Cooking device and the like

Claim 2

Means for cooking food products comprising means forming a cooking chamber, a pair of flame producing burners positioned in spaced opposed relationship such that the flames produced thereby are directed toward each other in said chamber, a source of fuel including means connecting said fuel source to supply fuel to the burners, each of said burners including an open ended burner member capable of producing a single outlet gas flame, the flames from said opposed burners if uninterrupted by a food product therebetween coming in contact with each other, means including a substantial open grid structure for positioning and supporting a product to be cooked in cooking position in the space between the burners such that the said flames simultaneously contact opposite sides of the product and are deflected sufficiently to envelope the product being cooked in the flames, said flames heating and cooking the product positioned therebetween, the most intense heating and cooking taking place at the locations where the flames most directly impinge thereon, and means for controlling the length of time the product remains in said cooking position.

Claim 3

Means for cooking food products and especially meat patties and the like comprising a housing inCluding in order a loading station, a cooking station and an unloading station, an endless flexible and substantially open grid type belt for supporting products to be cooked, said belt extending through the cooking station between the loading and unloading stations and said belt being constructed of a plurality of hingedly connected together members such that a product positioned thereon is exposed over substantially all surfaces thereof, intermittent drive means operatively connected to the belt for moving said belt as spaced time intervals a predetermined distance such that products positioned thereon at the loading station advance through the cooking station to the unloading station, and means in the cooking station including at least one pair of spaced heating elements, each element of which directs an open flame against an opposite side of the belt and against an opposite side of a product to be cooked positioned on the belt for simultaneously cooking the product from both sides when products are moved therebetween by the movement of the belt.

Claim 4

Means for cooking food products and especially meat patties and the like comprising a housing inCluding in order a loading station, a cooking station and an unloading station, an endless flexible and substantially open grid type belt for supporting products to be cooked, said belt extending through the cooking station between the loading and unloading stations and said belt being constructed of a plurality of hingedly connected together members such that a product positioned thereon is exposed over substantially all surfaces thereof, intermittent drive means operatively connected to the belt for moving said belt as spaced time intervals a predetermined distance such that products positioned thereon at the loading station advance through the cooking station to the unloading station, and means in the cooking station including at least one pair of spaced heating elements, each element of which directs an open flame against an opposite side of the belt and against an opposite side of a product to be cooked positioned on the belt for simultaneously cooking the product from both sides when products are moved therebetween by the movement of the belt.

Claim 5

The cooking means defined in claim 1 including means to move the grid structure between a loading position outside the cooking chamber and the cooking position.

Claim 6

The cooking means defined in claim 1, wherein said grid structure includes an endless flexible belt, means for moving said belt with the product positioned thereon between said spaced opposed burners, and means for controlling the time that the product remains between said opposed burners during said movement.

Claim 7

The cooking means defined in claim 4 including intermittent drive means for moving said endless belt, said time control means controlling the length of time the belt stops between succeeding intermittent movements thereof, said intermittent drive means controlling the position where the belt stops on succeeding movements thereof to control the cooking position of the product thereon.

Claim 8

The cooking means defined in claim 1 wherein a plurality of spaced sets of said pairs of opposed burners are positioned in said cooking chamber at locations spaced along the grid structure.

Claim 9

The cooking means defined in claim 6 wherein said means for positioning and supporting the product to be cooked include an endless flexible grid structure having a portion thereof extending between all of the sets of spaced burners in the cooking chamber, and means for intermittently moving the grid structure a distance equal to at least the distance between adjacent pairs of spaced burners.

Claim 10

The cooking means of claim 7 including a grid structure loading station adjacent the cooking chamber and indicator means for indicating the location where products are to be placed on the grid structure to be in proper cooking position when moved by the grid structure into the cooking chamber.

Claim 11

Means for cooking food products including those in an initial frozen state comprising a housing having a cooking chamber therein, burner means including at least one pair of spaced burners each burner of which is capable of emitting a single gas flame therefrom, said burners being positioned in the cooking chamber in opposed relationship so that the flames emitting therefrom are directed toward and into contact with each other when not interrupted by an object therebetween to produce an enlarged region of flame where the flames come into contact, means for feeding fuel to the burners to maintain the flames during cooking operations, product support means including a substantially open grid structure for supporting a product thereon during cooking, means for moving the product support means including the grid structure and the product supported thereon into the space between the opposed burners such that the product is exposed simultaneously on opposite sides directly to the open flames emitting from both of said spaced opposed burners of said pair, the flames being further distorted by contact with the product to substantially envelope the product in the flame, the heat from the flaMes being most intense where they are directed from the burners at the product so that the product will cook more intensely at the locations where the flames most directly impinge working outwardly therefrom to the product edges, and means for controlling the time that the product remains exposed and enveloped by the flames.

Claim 12

Means for cooking food products including those in an initial frozen state comprising a housing having a cooking chamber therein, burner means including at least one pair of spaced burners each burner of which is capable of emitting a single gas flame therefrom, said burners being positioned in the cooking chamber in opposed relationship so that the flames emitting therefrom are directed toward and into contact with each other when not interrupted by an object therebetween to produce an enlarged region of flame where the flames come into contact, means for feeding fuel to the burners to maintain the flames during cooking operations, product support means including a substantially open grid structure for supporting a product thereon during cooking, means for moving the product support means including the grid structure and the product supported thereon into the space between the opposed burners such that the product is exposed simultaneously on opposite sides directly to the open flames emitting from both of said spaced opposed burners of said pair, the flames being further distorted by contact with the product to substantially envelope the product in the flame, the heat from the flaMes being most intense where they are directed from the burners at the product so that the product will cook more intensely at the locations where the flames most directly impinge working outwardly therefrom to the product edges, and means for controlling the time that the product remains exposed and enveloped by the flames.

Claim 13

The means defined in claim 9 wherein said means for controlling the time include means for extinguishing the burner flames after a predetermined cooking time.

Claim 14

The means defined in claim 9 wherein said grid structure includes a belt and means for moving said belt, said means for controlling the time the product remains exposed to the opposed flames including means for periodically moving the belt and the product thereon relative to said flames.

Claim 15

The means defined in claim 11 wherein said burner means include a plurality of sets of said pairs of opposed burners, said sets being spaced along a portion of the belt in the cooking chamber, said means for periodically moving the belt includes means for moving the belt a distance equal to the distance between selected sets of exposed burners.

Claim 16

The means defined in claim 11 including means forming product loading and unloading stations, said stations being located respectively on opposite sides of the cooking chamber, said belt extending between said loading and unloading stations through the cooking chamber.

Claim 17

The means defined in claim 13 wherein said unloading station includes means for automatically removing products from the belt during movements thereof.