GB2360443A - Toaster with support means incorporating heating element - Google Patents

Abstract

A toaster 1 comprises a housing with a heating chamber and a vertically displaceable support means 5 for articles to be heated. The support means 5 has a heating means incorporated therein. The support means 5 forms a boundary of the heating chamber, and may be used to vary its height. In the upper region of the heating chamber it is enclosed on all sides by walls 2. In the lower region there is an access opening 3 through which food to be heated may be inserted or removed. The support means 5 may be moved by means of a rack (13, fig.5) fixed relative to the housing and a pinion (12, fig.5) connected with the support. Arresting means (not shown) stops the support at varying positions. A viewing window 6 allows the user to view the toasting process. The toaster may also include dust extraction means and a moisture feed means.

Description

2360443 TOASTER The present invention relates to a toaster.

Household bread toasters with a toasting chamber or two toasting chambers in the form of a narrow slot, in which the heating elements are arranged to be displaceable to a limited extent, are known. It is disadvantageous with known household bread toasters of that kind that the dimensions of their toasting chamber or chambers are variable by only a limited amount and that filling and emptying of the chamber or the chambers can be comparatively inconvenient.

There is accordingly a need for a toaster with a toasting chamber which may be able to be filled and emptied in a simple manner.

According to the present invention there is provided a household bread toaster which comprises at least one toasting chamber and at least one heating element, characterised in that arranged in the toasting chamber is a vertically displaceable toasting stock support in which a heating element is received.

The heating element is preferably constructed as a contact heating element, which can directly serve as a carrier for articles to be heated, such as baked or toasted. The support can, for example, be manually moved upwardly by way of a lever mechanism.

In an advantageous embodiment the support forms a variable boundary of the chamber. The height of the interior space serving as the chamber and formed in that manner is preferably variable from almost zero to a height of which the dimension exceeds the horizontal width and depth of the chamber. This offers the advantage that not only flat slices of bread, but also bread rolls and other bakery products can be toasted, crisped or similarly heated.

Advantageously the interior space, which is to be formed to a maximum in this manner, of the toaster is completely closed off laterally only in its upper region by side walls. In its lower region it has a large access opening at its lateral boundary. The toaster is loaded with articles by way of this access opening. For toasting or baking, the support can be lifted into the upper region fully closed laterally by side walls.

2 For preference, a heating element is horizontally arranged at the ceiling of the chamber. This heating element is thus arranged opposite the heating element in the support. In the case of a small spacing between the support and the ceiling, the heating conditions are comparable with those of a typical toaster, but with the difference that the heating elements are arranged horizontally and thus the articles, for example a slice of bread, have to be introduced horizontally.

Preferably, the support is connected with at least one pinion engaged in at least one stationary rack. In the case of a vertical displacement the pinion drivably meshes with the toothing of the rack. In that case, the contact, force between pinion and rack preferably determines the damping of return motion, i.e. the support is damped, in defined manner by a predetermined engagement force between pinion and rack, in its downward movement under gravitational force. Advantageously, it additionally comprises at least one device which strongly increases the force of engagement between pinion and rack in such a manner that the downward movement produced by gravitational force is arrested. A plurality of such devices can advantageously be arranged at fixed positions so that the support can be held in defined vertical displacement positions. In an advantageous embodiment the or each device comprises an electromagnet which presses the pinion against the rack. For that purpose the electromagnet can exert a force on an armature which is connected with the pinion by way of a rocker or by way of a lever. At the conclusion of a heating process, the electromagnet is switched off, the support travels down due to its own weight or with the assistance of spring force and the heated article or articles can be removed through the access opening.

However, the stock support can, if desired, be motor-driven.

The support is advantageously guided With respect to its vertical displacement by means of at least two rods.

In order to arrest the support in defined vertical displacement positions, detent means can be provided. For this purpose, a protrusion, such as a nose, at an actuating lever for the support can be provided as detent means, which nose engages in recesses of the housing of the toaster. These defined positions of the support preferably correspond to a loading setting, a setting for baking and a setting for toasting.

3 Preferably, the support is disposed in one of its defined vertical displacement positions at the lower end of the encircling side walls and forms, in co-operation with the encircling side walls and the ceiling of the interior space, a closed chamber. The chamber, which in this embodiment is thus formed to be closed to maximum extent, serves in advantageous manner for baking or crisping of bakery products. Preferably a viewing window is arranged in the wall of the chamber so that the process of heating can be observed.

In an advantageous embodiment, dust extractor openings are arranged in the wall of the chamber. The temperature level of the toaster or the degree of browning of articles being heated is preferably set by means of a selector disc.

Control of the toaster can also be managed by way of an 'intelligent' electronic system, particularly in the case of a motorised drive of the support.

In addition, a moistening device which delivers moisture into the chamber can be provided. The advantages of a moistening device come into play particularly in crisping, as flakingoff of the crusts of, for example, bread rolls can be prevented. This condition can be further improved by air circulation andlor hot air supply.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be more particularly described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is a partly cut-away perspective view of a household toaster embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the toaster with the support in a loading setting; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the toaster with the support in a setting for baking or grilling; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the toaster with the support in a setting for toasting; and 4 Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the stock support, and associated guide and drive system.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in Fig. 1 a household bread toaster 1 with a housing having the external form of a round tower. In its upper region in which the heating chamber for articles - such as slices of bread, bread rolls, etc - are to be toasted, baked, grilled or heated for other purposes is present, the toaster 1 has a fully encircling part of a side wall 2 defining a cylindrical circumferential surface. In its lower region this side wall 2 is interrupted over a sector of 1600 to provide a wide access opening 3 opening to an interior space 4. In this interior space 4, which has a rectangular plan area, there is disposed a vertically displaceable support 50 for articles to be heated. In Fig. 1 the support 5 is shown in a half-raised position. In Fig. 2 the support 5 is in a fully lowered position, namely loading position in which the support can be loaded with an article or articles to be toasted or otherwise heated. If an article is to be crisped or grilled, the support 5 is moved up into the baking setting, which is illustrated in Fig. 3. The baking process can be monitored through a viewing window 6 in the encircling side wall 2. In this state the heating chamber is completely closed, as the support 5 flushly adjoins the underside of the encircling side wall 2. In this manner energy losses in the chamber are significantly reduced. The heat is fed to the chamber by a heating element in the support 5 and a heating element 7 in the ceiling of the interior space of the housing. The two heating elements are constructed as contact heating elements. They can also be switched on individually. Alternatively thereto, heat can be introduced in a metered manner by way of a hot air fan, which is mounted behind a perforation 8 in the rear wall of the interior space of the housing. The hot air fan includes a moistening device optionally able to be switched on. The two heating systems are temperature-regulated so that articles can be heated in a gentle manner. However, strong heat can also be rapidly introduced by way of the upper heating element.

If a conventional slice of bread is to be toasted, the stock support 5 is moved up even further. In its uppermost setting, which is illustrated in Fig. 4, a slice of bread can lie in direct contact with the heating element in the toasting stock support 5 and the heating element 7 in the ceiling. The support 5 is, as illustrated in Fig. 5, guided by two rods 9 during upward and downward movement. A handle 10 mounted at the support 5 penetrates through a slot 11 in the side wall 2 so that the support 5 can be manually raised from outside. A pinion 12 connected with the support 5 engages in the toothing of a rack 13 mounted in a stationary position in the toaster housing. The friction in the toothing engagement damps the downward movement of the support 5 when this is not otherwise assisted. Mounted at the rack 13 at each of two different locations is a respective electromagnet which, on excitation, presses the pinion 12 against the rack 13 by way an armature and a rocker. In this manner the friction in the tooth interengagement of the pinion 12 and rack 13 is strongly increased so that the support 5 is arrested. The electromagnets can be mounted at the rack in such locations that, in the event of their excitation, the support 5 is fixed in the above-mentioned settings for toasting or baking. The electromagnets are controlled by way of a control unit. The inputs for the control unit, such as mode of operation and duration of operation, can be provided by way of a selector disc. At the end of the operating time, the relevant electromagnet is switched off and the support 5 then travels, under its own weight andlor by spring force and damped by the tooth-to-friction, slowly back down into the loading setting. Articles on the support can then be removed via the access opening 3.

Claims (20)

6 CLAIMS

1 A toaster comprising a housing with a heating chamber, an upwardly and downwardly displaceable support for articles to be heated in the chamber and heating means arranged in the support.

2. A toaster as claimed in claim 1, wherein the support forms a positionally variable boundary of the chamber.

3. A toaster as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the height of the chamber is variable between almost zero and a dimension greater than either the width or depth of the chamber in a horizontal plane.

4. A toaster as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the housing is laterally fully closed in an upper region thereof by wall means and is provided in a lower region thereof with a lateral access opening for articles to be heated.

5. A toaster as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising further heating means arranged at the top of the chamber.

6. A toaster as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising a pinion connected with the support and meshing with a rack fixed relative to the housing.

7. A toaster according to claim 6, wherein downward movement of the support is damped by a predetermined force of interengagement of the rack and pinion.

8. A toaster as claimed in claim 7, comprising arresting means to arrest the support by so increasing said force of interengagement as to prevent downward movement of the support by gravitational force.

9. A toaster as claimed in claim 8, wherein the arresting means is operable to arrest the support at each of a plurality of predetermined vertical positions.

10. A toaster as claimed in claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the arresting means comprises electromagnetic means to produce the increased force of interengagement.

7

11. A toaster as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising a plurality of guide rods to guide the support with respect to the upward and downward movement thereof.

12. A toaster as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising detent means to arrest the support at each of a plurality of predetermined vertical positions.

13. A toaster as claimed in claim 12, comprising lever mans for moving the support, the detent means comprising a protrusion provided at the lever means and engageable in detent recesses of the housing.

14 A toaster as claimed in claim 9 or claim 12, wherein the predetermined positions consist of a position in which the support can be loaded with an article, a position in which a loaded article can be heated in the chamber in the manner of baking and a position in which a loaded article can be heated in the chamber in the manner of toasting.

15. A toaster as claimed in claim 9 or 12 when dependent on claim 4, wherein the support in one of the predetermined positions is co-operable with the wall means and a ceiling in the housing interior to close the chamber at all sides.

16. A toaster as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the housing is provided with a viewing window permitting viewing of the chamber.

17. A toaster as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, the toaster being provided with openings for extraction of dust from the chamber.

18. A toaster as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising rotary selector means for selecting the level of heat to be provided in the chamber.

19. A toaster as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising moisture feed means for feeding moisture into the chamber.

20. A toaster substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.