AU2010203030B2

AU2010203030B2 - A rotisserie spit

Info

Publication number: AU2010203030B2
Application number: AU2010203030A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Rhett Linton Thompson
Original assignee: Bbq Spit Rotisseries Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Bbq Spit Rotisseries Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2004-11-19
Filing date: 2010-07-16
Publication date: 2013-04-11
Anticipated expiration: 2025-11-16
Also published as: AU2005234638B2; NZ543624A; AU2010203029B2; AU2010203029A1; NZ554406A; AU2010203030A1; AU2005234638A1

Abstract

C:NRPorbl\DCC\PLW\3067250_ IDOC-14107/2010 - 15 An attachment for a spit rod of a rotisserie spit for use in cooking foods, the attachment comprising a tubular cage mountable to the spit, the cage being 5 loadable with product to be cooked whereby product within the cage can be cooked with a tumbling action upon rotation of the spit, wherein the cage is formed by a cylindrical wall of open structure closed at each end, the closure at one end having a fitting for mounting of the attachment to the spit rod so that the cylindrical wall is generally coaxial with the axis of the spit, and the closure at the other end 10 providing a lid for loading and unloading of product. -14

Description

Australian Patents Act 1990 - Regulation 3.2A ORIGINAL COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention Title "A ROTISSERIE SPIT" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:- H:\sbtinterwoven\NRPonb\DCC\SBT498098 I doc-12/03/2013 A ROTISSERIE SPIT This present invention relates to a rotisserie spit and to attachments for such a spit. 5 Rotisserie spits that rotate food while cooking are commonly used to roast food, particularly meat, over a heat source. The rotational action of such spits advantageously promotes both uniform cooking of the food and retention of the food's natural juices. 10 Preferred forms of the present invention seek to provide a portable rotisserie spit suitable for use outdoors that is able to be assembled for use and disassembled for storage and transport, and also attachments for use with rotisserie spits. 15 According to the invention, there is provided a rotisserie spit including a spit rod for supporting food, a carrier bracket for mounting the spit rod in cantilever fashion by bearing means to permit rotation of the spit rod, the bracket being mounted to an upright support post such that the bracket and spit rod carried thereby can swing about the axis of the post, a motor coupled to the spit rod for driving the spit rod, 20 and an attachment selectively mountable to the end portion of the spit rod remote from the carrier bracket, the attachment comprising a tubular cage having a cylindrical wall of open structure, the cage having at one end of the wall a fitting mountable to an end portion of the spit rod so that the cylindrical wall is generally co-axial with the axis of the spit rod, the cage being loadable with product to be 25 cooked via an access opening which can be closed whereby product within the cage can be cooked with a tumbling action upon rotation of the spit rod.

H:\sht\intenvoven\NRPortbl\DCC\SBT\4980981_I.doc-2I 03/2013 -2 The present invention will be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a view of an assembled rotisserie spit; Figure 2 is an enlarged view showing a detail of Figure 1; 5 Figure 3 is a view of the separated parts of the rotisserie spit shown in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the carrier bracket shown in Figure 1; Figure 5 is a view showing how the spit rod is mounted to the carrier C:\NRPonbI\DCC\PLW\3067250_1.O C-I4/M7/2010 -3 bracket; Figure 6 is a perspective view of a preferred form of food-engaging skewer mountable on the spit rod; and Figure 7 is a side view of an attachment mountable on the spit rod for use in 5 cooking vegetables. A portable rotisserie spit 10 for cooking food over a heat source is shown in an assembled condition in Figure 1. The spit 10 includes a spit rod 12, a drive-motor 14, a carrier bracket 16 and a support post 18 as separate parts (see Figure 3) 10 which can be disassembled for transportation and/or storage. The spit rod 12 is formed by a cylindrical rod that has a driven keyway 20 (or other formation) at its inner end. The drive-motor 14 is adapted to be removably mounted to the inner end of the spit rod 12 by a complementarily driving socket 15 which receives and drivingly engages the keyway 20 of the rod 12. An outer end 26 of the spit rod 12 tapers to a point 28 to facilitate the skewering of a food item (not shown) to engage the food item for subsequent cooking. The keyway 20 may be formed by machining the end of the spit rod 12. In an 20 alternative, the keyway 20 is formed at the inner end of the rod 12 by press fitting or otherwise attaching a pre-formed part to the rod. The carrier bracket 16 is open at one side to facilitate the removable rotational mounting of the spit rod 12 to the carrier bracket 16. The bracket 16 is in the form 25 of a housing 32 able to be formed by stamping and bending a single piece of sheet metal to the required shape, with spaced apart first 34 and second bearing plates or inserts 36 attached to the housing 32. Advantageously, the plates or inserts 34 C:\NRPorthl\DCCPLW\3057250_l.DOC-14/07/2010 -4 and 36 are formed from a relatively hard-wearing low-friction material that is able to withstand the temperatures it will be exposed to during cooking. The plates or inserts 34 and 36 may be formed from fibre-filled nylon or other composite materials, for example. 5 Bases 38 and 40 of open-ended recesses 42 and 44 formed in each of the plates or inserts 34 and 36 define spaced apart low-friction stationary upwardly facing and downwardly facing bearing surfaces that are able to slidingly contact axially spaced portions 46 and 48 of the rod 12. The rod 12 is able to be to removably 10 mounted from the carrier bracket 16 by the bearing surfaces in a cantilever fashion to extend from the bracket 16 in a generally horizontal direction and to provide for the rotation of the rod 12 about its axis. The plates or inserts 34 and 36 preferably taper in thickness in the regions of the 15 recesses 42 and 44 so that the bases 38 and 40 defining the bearing surfaces are formed by edges 50 and 52 that are thinner than the rest of the plates or inserts 34 and 36. The thinner bearing edges 50 and 52 reduce the areas of sliding contact between the edges 50 and 52 and the portions 46 and 48 of the spit rod 12 to minimise frictional force inhibiting rotation of the spit rod 12. 20 The carrier bracket 16 has aligned circular apertures 54 and 56 for mounting the bracket 16 to the support post 18. An overhanging portion 58 extending from one end of the bracket 16 partially encloses the drive-motor 14 when the rotisserie spit 10 is assembled to retain the drive-motor 14 stationary, whereby the motor 14 will 25 drive the spit rod 12. To prevent the rod 12 inadvertently releasing from the carrier bracket 16 when the C:WRPorb1\DCC\PLW 0672501. DOC.I4M07/2010 -5 rod 12 is mounted from the bracket 16, the rod 12 includes a collar 60 for inhibiting movement of the rod 12 generally in the direction of its axis. In use, when the spit rod 12 is mounted to the carrier bracket 16 to cantilever the spit rod 12 from the bracket 16, the collar 60 is positioned behind the first plate or inserts 34. 5 The support post 18 is formed by a cylindrical rod that is able to be driven into the ground. A lower end 62 of the post 18 may be formed into a point (not shown) to facilitate driving the post 18 into the ground by striking an upper end 64 of the post 18 with a hammer, for example, with the upper end 64 of the post 18 able to 10 received through the circular apertures 54 and 56 in the carrier bracket 16 to mount the carrier bracket 16 to swing about the axis of the post 18. Preferably, the post 18 is stepped down in diameter at its upper end 64 where it may be struck by a hammer to drive the post 18 into the ground. Although striking 15 the post 18 may cause its upper end 64 to burr or flare outwardly, the smaller diameter at the upper end 64 will allow it to still pass though the apertures 54 and 56 even if it becomes partially burred or flared. A clamp 66, the position of which is able to be adjusted up and down the support 20 post, as indicated by the arrow 68 in Figure 3, supports the carrier bracket 16 from the post 18. As such, the position of the clamp 66 can be used determine the height at which the spit rod 12, when it is mounted to the carrier bracket 16, is elevated above a heat source. 25 It will be appreciated that various other arrangements could be employed for mounting the carrier bracket 16. For example, in an alternative (not shown) the bracket 16 may be prevented from sliding down the post 18 by a through pin that C :RPonbrlCC\PLWU067250_.DOCI-1407/2010 -6 is able to pass through a hole in the post 18. In a further alternative (not shown), the bracket 16 may be mounted to the post 18 such that it is unable to be moved up and down the post 18 and/or to be swung about the axis of the post 18. 5 An example of the assembly and subsequent use of the rotisserie spit will be described. While the rotisserie spit 10 will be described with reference to cooking meat, it will be appreciated that the spit 10 may be used to cook a range of foods. Further, while the use of exposed hot coals formed by burning down a wood fire in combination with the rotisserie spit 10 will be described for cooking the meat, it will 10 appreciated that other heat sources may be used, including gas burners, for example. According to one form, a wood fire is first burnt down to form hot coals or embers (not shown), such that the flames of the fire have substantially subsided to provide 15 an appropriate heat source for cooking. While open flames may be used, they generally make it difficult to uniformly cook food using the spit 10 as they can easily burn the outer layer of food. The support post 18 is driven into the ground adjacent the hot coals using a 20 hammer to strike the upper end 64 of the post until the post 18 is firmly supported in the ground. The clamp 66 is then adjusted up or down the post 18 to select the height at which the carrier bracket 16 is mounted to the post 18. The carrier bracket 16 is then able to be slid over the upper end 64 of the post 18, with the circular apertures 54 and 56 of the carrier bracket 16 receiving the upper end 64 25 therethrough, and the carrier bracket 16 lowered down the post 18 until it rests on the clamp 66.

C:NRPonb\DCC\PLW\306725_l. DOC-14/07/2010 -7 One or more pieces of meat (not shown), or other type of food as desired, are then able to be engaged by the spit rod 12 by pushing the rod 12 through the meat using the sharp inner end 26 of the rod 12 to skewer the meat. 5 The carrier bracket 16 is then able to be rotated about the support post 18 before mounting the rod 12 (and meat) to the carrier bracket 16, so that a person using the rotisserie spit 10 may safely mount the rod 12 away from the hot coals. The drive-motor 14 is then mounted to the inner end 22 of the rod 12. With 10 reference to Figure 5, the rod 12 is held at an angle so that the rod 12 is downwardly inclined from the outer end 26 to the inner end 22. The inclined rod 12 is then able to be mounted to the carrier bracket 16 through the side opening of the bracket 16, positioning the collar 60 between the plates or inserts 34 and 36. The rod 12 is then moved to the horizontal, whereby the axially spaced portions 46 15 and 48 of the rod 12 are supported by the bases 38 and 40 of the recesses 42 and 44 in the plates or inserts 34 and 36. The bases 38 and 40 slidingly contact the portions 46 and 48 of the rod 12 so that the rod 12 extends horizontally from the bracket 16 in a cantilever fashion to removably mount the rod 12 from the carrier bracket 16 and to provide for the rotation of the rod 12 about its axis. As the rod 20 12 is moved to the horizontal, the drive-motor 14 will also come into position under the overhanging portion 58 of the carrier bracket 16. The carrier bracket 16 is then able to be swung back about the axis of the post 18 so that the spit rod 12 and meat extend in an elevated position over the hot coals. 25 The drive-motor 14 may then be turned on to rotate the rod 12 and meat to promote both the even cooking of the meat and the retention of natural juices within the meat.

C:NRPonbl\DCC\PLWG67250_ LDOC-14/07/2010 -8 As the rotating meat cooks above the coals, flammable fat or oil may drip from the meat onto the coals. This can result in flames flaring up from the coals that can easily burn the outer surface of the meat. To avoid the meat burning should this 5 occur, the spit rod 12 can be swung away from the flames until such time as they subside, whereupon the spit rod 12 can be swung back over the hot coals to resume normal cooking. The elevation of the meat above the hot coals is also able to be controlled by 10 raising or lowering the clamp 66 on the post 18 to control the rate at which the meat is cooked. When the meat has finished cooking, the drive-motor 14 is turned off to allow the removal of the cooked meat from the rod 12. 15 When cooking with a conventional spit (not shown) that supports the spit rod at both ends, the weight and temperature of the spit and food may make moving the spit and meat away from the hot coals after the meat has been cooked both dangerous and impractical, whereby the meat tends to be carved from directly 20 above the hot coals. In consequence, a person carving meat from off the spit rod may be burnt, particularly if flammable fat or oil drip from the meat onto the coals causing flames to flare up while carving as discussed above. In contrast, with the rotisserie spit 10 described, the spit rod 12 is able to be 25 conveniently swung away from the hot coals, whereby the meat is able to be safely carved from off the spit rod 12.

C:\NRPonbl\DCC\PLWU06725O 1 DOC-14/07/2010 -9 After the spit 10 has cooled sufficiently, it may be disassembled in the reverse order to which it was assembled, for example, and the individual parts of the spit rod 12, the drive-motor 14, the carrier bracket 16 and the support post 18 cleaned and subsequently stored for later use. The components of the disassembled 5 rotisserie spit 10 may be conveniently stored together in a compact storage and travel bag (not shown), for example, that facilitates both the tidy storage and the easy transport of the disassembled spit 10. The rotisserie spit 10 may carry food-engaging skewers for preventing the 10 movement of food held by the rod 12. A conventional food-engaging skewer, such as that commonly referred to as a "barbeque spike", is formed by a collar mounted to the spit rod, with parallel prongs able to be thrust into the food. The collar is secured in position by a 15 threaded screw. This conventional type skewer is relatively expensive to manufacture, and the screw by which the collar is secured can sometimes be difficult to tighten and loosen and, is easily lost. With reference to Figure 6, a preferred form of the skewer comprises a spring 20 collar 102 that resiliently contracts to the rod 16 to secure the skewer 100 relative to the rod 16. A pair of parallel spaced apart prongs 104 and 106 that extend from the collar in a direction generally parallel to the axis of the rod 12 are able to be thrust into the food item. The collar 102 is integrally formed from a piece of resilient wire, bent to define a coil spring 110 having one or more turns. The 25 prongs 104 and 106 are formed from the two end portions 112 and 114 of the wire extending from the coil spring 110.

C NRPonblDCC\PLW3067250_. DOC-14/072oto -10 The prongs 104 and 106 can be squeezed towards one another against the resilience of the collar 102, as indicated by the arrows 116 and 118 in Figure 6, to expand and thereby loosen the collar 102. This allows the position of the skewer 100 with respect to the rod 12 to be adjusted by sliding the collar 102 along or 5 rotating the collar 102 about the axis of the rod 12. To facilitate the squeezing together of the prongs 104 and 106 against the resilience of the collar 102 to loosen the collar 102, the prongs 104 and 106 are preferably provided with ears 124 and 126 which are shown in Figure 6 only. The 10 ears 124 and 126 may be in the form of loops bent into the wire 108 to extend transversely from the prongs 104 and 106 so as to be able to be gripped between the forefinger and the thumb of a hand (not shown). In contrast to a conventional skewer, the skewer 100 which is simply formed by 15 bending a resilient piece of wire, is less expensive to manufacture. Further, as the skewer 100 does not require a fastener, such as a wing nut-headed screw that needs to tightened and loosened to fix it relative to the spit rod, it is quicker and simpler to use. 20 The skewer 100 can also be used in a conventional form of rotisserie spit. Figure 7 shows an attachment in the form of a holder for vegetables. The attachment is designed to be fitted onto the outer end of the spit rod 12 and consists of a tubular cage 200 formed by a cylindrical wall of open structure. As 25 shown it is formed by wire mesh. Alternatively, it could be of a perforated metal. The cage is closed at its inner and outer ends by caps 202, 204. The inner end cap 202 includes a bush 206 which fits over the outer end of the spit rod 12 and is C:\NRPonbl\DCC\PLW\3067230_I.DCC-14)7/2010 -11 secured thereto by a thumb screw 208 so that the cage is generally co-axial with the axis of the spit rod. The outer end cap 204 includes a hinged lid 210 through which vegetables can be loaded into and removed from the cage 200. The lid 210 is retained in its closed position by a suitable fastening which in the form shown is 5 a spring clip 212 engaged with the end cap 204. In an alternative, the lid is fully removable and is retained in its engaged position by a snap action fastening such as dimples on the lid which engage into apertures in the cap or in the structure of the cage around the cap. In a further alternative, the cylindrical wall of the cage is formed with an access opening for loading/unloading of product, the opening being 10 closable by a hinged, slidable, or removable lid. When this attachment is used, vegetables can be cooked on the spit with a tumbling action within the cage to ensure uniformity of cooking. 15 The foregoing describes a form of the present invention and modifications can be made without departing from the scope from the invention. Throughout the specification, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood 20 to imply the inclusion of a stated step or integer or group of steps or integers but not the exclusion of any other step or integer or group of steps or integers. The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that that prior art forms part of 25 the common general knowledge in Australia.

Claims

1. A rotisserie spit including a spit rod for supporting food, a carrier bracket for mounting the spit rod in cantilever fashion by bearing means to permit rotation of 5 the spit rod, the bracket being mounted to an upright support post such that the bracket and spit rod carried thereby can swing about the axis of the post, a motor coupled to the spit rod for driving the spit rod, and an attachment selectively mountable to the end portion of the spit rod remote from the carrier bracket, the attachment comprising a tubular cage having a cylindrical wall of open structure, 10 the cage having at one end of the wall a fitting mountable to an end portion of the spit rod so that the cylindrical wall is generally co-axial with the axis of the spit rod, the cage being loadable with product to be cooked via an access opening which can be closed whereby product within the cage can be cooked with a tumbling action upon rotation of the spit rod. 15

2. A rotary spit according to claim 1, wherein the access opening is formed in a closure at the other end of the wall, the closure including a lid openable for loading and unloading of product. 20

3. A rotary spit according to claim 1 wherein the access opening of the attachment is provided in the cylindrical wall.

4. A rotary spit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the attachment is mountable to the spit rod only by means of the fitting at said one end of the wall.