Patent Application
20200124274
Pellet grills are cookers that combine elements of charcoal smokers, gas grills, and kitchen ovens. They are fueled by wood pellets and infuse food with smoky flavor associated with charcoal grills and smokers, with the convenience of gas grills, and the temperature control of traditional indoor ovens. Pellet grills can smoke as well as grill and bake using an electronic control panel to automatically feed fuel to the fire, regulate the grill's airflow, and maintain consistent cooking temperatures. Despite increasing market differentiation in pellet grills, certain features and functionality remain elusive or suboptimal. For example, pellet grills can introduce excessive amounts of ash and/or particulate matter into food cooking areas, which can adversely affect food flavor. Innovations like pellet fueled grills with cleanout ports (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 9,635,978) offer partial solution. However, some cooking applications remain problematic, particularly those requiring lengthy burn times. Such applications may result in overaccumulation of ash in cleanout ports and adversely affect fuel-to-air mixture. What is needed for such applications is a way to moderate and control ash collection while maintaining optimal fuel-to-air ratios.
In accordance with the above, a burner housing for a pellet grill is provided. The burner housing includes: a first end with a first opening; a second end; and a substantially continuous side portion having two or more elongated apertures disposed thereon, wherein each of the two or more elongated apertures is configured to have a first end with an adjacent first width and a second end with an adjacent second width, the adjacent second width relatively greater than the adjacent second width. So configured, the burner housing generates an air vortex when in burner operation in such a manner as to provide relatively more air movement in an area adjacent to the first end, thereby retaining an optimal amount of ash during lengthy cooking cycles while also providing optimal fuel-to-air characteristics. The problem of providing moderated and controlled ash collection in a pellet grill while also maintaining optimal fuel-to-air ratios is solved.
To further clarify the above and other aspects of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The drawings may not be drawn to scale. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through use of the accompanying drawings in which:
The present invention in its various embodiments, some of which are depicted in the figures herein, is a burner housing for a pellet grill. Referring now to
Elongated apertures are configured to have a first end with an adjacent first width A and a second end with an adjacent second width B, the first width A relatively greater than the second width B. Elongated apertures may be generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of the burner housing 100. Elongated apertures may be configured triangularly and/or as a right triangle, as shown in the illustrated embodiment. Referring briefly to
Referring back to
Referring now to
As set forth above, one or more non-elongated apertures (e.g., 114) may be configured to provide supplemental air supply within the burner housing 100 when in burner operation. The resulting air vortex dynamics of the disclosed structure include wider and greater air movement adjacent to the first end, narrower and less air movement adjacent to the second end, and bordering pockets of even less air movement. Such dynamics retain an optimal amount of ash and particulate matter adjacent to the second end 103 during lengthy cooking cycles (for example, over 4 to 6 hours) while also providing optimal fuel-to-air characteristics at and/or around the lower portion E of the housing 100 during burner operation.
In various embodiments, burner housing 100 may be used in connection with an ash cleanout 203, whereby ash and/or combusted particulate matter 202 is collected for later disposal between burner and/or cooking operations. The ash cleanout 203 used may be of one or more designs set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 9,635,978, or any other design suitable for collection of ash and/or combusted particulate matter, or transport of the same from the lower portion E to a separate collection area 204. Importantly, burner housing 100 may also be used without an ash cleanout 202, and have one or more closed second ends 103, or other compatible configurations.
Referring now to
Thus configured, embodiments of the present invention provide a burner housing for a pellet grill comprising a first end with a first opening; a second end; and a substantially continuous side portion having two or more elongated apertures disposed thereon, wherein each of the two or more elongated apertures is configured to have a first end with an adjacent first width and a second end with an adjacent second width, the adjacent second width relatively greater than the adjacent second width. So configured, the burner housing generates an air vortex when in burner operation in such a manner as to provide relatively more air movement in an area adjacent to the first end, thereby retaining an optimal amount of ash during lengthy cooking cycles while also providing optimal fuel-to-air characteristics. The problem of providing moderated and controlled ash collection in a pellet grill while also maintaining optimal fuel-to-air ratios is solved.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
