Patent Publication Number: US-2012024169-A1

Title: Barbecue rack

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a barbecue rack, more particularly to a barbecue rack having two supporting frames connected together to form a receiving space therebetween for receiving all kinds of food and having a shaft passing through holes located on an inner side of one of the supporting frames and connecting to a transmission shaft of a motor of a barbecue device, thereby, when the transmission shaft of the motor rotates the shaft and the barbecue rack, the food in the barbecue rack is conveniently turned for roasting or broiling. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Recently, with the improvement of people&#39;s living standards, recreational activities have become increasingly popular as a way to relieve stress in life and strengthen interpersonal relationships. One of the most popular recreational activities is the barbecue party, which is usually held outdoors and attended by a group of people who wish to relax in a natural setting while enjoying the company of others. Therefore, barbecue parties nowadays serve not only recreational but also social functions and are the favorite activity of many. 
     Generally, barbecuing requires the use of a planar metal rack having plural grid holes. The food to be cooked is laid on the planar metal rack, which in turn is placed on a barbecue stove, thus allowing the heat source (e.g., hot charcoal) in the barbecue stove to roast or broil the food. However, such a planar metal rack has the following shortcomings in use: 
     1. During the roasting or broiling process, the food on the planar metal rack has only one side facing the heat source in the barbecue stove. Therefore, to ensure uniform heating and prevent the food from burning, the barbecuer must pay constant attention to the cooking condition of the food and move or turn the food frequently or regularly with a pair of tongs held in the hand. This moving or turning operation not only is inconvenient but also tends to fatigue the barbecuer&#39;s hand. Moreover, the barbecuer&#39;s hand may be burned by the heat source while moving or turning the food with the tongs. 
     2. As the food to be barbecued come in a variety of shapes, those having rounded and smooth configurations (e.g., sausage, hotdog, corn, potato, etc.) are very likely to roll off the planar metal rack while being moved or turned, thus causing a waste of food and the trouble of follow-up cleaning. 
     Hence, it is an important subject for the manufacturers and designers of barbecue racks to solve the aforementioned problems and develop a novel barbecue rack that can effectively fix food in position and be rotated along with the transmission shaft of the motor of a barbecue device so that not only is the barbecuer spared the inconvenience of having to move or turn the food with a pair of tongs, but also the food can be evenly heated and rapidly cooked. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the drawbacks of the conventional planar metal rack for barbecuing, the inventor of the present invention made great efforts in research and experiment and finally succeeded in developing a barbecue rack as disclosed herein. It is hoped that, with the present invention, the barbecuer&#39;s hand is prevented from fatigue or burn injury which may otherwise result from using a pair of tongs to move or turn the food placed on the conventional planar metal rack. In addition, the barbecue rack of the present invention is configured to fix food in place effectively and prevent the food from rolling to the ground, thereby solving another problem of the conventional planar metal rack. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a barbecue rack which includes a first supporting frame, a second supporting frame, and two fixing elements. The first supporting frame is formed by soldering a plurality of spaced first metal rods in a crisscross manner. Likewise, the second, supporting frame is formed by soldering a plurality of spaced second metal rods in a crisscross manner. In addition, the second supporting frame has an outer surface provided with two parallel positioning rods. Each of the fixing elements has two parallel positioning grooves and a through hole at one end, and two fastening portions and a screw hole at the other end. The fixing elements are fastened or soldered to two opposite ends of the first supporting frame respectively via the fastening portions, thus allowing a shaft to pass through the through holes and be located on an inner side of the first supporting frame. Furthermore, a locking element is screwed into the screw hole of each fixing element to lock the fixing elements in position to the shaft. The two ends of each positioning rod are driven into the corresponding positioning grooves respectively by an external force and, once the external force is removed, resume their original positions, in which the two ends are parallel to each other. Thus, the two ends of each positioning rod are respectively and securely positioned in the corresponding positioning grooves to connect the supporting frames together and thereby allow the inner sides of the two supporting frames to face each other and jointly form a receiving space. A user can place all kinds of food in the receiving space and connect the shaft to the transmission shaft of the motor of a barbecue device. As the transmission shaft of the motor rotates the shaft and hence the barbecue rack, the food in the barbecue rack is conveniently turned for roasting or broiling. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide the foregoing barbecue rack, wherein the metal rods are configured to form a plurality of separate regions on each supporting frame. After the supporting frames are connected together, the separate regions on the first supporting frame correspond in position to and face those on the second supporting frame to form a plurality of sub-receiving spaces. The sub-receiving spaces can receive different kinds of food separately to effectively ensure that the different flavors of the food will not interfere with one another. 
     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide the foregoing barbecue rack, wherein each positioning rod has a bent portion near each end. When the two ends of each positioning rod are deformed by an external force, the bent portions prevent the stress from concentrating at the connected portions between the positioning rods and the second supporting frame. Thus, the positioning rods are effectively prevented from damage which may otherwise result from excessive deformation, and the service life of the barbecue rack is extended. 
     A further object of the present invention is to provide the foregoing barbecue rack, wherein the barbecue rack further includes at least one spring connected between the positioning rods. By virtue of the resilience of the at least one spring, the positioning rods can be positioned securely in the positioning grooves and are prevented from deformation which may otherwise result from long-term use and prevent the positioning rods from being positioned in the positioning grooves. Thus, the overall stability of the barbecue rack is assured. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention as well as a preferred mode of use, further objects, and advantages thereof will be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a barbecue rack according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing the barbecue rack of the present invention in use; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view showing another configuration of the fixing element of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing connection between the positioning rods and the springs of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a barbecue rack  2  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a first supporting frame  21 , a second supporting frame  22 , two positioning rods  23 , and two fixing elements  24 . The first supporting frame  21  is formed by soldering a plurality of spaced first metal rods  211  in a crisscross manner. The first metal rods  211  are curvedly extended toward an inner side of the first supporting frame  21  at positions corresponding to a periphery of the first supporting frame  21 . The second supporting frame  22  is formed by soldering a plurality of spaced second metal rods  222  in a crisscross manner. The second metal rods  222  are curvedly extended toward an inner side of the second supporting frame  22  at least at positions corresponding to two opposite ends of the second supporting frame  22 . The positioning rods  23  are soldered longitudinally to an outer surface of the second supporting frame  22  in a parallel manner. The two ends of each positioning rod  23  can deform elastically when subjected to an external force and, once the external force is removed, resume their-original positions, in which the two ends are parallel to each other. Each fixing element  24  has an L-shaped cross section and is formed by bending a metal plate. In addition, each fixing element  24  has one end formed with two parallel positioning grooves  240  and a through hole  241  between the positioning grooves  240 . Provided at the other end of each fixing element  24  are two fastening portions  242  and a screw hole  243  between the fastening portions  242 . The fixing elements  24  are respectively and symmetrically fastened or soldered to two opposite ends of the first supporting frame  21  via the fastening portions  242 , thus allowing a shaft  30  to pass longitudinally through the through holes  241  and be located on the inner side of the first supporting frame  21 . A locking element  31  is crewed into the screw hole  243  of each fixing element  24  to secure the fixing elements  24  in position to the shaft  30 . The two ends of each positioning rod  23  are pushed into the corresponding positioning grooves  240  by an external force and, after the external force is released, resume their parallel positions such that the two ends of each positioning rod  23  are respectively and securely positioned in the corresponding positioning grooves  240 . As a result, the second supporting frame  22  is connected to the first supporting frame  21  while the inner sides of the first and second supporting frames  21 ,  22  face each other and jointly form a receiving space. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , a user can put a variety of food  4  into the receiving space and connect the shaft  30  to the transmission shaft  33  of the motor of a barbecue device  32 . As the transmission shaft  33  of the motor rotates the shaft  30  and thereby rotates the barbecue rack  2 , the food  4  is conveniently turned for roasting or broiling. Thus, the present invention effectively prevents the user&#39;s hand from fatigue or burn injury which may otherwise result from using a pair of tongs to turn or move the food  4  on a regular basis, as is required when the conventional planar metal rack is used. Also, the barbecue rack  2  can fix the food  4  in place effectively and prevent it from rolling to the ground, thus overcoming yet another drawback of the conventional planar metal rack. 
     In the present embodiment, referring to  FIG. 1 , the first metal rods  211  are so configured that a plurality of longitudinally extending, parallel, and separate first regions  213  are formed on the inner side of the first supporting frame  21 . Similarly, the second metal rods  222  are so configured that a plurality of longitudinally extending, parallel, and separate second regions  224  are formed on the inner side of the second supporting frame  22 , wherein the second regions  224  correspond in position to the first regions  213  respectively. Once the supporting frames  21 ,  22  are connected, the regions  213 ,  224  of the first and second supporting frames  21 ,  22  are located opposite each other and jointly form a plurality of sub-receiving spaces. Therefore, as shown in  FIG. 2 , a variety of food  4  can be placed separately in the sub-receiving spaces to effectively ensure that the flavors of the food  4  will not interfere with one another. 
     Referring again to  FIG. 1 , each positioning rod  23  has a bent portion  230  adjacent to each end. Therefore, when the two ends of each positioning rod  23  are deformed elastically by an external force, the bent portions  230  prevent the stress from concentrating at the connected portions between the positioning rods  23  and the second supporting frame  22  and thereby effectively prevent the positioning rods  23  from damage attributable to excessive deformation. Consequently, the service life of the barbecue rack  2  is extended. 
     According to the above description, referring to  FIG. 2 , the barbecue rack  2  of the present invention can wrap the food  4  completely, fix the food  4  in the supporting frames  21 ,  22  (see  FIG. 1 ), and by virtue of the shaft  30 , be rotated about a rotation axis defined by the shaft  30 , thus allowing the food  4  to be heated evenly and cooked rapidly. The present invention overcomes the inconveniences and drawbacks of having to use a pair of tongs to turn or move the food  4  on a regular basis. 
     Besides, it should be pointed out that the structures of the fixing elements  24  and the second supporting frame  22  are not limited to those disclosed in the foregoing preferred embodiment and may be modified according to practical needs. For instance, referring to  FIG. 3 , a fixing element  34  is formed by bending a metal plate and has one end formed with two parallel positioning grooves  340  and a through hole  341  between the positioning grooves  340 . In addition, the other end of the fixing element  34  is provided with two fastening portions  342  and a bent extension portion  343  between the fastening portions  342 . The bent extension portion  343  has a hole  344  corresponding in position to the through hole  341  so that the shaft  30  (as shown in  FIG. 1 ) can pass through the hole  344  and the through hole  341 . Thus, when the shaft  30  is driven to rotate the barbecue rack  2 , the fixing element  34  is effectively prevented from rocking or getting loose from the shaft  30 , and the barbecue rack  2  is therefore allowed to rotate smoothly. 
     Furthermore, referring to  FIGS. 1 and 4 , in order to position the positioning rods  23  more securely in the positioning grooves  240  and prevent the positioning rods  23  from elastic fatigue after repeated use (or permanent deformation due to high temperature), two springs  40  are connected between the positioning rods  23 . When it is desired to secure the positioning rods  23  in the positioning grooves  240 , the positioning rods  23  are pushed toward each other such that the springs  40  are compressed and deformed. Once the positioning rods  23  are released and are secured in the positioning grooves  240 , the springs  40  resume their original shapes resiliently. As a result, the positioning rods  23  press tightly against the walls of the positioning grooves  240  and are prevented from getting loose from the fixing elements  24 , thereby ensuring the overall stability of the barbecue rack  2 . 
     The embodiment described above is only the preferred embodiment and not intended to limit the structural features of the present invention. For instance, the number and size of the springs  40  can be increased or decreased according to practical needs. Therefore, all equivalent changes which are based on the technical contents disclosed herein and easily conceivable by a person skilled in the art should fall within the scope of the present invention, which is defined only by the appended claims.