GB2203926A - Device for use in making kebab-type food items - Google Patents

Abstract

A device for use in the preparation of kebab-type food items comprises a tubular body having two detachable end members, respectively forming a base tray and a top cap for the tubular body. The cap member contains a plurality of spaced apertures through which respective skewers may be passed to impale food matter when placed in the body, the cap or the body being slotted to allow the passage of a blade means along said body to enable the blade means to cut said food matter into a plurality of segments, each of which is impaled upon a respective one of said skewers. <IMAGE>

Description

DESCRIPTION DEVICE FOR USE IN MAKING KEBAB-TYPE FOOD ITEMS.

The present invention relates to a device for use in the preparation of kebab-type food items, i.e. small pieces of vegetables and/or meat on a skewer, which are to be barbecued.

Until now, the domestic method of making such food items has been slow, untidy and time-consuming as each meat/ vegetable portion has had to be cut out individually and applied manually. to a skewer.

It is an objector the present invention to provide a device which enables the preparation of kebab-type food items to be achieved more quickly and conveniently.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a device for use in the preparation of kebab-type food items, comprising a tubular body having two- detachable end members, respectively forming a base tray and a top cap for the tubular body, the cap member containing a plurality of spaced apertures through which respective skewers may be passed to impale food matter when placed in the body, the cap or the body being slotted to allow the passage of a blade means along said body to enable the blade means to cut said food matter into a plurality of segments, each of which is impaled upon a respective one of said skewers.

In one embodiment, the body contains a plurality of pairs of diametrically aligned, longitudinally extending slots which enable a blade means, such as a conventional kitchen knife, to cut food matter in said body into segments.

In another embodiment, the cap contains a starshaped array of radial slots which enable the passage into and along the tubular body member of a correspondingly star-shaped blade attachment.

Preferably, the device includes a solid metal spiked rod which is used to make holes in the food matter prior to the insertion of the skewers.

Alternatively, the device includes a hollow tubular metal skewer inserter which is first pushed through the food matter via the holes in the cap member, a skewer then being inserted via the central bore of the skewer inserter before the latter member is withdrawn to leave the skewer in place in the food matter.

The base member may also be provided with apertures or blind bores which are arranged to be aligned with the holes in the cap member for receiving the skewers.

Preferably, the apertures in the cap member are disposed at equal angular spacings and at equal distances from the longitudinal centre line of the device, the slotsin the cap or body member being disposed so that said blade means run equidistantly between adjacent pairs of said holes.

The invention is described further hereinafter, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings., in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a device in accordance with the present invention in its fully assembled condition; Fig. 2, illustrates the assembly of a skewer inserter and a cutting attachment into a body portion of the device of- Fig. 1 through a detachable cap portion; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the assembled device with the skewer inserter in its operative position.; Fig. 4 shows the insertion of awooden skewer into the skewer inserter; Fig. 5 shows the skewer inserter being removed to leave eight skewers in position in the body of the device; Fig..6 shows the star-shaped cutting attachment flitted into the top cap and being displaced to cut food matter disposed in the main body portion of the device; Fig. 7 shows the cutting attachment extracted and -the top cap removed from the body portion; Fig. 8 shows the main tubular body released by lifting it off a base tray portion of the device, leaving the cut food matter on the eight wooden skewers; Fig. 9 is side view of the tubular body of a second embodiment of. a device in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 10 is a side view similar to Fig. 9 but showing parts of the lower end of the tubular body in section; Fig. 11 is an end view of the top end of the tubular body of the second embodiment; Fig. 12 is an end view of the bottom end of the tubular body;; Fig. 13 is a plan view from above of a detachable cap member of the second embodiment; Fig. 14 is a plan view from below of the cap member of Fig. 13; Fig. 15 is a side view of the cap member of Figs.

13 and 14; Fig. 16 is a section on A-A in Fig. 13; Fig. 17 is a plan view from above of a detachable base member of the second embodiment; Fig. 18 is a plan view from below of the base member of Fig. 17; Fia. 19 is a side view of the base member of Figs. 17 and 18; Fig. 20 is a section on E-E in Fig. 17; and Fig. 21 is a perspective view illustrating one step in the use of the second embodiment.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 8, the first embodiment comprises a tubular plastics body 10 having an internal through-bore which diverges slightly towards one end. A generally circular plastics base tray member 12 and a generally circular plastics cap member 14 can be detachably mounted on the wider and narrower end, respectively, of the tubular body 10 such that these parts can be easily fitted together and pulled apart.

In the assembled condition shown in Fig. 1, the body 10 stands upright on the base member 12, the base member having a number of rubber feet 16 on its underside for engaging a work surface (not shown).

The base member 12 carries a stainless steel pin (not shown) attached to its centre and standing the total height of the tubular body 10. The base member 12 also has eight 4.5 mm blind bores (not shown) located at positions 450 apart around the base and at equal distances from the base centre. At the mouth of each of the latter blind bores, there is a 45" counterbore.

The cap member 14 fits inside and on top of the tubular body 10 such that there is an interlocking fit between these two members 10,. 14. The cap 14 has eight through-holes 18 of 5 mm diameter disposed at the same radial distance from the cap centre and angular pitch as the blind bores on the base member 12. The cap 14 also has a central through-bore 20 of 7.1 mm and eight radial through-slots 21 of 2 mm width and 450.angle, each slot 2-1 lying between a respective pair of adjacent holes 18 and extending outwardly to the same radial distance as the internal diameter of the bore at the narrow end of the tubular body 10.

When the tubular bod 10 and the base and end caps 12, 14 interlock together, the eight 7.1 mm holes in the top cap line up precisely with the eight 4.5 mm blind bore in the base member. This enables a user to insert a hollow tubular skewer inserter 20 through each one of the 7.1 mm holes 18 in turr (see Fig. 3), pushing it through food matter disposed within the body 10 until the skewer inserter engages the base member 12. With the skewer inserter 20 positioned in the body in this manner, a wooden skewer 22 can then be passed through the tubular skewer inserter as shown in Fig. 4, until the skewer end engages the bottom of the associated blind bore in the base member. With the skewer 22 inserted, the skewer inserter can then be removed by pulling it upwardly over the skewer 22, as shown in Fig. 5. This is repeated for all eight pairs of aligned holes until eight skewers 22 have been inserted into the body and through the food matter.

A star-shaped blade, attachment 24, having eight blades 26 connected to a 7 mm metal tube 28, is then placed over the centre locating pin extending from the base member 12, the blades 26 entering the star-shaped slots 21 so enabling the user to press down the cutting attachment, by means of a knob 30, through the food - matter in the main body 10, until the blades engage the base 12 (see Fig. 6). After withdrawing the blade from the food matter, the cap 14 may be removed from the body 10 (as shown in Fig. 7) and the body 10 can then be lifted off the base 12 (as shown in Fig. 8), thus leaving the food matter on th base member, cut into eight equal segmented portions 32, each of which is disposed on a respective one of the eight skewers 22.

The base member al-so acts as a tray for juices, for storage or for a serving tray.

The food matter placed in the body is selected to choice, for example, alternate layers of meat and vegetables. In the latter case, therefore, one ends up with eight kebabs comprising alternate segments of meat and vegetable on each skewer.

In one embodiment, the body 10 can inccrporate internal guideways on its inner surface which erable the cutting blades 26 to be guided up and down the body. The latter guides can have a ribbed web 34 on the external surface of the body 10.

It should be borne in mind that the dimensions quoted above are by way of example only and can be varied to suit the practical application of the invention.

Turning now to Figs. 9 to 21 of the drawings, there is illustrated the component parts of a second, more preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The seccnd embodiment is similar to the first in that it includes a tubular main body member 50, illustrated in Figs. 9 to 12, a generally circular base member 52, illustrated in Figs. 17 to 20, and a generally circular top cap member 54, illustrated in Figs. 13 to 16. The bcdy member 10 again has an internal bore 56 which diverges slightly from one end to the other, the wider end being adapted to form a detachable interlocking fit with the base member 52 and the narrower end being adapted to form a detachable interlocking fit with the cap member 54. The members 50, 52, 54 are preferably made of a suitable plastics material, such as high impact polystyrene.

The base member 52 has four feet 56 on its underside for engaging a work surface (not shown). The upperside of the base member has a raised land region 58 containing eight through-holes 60 whose upper ends are counterbored at 45 , as best seen in Fig. 20. Extending radially from the centre of the upper land surface 58 are eight radial grooves 62 disposed centrally between each pair of adjacent holes 60, respectively.

The body member 50 is of basically tubular configuration having eight radially outwardly extending ribs 64 on its outer surface. These ribs are each longitudinally slotted over almost their whole length, but for small unslotted regions 64a at their lower ends.

The underside of the unslotted regions 64a contain respective recesses 66 for engaging over respective projections 68 on the base member 52 to locate the body member on the base member precisely at a predetermined relative angular orientation.

The cap member 54 has a projecting land portion 70 for engaging in the top endZof the tubular body member, a precise angular orientation between those parts being achieved by means of a plurality of recesses 72 on the underside of the cap member which engage over the ribs 64 of the body member, respectively.

Extending through the land 70 are eight through-holes 74 whose upper ends are counterbored at 45", as best seen in Fig. 16.

In use, the-body 50 is located on the base member 52, layers of meat or meat and vegetables are placed into the body 50, and the cap 54 is then applied to the top of the body. - A solid metal spiked rod (not shown) is then inserted in turn into each of the holes in the cap 54 and pressed through the food matter in the body 50 until it engages through a respective aligned hole 60 in the base. Eight passages are thereby created through the food matter by the rnd to enable respective wooden skewers 76 to be inserted when the rod has been removed.Thus, one arrives at the situation where a respective wooden skewer 76 extends through each hole in the cap member and through the food matter, with the bottom ends of these skewers engaging the eight holes 60 in the base member, respectively.

The cap member 54 is then withdrawn from the boy 50 anc' a knife or other cutting blade 80 can then be inserted into diametrically aligned pairs of the slots 82 as shown in Fig. 21 and a cut made through the food matter dcwn to the base member. Four such cuts are sufficient to cut the food matter into eight equal segments, each of which is carried by a respective one of the wooden skewers 76. The body 50 is then lifted off the base to enable access to the food segments on the skewers.

In both embodiments, the number of hcles in the bse and cap members can be more or less thcn eight, as desired.

Claims (10)

1. A device for use in the preparation of kebab-type food items, comprising a tubular body having two detachable end members, respectively forming a base tray and a top cap for the tubular body, the cap member containing a plurality of spaced apertures through which respective skewers may be passed to impale food matter when placed in the body, the cap or the body being slotted to allow the passage of a blade means along said body to enable the blade means to cut said food matter into a plurality of segments, each of which is impaled upon a respective one o-f said skewers.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body contains a plurality of pairs of diametrically aligned, longitudinally extending slots which enable a blade means, such as a conventional kitchen knife, to cut food matter in said body into segments.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cap contains a star-shaped array of radial slots which enable the passage into and along the tubular body member of a correspondingly star-shaped blade attachment.

4. A device as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, which includes a solid metal spiked rod which is used to make holes in the food matter prior to the insertion of the skewers.

5. A device as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, which includes a hollow tubular metal skewer inserter which is first pushed through the food matter via the holes in the cap member, a skewer then being inserted via the central bore of the skewer inserter before the latter member is withdrawn to leave the skewer in place in the food matter.

6. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the base member is provided with apertures which are arranged to be aligned with the holes in the cap member for receiving the skewers.

7. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the base' member is provided with blind bores which are arranged to be aligned with the holes in the cap member for receiving the skewers.

8. A device as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein the apertures in the cap member are disposed at equal angular spacings and at equal distances from the longitudinal centre line of the device, the slots in the cap or body member being disposed so that said blade means run equidistantly between adjacent pairs of said holes.

9. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the tubular body is of frusto-conical configuration, being wider at its bottom end than its top end.

10. A device for use in the preparation of kebab-type food items, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.