Food-heating appliance and method of using same

[0002] The invention relates to a food-heating appliance and more particularly to a food-heating appliance having a cooking unit insert with a plurality of cooking subchambers.

[0003] Conventional food-heating appliances have a heating unit and a cooking unit. The heating unit typically has a bottom heating area. Some units include a continuous sidewall upstanding therefrom to define a heating chamber. The sidewall is usually either circular or oval in cross-section. Such heating units have one or more electric heating elements mounted thereto that are adapted to supply heat to the cooking unit. One or more control switches, circuited to supply electricity, control the heating elements.

[0004] The cooking unit typically has a bottom with a continuous sidewall upstanding therefrom. The cooking unit has a flange-like lip extending from the upper side of the sidewall that is adapted to engage the upper surface of the heating unit sidewall when the cooking unit is placed therein. In some appliances, such as the Crock-Pot® slow cooker manufactured by The Rival Company, the cooking unit is made of ceramic and is adapted to work in conjunction with the heating unit to cook food products in a slow, uniform fashion.

[0005] The cooking of food products in the Crock-Pot® slow cooker is performed in a steady, even manner because the ceramic or “crockery” cooking unit conducts heat evenly within the cooking chamber. Furthermore, the ceramic sidewalls of the cooking unit conduct and hold heat for an extended period of time to level any fluctuations in temperature if the heating element in the heating unit cycles on and off. The cooking unit may be used as a heat-retaining serving container.

[0006] Such food-heating appliances, however, utilize cooking units with only a single heating chamber formed therein. This is a disadvantage when multiple food products are desired to be slow-cooked. In the past, if a consumer wished to slow-cook more than one food product, the consumer would have to purchase multiple food-heating appliances, which is undesirably costly to the consumer.

[0007] The invention includes a food-heating appliance including a heating unit defining a heating area. The heating area includes at least one heating element mounted to supply heat to the heating area and a control switch circuited to supply electricity to the heating element. A ceramic cooking unit is provided having a bottom and at least one sidewall that define a cooking chamber adapted to be at least partially received over the heating area. The cooking unit includes at least one medial wall to divide the cooking chamber into at least a first and second cooking subchamber. The heating element supplies heat to the cooking unit via the heating area to heat the first and second cooking subchambers.

[0008] In another aspect of the invention, the invention includes a food-heating appliance with a heating unit having a bottom and at least one sidewall upstanding therefrom, the bottom and sidewall defining a heating chamber and the sidewall defining an annular lip around the top of the chamber. The chamber includes at least one heating element mounted thereto and adapted to supply heat to the chamber, and a control switch circuited to supply electricity to the heating element. A cooking unit has a bottom and at least one sidewall upstanding therefrom, the bottom and sidewall defining a cooking chamber adapted to be at least partially received within the heating chamber and the sidewall defining an annular lip positionable over the annular lip of the heating unit. The cooking unit also has at least one medial wall upstanding from the bottom wall within the cooking chamber which defines a first and second cooking subchamber. The heating element supplies heat to the cooking unit via the heating chamber to heat the first and second cooking subchambers.

[0009] An advantage of the present invention is that two separate food items may be slow-cooked in separate first and second cooking subchambers within a single heating unit, thereby saving the expense of having to purchase multiple heating and cooking unit pairs.

[0010] According to an alternative embodiment to the present invention, the cooking chamber of the cooking unit has two medial walls defining three cooking subchambers therein.

[0011] These and other advantages of the invention will appear more fully from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like referenced characters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the several views.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a food-heating appliance heating and cooking unit according to the present invention;

[0013] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a food-heating appliance cooking unit according to the present invention;

[0014] FIG. 3 is a top view of a food-heating appliance cooking unit according to the present invention;

[0015] FIG. 4 is a bottom view of a food-heating appliance cooking unit according to the present invention;

[0016] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a food-heating appliance cooking unit according to the present invention;

[0017] FIG. 6 is an alternative embodiment of a food-heating appliance having a cooking unit with a circular cross-section according to the present invention;

[0018] FIG. 7 is a second alternative embodiment of a food-heating appliance having a cooking unit with two medial walls according to the present invention;

[0019] FIG. 8 is a third alternative embodiment of a food-heating appliance having a heating unit with an uneven heating coil distribution according to the present invention;

[0020] FIG. 9 is a fourth alternative embodiment of a food-heating appliance having a heating unit with a hot plate heat mechanism according to the present invention;

[0021] FIG. 10 is a fifth alternative embodiment of a food-heating appliance having a heating unit with a plurality of hot plate heat mechanisms according to the present invention; and

[0022] FIG. 11 is a sixth alternative embodiment of a food-heating appliance having a cooking unit having subchambers with varying wall thicknesses.

[0023] Referring now to FIG. 1, a food-heating appliance 10 comprises a heating unit 12 and a cooking unit 14. The heating unit 12 has a bottom 16 and preferably a continuous sidewall 18. The bottom 16 and sidewall 18 define a well-like heating chamber 20 having an oval cross-section, and the sidewall 18 defines an annular lip 22 at an upper edge of the sidewall 18. The heating chamber 20 has a heating element 24 disposed therein and mounted to the heating unit 12. A control switch 26 is circuited to supply electricity to the heating element 24. The heating element 24 functions to supply heat to the cooking unit 14 via the heating chamber 20. In the alternative, instead of a heating chamber 20, the heating unit 12 may include a bottom 16 which may or may not include a continuous sidewall 18. Thus, instead of defining a heating chamber 20, the heating unit 12 can define a heating area which contains a heating element substantially contained within the bottom portion of the heating unit 12.

[0024] As shown in FIGS. 2 through 5, the cooking unit 14 has a bottom 28 with preferably a continuous sidewall 30 upstanding therefrom. A medial wall 32 projects upwardly and inwardly from the respective bottom 28 and side walls 30, defining a first cooking subchamber 34 and a second cooking subchamber 36. The continuous sidewall 30 preferably has an annular lip 38 projecting in flange-like fashion from the upper end thereof and a substantially oval cross-section. The cooking unit 14 is adapted to at least be partially received within the heating unit 12 with the annular lip 38 of the cooking unit 14 preferably engaging the annular lip 22 of the heating unit 12, supporting the cooking unit 14 within the heating unit 12. Preferably, the annular lip 38 further defines a pair of handle portions 38(a) and 38(b) to facilitate lifting the cooking unit 14. The cooking unit 14 is preferably made of ceramic with a coating of conventional glazing compound.

[0025] The thermal and heat retaining properties of the ceramic cooking unit 14 allow the cooking unit 14 to conduct heat from the heating chamber 20 through the sidewall 30 and medialwall 32. This provides even heating throughout each of the cooking subchambers 34 and 36.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 6, an alternative embodiment of the cooking unit 39 has a sidewall 40 and a substantially circular cross-section. A medial wall 42 divides the cooking unit 39 into first and second cooking subchambers, 44 and 46, respectively. This embodiment is preferably adapted to fit within a heating unit having a complimentary circular heating chamber.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 7, a second alternative embodiment shows an oval cooking unit 48 having a bottom 56 and a sidewall 50. A first and second medial sidewall, 51 and 53 respectively, project upwardly from the bottom 56 and inwardly from the sidewall 50 creating first, second and third cooking subchambers, 58, 60 and 62, respectively.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 8, a third alternative embodiment shows a heating unit 64 with a bottom 66 and preferably a continuous sidewall 68 having an oval cross-section. The bottom 66 and sidewall 68 define a heating chamber 70 and the sidewall 68 defines an annular lip 72 at an upper edge of the sidewall 68. The heating chamber 70 has an asymmetrical coil-type heating element 74 disposed therein and mounted to the heating unit 64. More specifically, a portion 76 of the element 74 is disposed on a portion of the sidewall 68 that is not disposed on an opposite portion of the sidewall 68. This advantageously allows for heating one end of the heating chamber 70 to a higher temperature than the opposite end. This arrangement will cause the food item in the cooking subchamber 36 to receive more heat than the food item in the cooking subchamber 34. The heating element 74 has a control switch 76 circuited to supply electricity thereto. Of course, separate controls may be provided to supply electricity to one or both the element 74 or the portion 76.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 9, a fourth alternative embodiment shows a heating unit 78 with a bottom 80 and preferably a continuous sidewall 82. The bottom 80 and sidewall 82 define an oval heating chamber 84. A hot-plate type heating element 86, such as a flat coil-shaped element, is disposed within the heating chamber 84 and mounted to the heating unit 78. The heating element 86 has a control switch 88 circuited to supply electricity thereto.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 10, a fifth alternative embodiment shows a heating unit 90 with a bottom 92 and preferably a continuous sidewall 94. The bottom 92 and sidewall 94 define an oval heating chamber 96. A first and second hot-plate type heating element, 98 and 100 respectively, is disposed within the heating chamber 96 and mounted to the heating unit 90. The heating elements 98 and 100 each have a control switch, 102 and 104 respectively, circuited to supply electricity thereto. This advantageously allows for heating one end of the heating chamber 92 to a different temperature than the opposite end. Thus, the cooking subchamber 36 can be configured to receive more heat than the cooking subchamber 34.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 11, a sixth alternative embodiment shows a cooking unit 106 having a bottom 108 and a sidewall 110 with a substantially oval cross-section. A medial sidewall 112 projects upwardly from the bottom 108 and inwardly from the sidewall 110 creating first and second cooking subchambers, 114 and 116, respectively. The wall thickness of cooking subchamber 114 is a predetermined degree thinner than the wall thickness of cooking subchamber 116. The varied wall thickness and the variation in the heat-retaining and insulative properties associated therewith advantageously allows the food product disposed in subchamber 116 to be heated a predetermined degree slower than the food product disposed in subchamber 14.

[0032] In use, the heating unit 12 is provided with a first cooking unit having a single heating chamber. A first type of food may be cooked in the cooking unit if so desired. The single chamber cooking unit is removed and a second cooking unit 14, having a plurality of cooking subchambers, is inserted into the heating unit 12. Having a heating unit 12 with interchangeable cooking units advantageously allows the user to slow-cook and serve a multiplicity of food products without having to purchase multiple heating units 12. Thus, the user may desire to purchase different types of cooking units, including those according to the present invention, to utilize with a single heating unit 12. Moreover, a first type of food can be cooked in the first subchamber while a second type of food is cooked in the second subchamber, which also may reduce the number of cooking units 14 that must be used.

[0033] While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, it should be understood that various changes, adaptations and modifications might be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims. For example, the medial wall or walls that divide the cooking subchambers may be straight, as depicted, or curved. Furthermore, the medial wall or walls may include one or more bends to create a portion of the medial wall that extends at an angle to a sidewall of the cooking unit.