Abstract:
A flair-up resistant front loading roasting system for roasting large quantities safely with a reduced potential for grease induced flair-ups during cooking. The system includes a roasting enclosure adapted for receiving meat to be roasted. The roasting enclosure has a bottom wall, back wall, front wall, pair of side walls, and a door. The side walls taper from the top of the back wall downwardly to a top of the front wall. The door has a top door front wall and a pair of side walls. With the door closed the roasting enclosure has a generally rectangular cross section. A rotating assembly is operationally coupled to the roasting enclosure. A shaft member removably engaged by the rotating assembly. The shaft member is used to pierce and hold at least one piece of meat to be roasted. At least one burner is positioned within the roasting enclosure.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
   This application is a substitute application for utility patent application Ser. No. 08/796,794 abandoned. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to gas fired ovens and more particularly pertains to a new flair-up resistant front loading roasting system for roasting large quantities safely with a reduced potential for grease induced flair-ups during cooking. 
   2. Description of the Prior Art 
   The use of gas fired ovens or cooking devices is known in the prior art. Known prior art Cooking Devices include U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,856; U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,523; U.S. Design Patent 349,419; U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,093; U.S. Pat. No. 4,510,854 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,373,778. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The system includes a roasting enclosure adapted for receiving meat to be roasted. The roasting enclosure has a bottom wall, back wall, front wall, pair of side walls, and a door. The side walls taper from the top of the back wall downwardly to a top of the front wall. The door has a top door front wall and a pair of side walls. With the door closed the roasting enclosure has a generally rectangular cross section. A rotating assembly is operationally coupled to the roasting enclosure. A shaft member removably engaged by the rotating assembly. The shaft member is used to pierce and hold at least one piece of meat to be roasted. At least one burner is positioned within the roasting enclosure. 
   There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
   The objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic front view of a new flair-up resistant front loading roasting system according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic side view of the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  is a schematic side view of the present invention. 
       FIG. 4  is a schematic detail view of the rotating means of an embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 5  is a schematic front view of the present invention with the door in an open position. 
       FIG. 6  is a schematic cross-sectional view of the present invention taken along line  6 — 6  of  FIG. 5 . 
       FIG. 7  is a schematic detail view of the linear actuator assembly of the present invention. 
       FIG. 8  is a schematic detail view of the collar guides and carrier bearing of the present invention. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to  FIGS. 1 through 8  thereof, a new flair-up resistant front loading roasting system embodying the principles and concepts of the present invention and generally designated by the reference numeral  10  will be described. 
   As best illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 8 , the flair-up resistant front loading roasting system  10  generally comprises a roasting enclosure  20 , a rotating means  30 , and a shaft member  50 . 
   The roasting enclosure  20  includes a back  21  and a pair of sides  22 , 23 . The roasting enclosure  20  also includes a door  40  for facilitating access to an interior portion of the roasting enclosure  20 . The roasting enclosure  20  includes a pair of apertures. Each one of the apertures extends through an associated one of the sides  22 , 23 . 
   The rotating means  30  is operationally coupled to the roasting enclosure  20 . 
   The shaft member  50  engages the rotating means  30  and is removable. The shaft member  50  includes a proximal end  51  and a distal end  52 . The proximal end  51  may be engaged with the rotating means  30 . The shaft member  50  is positionable substantially within the roasting enclosure  20 . The proximal end  51  extends outwardly through a first one of the apertures. Similarly, the distal end  52  extends outwardly from a second one of the pair of apertures. A heating means  60  is preferably positioned within the roasting enclosure  20 . 
   In an embodiment the roasting enclosure  20  further comprises and interior wall (or shell)  25 , an exterior wall (or shell)  26 , and a quantity of insulating material  27 . The interior wall  25  has a spaced parallel relationship with the exterior wall  26 , and is operationally coupled to the exterior wall  26 . The interior  25  and exterior walls  26  define a wall interior space. The insulating material  27  is positioned within and substantially fills the wall interior space. The insulating material  27  inhibits radiated heat transfer between an interior of the roasting enclosure  20  and an external surface of the exterior wall  26 . 
   The roasting enclosure  20  may also be defined in terms of a bottom wall  28 , back, wall  21 , front wall  29 , pair of side walls  22 , 23 , and a door  24 . The bottom wall  28  provides a base for the roasting enclosure  20 . The bottom wall  28  includes a back edge, a front edge, and a pair of side edges. The back wall  21  is operationally coupled to the bottom wall  28  adjacent to the back edge of the bottom wall  28 . Similarly, the front wall  29  is operationally coupled to the bottom wall  28  adjacent to the front edge of the bottom wall  28 . The front wall  29  has a height less than a height of the back wall  21 . Each one of the pair of side walls  22 ,  23  is operationally coupled to the bottom wall adjacent to an associated one of the side edges of the bottom wall  28 . Each one of the side walls  22 , 23  tapers from the top of the back wall  21  to the top of the front wall  29 . The door  40  is preferably pivotally coupled to the back wall  21 . The door  40  is for selectively opening and closing the roasting enclosure  20 . The back  21 , front  29 , and side walls  22 , 23  and the door  40  each includes an interior wall  25  and an exterior wall  26  with insulating material  27  positioned between the interior  25  and exterior  26 . 
   In an embodiment the door  40  further comprises a top wall  41 , a door front wall  42 , and a pair of door side walls  43 , 44 . The top wall  41  may be pivotally coupled to the back wall  21 . The top wall  41  has a width approximately equal to a width of the bottom wall  28 . The door front wall  42  is coupled to the top wall  41 , and extends from the top wall  41  to a top edge of the front wall  29  when the door  40  is in a closed position. The pair of door side walls  43 , 44  are each operationally coupled to the top wall  41 . Each one of the pair of door side walls  43 ,  44  is positioned adjacent an associated side of the top wall  41 . The pair of door side walls  43 , 44  taper from the top wall  41  to a bottom edge of the door front wall  42 . Preferably, the door  40  is shaped such that the roasting enclosure  20  has a rectangular cross-section when the door  40  is in a closed position. 
   Preferably, the rotating means  30  comprises an electric motor  31  operationally coupled to the roasting enclosure  20 . The electric motor  31  includes a rotating shaft  32  extending therefrom. A drive member  33  may be coupled to the rotating shaft  32 . The drive member  33  facilitates transfer of rotational energy from the rotating shaft  30  to the shaft receiving assembly. A switch member  34  may also be used for selectively applying and interrupting electrical power to the electric motor  31  whereby the electric motor  31  may be turned on and off. 
   In a preferred embodiment, the rotating means  30  causes the shaft member  50  to rotate at nine rpm with a direction of rotation that caused the shaft  50  to rotate downwardly towards the front of the roasting enclosure  20 , and upwardly towards the back of the roasting enclosure  20 . This direction of rotation causes most of the grease dripping from the meat being roasted to drip off at the rear of the roasting enclosure  20  rather than the front, helping to minimize flair-ups. 
   In an embodiment the shaft receiving assembly further comprises a rotating member  58 , a pair of collar members or guides  53 , and a first  55  and second pair of carrier bearings  56 . The rotating member  58  is used for engaging the drive member  33  such that rotation of the rotating shaft  32  moves the drive member  33  which in-turn rotates the rotating member  58 . Each one of the collar guides  53  is positioned adjacent to an associated one of the apertures. Each one of the collar guides  53  facilitates positioning of the shaft member  50  such that the shaft member  50  may be rotated by the rotating member  58 . The first pair of carrier bearing  55  is positioned adjacent to a first one of the apertures for facilitating support and rotation of the shaft member  50 . Similarly, the second pair of carrier bearing  56  is positioned adjacent to a second one of the apertures for facilitating support and rotation of the shaft member  50 . 
   In an embodiment the heating means  60  further comprises at least one gas burner  61 , a gas supply line  62 , a thermostat  63 , and at least one pilot safety control  64 . The burner  61  is preferably positioned in a lower portion of the roasting enclosure  20 . The gas supply line  62  includes a first and second end. The first end is operationally coupled to the burner  61 . The second end extends through a wall of the roasting enclosure to an exterior environment. The second end is couplable to a gas supply. The gas supply may be propane or natural gas and may be either supplied by bottle or through an installed supply line. The thermostat  63  is operationally coupled to the gas supply line  62  for controlling a temperature internal to the roasting enclosure  20 . The pilot safety control  64  is used such that flow of gas through the gas supply line  62  is interrupted if a pilot light is extinguished. 
   A linear actuator assembly  70  is preferably operationally coupled to a side of the roasting enclosure  20  and the door  40 . The linear actuator assembly  70  facilitates opening and closing of the door  40 . 
   In an embodiment the linear actuator assembly  70  further comprises a first coupling member  71  operationally coupled to the door  40 . A second coupling member  72  is operationally coupled to a side of the roasting enclosure  20 . A jacking screw  73  is routed through the first  71  and second coupling members  73  such that rotating the jacking screw  73  in a first direction opens the door  40 , while rotating the jacking screw in a second direction closes the door  40 . A linear actuator drive motor  75  is operationally coupled to the jacking screw  73 . The linear actuator drive motor  75  converts electrical energy into rotational energy. An actuator control switch  76  is operationally coupled to the linear actuator drive motor  75  for controlling rotating and direction of rotation of the linear actuator drive motor  75 . 
   A plurality of wheels  76  may be coupled to an exterior surface of the bottom wall  28  for facilitating moving the system  10 . 
   A poultry assembly  35  may be couplable to the shaft member  50 . The poultry assembly  35  is designed for engaging a plurality of fowl for facilitating rotisserie style roasting. 
   In an embodiment the poultry assembly  35  further comprises a plurality of spacing members  36  couplable to the shaft member  50 . A plurality of secondary shaft members  37  are positionable between the spacing members  36 . A plurality of fowl engagement members  38  slidably engages with the secondary shafts  37 . Each one of the fowl engagement members  38  includes at least one prong  39  for insertion into the fowl for securing the fowl to the poultry assembly  35 . 
   A drip pan  66  may be removably positioned within the roasting enclosure  20  between the shaft member  50  and the heating means  30 . The drip pan  66  is for collecting grease produced during roasting. 
   An exhaust port  24  extends through a wall of the roasting enclosure  20  facilitating ventilation of an interior of the roasting enclosure. 
   In an embodiment, the interior  25  and exterior walls  26  of the roasting enclosure  20  are made from stainless steal. Additionally, the system  10  is optimally sized with an overall length of approximately 60 inches, an overall height of approximately 36 inches, and an overall width of approximately 24 inches. 
   In use, either the shaft member individually or in conjunction with the poultry assembly is used to secure the carcass or carcasses of the animals to be roasted. The system is ideally designed for use with pigs, chickens, and turkeys; but all manner of animals including but not limited to beef, lamb, ducks, geese, pheasants, and goats may also be used. The shaft member is positioned on the collar guides. Thus the shaft is operationally coupled to the rotating member. The burner is ignited and the animal is roasted inside of the roasting enclosure. The rotating means may be activated during all or part of the roasting process as desired by the user. 
   With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention. 
   Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.