Toaster and method for controlling said toaster

Abstract

A method for heating a food item includes receiving the food item within a heating compartment and positioning the food item within the heating compartment using a positioning assembly. The method further includes determining a thickness of the food item using a detection assembly in connection with the positioning assembly, generating a detection signal according to the thickness of the food item, and heating the food by controlling operation of a heating element within the heating compartment according to the detection signal.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for controlling a toaster, comprising:
 determining a thickness of at least one food item within the toaster;   generating a detection signal according to the thickness; and   executing a heating program as a function of the detection signal.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the heating program is selected from one of a plurality of heating programs corresponding with the detection signal. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein at least one of the plurality of heating programs includes implementing a succession of activations of a first heating element, separated by respective deactivations of the first heating element. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein at least one of the plurality of heating programs includes maintaining a first heating element in an active condition during an entire duration of the program. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating the detection signal according to the thickness includes one of:
 generating a first detection signal corresponding with a heating element of the toaster operating according to a first heating program when the thickness is below a predetermined threshold; and   generating a second detection signal corresponding with the heating element operating according to a second heating program when the thickness of the food is above the predetermined threshold.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the second heating program comprises a succession of activations separated by respective deactivations of the heating element. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the first heating program is such that the heating element is maintained in an active condition for an entire duration of the program. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the toaster includes a heating compartment, in which the at least one food item is received; and   the step of determining the thickness of the at least one food item is carried out using a detection assembly within the heating compartment.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further including positioning the food item within the heating compartment using a positioning assembly, wherein:
 the step of determining the thickness of the at least one food item is further carried out using the positioning assembly.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the step of determining the thickness of the at least one food item includes recognizing that the thickness of the food is above a predetermined threshold by detecting a displacement of at least a portion of the first positioning assembly into contact with a portion of the detection assembly. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the step of determining the thickness of the at least one food item further includes recognizing that the thickness of the food is below a predetermined threshold by not detecting the displacement of the at least a portion of the first positioning assembly into contact with the portion of the detection assembly. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the detection signal is generated differently depending on whether or not the thickness of the at least one food item is recognized as being above the predetermined threshold. 
     
     
         13 . A method for heating a food item, comprising:
 receiving the food item within a heating compartment;   positioning the food item within the heating compartment using a positioning assembly;   determining a thickness of the food item using a detection assembly in connection with the positioning assembly;   generating a detection signal according to the thickness of the food item; and   heating the food by controlling operation of a heating element within the heating compartment according to the detection signal.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein generating the detection signal according to the thickness includes one of:
 generating a first detection signal corresponding with the heating element operating according to a first heating program when the thickness is below a predetermined threshold; and   generating a second detection signal corresponding with the heating element operating according to a second heating program when the thickness of the food is above the predetermined threshold.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the second heating program comprises a succession of activations separated by respective deactivations of the heating element. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the first heating program is such that the heating element is maintained in an active condition for an entire duration of the program. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the method is carried out using a toaster, wherein the heating compartment is defined as a slot within the toaster. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the step of determining the thickness of the at least one food item includes recognizing that the thickness of the food is above a predetermined threshold by detecting a displacement of at least a portion of the first positioning assembly into contact with a portion of the detection assembly. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the step of determining the thickness of the at least one food item further includes recognizing that the thickness of the food is below a predetermined threshold by not detecting the displacement of the at least a portion of the first positioning assembly into contact with the portion of the detection assembly. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the detection signal is generated differently depending on whether or not the thickness of the at least one food item is recognized as being above the predetermined threshold.