Electric cooking apparatus

• US 20070084853A1
• Filed: 10/05/2006
• Published: 04/19/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Evo Canopy, LLC
• Original Assignee: Evo, Inc.
• Inventors: Shingler, Robert
• Granted Patent: US 7,825,353 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 219/452.110
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 1/0266 Cooktops
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 2213/07 Heating plates with temperature control means
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 3/70 Plates of cast metal
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 3/72 Plates of sheet metal

Abstract

Various embodiments of an electrical cooking apparatus are disclosed. In one embodiment, an electrical cooking apparatus includes a substantially continuous cooking surface, a plurality of electrical heating elements disposed under the substantially continuous cooking surface, and at least two temperature controllers configured to allow independent control of temperatures of at least two of the plurality of heating elements.

Claims

1. An electrical cooking apparatus, comprising:

a substantially continuous cooking surface;

a plurality of electrical heating elements disposed under the substantially continuous cooking surface; and

at least two temperature controllers configured to allow independent control of temperatures of at least two of the plurality of heating elements.

2. The electrical cooking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of cooking elements comprise at least one inner cooking element and at least one outer cooking element.

3. The electrical cooking apparatus of claim 2, wherein the inner cooking element and the outer cooking element are each formed from a plurality of cooking element segments.

4. The electrical cooking apparatus of claim 3, wherein each inner cooling element segment is separated from an adjacent inner cooking element segment by a separator disposed on an underside of the cooking surface.

5. The electrical cooking apparatus of claim 6, wherein the outer cooking element substantially surrounds the inner cooking element.

6. The electrical cooking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cooking surface is crowned.

7. The electrical cooking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cooking surface is substantially flat.

8. The electrical cooking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cooking surface has a substantially circular perimeter.

9. The electrical cooking apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a drip tray disposed beneath a perimeter of the cooking surface.

10. The electrical cooking apparatus of claim 9, further comprising an opening in the drip tray, and a spillover tray coupled to the cooking apparatus at a location beneath the opening in the drip tray.

11. The electrical cooking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cooking surface rests on a skirt that surrounds the plurality of heating elements.

12. An electrical cooking apparatus, comprising:

a substantially continuous cooking surface;

an inner electrical heating element assembly positioned beneath a centrally disposed region of the cooking surface, the inner heating element assembly comprising at least two inner heating element segments;

an outer electrical heating element assembly disposed beneath a radially outer region of the cooking surface;

the outer heating element assembly comprising at least two outer heating element segments;

an inner element temperature control configured to allow control of the inner electrical heating element assembly; and

an outer element temperature control configured to allow control of the outer electrical heating element assembly.

13. The electrical cooking apparatus of claim 12, wherein the inner heating element and outer heating element are arranged concentrically.

14. The electrical cooking apparatus of claim 12, wherein the inner cooking element segments are connected in series, and wherein the outer cooking element segments are connected in series.

15. The electrical cooking apparatus of claim 12, wherein the inner heating element assembly comprises three inner heating element segments, and wherein the outer heating element assembly comprises three outer heating element segments.

16. The electrical cooking apparatus of claim 12, further comprising a drip pan positioned below a perimeter of the cooking surface and extending around an entire perimeter of the cooking apparatus.

17. In a cooking apparatus having a substantially continuous heating surface and at least two independently controllable electrical heating elements disposed below the substantially continuous heating surface, a method of heating the substantially continuous cooking surface, comprising:

adjusting a temperature of a first electrical heating element using a first temperature control; and

adjusting a temperature of a second electrical heating element using a second heating control.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein adjusting the temperatures of the first and second electrical heating elements comprises adjusting the temperatures of the first and second electrical heating elements to be different temperatures.