Ceramic bushing

#The inventions described and claimed herein relate generally to isolating heat on a barbecue grill assembly. In particular, the inventions relate to the use of heat resistant bushings to isolate heat sensitive parts of a grill assembly. The present inventions are described herein in the context of their use with a small portable gas grill, although the claims are not limited as such. The present inventions are equally useful with larger barbecue grills, either gas or charcoal fired.

#In recent years, portable barbecue grills have become very popular. Smaller type portable grills, such as the Weber® Baby Q™, have become especially popular due to their small size and light weight. Consumers find it very convenient to use such grills at home and on the road, such as at picnics. Despite the benefits of these small, lightweight grills, manufacturers are generally limited in the type of materials that can be used for the grill. Plastics and the like are generally avoided, at least in locations remote to the cooking chamber, due to the potential for the material to degrade or melt. Consequently, small portable grills are generally constructed of heavy and expensive materials having a high melting temperature. The materials often used include metals such as iron, steel, and aluminum. Not only are such materials expensive, it is also expensive to form and/or machine such materials. The cost of forming the parts of portable grills can be significant given that consumer demand is greatest for grill designs that are complex, functional, and aesthetically pleasing.

#It has been found that complex, functional, and aesthetically pleasing components are less expensive when formed from materials such as plastic. For reasons of consumer safety and structural integrity, the inventions described and claimed herein permit the use of such materials by isolating the heat sensitive components from the cooking chamber with a heat resistant bushing. Consumer safety is improved by isolating components adjacent to the cooking chamber from heat by reducing the risk of a consumer inadvertently burning themselves. In addition, structural integrity is improved by reducing the operating temperature of the heat sensitive components preventing melting and/or accelerated degradation of the material.

#These and other features, aspects, objects, and advantages of the inventions described and claimed herein will become better understood upon consideration of the following detailed description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

#FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary barbecue grill comprising preferred embodiments of the present inventions shown in dashed lines;

#FIG. 2 is a close-up, cut-away view of the preferred embodiments of the present inventions in the assembled orientation;

#It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale and that the embodiments are sometimes illustrated by graphic symbols, phantom lines, diagrammatic representations and fragmentary views. In certain instances, details which are not necessary for an understanding of the inventions described and claimed herein or which render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It should be understood, of course, that the inventions described herein are not necessarily limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein.

#Like reference numerals will be used to refer to like or similar parts from Figure to Figure in the following description of the drawings.

#Referring first to FIG. 1, a perspective view of a grill assembly 10 comprising the preferred embodiments of the present inventions is shown. The particular style of barbecue grill depicted in this figure is for example purposes only. It is contemplated that the various embodiments described herein can be used with other types barbecue grills, including non-gas fired grills. The particular grill assembly 10 depicted in this figure is comprised of a cooking chamber 20, a grill stand 40, shelves 34, a bushing 60, a bolt 80, and a locking fastener 90a and/or 90b. Typical grill assemblies 10 also include various other components such as additional shelves, gas tank retainers, and auxiliary burners.