Patent ID: 8505444

Claim:
A marshmallow roasting unit, comprising: an enclosure having a roasting chamber and a side defining an enclosure opening below the roasting chamber; a skewer disposed in the roasting chamber and configured to hold a marshmallow; a removable tray configured to be inserted into the enclosure opening and hold a cracker in the enclosure under the roasting chamber; and a heating element disposed within a predetermined range from a central axis of the skewer so that the heating element is effective to roast the marshmallow on the skewer until the marshmallow becomes pliable and falls off the skewer on to the cracker or contents disposed on the cracker held on the removable tray, wherein, the removable tray includes a bottom having a front end and a rear end, and a plurality of alignment elements disposed between the front end and rear end, an adjacent pair of the alignment elements defining a respective cracker placement area relative to the bottom and configured to position the cracker between the alignment elements on the bottom of the removable tray below the marshmallow on the skewer when the removable tray is inserted into the enclosure opening such that when the marshmallow is roasted, becomes pliable and falls off the skewer, the marshmallow falls on to the cracker or contents disposed on the cracker, and wherein each alignment element corresponds to a raised divider spaced apart laterally on the tray in a direction corresponding to the axis of rotation of the skewer when the skewer is disposed in the roasting chamber, at least one of the adjacent pair of alignment elements being disposed internally on the tray to hold the cracker laterally in place on the tray relative to the other one of the adjacent pair of alignment elements, wherein the removable tray further includes a backstop element and a rib, the backstop element is disposed relative to the adjacent pair of alignment elements to inhibit the cracker positioned in the cracker placement area from moving towards the front end of the tray, and wherein the rib rises less than a thickness of the cracker above the bottom of the tray, and is disposed between the adjacent pair of alignment elements and the rear end of the tray such that the rib inhibits the cracker positioned in the cracker placement area from moving towards the rear end unless the bottom of the tray is tilted the front end towards the rear end at a predetermined angle at which gravity enables the cracker to slide over the rib.