Patent Document

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to devices for use in the culinary arts, and particularly to a food skewering machine providing for the simultaneous skewering of a plurality of pieces of meat, vegetables, and/or other foods suitable for skewering. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Skewered foods, e.g., kabobs or kebabs and the like, are quite popular in many ethnic cuisines. While various meats are generally considered when kebabs or the like are made, many other foods, such as vegetables and virtually any pieces of food with sufficient body to remain as single solid pieces during the skewering and cooking process, are often used in the making of such cuisine. 
     The basic concept of skewering meat and/or other foods for cooking is a relatively simple one. The process of holding a single skewer with one hand while forcing the food element onto the skewer with the other hand is well known. While this manual process serves the purpose, it does have its drawbacks. One problem with this manual process is that it can be somewhat hazardous due to the sharpened skewer. It can be difficult to force relatively firm cuts of meat or firm vegetables onto the skewer, and it is quite easy to make a slight slip and injure the hand on the sharpened skewer during the skewering operation. Also, this manual process is relatively slow. Kabobs or other skewered foods are often made for large gatherings, where the making of a large number of such skewered foods is required. The preparation of a large number of such skewered foods one at a time by hand is time consuming and can be quite tiring when relatively firm and/or tough foods are being used. 
     Some devices for the skewering of various foods have been developed in the past. Many of these devices required some source of motive power to facilitate the operation, e.g., an electric motor to force the skewers through the food elements or to force the food elements onto the skewers. Such powered devices tend to be relatively costly, and at the very least require a source of power for their operation. Electrical or other power is often not available in more casual outdoor settings where skewered foods are often prepared and served. Other manually operated skewering devices have also been developed, but these tend to be relatively complex as well. 
     Thus, a food skewering machine solving the aforementioned problems is desired. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The food skewering machine includes a base and a food holding tray that can be removably installed within the base. The tray includes two portions that are hingedly attached together. The two portions of the tray are essentially mirror images of one another. Each portion of the tray includes a series of receptacles for holding meat or other foods to be skewered when the two hinged portions are closed. A skewer driver can travel back and forth along the length of the base to drive or push skewers into the tray, thereby skewering the contents of the receptacles within the tray. 
     The food holding receptacles within the tray may include any practicable number and are arranged in rows to provide for the simultaneous skewering of food using multiple skewers. Each row has a plurality of receptacles therein to allow each skewer to impale a plurality of food elements during a single skewering operation. 
     These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the base component of a food skewering machine according to the present invention illustrating its general features, with a plurality of skewers illustrated therewith. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the tray component of the food skewering machine according to the present invention, the tray component being opened to show its internal configuration. 
         FIG. 3  is a side elevation view in section of the food skewering machine according to the present invention, illustrating the initial step of placing pieces of food therein. 
         FIG. 4  is a side elevation view in section of the food skewering machine according to the present invention, illustrating the placement of skewers in the machine. 
         FIG. 5  is a side elevation view in section of the food skewering machine according to the present invention, illustrating an intermediate skewer position in the skewering operation. 
         FIG. 6  is a side elevation view in section of the food skewering machine according to the present invention, illustrating the completion of the skewering operation. 
         FIG. 7  is a side elevation view in section of the food skewering machine according to the present invention, illustrating the removal of the skewers and food impaled thereon from the tray component. 
         FIG. 8  is a side elevation view in section of the food skewering machine according to the present invention, illustrating the containment of the tray component within the base component of the device for compact storage of the assembly. 
     
    
    
     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The food skewering machine  10  is a manually operated device that enables a user to form multiple kebabs or the like simultaneously. The basic components of the food skewering machine  10  are illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2  of the drawings, with  FIGS. 3 through 8  illustrating the machine  10  in its entirety. 
       FIG. 1  of the drawings provides a detailed perspective view of the base  12  of the machine. The base  12  supports a tray  100  (shown separately in  FIG. 2 ) that holds the pieces of food for skewering during operation of the machine. The base  12  has a floor  14  with a handle end  16  and an opposite tray end  18 . The floor  14  may contain a series of liquid capture receptacles  20  therein. Mutually opposed first and second lateral walls  22  and  24  extend along the opposite lateral edges of the floor  14 . Each of the walls  22  and  24  has a skewer driver guide slot, respectively  26  and  28 , formed therealong. 
     A skewer driver  30  extends laterally across the base  12  between the two walls  22  and  24 . The skewer driver  30  has mutually opposed first and second ends  32  and  34  that engage the respective guide slots  26  and  28 , with the ends of the skewer driver  30  sliding along the slots  26  and  28  during operation of the food skewering machine  10 . First and second keepers or retainers  36  and  38  extend from the respective ends  32  and  34  of the skewer driver  30  and ride along the outer surface of the respective walls  22  and  24  to retain the skewer driver  30  in place between the two walls. The skewer driver  30  includes a plurality of skewer rests  40  extending therefrom and oriented toward or in the direction of the tray end  18  of the base  12 . Each of the skewer rests  40  comprises an upwardly open concave semicylindrical seat, allowing the blunt end of a skewer S to be placed therein. 
       FIG. 2  provides a detailed perspective view of the tray  100  that is the other basic component (i.e., other than the base  10 ) of the food skewering machine  10 . The tray  100  includes a first tray half  102   a  and a second tray half  102   b . The two tray halves are substantially identical to one another (excepting certain details), with the two halves being substantially mirror images of one another, as can be seen in  FIG. 2 . Each half  102   a  and  102   b  has a skewer insert end, respectively  104   a  and  104   b , and an opposite hinge end, respectively  106   a  and  106   b , with the two halves  102   a ,  102   b  being connected to one another by hinges  108  at their hinge ends  106   a  and  106   b . Each tray half includes a plurality of food receptacle rows therein, with each row containing a plurality of food receptacles and skewer channels disposed therealong from the skewer insert end  104   a ,  104   b  to the opposite hinge end  106   a ,  106   b , with the receptacles and channels in alternating order in each row. In  FIG. 2  the food receptacle rows are designated as rows  110   a  and  110   b  in each respective tray half  102   a  and  102   b , with the food receptacles being similarly designated as receptacles  112   a  and  112   b  and the skewer channels as  114   a  and  114   b . The “a” and “b” characters are deleted in  FIGS. 4  through  6  where the two tray halves  102   a ,  102   b  and their food receptacle rows  110 , food receptacles  112 , and skewer channels  114  are shown closed. 
     More specifically, each of the food receptacles  112   a ,  112   b  of the two tray halves  102   a ,  102   b  comprises a semicylindrical portion, respectively  116   a  and  116   b , with a semi conical skewer guide portion, respectively  118   a ,  118   b , extending from the semicylindrical portion toward the hinge end  106   a ,  106   b  of each tray half  102   a ,  102   b . When the tray  100  is closed as shown in  FIGS. 4 through 6 , each of the food receptacles comprises a cylindrical main portion  116  with a conical skewer guide portion  118 . Each of the skewer channels  114   a ,  114   b  (or  114  for the closed tray  100  of  FIGS. 4 through 6 ) has a relatively long entry portion extending from the skewer insert ends  104   a ,  104   b  of the tray halves  102   a ,  102   b  to an adjacent food receptacle and between the semi conical skewer guide portion  118   a ,  118   b  and the semicylindrical portion  116   a ,  116   b  of adjacent food receptacles along each of the rows  110   a ,  110   b  in each tray half. While five food receptacle rows  110   a ,  110   b  are shown in each tray half with each row containing five food receptacles  112   a ,  112   b , it should be understood that more or fewer rows and/or more or fewer receptacles along each row may be provided as desired. 
       FIGS. 3 through 7  are side elevation views in section illustrating the operation of the food skewering machine  100 . The initial step is shown in  FIG. 3 , with a series of food pieces or elements F being placed in corresponding first food receptacles  112   a  of the first tray half  102   a  of the open tray  100 . The skewer driver  30  is positioned as close as possible, or nearly so, to the handle end  16  of the base  12  at this stage of the operation. The food pieces F are preferably cut or otherwise selected or formed to have lateral dimensions or diameters approximately equal to the width of each food receptacle  112   a , i.e., approximately equal to the diameter of each closed food receptacle  112  as shown in  FIGS. 4 through 6 . The specific type of food used is not critical, so long as each piece or element has sufficient body to remain in place upon a skewer once the skewer has been passed through the food piece or element F. The food F may be pieces of meat, vegetables, and/or any other suitable food as desired. 
     In  FIG. 4 , the two tray halves are shown secured together at their skewer insert ends to form the closed tray  100 , and skewers S have been placed with their blunt ends resting in the skewer rests  40  of the skewer driver  30  and their sharpened ends resting in the first portions of the skewer channels  114  adjacent the skewer insert end  104  of the tray  100 . The tray securing means may comprise pins or buttons  120  extending from the skewer insert end  104   a  of the first tray half  102   a  that engage cooperating tabs  122  that extend from the skewer insert end  104   b  of the second tray half  102   b , as shown more clearly in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , or other securing or latching means as desired. It will be seen that one food piece or element F is positioned within each of the closed cylindrical food receptacles  112 . However, it should be noted that it is not necessary to fill each of the receptacles along any given row or rows of receptacles. The five food pieces F shown in the five receptacles  112  in  FIGS. 4 through 6  are exemplary. In  FIG. 4  the closed tray  100  has been moved from its storage position within the base  12  to its operating position where it engages the tray end  18  of the base  12 . The first tray half  102   a  has a notch or relief  124  formed in its bottom or outer surface adjacent its skewer insert end  104   a . The notch or relief  124  fits over the tray end  18  of the base  12 , or more specifically over the floor  14  at that end  18  of the base  12  when the tray  100  is in its operating position. Movement of the tray  100  away from the base  12  is prevented by the two lateral pins or fasteners  126  that extend from each side of the first tray half  102   a  near its skewer insert end  104   a , shown in  FIG. 2 . These pins  126  engage the corresponding notches at the ends  42  of the two slots  26  and  28  in the walls  22  and  24  of the base (shown in  FIG. 1 ) to seat therein. The increased depths of the notches at the ends  42  of the two slots  26  and  28  allow the pins or fasteners  126  to drop down to compensate for the thickness of the floor  14  of the base  12 , as the tray  100  extends beyond the base  12  in its operating position. This arrangement, along with the notch or relief  124  of the lower tray portion or half  102   a , prevents the tray  100  from moving relative to the base  12  during operation of the food skewering machine  10 . 
       FIG. 5  is quite similar to  FIG. 4  with the exception being that the skewer driver  30  has been pushed to the right in the base  12 , thereby driving the skewers S to the right along the skewer channels  114  of the closed tray  100 . As the pieces of food F are captured within their respective food receptacles  112 , they cannot move relative to the tray  100  and are thus impaled by the sharp ends of the skewers S as they are advanced through the closed tray  100 . The conical shapes of the skewer guide portions  118  of the food receptacles  112  serve to maintain the alignment of the sharpened ends of the skewers S with the concentric skewer channels  114  in the event that the skewers S are deflected by some non-concentric tougher portion of one or more of the food pieces F. 
       FIG. 6  shows the completion of the skewering portion of the operation of the food skewering machine  10 . In  FIG. 6 , the skewer driver  30  has been pushed completely to the right, adjacent to the skewer insert end  104  of the tray  100 . This has driven the skewers S a corresponding distance along the skewer channels  114 , with skewers S of the proper length being driven completely through all of the food receptacles  112  within the closed tray  100  and any pieces of food F captured therein. 
       FIG. 7  illustrates the final step in the operation of the food skewering machine  10 . In  FIG. 7  the tray  100  has been opened to withdraw the skewers S with the food pieces F impaled thereon, with one skewer S and food F thereon shown separated from the opened tray  100  and another skewer S and its food F remaining in the lower half  102   a  of the tray  100 . The skewer driver  30  has been moved back to its initial or starting position along the slots (slot  28  being shown in  FIG. 7 ) near the handle end  16  of the base  12 . 
     When all of the skewers S and food F impaled thereon have been removed, the food skewering machine  10  may be cleaned and configured for storage for future use. The food skewering machine  10 , and particularly the base  12 , its skewer driver  30 , and both halves of the tray  100 , are preferably formed of food grade plastic in order to facilitate cleanup and sanitation. However, other materials may be used if so desired, e.g., corrosion resistant (“stainless”) steel, etc. Once the cleanup has been completed, the tray  100  may be lifted slightly from its deployed position in the base  12  as shown in  FIGS. 4 through 7  to disengage the pins or fasteners  126  of the tray  100  ( FIG. 2 ) from the notches in the ends  42  of the two slots  26  and  28  of the base  12  ( FIG. 1 ) and to disengage the notch  124  of the tray  100  from the tray end  18  of the base  12 . The closed tray  100  may then be placed atop the floor  14  of the base  12  for compact storage of the food skewering machine  100  until needed for further use, as shown in  FIG. 8 . 
     It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.

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