Foods and beverages: apparatus – Cooking – Automatic control
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-04
2001-08-14
Alexander, Reginald L. (Department: 1761)
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Cooking
Automatic control
C099S337000, C099S393000, C099S397000, C099S4210HH, C099S427000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06272975
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cooking appliances, and more particularly, to a rotisserie cooking apparatus which is portable and facilitates convenient handling and cooking of food articles.
2. Description of the Related Art
Rotisserie cooking units are known in the prior art. Rotisserie cookers are used to cook food articles, such as, for example, chicken, roasts, fish, steaks, shish-kebab, etc.
Rotisserie cookers are advantageous because they seal in the natural juices of the food articles while draining off unwanted fat.
Typically, rotisserie cooking units slowly rotate food articles above or adjacent aheat source or heating element. The heating element may be placed in the bottom of the cooker unit such that heat will rise and cook the food articles, or above the food for broiling.
Rotisserie cooking units and methods are known whereby the food articles rotate about a vertical axis in close proximity to a heat source, usually of the resistive electric type, positioned radially of the food articles to be cooked, or centrally along an axis of rotation. Such devices are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,221,638 to Wickenburg, U.S. Pat. No. 4,270,444 to Geissman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,366,750 to Brown and U.S. Pat. No. 5,575196 to Masel et al. Food articles must be manually removed from an interior heating chamber of these type rotisserie cookers. This demands the troublesome chore of carefully manipulating food articles from within the rotisserie cooker without affecting the food articles or injuring oneself by inadvertent contact with the heating element or hot parts inside the cooking chamber.
Small countertop ovens are also available. These ovens are commonly referred to as toaster ovens and are manufactured by a wide variety of domestic and foreign producers. Most such toaster ovens are substantially similar in size, features and functions. The main differences between the various toaster ovens available concern details of the controls and minor differences in the oven capacity and proportions. In a toaster oven, food remains stationary with respect to adjacent heating elements, typically located above and/or below the food platform. These kinds of toaster ovens are generally popular, based on their portable qualities and ability to be placed in areas providing relatively small available space. However, cooking with a toaster oven does not eliminate the cumbersome and potentially dangerous task of retrieval of food articles from an interior heating chamber of the toaster oven.
Attempts have been made to overcome this drawback. U.S. Pat. No. 4,476,848 discloses a countertop oven with a heating tray, having heat-resistant handles for sliding the tray directly into a front portion of the countertop oven. However, this type of toaster oven does not provide the advantageous features of a rotisserie cooker. Furthermore, current rotisserie cooker designs do not facilitate easy manipulation of food articles and prevention of injury to a user.
Another disadvantage of the above mentioned cooking devices is the inability to adequately view the food articles and monitor their preparation. These cooking devices typically include only a small window and/or cooking light which does not provide sufficient viewing capability for monitoring food preparation.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a rotisserie cooking apparatus that is portable for positioning in various locations. In addition, it would be desirable to have a rotisserie cooking apparatus that facilitates easy manipulation of food articles being prepared and avoids injury to a user of the rotisserie cooking apparatus. It would also be desirable for such an apparatus to provide uniform heating of food articles while displaying the food articles being prepared.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to have a rotisserie cooking apparatus that is portable for positioning in various locations. It is another object of the present invention to provide a rotisserie cooking apparatus that facilitates easy manipulation of food articles being prepared and prevention of injury to a user of the rotisserie cooking apparatus.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a rotisserie cooking apparatus that provides uniform heating of food articles while displaying the food articles being prepared.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a rotisserie cooking apparatus which is easily assembled and operated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, a rotisserie cooking apparatus is provided that is portable for positioning in various locations and facilitates easy manipulation of food articles being prepared and prevention of injury to a user.
In one particular embodiment, a rotisserie cooking apparatus is provided that includes a housing defining a cavity. A heating element apparatus is positioned within the housing for heating food articles. At least a portion of the heating element apparatus may be disposed within the cavity. A detachable cooking rack is configured for support of the food articles and has at least a portion thereof being movably disposed within the cavity such that the food articles are movable relative to the heating element apparatus. The rotisserie cooking apparatus is preferably configured for rotisserie cooking. Alternatively, however, the apparatus may include or form at least a portion of other types of cooking appliances and/or devices.
The housing may include a substantially rectangular enclosure including an opening to the cavity that is configured for receipt of at least a portion of the detachable cooking rack. The housing may include an outer surface fabricated from a thermally insulative material. The housing may include a drip or grease tray that is positionable relative to the detachable cooking rack and configured for collection of grease and other debris falling from the food articles as they cook. The grease tray may be positioned within the cavity of the housing with at least a portion of the detachable cooking rack moving through the grease tray. The grease tray can be configured for boiling a substance therein such that the substance cooks, roasts and/or fries at least a portion of the food articles in the detachable cooking rack when passing therethrough.
The heating element apparatus may include a first heating element and a second heating element that are spaced apart in the cavity to facilitate heating of the food articles. At least a portion of the detachable cooking rack can be disposed in the cavity of the housing between the first and second heating elements. Desirably, the first and second heating elements are mounted at opposing sides of the cavity.
The detachable cooking rack is supported by the housing and rotates relative to the housing. The detachable cooking rack may be supported by the housing for rotational movement such that at least a portion of the detachable cooking rack rotates through the cavity. The detachable cooking rack includes an axle defining an axis of rotation for the detachable cooking rack, the axle being supported by and rotatable relative to the housing. Thus, the housing may include grooves that receive the axle and allow rotation. The detachable cooking rack may include a handle for manipulation, including removal of the cooking rack from the housing. In an alternate embodiment, the detachable cooking rack includes a first portion and a second portion having grill-type configurations to facilitate support of the food articles therein.
In another alternate embodiment, the detachable cooking rack defines a cavity wherein at least a portion of the cavity of the detachable cooking rack is enclosed by one or more mesh wall portions. The mesh wall may enclose substantially all of the cavity of the detachable cooking rack. The detachable cooking rack may include an adjustment portion configured to facilitate support of the food articles supported by the detachable cooking rack according to the configuration and dimension of the food articles. The
Alexander Reginald L.
Dilworth & Barrese LLP
Franklin Industries, LLC
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