MXPA00000659A - Radiant heater element for use in grills and the like - Google Patents

Abstract

A grill (100) includes a hot plate (102) on one side of which is a cooking surface (104) upon which food to be cooked is set. A heating unit (106) installed on the underside (108) of the hot plate is used to heat the grill so the cooking surface temperature is a desired temperature. The unit includes a radiant heating element (110) and a pan (114) in which the heating element is installed. A cavity (C) defined by the underside of the grill, a sidewall (118) of the pan, and a top surface (122) of an insulation material (120) in which the heating element is supported, is heated to a uniform temperature across the cavity, and the grill is heated to this temperature. This uniformity of temperature results in food placed anywhere on the grill rapidly heating to a desired temperature and the food being cooked uniformly throughout.

Description

ELEMENT OF RADIANT HEATER FOR USE IN GRILLS AND SIMILAR TECHNICAL FIELD The invention relates to grills and heating plates used in commercial and domestic establishments, and very particularly, to a new or replacement heating unit for said grills. Cooking grills used in cooking large volumes generally comprise a top plate on the top surface where the food is placed for cooking. As shown in Figure 1, a tubular heating unit 12 is installed below the grill plate 10. Currently, and as shown in Figure 2, a series of tubular heating units are installed in a configuration of side by side on the underside of the plate 10. The heating units are mounted between the upper plate and a lower plate 14. A layer 16 of an insulation material of the wool type is placed on the underside of the plate 14 by means of a third plate 18. The complete assembly is secured by a plurality of spaced bolts 20 that are long enough to extend through all the plates. The fasteners 22 are used to complete the assembly.

There are several problems with respect to this construction. First, the efficiency of the grill for cooking food. For example, in the cooking of large volumes of food, the hot grill is expected % a frozen hamburger meat in about 35 seconds from the time the meat is placed on the grill. When the grill is at temperature, this will happen. However, when the grill is lit for the first time, it takes up to 8 minutes to react to the heat load represented by the meat. Second, the temperature profile across the grill heating area is not uniform.

As shown in Figure 3 in the area adjacent to the location of the tubular heating elements there is a hot spot. Between the adjacent sections of the heating element, there is a substantial drop in temperature. As a result, food placed on a portion of the grill that is on a heating element is cooked faster than foods placed in other parts of the grill. And, for larger products such as steaks, the food is cooked inconsistently. In addition to the cooking effects, if a heating element fails, a substantial amount of time is required to can replace the unit that is failing. The grill will then have to be disassembled, the unit replaced, and then the grill will be reassembled before it is used again for cooking. If this can be done in normal maintenance periods, there will be no or very little impact on the food service. However, if the replacement is performed during normal working hours, the service will be greatly impaired.

% BACKGROUND OF THE PREVIOUS TECHNIQUE 5 Among the various objects of the present invention include: providing a grill or heating plate used to cook food, and in particular, cooking food quickly; said grill is provided using a heating element % 10 new in it, either as a new or replacement equipment, the heating element has demonstrable advantages over other conventional heating units used with such grills; said grill is provided which employs a radiant heater element and a support base for the element, the element of Radiant heating extends through the support base to provide more even heating of the portion of the grate under which the element is mounted; a radiant heating element is provided that carries the portion of the griddle heating plate to a desired cooking temperature in a substantially less time than a conventional tubular heating element; said assembly is provided wherein the heating plate and the heating unit together define a cavity in which the heating element is mounted, said heating element heats the cavity at a uniform temperature so as to be able to eliminate the hot spots on the grill and produce cooking food uniform; said assembly is provided which requires a smaller number of parts than that required by a conventional heating element, thus simplifying the design, construction, and cost of an assembly, as well as facilitating the installation and replacement of the assembly; and, said assembly is provided which allows frozen hamburger meats and the like to be cooked quickly at a desired temperature in order to cook food quickly and properly. According to the invention, as generally stated, a grill includes a plate for heating on one of the sides where the cooking surface is located on which the food to be cooked is placed. A heating unit installed on the underside of the heating plate heats the grill to achieve the desired cooking surface temperature. The assembly includes a radiant heating element and a base that supports the element. The upper plate and the heating unit define a cavity that is heated to a uniform temperature through the cavity and in which the grate is heated. This uniformity of temperature results in that food placed anywhere in the hot area on the grill is quickly heated to a desired temperature and the food cooked uniformly through it. Other objects and characteristics will be evident, on the one hand, and on the other, they will be presented from now on.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 5 With respect to the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a conventional grill assembly of the prior art; Figure 2 is a plan view of a tubular heating element assembly of the prior art used with the grill; % 10 Figure 3 is a temperature profile for the tubular heating assembly; Figure 4 is a top plan view of a grill employing heating units of the present invention; Figure 5 is a side elevational view of the grill; Figure 6 is a top plan view of a heating unit; Figure 7 is a sectional view of the unit taken along line 7-7 in Figure 6; Figure 8 illustrates the side-by-side installation of the heating units; and Figure 9 is a temperature profile for the cooking surface of a grill with the heating units installed.

Corresponding reference numbers indicate the corresponding parts of the drawings.

% DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 5 With reference to the drawings, a prior art grill construction has been previously described in Figures 1 and 2, as well as the temperature profile for said grill in Figure 3. A grill of the present invention is generally assigned as 100 in Figure 4. The The grill 10 includes a heating plate 102, the upper surface 104 which is a cooking surface where the food to be cooked is placed. A heating unit 106 installed in the lower part 108 of the heating plate is used to heat the grate in order that the cooking surface temperature is the desired one. Unit includes a radiant heating element 110 and a base 112 where the heating element is placed. A cavity C is defined by the surface 108 of the heating plate and a base 112 of each heating unit 106. In Figure 4, six heating units 106 are shown.

Each heating unit is rectangular when viewed in plan. In addition, the heating units are placed in a side-by-side relationship with the longest section of each unit extending along the grid. Therefore, as shown in the drawings, the six heating units 106 comprise two-three unit installations, one on each side of the grate. Each unit is installed separately in case it is necessary to replace the unit, this can be done without disconnecting or removing any of the heating units. In addition, each heating unit 5 contains itself. Thus, the removal and replacement of any heating unit 106 does not require disassembling and reassembling the grill 100. With reference to Figures 6-8, each heating unit 106 comprises a tray 114 which, for the construction of the grill that % 10 shown in figure 4, has a rectangular shape. The tray has a generally flat base 116, and a circumferential side wall 118. A layer 120 of an insulation material is of a certain size to be placed on the tray, and the layer has an upper surface 122 on which the element is placed. of radiant heating 110. The heating element can to be a heating element of the coil or ribbon type. Both types of radiant heating elements are well known in the art. As shown in Figure 6, the radiant heating element 10 is presented in a serpentine or sinuous pattern on the surface 122 of the insulation material. The pattern shown in figure 6 is only illustrative, and the heating element can be placed in other patterns without departing from the scope of the invention. What is important is that the employer helps provide a distribution heat uniform through the heating unit 106. The ends of the radiant heating element end in an electrical connector 126 that is connected in a uniform manner with an electrical connector (not shown) on the underside of the heating plate 102 to facilitate the installation and removal of the heating unit 106. A heat sensitive element 130 5 is also installed in the heating unit. The heat sensitive element 130 responds to a temperature within the cavity C that exceeds the predetermined temperature to open the electrical circuit through the radiant heating element 110 to prevent damage to the heating element. In figures 7 and 8 it can be seen that the height of the wall The side portion of the tray 118 is greater than the thickness of the insulation layer 120. Therefore, when the heating unit 106 is placed below the heating plate 102, the cavity C is formed by the space between the walls opposite sides of the tray 114, and the space between the bottom part 108 of the heating plate and the surface 122 of the material of isolation. Because the heating element of the present invention is not in direct contact with the heating plate, but heats the cavity C, the heat distribution is uniform through the heating unit. For the number of heating units used 106, the temperature at which the respective cavities are heated through the respective heating elements is uniform across the length of the grate. Unlike other prior art grill constructions where the heat distribution was not uniform, as shown in Fig. 3, the temperature of the cavity C is, as shown in Fig. 9, constant through the cavity. As a result, the lower face 108 of the grate plate is uniformly heated to the same temperature. In addition to providing uniform heat distribution, the heating unit % of the present invention has shown that it heats the plate to heat 5 to a desired temperature of food cooking substantially faster than the units of the prior art. For example, to heat a grill that has a conventional tubular heating system at 177 ° C will take approximately eight minutes. A grate equipped with the heating units 106 of the present invention is heated to the % 10 same temperature in five minutes (approximately 37% faster). What was described is a useful grid in commercial and domestic food establishments, to cook the food placed on the grill quickly and appropriately. A new heating element for use with the grill comprises an element of radiant heating that allows the grill to reach cooking temperatures more quickly than with conventional elements, and that distributes the heat evenly over the cooking surface. The heating element can be used as new equipment or as a replacement equipment. Multiple heating units are installed below the grid heating plate, and each unit includes a support base defining a cavity heated by the radiant heating element. The heating assembly has a simple construction so that the grill requires fewer parts than those required by a conventional heating element. This not only reduces costs, but also maintenance time. The use of radiant heating elements allows foods such as frozen hamburger meat to reach % quickly a desired cooking temperature no matter which part of the grill the food is placed on. According to the above, it will be evident that several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results are also obtained. Because it is possible to make several changes in the previous constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is attempted % 10 that all the material contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings is interpreted as illustrative and not as limiting.

Claims (18)

1. NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION CLAIMS% 5 1. A grill for cooking food that includes: a plate to heat on one of the sides that is a cooking surface where the food that will be cooked is placed; and, a heating unit installed on an opposite side of said plate to heat in order to heat said plate to a desired temperature for cooking or % 10 heat the food, said heating unit includes a radiant heating element and a base on which said heating element is mounted, said heating unit and said opposite side of said plate define a cavity heated by said heating element to a temperature that is uniform throughout the cavity and by which By heating said plate to heat, the resulting cooking surface temperature is uniform therethrough so that the food which is placed on any part of the grate is quickly heated to a desired cooking temperature and likewise the food is uniformly cooked .
2. 2. The grill according to claim 1, further characterized in that it includes a plurality of heating units installed on the opposite side of said heating plate, each heating unit includes a radiant heating element and a base on which the heating element is placed, said heating units are installed adjacent to each other so that the cooking surface temperature is uniform across the grate.
3. 3. The grill according to claim 1, further characterized in that said heating element is a coil heating element.
4. 4. The grill according to claim 1, further characterized in that said heating element is a % 10 ribbon heating element.
5. 5. The grill according to claim 2, further characterized in that each radiant heating element is placed in a predetermined pattern within the heating unit.
6. 6. The grill according to claim 5, 15 further characterized in that each heating unit includes a tray having a lower support surface and a circumferentially extending side wall, said heating element being installed in said tray.
7. 7. The grill according to claim 6, 20 further characterized in that it includes an insulation material that is placed in the tray and that has a surface where said heating element is placed, the height of said insulation material is less than the height of the side wall of said tray.
8. 8. - The grill according to claim 7, further characterized in that said cavity is defined by the opposite side of said grill, the surface of said insulation material where it is % places the radiant heating element, and the height of said side wall 5 of the tray extending over said surface of the insulation material.
9. 9. The grill according to claim 8, further characterized in that it includes means to control the temperature of a heating element and to interrupt the application of energy to the % 10 heating element if the temperature of said cavity exceeds a predetermined temperature.
10. 10. A grill for cooking food that includes: a plate to heat on one of the sides that is a surface for cooking where the food that will be cooked is placed; and, a plurality 15 of heating units installed on an opposite side of said plate for heating in order to heat said plate to a desired temperature for cooking or heating food, each heating unit includes a radiant heating element and a base on which it is heated. mounts said heating element, said heating units and 20 said opposite side of said plate define together respective cavities heated by said heating elements to a temperature that is uniform through the cavity and by which said plate is heated to heat, the resulting surface cooking temperature is uniform through of the same so that the food that is placed in any part of the grill is quickly heated to a desired cooking temperature and also the food is cooked evenly. %
11. 11. The grill according to claim 10, further characterized in that said heating units are installed adjacent to each other to produce a uniform cooking surface temperature across the grate.
12. 12. The grill according to claim 11, further characterized in that each radiant heating element is placed in a predetermined pattern within the heating unit.
13. 13. The grill according to claim 12, further characterized in that each heating unit includes a tray having a base and a side wall extending circumferentially therein, said heating element is installed 15 on said tray.
14. 14. The grill according to claim 13, further characterized in that it includes an insulation material that is placed in said tray and that has a surface where said heating element is placed, the height of said insulation material is 20 less than the height of the side wall of said tray.
15. 15. Grill according to claim 14, further characterized in that said cavity is defined by the opposite side of said tray, the surface of said insulation material where the radiant heating element is placed, and the height of said wall side of the tray that extends over said surface of the insulation material.
16. 16. The grill according to claim 10, further characterized in that said heating element is an open coil heating element.
17. 17. The grill according to claim 10, further characterized in that said heating element is a slat heating element.
18. 18. The grill according to claim 16 or 17, further characterized in that it includes means for controlling the temperature of a heating element and to interrupt the application of energy to the heating element if the temperature of said cavity exceeds a predetermined temperature.