Patent Application
20100258107
The present invention relates to a transportable wood-fired oven trailer adapted to be transported to a location having pedestrian traffic, such as street vending sites, or special events such as family events, for on-site preparation of foods at those locations.
Many people like the taste imparted by a wood-fired oven. In fact, it appears that societal dining tastes and trends are leaning toward Continental cuisine. Restaurants offering new and varied dining experiences and tastes, from the sublime to the exotic, have flourished and prospered during the past decade or two. Among the tastes frequently sought after is that of food cooked or baked in a solid fuel oven, such as wood-fired oven baked breads and pizzas, as well as various other foods that can be prepared in a solid fuel, wood-fired oven. These ovens provide a unique cooking method and the fired gases and smokes let off by the solid fuels impart to the foods cooked in these ovens a unique taste obtained only from such ovens. Diners frequent restaurants whose menus include such wood-fired oven foods for the gustatory experience offered by these uniquely flavoured foods, such as breads, pastas, pastries, poultries, fish, meats and pizzas.
A problem arises for the person who wishes to dine on foods cooked or baked in a solid fuel oven, but is not near a restaurant offering such foods, or does not have the time required to dine in a restaurant. The foods prepared in a solid fuel oven, including wood-fired ovens, are best eaten when freshly prepared and cooked. Therefore, although many restaurants offer take-out or carry-out foods prepared in wood-fired ovens, the carry-out diner is unable to experience the freshly baked or cooked flavours available to in-restaurant diners. Frozen oven baked foods as well do not offer the true gustatory experience offered by freshly cooked wood-fired oven foods.
Workers on their lunch breaks often do not have the time to visit and dine in a restaurant or may just prefer to eat outside. Additionally, persons at outdoor events must typically rely on food vendors dispensing foods from carts for their dining experiences. Workers and event attendees, as well as others, who seek fresh, on-site wood-fired oven cooked or baked foods have been denied the experience either because of logistical difficulties or time restraints in going to a restaurant and ordering such foods.
Side walk vendors, while offering foods prepared on-site, do not offer wood-fired oven cooked foods. Current side walk vendors offer foods prepared on grills or ovens heated with natural gas flames, charcoal or electrically generated heat, but the relatively quick and flavour enhancing aspect offered by wood-fired heat is lacking in natural gas, charcoal or electric ovens or grills. Additionally, the utility requirement of electrically powered vending carts limits the operation of those carts to where such utilities are practicably available.
The object of the present invention is to provide a transportable oven trailer which obviates or alleviates any one of the above problems, or at least provides the public with a useful alternative.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a wood-fired oven adapted to be utilised upon a trailer, and which trailer and oven can be transported to a location for on-site preparation of wood-fired oven foods at the location for consumption.
In a broad aspect, the invention could be said to reside in a transportable oven trailer including:
Preferably said tray includes a floor and upstanding side, front and rear walls.
In preference said rear wall is moveable between open and closed positions to allow access to said oven.
Preferably said trailer includes at least one horizontal work surface associated with each of said upstanding side walls.
In preference said at least one horizontal work surface is of a height to facilitate preparation of food thereon.
In preference said at least one horizontal work surface is in the form of a work board moveable between a first position in which said work board provide a work area above and along an upstanding side wall, and a second position in which said work board is disposed in an upright position for when the trailer is being transported.
Preferably said oven is a heavy wood fired pizza oven.
In preference said oven weighs between 300 and 500 kilograms.
Preferably said tray includes upstanding brackets located at corners of the oven for preventing forward and rearward movement thereof.
In preference said tray includes a heat resistant shield disposed forwards of the oven for providing a barrier between the oven and a storage area inside said tray.
Preferably said trailer further includes an oven fuel storage compartment supported above the frame.
In preference the trailer further includes insulated containers for food storage located in the tray.
Preferably said wheel axle assembly includes a single wheel axle and an associated suspension system.
In preference the trailer further included a park brake for locking the position of said trailer.
In a further form of the invention there is proposed a transportable wood-fired oven trailer including:
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate several implementations of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the advantages and principles of the invention. In the drawings:
The following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings. Although the description includes exemplary embodiments, other embodiments are possible, and changes may be made to the embodiments described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings and the following description to refer to the same and like parts. Dimensions of certain of the parts shown in the drawings may have been modified and/or exaggerated for the purposes of clarity or illustration.
The present invention provides a transportable wood-fired oven trailer 10 which avoids the disadvantages of the prior art. These disadvantages include: non-portability of current wood-fired ovens; lack of maneuverability of current wood-fired oven trailers; and inadequate space for storage and preparation of food.
The purpose of illustrating the conventional trailer 12 is so that one can appreciate the differences between it, and the transportable wood-fired oven trailer 10 of the present invention. The transportable wood-fired oven trailer 10 of the present invention is illustrated in
The wood-fired oven trailer 10 includes an A-frame 19, a tray 20, and a wheel axle 22 as per the conventional trailer 10, however, these have been arranged and configured differently to particularly suit the application of carrying a wood-fired oven 24 at the rear of the tray 20 as shown. In particular:
Other standard features of the trailer 10 which are also found in conventional trailers include a spare tyre 38 mounted above the A-frame 14 in front of the firewood compartment 26, a jockey wheel 40 located forwards of the spare tyre 38, a coupling 42 for attachment to a towball (not shown) of a towing vehicle (not shown), wheel suspension 44 from which the wheel axle 22 is suspended, and tyres 46 at the ends of the wheel axle.
The oven 24 in the embodiment shown is a stone hearth oven having a domed metallic roof 48, exhaust pipe 50, and doors 52 at the front of the oven 24 for access to a food placement area, and a fuel area respectively. The length of the oven 24 is just shorter than the width of the tray 20 so that it fits snugly between side walls 32 and 34. During transport, the oven 24 may be prone to forward or rearward movement inside the tray 20. The trailer 10 includes brackets 54 at all four corners of the oven 28 which are upstanding from the tray floor 27 to prevent such movement. These types of ovens are able to heat up in a matter of 15-30 minutes and so are ideal for mobile use, however, it is to be understood that other type of heating devices could be used including clay wood-fired ovens, and large gas cookers.
The top of the stone hearth ovens 24 are typically protected by heat resistant material, and even during cooking, one can touch the top surface and not get burnt. However, the rear of the ovens 24 do not typically have such protective backing, and so the trailer 10 of the present invention may also include a heat proof shield 56 which is also upstanding from the floor 27 of tray 20 using bolts or welds or other suitable means. This is shown clearly in
The reason for this is because the front of the tray 27 is adapted to be used to carry containers filled with food such as dough, bread, pizza toppings, and other items including drinks and ice which should not be exposed to high temperatures. For example,
Obviously, when the wood-fired trailer 10 is transported to a place for use, there needs to be an appropriate work area for persons to prepare the food before placing it into the wood-oven 24, and for other duties including pouring drinks and the like. For example, in the case of pizza, one needs a work area to prepare the dough, flatten it out, and apply the toppings before placement into the oven 24. A significant food preparation and work area is provided by the trailer 10 of the present invention using longitudinal rectangular side boards 64 and 66 associated with the tray side walls 32 and 34 respectively.
The side boards 64 and 66 extend approximately the length of the tray 20. The side boards 64 and 66 and the way in which they are attached to the trailer are shown most clearly in
Obviously, the upright configuration is used during transport of the trailer, and the horizontal configuration is used for when the trailer arrives at a destination and the boards are required to be used as work surfaces. As mentioned earlier, the heights of the trailer walls are greater than in conventional trailer design so that the work boards 64 and 66 when configured horizontally, are disposed at a suitable height for working on. This is also important in terms of occupational health and safety.
The second embodiment shows a hinged connection 76 between the side work boards 64 and 66, and the corresponding side walls 32 and 34 of the trailer 10, thereby allowing the boards 64 and 66 to be freely rotated between their transport and useable positions. Brackets 78 are also shown which are adapted to provide an abutment for the boards when in the upright position. It is to be understood that the means by which the boards 64 and 66 are moveable between transport and work area positions is not intended to be limited to any one configuration.
When the trailer is stationary, there is also a need to ensure it is stable and will not move or rotate about the wheel axle, particularly because of the hot equipment mounted on the trailer.
The benefits of the present invention should now be apparent. A transportable wood-fired oven trailer 10 is provided which is mountable to a towing vehicle, can be modified in certain aspects between “transport” and “operational” modes, has increased manoeuvrability in particular when reversing and also increased stability due to the rearwardly offset wheel axle, and whose configuration also provides for increased storage and work space. It is envisaged that such trailers could be transported to public and social events and shows to be used for catering such events, or they could simply be or offered for hire or sale to the general public for personal use.
Further advantages and improvements may very well be made to the present invention without deviating from its scope. Although the invention has been shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope and spirit of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices and apparatus. In any claims that follow and in the summary of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word “comprising” is used in the sense of “including”, i.e. the features specified may be associated with further features in various embodiments of the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009901540 | Apr 2009 | AU | national |
