Patents by Inventor Philip I. Houck

Philip I. Houck has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Method for cooking large or small quantities of food
    Patent number: 4933195
    Abstract: An electric cooking unit, a gas-fired cooking unit, and a burner assembly usable with the gas-fired unit for rapidly or slowly grilling large or small quantities of food in a controlled manner. The cooking unit includes side walls defining a heating enclosure, a plurality of food holding members supported by top surfaces of the side walls for positioning food within the heating enclosure, a grate assembly mounted within the heating enclosure for supporting a bed of refractory coals below the food holding members, and gas-fired or electric heating elements for heating the grate assembly and heating the bed of refractory coals to incandescent temperatures. When the cooking unit is gas-fired, the unit includes a plurality of burner assemblies which can be individually controlled, each assembly having a flame guard assembly releasably mounted on a tubular member having a plurality of apertures for distributing a cooking gas within the heating enclosure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 1990
    Date of Patent: June 12, 1990
    Inventor: Philip I. Houck
  • Control system and method for cooking large or small quantities of food
    Patent number: 4815439
    Abstract: An electric cooking unit, a gas-fired cooking unit, and a burner assembly usable with the gas-fired unit for rapidly or slowly grilling large or small quantities of food in a controlled manner. The cooking unit includes side walls defining a heating enclosure, a plurality of food holding members supported by top surfaces of the side walls for positioning food within the heating enclosure, a grate assembly mounted within the heating enclosure for supporting a bed of refractory coals below the food holding members, and gas-fired or electric heating elements for heating the grate assembly and heating the bed of refractory coals to incandescent temperatures. When the cooking unit is gas-fired, the unit includes a plurality of burner assemblies which can be individually controlled, each assembly having a flame guard assembly releasably mounted on a tubular member having a plurality of apertures for distributing a cooking gas within the heating enclosure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 1986
    Date of Patent: March 28, 1989
    Inventor: Philip I. Houck
  • Cooking unit, method, and burner assembly for grilling large quantities of food
    Patent number: 4402300
    Abstract: An electric cooking unit, a gas-fired cooking unit, and a burner assembly usable with the gas-fired unit for rapidly grilling food in a controlled manner. The cooking unit includes side walls defining a heating enclosure, a plurality of food holding members supported by top surfaces of the side walls for positioning food within the heating enclosure, a coal grate assembly mounted within the heating enclosure for supporting a bed of refractory coals below the food holding members, and gas-fired or electric heating elements for heating the bed of refractory coals to incandescent temperatures. When the cooking unit is gas-fired, the unit incudes a plurality of individually controllable burner assemblies, each assembly having a flame guard assembly releasably mounted on a tubular member having a plurality of apertures for distributing a cooking gas within the heating enclosure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 1981
    Date of Patent: September 6, 1983
    Inventor: Philip I. Houck