Patent Application
20130233182
The invention relates to a cooking appliance and, more specifically, to a counter-top rotisserie oven that is specially engineered having space saving and other storage and operating features that provide desired improvements over conventional rotisserie ovens.
Indoor cooking appliances are known in the art and include stoves, toasters, broilers, and countertop-ovens such as rotisserie ovens. Rotisserie ovens known in the art are typically configured having a fixed-size outer housing that defines a cooking chamber within, wherein the cooking chamber includes one or more heating elements for cooking the desired food article. Such rotisserie ovens conventionally have an elongated cooking chamber that is configured to accommodate a chicken or other food article within.
Additionally, such rotisserie ovens are configured to accommodate the food article within the cooking chamber on a spit of the like that enables the food article to be rotated within the cooking chamber to provide a uniformly cooked result. Such rotisserie ovens may also include temperature controls or timers or the like, that control or actuate the heating elements and/or spit to facilitate cooking the food article without constant supervision.
While such rotisserie ovens are known in the art, they are made having a fixed-outer housing shape or size, that presents a somewhat bulky spatial package that is either left on the kitchen counter when it is not being used, which occupies sometimes precious counter space, or that is difficult to store if removed from the kitchen counter, sometimes requiring storage in a closet, pantry or even a garage.
It is, therefore, desirable that a counter-top rotisserie oven be configured in a manner that is capable of operating in a manner that is the same or improved when compared to conventional rotisserie ovens. Additionally, it is desired that such a counter-top rotisserie oven be configured in a manner that enables it to be easily stored when not being used, for example within a kitchen drawer or the like, to thereby avoid the need to consume precious kitchen counter space for storage.
Countertop cooking devices such as ovens and rotisserie ovens as disclosed herein generally comprise a two-piece enclosure or housing formed from a lower member and an upper member. In an example embodiment, the upper member is removably connected to the lower member to form a cooking chamber therebetween, and is movable relative to the lower member, e.g., can be tilted upwardly, to permit access to the cooking chamber. The enclosure includes a heating assembly, e.g., comprising one or more heating elements, disposed therein and positioned to facilitate the cooking of a food article within the cooking chamber when activated. The enclosure can include switches and controls to adjust/set the time and/or temperature of the cooking operation.
In an example embodiment, the cooking chamber is configured to accommodate a spit assembly disposed therein for rotatable movement during a cooking operation. The spit assembly comprises a pair of opposed plates with two or more spit rods extending therebetween. In an example embodiment, the spit assembly is disassembled by removing the rods from the plates to facilitate storing the disassembled spit assembly parts within the cooking chamber. The enclosure includes a motorized mechanism to facilitate rotating the spit assembly therein through the use of geared engagement.
The enclosure includes one or more support members connected thereto for selectively moving the enclosure between a first storage position (when not in use) and a second operating or cooking position (when used to cook a food article). When in the storage position, the cooking enclosure lower member is oriented having a reduced height profile relative to a horizontal support surface as compared to when the enclosure lower member is in the operating or cooking position. In an example embodiment, the support members are positioned along a rearward bottom surface of the enclosure lower member, and positioned to extend therefrom to place the enclosure in a forward-oriented position.
The enclosure lower member includes a front edge and a rear edge. When the enclosure lower member is positioned in the storage position, the height of the front and rear edges are substantially the same as measured from a horizontal support surface. When the enclosure lower member is positioned in the cooking position, the rear edge is oriented substantially higher than the front edge. In an example embodiment, the height of the rotisserie oven in the stored position is less than about 75 percent of the height of the rotisserie oven in the cooking position, is less than about 65 percent of the height, and in a preferred embodiment is about 50 percent or less of the height of the rotisserie oven in the cooking position to facilitate easy and convenient storage.
The enclosure upper member is configured so that it can be inverted and fitted within the enclosure lower member cooking chamber. In an example embodiment, at least 75 percent of the upper member fits within the lower member. In an example embodiment, the lower member has a semi-cylindrical configuration, and the upper member has a semi-cylindrical configuration sized to fit concentrically within the lower member when detached from the lower member and inverted. When in a stored configuration, with the upper member inverted and disposed within the lower member, a sufficiently sized space exists between the upper and lower members to accommodate storage of the disassembled spit rod plates and rods therein.
Thus, rotisserie ovens as disclosed herein are configured to provide a space-saving low-height profile for storage purposes to thereby enable the oven and its contents, e.g., the spit assembly, to be easily stored in a kitchen drawer or the like, avoiding the need to needlessly occupy valuable kitchen counter space and/or to be stored inconveniently outside of the kitchen, allowing it to always be close by and readily available for repeated use.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:
Rotisserie ovens as disclosed herein are specifically designed to permit easy, space-saving storage to thereby maximize kitchen counter surface area when not in use. Such Rotisserie ovens generally comprise a lower enclosure or housing member that includes a cooking chamber therein and that includes a motor for rotating a spit assembly, on which a food article is disposed during a cooking operation, within the cooking chamber. An upper enclosure or housing member is removably disposed over the lower member to define and enclose the cooking chamber. The rotisserie oven is configured to facilitate cooking a food article when positioned in a cooking orientation or position, and to facilitate self-contained storage by providing a reduced height profile when placed in a storage orientation or position, wherein “self-contained” refers to the fact that the spit assembly is contained within the rotisserie oven when placed in the storage position.
In an example embodiment, the lower member 12 includes a motorized mechanism 16 disposed therein or attached thereto that is configured to engage and actuate rotation of a spit assembly or the like that is disposed within the cooking chamber. In an example embodiment, the motorized mechanism is provided in the form of an electric motor, and the electricity for the electric motor is provide by an electrical cord 18 extending from the lower member. The lower member can include one or more control features, such as on/off switches and/or timers for the motorized mechanism and/or for a heating assembly disposed within the oven, as well as an indicator of the cooking temperature and/or cooking time. Such control features can be positioned along a panel 20 positioned along a front edge of the lower member 12.
The upper member 14 is positioned over the lower member and in an example embodiment is configured having a generally cylindrical shape that complements that of the lower member. The upper member can also be formed from a metallic material. In an example embodiment, the upper member includes a number of vents or openings 22 extending through a wall surface to optimize cooking In an example embodiment, the upper member includes a plurality of vents that are located toward a rear portion of the upper member. Additionally, the upper member can be configured having a transparent window 24, e.g., a domed window, positioned towards a front portion of the upper member, to facilitate viewing the food article being cooked from a position outside of the oven.
In an example embodiment, the upper member 14 is configured so that it can be tilted upwards away from a front portion of the lower member by pivoting action of the upper member along a rear portion of the lower member. In an example embodiment, the upper member comprises engagement members or features 28 positioned along a rearward portion that are configured to cooperate with respective engagement members or features in the lower member. In an example embodiment, the upper member engagement members are provided in the form of a tongue that engages a respective groove position at a rearward position of the lower member. This arrangement of cooperative engagement members enable the upper member to be tilted upwardly through the use of an upper member handle 26 positioned at the front of the upper member 14.
As best shown in
The lower member 12 includes one of more rear support elements 32 that are positioned along a lower member bottom surface, specifically a rearward surface 34. In an example embodiment, the rear support elements 32 are configured to place and maintain the lower member 12 in a forward-oriented cooking position when the rotisserie oven is in cooking operation, as will be described in greater detail below. In such an example embodiment, the support elements are configured to be movable between a cooking position where they extend outwardly away from the bottom rearward surface 34, and a storage position where they removed, retracted or otherwise are moved to be adjacent to the bottom rearward surface to thereby enable the lower member to be moved to a rearward-oriented storage position, reducing the lower members height profile.
As illustrated in
One or more of the spit rod plates 36 include means for engaging the motorized mechanism in the lower housing to facilitate rotation of the spit assembly 35 in the cooking chamber. In an example embodiment, one or both of the plates include gear teeth positioned along an outer edge that are sized and positioned to engage a driving gear (not shown) extending from a wall surface of the cooking chamber and that is attached to the electric motor. The cooking chamber and spit assembly are configured to accommodate rotational movement of the spit assembly thereby when the electric motor is activated, and are configured to permit the spit assembly to be easily inserted into and removed from the cooking chamber.
As shown in
Moving away from the bottom frontward surface 38, the lower member bottom surface transitions upwardly to the bottom rearward surface 34 to which the rear support members 32 are connected. As illustrated, when the rotisserie oven is oriented in a cooking position, the rear support members 32 operate to move and maintain the bottom rearward surface 34 in a position that is at a forward angle relative to the horizontal support surface, e.g., at an angle that is sufficient to place the bottom frontward surface 38 parallel with the horizontal support surface. In an example embodiment the forward angle is greater than about 10 degrees, in the range of from about 15 to 60 degrees, and in an example embodiment between about 20 to 45 degrees. Moving away from the bottom frontward surface 38, the lower member has a back surface 50 that curves upwardly from the bottom frontward surface 38 to a rearward edge 52.
Thus, as described herein, when the rotisserie oven 10 is oriented in its cooking position, the lower member 12 is oriented such that its back surface 50 and its rearward edge 52 is positioned significantly higher than its front surface 42 and its forward edge 44. Positioning the lower member 12 in this manner enables easy frontal access to the cooking chamber 30 for the purpose of introducing and removing a food article to be cooked, and when the cooking article is being cooked it enables easy viewing through the upper member window.
The lower member 12 includes a heating element assembly 53 positioned within the cooking chamber along an inside portion of the back surface 50, which assembly may comprise one or more heating elements 54. As illustrated, in an example embodiment, the heating element assembly 53 extends longitudionally along a length of the cooking chamber back wall. The heating elements may be openly exposed within the cooking chamber or may be covered, e.g., behind a wall or screen adjacent the cooking chamber. As noted earlier, the lower member includes a grease pan 46 positioned within the cooking chamber along the bottom frontward surface 38 and connected to a handle 48 for easy removal and replacement. In an example embodiment, the grease pan can include a broiler cover or the like 56 disposed thereover comprising an arrangement of slots or other configured openings.
A feature of rotisserie ovens as disclosed herein is that they are specially configured to provide an improved degree of space-saving storage, thereby making such ovens more practical to buy and keep available for repeated use. The ovens as disclosed herein achieve this through the use of an enclosure engineered to provide a cooking orientation having one height profile, and a storage orientation having another reduced height profile, and further through the use of oven members that are designed to be stored within the oven without contributing to the reduced storage height profile.
In an example embodiment, ovens as disclosed herein achieve this through the use of retracting and/or removable rear support members that permit the oven to be shifted from a forward-oriented cooking position (where the rear edge is significantly higher than the front edge), to the storage position (where the height of the rear and front edges are substantially the same). The storage position provides a reduced overall height profile of the oven as measured from a horizontal supporting surface. Additionally, the cooking chamber is sized to accommodate placement of the spit assembly therein when the spit assembly is in a disassembled form.
In an example embodiment, the height of the rotisserie oven in the stored position is less than about 75 percent of the height of the rotisserie oven in the cooking position, is less than about 65 percent of the height, and in a preferred embodiment is about 50 percent or less of the height of the rotisserie oven in the cooking position.
As noted above, the spit assembly comprises a pair of spit plates having one or more spit rods interposed therebetween. The spit assembly can be disassembled by simply removing the spit rods from the spit plates. In this form, as illustrated in
In an example embodiment, at least 75 percent of the inverted upper member can be disposed within the cooking chamber, and preferably at least 85 percent. In a most preferred embodiment, the inverted upper member is completely disposed within the cooking chamber of the lower member such that the overall height profile of the combined upper and lower oven members in such storage position is substantially the same as the lower member when it is in a storage position alone. In an example embodiment, the upper member 14 is inverted so that its lid 26 rests adjacent lower member front edge 44.
Further, the configuration of the upper member and the cooking chamber permits the upper member when inverted to fit completely within the cooking chamber while the disassembled spit assembly is also stored therein, thereby providing a rotisserie oven that is capable of consuming less storage space (thus being able to be more easily stored in conventional areas such as kitchen drawers and the like) than conventional rotisserie ovens. The ability to provide a rotisserie oven having such a space-saving storage ability is significant as it permits such an appliance to be easily stored within a kitchen drawer or the like, thereby avoiding having to consume valuable counter space.
Other modifications and variations of rotisserie ovens as disclosed herein configured in the manner described above with reference to the figures will be apparent to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, this invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.
