Abstract:
A universal condiment rack having a mounting bracket for adjustably securing the rack to cooking grills of many configurations is provided. The mounting bracket pivots to accommodate grills of a variety of dimensional characteristics and has an adjustable protrusion for leveling the rack on grills having different vertical tapers.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0001]     The present disclosure is generally related to cooking grills and, more particularly, is related to an apparatus and method for providing a universal condiment rack for a cooking grill.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     Outdoor cooking is commonly performed on cooking grills, which use charcoal briquets or propane or natural gas fueled burners for generating cooking heat. Cooking grills of these types commonly feature a lower housing, for containing the heat source and supporting a cooking rack or grill above the heat source. In general, the geometry of the lower housing tapers inwardly from top to bottom, such that the top opening has greater area than the cross-sectional area at the bottom of the lower housing. Although the geometries and dimensions of lower housings vary widely among different grill brands and models, they commonly are configured in either generally rectangular or circular shapes with varying degrees of taper.  
         [0003]     One prevalent aspect of all cooking is the use of condiments to enhance and supplement the flavor of cooked foods. Unlike a kitchen, the outdoor cooking environment commonly lacks surrounding countertop space and thus does not typically provide sufficient space for storing condiments while cooking. Although some grills are provided with racks, shelves or trays, these devices are usually produced to specifically complement particular grill shapes and dimensions and thus are not compatible for many other grills.  
         [0004]     For example, a condiment rack specifically designed for a generally rectangular grill with a generally linear grill housing top edge and a very slight taper will not be properly fitted to a circular grill having a more pronounced taper. In addition to the angles at which the rack would engage the circular grill being different from those for the rectangular grill, the difference in taper would likely result in non-horizontal rack orientation.  
         [0005]     Thus, a heretofore-unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0006]     The present disclosure includes embodiments of an apparatus for providing a universal condiment rack on a cooking grill, comprising: a plurality of substantially parallel longitudinal members, configured to define a rack for supporting condiments, for attaching to a grill; a plurality of supports attached to the plurality of longitudinal members; and a plurality of universal rack mounts, each pivotally attached to the plurality supports, for mounting the rack to a grill, wherein the universal rack mount pivots for attaching to arcuate or linear cooking grill housings.  
         [0007]     An embodiment of the present disclosure can also be viewed as providing a method of attaching a universal condiment rack to a grill, comprising: pivoting a condiment rack mount to correspond with an angle of a top edge of a grill housing; 
        engaging an opening in the condiment rack mount with the top edge of the grill housing;     securing the condiment rack mount to the grill housing with a fastener, wherein the fastener engages the condiment rack mount; and adjusting the condiment rack mount with a leveling protrusion, wherein the adjusting permits a substantially horizontal rack position independent of the grill type.        
 
         [0010]     Another embodiment of the present disclosure can be viewed as a system for providing a universal condiment rack for a grill, comprising: a pivoting means for adjusting a mounting device; a supporting means for attaching a rack to the mounting device; and a fastening means for securing the mounting device to a grill.  
         [0011]     Yet another embodiment of the present disclosure can be viewed as a grill, comprising: a cooking grill housing; a rack surface for supporting condiments; a support, attached to the rack surface; and a pivotally-adjustable mount, for attaching the support to the cooking grill housing.  
         [0012]     Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the present disclosure, and be protected by the accompanying claims. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]     Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views:  
         [0014]      FIG. 1  illustrates a partial perspective view of a grill with an embodiment of a universal condiment rack attached to a linear front edge;  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  illustrates a partial perspective view of a grill with an embodiment of a universal condiment rack attached to an arcuate front edge;  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  is a partial side elevational, cross-sectional view of the embodiment of  FIG. 2 , taken along line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 2 ; and  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  is a partial perspective detail view of an embodiment of one end of a universal condiment rack. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0018]     Reference is now made in detail to the description of the embodiments as illustrated in the drawings. While several embodiments are described in connection with these drawings, there is no intent to limit the invention to the embodiment or embodiments disclosed herein. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents.  
         [0019]     Reference is made to  FIG. 1 , which illustrates a partial perspective view of a generally rectangular grill  100  with an embodiment of a universal condiment rack  110 . The grill  100  comprises an upper housing member  101  and a lower housing member  102 , which also serves as a grill cover. The lower housing member  102  generally contains a heat source (not shown) disposed beneath a cooking grate or structure (not shown). The upper grill housing  101  may be pivotally attached to the lower housing member  102  along, for example, the rear edges (not shown) of the upper and lower housings  101 ,  102 . The grill  100  features a generally linear grill housing top edge  106 . The universal condiment rack  110  is attached to the grill housing top edge  106  with universal mounting brackets  120 .  
         [0020]     Reference is now made to now to  FIG. 2 , which illustrates a perspective view of a circular grill  200  with an embodiment of a universal condiment rack  110 . The grill  200  comprises an upper housing member  201  and a lower housing member  202 , which also serves as a grill cover. The lower housing member  202  generally contains a heat source (not shown) disposed beneath a cooking grate or structure (not shown). The upper grill housing  201  may be pivotally attached to the lower housing member  202 . The grill  200  features an arcuate grill housing top edge  206 . The universal condiment rack  110  is attached to the arcuate grill housing top edge  206  with universal mounting brackets  120 . As shown in both  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an embodiment of the universal condiment rack  110  has a generally arcuate profile configured to engage a linear grill housing  102  in an arc/chord manner or for receiving an arcuate grill housing  202  in a complementary manner. The universal condiment rack  110  accommodates the differences in the grill housings of  FIGS. 1 and 2  by utilizing universal mounting brackets  120 , which pivot at each end of a generally arc shaped condiment rack  110 . The pivoting function of the universal mounting brackets  120  permits the brackets to receive grill housings at varying angles relative to the condiment rack  110 , corresponding, respectively, to linear and arcuate front edges  106  and  206 .  
         [0021]     Reference is now made to  FIG. 3 , which is a partial side-elevational cross-sectional view of the embodiment of  FIG. 2 . The universal condiment rack  110  of  FIG. 3  is illustrated as attached to a cooking grill  200  having an arcuate grill housing top edge  206 . The universal mounting bracket  120  of this embodiment is, for example, fabricated by forming a short piece of flat metal into a relatively J-shaped profile, wherein the J-shaped profile has a base  122 , a short leg  126  and a long leg  124 . The gap between the long leg  124  and the short leg  126  forms an opening  136  for receiving a grill housing top edge  106 ,  206  when the universal mounting bracket  120  is in an inverted-J position. The short leg  126  includes a hole  128  for receiving a threaded fastener  130 . The threaded fastener  130  is tightened to securely attach the universal condiment rack  110  to the cooking grill  200 . The long leg  124  of the universal mounting bracket  120  includes a distal end  125 . Adjustably attached near the distal end  125 , is a protrusion  132  for engaging the outside surface  104  of the grill housing. The protrusion  132  is adjustable to provide a leveling mechanism or means for the universal condiment rack  110 , such that the rack  110  may be installed on a variety of grill shapes and sizes. For example, a rack mounted to a slightly tapered grill housing will require a shorter protrusion adjustment than a rack mounted to a grill housing having a more pronounced vertical taper.  
         [0022]     A rack support  150  is pivotally attached to the universal mounting bracket  120  and fixably attached to components which define the condiment supporting surface  160 . The rack support  150  and condiment supporting surface  160  of this embodiment are formed longitudinal wire components, but one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that both or either of these components could be fabricated using alternative materials and methods. For example, either or both of the rack support  150  and the condiment supporting surface  160  could be fabricated from a planar material, such as sheet metal. In another alternative embodiment, the rack support  150  and the condiment supporting surface  160  could be integrated into a single component fabricated from a planar material such as, for example, sheet metal, heat-resistant plastics, etc. The condiment supporting surface  160  is further configured to receive hooks  180  for hanging grill related tools or accessories.  
         [0023]     Reference is now made to  FIG. 4 , which is a partial perspective view of a detail of an embodiment of a universal mounting bracket  120  and support  150 . The universal mounting bracket  120  features a deformation  134  in the long leg  124  defining a passage for pivotally receiving the rack support  150 . This embodiment features a rack support  150  at each end of the universal condiment rack  110 , but one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that more than two rack supports may be used within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. The rack support  150  is attached to, for example, a plurality of parallel longitudinal members  160 , which are planarly arranged to support condiments. By way of example, the longitudinal members  160  defining the rack of this embodiment are metal rods formed into a generally arcuate shape. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that an alternative embodiment could feature a single planar member or a plurality of longitudinal members of other geometries. The universal rack mount  120 , pivots through a range  170  to accommodate grill housing top edge configurations of many shapes and dimensions.  
         [0024]     It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure, particularly, any “preferred” embodiments, are merely possible examples of implementations, merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) of the disclosure without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and the present disclosure and protected by the following claims.