Electric rotisserie

Abstract

A cooking apparatus is provided in which a cooking cavity is defined by a front wall, a back wall, two opposing sidewalls, a ceiling, and a floor, a substrate for supporting a food item, substantially enclosed by the cavity, a plurality of heating elements located proximal to the ceiling of the cavity, a dividing member in which a first portion is disposed from the back wall of the cavity, a second portion is disposed from the ceiling of the cavity, wherein the first portion and second portion define a plenum that extends from an area proximal to the bottom of the back wall to an area proximal to the top of the front wall; and a void is located in the second portion intermediate of the plurality of heating elements and the substrate; and at least one air handling unit located on the top portion of the cavity.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of the invention[0002]This invention is directed to an electric powered heating apparatus, and specifically, this invention relates to an electric cooking apparatus wherein a single heat source provides both radiative and convective heating.[0003]2. Background of the Invention[0004]Rotisserie ovens provide an efficient way to identically cook several food items at the same time. Such food items include red meat, fish, fowl, vegetables and combinations thereof. Chicken remains one of the most popular rotisserie-cooked foods. Rotisserie cooking begets the succulent meat, crisp skin, and caramelized appearance sought by chicken aficionados everywhere. Consistently and economically producing these visual, textural, and flavorful characteristics is an art form. It requires careful cooking and a balance between convection and thermal radiation.[0005]Convection is a form of heating in which heat is transferred as the result of the movement of parti...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0016]A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved system of air circulation within a cooking apparatus. A feature of the present invention is an air plenum that draws lower temperature air from the bottom of the cooking chamber, directs that air over the heating element, and then expels the heated air at the top of the chamber. An advantage of the present invention is that the air within the entire chamber is continually replaced, providing a more homogeneous cooking temperature.

[0017]Yet another object of the present invention is to reduce the failure rate of heating elements within the cooking chamber. A feature of the present invention is that the single heating source is partially shielded from grease splatter by an air curtain created by convective heat flow. Another feature of the present invention is heating elements with a Watt density lower than conventional heating elements. An advantage of the present invention is that the heating elements, though exposed, do not suffer burnout from grease splatter.

[0018]Another object of the present invention is to provide a more reliable cooking apparatus. A feature of the present invention is that only a single heat source is used for both radiative and convective heating. Because only a single source is used for both convective and radiative heating, a second heating element is not needed to provide radiative heating. An advantage of the present invention is that the oven is more economical to maintain, requires less downtime to replace parts, and consistently provides uniform results.

[0019]Still another object of the present invention is to provide a cooking apparatus that produces a food item with ideal physical properties without increasing the cooking time. A feature of the present invention is that contributions from convective and radiative heating are utilized and balanced to quickly and evenly cook food items. An advantage of the present invention is that items such as whole chickens retain their succulence, while also achieving a browned, crisped skin.

[0020]Briefly, the invention provides a cooking apparatus, said apparatus comprising: a cooking cavity, wherein the cavity is defined by a front wall, a back wall that opposes the front wall, two opposing side walls, a ceiling, and a floor that opposes the ceiling; a substrate for supporting a food item, the substrate substantially enclosed by the cavity; a plurality of heating elements located proximal to the ceiling of the cavity; a dividing member, said dividing member comprising a first portion spatially disposed from the back wall of the cavity; a second portion spatially disposed from the ceiling of the cavity, wherein the first portion and second portion are continuous and define a plenum that extends from an area proximal to the bottom of the back wall to an area proximal to the top of the front wall; and a void region located in the second portion, wherein the void region is intermediate the plurality of heating elements and the substrate; and at least one air handling unit located on the top portion of the cavity proximal to the back portion.

Problems solved by technology

However, it can be blocked or absorbed by objects between the source of the radiation and the food item.

If the surface dries too quickly, not only does the final product lose its succulence, but thermal conduction within the food item is slowed.

Consistently providing balanced heating environs remains elusive in the food arts.

Grease on the heating elements causes hot spots to form there.

This uneven heating causes thermal stresses, which result in the eventual failure of the element.

This option, however, limits the effectiveness of the heating element to providing convective heat, not infrared radiation.

Even if these separate radiation heating elements are shielded from spatter, their failure rate is still quite high when compared to the radiative heat source, and so, they have to be replaced often.

Besides failure from grease splatter, these elements also are easily mishandled, and failure can result from oil deposits from a user's skin left during installation, breaking during installation or cleaning, or burnout.

Images