Patent Application
20220322877
This present disclosure relates to portable outdoor cooking appliances, typically grills or similar appliances taken camping. Other grills are a single function device, capable of cooking food on a grate, with a heat source under the grate. With the expansion of gourmet and health-conscious foods and the desire of people to consume them as they travel, an increased desire to cook different types of foods while traveling is emerging. Some desire to cook items on a grill, others desire to cook on a griddle, and some may desire to cook a pizza. While traveling, space is a major concern, so traveling with three individual cooking appliances consumes valuable space. This puts the user in a position where they either narrow their variety of food while traveling or use valuable storage space for a variety of bulky cooking appliances. Other devices attempt to solve this problem by adding components that would fit on an existing grill, such as an add-on griddle attachment or pizza oven that sits on top of the grill. These devices inherently involve compromises in cooking efficiency, storage, or compatibility. An improved device is needed.
The present disclosure describes a modular cooking appliance with a common base and interchangeable tops. The common base has a heating element controlled by a valve. The base has receivers to locate and secure the interchangeable tops. One of the interchangeable tops is a grill grate for open-flame cooking. A second interchangeable top is a griddle that provides a flat surface with a drain for grease. The drain in the griddle aligns with a grease trap located in the common base when secured. A third interchangeable top is a pizza oven. Optionally, the pizza oven top and griddle top may be implemented without having to remove the grill grate. The baffle and/or grate may be removed if the user desires more direct heat to the griddle or pizza oven stone.
A modular cooking appliance 10 is shown in
The base 12, shown in
A flame baffle 50 over the burner 33 is held in place with a shelf 52 that is affixed to the front wall 30 and a shelf 54 that is affixed to the back wall 28. The flame baffle 50 rests on the shelves 52, 54 and is lifted off for cleaning or if a more direct flame from the burner 33 is desired by the user.
The gas valve 34 is connected to a fuel supply line 60, which is connected to a fuel source, such as a portable fuel tank or fuel line connected to a tank onboard the mobile living quarters (not shown). The fuel supply line 60 is connected to a regulator 62 before reaching the gas valve 34. The regulator 62 modulates the fuel pressure to provide stable fuel pressure for the gas valve 34 and burner 33. As is well-known in the art, the burner 33 is connected to the gas valve 34 but also includes a starter/pilot device. The starter/pilot device allows the user to ignite the burner 33 after igniting a smaller flame that is adjacent the burner 33. While the base 12 shows a single burner, it is contemplated that multiple burners could be implemented, either controlled individually or in unison.
The grill grate 18 is designed to fit in the cooking opening 36 and be supported by the front and rear support walls 42, 44. As installed, the grill grate 18 is substantially flush with the top surface 38. As shown, the grill grate 18 is an assembly of stiff wire welded together into a flat structure forming elongate openings, but other structures are contemplated. The grill grate 18 could be cast iron, stamped sheet metal, or made from other common grate materials or manufacturing methods. The grill grate 18 has a width 70 that is less than the width of the cooking opening 36, which creates receiving gaps 56, 57. The receiving gaps 56, 57 allow for one of the interchangeable tops to be located and aligned to the base 12 while the grate 18 is left in place. The grate 18 stops short of filling the corners of the cooking opening 36, creating alignment pockets 58, as shown in
The griddle 14 is a flat cooking surface 80 with border walls that surround it. The front border wall 82 is much shorter than the rear border wall 84. The side border walls 86, 88 join the front to the rear border walls. The cooking surface 80 has a drain aperture 90 that aligns with the grease trap 20 when the griddle 14 is mated to the base 12. The border walls are sealed to each other and to the cooking surface 80. The drain aperture 90 has a funnel portion 92 to prevent incorrect draining when the base 12 is not exactly level. On the opposite side of the flat cooking surface 80 are structural reinforcements 94 to prevent distortion and maintain the flatness of the cooking surface 80, even when heated. Located near the corners of the griddle 14 are locating feet 96. Each locating foot 96 has a standoff portion 98 and a tab 100. The standoff portion 98 maintains a gap between the bottom of the cooking surface 38 and the cooking opening 36. The gap allows a place for exhaust gases and heat from the burner 33. The tabs 100 extend into the alignment pockets 58 to prevent side-to-side or front-to-back movement of the griddle 14 when mated to the base 12. In use, the burner 33 heats up the cooking surface 80, with the heat and exhaust gases escaping at the gap between the top surface 38 and the bottom of the griddle 14.
The pizza oven 16 is a partially enclosed attachment that mates to the base 12. The pizza oven 16, as opposed to the griddle 14, sits flush with the top surface 38 and is specifically designed to channel the exhaust gases and heat from the burner 33. This is aided by alignment walls 116, 117 that mate with the receiving gaps 56, 57 on the base 12. In the event the grate 18 is not present, the alignment walls 116, 117 mate with the cooking opening 36. The pizza oven 16 has two main portions: a stone portion 120 and a dome portion 122. The stone portion 120 holds a baking stone 124 that is supported by a bottom wall 126. The bottom wall 126 has a central aperture 128 so the underside of the baking stone 124 is directly exposed to the heat from the burner 33. The stone portion 120 forms part of the enclosure to direct exhaust gases into the dome portion 122 by mating to the cooking opening 36. The fit between the pizza oven 16 and the base 12 reduces or prevents heat loss at the interface between the two parts, along with the alignment walls 116, 117 providing an additional barrier. Openings 130 in the bottom wall 126 direct exhaust gases and heat into a dome chamber 132 in the dome portion 122. The dome portion 122 has an outer wall 136 and an inner wall 138. The inner wall 138 is the only place where exhaust gases can escape, with exhaust openings 140 shown in
It is understood that while certain aspects of the disclosed subject matter have been shown and described, the disclosed subject matter is not limited thereto and encompasses various other embodiments and aspects. No specific limitation with respect to the specific embodiments disclosed herein is intended or should be inferred. Modifications may be made to the disclosed subject matter as set forth in the following claims.
