Barbeque grill rotisserie drive

Abstract

A rotisserie drive for a grill includes a support for supporting a first end of a spit and a drive transmission including a drive socket for rotatably driving a second end of a spit. The drive transmission is driven by a driving element, such as a motor. The drive transmission comprises a first gear which drives a second gear via a chain. The second gear drives the drive socket. The support may comprise a pair of rollers located at an interior of a first end of a housing of the grill. The drive transmission is located at the exterior of an opposing second end of the housing. The socket is accessible from the interior of the second end of the housing. The drive transmission is preferably located in an interior space at the exterior of the second end of the housing.

1 . A rotisserie for rotatably supporting foodstuffs for cooking with a grill comprising: 
 a spit, said spit having a first end and a second end;    a support rollably supporting said first end of said spit;    a spit drive configured to drive said second end of said spit, said spit drive including a driving element and a drive transmission, said drive transmission including a socket for accepting said second end of said spit, whereby when said driving element drives said drive transmission, said drive transmission rotates said second end of said spit, and said first end of said spit correspondingly rotates upon said support.    
   
   
       2 . The rotisserie in accordance with  claim 1  wherein said driving element comprises an electric motor.  
   
   
       3 . The rotisserie in accordance with  claim 1  wherein said drive transmission comprises a first gear and a second gear.  
   
   
       4 . The rotisserie in accordance with  claim 3  wherein said first gear drives said second gear indirectly by a drive element.  
   
   
       5 . The rotisserie in accordance with  claim 4  wherein said drive element comprises a chain.  
   
   
       6 . The rotisserie in accordance with  claim 3  including a support to which said first and second gears are rotatably mounted.  
   
   
       7 . The rotisserie in accordance with  claim 3  wherein said second gear is located vertically above said first gear.  
   
   
       8 . The rotisserie in accordance with  claim 3  wherein said socket is connected to said second gear.  
   
   
       9 . The rotisserie in accordance with  claim 1  wherein said support which rollably supports said first end of said spit comprises a pair of rollers.  
   
   
       10 . The rotisserie in accordance with  claim 9  wherein said rollers are mounted to a support member.  
   
   
       11 . A grill including a rotisserie spit drive comprising: 
 a grill having a housing defining a generally enclosed grilling space, said housing having a first end wall with an interior side and an exterior side and a generally opposing second end wall with an interior side and an exterior side, said grill having at least one burner element located in said interior space;    a rotatable spit support located at said interior side of said first end wall, said rotatable spit support configured to rotatably support a first end of a spit;    a drive transmission located at said exterior side of said second wall, said drive transmission including a drive socket accessible from said interior side of said second wall, said drive socket configured to drive a second end of a split; and    a driving element located exterior to said housing of said grill and configured to rotate said drive transmission.    
   
   
       12 . The drive configuration in accordance with  claim 11  wherein said driving element comprises an electric motor.  
   
   
       13 . The drive configuration in accordance with  claim 11  wherein said drive transmission includes a first gear and a second gear, said first gear configured to indirectly drive said second gear via a drive element.  
   
   
       14 . The drive configuration in accordance with  claim 13  wherein said drive element comprises a chain.  
   
   
       15 . The drive configuration in accordance with  claim 11  wherein said drive transmission is located in an enclosure, at least a portion of said enclosure defined by said second end of said housing of said grill.  
   
   
       16 . The drive configuration in accordance with  claim 11  wherein said first and second gears are rotatably mounted upon first and second gear supports mounted to said second end of said housing.  
   
   
       17 . The drive configuration in accordance with  claim 13  wherein said second gear is located vertically above said first gear.  
   
   
       18 . The drive configuration in accordance with  claim 13  wherein said socket is connected to said second gear.  
   
   
       19 . The drive configuration in accordance with  claim 11  wherein said rotatable spit support comprises a pair of rollers.