Enclosed rotisserie with added convenience

• US 6,142,064 A
• Filed: 11/09/1999
• Issued: 11/07/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ronco Holdings Inc. (Ronco Brands, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Alan L. Backus, Ron Popeil
• Inventors: Backus, Alan L., Popeil, Ron
• Primary Examiner(s): Alexander, Reginald L.
• Application Number:
  US09/437,067
• Time in Patent Office: 364 Days
• Field of Search: 99/421 H, 99/421 HH, 99/421 HV, 99/421 P, 99/389, 99/392, 99/395, 99/421 R, 312/323, 312/322, 126/275 R, 126/190, 126/191, 126/194, 126/19 M
• US Class Current: 99/421.00H
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 37/041 with food supports rotating about a horizontal axis A47J37/042 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 37/042 with food supports arranged on wheels or spiders rotating about a horizontal axis
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 37/043 with food supports rotating about a vertical axis
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 37/047 with rotating drums or baskets
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 37/0623 Small-size cooking ovens, i.e. defining an at least partially closed cooking cavity A47J37/0605 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 37/0641 with forced air circulation, e.g. air fryers
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 37/0664 Accessories

Abstract

Enclosed rotisserie with added convenience, including a countertop resting box-like enclosure housing a safety rear mounted heating element and a power rotated dual rod spit assembly. The gear driven spit assembly may be easily inserted and removed straight into and out of the enclosure without need for angling or coupling the assembly to a power drive socket. The spit assembly may also be mounted at various distances from the heating element to decrease cooking times. The open front of the enclosure is from time to time covered by an inclined glass panel door which may be opened in various ways to facilitate food insertion into and removal from the enclosure, and which may be easily removed for cleaning or other purposes. The embodiment'"'"'s design makes efficient use of valuable counter space by recessing back and raising off the countertop its controls. A contained light as well as room light emitted through the inclined glass door illuminate the enclosure'"'"'s interior to make the rotisserie cooking into a taste tempting show. Two countertop supported sizes for the embodiment are suggested, one for larger families and entertaining, and the other for small families and singles.

Claims

1. An improved enclosed rotisserie cooking device with added convenience in loading and unloading foods to be rotisserie cooked, and said device comprising:

a) an enclosure able to rest on a horizontal surface and said enclosure housing a rotisserie spit and said spit supporting and rotating food while being rotisserie cooked in said enclosure,

b) an opening in the perimeter of said enclosure through which food to be rotisserie cooked is introduced into and removed from said enclosure,

c) said opening being covered from time to time by a door and said door having a first axle rod protruding from said door'"'"'s perimeter and a second axle rod protruding from the perimeter of said door and said second axle rod protruding opposite said first axle rod,

d) a first track and a second track each coupled to said enclosure and said first axle rod engaging said first track and said second axle rod engaging said second track such that;

said door may pivot on said first axle rod and said second axle rod to cover said opening, and said door can pivot on said first axle rod and said second axle rod to be disposed below said horizontal surface, and said door may slide on said first axle rod and said second axle rod to be disposed perpendicularly below said rotisserie spit and above said horizontal surface,

whereby food loading and unloading is made more convenient by said door swinging away from said opening to a position below said horizontal surface on which the device is resting or by said door sliding to a position below said rotisserie spit and above said horizontal surface.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein said door is essentially a single pane of glass.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein for cleaning or other purposes and without use of tools, said first axle rod can be disengaged from said first track and said second axle rod can be disengaged from said second track and through the combination of both these disengagements said door can be lifted free of said enclosure for cleaning or other purposes.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein said door is inclined when covering said opening and said door is secured against said opening by gravity, whereby there is no need for a separate latch to secure said door closed and thus assembly and manufacture are simplified.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein said door is essentially rectangular and has two handles used to open and close said door, with one of said two handles located in the upper left corner of the essentially rectangular door and the other said two handles located in the upper right corner of the essentially rectangular door when said door is closed against said opening whereby said two handles increase versatility-of-use and ease-of-use of said device.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein said door is essentially rectangular and has said first axle rod protruding from the lower left corner of the essentially rectangular door and has said second axle rod protruding from the lower right corner of the essentially rectangular door when said door is covering said opening.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein said first track is a unitary piece and includes a handle for lifting said enclosure, whereby multiple functions are accomplished by said rail thus reducing the need for additional parts and simplifying construction.

8. The device of claim 7 further including said unitary piece being extended to prevent the side wall of said enclosure which is opposite said opening from touching a vertical wall, whereby more functions are accomplished by said rail thus reducing the need for additional parts and simplifying construction.

9. An improved enclosed cooking device with added convenience in loading and unloading foods to be cooked, and said device comprising:

a) an enclosure able to rest on a horizontal surface and said enclosure housing food while being cooked in said enclosure,

b) an opening in the perimeter of said enclosure through which food to be cooked is introduced into and removed from said enclosure,

c) said opening being covered from time to time by a door and said door having a first axle rod protruding from said door'"'"'s perimeter and a second axle rod protruding from the perimeter of said door and said second axle rod protruding opposite said first axle rod,

d) a first track and a second track each coupled to said enclosure and said first axle rod engaging said first track and said second axle rod engaging said second track such that;

said door may pivot on said first axle rod and said second axle rod to cover said opening, and said door can pivot on said first axle rod and said second axle rod to be disposed below said horizontal surface, and said door may slide on said first axle rod and said second axle rod to be disposed directly under a rotisserie spit and above said horizontal surface,

whereby food loading and unloading is made more convenient by said door swinging away from said opening to a position below said horizontal surface on which the device is resting or by said door sliding to a position below said rotisserie spit and above said horizontal surface.

10. The device of claim 9 wherein said door is essentially a single pane of glass.

11. The device of claim 9 wherein for cleaning or other purposes, and without use of tools, said first axle rod can be disengaged from said first track and said second axle rod can be disengaged from said second track and through the combination of both these disengagements said door can be lifted free of said enclosure.

12. The device of claim 9 wherein said door is inclined when covering said opening and said door is secured against said opening by gravity, whereby reliability of the door closure is increased by dependence on gravity rather than a mechanical latch.

13. The device of claim 9 wherein said door is essentially rectangular and has two handles which can be used to open and close said door, with one of said two handles located in the upper left corner of the essentially rectangular door and the other said two handles located in the upper right corner of the essentially rectangular door when said door is closed against said opening.

14. The device of claim 9 wherein said door is essentially rectangular and has said first axle rod protruding from the lower left corner of the essentially rectangular door and has said second axle rod protruding from the lower left corner of the essentially rectangular door when said door is covering said opening.

15. The device of claim 9 wherein said first track is a unitary piece and includes a handle for lifting said enclosure.

16. The device of claim 15 further including said unitary piece being extended to prevent the side wall of said enclosure which is opposite said opening from touching a vertical wall when said enclosure is resting on a countertop, whereby safety is increased by the potentially hot said side wall being mechanically blocked by the extended portion of said unitary piece from touching a vertical wall.