Cooking apparatus with adjustable cooking surface
First Claim
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1. A cooking apparatus comprising:
- a cooking surface facing substantially upward, the cooking surface being planar and bounded by opposite front and rear edges and opposite left and right edges;
a leveling device constructed and arranged to adjust a position of the cooking surface, wherein the leveling device is capable of adjusting a forward-to-aft rotational position about a first axis parallel to the front edge and adjusting a side-to-side rotational position about a second axis parallel to the right edge, and wherein the leveling device being further capable of adjusting a height of the cooking surface;
wherein the leveling device comprises three actuators that engage a lower surface of the cooking surface, wherein each of the three actuators is constructed and arranged to move the cooking surface in a vertical direction, wherein coordinated movement of the three actuators causes an adjustment of one or more of the height of the cooking surface, the forward-to-aft rotational position, and the side-to-side rotational position;
a dual axis inclinometer configured to sense the position in the forward-to-aft rotational position and the side-to-side rotational position; and
an electronic controller configured to receive a position signal from the dual axis inclinometer and output a command signal to the leveling device for position adjustment, andfurther comprising a user interface configured to send a desired position signal to the controller corresponding to a desired position of the cooking surface, wherein the desired position is a position wherein one or both of a forward-to-aft rotational position and a side-to-side rotational position results in a cooking surface position that is not parallel to a horizontal plane, wherein the controller causes adjustment of one or all of the three actuators to adjust the cooking surface to the desired position.
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Abstract
A cooking apparatus includes a cooking surface, a leveling device, an inclinometer, and an electronic controller. The leveling device is constructed and arranged to adjust a position of the cooking surface, and the inclinometer senses the cooking surface position. The electronic controller is configured to receive a position signal from the inclinometer and output a command signal to the leveling device for position adjustment.
35 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A cooking apparatus comprising:
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a cooking surface facing substantially upward, the cooking surface being planar and bounded by opposite front and rear edges and opposite left and right edges; a leveling device constructed and arranged to adjust a position of the cooking surface, wherein the leveling device is capable of adjusting a forward-to-aft rotational position about a first axis parallel to the front edge and adjusting a side-to-side rotational position about a second axis parallel to the right edge, and wherein the leveling device being further capable of adjusting a height of the cooking surface; wherein the leveling device comprises three actuators that engage a lower surface of the cooking surface, wherein each of the three actuators is constructed and arranged to move the cooking surface in a vertical direction, wherein coordinated movement of the three actuators causes an adjustment of one or more of the height of the cooking surface, the forward-to-aft rotational position, and the side-to-side rotational position; a dual axis inclinometer configured to sense the position in the forward-to-aft rotational position and the side-to-side rotational position; and an electronic controller configured to receive a position signal from the dual axis inclinometer and output a command signal to the leveling device for position adjustment, and further comprising a user interface configured to send a desired position signal to the controller corresponding to a desired position of the cooking surface, wherein the desired position is a position wherein one or both of a forward-to-aft rotational position and a side-to-side rotational position results in a cooking surface position that is not parallel to a horizontal plane, wherein the controller causes adjustment of one or all of the three actuators to adjust the cooking surface to the desired position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification