Barbecue grill with radiant fire grate
OwnerJohn Patrick Ryaninventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A barbecue grill includes a fire grate to allow cooking by radiant heat only, having no holes large enough for convection flow. The grate is one piece of heat resistant steel for economy, and to vaporize grease. Peripheral flanges catch grease drips. The flanges direct convection of hot gases along the housing inside surface to vaporize grease. A small hole is for visual confirmation of flame ignition. The grate has ridges and valleys to distribute heat evenly and to radiate heat to the food from several directions. A divider wall separates the grate into two heat zones. Used with one burner of a dual-burner grill, the wall confines the hot gases and radiant energy to half of the grate to conserve fuel.
Claims20
A barbecue grill comprising:
- (a) a housing, the housing having an upright housing periphery wall with an inside surface;
- (b) a burner disposed within the housing;
- (c) a generally horizontal cooking grate disposed within the housing and above the burner;
- and
- (d) a fire grate having a plate interposed between the burner and the cooking grate wherein grease will drip upon the plate and vaporize, the plate having a viewing hole juxtaposed in visual alignment with the burner for visual confirmation of flame ignition, the viewing hole being of a predetermined size so as to preclude convection flow sufficient to cook food, whereby the food will cook by radiant heat only.
A barbecue grill comprising:
- (a) a housing, the housing having an upright housing periphery wall with an inside surface;
- (b) a burner disposed within the housing;
- (c) a generally horizontal cooking grate disposed within the housing and above the burner;
- and
- (d) a fire grate having a plate interposed between the burner and the cooking grate so that grease will drip upon the plate and vaporize, the plate having upper and lower surfaces, the plate having a periphery, the plate periphery and the housing wall inside surface including a vent space therebetween of a predetermined size so as to allow convection flow of hot combustion gases upward along the housing wall inside surface to vaporize grease off the housing wall inside surface, the plate having a plurality of alternating valleys and ridges for radiating heat sideways as well as upward so as to thoroughly cook food, the plate having a viewing hole juxtaposed in visual alignment with the burner for visual confirmation of flame ignition, the viewing hole being of a predetermined size so as to preclude convection flow sufficient to cook food, whereby the food will cook by radiant heat only;
- and
- (e) spacing means for establishing and maintaining the vent space.
A method of confirming flame ignition, vaporizing grease, and conserving fuel in a barbecue grill having a housing, a burner disposed within the housing, and a generally horizontal cooking grate disposed within the housing and above the burner, the housing having an upright housing periphery wall with an inside surface, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) interposing a fire grate plate between the burner and the cooking grate wherein grease from food will drip upon the fire grate;
- (b) heating the plate with the burner, thereby vaporizing the grease from the plate;
- (c) forming a plurality of alternating valleys and ridges in the plate;
- (d) radiating heat sideways as well as upward from the valleys and ridges, thereby cooking the food thoroughly;
- (e) viewing the flame through a viewing hole in the plate to confirm ignition;
- (f) cooking the food by radiant heat only;
- (g) limiting convection flow through the viewing hole in the plate to a flow insufficient to cook the food, whereby the food will be cooked by radiant heat only;
- and
- (h) limiting the viewing hole to a predetermined size small enough to limit convection flow through the plate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.