Abstract: A toaster for facilitating removal of food items by allowing the bread carriage to be raised from a loading position to a raised position. A toaster is provided having a housing frame having an upper portion defining at least one opening for receiving an item to be toasted. A carriage for supporting the item is mounted to the frame and movable relative to the frame to at least three positions: a toasting position, a loading position and a raised position which is located vertically higher than the loading position. A flange is fixed to the carriage, and an abutment member is provided for engagement with the flange. The member includes a slot defining at least a first flange-receiving area adjacent one end of the slot and a second flange-receiving area adjacent another end of the slot. When the carriage is moved to the loading position, the flange is positioned and may be locked within the first flange-receiving area.

Abstract: A toaster having a mechanically actuated cover for each of one or more toasting volumes. Each cover at least partially covers a toasting volume within the toaster during toasting, thereby reducing heat transfer (primarily due to convection) away from the toaster and the object being toasted. In preferred embodiments, each cover is a pair of slidably mounted plates. When a carriage (supporting an object to be toasted) is manually lowered by a user, a mechanical linkage attached to the carriage cause the plates to slide together to cover (substantially or totally) a toasting volume. When the carriage springs up (at the end of the toasting operation), the mechanical linkage slides the plates away from each other to allow removal of the toasted object from the toaster. In other preferred embodiments, each cover is a pair of rotatably mounted plates.