Patent Publication Number: US-2007119442-A1

Title: Portable cooking device

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The invention generally relates to a portable cooking device. More particularly, the invention relates to a portable cooking device that may be used to barbecue or cook steaks, beef, hotdogs, burgers and other kinds of food and that is easy to clean, environmentally friendly and economical.  
      2. Description of the Prior Art  
      In the contemporary society, with the fast development of urbanization, work and daily life become ever more stressful. People start to put more emphasis on their leisure activities and hope to use leisure activities to balance their life.  
      In the traditional barbecue activity, we have to prepare food, iron frame, charcoal, etc. If something goes wrong, such barbecue activity may be greatly affected and quarrels may occur between friends.  
      In addition, garbage and grease are generated in the traditional barbecue activity, and hence such activity pollutes our environment.  
      To eliminate the disadvantages of the prior art, the portable cooking device of the present invention is invented. The portable cooking device of the present invention is compact, easy to use, easy to carry around and environmentally friendly. It may be used in the outdoor and in our home. After the inventor put a lot of effort in the subject and conducted some experiments, the inventor has successfully come up with the portable cooking device of the present invention.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention is to provide a portable cooking device that is easy to use and has several cooking functions.  
      Another, the present invention is to provide a portable cooking device that is compact and easy to carry around so that it may be used in a recreational vehicle, an SUV and in our home,  
      Third, the present invention is to provide a portable cooking device that is environmentally friendly, easy to clean and allows grease to be gathered and discarded.  
      The portable cooking device of the present invention comprises a heating platform and a set of cooking tools. The heating platform has two symmetrically disposed cooking chambers; a heating tube is disposed in each chamber. A cooking tool may be placed at an upper portion of either chamber so that food placed on the tool may be cooked by the heating tube. Two pivotal elements are provided between the two chambers, and two handles are provided on a top surface of the device so that the cooking device may be folded and carried around. Several cooking tools may be chosen according to how a user wishes his food to be cooked. Also, grease may be gathered and discarded so as to be environmentally friendly. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the portable cooking device of the present invention, showing the cooking device in a partially open position.  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the portable cooking device of the present invention, showing the cooking device in a closed position.  
       FIG. 3  is another perspective view of the portable cooking device of the present invention, showing the cooking device in a closed position.  
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the portable cooking device of the present invention, showing a cooking tool of the portable cooking device.  
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the portable cooking device of the present invention, showing two cooking tools of the portable cooking device.  
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the portable cooking device of the present invention, showing another cooking tool of the portable cooking device.  
       FIG. 6A  is an exploded view showing the relative positions of several components of the barbecue unit of the portable cooking device.  
       FIG. 6B  is a perspective view showing how the handle is connected with the barbecue unit.  
       FIG. 6C  is a perspective view showing that a barbecue net unit is used with the barbecue unit.  
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view showing another cooking tool.  
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view showing yet another cooking tool. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      Please refer to  FIG. 1  to  5 . The portable cooking device of the present invention comprises a cooking platform  1  and a set of cooking tools  2 . The heating platform  1  has two symmetrically disposed cooking chambers  11 ; a heating tube  12  is disposed in each chamber  11  so that either chamber  11  may be independently operated. A cooking tool  2  may be placed at an upper portion of either chamber  11  so that food placed on the tool  2  may be cooked by the heating tube  12 . Two pivotal elements  13  are provided between the two chambers  11  and two handles  14  are provided on a top surface of the device so that the device may be folded and be carried around.  
      A grease collecting pan  15  may be fitted at a corner of either chamber  11 . A grease guiding path  27  is provided at the corresponding corner of a cooking tool  2  so that grease generated by the food may flow to the grease collecting pan  15  via the grease guiding path  27 .  
      A safety switch  16  is disposed by either heating tube  12 . In use, after the cooking tool  2  is properly placed on either chamber  11 , a user may then press the safety switch  16  to turn on the device. A control knob  17  is provided by either handle  14  and an indicator light  18  is provided by each knob  17 . A user may use either control knob  17  to turn on and off the power and adjust the cooking temperature of the corresponding chamber  11 . Also, when power is turned on, the indicator light  18  will be lit. Power is provided by a power source outside of the device; such electric design is quite ordinary and hence we will not elaborate on it.  
      Please refer to  FIGS. 1, 4  and  5 . The set of cooking tools  2  includes an several cooking tools, such as a plate  21  with a smooth top surface or a plate  22  with a top surface of linear pattern.  
      Please refer to  FIG. 6 . The cooking tool  2  may be a barbecue unit  23 . The barbecue unit  23  has a handle  231 , a plurality of slots  232  and a plurality of sticks  233 .. The slots  232  may hold the sticks  233  in place so that food may be put on these sticks and be cooked. Also, these sticks  233  may be rotated so that food attached to these sticks may be cooked evenly.  
      Please refer to  FIGS. 6A and 6B  for the detailed structure of the barbecue unit  23  A motor  234  is disposed inside the handle  231 . The output axle of the motor  234  is connected with a set of cogwheels  235 . A covering plate  236  is provided. Two fastening pieces  2361  are provided on the covering plate  236  and may connect with two slots provided on a wall of the barbecue unit  23  so as to allow fast assembly and disassembly. A front retaining plate  2351  and a rear retaining plate  2352  are provided. A plurality of cogwheels  2353  may be disposed between the two retaining plates  2351  and  2352 . The cogwheels  2353  may mesh with each other or a transmission wheel  2354  may be provided between each pair of the cogwheels. A positioning piece  2355  is provided at the proximal end of each cogwheel  2353 , and a positioning hole  2356  is centrally provided on each positioning piece  2355 . The row of the positioning holes  2356  may be aligned with a row of holes  2362  provided on the covering plate  236  and a row of holes  28  provided on a wall of the barbecue unit  23  so that the sticks  233  may go through the two rows of holes  28  and  2362  to engage with the positioning holes  2356 . Also, the sticks may be rotated by the motor  234 . As shown in  FIG. 6A , a cylindrical roller  237  may be placed onto each stick  233  with its distal end engaging with the outer perimeter of a corresponding positioning piece  2355 . Hence, food may be placed on the rotating rollers  237  (rotated by the motor  234 ) so as to be cooked evenly.  
      Please refer to  FIG. 6C . A barbecue net unit  238  may be used with the barbecue unit  23 . Two handles of the net unit  238  may be inserted into the two slots  232  of the barbecue unit  23  so that the net unit  238  may be held in place. A user may use the two handles  239  to move the net unit  238  around. Food may be placed on the net unit  238  so as to be barbecued.  
      Now, refer to  FIG. 7 . The cooking tool  2  may be a rectangular cooking pan  24 .  
      Referring to  FIG. 8 , the cooking tool  2  may be a plate  25  which has a plurality of rectangular openings  251 . A smaller cooking pan  26  may be placed on each opening so that chocolate may be melted in these pans  26 . The cooking tool  2  may be of other forms so as to meet other cooking needs.  
      Many changes and modifications in the above described embodiment of the invention can, of course, be carried out without departing from the scope thereof. Accordingly, to promote the progress in science and the useful arts, the invention is disclosed and is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.