1. A cooking appliance, comprising:
a cooktop including a plurality of separately controlled cooking areas;
a first heating element positioned below one of the separately controlled cooking areas;
a second heating element positioned below the same separately controlled cooking area as the first heating element; and
a control switch electrically coupled to the first heating element and the second heating element;
wherein the control switch is operable to selectively energize the first heating element with single-phase AC power and selectively energize the second heating element with two-phase AC power,
wherein the control switch is positionable in at least (i) a first temperature adjustment zone in which only the first heating element is energized, (ii) a second temperature adjustment zone in which both the first heating element and the second heating element are simultaneously energized, and (iii) a home position in which both the first heating element and the second heating element are de-energized;
wherein the control switch is operable to electrically couple a first electrical line and a neutral electrical line across the first heating element and electrically couple the first electrical line and a second electrical line across the second heating element.
2. The cooking appliance of claim 1, wherein the first and second heating elements are arranged as a non-concentric heating device positioned below the separately controlled cooking area.
3. The cooking appliance of claim 1, wherein the control switch is an infinite switch.
4. The cooking appliance of claim 1, wherein the first heating element is electrically coupled between a neutral electrical line and a first terminal of the control switch operable to supply AC power at a first phase.
5. The cooking appliance of claim 4, wherein the second heating element is electrically coupled between the first terminal of the control switch and a second terminal of the control switch operable to supply AC power at a second phase, different than the first phase.
6. The cooking appliance of claim 1, further comprising a thermal limiter electrically coupled to at least one of the first and second heating elements, the thermal limiter operable to de-energize at least one of the first and second heating elements when a temperature of the separately controlled cooking area above the first and second heating elements exceeds a specified temperature.
7. The cooking appliance of claim 6, wherein the cooktop is a glass-ceramic cooktop.
8. A cooking appliance, comprising:
a first heating element positioned below a cooktop;
a second heating element positioned below the cooktop in proximity to the first heating element;
a control switch electrically coupled to the first heating element and the second heating element, the control switch positionable in at least a first position and a second position;
a first electrical line supplying AC power at a first phase;
a second electrical line supplying AC power at a second phase, different than the first phase; and
a neutral electrical line;
wherein the control switch, (i) when in the first position, energizes only the first heating element at a first voltage and, (ii) when in the second position, simultaneously energizes both the first heating element at the first voltage and the second heating element at a second voltage, the second voltage being of a greater magnitude than the first voltage,
wherein the control switch is operable to electrically couple the first electrical line and the neutral electrical line across the first heating element and electrically couple the first electrical line and the second electrical line across the second heating element.
9. The cooking appliance of claim 8, wherein the first and second heating elements are arranged as a non-concentric heating device positioned below the cooktop.
10. The cooking appliance of claim 8, wherein the first voltage is approximately 120 volts AC and the second voltage is approximately 240 volts AC.
11. The cooking appliance of claim 8, wherein the control switch is an infinite switch.
12. The cooking appliance of claim 11, wherein:
the first position of the control switch lies within a first temperature adjustment zone having a substantially infinite number of settings; and
the second position of the control switch lies within a second temperature adjustment zone having a substantially infinite number of settings.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method for producing a high carbohydrate triploid corn plant, the method comprising:
a. combining two parent inbreds of different ploidy levels, wherein one parent inbred is a tetraploid (4N) and the other parent is a diploid (2N) so as to produce a triploid hybrid corn seed; and
b. cultivating said triploid hybrid corn seed to form a triploid corn plant.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the combining step comprises crossing a tetraploid female with a male diploid to form the triploid hybrid corn seed.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the combining step comprises crossing a tetraploid male with a diploid female to form the triploid hybrid corn seed.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein said triploid corn plant has a female fertility level of less than 20%.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein said triploid corn plant has a female fertility level of less than 10%.
6. The method of claim 4, wherein said female fertility level enhances carbohydrate storage in stalks of said triploid corn plant.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein said triploid corn plant has at least one of the following properties:
a. less than 20% of seed count of a normal diploid corn plant; and
b. a calorific value of around 10-15% less than an earless diploid corn plant.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein a stalk of the triploid corn plant comprises between 10% and 90% more carbohydrates than a stalk of a normal diploid corn plant.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the carbohydrate comprises at least one sugar.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein said at least one sugar is selected from the group comprising monosaccharides and disaccharides.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein said disaccharide comprises sucrose.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein said triploid corn plant comprises at least 3% sucrose.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein a liquid extract of stalks from said triploid corn plant comprises at least 15\xb0 Brix.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein a sucrose yield per acre of a crop of said triploid corn plant is at least 25% more than a sucrose yield per acre for a crop of normal diploid corn plant.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the sucrose yield per acre of said triploid corn plant is at least 25% more than a sucrose yield of a normal diploid corn plant.
16. The method of claim 1 further comprising producing fodder from said triploid plants.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the fodder has an increased level of digestibility, relative to fodder produced from normal diploid corn plants.
18. The method of claim 1, wherein said cultivating step comprises planting a plurality of said triploid hybrid corn seeds at an average spacing of less than 0.4 meter.
19. A method according to claim 1, wherein said triploid corn plant matures within 100 days.
20. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of extracting juice from stalks of said triploid plant.
21. The method of claim 20, further comprising fermenting the juice.
22. The method of claim 20, further comprising the step of producing molasses from said juice.
23. The method of claim 20, further comprising distilling said at least one fermentation product to produce spirits.
24. The method of claim 20, further comprising treating said juice to form crystallized sugar.
25. A method according to claim 20 further comprising producing corn bagasse from said stalks.
26. The method for producing alcohols comprising the steps of:
a. producing the triploid corn plant according to the method of claim 1;
b. extracting juice from stalks of said triploid corn plant; and
c. fermenting said juice to produce at least one alcohol.
27. The method according to claim 26, wherein said at least one alcohol comprises ethanol.