Foods and beverages: apparatus – Cooking – Convertible
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-22
2001-06-26
Simone, Timothy F. (Department: 1761)
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Cooking
Convertible
C099S419000, C099S4210HH, C099S4210HH, C099S4210HV, C099S427000, C099S448000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06250211
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to a barbecue assembly, and in particular, to an assembly which has a driven spit arm for receiving food to be cooked, where the spit arm is laterally movable towards an open side of the barbecue.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In commercially sized barbecue units, the units generally include a lower casing member or chamber, which contains the heating medium for the cooking, normally propane gas burners in the larger units. These units also include a spit arm for holding the food to be cooked, which is generally a rod rotatably fixed to the unit. The unit also includes a drive mechanism which imparts rotational movement to the spit arm, to turn the food during the cooking phase. Finally, a cover member is normally included which covers the entirety of the open cooking area, so as to keep the heat and moisture in the unit for best cooking results.
Normally, such food items as whole pigs, or chickens, are cooked on the barbecue units. It is not uncommon to have large cooking areas for such barbecues; and given the weight of the good to be placed on the spit arms, it is oftentimes quite difficult to hold the food items, while leaning over the cooking area to add the food items to the spit arm. It should also be noted that the open surface area is quite hot due to the heating medium, which can become quite uncomfortable for the person or persons operating the barbecue. Such a movement is also ergonomically discomforting, as the person is holding great weight while leaning over the barbecue in an attempt to add the food to the spit arm.
One of the ancillary difficulties or shortcomings of the above mentioned unit is that the covers to such units are relatively large and cumbersome also, in that they must cover the entire open area of the cooking unit when closed, but must also access the spit arm when open, so that the food items can be added to the spit arm as mentioned above. Thus, these covers are relatively heavy to open, which simply intensifies the entire operation of the application to be accomplished.
These and other shortcomings in the industry are intended to be resolved by the present invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The above mentioned objects of the invention have been accomplished by providing a barbecue rotisserie assembly, comprising a lower casing member, a spit arm profiled for receiving food to be cooked, and a drive mechanism which imparts rotational movement to said spit arm along its longitudinal axis, so as to rotate said food while cooking. In the present invention however, the spit arm is movable in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis, between a loading position and a cooking position.
In this manner, by having the spit arm movable transverse to the longitudinal direction, the spit arm can move away from the center of the grilling area to a position which is more convenient to the person(s) operating the grilling. As such, the spit arm moves towards the side where the person(s) stand to operate the barbecue, which reduces, if not eliminates the requirement of the person to lean over the grilling area to add food to be cooked onto the spit arm.
In another aspect of the invention, the barbecue assembly comprises a lower casing member profiled for containing the heating medium for the cooking process, a rotatable spit arm profiled for receiving food to be cooked, and a cover member profiled to enclose said casing for proper cooking conditions. The lower casing member has a front side accessible to the rotatable spit arm, with the cover member comprising, a first rearwardly disposed and relatively fixed section, and a second rotational section adjacent said front side, rotatable to access a food loading area. The spit arm is movable towards the front side into the food loading area for loading the food, and rearwardly away from the front side into a cooking position.
In this manner, a more ergonomic cooking cover or hood is possible. Due to the movable spit arm moving adjacent to the front side of the assembly, the food loading area is also moved towards the front side. This allows that the cover or hood need not open the entire area, but rather, need only open to expose the cooking area. Thus the cover can be comprised of a fixed half and a movable half where the movable half is easier to open ergonomically, than if it were a full cover spanning the entire open barbecue area. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the second rotatable section is mounted relative to a pivot axis, such that upon opening movement, the weight distribution relative to the pivot axis changes to ease the opening movement, the further that second section is moved.
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Decker Ken C.
Hall James D.
Nelgo Manufacturing, Inc.
Simone Timothy F.
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