Convection Oven with Removable Grill Plate

Abstract

A cooking appliance having a housing which includes a cooking chamber suitable for convection cooking and grilling. The appliance includes a plurality of heat sources positioned within the housing to generate heat within the cooking chamber, a power source for powering the plurality of heat sources, at least one fan for moving air within the cooking chamber, a removable grill plate which secures within the cooking chamber, and an outlet for connecting the removable grill plate to the power source when positioned within the cooking chamber.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cooking appliance comprising:
 a housing having formed therein a cooking chamber;   at least three heat sources positioned within the housing to generate heat within the cooking chamber;   a power source for powering the three heat sources;   at least one fan for moving air within the cooking chamber;   a removable grill plate which secures within the cooking chamber, the removable grill plate having a top surface, the top surface having a plurality of raised ribs; and   an outlet for connecting the removable grill plate to the power source when positioned within the cooking chamber.   
     
     
         2 . The cooking appliance of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of raised ribs comprises a height and a width, and the height is equal to the width. 
     
     
         3 . The cooking appliance of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of raised ribs are equidistantly spaced a distance from one another on the top surface, wherein the distance is within the range of 10.2 to 13.8 mm. 
     
     
         4 . The cooking appliance of  claim 3 , wherein the distance is 12 mm. 
     
     
         5 . The cooking appliance of  claim 2 , wherein the height and width of each of plurality of raised ribs is in the range of from 5 mm to 8 mm. 
     
     
         6 . The cooking appliance of  claim 5 , wherein the height of each of the plurality of raised ribs is in the range of from 5.5 mm to 8 mm. 
     
     
         7 . The cooking appliance of  claim 5 , wherein the height of each of the plurality of raised ribs is 6.5 mm. 
     
     
         8 . The cooking appliance of  claim 2 , wherein the width of each of the plurality of raised ribs is in the range of from 5.0 mm to 7.0 mm. 
     
     
         9 . The cooking appliance of  claim 8 , wherein the width of each of the plurality of raised ribs is 6.0 mm. 
     
     
         10 . The cooking appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising a door open switch. 
     
     
         11 . The cooking appliance of  claim 10 , wherein the door open switch is configured to trigger an increase of power to the removable grill plate when activated. 
     
     
         12 . The cooking appliance of  claim 11 , wherein the increase of power has a limited duration. 
     
     
         13 . The cooking appliance of  claim 12 , wherein the limited duration is less than 5 minutes. 
     
     
         14 . The cooking appliance of  claim 13 , wherein the limited duration is approximately 2 minutes. 
     
     
         15 . A grill plate for detachable connection to a power source within a cooking appliance, the grill plate comprising:
 a top surface comprising a plurality of raised ribs;   a heating element within the grill plate positioned so as to heat the top surface; and   a connector which allows the grill plate to be attached and detached from the cooking appliance and electrically couples the heating element to a power source for the cooking appliance;   wherein each of the plurality of raised ribs has a height and a width, and the height is equal to the width.   
     
     
         16 . The grill plate of  claim 10 , wherein each of the plurality of raised ribs are equidistantly spaced a distance from one another on the top surface, wherein the distance is within the range of 10.2 to 13.8 mm. 
     
     
         17 . The grill plate of  claim 11 , wherein the distance is 12 mm. 
     
     
         18 . The grill plate of  claim 10 , wherein the height and width of each of plurality of raised ribs is in the range of from 5 mm to 8 mm. 
     
     
         19 . The grill plate of  claim 13 , wherein the height of each of the plurality of raised ribs is in the range of from 5.5 mm to 8 mm. 
     
     
         20 . The grill plate of  claim 14 , wherein the height of each of the plurality of raised ribs is 6.5 mm. 
     
     
         21 . The grill plate of  claim 13 , wherein the width of each of the plurality of raised ribs is in the range of from 5.0 mm to 7.0 mm. 
     
     
         22 . The grill plate of  claim 16 , wherein the width of each of the plurality of raised ribs is 6.0 mm.