and an upper grate 20. The cooking grates 10, 20 are movable relative to each other between an open position (to facilitate placing a food piece on the lower grate and removing the food piece from between the grates) and a closed position (for heating the food piece placed between the grates). In the closed position, a distance D between the upper grate 20 and the lower grate 10 is closer than for in open position. In particular, the distance is such that the upper grate 20 slightly presses against the food piece 40 (as shown in Fig. 2). In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 , the upper grate 20 is movable, but in other embodiments the lower grate 10 may be movable or both grates 10, 20 may be movable simultaneously.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 , the upper grate 20 is pressed against the lower grate 10 by means of a pressing mechanism 30, which may comprise a set of arms forming a pressing lever. The constructional details of the pressing mechanism 30 are irrelevant for the essence of the invention, since various known pressing mechanisms can be used. The pressing mechanism 30 allows the grate to be moved to a set distance (depending on the height of the food piece to be heated) or allows the food piece to be pressed with a set force (so that when the pressing force is exceeded, no further pressing is possible). The pressing mechanism 30 can be controlled manually by the user (using a corresponding handle) or automatically (using a motor, not shown in the drawing).

The lower grate 10 and the upper grate 20 each have a series of heating ribs 11 , 21. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 , the ribs 11 , 21 have a form of bars with a rectangular cross-section. In other embodiments, the ribs 11 , 21 may have a form of elements having a circular or polygonal cross-section.

The heating ribs 11 , 21 comprise a resistive heating element that is connected to a controllable electric power source 61. Namely, the heating ribs 11 , 21 can be made of an electrical resistor, for example of a resistance steel (that heats when electric current flows therethrough). The resistive heating element can be covered by a coating that prevents food from sticking to the grate, such as a PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) coating. The heating element is integrated within the ribs 11 , 21 , so that there is no air gap between the heating element and the surface of the heating rib (which is the case, for example, in typical electric grills where the heating element is located under the heating tray).

The resistive heating elements of the individual ribs are connected to transverse connectors 12, 22 of the lower grate 10 and of the upper grate 20, respectively. The connectors 12, 22 are connected to the power source. In a top view, as shown in Figs. 4A-4C, the ribs may form a pattern of parallel bars (as shown in Figs. 1-3 and 4A), or a pattern of a meander (as shown in Fig. 4B) or a spiral pattern ( as shown in Fig. 4C), correspondingly connected via the connectors 12 to the power source.

For example, a source of direct current having a 1.5 kW rated power can be used as the electric power source 61.

For example, if the grate comprises parallel bars (Fig. 4A), 20 ribs made of acid-resistant steel with a cross-section of 12mm ² and a length of 3000mm (wherein each rib has a resistance of 0.005 Ohm) can be used.

For example, if the grate has a shape of a meander (Fig. 4B) or a spiral (Fig. 4C), its cross-section can be 10 mm ² and the total length can be 3200 mm (wherein the entire meander or spiral has a resistance of 0.24 Ohm).

Alternatively, a plurality of connectors may be used for each grate. For example, the ribs located closer to the centre can be connected to a central connector, and the outer ribs can be connected to an outer connector, so that when heating a small-sized food piece placed on the middle ribs, the current flow can be activated only through the ribs connected to the central connector, without the need to lose energy for heating the outer ribs (which can be configured to be activated only if a larger food piece is placed on the grate).

Alternatively, each of the ribs can be connected individually to the power source 61 through a controller 62, which can activate current flow from the power source 61 through selected ribs only depending on the size of the food piece (which can be controlled by the user, or a system of sensors 63, 64 to detect location and size of the food piece to be heated).

When the electric grill is used in an automatic food heating machine, it can further comprise a movable fork 50 with at least two arms, for automatic picking of the food piece from a storage (for example, a fridge located nearby the grill), providing the food piece to the grate, removing it from the grate and supplying to the serving place (such as a machine dispensing opening). In order to facilitate placing the food piece, the lower grate 10 may have slots 53 between the ribs 11 , the slots defining spacing between the ribs 11 such that the arms 51 of the fork may be inserted between the ribs 11 adjacent to the slots so that after the food piece has been placed on the grate, the arms 51 of the fork 50 may be lowered within these slots. In the central part 11A, the ribs 11 may have a longitudinal slot 15 (through- hole) in order to facilitate fat dripping therethrough to a collecting tray positioned below the lower grate 10.

At least the ribs 11 of the lower grate 10 may profiled so that they have a flat bulge 11 A in a middle part and their ends 11 B, 11 C are in a lower position (as shown in Fig. 1 -3 and Fig. 5A). This makes it easier to manoeuvre the fork between the ribs 1 1 .

In addition, the ribs 1 of the lower grate 10 and the ribs 21 ' of the upper grate 20 (as shown schematically in Fig. 5B) can be profiled so as to have in the middle part a flat element 11 Ά, 2TA terminated on one side with an element 11 'B, 2TB directed towards the opposite grate and on the other side with an element 1 C, 2TC directed away from the opposite grate, which allows, after closing the grate, heating the food piece also at the sides.

The ribs 21 of the upper grate 20 can be flat or profiled similarly to the ribs 1 1 of the lower grate 10 and can also include a flat bulge 21 A.

Underneath the lower grate 10, there may be a tray 13 for collecting liquids dripping from the lower grate, in particular juices and fats melted from the food piece during heating thereof.

While the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, it will be appreciated that many variations, modifications and other applications of the invention may be made. Therefore, the claimed invention as recited in the claims that follow is not limited to the embodiments described herein.