NZ554406A - A rotisserie spit comprising a food cage - Google Patents

Abstract

An attachment for a spit rod of a rotisserie spit for use in cooking foods is disclosed. The attachment comprises a cylindrical cage 200 which is mountable to the spit. The cage can be loaded with products to be cooked via an access opening 210 at one end of the cylinder. The access opening can be closed allowing the products to be cooked with a tumbling action upon rotation of the spit.

Description

554406 NEW ZEALAND 5 5 4 406 PATENTS ACT 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION This specification is divided out of New Zealand Patent Specification 543624 (hereinafter referred to as "that invention") Davies Collison Cave Reference: 30207264 APPLICANT(S) Rhett Linton Thompson 220 Dore Road, Nar Nar Goon, Victoria 3812, Australia My/Our contact address is: DAVIES COLLISON CAVE 1 Nicholson Street G.P.O. Box 4387 Melbourne 3000 Victoria, AUSTRALIA Telephone: 61 3 9254 2777 Facsimile 61 3 9254 2770 Email: mail@davies.com.au My/Our address for service is: DAVIES COLLISON CAVE c/- James & Wells Level 9, James & Wells Tower 56 Cawley Street Private Bag 11907 DX CP 34005 Ellerslie Auckland NEW ZEALAND INVENTION TITLE: "A rotisserie spit" We/I, Rhett Linton Thompson hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed to be particularly described in and by the following statement: Q:\OPER\RSH\Jan 07 - June 07\30207264-NZDIV-94.doc - 5/4/07 intellectual property office of n.z.

APR 2007 RECEIVPn P;NO?ERMiSH\3O2O7264-NZDrV-2resp.d0c-O4/O6'2OO9 554406 -l - A rotisserie spit This present invention relates to a rotisserie spit and to attachments for such a spit.

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.

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.

According to the invention, there is provided 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 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 20 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 providing a lid for loading and unloading of product. intellectual property office of n.z. 0 8 JUN 2009 RECEIVED P;lv0PERSRSHV302072&4-NZDIV-2rcsp.doc-04/06'2009 554406 Further 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 bearings 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 5 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 spit rod, 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 wall 10 having at the other axial end a lid whereby the product to be cooked can be loaded into the cage via that end and the product within the cage can be cooked with a tumbling action upon rotation of the spit rod.

The present invention will be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with 15 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; 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 bracket; Figure 6 is a perspective view of a preferred form of food-engaging skewer mountable on the spit rod; and intellectual propertv OFFICE OF N.Z 0 8 JUN 2009 RECEIVED P:\OPEB\RSH\3M07264-N2DIV-rMp.doc-f 1/0S/20C(8 554406 This page has been left intentionally blank. intellectual property office of n.z. - 6 AUG 2008 RECEIVED P:\OP ERVRSH\30207264-NZDIV.dOC-05/04/2007 554406 Figure 7 is a side view of an attachment mountable on the spit rod for use in cooking vegetables.

A portable rotisserie spit 10 for cooking food over a heat source is shown in an 5 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) 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 10 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 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 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 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 P:\OPER\RSH\30207264-NZDIV doc-05/04/2007 554406 or inserts 36 attached to the housing 32. Advantageously, the plates or inserts 34 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 5 materials, for example.

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 10 spaced portions 46 and 48 of the rod 12. The rod 12 is able to be to removably 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 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 20 minimise frictional force inhibiting rotation of the spit rod 12.

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 P:\OP ER\RSK\30207264-NZDlV.doc-05/04/20©7 554406 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 drive the spit rod 12.

To prevent the rod 12 inadvertently releasing from the carrier bracket 16 when the 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.

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 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 20 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.

P;\OPER\RSH\30207264-NZD!V.doc-05/04/2Q07 554406 A clamp 66, the position of which is able to be adjusted up and down the support 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 5 elevated above a heat source.

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 10 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.

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 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 P:\OPER\RSH\30207264-NZDi V.doc*0SA)4/2O07 554406 ;-8- ;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. ;5 The support post 18 is driven into the ground adjacent the hot coals using a 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 10 circular apertures 54 and 56 of the carrier bracket 16 receiving the upper end 64 therethrough, and the carrier bracket 16 lowered down the post 18 until it rests on the clamp 66. ;One or more pieces of meat (not shown), or other type of food as desired, are then 15 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. ;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 20 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 reference to Figure 5, the rod 12 is held at an angle so that the rod 12 is ;P:\OPER\SSH\30207264-NZDIV.doc-05/04/2007 ;554406 ;-9- ;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 5 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 10 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. 15 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. ;As the rotating meat cooks above the coals, flammable fat or oil may drip from the 20 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 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 ;P:\OPER\RSH\30207264-NZDlV.<loc-05/04/2007 ;554406 ;-10- ;resume normal cooking. ;The elevation of the meat above the hot coals is also able to be controlled by raising or lowering the clamp 66 on the post 18 to control the rate at which the 5 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. ;10 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 above the hot coals. In consequence, a person carving meat from off the spit rod 15 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 conveniently swung away from the hot coals, whereby the meat is able to be 20 safely carved from off the spit rod 12. ;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 ;P:\OPER\RSH\30207264-NZDI V.doc-G5/04/200? ;554406 ;-11 - ;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 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 5 easy transport of the disassembled spit 10. ;The rotisserie spit 10 may carry food-engaging skewers for preventing the movement of food held by the rod 12. ;10 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 threaded screw. This conventional type skewer is relatively expensive to manufacture, and the screw by which the collar is secured can sometimes be 15 difficult to tighten and loosen and, is easily lost. ;With reference to Figure 6, a preferred form of the skewer comprises a spring 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 20 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 prongs 104 and 106 are formed from the two end portions 112 and 114 of the wire ;P:\QPER\RSH\3QW264--NZPlV.doe-0 5/04/2007 ;554406 ;-12- ;extending from the coil spring 110. ;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 rotating the collar 102 about the axis of the rod 12. ;To facilitate the squeezing together of the prongs 104 and 106 against the 10 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 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). ;15 ;In contrast to a conventional skewer, the skewer 100 which is simply formed by 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 20 simpler to use. ;The skewer 100 can also be used in a conventional form of rotisserie spit. ;P:\OPER\RSH*50207264-PJZDIV-2resp.doe-04/M/2009 554406 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 shown it is formed by wire mesh. The cage is closed at its inner and outer ends 5 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 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 10 suitable fastening which in the form shown is a spring clip 212 engaged with the end cap 204.

When this attachment is used, vegetables can be cooked on the spit with a tumbling action within the cage to ensure uniformity of cooking.

The foregoing describes a form of the present invention and modifications can be made without departing from the scope from the invention. intellectual property office of n.z. 0 8 JUN 2009 RECEIV E D P:\OPER\RSH\30207264-NZDFVdooOS/04/2007 554406 Throughout the specification, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood 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 the common general knowledge in Australia.

Claims (7)

P:\OPER\RS HS30207264-NZDIV'-2resp.doc-04/06/2009 554406 - .15- THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. 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.

2. An attachment according to claim 1, wherein the cylindrical wall of the cage is formed by a wire mesh and the closure at each end is formed by a cap attached to the cylindrical wall. 15

3. A rotisserie spit including a spit rod for supporting food, a carrier bracket for mounting the spit rod in cantilever fashion by bearings 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 20 to the spit rod for driving the spit rod, and an attachment selectively mountable to the spit rod, 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. 601 goporylly intellectual property office of n.z. 0 8 JUN 2009 RECEIVED axial with the

4. P:VOPER\RSH\3Q207264-NZDIV-2resp.

5. A rotisserie spit according to claim 4, wherein the skewer is formed from a length of spring wire, the collar being formed in the manner of a coil spring having 15 at least one turn and the two prongs being formed by end portions of the wire extending from the coil spring.

6. A rotisserie spit according to claim 5, wherein the prongs are provided with respective ear portions extending transversely from the prongs for engagement 20 between the thumb and forefinger of the hand, and the ear portions are formed by bending the wire from which the skewer is formed.

7. An attachment for a spit rod of a rotisserie spit for use in cooking foods, the intellectual property office of n.z. 0 8 JUN 2009 RECEIVED P;ttPER\RSHU02072«-NZDIV-2r^.aocW0M009 554406 - 17- attachment comprising a tubular cage substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 7 of the accompanying drawings. intellectual property office of n.z. 0 8 JUN 2009 RECEIVED