WO1997026795A1

WO1997026795A1 - Means for producing very thin kebabs

Info

Publication number: WO1997026795A1
Application number: PCT/FR1997/000137
Authority: WO
Inventors: Roland Noual
Original assignee: Noual, Marc
Priority date: 1996-01-24
Filing date: 1997-01-24
Publication date: 1997-07-31
Also published as: FR2743708B1; FR2743708A1

Abstract

Means for industrially producing kebabs consisting of very thin slices are disclosed. In a preferred embodiment, the means include a substantially box-shaped mould (1) for receiving stacked slices (5) of meat or other foodstuffs; and a guide (7) forming the lid of the mould (1) and defining a straight insertion path for skewers (9). Each of the skewers (9) consists of at least two rigidly interconnected skewering members (10, 11, 12) defining a plane, and the guide (7) consists of a plurality of substantially box-shaped hollow compartments (20) engageable by at least one of the skewering members of the skewers (9).

Description

MEANS FOR PRODUCING VERY LOW THICKNESS SKEWERS

The present invention relates to a means of industrial production of skewers, in particular of meat and / or vegetables or other foodstuffs, consisting of very thin slices.

Skewer devices are already known for preparing skewers of meat and / or other food products. Such devices have been described, in particular, in the document FR-A-2 515 023. They comprise a plurality of tubular pins movable axially and the upper part of which is capable of receiving small rods. The tubular pins can slide axially in a receiving tray provided with holes allowing their passage and the engagement of slices or layers of meat or other food product resting on the receiving tray. These devices further comprise a lower guide plate, a skewering and cutting tank, the side walls of which are provided with vertical slots for the passage of one or more cutting blades. The skewering of the superimposed layers of meat requires considerable effort due to the resistance to perforation of the layers of meat by the ends of the tubular pins.

The tubular pins were therefore given a shape which allows easier skewering. These tubular pins are provided, externally, sharp longitudinal ribs, forming knives, as more particularly described in document FR-A-2 565809.

In document FR-A-2 515 023, a skewering device is described comprising tubular pins movable in sliding through a receiving and guide plate provided with holes allowing the passage of the pins and fixed support rods and eject pins.

Similarly, document FR-A-2 529 444 relates to a machine for the preparation of skewers comprising a mold of substantially parallelepiped shape, having a removable bottom, a tip holder, the tips being located inside the pins and coaxial to these. The machine further comprises a spindle guide comprising a multitude of passage holes uniformly distributed opposite the housings for the spindles in a spindle holder. Cylinders are used to move the spindle holder, the spindle guide and the tip holder.

Devices have also been described making it possible to cook skewers, these devices comprising two parallel spits. Such a device is described in document FR-A-2618999.

All the devices described relate either to devices for cooking kebabs, or to machines making it possible to industrially manufacture kebabs having pieces of relatively large thickness.

These machines for the industrial production of skewers are therefore intended to manufacture skewers which, in the final state, are composed of pieces having a thickness of at least 1 cm, at know substantially equal to their width or their length, the pieces thus obtained being cubic or parailélépipèdiques.

Furthermore, the skewers currently on the market are generally intended to be cooked on a stick, then to be separated from the cooking sticks and eaten piece by piece.

An object of the invention is to industrially manufacture skewers, the fine pieces of which can be consumed, after baking and disengaging the spits, between slices of bread, like sandwiches.

The pieces of these skewers must therefore have a thickness of the order of 1 to 2 mm, thickness comparable to that of the slices of ham or sausage which are introduced into conventional sandwiches.

When it is desired to manufacture such skewers industrially using the known devices described above, it is stacked with slices of meat or other foodstuffs in the bottom of a mold, and the meat stack is spit using pins.

A problem then arises due to the thinness of the slices of meat or other foodstuffs: pins of large diameter, for example more than 1 to 2 mm, cannot be used, like the pins used in the devices of the technique anterior. Indeed, if the pins are too large, they will tear the meat. We therefore thought of using metal pins whose diameter is at most 1 mm.

However, if a spindle with a diameter of this order of magnitude is used, the spindle tends to bend or bend, because the smaller its diameter, the more flexible it is.

Document FR-A-2 618 999 has described pins used for roasting or grilling pieces of meat or vegetables such as tomatoes, onions, peppers, etc. These pins allow the skewers to be turned without difficulty during the cooking. Indeed, for large pieces of meat or other foodstuffs, when the spit rotates around its axis, during cooking, the food rotates due to its weight, and only one side remains exposed to heat, which causes faulty cooking. The spindle described in this document consists of two cylindrical skewers, parallel, spaced about 7 mm and of circular section.

A disadvantage of such a device is that the pins are intended to be used manually, namely that they serve to skewer the food pieces one after the other, then, when the skewer is formed, it is placed in an oven for the cooking. Such a device cannot be used for the industrial production of skewers, because the pins are too flexible. In addition, they cannot be used for the production of skewers made of thin slices of food, for example with a thickness of 1 to 2 mm.

Thus, an object of the invention is to provide a means of industrial manufacture of skewers consisting of very thin slices, the pins used do not tear the meat and / or the foodstuffs and, moreover, being sufficiently rigid so that the path along which each spit enters the interior of the meat is sufficiently precise.

Another object of the invention is to provide a means of industrial manufacture of skewers consisting of very thin slices, the pins being introduced into foodstuffs according to a determined trajectory.

The means according to the invention comprises a mold substantially in the form of a tower having side walls and a bottom, the mold being intended to receive the superimposed slices of meat or other foodstuffs, and a guide forming a lid of the mold to determine a straight path of the pins.

According to one aspect of the invention, the pins each consist of at least one skewer element, and the guide for determining the trajectory of the pins consists of a plurality of hollow boxes, the number of which is at least equal to the number of pins used, each box forming a guide element of the pins and cooperating with at least one of the plugging elements of the pins.

The various boxes of the guide can, at least partially be integral with each other.

Preferably, but not necessarily, the mold and / or the guide have a substantially parallelepiped shape.

One of the functions of the pins is to give the assembly sufficient rigidity so that the trajectory of the latter through the mass of the superimposed sections is determined and is substantially parallel to at least one of the lateral faces of the mold. Another The function of such pins is to avoid tearing the meat regardless of the cross-sectional dimensions of the skewer elements.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the bottom of the mold has recesses for receiving the ends of at least one of the plug-in elements of the pins.

Preferably, the skewer element (s) of each spindle determines (s) at least one vertical plane and comes (nen) t substantially in contact with the guide element.

Preferably, the cross section of at least one of the spindle engagement elements is greater than that of at least one other engagement element.

Each of the boxes preferably has a thickness substantially equal to the transverse dimensions of the skewer elements, a width sufficient to bear laterally on at least one side wall of the mold or of an adjacent box, and, for example, a height about a third or a quarter of the useful length of the spindle to guide it.

In a preferred embodiment, the pins have an odd number of skewers equal to or greater than three. In this case, the useful length of the central skewer element is preferably greater than the useful length of the other skewer elements, so that one end of the central skewer element cooperates with a hollow corresponding reception provided in the bottom of the mold. According to this embodiment of the invention, the central skewing element is straight, while the other elements comprise a straight working part, distant from the central element, an opposite end secured to the central element and a junction part connecting them.

At least one guide rail for the pins is provided in each of the boxes, the guide rail being constituted by a vertical projection made on a vertical face of the box. The vertical face opposite the rail can then be at least partially removed, the vertical face comprising the guide rail of the adjacent box or the mold itself then closing the box.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the projection extends towards the outside of the box and substantially affects, in section, the shape of the part of one of the skewering elements which has to cooperate with it.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the projection extends towards the inside of the box, the skewer element cooperating with it then having a longitudinal groove into which the projection penetrates.

Finally, the dimensions of the boxes are such that they can be removed from the means as soon as the pins have been put in place.

The invention will be better understood, and other objects, advantages and characteristics thereof will appear more clearly on reading the following description of preferred embodiments given without limitation and to which two drawing plates are appended. on which : Figure 1 is a perspective view of the mold of a means according to the invention.

Figure 2 is a view of a spindle according to the invention.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of two boxes constituting the guide for pins according to the invention.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a box according to the invention.

Figure 5 is a partial top view of the box of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a top view of yet another embodiment of a box according to the invention.

Referring now to the Figures, there is shown, schematically and in perspective, a preferred means for the industrial production of skewers of very thin slices of meat and / or other foodstuffs in accordance with the invention.

In Figure 2, the spindle described here includes three skewering elements, but it could include another number (one, two, four or five for example).

The means described and shown in Figure 1 comprises a mold 1 in the form of a substantially parallelepiped tower. This mold has two front walls 2, two side walls 3, a bottom 4. In known manner, the mold 1 is intended to receive horizontally the superimposed slices of meat or other foodstuffs. These slices 5 are introduced through the upper opening of the mold 1. The latter is provided, on the front faces 2, in a conventional manner, with vertical slots 6, for example parallel to the side walls 3 of the mold 1. These slots are intended the introduction of a knife to cut the meat properly.

The mold 1 is provided with a movable guide 7 which forms a removable cover of the mold and which determines the rectilinear trajectory of the pins. This cover will be described in more detail later.

The fixed bottom 4 is provided with recesses (not shown) for receiving the ends 8 of the pins 9. The pins 9 are, in the embodiment shown in Figure 2, each consisting of three skewering elements 10, 11, 12 integral with each other and arranged substantially in the same plane. The central skewer element 11 preferably has a cross section greater than that of the other two skewers 10 and 12. For example, the section of the central skewer element 11 is a circle, having a diameter β greater than the diameter d. of the other two sections of the plug-in elements 10, 12. In an exemplary embodiment, Q is equal to approximately 5 or 6 mm and d to approximately 4 mm.

More preferably, the central skewer element 11 has a useful length L slightly greater than the useful length 1 of the other two skewer elements 10, 12. Thus, one end of the central skewer element 11 is capable of cooperating with a hollow corresponding reception made in the bottom 4 of the mold 1. By the expression "useful length" is meant the length over which the slices can be skewered, except for the handle, etc.

According to an embodiment of the invention, central element 11 is rectilinear, while the other elements 10, 12 comprise a rectilinear useful part 13, 14, distant from central element 11, an opposite end 15, 16 secured to central element 11 and a junction part 17, 18 inclined with respect to the central element 11 and connecting the two.

According to the invention, the movable guide 7 for determining the trajectory of the pins 9 consists of a plurality of boxes having a shape cooperating with that of the mold, and, here, substantially parallelepipedic 19, 20, ..., as shown in Figure 3. The boxes 19, 20 are placed relatively side by side.

Each box has front walls 21, 22, side walls 23, 24. The height of the boxes is around a third or a quarter of the useful length of the skewering elements. In one embodiment, the height of the boxes is approximately 8 cm, for a mold of 25 cm to 32 cm of useful height approximately. Obviously, these dimensions are given here purely by way of illustration.

According to the invention, in a vertical face of each of the boxes 20, at least one guide rail is formed which is formed, for example, by a projection 25.

This projection 25 affects, in section, substantially the shape of the part of the central skewer element 11 which must cooperate with it. According to the embodiment shown in Figure 3, the vertical projection 25 extends towards the outside of the box 20 and has, in section, a semi-cylindrical shape, its longitudinal axis being located in a plane parallel to the side walls 3 of the mold 1. The central skewer element, of corresponding circular section, is thus guided in sliding by the projection, as seen in FIG. 5.

According to the embodiment shown in Figure 4, the vertical projection 25 has, in section, a rectangular shape, central skewer element 11 then having a corresponding rectangular or square shape in section.

As seen more particularly in Figure 4 or

5, the thickness e of a box 20 is substantially equal to the transverse dimensions of the skewering elements 10, 11 12, a width J sufficient to bear laterally on a side wall of the mold 1, and a height h _. substantially of the order of magnitude of a quarter of the useful length of the spindle 9, so as to guide the spindle.

Because the spindle 9 has at least one skewer element which slides in the housing formed by the projection 25, the spindle is perfectly guided along a vertical axis, for example located in a plane parallel to the side walls of the mold 1. It there is then no movement of the spindle, neither to the right, nor to the left.

Preferably, the projection 25 extends towards the outside of the box 20, as seen in Figures 3 and 4. However, as seen in Figure 6, the projection 25 can also extend towards inside the box 20. In this case, the central skewer element 11 has a longitudinal groove (not shown) into which the projection 25 penetrates.

The operation of the embodiment according to the invention is as follows:

A piece of meat or other foodstuffs are introduced into the mold 1 through the upper open face thereof. This piece of meat is pre-cut into thin horizontal slices, about 1 to 2 mm thick, or more.

The movable guide 7 is then placed above the piece of meat in the mold, this guide being movable in vertical translation in the mold 1. This movable guide 7 slides, for example, using slides not shown in the Figures . It has a sufficient width to bear laterally on at least one side wall of the mold. The guide may favorably, but not necessarily, come to rest on the piece of meat to properly maintain the latter during the penetration of the skewering elements.

The pins 9 are then made to penetrate vertically, guiding them by means of the projections 25 made in the boxes 19,

20 of the movable guide 7. The pins penetrate to the bottom of the mold and come to be embedded in the corresponding receiving hollow possibly provided in the bottom of the mold.

Then or beforehand, using vertically movable cutting blades guided in the vertical slots 6 formed in the side walls of the mold 1, the meat is cut to the desired side dimensions. The movable guide 7 is then removed by sliding it upwards, then the skewers are removed by also pulling them upwards out of the mold 1 by means of the pins.

The skewers can then be cooked in a conventional manner, which is facilitated by the regular size of the different pieces thus cut of meat or equivalent.

Although it has been shown and described what is currently considered to be the preferred embodiments of the present invention, it is obvious that the skilled person can make various changes and modifications without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined. below.

For example, in particular when the spindle has only two skewing elements, but also with a spindle with three or more skewing elements, provision may be made for the boxes 20 forming a guide 7 to have a projection 25 at each of their ends for cooperate with the external skewers.

Likewise, if the spindle has several skewers, several parallel projections 25 may be provided to cooperate each with at least one corresponding skewer.

In addition, the projections 25 described have a semi-cylindrical or semi-rectangular cross-sectional shape. Of course, when

Skewer element is flat or otherwise, the projections assume a corresponding shape. The same is true if the spindle has only one skewer element of planar shape. The boxes 20 may also be integral with each other. However, it remains desirable that a knife blade can be introduced between them to promote the cutting of the meat.

For example also, when the mold assumes the shape of a round, oval or equivalent section tower, the external face of the movable guide 7 and / or of the boxes 20 may favorably assume a corresponding shape so as to bear on the side wall of the mold. It is however desirable that the mold tower has a section of simple shape, as will be easily understood.

Thus, the external shape of the movable guide 7 is determined by the shape of the mold, while the internal shape of the boxes is determined by that of the pins.

Each box 20 can be constituted by a plurality of superposed laminated layers each having a reduced thickness so as to be able to vary the height of the guide element according to the actual need for guidance. In this case, it is possible to provide either a spacer or an elastic or equivalent means between two successive layers separated by a determined distance at rest. Thus, during the installation of a spindle, the upper layer can be caused to move towards the lower layer with the spindle so as to favor the guiding of the spindle. Obviously, each layer of the same box does not necessarily have the same shape (internal and / or external) as the adjacent layer.

Similarly, each box or box layer may have an open wall as soon as this wall does not constitute a guide element. A wall of an adjacent box or the internal wall of the mold itself then constitutes the required guide element. Two layers of such a box 20 arranged at a minimum distance Tune of the other thus determine a vertical guide reference for the pins.

We have therefore clearly determined a means of producing very thin skewers which makes it possible to overcome the drawbacks of known devices, in particular as regards the guiding of the pins. Associated with a conventional cooking means, pieces of meat and / or foodstuffs of regular shape are obtained which can be easily placed between slices of bread to form sandwiches.

Claims

1. Means of industrial production of skewers consisting of very thin slices, comprising: a mold (1) substantially in the form of a tower having side walls and a bottom, the said mold being intended to receive slices (5) superimposed on meat or other foodstuffs; and a guide (7) forming a cover of said mold (1) for determining a rectilinear trajectory of the pins (9); characterized in that said pins (9) each consist of at least one skewer element (10, 11, 12), and that said guide (7) for determining the trajectory of the pins

(9) consists of a plurality of hollow boxes (20) the number of which is at least equal to the number of pins (9), each box (20) forming a guide element of the pins (9) and cooperating with at least one of the skewer elements of said pins (9).

2. Means according to claim 1, characterized in that said boxes (20) are, at least partially, integral with each other.

3. Means according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said mold (1) and / or said guide (7) affects (s) a substantially parallelepiped shape.

4. Means according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the bottom (4) of said mold (1) has recesses for receiving the ends of at least one of said plug-in elements of said pins (9) .

5. Means according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the skewer element (s) (11) of said pins (9) determines (s) at least one vertical plane and comes (nen) t to bear on said guide element.

6. Means according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the skewing elements (11) of said pins (9) are at least two in number and that the cross section of one of them is larger than that of at least one other of said skewering elements (10, 12).

7. Means according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each of said boxes (20) has a thickness substantially equal to the transverse dimensions of said skewering elements (10, 11, 12), a width sufficient to bear laterally on at least one side wall of said mold (1) or of an adjacent box.

8. Means according to claim 7, characterized in that the height of each of said boxes (20) is around one third or one quarter of the useful length of said spindle (9) to guide it.

9. Means according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the useful length of at least one skewer element (11) is greater than the useful length of the other skewer elements (10, 12), so as to what a end of this skewer element (11) cooperates with a corresponding receiving recess provided in the bottom (4) of said mold (1).

10. Means according to claim 9, characterized in that said pin (9) comprises an odd number of substantially parallel skewers, number equal to or greater than three.

11. Means according to claim 10, characterized in that the central skewer element (11) is rectilinear, while the other elements (10, 12) comprise a rectilinear useful part (13, 14), distant from the central element, a opposite end (15, 16) secured to said central element (11) and a junction part (17, 18) connecting the two.

12. Means according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one guide rail of said pins is formed in each of said boxes (20), said guide rail being constituted by a projection (25) formed on a vertical face of said box (20).

13. Means according to claim 12, characterized in that said projection (25) extends towards the outside of said box (20) and affects, in section, substantially the shape of the part of the skewering element (11 ) to cooperate with it.

14. Means according to claim 12, characterized in that said projection (25) extends towards the inside of said box (20), said skewer element (11) cooperating with it having a corresponding longitudinal groove in which penetrates said projection (25).

15. Means according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the dimensions of said boxes (20) are such that they can be removed from said means as soon as the pins (9) have been put in place.

16. Means according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each box (20) consists of a plurality of superimposed laminated layers each having a reduced thickness.

17. Means according to claim 16, characterized in that two layers of a said box (20) determine a vertical guide frame of said pins (9).

18. Means according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that two adjacent layers of said box (20) are vertically separated by a distance determined at rest by a spacer, an elastic means or equivalent, so that, when the introduction of a spindle, the upper layer can be caused to move towards the lower layer with the spindle to favor the guiding of the spindle.