AU2011101608A4 - Liquid fat disposal from a barbecue - Google Patents

Abstract

(Figure 2 refers) {025) A barbecue (1) has a cooking area (2) containing a cooking plate (3) extending alongside a cooking grid (4). The plate (3) slopes gently downwards towards a spillway (11) in one corner region of the plate (4). The spillway discharges liquid hot fat from the plate 4 into an upper compartment (23) of a parallelepiped shaped box (20) supported at its upper end by outwardly turned flanges (21) which rest on the marginal upper edge-portions of a slot (6) provided at one end of the cooking area (2). Hot liquid fat from the grid (4) drips onto a surface (14) located beneath a set of heating elements(12) and sloping towards an outlet pipe (16) in its corner region beneath the spillway (11). The box (20) has cut-outs (25) and (26) positioned to allow the box (2) to be slid horizontally between opposite ends of the slot (6) so that this movement can take place without obstruction by the spillway (11) or the outlet pipe (16). When the box (20) is in the position shown, the upper compartment (23) collects fat discharged from the spillway (11) and a lower compartment (24) of the box collects hot fat discharged from the outlet pipe (16). When cooking is finished, the box (2) can be slid between its two positions in the slot (6) to allow the box (2) to be bodily lifted from the slot with its contained hot fat, without obstruction be the spillway (11) or the outlet pipe (16). ~iB dl _ 0

Description

1 LIQUID FAT DISPOSAL FROM A BARBECUE Field of the invention [001] THIS INVENTION relates to barbecues and more specifically, although not exclusively, is concerned with the removal of hot liquid fat produced during cooking of some foodstuffs on a barbecue. State of the art [002] When foodstuffs are cooked on a barbecue there is often a release of hot liquid fat from the cooking area of the barbecue. Currently there are two techniques used for collecting this hot fat. The first technique involves allowing the hot liquid fat to drop into a tray filled with sand or some other non-inflammable and finely divided material. This material accumulates the fat without fire risk and periodically has to be replaced. To facilitate this, the tray is carefully withdrawn horizontally from the barbecue from time-to-time and carried to a place of safe disposal for the material contaminated with the fat. The tray may then be refilled with clean divided material and replaced in the barbecue. As the tray is normally shallow and relatively heavy, this technique often results in spillage of the contaminated material by the person carrying the tray to the point of safe disposal, and this may have unpleasant consequences. Also the contaminated material has to be replaced by fresh clean material which involves additional expense, and care must be exercised to ensure that the tray with the material is replaced smoothly in its operating position in the barbecue. [003] The second technique is to allow drops of the hot fat to fall onto a hot mesh of non-inflammable material where it ignite spontaneously so that the hot fat is disposed of by combustion, at least theoretically. In practice this technique has several disadvantages. The heat generated by the combusting fat adds to the heat generated by the burners so that foodstuff being cooked is cooked more rapidly than is intended 2 and this may result in an increase in the generation of hot fat so that the cooking process gets out of control. Also, in practice, some of the hot fat often passes through the grid or mesh without combusting and then drops onto whatever surface is beneath to contaminate it. It. This can cause damage and result in unwanted cleaning having to be carried out. Object of the invention [004] An object of the invention is to provide a more satisfactory way of handling hot fat generated by a barbecue than either of the two techniques outlined above. Aspects of the invention [005] In accordance with a first aspect of the invention a barbecue has a liquid fat collection surface located beneath a heating element and sloping towards an outlet positioned to discharge liquid fat from the surface into a compartment of a collection box bodily removable from the barbecue to enable the collected liquid fat to be emptied from it. [006] In accordance with a second aspect of the invention a barbecue has a hot plate positioned above a heating element and having its edge-portion shaped to prevent unwanted spillage of hot fat from it, the hot plate sloping gently downwards towards a guide for conveying hot fat from its surface to a compartment of a fat-collection box bodily removable from the barbecue to enable the hot fat to be emptied from it. [007] In accordance with a third aspect of the invention a barbecue has a hot plate above a heating element, a liquid-fat collecting surface beneath the element, and a removable box having compartments positioned to receive hot fat from the plate and the collecting surface by way of respective guides towards which the hot plate and collecting surface are tilted; the compartments being formed with lateral openings, such as cut-outs, for receiving respective guides when the box is moved from a first 3 position at which it can be bodily removed from the barbecue, to a second position at which hot fat from the guides discharges into respective compartments of the box. Advantages of the invention. [008] The invention is particularly useful when applied to a barbecue having controls, such as rotary knobs, for the heating elements disposed on the upper face of the barbecue. This enables the elements to extend from side-to-side of the barbecue rather than from the front to the back, and to be in a spaced parallel relationship so that hot fat released from the cooking area can descend between the heating elements. Preferred features of the invention. [009] Suitably the openings or cut-outs of the third aspect of the invention are arranged one above the other on one vertical corner region of a box of parallelepiped shape. This enables them to receive the guides when the box is shifted between its first and second positions by being slid horizontally along a slot positioned close to one end of the cooking area. Introduction to the drawings. [010] The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying simplified and partly diagrammatic informal drawings, in which: In the drawings. [011] FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a barbecue with its lid and a fat-collection box removed; FIGURE 2 is vertical section through the barbecue and taken along the line and in the direction of the arrows II-II in figure 1 with the fat-collection box in its operating position; and, 4 FIGURE 3 is a perspective and enlarged view of one side of the fat collection box after it has been bodily lifted from a horizontal slot spaced from one end of the cooking area of the barbecue. Description of preferred embodiment. [012] Figure 1 is a plan view of a barbecue 1 from which the top cover has been removed. It has a rectangular upper cooking area 2 containing an iron, rectangular, removable hot plate 3 and a rectangular, removable cooking grid 4 made from stainless steel. [013] Horizontally spaced from one end of the cooking area 2 is a set of three heating elemen operating knobs 5. The heating elements, shown at 12 in figure 2 may be operated electrically or they may be gas burners. A slot 6 is spaced from the end of the cooking area remote from the knobs 5, and is for the reception of a removable box 7 for collecting hot liquid fat produced during cooking. [014] The hot plate 3 has a peripherally-extending low wall 8 which is formed in one corner region with a gap 9 as shown in figure 2, leading into a mouth of a spillway 11 for some of the hot liquid fat. The spillway 11 provides a guide in the form of a trough inclined gently downwards to terminate at a position about halfway across the width of the slot 6. The hot plate 3 is slightly tilted towards the gap 9 so that hot liquid fat produced on it flows towards the gap 9 and thus into the mouth of the spillway 11. [015] Three spaced and parallel heating elements 12 are located beneath the cooking area 2 and extend lengthwise between opposite ends of the cooking area 2 as shown in figure 2. The heat generated by the elements 12 is controlled by respective control knobs 5. As is customary in barbecues, each of the elements 12 has a cover strip (not shown) positioned immediately above it and to protect it from hot fat dripping down from the bars of the grid 4.

5 [0 16] The heating elements 12 are mounted inside a casing 13 having its floor portion 14 sloping gently downwards and laterally towards a corner outlet 15 provided with a metal outlet pipe 16. This is spaced at a level beneath the spillway II and also extends about halfway across the width of the slot 6. Hot liquid fat dripping down from the bars of the grid 4 is deflected by the element covers (not shown) so that it descends through the gaps between the covers and onto the floor portion 14 of the casing 13. The slope of the floor portion guides the hot liquid fat towards the entry end of the outlet pipe 16. It will be appreciated that the outlet pipe 16 also provided a guide for the hot liquid fat and may be replaced by another form of outlet such as a second spillway or an outlet trough which serves the same function. [0171 Figure 3 shown a collecting box 20 into which flows the hot fat from the spillway 11 and the outlet pipe 16. The box 20 is constructed from stainless steel and is shaped overall as a parallelepiped. It is provide at its upper end with two co-planar outwardly turned flanges 21 providing horizontal sliders and has a width slightly less that the width of the slot 6 and approximately six centimeters. This enables the box 20 to be lowered into one end of the slot 6 until it rests on its flanges 21. It may then be slid to the other end of the slot 6. The height of the box 20 is approximately twenty-six centimeters which is greater than the vertical spacing between the outlet pipe 16 and the spillway 11. The length of the box, when viewed from above, is approximately 151 centimeters which is slightly more than one third of the length of the slot 6. [018] Returning to figure 2, it will be seen that the box 20 is divided by a horizontal partition 22 into an upper compartment 23 and a lower compartment 24. A corner region of each of the compartments 23,24 is cut-away as shown respectively at 25 and 26, to allow the discharge end of the spillway 11 to enter the upper compartment 23 and the discharge end of the outlet pipe 16 to enter the lower compartment 24 when 6 the box is slid along the slot 6 towards the end adjacent the positions of the spillway 11 and the outlet pipe 16. Operation of preferred embodiment [019] Prior to commencing cooking on the barbecue, the box 20 is lowered into the slot so that it rests upon its flanges 20,21. It is then slid along to the other end of the slot 6 so that the spillway 11 and outlet pipe 16 respectively enter the cut-away portions 25 and 26 of the box 20 and their discharge ends locate in the upper compartment 23 and the lower compartment 24, respectively. [020] During cooking, hot liquid fat from the spillway 11 discharges into the upper compartment 23 and hot liquid fat from the outlet pipe 16 discharges into the compartment 24. [021] When cooking is completed, the barbecue is preferably allowed to cool sufficiently for the hot liquid fat in the compartments 23 and 24 to congeal. The box 20 is then slid horizontally to the opposite end of the slot 6 so that it can be lifted bodily without obstruction from the spillway 11 or the outlet pipe 16. The collected fat in the upper and lower compartments 23 and 24 of the box 20 can then be washed out. [022] In the preferred arrangement of the embodiment described above, the slot 6 is about three times the length of the box 20. This has the advantage that it allows the end-portion of the slot from which the box 20 has been slid, to be used to accommodate a separate removable holder (not shown) for storing receptacles used during cooking. The holder can be dimensioned to completely fill the unoccupied portion of the slot so that the box cannot be inadvertently displaced from its fat collection position when the holder is located beside it.

7 [023] Advantages of the barbecue shown in the drawings are that the location of the control knobs 5 on top of the barbecue rather than on its side, provides a barbecue of cleaner appearance and of a narrower width so that it can be stored against a wall with less obstruction to passing traffic than would be the case were the barbecue to have side knobs. Finally hot liquid fat produced during cooking is removed in a collecting box rather than being allowed to accumulate in a sand or refractory layer of fragmented material contained in a relatively large open tray which has to be slid from a drawer in the barbecue from time-to-time and then the material disposed of. This is a cumbersome and awkward process and often results in spillage occurring. [024] Although the above-described embodiment has the compartments of the box 20 vertically spaced from one another, they could instead be arranged side-by-side provided that the openings in the box are arranged at different levels so that the guides for conveying the hot liquid fat into the compartments do not obstruct the lifting of the box when it is required to remove it bodily from the barbecue.

Claims (5)

1. A barbecue having a liquid fat-collection surface located beneath a heating element and sloping towards an outlet positioned to discharge liquid fat from the surface into a compartment of a collection box bodily removable from the barbecue to enable the collected liquid fat to be emptied from it.

2. A barbecue having a hot plate positioned above a heating element and having its edge-portion shaped to prevent unwanted spillage of hot fat from it, the hot plate sloping gently downwards towards a guide for conveying hot fat from its surface to a compartment of a fat-collection box bodily removable from the barbecue to enable the hot fat to be emptied from it.

3. A barbecue having a hot plate above a heating element, a liquid-fat collecting surface beneath the element, and a removable box having compartments positioned to receive hot fat from the plate and the collecting surface by way of respective guides towards which the hot-plate and the collecting surface are tilted; the compartments being spaced from one another and being formed with lateral openings for receiving respective guides when the box is moved from a first position at which it can be bodily removed from the barbecue, to a second position at which hot fat from the guides discharges into respective compartments of the box.

4. A barbecue as claimed in Claim 3, in which the box is of parallelepiped shape and contains an internal horizontal partition which divides it internally into upper and lower compartments, and outwardly extending and oppositely-directed flanges at upper end of the box serve as sliders to allow the box to be slid along a slot in the upper surface of the barbecue between its first and second positions.

5. A barbecue as claimed in Claim 4, in which the compartments are vertically spaced in the box; the length of the slot is sufficient to allow the box to be slid along it from said second position to said first position so that bodily lifting of the box is not obstructed by the guides; and, a vertically-removable holder for cooking utensils is provided separately from the box and is dimensioned to fit into the unoccupied portion of the slot when the box is in its second position. Dated this 6"' Day of December 2011. BBO FACTORY PTY. LTD. By:.. (Applicant's Patent Attorney)