Patent Application
20160341444
This disclosure relates to a grate for a commercial grill that includes a heat exchanger for capturing excess grill heat and using it to heat liquids. The hot liquids from the heat exchanger may be used to pre-heat water for a boiler, stored in a hot water tank, or may be used directly in a forced hot water heating system.
Embodiments of this disclosure relate to systems, methods, and apparatuses for capturing excess, wasted heat from a commercial grill and reusing that excess heat to provide hot water. Commercial kitchens, such as in restaurants and cafeterias commonly use a grill, among several other industrial-grade cooking apparatuses. Under typical conditions, industrial grills burn a fuel source, such as propane or charcoal, beneath a metal grate in order to heat the grate for cooking. When food items are placed upon the hot grate, some portion of the heat generated by the expended fuel is absorbed by the food item, which becomes heated and, eventually cooked. However, the vast majority of heat generated by the grill escapes in the form of hot air that may be vented by a hood above the grill and eventually discharged outside the kitchen facility.
Some commercial kitchens have attempted to recapture some of the wasted heat from a grill by mounting a heat exchanger within the grease filters in the hoods above the grill. Baffle-type grease filters are commonly known within the commercial kitchen industry as a technique for removing and separating entrained grease from a flow of air, typically in an exhaust hood, extractor hood, or range hood. Such filters remove airborne grease, combustion products, fumes, smoke, odors, heat, and steam from the air by evacuation of the air and filtration. Baffle filters force the air to move through a series of baffles, forcing it into a series of 180-degree turns, causing the grease to be deposited in the bends of the baffles. Some kitchens have also installed heat exchangers within these baffle-type grease filters in order to recapture some of the excess heat generated by the grill before venting it outside the kitchen facility. However, such devices do not recapture a significant amount of heat energy from the ambient air and typically only recapture only a fraction of wasted heat energy.
Embodiments of the disclosure relate to systems, methods, and apparatuses for heating liquids through the use of a heat exchanger in a grill. In one embodiment, a grill comprises a grill grate that includes a heat exchanger disposed within said grill grate designed to allow a liquid to flow through said heat exchanger. The heat exchanger is attached to a pump and a temperature sensor. The pump may also be configured to decrease the flow rate of the liquid when the temperature of the liquid drops below a pre-determined temperature and further configured to increase the flow rate of the liquid when the temperature of the liquid rises above a predetermined temperature.
In some embodiments, the grill grate is comprised of steel, stainless steel, carbon steel, iron, cast iron, porcelain and/or aluminum. In other embodiments, the heat exchanger is comprised of steel, stainless steel, carbon steel, iron, cast iron, copper, brass, and/or aluminum. The pump may be configured to accelerate if the temperature of the liquid from the heat exchanger is detected as being between 120°−200° and to decelerate if the temperature of the liquid from the heat exchanger is detected as being between 80°−190°. In some embodiments, the pump is connected to a fryalator in order to pass oil through said heat exchanger or to a hot water tank in order to pass water through said heat exchanger. In other embodiments, the pump may be connected to a boiler in order to pre-heat water for the boiler. In other embodiments, the pump may be connected to a forced hot water heating system. Finally, the grill may further comprising an emergency shutoff valve that is configured to stop any additional liquid from entering the heat exchanger when the temperature of the liquid exceeds a pre-determined temperature and the pump may be further configured to flush all liquid from the heat exchanger when the temperature of the liquid exceeds a pre-determined temperature.
An alternative embodiment comprises a grill with a grill grate heat exchanger, including one or more header tubes, one or more grill tubes, and one or more liquid supply adapters; such that said grill grate heat exchanger allows a liquid to flow through the one or more liquid supply adapters, said one or more header tubes, and said one or more grill tubes. The grill grate heat exchanger is attached to a pump and a temperature sensor, wherein the pump is configured to decrease the flow rate of the liquid when the temperature of the liquid drops below a pre-determined temperature and further configured to increase the flow rate of the liquid when the temperature of the liquid rises above a predetermined temperature.
In some embodiments, the grill grate heat exchanger, the header tubes, the grill tubes, may be comprised of steel, stainless steel, carbon steel, iron, cast iron, porcelain and/or aluminum. In other embodiments, the pump may be configured to accelerate if the temperature of the liquid from the grill grate heat exchanger is detected as being between 120°−200° and decelerate if the temperature of the liquid from the grill grate heat exchanger is detected as being between 80°−190°. In some embodiments, the pump may be connected to a fryalator in order to pass oil through said grill grate heat exchanger, or it may be connected to a hot water tank in order to pass water through said grill grate heat exchanger, or it may be connected to a boiler in order to pre-heat water for said boiler, or it may be connected to a forced hot water heating system. In other embodiments, the grill may further comprising an emergency shutoff valve that is configured to stop any additional liquid from entering said grill grate heat exchanger and the pump may be configured to flush all liquid from the heat exchanger when the temperature of the liquid exceeds a pre-determined temperature.
Various aspects of at least one embodiment are discussed below with reference to the accompanying figures. The figures are provided for the purposes of illustration and explanation and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. In the figures:
With regard to reference numerals used, the following numbering is used throughout the description and drawings. Where technical features in the figures or detailed description are followed by these reference numerals, the reference numerals have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the figures or detailed description. Accordingly, neither the reference numerals nor their absence are intended to have any limiting effect on the scope of any claim elements. In the figures, each identical or nearly identical component that is illustrated in various figures is represented by a like numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in every figure.
Reference will now be made in detail to representative embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the following descriptions are not intended to limit the embodiments to one preferred embodiment. To the contrary, it is intended to cover alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the described embodiments as defined by the appended claims.
As disclosed herein, the devices and methods presented can be used for a grate for a grill in a commercial kitchen having an internal heat exchanger for capturing excess heat and using it to heat water.
Additionally, a grill according to an embodiment may include additional components of an industrial grill. For example, grill grate 1, may be disposed within a grill housing 2, which may comprise a metal base, side walls, and a back wall. Grill housing 2, may be supported by legs 3, which may be fixed or attached at the corners of grill housing 2 and support grill housing 2. A plurality of control knobs 4 may be located on the front face of grill housing 2 and may be used to control the flow of fuel to burners 5, as is known to one of ordinary skill in the art. Additionally, a grill according to an embodiment may also include a fuel supply source 6, which may comprise a propane hose, in some embodiments, as shown for example, in
In some embodiments, heat exchanger 7 may be substantially filled with water for capturing, storing, transporting, and reusing excess heat from the grill. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other liquid media may be used for capturing, storing, transporting, and reusing heat from grill grate 1. For example, in some embodiments, cooking oil from a fryalator may be passed through heat exchanger 7 in order to heat the oil for cooking in the fryalator. When the invention is configured to heat water, water may be passed through heat exchanger 7 by pump 10. Pump 10 may be connected to cold water supply line 16 and heat exchanger 7. Pump 10 may be further coupled to temperature sensor 11 by wire 12. In some embodiments, Pump 10 may be configured to increase the water flow rate through heat exchanger 7 when the temperature of sensor 11 exceeds a first pre-defined temperature. Pump 10 may also be configured to reduce water flow rate through heat exchanger 7 when sensor 11 indicates that the temperature of the water has dropped below a second pre-defined temperature. By alternatively increasing and decreasing the water flow rate, heat exchanger 7 may be configured to supply water at a pre-defined temperature range through hot water supply 13. In some embodiments, heat exchanger 7 may be configured to supply water with a temperature as high, at times, as ° 400 F. Likewise, by regulating the flow rate of the cold water supply, the kitchen staff does not need to adjust their cooking procedures in order to supply a desired amount of heat to heat exchanger 7, but may instead continue use the grill as they normally would.
Distal header 20 may be attached to one or more grill tubes 23 at bores 22. In some embodiments, grill tubes 23 may comprise a hollow tube with an external diameter between 0.25 and 3 inches. Grill tubes 23 may be comprised of any material that is suitable for serving as both a grill grate and a heat exchanger including, but not limited to, steel, stainless steel, carbon steel, cast iron, iron, aluminum, copper, and/or brass. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that these are just a few examples of suitable materials. Grill tubes 23 may be fastened to distal header 20 at bores 22 using any suitable means of attachment as are known to those of ordinary skill in the art, including screwing, locking, welding, and/or soldering. Grill tubes 23 may be sized and dimensioned to meet the needs of any given grill. However, in some embodiments, grill tubes 23 may be between 6 inches and 48 inches. In some embodiments, grill tubes 23 may be approximately 34-36 inches long.
Grill tubes 23 connect to distal header to at the distal end of grill tube 23 and proximal header assembly 21 at the proximal end of grill tube 23. Proximal header assembly 21 may have a design and constructed in the same manner as distal header assembly 20 and may be fastened to grill tube 23 in the same manner as described above with respect to distal header assembly 20. Thus, distal header assembly 20, grill tubes 23, and proximal header assembly 21, together form, on the exterior, a typically grilling surface and, on the interior, form a continuous, hollow space for accommodating a liquid and for use as a heat exchanger.
In some embodiments, distal header 20 may also comprise two or more pipe thread adapters 25 for connecting with cold water supply 16 and hot water supply 13. Threaded adapter 25 may comprise any suitable size adapter for use with cold water supply 16 and hot water supply 13, as are known to those of ordinary skill in the art. In some embodiments, one or more of threaded adapters 25 may be connected to proximal header assembly 21 instead of distal header assembly 20. In some embodiments, a riser tube may be disposed between distal header assembly 20 and threaded adapter 25, as shown, for example, in
While the disclosed subject matter is described herein in terms of certain exemplary embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that various modifications and improvements can be made to the disclosed subject matter without departing from the scope thereof. As such, the particular features claimed below and disclosed above can be combined with each other in other manners within the scope of the disclosed subject matter such that the disclosed subject matter should be recognized as also specifically directed to other embodiments having any other possible permutations and combinations. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the systems and methods of the disclosed subject matter without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosed subject matter. Thus, it is intended that the disclosed subject matter include modifications and variations that are within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/165,175, which was filed on May 21, 2015 and titled “Grill Grate Heat Exchanger” by Darcy McMenamin, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62165175 | May 2015 | US |
