The present invention relates to cooking accessories. More precisely, the invention relates to a low cost food cooking support structure.
Food may be prepared by cooking on various heating appliances. Examples include barbecue and oven. Typically the food is laid out horizontally or in two dimensions on a grill, rack or pan. On a barbecue an elongated item such as a back rib, chicken wing or leg for example will be strongly exposed on its downward side to the heat source requiring frequent turning for even cooking. In an oven pan a food item will soak in its juices which may cause sogginess or be unhealthful for meats with fats.
In a preferred embodiment the present invention includes an array of substantially vertically oriented spikes, points, skewers, or equivalent elongated members. The points are preferably detachably supported on a base structure whereby the points can be removed for cleaning the components or to use other point sizes or lengths. The disassembled elements can be stored and transported in a compact form. The base structure preferably includes a function to at least partly shield the food above from direct heat or flame from below.
With the spikes oriented vertically the food items may be cooked more evenly than the same items being flat on a grill. For example a common elongated food article such as most meat items laying flat on a conventional grill normally requires regular flipping to prevent burning. When held vertically such an elongated item will cook evenly over a larger portion of its surface. In another example, when used in an oven, the support assembly holds the food items vertically and well above a drip tray. The food will not become soggy or heavy in meat drip fats.
Wire forms are preferably detachable from base 10 or equivalent structure so that they may be stored and/or shipped flat. The detachable or changeable spikes may also be replaced with a wire form spike set of a different length, shape, or wire diameter. For example if a user is to barbecue shrimp or chicken wings, a spike about 2-3 inches long may be suited. For ribs a taller spike may be preferred. Spike sizes or styles may be mixed on one base. The ability to disassemble the grill support assembly is helpful for shipping of the product. A shipping box can be compact being substantially just the size of base 10 while wires 20 are arranged flat in the box along a plane largely parallel to base 10. This option to disassemble contributes well to the commercial potential of the grill support assembly in the preferred embodiment of the invention whereby shipping, transport and in-store stocking can be a substantial portion of the total cost of selling products. Further an end user can easily clean and store the disassembled grill support device. In contrast a fixed assembly or one that includes movable but not readily detachable spikes or equivalent structures will be difficult to clean since the joining features will present confined spaces that cannot be accessed for such cleaning. However if desired the spikes and base may be further securely attached together by fasteners or other means. Preferably as shown wire form 20 is a substantially two dimensional form. This simplifies its design and allows the small storage and shipping package described.
While the spikes and base are preferably separable in normal use, wires 20 and the corresponding spikes are operatively held securely to base 10. Base 10 includes slot openings or equivalent mating structures 11 and 17 to align, guide and hold wire forms 20. Equivalent structures for example include a hole, recess, rib, edge, or tab of base 10, not shown, that can position wire 20. Slot 17 is through a highest position of base 10 on top portion 14. Slot 11 extends to a lowest practical location or base bottom on sides 16 at or near a level of bottom flanges 12. Base 20 therefore has bends to extend vertically in height, vertical in
One skilled in the art understands that optionally a single elongated slot of base 10 can extend far enough vertically to secure the wire form in position as described above. One skilled in the art further understands that flange 12 need not be flat, sized, or horizontal as shown, but may form a roll, hem or edge defining a lower extent of sides 16. Also understood by one skilled in the art, slots openings in base 10 may comprise equivalent structures for example include a hole, recess, rib, edge, or tab of base 10, that can position wire 20.
As described above the spikes may be attached or supplemented by fasteners, welding or equivalent means whereby the positioning and heat shield function is preferably preserved while base 10 may then optionally be less tall.
To hold the wire form laterally in the view of
To detach, the wire form may be forcibly pulled upward. However the wire form is preferably resilient so that it can be more easily removed by squeezing the top of the wire near spike points 22. This is seen in
One skilled in the art understands that the above design allows a comfortable and intuitive squeezing effort to detach the wire form while holding it in place during normal use.
As shown slots 11 and 17 are in flat sections of base 10. Optionally the base may include an outside corner, for example similar to the corner that joins side 16 to top 14, with a slot at the corner. Then a straight or concave portion of wire form 20 can engage the slot rather than the convex portion such as 23a as shown.
Spike 22 is preferably positioned inward of a width extent of base 10 as defined in the present instance by tab 19a,
As seen in
Other locations may include snap or friction interference features to hold wire form 20 to base 10. For example an indent bend in the wire of wire form 20 just above the leader 23a in
As seen in
As suggested above base 10 preferably provides a heat shield for the food items. The preferably sheet metal structure of the base protects the food items from direct exposure to a barbecue flame or heating element. This protection will reduce a tendency to burn the food that a barbecue or other cooking appliance can cause. Openings 15 may be included on selected faces of base 10 to assist with cooking by allowing some convection heat from a flame or other source to pass through the shield formed by base 10.
According to the preferred embodiment described the grill support structure is inexpensive to produce and transport. Its manufacture preferably requires no secondary operations such as riveting, welding machining, drilling or fastening etc. The only assembly required is for packaging the loose parts that comprise the grill support structure. Instead the simple and readily reversible assembly is done by the end user. The base is a simple sheet stamped form with preferably straight simple and parallel bends. The wire form is in a single plane without coining, pressing or other slow or non-automated operations.
Optionally additional features may be added, formed, or attached to one or both of the base and wire forms. For example other grill accessories including additional base 10 units may be attached together for example to add stability or enlarge the heat shield effect if desired. In one embodiment base 10 may include a tab and corresponding recess, not shown, by which engagement holds the bases in a relative position.
While the particular forms of the invention have been illustrated and described, it will be apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is contemplated that elements from one embodiment may be combined or substituted with elements from another embodiment.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
526135 | Stone | Sep 1894 | A |
691833 | Williamson | Jan 1902 | A |
1969601 | Foch | Aug 1934 | A |
2183938 | Lewis | Dec 1939 | A |
2584295 | Sanzenbacher | Feb 1952 | A |
2616360 | Thompson | Nov 1952 | A |
3053169 | Rappaport | Sep 1962 | A |
3324524 | Perron et al. | Jun 1967 | A |
3326389 | Richter, Jr. | Jun 1967 | A |
3379118 | Perez | Apr 1968 | A |
3405631 | Thomas, Jr. | Oct 1968 | A |
3540369 | Brooks Hice | Nov 1970 | A |
4625634 | Kruper | Dec 1986 | A |
4709626 | Hamlyn | Dec 1987 | A |
4848217 | Koziol | Jul 1989 | A |
4924768 | Jay | May 1990 | A |
4930642 | Brooks | Jun 1990 | A |
5008508 | Skerker et al. | Apr 1991 | A |
5069117 | Schlessel | Dec 1991 | A |
5158009 | Stewart | Oct 1992 | A |
5814795 | Kim et al. | Sep 1998 | A |
5842409 | Loffler et al. | Dec 1998 | A |
6119588 | Tiemann | Sep 2000 | A |
6192792 | Gremillion | Feb 2001 | B1 |
6553896 | Heide | Apr 2003 | B1 |
6823773 | Swinford et al. | Nov 2004 | B2 |
D543802 | Fuchs | Jun 2007 | S |
7281469 | Barbour et al. | Oct 2007 | B1 |
7516693 | Kam | Apr 2009 | B2 |
7669523 | Zemel et al. | Mar 2010 | B1 |
7707929 | Bourgeois et al. | May 2010 | B1 |
7942278 | Martin et al. | May 2011 | B2 |
D755011 | West | May 2016 | S |
20070000395 | Kam | Jan 2007 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
2369389 | Jul 2003 | CA |
102008003562 | Jul 2009 | DE |
0648065 | Apr 1995 | EP |
WO-2010109077 | Sep 2010 | WO |