Pellet grills

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11248798-B2
Application number	US-201916677874-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 8, 2019
Priority date	Jan 25, 2019
Publication date	Feb 15, 2022
Grant date	Feb 15, 2022

Abstract

Pellet grills and associated methods of operation are disclosed. An example pellet grill includes a burn pot including an upper end having a first opening, a lower end located opposite the upper end and having a second opening, and a sidewall extending between the upper and lower ends. The example pellet grill further includes a fuel grate positioned within the burn pot between the upper and lower ends. The fuel grate is configured to support pellet fuel within the burn pot. The fuel grate includes a plurality of ash openings dimensioned to enable ash produced from combustion of the pellet fuel to pass downwardly through the fuel grate toward the second opening.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A pellet grill, comprising:
a burn pot including an upper end having a first opening, a lower end located opposite the upper end and having a second opening, and a sidewall extending between the upper and lower ends and having a third opening;
a fuel grate positioned within the burn pot between the upper and lower ends, the fuel grate configured to support pellet fuel within the burn pot, the fuel grate including a plurality of ash openings dimensioned to enable ash produced from combustion of the pellet fuel to pass downwardly through the fuel grate toward the second opening, the fuel grate including an upper surface and a trough extending downwardly from the upper surface, the trough configured to centralize pellet fuel within the burn pot, the trough including a fourth opening aligned with the third opening; and
an ignitor extending through the third opening into the burn pot and through the fourth opening into the trough.

2. The pellet grill of claim 1 , wherein the burn pot further includes a central axis intersecting the first and second openings, the sidewall tapering inwardly toward the central axis as the sidewall extends from the lower end toward the upper end.

3. The pellet grill of claim 1 , wherein the sidewall circumscribes the fuel grate.

4. The pellet grill of claim 1 , wherein the first opening is configured to receive heat produced from the combustion of the pellet fuel, and the second opening is configured to receive the ash produced from the combustion of the pellet fuel.

5. The pellet grill of claim 1 , further comprising an ash slide located below the second opening, the ash slide configured to receive the ash produced from the combustion of the pellet fuel, the ash slide extending rearwardly from and at a downward angle relative to the lower end of the burn pot.

6. The pellet grill of claim 1 , wherein the ignitor is oriented in a first direction and the trough is oriented in a second direction, the second direction being orthogonal to the first direction.

7. The pellet grill of claim 1 , wherein the third and fourth openings are configured to slidingly receive the ignitor.

8. The pellet grill of claim 1 , wherein the fuel grate further includes a plurality of flanges extending downwardly from the upper surface, the flanges configured to support the upper surface of the fuel grate above the lower end of the burn pot.

9. The pellet grill of claim 1 , further comprising a fan, wherein the sidewall further includes a plurality of airflow openings configured to receive an airflow generated by the fan.

10. The pellet grill of claim 9 , further comprising a housing, wherein the burn pot is positioned within the housing, and the fan is coupled to the housing.

11. The pellet grill of claim 10 , wherein the burn pot is located at a first end of the housing, and the fan is located at a second end of the housing opposite the first end of the housing.

12. The pellet grill of claim 11 , further comprising a first air guide extending inwardly from a first sidewall of the housing and a second air guide extending inwardly from a second sidewall of the housing located opposite the first sidewall of the housing, the first and second air guides carried by the housing and positioned between the burn pot and the fan, the first and second air guides configured to centralize the airflow generated by the fan as the airflow moves from the fan toward the burn pot.

13. A pellet grill, comprising:
a burn pot including an upper end having a first opening, a lower end located opposite the upper end and having a second opening, and a sidewall extending between the upper and lower ends and having a third opening;
a fuel grate positioned within the burn pot between the upper and lower ends, the fuel grate configured to support pellet fuel within the burn pot, the fuel grate including an upper surface and a trough extending downwardly from the upper surface, the trough configured to centralize pellet fuel within the burn pot, the trough including a fourth opening aligned with the third opening; and
an ignitor extending through the third opening into the burn pot and through the fourth opening into the trough.

14. The pellet grill of claim 13 , wherein the burn pot further includes a central axis intersecting the first and second openings, the sidewall tapering inwardly toward the central axis as the sidewall extends from the lower end toward the upper end.

15. The pellet grill of claim 13 , wherein the fuel grate further includes a plurality of ash openings dimensioned to enable ash produced from combustion of the pellet fuel to pass downwardly through the fuel grate toward the second opening.

16. The pellet grill of claim 13 , further comprising an ash slide located below the second opening, the ash slide configured to receive ash produced from combustion of the pellet fuel, the ash slide extending rearwardly from and at a downward angle relative to the lower end of the burn pot.

17. The pellet grill of claim 13 , further comprising:
a fan, wherein the sidewall of the burn pot further includes a plurality of airflow openings configured to receive an airflow generated by the fan;
a housing, wherein the burn pot is located within the housing at a first end of the housing, and the fan is coupled to the housing and located at a second end of the housing opposite the first end of the housing; and
a plurality of air guides carried by the housing and positioned between the burn pot and the fan, the plurality of air guides including a first air guide extending inwardly from a first sidewall of the housing and a second air guide extending inwardly from a second sidewall of the housing opposite the first sidewall of the housing, wherein the first and second air guides are configured to centralize the airflow generated by the fan as the airflow moves from the fan toward the burn pot.

18. A pellet grill, comprising:
a burn pot including an upper end having a first opening, a lower end located opposite the upper end and having a second opening, a central axis intersecting the first and second openings, and a sidewall extending between the upper and lower ends, the sidewall tapering inwardly toward the central axis as the sidewall extends from the lower end toward the upper end; and
a fuel grate positioned within the burn pot between the upper and lower ends, the fuel grate configured to support pellet fuel within the burn pot, the fuel grate including an upper surface and a trough extending downwardly from the upper surface, the trough configured to centralize pellet fuel within the burn pot, the sidewall including a third opening, the trough including a fourth opening aligned with the third opening, the third and fourth openings configured to slidingly receive an ignitor of the pellet grill.

19. The pellet grill of claim 18 , wherein the fuel grate further includes a plurality of ash openings dimensioned to enable ash produced from combustion of the pellet fuel to pass downwardly through the fuel grate toward the second opening.

20. The pellet grill of claim 18 , further comprising an ash slide located below the second opening, the ash slide configured to receive ash produced from combustion of the pellet fuel, the ash slide extending rearwardly from and at a downward angle relative to the lower end of the burn pot.

21. The pellet grill of claim 18 , further comprising:
a fan, wherein the sidewall of the burn pot further includes a plurality of airflow openings configured to receive an airflow gen

Assignees

• Weber Stephen Products Llc

Inventors

• Donnelly Brian C
• Lundberg Ryan P
• Larson David A

Classifications

• F24B15/005

  Igniting devices; Fire-igniting fans · CPC title

• F23G2209/261

  Woodwaste · CPC title

• G05B23/0262

  Confirmation of fault detection, e.g. extra checks to confirm that a failure has indeed occurred · CPC title

• G05B23/027

  Alarm generation, e.g. communication protocol; Forms of alarm · CPC title

• H04L67/125

  involving control of end-device applications over a network · CPC title