Patent Application
20050205077
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to barbecue grills, and more particularly to a handle and integrated lighting system for illuminating the interior cooking chamber and cooking surface of a barbecue grill.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Barbecue grills are well known and commonly used for outdoor cooking. With the proper ambient light, the food cooking on a barbecue grill is easily monitored by periodically inspecting the food for doneness or potential cooking problems. For example, grilled food is often inspected for excess charring. As in other methods of cooking, a food thermometer may be inserted into a food item periodically to check for doneness.
When a thermometer is not available, it is common practice to cut into a food item to inspect the color or texture at the center of the food item and determine doneness. Removing meat from the grill prematurely is particularly problematic because dangerous bacteria may reside in undercooked meat. This bacteria can cause serious illness in those who consume the undercooked meat.
The nature of grilling commonly places barbecue grills in locations that are frequently outside the range of nearby artificial illumination. Thus, when a grill is used at night, especially in poorly lit areas, cooking food to perfection can become challenging. Without the ability to properly inspect the food on the cooking surface of a grill, food may become excessively charred. Just as easily, food may be removed from the grill prematurely resulting in an undercooked and potentially harmful meal.
Accordingly, a need exists to rectify the issues associated with grilling in the absence of adequate external ambient light sources.
Embodiments of the present invention include a cooking apparatus including a hollow cooking chamber and a lid pivotally connected to a firebox with a hinge. The cooking apparatus also includes a light assembly with an illumination enclosure within the hollow cooking chamber configured to house an illumination source.
The cooking apparatus also includes a compartment on the outside of the hollow cooking chamber and affixed to the lid configured to house a source of energy used to energize the illumination source.
Another exemplary embodiment is directed to a cooking apparatus with a hollow cooking chamber. The cooking chamber includes a lid pivotally connected to a firebox with a hinge. The cooking apparatus also includes a light assembly with an enclosure disposed within the hollow cooking chamber for housing an illumination source. Further, the cooking apparatus includes a compartment on the outside of the hollow cooking chamber and affixed to the lid. This compartment is designed to house a source of energy to energize the illumination source.
Another exemplary embodiment includes a method of providing illumination to a cooking surface of a barbecue grill. The steps include modifying a grill handle to house a battery, attaching the grill handle to a grill lid, providing power from the battery to a light bulb disposed within a hollow cooking chamber of the grill, and shielding the light bulb when the grill lid is in a closed position. Further, the embodiment includes removing the shield from the light bulb when the lid is rotated to an open position to expose the light bulb and illuminate the cooking surface from above.
Another exemplary embodiment is directed to a barbecue grill with a hollow cooking chamber. The hollow cooking chamber includes a firebox with an attached grill lid. Further, a light assembly is provided that includes a light enclosure configured to house an illumination source. The light enclosure is disposed within the hollow cooking chamber. A shield is hingedly connected to the light enclosure to shield the illumination source when the grill lid is in a closed position and rotates to an open position to expose the illumination source and illuminate a cooking surface from above.
Other systems, methods, features and/or advantages will be or may become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and/or advantages be included within this description and be protected by the accompanying claims.
Many aspects of the invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present invention. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
The invention is generally directed to a handle and light assembly for use on a barbecue grill. The assembly is inclusive of handle and at least one source of illumination for illuminating a cooking surface inside a hollow cooking chamber of the barbecue grill. The handle may function both as a means for opening a lid to access the cooking surface and also as a compartment for retaining the energy used to power the source of illumination. The lid includes at least one channel for the appropriate wiring to extend from the energy compartment to the illumination source. Accordingly, the handle may be located on the outside of the grill lid, and the source of illumination may be located inside the hollow cooking chamber.
The grill light assembly 109 generally includes handle 110 and light enclosures 114a and 114b. The handle 110 is fastened to lid 103 and thus may be used to facilitate the opening of lid 103 to access the cooking surface 108. According to the preferred embodiment of
Light enclosures 114a and 114b are disposed on the inside of lid 103, and thus are located inside cooking chamber 102. Accordingly, light enclosures 114a and 114b are constructed of a chrome plated steel, which offers protection from heat and other cooking hazards within the cooking chamber 102. The light enclosures 114a and 114b may be constructed of other various materials known in the art, but are preferably constructed of heat resistant materials to prevent melting or premature degradation.
When the grill is in the open position, as depicted in
Turning now to
According to this embodiment, light enclosures 114a and 114b are substantially similar in all respects, thus any description as to light enclosure 114a applies equally to 114b. Here, light enclosure 114a includes a light bulb shield 116. The light bulb shield 116 is hingedly attached towards the top of the light enclosure 114a by a shield hinge 118. Thus, as shown in
As is common in barbecue grills, the heat source used for cooking is typically located in the firebox 105 (
In contrast, when lid 103 is rotated to the open position as depicted in
Although power switch 112 of the present embodiment is used to manually activate and deactivate the power source to bulb 120, other devices may be configured to automatically activate and deactivate the power based on the position of the grill lid 103 or the position of the light bulb shield 116. For example, in practice, the illumination is typically only needed when the cooking surface is accessed by opening grill lid 103 to the open position. Thus, an automatic switch may be implemented to complete the circuit and energize the light bulb 120 when the lid 103 is in the substantially open position, and disconnect the circuit when lid 103 is in the substantially closed position. Likewise, an automatic switch may enable power to the light bulb 120 based on the position of the light bulb shield 116. For example, when the light bulb shield 116 is in the closed position, the switch may automatically disable power to the light bulb 120. When the light bulb shield 116 is in the open position, the switch may automatically enable power to the light bulb 120. When using an automatic switch for activating and deactivating the grill light, it is also beneficial to employ light sensing technology to measure a threshold level of ambient light before activating the power source. For example, a photocell circuit may be used to detect the ambient light and conserve energy by enabling power to light bulb 120 when the ambient light is of such low levels that cooking surface 108 is poorly lit.
According to a second embodiment shown in
In yet another embodiment, each of the light bulb shields may be physically secured in the substantially closed position, regardless of the lid position, until the shields are released. This embodiment may be used to limit the exposure of the light bulb to heat, smoke, and cooking residue when the grill lighting system is not being used to illuminate the cooking surface. For example, light bulb shield 116 may be secured in the substantially closed position by a spring loaded release tab which is positioned to prevent light bulb shield 116 from rotating about shield hinge 118 when lid 103 is rotated to the open position. In addition to activating and deactivating the power source to bulb 120, power switch 112 may also operate a cable release attached to the spring loaded release tab. Thus, when power switch 112 is activated the cable release biases the spring loaded release tab to a position that allows light bulb shield 116 to freely move about shield hinge 118. Thus, the light bulb shields are released at substantially the same time as the moment that power is supplied to the light bulbs. Other embodiments, such as those using manually releasable tabs or other suitable fasteners that prevent the light bulb shields from opening when the lid is opened may be used. Preferably, these fasteners would be easily released when the grill light is used to illuminate the cooking surface.
Although the description above contains several specific embodiments, these embodiments should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.
