Gravity biased grill wires
View Patent ↗A toaster including a housing with a toasting compartment, a heater located in the housing, a food cage movably supported in the toasting compartment for movement between a gripping position and a receiving position and a carriage movably supported in the housing. The carriage is permitted movement between a toasting position adjacent a lower portion of the toasting compartment and a loading position adjacent an upper portion of the toasting compartment. The carriage may receive and support a food item to be toasted in the loading position. The food cage is positioned in the receiving position when the carriage is positioned in the loading position and is positioned in the gripping position when the carriage is positioned in the toasting position. The food cage is urged toward the gripping position by gravitational forces as the carriage moves toward the toasting position.
1. A method of gripping and centering a food item in a toasting compartment of a toaster comprising the steps of:
a) inserting the food item onto a carriage that is positioned in a receiving position within the toasting compartment;
b) urging the carriage toward a toasting position; and
c) depositing the food item onto a food cage such that gravitational forces exerted by the food item urge the food cage to grip and center the food item within the toasting compartment.
2. The method of gripping and centering a food item in a toasting compartment of a toaster of claim 1 further comprising the step of:
a) urging the carriage toward the food item at a conclusion of a toasting cycle to return the food item to the receiving position.
3. The method of gripping and centering a food item in a toasting compartment of a toaster of claim 1 wherein at the conclusion of step (c) the carriage is positioned adjacent a base of the toaster, which initiates a heater to energize and heat the food item during a predetermined toasting cycle.