RIGID GRILL STRUCTURE

Abstract

A cart suitable for supporting a grill, including a grill bowl. The cart has two union members with curved channels for receiving tubular, U-shaped frame members. The union members may be in the form of two similar (but not necessarily identical) halves joined together to enclose the frame members. The tubular channels of the union members resist movement (such as twisting and tilting) in at least two directions. The union members lock the frame members in place with internal protrusions that fit into mating depressions or holes in the frame members. Extra rigidity is added to the cart by one or more side tables which are structural members as well as functional tables. The side tables thus serve as cross-members between two frame assemblies. The grill's lid can easily be tilted back to rest in place on lid supports underneath the bottom edge and contact points on the side tables.

Description

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Carts for barbecue grills are quite common and come in a variety of forms. Most carts used to support a barbecue grill are left outside and are, therefore, exposed to extreme environmental conditions, including being left outside through a harsh winter and a hot summer. In addition, grill carts undergo rough treatment, since they are designed to be frequently moved about an owner's property.

Grill bowls that are supported by barbecue grill carts tend to be quite heavy and require substantial structural support. Furthermore, since the temperature inside the bowl of a barbecue grill can get extremely high, for safety purposes, structural stability of a barbecue grill cart is of utmost importance.

The exemplary grill cart described here achieves great structural strength and rigidity with a minimum number of fasteners, and is very visually appealing. These advantages are achieved, at least in part, by a pair of clamshell-like castings that secure pairs of tubular legs and upper frame members, and by incorporating side tables that are not only functional, but also serve as structural members to add rigidity to the cart without adding additional parts.

In an exemplary embodiment of the cart, a clamshell-like union member is used to connect together an upper frame and a lower frame to form a first frame assembly. The upper frame and lower frame may be U-shaped tubes, with the lower frame being an upside-down “U” and the upper frame being right-side up. The union member may be a rigid metal casting in the form of two mating halves. Other materials and manufacturing techniques may be used to form the union member. The two halves of each union member can be joined together by any well-known fasteners, such as screws, bolts, rivets, or equivalent fasteners. The two halves may also be welded together.

The union member can be used to create a substantially rigid frame assembly because its internal shape (a curved tubular channel) conforms to the upper and lower frames, preventing twisting and movement in multiple directions. Further, the union member can be formed with protrusions that mate with holes or depressions in the upper and lower frame members to hold or lock the frame members in place. Such protrusions will also ease the assembly of the cart, since they ensure that the upper and lower frame members are positioned properly even before the two halves of the union member are completely joined and fastened together. The protrusions inside the union member can be of different sizes—for example, the protrusion may be larger on the upper side of the union member, so that only the upper frame will mate with it. This prevents improper assembly of the grill cart.

The exemplary embodiment may also include one or more cross-members to connect the first frame assembly to a second frame assembly. The second frame assembly may be substantially the same as the first frame assembly, or it may be different. Two bowl supports extending between the two frame assemblies hold the bowl of the grill to the assembled frame. One or more rigid side tables also serve as structural cross-members that connect the first frame assembly to the second frame assembly. The side tables need not be attached to the bowl, but may be separated from the bowl by a space. The side tables (or alternatively, the grill bowl) may be fitted with pivot points that support the lip of the grill's lid when the lid is lifted off the bowl and tilted back. In such an embodiment, the lid is prevented from falling by the back edges of the side tables, so that the lid may be easily opened and closed without any hooks or other devices attached to the lid itself.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the grill cart and grill with the bowl and lid in place;

FIG. 2 is a close up view of a first embodiment of the union member of the grill cart of FIG. 1 with the upper and lower frames installed;

FIG. 3 a is a cross-sectional view of the first embodiment the union member and the upper and lower frames;

FIG. 3 b is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the union member and the upper and lower frames;

FIG. 3 c is a cross-sectional view of a third alternative embodiment of the union member and the upper and lower frames;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the first embodiment of a union member and upper and lower frames before assembly;

FIG. 5 is the exploded view of FIG. 5 from a different angle;

FIG. 6 is and exploded view of the upper frames and a side table; and

FIG. 7 is a view of the grill with the lid in the open position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While the inventions shown and described herein are capable of being practiced with numerous alternative embodiments, a particular one is shown and described in detail herein. However, the embodiment shown and described in detail is merely an example of the many embodiments that could be made in accordance with the grill cart claimed herein, and which will be apparent to those skilled in the art of grill cart design.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a grill cart 10 includes two generally U-shaped lower frames 12 and 14, and two generally U-shaped upper frames 16 and 18. The upper and lower frames may be metal tubes. Each lower frame is attached to each upper frame by a rigid union member 20, which may be a metal casting or other rigid material such as, for example, a thermosetting plastic. Each upper frame in the embodiment shown is attached to its counterpart by two side tables, 22 and 24. The lower frames also hold two bowl supports 26 and 28 in place. The two side tables may be attached to the upper frames with bolts, screws, or other fasteners that pass through brackets that are rigidly attached to the upper frames. As will be discussed in more detail below, each side table functions as a rigid cross-member in addition to providing a convenient surface for barbecue tools, food, etc. The side tables may be made of thermosetting plastic or they may be made of any other suitable, rigid material, such as metal.

To simplify construction and save on fasteners, the bowl supports 26, 28 may simply be inserted into blind holes in the upper frames 16, 18, and be held in place because the two upper frames 16, 18 are held at a fixed distance from each other by the side tables 22, 24. Preferably, the bowl supports 26, 28 may be curved so that their shape supports the bowl. In this way, just a single screw (rather than two) can support the bowl, and the support can float between the upper frames 16, 18. More specifically, the bowl supports 26, 28 support the bowl primarily at two points, one on either side of the screw. The bowl contacts the bowl supports at two points due to the curved shape of the bowl supports 26, 28, and because they are placed below the great circle of the bowl, the bowl has no natural freedom or tendency to rotate or move about the supports.

In addition to the bowl supports, a wire rack 30 mounted between the lower frames 12, 14 also “floats”—that is, it is held in place not by fasteners but by the fact that the lower frames 12, 14 are held at a fixed distance apart by the overall structure of the grill cart. The ends of the wire rack 30 are simply inserted into holes in the lower frames during assembly, with no fasteners required. Two wheels 32, 34 of the grill cart also serve to hold the wire rack 30 in place, because the end “wire” of the wire rack extends through the lower frame and serves as the axle to wheels 32, 34.

FIGS. 2 and 3 a show the union member 20 and the lower and upper frames 12, 16 in greater detail. (Although upper frames 12, 16 are shown in these figures, the opposite side of the grill cart is substantially similar, so the figures could also represent the other side, with union member 20 joining lower frame 14 and upper frame 18). FIG. 3a in particular shows a cross-sectional view of one frame assembly—that is, an upper frame and a lower frame held together by a union member 20. The front half of union member 20, labeled 20f, is shown with internal protrusions that fit into holes (or depressions) in the lower and upper frame tubes 12 and 16, respectively. Of course, the protrusions could be on the rear half of union member 20 instead of the front half, or both the front and rear halves could have protrusions. As shown in FIG. 3a, the protrusions may be different sizes, which prevents improper assembly of the grill cart. The protrusions also serve to hold the upper and lower frames in place during assembly. The protrusions also add rigidity to the grill cart by helping to hold the upper and lower frames firmly in place once the grill cart is assembled—they prevent the frames from sliding or rotating within the union member 20.

FIG. 3 b shows an alternative embodiment, where the protrusions are internally threaded to receive threaded fasteners to hold the two halves of the union member 20 together. In this embodiment, union member half 20f would receive threaded fasteners 36 while union member half 20r would have additional holes through which the fasteners 36 would fit. As yet another alternative, shown in FIG. 3c, a single-piece union member could be used to join the lower and upper frames. This embodiment could also be accomplished by internal threads on the protrusions on piece 20f (or on another internal part of piece 20f that does not protrude through or into frame 12 or 16), which could receive threaded fasteners 36 that pass through holes in lower frame 12 and upper frame 16. Of course, for added strength and rigidity, more than one fastener per frame member could be used, which fastener may or may not fit into a protrusion as shown in FIG. 3c.

FIG. 4 shows the union member 20 (represented by pieces 20f and 20r) and an upper and lower frame member prior to assembly. As shown, the two halves of union member 20 can be joined by screws or bolts 36. Each half of union member 20 has channels for receiving the frame members—an upper channel for the upper frame, and a lower channel for the lower frame. Due to the construction of the union member halves, the channels are not shown as being “solid”—that is, they are not in contact with the frame continuously, although such a construction would of course be possible. Rather, the channels include a number of semi-circular ribs that contact the frames members to hold them securely in place. FIG. 4 shows that union member half 20r has three such ribs, but a channel comprising more or fewer ribs is also possible, and would perform the same function of preventing twisting or other unwanted movement of the frames within the union member.

FIG. 5 is another view of the union member 20 and two frame members prior to assembly. In this view, the protrusions on union member half 20f can be seen before they are inside the mating holes in the upper and lower frames.

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the upper portion of the grill cart. FIG. 6 illustrates how side table 22 is a structural part of the grill cart, in addition to being a functional table. (It should be noted that the other side of the grill, not shown in FIG. 6, may be similarly constructed). First, the side table 22 may be attached to the upper frames (also called table supports) by brackets 38 and 40, which are rigidly attached to the upper frames. In the embodiment shown, brackets 38, 40 are welded to upper frames 16, 18, respectively. In addition, side table 22 may be formed to have a rigid internal structure, such as the ribs 42 in the illustrated embodiment. As also shown, each bracket may have holes or depressions that mate with protrusions on the side table 22. In the illustrated embodiment, each bracket has four holes. This construction ensures a rigid construction of the grill cart with a minimum of fasteners. As shown, only one fastener (44, 46) is needed for each bracket, but because the holes in the brackets mate with protrusions in the side table, there is no swaying or “parallelogram effect.” For clarity, roller 48 and spring clip 52 are shown in this figure also, but will be discussed in more detail with respect to FIG. 7.

FIG. 7 illustrates another feature of the grill cart: Since the side tables are spaced-apart from the grill bowl, the side tables can be used to help hold the grill lid in place. As shown, the lower edge of the grill lid is supported in two places by rollers 48 and 50. The lid is prevented from falling by spring clips 52, 54 attached to the side tables. Alternatively, the side tables themselves could serve to hold the lid in place. In accordance with these embodiments, the lid can be simply lifted by handle 56 and moved to the position shown. In this manner, opening the grill is easier than some grills which have a bracket inside the lid that must be hooked on the upper edge of the grill bowl to hold the lid in place. The present embodiment is easier to open because the lid rests on rollers 48 and 50 as soon as the handle 56 is lifted, so the user does not need to support the weight of the lid.

While a specific example of a grill cart structure has been illustrated and described herein, it will be apparent to persons of skill in the art of cart design that numerous modifications, variations and improvements of the embodiment described herein may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A cart comprising: a union member;an upper frame and a lower frame rigidly connected together by the union member, the connected upper frame and lower frame forming a first frame assembly; andat least one cross-member extending between the first frame assembly and a second frame assembly.

2. The cart of claim 1, wherein the union member comprises two substantially similar halves joined together to connect the upper frame and the lower frame.

3. The cart of claim 2, wherein the union member comprises at least one protrusion for engaging with at least one depression in the upper frame or the lower frame.

4. The cart of claim 2, wherein the union member comprises at least two protrusions, the first protrusion engaging with a depression in the upper frame, and the second protrusion engaging with a depression in the lower frame.

5. The cart of claim 1, wherein the union member comprises at least one protrusion for engaging with at least one depression in the upper frame or the lower frame.

6. The cart of claim 1, wherein the union member comprises at least two protrusions, the first protrusion engaging with a depression in the upper frame, and the second protrusion engaging with a depression in the lower frame.

7. The cart of claim 4, further comprising a second cross-member.

8. The cart of claim 5, further comprising: a second union member;a second upper frame and a second lower frame rigidly connected together by the second union member, the connected upper frame and lower frame forming the second frame assembly.

9. The cart of claim 8, wherein the at least one cross-member comprises a substantially rigid table connected to the upper frames of the first frame assembly and the second frame assembly.

10. The cart of claim 9, wherein each upper frame comprises a tube that is substantially “U” shaped, and wherein the union members are attached to the upper frames at a point substantially equidistant from the ends of the “U” shaped tubes.

11. The cart of claim 10, further comprising at least two side tables rigidly connected to an upper portion of the first frame assembly and an upper portion of the second frame assembly, wherein the at least two side tables comprise structural components of the cart.

12. The cart of claim 11, further comprising at least two lid supports positioned between the at least two side tables and a grill bowl to support an edge of a grill lid in an open position, wherein the grill lid is supported between the at least two lid supports and a part of each side table when the grill lid is in the open position.

13. The cart of claim 12, wherein the at least two lid supports are attached to the grill bowl.

14. The cart of claim 1, further comprising: a second union member;a second upper frame and a second lower frame rigidly connected together by the second union member, the connected upper frame and lower frame forming the second frame assembly;a second union member, wherein each union member comprises two substantially similar halves capable of being joined together to connect the associated upper frame and lower frame, and wherein each union member comprises at least two protrusions, each protrusion engaging with an associated depression in the upper frame and the lower frame;wherein each upper frame comprises a tube that is substantially “U” shaped, and wherein the union members are attached to the upper frames at a point substantially equidistant from the ends of the “U” shaped tubes;at least two substantially rigid side tables connected to the upper frames of the first frame assembly and the second frame assembly, the at least two substantially rigid side tables comprising the at least one cross-member, the at least two substantially rigid side tables further comprising structural components of the cart;at least two lid supports positioned between the at least two side tables and a grill bowl to support a grill lid in an open position, wherein the grill lid is supported between the at least two lid supports and a part of each side table when the grill lid is in the open position.

15. The cart of claim 1, wherein the union member includes two substantially U-shaped channels for securing the upper frame and lower frame, the U-shaped channels providing resistance to movement of the upper frame and the lower frame.

16. The cart of claim 15, wherein the union member resists rotation of the upper frame and the lower frame about at least two points of each frame.

17. A cart comprising: a first union member;an upper frame and a lower frame rigidly connected together by the first union member, the connected upper frame and lower frame forming a first frame assembly;at least one cross-member extending between the first frame assembly and a second frame assembly;a second union member;a second upper frame and a second lower frame rigidly connected together by the second union member, the connected upper frame and lower frame forming the second frame assembly;wherein the first and the second union members comprise two halves capable of being joined together to connect the associated upper frame and lower frame, and wherein each union member comprises at least two protrusions, each protrusion engaging with an associated depression in the upper frame and the lower frame, and wherein each union member resists rotation of its associated upper frame and the lower frame about at least two points;wherein each upper frame comprises a tube that is substantially “U” shaped, and wherein the union members are attached to the upper frames at a point substantially equidistant from the ends of the “U” shaped tubes;at least two substantially rigid side tables connected to the upper frames of the first frame assembly and the second frame assembly, the at least two substantially rigid side tables comprising the at least one cross-member, the at least two substantially rigid side tables further comprising structural components of the cart;at least two lid supports rigidly attached to a grill bowl and positioned between the at least two side tables and the grill bowl to support a grill lid in an open position, wherein the grill lid is supported between the at least two lid supports and a part of each side table when the grill lid is in the open position.

18. A union member comprising: a first piece having a first curved, internal channel for receiving a first frame member and having a second curved, internal channel for receiving a second frame member;a second piece having a third curved, internal channel for receiving the first frame member and having a fourth curved, internal channel for receiving the second frame member;the first and second pieces being connectable together and capable of holding, when connected, the first frame member and the second frame member in fixed position relative to each other and relative to the union member.

19. The union member of claim 18, wherein the first piece includes at least one protrusion capable of engaging at least one depression in the first or second frame member.

20. The union member of claim 18, wherein the first piece includes at least a first protrusion and a second protrusion, the first protrusion capable of engaging a depression in the first frame member and the second protrusion capable of engaging a depression in the second frame member.

21. The union member of claim 20 wherein the first protrusion is a different size than the second protrusion.

22. The union member of claim 21 wherein the first and second piece are connectable together with threaded fasteners.

23. The union member of claim 18, wherein the first piece and the second piece are substantially similar halves.

24. A union member comprising: a first piece having a first curved, internal channel for receiving a first frame member and having a second curved, internal channel for receiving a second frame member, the first piece including at least a first protrusion and a second protrusion, the first protrusion capable of engaging a depression in the first frame member and the second protrusion capable of engaging a depression in the second frame member, the first protrusion and the second protrusion being of different sizes;a second piece, substantially similar in overall shape to the first piece and having a third curved, internal channel for receiving the first frame member and having a fourth curved, internal channel for receiving the second frame member;the first and second pieces being connectable together with threaded fasteners and being capable of holding, when connected, the first frame member and the second frame member in fixed position relative to each other and relative to the connected union member.

25. A union member comprising: a first curved, internal channel for receiving a first frame member;a second curved, internal channel for receiving a second frame member;a first threaded fastener element for securing the first frame member to the union member; anda second threaded fastener element for securing the second frame member to the union member.

26. The union member of claim 25, further comprising at least a first protrusion capable of engaging at least one depression in the first or second frame member.

27. The union member of claim 26 wherein the first protrusion further comprises the first threaded fastener element.

28. The union member of claim 27 wherein the first threaded fastener element comprises an internally-threaded hole.

29. The union member of claim 27 wherein the first threaded fastener element comprises an externally-threaded element.

30. The union member of claim 26, further comprising at least a second protrusion capable of engaging at least one depression in the first or second frame member.

31. The union member of claim 30, wherein the first threaded fastener element and the second threaded fastener element each comprise an internally-threaded hole.