In a latent heat controlled toaster and process of toasting, the toaster includes at least one heating element. A controller receives electrical measurements including at least one of a voltage or a current and calculates a power delivered to the at least one heating element. The controller iteratively accumulates a system energy from the calculated power over time. The controller compares the accumulated system energy to a target energy and ends the toasting process when the accumulated system energy reaches the target energy.

A circuit configuration is disclosed for use in an appliance includes a power switch configured to open and close a first group of electrical contacts, where the contacts while closed cause the appliance to energize upon a user initiating a use of the appliance. The circuit configuration also includes a primary timing device electrically connected to the first group of electrical contacts, the primary timing device being actuated upon energization of the appliance and the primary timing device being configured to de-energize the appliance after a first time period by opening the first group of electrical contacts. The circuit configuration also includes a secondary timing device electrically connected to the power switch by a second group of electrical contacts, where the secondary timing device is configured to de-energize the appliance after a second time period, where the second time period is set based on the first time period.

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.

A toaster includes a first heating compartment, in which a food to be heated is positionable and a first heating element associated with the first heating compartment and adapted to heat the food positioned in said at least one heating compartment. The toaster further includes a first detection device for recognizing a thickness the food and generating a corresponding detection signal and a control unit acting upon said first heating element, including executing a heating program as a function of said detection signal.

An autonomous apparatus for cooking food includes a support body, an openable lid, an internal container which can be extracted/inserted with respect to said support body and open at the top, at least a heating device, and one or more elements to generate a flow of air toward the inside of said container. The air flow generator element is connected to a return exit with a suction mouth made in correspondence with an internal wall of said support body and cooperating with a plurality of through holes made on at least one portion of the lateral wall of the internal container.

Systems and methods of conveyor speed control in a radiant toaster includes a toaster with a conveyor and a heat source. A controller is configured to receive a transition state model and a toasting recipe that includes a standard operation toasting time. Upon receipt of an instruction to change the heat source from a first heat output to a second heat output, the controller operates the heat source to the new output and measures an elapsed time since the change to the new output. The controller calculates a current transition state toast time by applying the standard operation toasting time and the elapsed time to the transition state model. The controller is configured to operate the conveyor to a conveyor speed associated to the current transition state toast time.

A toaster has a user selectable supplementary toasting cycle that is intended to change the shade of a food after or during a toasting cycle.

A toaster oven comprising a housing defining a food cavity, an opening defined in the housing, a door movably affixed to the housing, a cooking grid selectively mountable within the housing, one or more heating elements within the housing, a timer controlling activation of the heating elements, and a timer control knob engaged with the timer. The timer control knob is selectively rotatable in a second direction from the off position to a third position to activate at least one of the one or more heating elements until the timer control knob is selectively rotated in the first direction back to the off position. The timer control knob has a selectively movable button, such that the timer control knob is only selectively rotatable in the second direction from the off position to the third position when the button is moved from a first position to a second position.

Autonomous apparatus for cooking food comprising a support body (12), an openable lid (14), an internal container (16) which can be extracted/inserted with respect to said support body (12) and open at the top, at least one heating device (18) and at least one element (20) to generate a flow of air toward the inside of said container.

An electro-mechanical interface device for an appliance. The device including: a mounting element having a first side and a second side, the mounting element having a mounting aperture from the first side through to the second side; a first selection element in the form of a hollow sleeve that is partially located through the mounting aperture from the first side of mounting element; and a fastening ring engages the first selection element from the second side of mounting element, such that the first selection element is releasably retained from being withdrawn from the mounting aperture, wherein the first selection element is rotatable with respect to the mounting element. The device may further include a hub element is located within the circular-sleeve of the first selection element that restricts separation of the first selection element from the fastening ring.