Abstract:
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, and a motor coupled to the spit rod for driving the spit rod in rotation about its axis.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application 60/912,377 filed on Apr. 17, 2007. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    This present invention relates to a rotisserie spit, and more particularly, to a portable rotisserie spit that that is able to be assembled for use and disassembled for storage and transport. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Prior Art 
         [0005]    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&#39;s natural juices. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    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. 
         [0007]    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 swing about the axis of the post, and a motor coupled to the spit rod for driving the spit rod in rotation about its axis. 
         [0008]    Further according to the invention, there is provided a rotisserie spit including:
       a spit rod for supporting food;   a carrier bracket to which the spit rod is able to be removably mounted so that the rod extends substantially horizontally from the bracket in a cantilever fashion for rotation about its longitudinal axis, the carrier bracket including first and second low-friction stationary bearing surfaces which support the spit rod in cantilever fashion from the bracket and which slidingly contact axially spaced circular portions of the spit rod;   a motor for rotatably driving the spit rod; and   a support for mounting the carrier bracket at an elevated position so that the spit rod can project from the bracket over a heat source.       
 
         [0013]    The low-friction stationary bearing surfaces provide an inexpensive way of mounting the spit rod from the carrier bracket whilst enabling ease of assembly and disassembly of the rotisserie spit. 
         [0014]    When the spit rod is removed from the carrier bracket, the rotisserie spit may be stored in a compact disassembled condition where the spit rod and the support are separate from one another. This may allow the parts of the disassembled rotisserie spit to be conveniently packed together in a compact bag to facilitate transport and/or storage of the rotisserie spit. 
         [0015]    The first and second bearing surfaces may be defined by spaced upwardly facing and downwardly facing bases of respective first and second open-ended recesses formed in the carrier bracket. 
         [0016]    The carrier bracket may be in the form of a housing having bearing plates or inserts in which the first and second recesses are respectively formed. In one practical form, the housing may be formed from a single piece of sheet metal stamped and bent to the required shape, and the bearing plates or inserts which are attached to the housing formed from a relatively high-strength low-friction material that is heat resistant to the temperatures to which it will be exposed during cooking. For example, the plates or inserts may be formed from fibre-filled nylon or other composite materials. 
         [0017]    Preferably, each plate or insert tapers in a region in which the bearing surface is formed so that the bearing surface is defined by an edge that is thinner than the rest of the plate or insert. The thinner bearing edges reduce the areas of sliding contact between the respective edges and the corresponding portions of the spit rod to minimize frictional force inhibiting rotation of the spit rod. 
         [0018]    The support for mounting the bracket may be a cylindrical post, a lower end of which is adapted to be driven into the ground. Preferably, the carrier bracket is removably mounted to the post. Preferably, the carrier bracket is rotatably mounted to the post to provide for rotation of the carrier bracket and the spit rod about the axis of the post so as to swing the spit rod away from the heat source. 
         [0019]    Preferably, the spit rod is formed by a cylindrical rod that is able to skewer food. 
         [0020]    Preferably, the motor is removably mounted to the rod so that the motor and the rod are able to be separated for transport and/or storage. The motor may have a driving socket that is able to releasably receive a complementarily driven formation at an inner end of the spit rod. While the driven formation may be formed by machining the inner end of the spit rod, it may alternatively be formed by attaching a separately formed component, for example a molded component, onto the end of the rod. 
         [0021]    In practice, the rotisserie spit may carry one or more food-engaging skewers mounted to the spit rod so as to be slidable along the rod to be secured in selected positions, the skewer(s) having prongs that are able to be thrust into a food item. 
         [0022]    Preferably, the skewer includes a spring collar for application around the spit rod. The collar is able to resiliently contract onto the rod to secure the skewer at a selected position. A pair of parallel prongs extending from the collar to engage the food item are able to be squeezed together against the resilience of the collar to expand the collar to facilitate movement of the collar relative to the rod. 
         [0023]    The skewer may be integrally formed from a piece of spring wire, with the collar being formed in the manner of a coil spring having one or more turns, and the two prongs formed by end portions of the wire extending form the coil spring. 
         [0024]    In use, the position of the skewer with respect to the rod may be adjusted by squeezing together the prongs to loosen the coil spring. The skewer may then be slid along or rotated about the axis of the rod, and the prongs thrust through the food item. 
         [0025]    Preferably, the prongs extend from the collar in a direction generally parallel to the axis of the rod. To facilitate the squeezing together of the prongs to loosen the collar, the prongs are preferably provided with respective ear portions extending transversely form the prongs for engagement between the thumb and forefinger of the hand. The ear portions can be simply formed by bending the wire from which the skewer is formed. 
         [0026]    This form of food-engaging skewer can also be applied to a conventional rotisserie spit having a spit rod that is mounted at both ends, as opposed to the cantilever mounting of the spit rod of the rotisserie spit discussed above. 
         [0027]    Accordingly, a further aspect of the present invention provides a food-engaging skewer for holding food relative to a spit rod including a spring collar for application around the rod, the collar being able to resiliently contract to the rod to secure the skewer in a selected position along the rod, and substantially parallel prongs extending from the collar for thrusting through a food item, wherein the prongs are able to be squeezed together against the resilience of the collar to expand the collar to facilitate movement of the skewer relative to the rod. 
         [0028]    According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided an attachment mountable to a spit rod of a rotisserie spit for use in cooking vegetables and other product, the attachment comprising a tubular cage mountable to the spit, the cage being loadable with product to be cooked via an access opening which can be closed whereby product within the cage can be cooked with a tumbling action upon rotation of the spit. 
         [0029]    In one preferred form, the cage is closed at its inner and outer ends by an end cap, the end cap at the inner end has a fitting for mounting of the attachment to the outer end of the spit rod and the cap at the outer end provides a lid for loading and unloading of product. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0030]    The present invention will be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0031]      FIG. 1  is a view of an assembled rotisserie spit; 
           [0032]      FIG. 2  is an enlarged view showing a detail of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0033]      FIG. 3  is a view of the separated parts of the rotisserie spit shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0034]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the carrier bracket shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0035]      FIG. 5  is a view showing how the spit rod is mounted to the carrier bracket; 
           [0036]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a preferred form of food-engaging skewer mountable on the spit rod; and 
           [0037]      FIG. 7  is a side view of an attachment mountable on the spit rod for use in cooking vegetables. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0038]    A portable rotisserie spit  10  for cooking food over a heat source is shown in an assembled condition in  FIG. 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  FIG. 3 ) which can be disassembled for transportation and/or storage. 
         [0039]    The spit rod  12  is formed by a cylindrical rod that has a driven keyway  20  (or other 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. 
         [0040]    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. 
         [0041]    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 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 materials, for example. 
         [0042]    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 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. 
         [0043]    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 minimize frictional force inhibiting rotation of the spit rod  12 . 
         [0044]    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 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 . 
         [0045]    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 . 
         [0046]    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 . 
         [0047]    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 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. 
         [0048]    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  FIG. 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 elevated above a heat source. 
         [0049]    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 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 . 
         [0050]    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. 
         [0051]    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 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. 
         [0052]    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 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 . 
         [0053]    One or more pieces of meat (not shown), or other type of food as desired, are then 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. 
         [0054]    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 the rotisserie spit  10  may safely mount the rod  12  away from the hot coals. 
         [0055]    The drive-motor  14  is then mounted to the inner end  22  of the rod  12 . With reference to  FIG. 5 , the rod  12  is held at an angle so that the rod  12  is 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  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  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 . 
         [0056]    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. 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. 
         [0057]    As the rotating meat cooks above the coals, flammable fat or oil may drip from the 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 resume normal cooking. 
         [0058]    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 meat is cooked. 
         [0059]    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 . 
         [0060]    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 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. 
         [0061]    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 safely carved from off the spit rod  12 . 
         [0062]    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 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 easy transport of the disassembled spit  10 . 
         [0063]    The rotisserie spit  10  may carry food-engaging skewers for preventing the movement of food held by the rod  12 . 
         [0064]    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 difficult to tighten and loosen and, is easily lost. 
         [0065]    With reference to  FIG. 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 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 extending from the coil spring  110 . 
         [0066]    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  FIG. 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 . 
         [0067]    To facilitate the squeezing together of the prongs  104  and  106  against the 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  FIG. 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). 
         [0068]    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 simpler to use. 
         [0069]    The skewer  100  can also be used in a conventional form of rotisserie spit. 
         [0070]      FIG. 7  shows an attachment in the form of a holder primarily for vegetables although it is also suitable for small food products such as sausages. 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, but other materials such as perforated sheet may alternatively be used. The cage  200  is closed at its inner and outer ends 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 product can be loaded into and removed from the cage  200 . The lid  210  is retained in its closed position by a suitable fastening which in the form shown is a spring clip  212  engaged with the end cap  204 . Alternatively outer end cap  204  may be removable to provide the access opening for loading and unloading of product. 
         [0071]    When this attachment is used, vegetables can be cooked on the spit with a tumbling action within the cage to ensure uniformity of cooking. 
         [0072]    In an alternative form (not shown) both end caps  202 ,  204  may be apertured to enable the spit to pass through the attachment and in that form the tubular cage itself may include a door for loading/unloading of product. However the version shown in  FIG. 7  is the preferred version as the interior of the cage is unobstructed. 
         [0073]    The foregoing describes a form of the present invention and modifications can be made without departing from the scope from the invention.