Portable turntable for use in microwave ovens

Claim 2

In a portable turntable for use in microwave ovens to rotate a container containing a food product cooked within the oven, (a) a pan shaped base having a flat bottom and an upright peripheral side wall, (b) a cover disposed in covering position over the base rotably mounted to the base, (c) a metal housing fixedly connected to the base, (d) a wind-up spring motor having an output shaft enclosed within the housing and having a driving connection with the cover to rotate said cover, said base, cover and driving connection being formed of a dielectric material, (e) a centrifugal governor, (f) a gear train connecting the output shaft and the centrifugal governor so that the output shaft rotates more slowly than the centrifugal governor, (g) said metal housing being relatively smooth and unencumbered with sharp edges throughout its entire exterior surface, and (h) an aperture in said metal housing of a size to receive said driving connection therethrough but sufficiently small to effectively eliminate microwave energy from the interior of said housing.

Claim 3

The portable turntable of claim 1 wherein the centrifugal governor further comprises a shaft, a disc mounted axially on the shaft, a resilient tab attached to the periphery of the disc and a brake element adjacent the periphery of the disc so that when the disc is rotated the tab will move outwardly contacting the brake element to retard the rotation to a fairly constant velocity.

Claim 4

The portable turntable of claim 2 wherein the disc and tab are formed of a single resilient piece, the tab being separated by a slit from the remainder of the disc.

Claim 5

In a portable turntable for use in microwave ovens to rotate a container containing a food product cooked within the oven, (a) a pan shaped base having a flat bottom and an upright annular peripheral side wall, (b) a circular cover disposed in covering position over the base and having a peripheral downwardly depending rim adapted to mate with the pan side wall to form an enclosure, (c) said base and cover both being formed of a certain material transparent to microwave having a low dielectric constant and having a low dissipation factor, (d) a metal housing secured to the base, said housing having its external surface free of sharp edges with the exception of an aperture of a predetermined size which is a fraction of the wavelength of the microwave energy employed, (e) a wind-up spring motor mounted within the housing, said motor having an output shaft, (f) a centrifugal governor, (g) a gear train connecting the output shaft and the centrifugal governor so that the output shaft rotates more slowly than the centrifugal governor, (h) means for energizing the motor; and (i) drive means having the qualities of said certain material connecting the motor to the cover through the housing aperture to rotate the cover on the base about its center axis so that a container resting upon the cover will rotate with the cover.

Claim 6

In a portable turntable for use in microwave ovens to rotate a container containing a food product cooked within the oven, (a) a pan shaped base having a flat bottom and an upright annular peripheral side wall, (b) a circular cover disposed in covering position over the base and having a peripheral downwardly depending rim adapted to mate with the pan side wall to form an enclosure, (c) said base and cover both being formed of a certain material transparent to microwave having a low dielectric constant and having a low dissipation factor, (d) a metal housing secured to the base, said housing having its external surface free of sharp edges with the exception of an aperture of a predetermined size which is a fraction of the wavelength of the microwave energy employed, (e) a wind-up spring motor mounted within the housing, said motor having an output shaft, (f) a centrifugal governor, (g) a gear train connecting the output shaft and the centrifugal governor so that the output shaft rotates more slowly than the centrifugal governor, (h) means for energizing the motor; and (i) drive means having the qualities of said certain material connecting the motor to the cover through the housing aperture to rotate the cover on the base about its center axis so that a container resting upon the cover will rotate with the cover.

Claim 7

The portable turntable of claim 4 wherein the centrifugal governor further comprises a shaft, a disc mounted axially on the shaft, a resilient tab attached to the periphery of the disc and a brake element adjacent the periphery of the disc so that when the disc is rotated the tab will move outwardly contacting the brake element to retard the rotation to a fairly constant velocity.

Claim 8

The portable turntable of claim 5 wherein the disc and tab are formed of a single resilient piece, the tab being separated by a slit from the remainder of the disc.