Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CONT I N UOUS COOK I NG G~ I LL
Background of the Invention
l. Field of the Invention
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The present invention relates to contin-
uous grilling oE food items after they enter the
cooker, are advanced intermittently along a U-
shaped path of travel and are discharged from the
cooker, the grilling taking place on both sides by
automatic inversion midway their path.
Apparatus has heretofore beén suggested
for cooking food as it is moved along a circular
cooking platform. Known additionally are automat-
ic, oval cooking grills which turn the articles
over to cook each side. Moreover, wal~ing beam
conveyors are somewhat commonplace.
However, in the field of continuous
grilling of food, the improvements of my instant
invention are novel from many important stand-
points. I use a movable grid having spaced rods
which interleave with the spaced rods of a sta-
tionary grid during raising of the food products
off the latter and advancing the same along a
U-shaped path each time the movable grid is actu-
ated. Walking beams raise and shift two legs of
the food-advancing grid whereas a tubular assembly
controls the arcuate movement to advance the
products from one to the other of the straight
legs.
2. Summary of the Invention
The entire operation is effected by use
of a single motor which not only actuates the
walking beams but the tubular assembly at the
inside center of the bight of two grids. Each
Docket l8804
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grld a4 ,uch bight is divided ir.; , a pair of
1 quadrants such that the products are delivered
from one quadrant to the other. The travel i5
upwardly and forwardly during the first half of
the trip through the cooker and upwardly and
rearwardly during the second half of product
travel. Hence, the products must drop from the
first to the second sections of the grid arrange
ments before commencing the return journey.
The quadrants are so arranged that
during such dropping the products land upside
down, thereby grilling both sides of the products
before they emerge from the cooker. Electric
cooking elements inside the cooker are spaced
above the traveling products. For cleaning pur-
poses the stationary grid is removably carried by
the kettle, and the shiftable grid is removably
carried by the walking beams and the tube assem-
bly.
In the Dr wings
Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a
continuous cooking grill made according to one
form of my present invention, the kettle and its
cover being in section;
Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof with
the cover removed;
Fig. 3 is a view looking upwardly toward
the bottom of the kettle;
Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken
on line 4-4 of Fig. l;
Fig. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary,
vertical cross sectional view through the tubular
assembly at the axis of the quadrants of the
grids;
-- 2 --
Fig. 6 is a fragmentary, elevational
l view of the tubular assembly, partially in sec-
tion, ~aken at right angles to Fig. 5 looking
toward the quadrants;
Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6
looking away from the quadrants;
Fig. 8 is a fragmentary top plan view of
the tubular assembly and certain grid work with
the lid removed;
Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 2
showing a modified form of the grill;
Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 1 of
the grill shown in Fig. 9;
Fig. l1 is a fragmentary cross sectional
view taken on line ll-l1 of Fig. 10; and
Figs. 12-16 all appearing on the sheet of
Figure 4, are diagrammatical views showing the inversion
of a food i~em broiled by the cookers.
Description of the Preferred Embodiment
In the embodiment of Figs. 1-8, a cooker
18 for broiling food items 20, such as hamburger
patties (Figs. l2-16), has a kettle 22 supported
by legs 24 and carrying a cover 26 through use of
hinges 28. After the items 20 enter one end of
the kettle 22, they are advanced continuously by
intermittent pulses along a U-shaped path and
before emerging from the same end of the kettle
22, ~hey are broiled on both sides as the result
of being continuously subjected to heat thereabove
emanating from electric heaters 30 carried by the
cover 26 therewithin. Flipover of the items 20
midway their travel (Figs. l2-l6) occurs
automatically as hereinafter explained.
A primary, stationary grid 32 has a
U-shaped configuration to present a first elon-
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gated leg~ 4 which receives the ite,r 20 exteri-
1 orly of the kettle 22 for advancement through an
opening 36 in one end 38 of the kettle 22. The
grid 32 has a semi-circular bight 40 at the oppo~
site end 42 of the kettle 22, made up of a first
quadrant 44, as a continuation of the leg 34, and
a second quadrant 46 from which a second leg 48
extends, terminating outside the kettle 22 after
passing through the opening 36, rendering the
cooked items 20 accessible. The leg 48 is a
continuation of the quadrant 46 and is disposed in
spaced parallelism to the leg 34.
The leg 34 and its quadrant 44 slope
upwardly as the end 38 of the kettle 22 is ap-
proached whereas the leg 48 and its quadrant 46
slope upwardly as the end 38 of the kettle 22 is
approached, with the two U-shaped heaters 30
sloping accordingly (Fig. 1). The straight termi-
nal ends of the quadrants 44 and 46 extend radial-
ly inwardly of the U-shaped end 42 with such end
of the quadrant 44 spaced above the end of the
quadrant 46 (Figs. 12-16).
The grid 32 is removably supported by
the kettle 22 through use of open top, notched
lugs 50 rigid to the kettle 22 and by an upstand-
ing tubular assembly 52 extending through the
bottom of the kettle 22 at the axis of the bight
40. Each leg 34, 48 has a plurality of spaced,
longitudinal rod elements 54 rigidly intercon-
nected by cross bars 56, the latter of which rest
in the lugs 50. The quadrant sections 44 and 46
3 have arcuate rod elements 58 joined by cross bars
60 at the terminal ends thereof, the bars 60 being
supported by lugs 50 at the center o~ the wall 42
and by the assembly 52.
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~ . U-shaped secondary grid ~, shiftable
1 up and down intermittently relative to the grid 32
is provided with sloping legs 64 and 66 corre-
sponding to the legs 34 and 48 respecrtively and a
bight 68 corresponding to the bight 40. And, as
in the case of the grid 32, the bight 40 has a
pair of sloping sections 70, 72 in the form of
quadrants corresponding to the quadrants 44 and 46
respectively. Once again, as shown, the removable
legs 64, 66 have straight, spaced, parallel rod
elements secured to cross bars, and the removable
quadrants have arcuate rod elements secured to
cross bars. However, each leg 64, 66 has a pair
of separate, end-to-end parts, and the quadrants
70, 72 are separate from each other and from the
legs 64, 66.
Each leg 64, 66 is supported by a pair
of elongated, inclined, spaced, walking beams 74
extending from the exterior of the kettle 22 and
through the opening 36, terminating adjacent the
assembly 52. The upper edges of the beams 74 are
notched to receive the cross bars of the legs 64,
66 and each beam 74 has a pair of spaced sup-
porting members 76 depending therefrom.
A motor 78 has a driveshaft 80 rotatably
suspended from the bottom of the kettle 22 and
provided with a pair of bevel gears 82. Each of
the four driven eccentric shafts 84, rotatably
suspended from the bottom of the kettle 22 and
corresponding with the members 76, is provided
with a bevel gear 86. Two of the eccentric shafts
3 84 radiate from the shaft 80 in one direction and
have their gears 86 in mesh with corresponding
gears 82, whereas another pair of the eccentric
shafts 84 radiate in the opposite direction from
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the shaft f ) and also have their gea~ 86 in mesh
1 with corresponding gears 82. Thus, the eccentric
shafts 84 on one side of the shaft 80 are rotated
in one direction and the opposite pair of eccen-
tric shafts 84 are driven in the opposite direc-
tion by the shaft 80 during operation of the motor
78. Each member 76 has a circular hole rotatably
receiving eccentric portion 87 of the shaft 84
(Fig. 1).
Accordingly, the beams 74 and their legs
64, 66 travel through essentially circular paths.
The leg 64 rises, progresses toward the quadrant
44, descends and regresses toward the end 38
during each cycle. Simultaneously, the leg 66
rises, progresses toward the end 38, descends and
regresses toward the quadrant 46. The rods of the
legs of the grid 62 interleave with the rods 54 of
the legs 34, 48 such that, during each cycle, the
legs of the grid 62 rise above the legs 34, 48 to
raise the items 20 off the legs 34, 48. After the
items 20 on the leg 34 are raised they are ad-
vanced toward the quadrant 44 and then set bac~onto the leg 34. Conversely, after the items 20
on the leg 48 are raised they are advanced toward
the end 38 and then set back onto the leg 48.
Manifestly, such intermittent movement of the
items 20 toward and away from the bight 40 takes
place during each cycle of the beams 74. ~nciden-
tally, slots 88 in the bottom of the kettle 22 for
clearing the members 76 are best shown in Figs. 1
and 3, and slots 90 (Fig. 4) in the end 38 clear
the beams 74. Not shown are two brackets which
extend upwardly from the bottom of the kettle 22
for supporting the two lugs 50 shown in Fig. 2
between the legs 34 and 48.
-- 6 --
7~
~ ~Eerring now in more d ~ ~il to the
assembly 52, especially Figs. 5-8, there is pro-
vided an outer, upright tube 92, open at both ends
and extending through the bottom of the kettle 22,
to which the tube 92 is firmly attached. Bearings
94 in the tube 92 surround a vertically recipro-
cable, inner tube 96 which is oscillatory aboutits upright axis of reciprocation.
The tube 96 is so moved by the continu-
ation of shaft 80 passing through diametrically
opposed clearance openings lO0 in the cube 92.
The tube 96 has an oblong hole 102 with its major
axis disposed vertically and an opposed, oblong
hole 104 having it major axis disposed horizon-
tally. A rotor 106 engaging the tube 96 in the
hole 102 is eccentric to and rigid to the shaft
80, and a rotor 108 engaging the tube 96 in the
hole 104 is eccentric to and also rigid to the
shaft 80. A third tube 110 is an upper contina-
tion of the tube 96, although separate therefrom,
and a fourth tube 112 is surrounded by the tubes
96 and 110. A fifth tube 114 is disposed in the
tube llO at the upper end of the latter.
A knurled cap 116 has an inner flange
118 loosely fitted into the tube 114 and a bolt
120 rigid thereto and threaded into a bar 122
extending across the tube 112 and notched at its
ends into the tubes 96 and 112. Fasteners 124
attach a closure plate 126 for the bottom of the
tube 112 to the bar 122.
Notches are illustrated in Figs. 5-7 for
releasably receiving certain components of the
grid assemblies 32 and 62. The tube 112 has a
number of such notches 128 at its upper edge for
receiving the cross bars of the quadrant 72 which
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are, in ~ n, cleared by notches 13' in the tube
110. The tube 110 is also provided with notches
132 in its upper edge which correspond to notches
133 in tube 114 for receiving the cross bar at the
terminal end of the quadrant 70. The outer tube
92 has notches 134 and 135 at its upper end which
receive the proximal bars 56 and 60 respectively
of the leg 34 whereas the cross bar 56 of the leg
48 is received in a long notch 136 in the tube 92.
Therefore, the grids 32 and 62 may be
removed from the kettle 22 by first turning the
cap 116 to release the bolt 120 from the bar 122.
Then, by slipping the tube 114 from within the
tube 110, the quadrant 70 is released from the
notches 132 and 133. Next, the tube 110 may be
slipped off the tube 112 to clear the notches 128
and 130 such as to release the quadrant 72, and
the leg 34 as well as the quadrant 48 can be
readily removed from the notches 134 and 136. The
legs 34 and 48 are simply lifted out of the lugs
50 and the legs 64 and 66 are lifted off the beams
74.
OPERATION
A predetermined, elevated temperature is
produced in the cooker 18 by use of a suitable
control for the heaters 30, and a desired speed of
rotation of the shaft 80 is selected by a suitable
control for the motor 78. The food items 20
placed on the leg 34 of the grid 32 exteriorly of
the cooker 18, are advanced through the opening 36
of the kettle 22, and cooking continues until they
exit through the opening 36 on the leg 48 outside
the wall 38.
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.~ ~tation of the shaft 8(( causes the
sha~ts 84 to rotate through the gears 82 and 86
1 causing rotation of all four eccentric shafts B4
in their corresponding members 76. Each time the
leg 64 rises and progresses toward the quadrant
70, the items 20 are raised off the leg 34 and
advanced toward the end 42 of the kettle 22.
Simultaneously, each time the leg 66 rises and
progresses away from the quadrant 72 the items 20
are raised off the leg 48 and advanced toward the
end 38 of the kettle 42.
All the while, the shaft 80 rotates the
rotors l06 and l08 continuously to oscillate and
raise and lower the tube 96 as well as all parts
carried thereby. This causes the quadrant 70 to
raise the items 20 (received from the leg 64) and
carry the items 20 along an arcuate path toward
the quadrant 72.
As demonstrated by Figs. l2-l6, when the
items 20 arrive at the discharge end of the quad-
rant 70 (such end extending radially inwardly from
the end 42 of the kettle 22 toward the assembly
52), they tilt downwardly and then fall upside
down onto the lower quadrant 72 as shown by the
arrows. Immediately, the inverse side of the
items 20 begin to cook, such cooking continuing
throughout the arcuate movement along the quadrant
72 and the leg 66. ~anifestly, the movement of
the inverted items 20 along the quaarant 72 until
delivered to the leg 66 also results from the rise
and fall of the tube 96 by action of the rotor l08
and oscillation of the tube 96 during rotation of
the rotor l06.
The up and down and arc~late movement is
imparted from the assembly 52 to the quadrants 70
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and 72 sf lltaneously with the quadL( -t 70 rnoving
arcuately away from the leg 64 and the quadrant 72
moving arcuately toward the leg 66 during travel
of the items along the bight 68. As in the case
of the action imparted to the legs 64 and 66 by
the beams 74, the assembly 52 causes the quadrants
70 and 72 to descend below the quadrants 44 and 46
and regress toward the leg 64 and away from the
leg 66 during each cycle, depositing the items 20
back onto the quadrants 44 and 46 each time the
quadrants 70 and 72 pass beneath the upper sur-
faces oE the quadrants 44 and 46.
During the successive, intermittentadvancements of the items 20 along the leg 34,
thence along the bight 40 and finally along the
leg 48, they are continuously cooked on both sides
to the extent desired by adjustment of the heaters
30 and/or the speed of the motor 78 prior to
successive emergence of the items 20 from the end
38 of the kettle 22. While conveyance of the
items 20 is not continual, there is no pause
except somewhat momentarily each time the items
come to rest on the grid .2.
A cooker 138 as shown in Figs. 9-ll,
differs from the cooker 18 of Figs. l-8 only with
respect to the nature of the two legs of the
stationary grid and of the movable grid. There-
fore, the same numerals are used with respect tocomponents which are the same in both cookers 18
and 138. Legs 140 and 142 of the stationary grid
have rods 144 and 146 rigidly secured to the
kettle 22 and extending inwardly from correspond-
ing sides of the kettle 22. The spaced rods 144continue from the exterior of the end wall 38 to
the quadrant 44 and the spaced rods 146 continue
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from the(.~adrant 46 to and throug~ the openin~
l 36.
On the other hand, legs 1~8 and 150 of
the movable grid each have a series of rods 152
and 154 extending toward the sides of the kettle
22. Once again the rods 152 continue through the
opening 36 to the quadrant 70 and the rods 15~
extend from the quadrant 72, terminating beyond
the end wall 38. ~he inner ends of the rods 152
and 154 are secured to corresponding beams 74
carried by members 76 actuated by the motor 78 as
above explained.
While the cookers 18 and 138 as de-
scribed above contemplate a stationary grid, e.g.
the primary grid 32 and a movable grid, e.g. the
secondary grid 62, it is contemplated that both
grids be movable if such is to be desired. It has
been fully illusrated and carefully explained
above how the grid 62 is caused to be moved in
relation to the grid 32. As an additional embodi-
ment, I contemplate that the grid 32 be moved in
the same manner and through use of the sarne struc-
tural components as employed in connection with
the grid 62, and duplication of such components
for the grid 32 has not, therefore, been included
in the drawings.
It is but necessary to further explain
that the two movable grids would move alternately
such that one would arrive at its greatest height
as the other grid arrives at its lowermost posi-
tion. Each grid would advance the product the
same distance during each cyle of movement.
Hence, the speed of advancement of each product
would be doubled and, if as such result, the
products are not sufficiently cooked by the time
they emerge from the cookers 18 or 138, one need
merely reduce the speed of the motor 98.
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