Outside cooking grills are generally of two types, gas and charcoal. The temperature at which a gas grill burns is easily regulated, but it is generally difficult to adjust the cooking temperature for a charcoal operated grill. When the charcoal is first lit and only a small portion of the charcoal is burning, the temperature may not be great. After a period of time, all of the charcoal in the firebox will become ignited and considerably more heat will be released. When the grill is used to cook steaks or other oil containing food, the excess grease and oil falling into the firebox may further increase cooking temperature. On the other hand, adverse weather, such as wind and rain, might reduce the cooking temperature as will the reduction of the fuel supply as the charcoal is consumed.
One method that is used to control the temperature of a charcoal burning grill is to entirely enclose the firebox with the exception of a plurality of adjustable vents. To enclose the firebox, a cover is provided having an outer rim that seals against the walls of the firebox. The cover, however, limits the chef's ability to monitor the food being cooked and many outdoor chefs prefer cooking without enclosing the firebox. Efforts have been made to provide a mechanical linkage between the legs of the grill and the firebox for raising and lowering the firebox with respect to the cooking grill, but these efforts have been largely unsuccessful for a number of reasons. First, the metal parts are manually adjustable and they become hot and difficult to safely operate. Second, ash and other debris from the firebox can inhibit the operation of the manually operated parts.
It would be desirable, therefore, to provide an improved cooking grill having a vertically adjustable firebox that can be operated safely and dependably even when the parts are hot and the firebox is releasing ash.
Briefly, the present invention is embodied in a cooking grill having a frame having an upper end, a lower end, and spaced apart first and second sides. A horizontal cooking surface such as a grill is provided at the upper end of the frame and a support structure, such as wheels or slides, is provided at the lower end of the frame.
Mounted to the frame below the cooking surface is a first jack and a second jack, with each of the jacks having a base, an upper end, a vertically adjustable linkage, and an electric motor connected to the linkage and a control remote from the motor for controlling the motor and the linkage to raise and lower the upper end of the jacks. Positioned below the grill and extending across the upper ends of the first and second jacks is a firebox for containing a suitable fuel such as charcoal briquettes. By adjusting the controls from a location remote from the grill, the firebox can be safely raised or lowered.
A better understanding of the invention will be had after a reading of the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein:
Referring to
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Mounted on the upper end plates 54 of the first and second jacks 46, 48 is a rectangular firebox 64 having a rectangular floor 66 and extending vertically upward from the sides of the floor 66 a front panel 68, a rear panel 70, and first and second side panels 72, 74. The horizontal dimensions of the outer surfaces of the panels 68, 70, 71, 72 are a little smaller than the complementary dimensions of the inner surfaces of the panels 22, 24, 26, 28 of the cooking box 20 such that the firebox 64 can move vertically within the various panels 22, 24, 26, 28 of the cooking box 20 as the upper end plates 54 of the jacks 46, 48 raise or lower the firebox 64.
The electrically operated jacks 46, 48 are currently commercially available and each of the jacks 46, 48 includes an upper limit switch and a lower limit switch. The upper and lower limit switches of each jack are vertically adjustable to thereby limit the maximum elevation to which the upper plate 54 of the jack 46, 48 can be raised and to limit the lowest level to which the upper plate 54 can be lowered. The upper limit switch for each jack 46, 48 is set to terminate power to the motor 62 when the threaded shaft 56 has driven the firebox 64 to the highest position allowable within the cooking box 20 when the firebox 64 does not interface with the grill 30. Similarly, the lower limit switch for each jack 46, 48 is set to terminate power to the motor 62 when the firebox 64 drops to the lowest elevation desirable with respect to the cooking box 20. The upper limits of both jacks are set at the same elevation and the lower limits of both are set at the same elevation. As a result, any inequality in the operation of the two jacks is removed when the firebox 64 is driven to either its highest or its lowest elevation.
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The control station 80 has a stand 84 and extending upward of the stand 84 is a post 86 at the upper end of which is a horizontal surface 88. The surface 88 has mounted there a double pole double throw switch 90 connected by the electric wires in the cable 82 to the electric motors 62 and the battery 63. The motors 62 of the two jacks 44, 46 are electrically connected for parallel simultaneous synchronized operation by the single switch 90. Actuation of the switch 90 in a first direction connects power to the motor 62 in one polarity to elevate the firebox 64 and actuation of the switch 90 in the opposite direction connects power to the motor 62 in the reverse polarity to lower the firebox 64 as needed to increase or decrease heat to the cooking grill 30. The switch 90 has a standby position midway between the first and second positions wherein the motor 62 is disconnected from the battery 63. The control station 80 further includes a solar panel 92 connected by wires, not shown, through the cable 82 to the battery 63 for recharging the battery during sunny days.
To operate the grill 10 charcoal or other combustible fuel is placed within the firebox 64 and ignited. When the combustion within the firebox 64 is sufficient for cooking, the chef can cook food on the grill 30 and use the handle 34 to cover the cooking food with the domed lid 32 as needed. If the heat generated within the firebox 64 becomes excessive, the chef can use the switch 90 to operate the motor 62 of the jacks 46, 48 to lower the firebox 64 thereby reducing the heat being applied to the grill 30. Conversely, if the flame within the firebox 64 begins to wane, the chef can actuate the switch 90 in the opposite direction causing the jacks 46, 48 to elevate the firebox 64 thereby applying more heat to the grill 30. Since the control station 80 is mounted on a stand 84 that is remote from the grill 10, the chef can operate the switch 90 without exposing his hands to hot surfaces on the frame 12. Also, debris from the firebox 64 will not interfere with the operation of the jacks 46, 48 because it will be channeled through the neck 78 of the funnel 76 into the collection bucket 44.
It should be appreciated that while the control station 80 has been described as connected to the frame 12 by a cable 82, the solar panel 92 could be mounted on the frame 12 or the cover 32 and the control station 80 could be in the form of a hand held wireless transmitter of the type well known in the wireless art that transmits a signal to a receiver on the frame 12. Such a hand held device would not require a stand 84.
While the present invention has been described with respect to a single embodiment, it will be appreciated that many modifications and variations may be had without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is therefore the intent of the following claims to cover all such modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.
The applicant claims priority from his provisional application filed Jun. 29, 2007 and assigned Ser. No. 60/947,174. The present application relates to outside cooking grills and the like having a fire box for burning charcoal or other combustible and a power operated adjustment for raising or lowering a firebox to thereby adjust cooking temperature.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60947174 | Jun 2007 | US |