TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a portable barbecue, and particularly to an improved portable barbecue capable of using a disposable gas container and unfolding the side wall members thereof, thereby advantageously cooking a variety of food.

BACKGROUND ART

Generally, foods to be grilled cuts of meat including e.g, steak, ribs of pork or beef, sliced pork, legs of chicken, fishes, potato chip, skewered food stuff, toast and laver, etc., are cooked using various cooking devices including a barbecue. For example, meat and skewered food stuffs are in common cooked using a microwave oven equipped with a grill or using a grill heated by an electric heating element or a fire. Toast is made using an exclusive toaster device. In case of laver, it is grilled using a laver grill or using just a fire.

Accordingly, so as to barbecue or grill such various kinds of foods, the user must purchase different devices for cooking each desired type whereby inconvenience and much cost is incurred.

In addition, in case of barbecuing a piece of meat having a greater thickness, the meat must be turned over during the cooking so as to evenly barbecue the meat in the course of barbecuing in a microwave oven with a grill.

Furthermore, recently one cooking system with a turntable has been introduced, which is capable of evenly cooking such a bulk of meat, however, in this case the fat contained in the meat to be cooked can not be effectively removed because the meat is placed on a tray supported by the turntable. Still furthermore, these conventional cooking devices are relatively heavy and big, thereby being inconvenient to move, and in particular basting the foods being cooked is difficult. In addition, in the course of cooking a piece

of meat, the heated fat from the meat being grilled or barbecued is splashed all over the inside portion of the cooking device, so the inside thereof becomes dirty, thereby making it difficult to clean the polluted portion.

To overcome the above- escribed problems, techniques were disclosed in Korean Patent Application No. 7536/1994 (April 11, 1994), and Korean Utility Model Application No. 7722/1994 (April 14, 1994) by the applicant of this invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the conventional barbecue includes an opening section 12 formed at the upper portion of a main body 10, heating members 30 opposingly disposed at both sides of a cooking chamber 11 under which a slidable food debris and oil receiving container (not shown) is provided, a driving member 40 having a driving gear 42 and mounted on one side wall member of the cooking chamber 11 , an operation member 50 mounted on one side of the cooking chamber 11 for controlling the heating member 30 and the driving member 40, a following gear 72 provided at the central portion of a wire net 71 having a predetermined shaped handle 60, whereby the wire nets 71 are rotatable thereabout in cooperation with a driving gear 42 of the driving member 40, and a rotary grill 70 inserted into the interior of the cooking chamber 11 through the opening section 12 of the main body 10.

However, the conventional barbecue has disadvantages in that the system is driven only by an electrical driving source. That is, it is impossible to use the system at a place where an electrical power source is not available.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a portable barbecue which overcomes the problems encountered in the conventional barbecue device.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved portable barbecue capable of using a disposable gas container, thereby being used as a cooking pan. It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved portable barbecue capable of unfolding the side wall members thereof, thereby advantageously cooking a variety of food.

To achieve the above objects, there is provided a portable barbecue, which includes a main body; a pair of side wall members disposed at the upper portion of the main body for defining a cooking chamber therebetween; heating members mounted on each side of the side wall members; a gas supply unit for supplying gas to the heating members; a rotary grill rotatably positioned within the interior of the cooking chamber; and a driving unit for rotatingly driving the rotary grill.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of a conventional electric type barbecue;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a portable barbecue in which a disposable gas container receiving section is opened according to the present invention; Fig. 3 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the portable barbecue according to the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the portable barbecue according to the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a portable barbecue according to the present invention, in which the side wall members are opened to be used as a cooking pan;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a rotary grill of the portable barbecue according to the present invention; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a portable barbecue of another embodiment according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, which show the portable barbecue according to the present invention, reference numeral 100 denotes a main body, and 200 denotes a rotary grill which is rotatably disposed within the cooking chamber 111 of the main body 100.

A water container 101 is slidably provided at the central portion of the

bottom of the main body 100 for receiving therein food debris and oil. A gas container receiving section 120 is provided at the main body 100 into which a disposable gas container 130 is substantially encased. The gas container receiving section 120 is closed/opened by a lid 121. A connection port 122 is 5 affixed to a predetermined portion of the gas container receiving section 120 to which a nozzle 131 of a gas container 130 is engaged, and gas supply tubes 123 are connected to the connection port 122.

In addition, a pushing plate 124 is adapted at the opposing side of the connection port 122 to push the gas container 130 toward the connection port 10 122 and is operably connected with a lever 125. Also, an ignition switch 126 is provided at a predetermined portion of the main body 100.

Meanwhile, side wall members 140 and 140' for defining a cooking chamber 111 therebetween are hinged at the upper portion of the main body

100 and are able to outwardly unfolded at a predetermined angle, and heating

15 members 150 and 150' connected to the gas supply tube 123 are disposed at a predetermined inner portion of the side wall members 140 and 140'.

One of the side wall members 140 and 140' is provided with a window

141 through which a user may see the interior of the cooking chamber 111.

In addition, as shown in Fig. 3, a driving unit 160 is disposed at a

20 predetermined portion of the main body 100 for driving the rotary grill 200 disposed within the interior of the cooking chamber 111. The driving unit 160 is generally made of a windup spring member, and includes a protruded knob

161 for winding the windup spring of the driving unit 160, and a driving gear

162 disposed at a predetermined portion of the bottom of the cooking chamber 25 111 .

Spaced-apart plate members 170 and 170' made of a conductive material are detachably disposed at the inside of the side wall members 140 and 140', so that when the side wall members 140 and 140' are outwardly unfolded it can be used as a cooking pan. 30 Meanwhile, the rotary grill 200 within the cooking chamber 111 of the main body 100, as shown in Fig. 6, includes two unfolding frames 210 and 210', and a handle 220, 220' is attached to each side of the frames 210 and

210'. The wire nets 212 and 212' are rotatably engaged to the frames 210 and 210' in cooperation with a roller 211, 211', and one of the wire nets 212 has an S-shaped rim 212 at the outer portion thereof to be engaged with the driving gear 162 of the driving unit 160. In addition, the wire nets 212 and 212' are formed by spirally winding a plurality of wires, so that when a food to be cooked is placed on the rotary grill 200, the wire nets 212 and 212' can be elastically outwardly expanded in accordance with the thickness of the food placed therebetween.

In addition, the frames 210 and 210' include a ring-shaped locking means provided at the handles 220 and 220', so that when a food is placed between the wire nets 212 and 212' the wire nets 212 and 212' are locked. The operation and effects of the portable barbecue will now be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings.

To begin with, when cooking a certain food, the food is placed between the wire nets 212 and 212' in a state that the outer frames 210 and 210 of the rotary grill 200 are unfolded. Thereafter, the outer frames 210 and 210' are folded. At this time, the food therebetween is elastically supported in a state that the spiral wire nets 212 and 212' are outwardly expanded by a certain distance. When placing the food therebetween is completed, and the rotary grill

200 is disposed within the cooking chamber 111 defined between the side wall members 140 and 140', the driving gear 162 disposed below the cooking chamber 111 is engaged to the rim 112 formed at the wire net 21 of the rotary grill 200. Thereafter, the windup spring of the driving unit 160 is substantially wound using the knob 161, and the heating members 150 and 150' are ignited using an igniting switch 126. Thereafter, the heating member 150 is heated by flame of gas introduced thereto from the gas container 130, and elastic force of the windup spring is transferred to the driving gear 162 through a conventional speed reducing device (not shown). Thereafter, the wire nets 212 and 212' of the rotary grill 200 engaged to the driving gear 162 rotates at a certain speed, and the food between the wire nets 212 and 212' are heated.

At this time, food debris or oil from the food therebetween is gathered in the water container 101 disposed at the bottom of the cooking chamber 111. After cooking is completed, the food debris and oil gathered in the water container 101 are removed therefrom. In addition, it is possible to see the cooking state of the food between the wire nets 212 and 212' through a window 141 provided at one of the side wall members 140 and 140'.

In order to use this system for barbecuing food, spaced-apart plate members 170 and 170' disposed at the side wall members 140 and 140' can be separated therefrom.

However, when using this system for a cooking pan, it is necessary to mount the plate members 170 and 170' at the upper portion of the side wall members 140 and 140' in a state that the side wall members 140 and 140' are outwardly unfolded, so that it is possible to cook meat or fish by placing these on the upper surface of the plate members 170 and 170'.

Meanwhile, Fig. 7 shows a portable barbecue of another embodiment according to the present invention. As shown therein, the portable barbecue includes a groove 182 formed in place of the gas container receiving section 120 of the first embodiment of the present invention and having a lid 181 for covering the groove 182. A connection port 183 is provided at the inside of the groove 182, and a flange 185 having an engaging portion 184 engaged to an engaging groove (not shown) of the disposable gas container 130 and formed at a periphery of the connection port 183. In this embodiment, it is not necessary to additionally form a disposable gas container receiving section in the system, so that more compact size is obtainable. The operation thereof is the same as the first embodiment of the present invention.

As described above, the portable barbecue is directed to using a disposable gas container and unfolding the side wall members for use as a cooking pan. In addition, it is possible to use this system at the outside of home where an electrical power source is not available.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that

various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as described in the accompanying claims.