Adjustable grate assembly for a wood burning grill

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12029348-B2
Application number	US-202017113752-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 7, 2020
Priority date	Dec 7, 2020
Publication date	Jul 9, 2024
Grant date	Jul 9, 2024

Abstract

A wood burning grill includes a cabinet that defines a coal support platform for supporting burning wood during a grilling process. A grate is positioned above the coal support platform and a grate positioning assembly mechanically couples the grate to the cabinet. The grate positioning assembly includes two four-bar linkage systems positioned on opposite sides of the grate for suspending the grate in cantilevered manner from the cabinet. Each four-bar linkage system includes a drive arm that is mechanically coupled to the drive gear and a support arm that maintains the grate in a substantially horizontal orientation while moving between the raised position and the lowered position. A hand wheel is rotatably mounted to the cabinet and is coupled to the drive gear through a rotating shaft and a worm gear such that rotating the hand wheel moves the grate between the raised position and the lowered position.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A wood burning grill defining a vertical direction, a lateral direction, and a transverse direction, the wood burning grill comprising:
a cabinet defining a coal support platform for supporting burning wood during a grilling process;
a grate positioned above the coal support platform along the vertical direction and defining a cooking surface for receiving food items; and
a grate positioning assembly mechanically coupling the grate to the cabinet, the grate positioning assembly comprising:
a linkage arm system mechanically coupling the grate to the cabinet;
a drive gear mechanically coupled to the linkage arm system and being rotatable to move the grate between a raised position and a lowered position; and
a resilient element mechanically coupled to the drive gear and being configured to bias the drive gear toward the raised position.

2. The wood burning grill of claim 1 , wherein the linkage arm system comprises:
a drive arm that is mechanically coupled to the drive gear such that the drive arm rotates with the drive gear; and
a support arm that is rotatably mounted to the cabinet and the grate for maintaining the grate in a substantially horizontal orientation while moving between the raised position and the lowered position.

3. The wood burning grill of claim 2 , wherein the grate, the drive arm, the support arm, and the cabinet define a first four-bar linkage for supporting a first side of the grate, the wood burning grill further comprising:
a second four-bar linkage spaced apart from the first four-bar linkage along the lateral direction for supporting a second side of the grate.

4. The wood burning grill of claim 3 , wherein the grate positioning assembly further comprises:
a drive rod that extends along the lateral direction to rotatably couple the drive arm of the first four-bar linkage and the drive arm of the second four-bar linkage.

5. The wood burning grill of claim 4 , wherein the drive gear is directly coupled to the drive rod and is rotatable about the lateral direction.

6. The wood burning grill of claim 2 , wherein the drive arm and the support arm are both rotatably mounted to the cabinet proximate a rear portion of the cabinet such that the grate is cantilevered over the coal support platform.

7. The wood burning grill of claim 1 , wherein the grate is a first grate and the grate positioning system is a first grate positioning system, the wood burning grill further comprising:
a second grate positioned above the coal support platform along the vertical direction; and
a second grate positioning assembly mechanically coupling the second grate to the cabinet and being configured to move the second grate between a raised position and a lowered position.

8. The wood burning grill of claim 7 , wherein the grate positioning assembly further comprises:
a central support mounted to the cabinet for rotatably supporting a drive arm and a support arm of each of the first grate positioning system and the second grate positioning system.

9. The wood burning grill of claim 1 , wherein the grate positioning assembly further comprises:
a hand wheel that is rotatably mounted to the cabinet;
a rotating shaft that extends between the hand wheel and the drive gear; and
a worm gear that mechanically couples the rotating shaft to the drive gear such that rotating the hand wheel rotates the drive gear to raise and lower the grate.

10. The wood burning grill of claim 9 , wherein the worm gear is configured to be self-locking such that the worm gear and drive gear only rotate when the hand wheel is rotated.

11. The wood burning grill of claim 9 , wherein the cabinet comprises a cover for concealing the grate positioning assembly such that only the hand wheel is exposed.

12. The wood burning grill of claim 1 , wherein the resilient element comprises a mechanical spring that extends between a front portion of the cabinet to a lower side of the drive gear.

13. The wood burning grill of claim 1 , further comprising:
a firebox positioned adjacent the coal support platform, the firebox being configured for receiving wood for burning to form cooking coals.

14. The wood burning grill of claim 13 , wherein the wood fuel comprises wood chunks or wood logs and the cooking coals are embers formed by burning the wood chunks or the wood logs.

15. The wood burning grill of claim 13 , wherein the firebox comprises a support grate defining a trough have a plurality of apertures to permit the cooking coals to fall from the firebox onto the coal support platform.

16. The wood burning grill of claim 1 , wherein a layer of insulative material is positioned on a top of the cabinet to define the coal support platform.

17. The wood burning grill of claim 16 , wherein the layer of insulative material comprises fire brick.

18. A grate positioning assembly for a wood burning grill, the wood burning grill comprising a cabinet defining a coal support platform and a grate positioned above the coal support platform, the grate positioning assembly comprising:
a drive arm that is rotatably coupled to the cabinet and the grate;
a drive gear that is mechanically coupled to the drive arm such that rotating the drive gear rotates the drive arm to move the grate between a raised position and a lowered position;
a support arm that is rotatably mounted to the cabinet and the grate for maintaining the grate in a substantially horizontal orientation while moving between the raised position and the lowered position;
a hand wheel that is rotatably mounted to the cabinet;
a rotating shaft that extends between the hand wheel and the drive gear; and
a worm gear that mechanically couples the rotating shaft to the drive gear such that rotating the hand wheel rotates the drive gear to raise and lower the grate wherein the worm gear is configured to be self-locking such that the worm gear and drive gear only rotate when the hand wheel is rotated.

19. A wood burning grill defining a vertical direction, a lateral direction, and a transverse direction, the wood burning grill comprising:
a cabinet defining a coal support platform for supporting burning wood during a grilling process;
a grate positioned above the coal support platform along the vertical direction and defining a cooking surface for receiving food items;
a firebox positioned adjacent the coal support platform, the firebox being configured for receiving wood for burning to form cooking coals; and
a grate positioning assembly mechanically coupling the grate to the cabinet, the grate positioning assembly comprising:
a linkage arm system mechanically coupling the grate to the cabinet; and
a drive gear mechanically coupled to the linkage arm system and being rotatable to move the grate between a raised position and a lowered position.

20. The wood burning grill of claim 19 , wherein the grate positioning assembly further comprises:
a resilient element mechanically coupled to the drive gear and being configured to bias the drive gear toward the raised position.

Assignees

• Haier Us Appliance Solutions Inc

Inventors

• Garces Tomas
• Ocano Gonzalo Luis
• Carballo Daniel
• Lewis Eric Matthew
• Schiller Andrew
• Fox Steven

Classifications

• F24B13/02

  Arrangement or mountings of fire-grate assemblies; Arrangement or mountings of linings for fire-boxes, e.g. fire-backs · CPC title

• F24B1/26

  Stoves with additional provisions for cooking (stoves with open-fires with additional provisions for cooking F24B1/182) · CPC title

• A47J2037/0795

  Adjustable food supports, e.g. for height adjustment · CPC title

• A47J37/0759

  constructed from refractory blocks · CPC title

• A47J37/0704 Primary

  with horizontal fire box · CPC title