Multipurpose cooking appliance
View Patent ↗A cooking appliance includes at least one multisided element that has more than one cooking surface, the multisided element being mounted on a base so that it can be oriented to present one of the surfaces for cooking. The element can be rotated to present another cooking surface whereby a user can choose a surface to grill food, bake food, smoke food all with the one appliance. As well, the sources of heat can be gas, wood, charcoal, or other sources.
1. A cooking appliance comprising:
a base, a heat source, and a cooking element mounted to said base, the cooking element providing a cooking surface upon which food can be cooked, characterized by said cooking element having a plurality of separate cooking surfaces, at least one of said separate cooking surfaces being made of a material that is different from that of another of said separate cooking surfaces, said plurality of cooking surfaces being arranged about a central axis in fixed relative positions and mounted to said base to allow said cooking element to be selectively oriented by rotation about said central axis to position a selected one of said separate cooking surfaces for cooking said food, and wherein each of said separate cooking surfaces extends in a direction substantially parallel to said central axis and is circumferentially adjacent another of said separate cooking surfaces.
2. A cooking appliance according to claim 1 comprising two of said cooking elements arranged to be adjacent to each other.
3. A cooking appliance according to claim 2 wherein said cooking elements are mounted to said base for rotational motion about respective longitudinal axes.
4. A cooking appliance according to claim 1 wherein one of said separate cooking surfaces comprises a grill.
5. A cooking appliance according to claim 4 wherein said one of said separate cooking surfaces includes a pan held beneath said grill to support a combustible fuel.
6. A cooking appliance according to claim 1 wherein said heat source comprises a gas burner centrally located with respect to said plurality of separate cooking surfaces.
7. A cooking appliance according to claim 1 wherein one of said separate cooking surfaces comprises high-temperature brick.
8. A cooking appliance according to claim 5 wherein said pan extends beyond said grill.
9. A cooking appliance according to claim 1 wherein said base supports said cooking element for movement with respect to said base.
10. A cooking appliance according to claim 1 further comprising a cover forming a cavity over said selected one of said cooking surfaces.
11. A cooking appliance according to claim 10 wherein said selected one of said cooking surfaces comprises a pan for supporting a combustible fuel.
12. A cooking appliance according to claim 11 wherein one of said separate cooking surfaces comprises a grill and said pan extends beyond said grill.
13. A cooking appliance according to claim 1 further characterized by said heat source being located with respect to said plurality of separate cooking surfaces such that none of said plurality of cooking surfaces is positioned between said heat source and said selected one of said cooking surfaces.
14. A cooking appliance according to claim 1 wherein said cooking element comprises at least three of said separate cooking surfaces.
15. A cooking appliance according to claim 14 wherein two of said at least three of said separate cooking surfaces are rectangular.
16. A cooking appliance according to claim 14 wherein two of said at least three of said separate cooking surfaces are congruent.
17. A cooking appliance according to claim 14 wherein each said central axis is mounted to said base to be horizontal when in use.
18. A cooking appliance comprising:
a base, a heat source, and a cooking element mounted to said base, the cooking element providing a cooking surface upon which food can be cooked, characterized by said cooking element having a plurality of separate cooking surfaces, at least one of said separate cooking surfaces having a cooking characteristic different from a cooking characteristic of another of said separate cooking surfaces, said plurality of cooking surfaces being arranged about a central axis in fixed relative positions and mounted to said base to allow said cooking element to be selectively oriented by rotation about said central axis to position a selected one of said separate cooking surfaces for cooking said food, and wherein each of said separate cooking surfaces extends in a direction substantially parallel to said central axis and is circumferentially adjacent another of said separate cooking surfaces, wherein two of said cooking elements are arranged to be adjacent to each other, are mounted to said base for rotational motion about respective longitudinal axes, and are mounted to said base for linear motion toward and away from each other.
19. A cooking appliance according to claim 18 further comprising means for moving said cooking elements toward and away from each other.
20. A cooking appliance comprising:
a base, a heat source, and a cooking element mounted to said base, the cooking element providing a cooking surface upon which food can be cooked, characterized by said cooking element having a plurality of separate cooking surfaces, at least one of said separate cooking surfaces having a cooking characteristic different from a cooking characteristic of another of said separate cooking surfaces, said plurality of cooking surfaces being arranged about a central axis in fixed relative positions and mounted to said base to allow said cooking element to be selectively oriented by rotation about said central axis to position a selected one of said separate cooking surfaces for cooking said food, and wherein each of said separate cooking surfaces extends in a direction substantially parallel to said central axis and is circumferentially adjacent another of said separate cooking surfaces, wherein said cooking element comprises at least three of said separate cooking surfaces, two of said at least three of said separate cooking surfaces are rectangular, two of said at least three of said separate cooking surfaces are congruent, and further comprising two of said cooking elements, each of said two cooking elements being mounted to said base for rotation about a respective said central axis and said two cooking elements being adjacent each other.
21. A cooking appliance according to claim 20 wherein said cooking elements are mounted to said base for movement toward and away from each other.
22. A cooking appliance comprising:
a base, a heat source, and a cooking element mounted to said base, the cooking element providing a cooking surface upon which food can be cooked, characterized by said cooking element having a plurality of separate cooking surfaces, at least one of said separate cooking surfaces having a cooking characteristic when in a cooking orientation that is different from a cooking characteristic of another of said separate cooking surfaces when in said cooking orientation, said plurality of cooking surfaces being arranged about a central axis in fixed relative positions and mounted to said base to allow said cooking element to be selectively oriented by rotation about said central axis to position a selected one of said separate cooking surfaces for cooking said food, and wherein each of said separate cooking surfaces extends in a direction substantially parallel to said central axis and is circumferentially adjacent another of said separate cooking surfaces.
23. A cooking appliance according to claim 22 wherein one of said separate cooking surfaces comprises a grill.
24. A cooking appliance according to claim 23 wherein said cooking element includes a pan held beneath said grill to support a combustible fuel.
25. A cooking appliance according to claim 24 wherein said pan extends beyond said grill.
26. A cooking appliance according to claim 22 wherein said heat source comprises a gas burner centrally located with respect to said plurality of separate cooking surfaces.
27. A cooking appliance according to claim 22 wherein one of said separate cooking surfaces comprises high-temperature brick.
28. A cooking appliance according to claim 22 further comprising a cover forming a cavity over said selected one of said cooking surfaces.
29. A cooking appliance according to claim 28 wherein said selected one of said cooking surfaces comprises a pan for supporting a combustible fuel.
30. A cooking appliance according to claim 22 further characterized by said heat source being located with respect to said plurality of separate cooking surfaces such that none of said plurality of cooking surfaces is positioned between said heat source and said selected one of said cooking surfaces.
31. A cooking appliance comprising a base, a heat source, and a cooking element mounted to said base, the cooking element providing a plurality of separate cooking surfaces upon which food can be cooked, at least one of said separate cooking surfaces having a first configuration that provides a first cooking characteristic and another of said separate cooking surfaces having a second configuration that is different from said first configuration and that provides a second cooking characteristic that is different from said first cooking characteristic, said plurality of cooking surfaces being arranged about a central axis in fixed relative positions and mounted to said base to allow said cooking element to be selectively oriented by rotation about said central axis to position a selected one of said separate cooking surfaces for cooking said food, wherein each of said separate cooking surfaces extends in a direction substantially parallel to said central axis and is circumferentially adjacent another of said separate cooking surfaces.
32. A cooking appliance according to claim 31 further characterized by said heat source being located with respect to said plurality of separate cooking surfaces such that none of said plurality of cooking surfaces is positioned between said heat source and said selected one of said cooking surfaces.