APPARATUS FOR PREPARING SKEWERS FOR FOOD PRODUCTS
DESCRIPTION
Technical field The present invention relates to an apparatus for preparing skewers for food products.
In the sector of catering, in particular catering based on fish products, one of the major sources of expenses consists in the remuneration of staff.
Indeed, while on the one hand it is normal that the most skilled and expert chefs should be well-paid and that service or cleaning staff must be hired - albeit at not such a high cost - it is not so obvious that all the stages involved in the preparation of food products ready for serving should require the use of manual labour. Background art
With reference to the preparation of skewers for food products intended for immediate consumption or for large- scale distribution, based on fish, fruit and vegetables or salads, hitherto techniques for the preparation thereof other than manual techniques are not known.
The procedure for said preparation is well-known: after selecting the slices or cut of the product or products from which the skewers are to be made, said products are cut into pieces of the desired size and pierced, one piece at a time, with a skewer or a stick
before being cooked or directly served as in the case of skewers for fruit or cold-cuts. In certain cases, moreover, such as for example skewers of ham or cuttlefish, the parts on the skewer assume a curled shape, which must also be achieved manually.
It can be appreciated how much work of a certain qualitative nature is necessary, in particular in large restaurants or centres which supply wholesale distributors, where food products ready for freezing must also be prepared.
Disclosure of the invention The object of the present invention, therefore, is that of eliminating the abovementioned drawbacks. This is achieved by means of an apparatus which avoids the need for manual preparation - one piece at a time - of the skewers. The main advantage obtained by means of the present invention consists in the fact that a lot of time is saved as regards preparation of the skewers, since the activity of the personnel is reduced to that of merely positioning the pieces of food product in suitable receiving seats.
Moreover, with the invention it is possible to provide both skewers composed of a single food product or various products as well as skewers for pieces of product which must be curled, such as ham or cuttlefish. Finally, the end product is perfectly standardized and
is therefore suitable for large-scale distribution and for freezing.
Brief description of the drawings
Further advantages and characteristic features of the invention will emerge more clearly from the detailed description which follows, with reference to the accompanying drawings which show a non-limiting example of embodiment thereof, in which:
- Figures 1 and la show a plan and front view of a first embodiment of the invention, at the start of use;
- Figures 2, 3, 3a, 4 and 4a show three plan views in sequence of the above embodiment of the invention, and two front views relating to the latter two plan views;
- Figure 5 shows a front view of the abovementioned embodiment of the invention, at the end of use;
- Figures 6, 6a, 6b and 7 show, respectively, a perspective view, a front view and a side view of a second embodiment of the invention, at the start of use, and a plan view during use thereof; - Figures 8, 8a, 9, 10, 10a, 11, 11a and 12 show, respectively, a plan view and a front view of a third embodiment of the invention, at the start of use, as well as a sequence of three plan views during use thereof, with two front views relating to the latter two plan views, and a front view at the end of use thereof.
Detailed description of the preferred embodiment (s) The invention shown in the figures consists of an apparatus for preparing skewers for food products: it comprises a base (1), provided with reference seats (2) for positioning pieces (3) of food products and openings (4) for inserting empty skewers or sticks (5) , and a cover (6) , which is movable with respect to the base (1) and is provided with means (7) for keeping the pieces (3) of food products in position so that the pieces (3) are unable to move while they are pierced by a skewer or a stick (5) .
Since the food products are of various types, the figures illustrate various embodiments of the apparatus in question, depending on the type of products: the first two embodiments are suitable for providing skewers for a single type of product, although are different from each other, while the third embodiment is suitable for providing skewers for products of a differing type and consists of a combination of the first two embodiments.
Figures 1 and 4 relate to the case where the skewers are composed exclusively of food products which must assume, when are pierced on a skewer or stick (5) , a wavy shape, such as, for example, strips of cuttlefish or ham.
In this case, the base (1) and the cover (6) each comprise a frame (21;26) and a series of slats (11;16), the adjacent slats (11; 16) in each of the two series being
hinged together so as to allow each complete series of slats (11;16) to perform a concertina movement.
Both the frame (21) of the base (1) and the frame (26) of the cover (6) comprise guides (lb, 6b) allowing sliding of one end (11a, 16a) of the slats (11,16) so that this end (11a, 16a) always remains attached, respectively, to the frame (21) of the base (1) and to the frame (26) of the cover (6) during the concertina movement.
Moreover, the apparatus comprises pushing means (8) which are able to move the series of slats (11; 16) of the base (1) and the cover (6) so as to cause them to pass from a first flat position, where each set of slats (11; 16) lies in one plane, to a second crimped position, where the slats
(11; 16) in the same series lie in different planes, and vice versa so as to cause them to move in the opposite direction.
In the example shown, the pushing means (8) comprise a shaped handle (8a) which is rigidly attached to a slat (11) of the base (1) in such a way as to produce the movement of all the hinged slats (11,16).
Generally, the means (7) for keeping the pieces (3) of food products in position comprise surfaces (7a) which are shaped so as to complement the reference seats (2) .
In this embodiment, the reference seats (2) of the base (1) comprise flat surface portions (2a) on which the
pieces (3) of food products are arranged and which are situated straddling two adjacent slats (11) in the zone which, during the concertina movement, forms the crest of the crimped shape. Here, openings (4) for inserting the skewer or stick (5) are also formed; the shaped surfaces (7a) comprise corresponding flat surfaces (7a') of two adjacent slats (16) of the cover (6) . Obviously, in order to keep the pieces (3) of food products in position, the surfaces (7a1) are completely solid, while openings (9) for inserting the skewer (5) are staggered with respect to those of the base (1) : in other words, if the openings (4) of the base (1) are located on the crests, the openings (9) of the cover (6) are located on the grooves of the crimped shape which is formed following the concertina movement. This allows the cover (6) to be raised, leaving the skewer in position: in fact, if we consider Figures 1 to 4, it can be noted that, with the cover (6) still open
(Figures 1 and la), the pieces (3) of food products should be positioned in their reference seats (2) on the base (1) ; then, the cover (6) is lowered (Figure 2) and the pushing means (8) are operated so as to move in concertina fashion both the slats (11) of the base (1) and the slats (16) of the cover (6) (Figures 3 and 3a) . Once the movement has been completed, the skewer or stick (5) is inserted through the openings (4;9) of the slats (11;16), piercing the
pieces (3) of food products which are kept in position by the interaction of the flat surfaces (2a, 7a') situated on the slats (11; 16) of the base (1) and cover (6) (Figures 4 and 4a) . At the end of the operation, the cover (6) is raised without interfering with the skewer, owing to the abovementioned positioning of the associated openings (9), and the finished skewer is able to be extracted easily (Figure 5) .
Figures 6 to 7, on the other hand, relate to a constructional form which is intended for the preparation of skewers where the pieces (3) of food products retain on the skewer (5) the same shape which they have at the time of positioning in the reference seats (2) of the base (1): this is the case for the vast majority of products, such as, for example, prawns, sausages, all kinds of fruit, cheeses, etc.
The main difference with respect to the embodiment previously described consists in the fact that the reference seats (2) of the base (1) comprise recesses (2b) into which the pieces (3) of food products are inserted and the shaped surfaces (7a) comprise projecting surfaces (7a'') which can be inserted partially into the recesses (2b) .
The operating principle can be easily deduced and is similar to that already described: after the pieces (3) of
food products have been inserted into the recesses (2b) , the cover (6) is closed and the projecting surfaces (7a'') occupy partially the recesses (2b) so as to prevent movement of the pieces of food (3) . Then the skewers or sticks (5) are inserted into the openings (4) so as to pierce the pieces of food (3) , following which the cover (6) is raised in order to extract the ready skewer.
Obviously, depending on the food products, the recesses (2b), and consequently the projecting surfaces (7a11), may have a different shape and size, without this thereby modifying the procedure for preparing the skewers and the essential features of the apparatus.
Finally, Figures 8 to 12, show a third embodiment which is intended for the case where the skewers must be prepared with pieces (3) of food products of the first and second type together.
As can be noted in Figures 8 and 8a, in this case only one portion (la) of the base (1) and a corresponding portion (6a) of the cover (6) are composed of slats (11; 16) hinged together; the slats (11) of the base (1) are alternated with rows of recesses (2b) for containing pieces
(3) of food products, such as prawns or sausages, which must not modify their shape when they are arranged on the skewer, and the slats (16) of the cover (6) are alternated with projecting surfaces complementing the cavity of the
recesses (2b) .
The operating principle of this embodiment is similar to that of the first embodiment described: as can be seen in Figures 10 and 10a, at the end of the action of the pushing means (8) , the concertina movement of the slats (11; 16) causes a simple displacement of the rows of recesses (2b) which are covered by the projecting surfaces (7a'') of the cover (6), without altering in any way the form thereof. In the embodiments which envisage the use of hinged slats (11,16), it is also possible to use, instead of them, two sheets (31,36) which are respectively associated with the base (1) and the cover (6) and can be folded in concertina fashion and are made of suitable plastic or non- plastic material.
Said sheets (31,36) are in the form of a flat surface which is milled or in any case has incisions alternately on its top and bottom side, so that it can be folded along the milled zones following the action of the pushing means (8) on one of its ends. As can be seen in Figures 1, la, 3,
3a, 4, 4a, the sheets (31,36) assume exactly the same function and the same form as the slats (11,16), but avoiding the use of the hinges which connect the slats
(11,16) together. The invention thus conceived may be subject to
numerous modifications and variations, all of which fall within the scope of the inventive idea. Moreover all the details may be replaced by technically equivalent elements. In practice, modifications and improvements nevertheless falling within the scope of the following claims are obviously possible.