GB2343106A - Sandwich toaster - Google Patents

Abstract

A toaster for toasting foodstuffs, such as sandwiches, comprises an upper hot plate 6 and a lower hot plate 7 . The hot plates are essentially flat but there may be a drip catching flange 16 around the bottom hot plate. The bottom hot plate also has a "lip" 17 that runs along the front of the sandwich toaster and is high enough to hold both slices of bread of a sandwich. The lip 17 may be an integral upstanding extension of the flange 16. The lip provides the advantage of catching both slices of bread and the filling of a sandwich if they are pushed forward when the toaster is closed carelessly.

Description

"Sandwich Toaster" Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toaster for toasting foodstuffs such as sandwiches.

Background of the Invention Many forms of sandwich toasters are in use domestically.

Conventionally these machines have two hot plates joined by a rotating hinge, legs and handles. In some models one or both of the hot plates may have ribs. These ribs operate so that when a sandwich with filling is placed between the plates and the sandwich toaster is closed, the sandwich is formed into pockets while toasting. Alternatively the hot plates may be flat.

Flat plates are easier to clean. Some models have a'slotted link and pin'type hinge connecting the two plates. This allows the two plates to not only rotate about the pin but also to move up and down.

Summary of the Invention The present invention is a sandwich toaster comprising an upper hot plate and a lower hot plate joined by a hinge. The hot plates are essentially flat, but there may be a drip catching flange around the bottom hot plate.

The bottom hot plate also has a'lip'that runs along the front of the sandwich toaster, the lip is high enough to catch both slices of bread of a sandwich.

The lip may be an integral upstanding extension of the flange. The lip gives this sandwich toaster the advantage of catching both slices of bread and the filling of a sandwich if they are pushed forward when the toaster is closed carelessly.

Brief description of the drawings An example of the invention will now be described, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a sandwich toaster; Figure 2 is an underneath view of the sandwich toaster; Figure 3 is a top view of the sandwich toaster; Figure 4 is a front view; and Figure 5 is a rear view of the sandwich toaster.

Detailed description The sandwich toaster 1 includes two compartments 2,3 each of which contain an electrical heating element 4,5. The facing surfaces of the compartments comprise hot plates 6,7. The hot plates are depicted as rectangular. To ensure that the sandwich does not stick to the toaster, the surface of the hot plates may be coated with a non-stick surface such as Teflon. The hot plates are flat, so that they are easy to clean.

The hot plates are joined by a hinge 8. The hinge depicted in Figure 1 consisting of a slotted link 9 and pin 10. The slotted link is formed in a flange 11, attached to the bottom compartment, while the top compartment is attached to the hinge by the flange 12 and pin 10. This type of hinge allows the upper compartment 2 to both rotate at the pin and to move up and down.

The sandwich toaster has legs 13 attached to the bottom compartment which raise the toaster and prevent the toaster from burning the surface on which it is placed. A thermostat regulates the heat of the hot plates and therefore the rate at which the sandwich is toasted. There is an electrical socket 14 into which a power lead 15 may be connected.

Around the bottom hot plate 7 is a drip catching flange 16. Along the front edge of the bottom hot plate is a lip 17 which extends above the flange and is high enough to catch two pieces of bread with filling (see Figure 1).

Figure 5 indicates that the sandwich toaster has handles 18 attached to the top compartment to enable the user to open the sandwich toaster without burning themselves. A wire 19 connects the heating elements in the top and bottom plates.

In use, either an assembled sandwich is placed in the toaster or a sandwich is assembled in the toaster by placing the bottom piece of bread in the sandwich toaster then the filling and the top piece of bread. The sandwich sits on the bottom hot plate and the top compartment is lowered to 'close'the toaster. Once the sandwich toaster is closed it is turned on and the sandwich will be cooked until it is turned off, automatically or manually.

If the top compartment is closed carelessly, the top piece of bread in the sandwich will be pushed forward out of the toaster. However, the top piece of bread will be caught by the lip to prevent the top piece of bread escaping.

It should be appreciated that the drawings depict only one example of the sandwich toaster. The hot plates need not necessarily be rectangular.

The hinge may be a simple rotating pin type hinge. The handles while depicted as being attached to the top compartment on each side may be attached to the bottom compartment, which would allow the user to pick up the whole machine without risk of burning themselves.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims (3)

1. Claims 1. A sandwich toaster comprising an upper hot plate and a lower hot plate joined by a hinge, where the hot plates are flat, and the bottom hot plate also has a'lip'that runs along the front of the sandwich toaster, the being high enough to catch both slices of bread of a sandwich.
2. 2. A sandwich toaster according to claim 1, where there is a drip catching flange around the bottom hot plate, and the lip is an integral upstanding extension of the flange.
3. 3. A sandwich toaster substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.