Abstract:
A smoker attachment for heating and burning smoking particles for a gas grill includes a housing and end caps. The housing is an elongate hollow member with a triangular cross-section. The housing has open ends and a slot just below the apex. A cavity of the housing holds the smoking particles. End caps cover the open ends. For flavoring food on a gas grill, the smoker assembly, filled with smoking particles, is used in place of one sear bar located directly above one of the gas burner tubes. Heat released from the gas burner tube directly below the base of the smoker attachment causes the smoking particles to ignite and smolder. This smoke flows through the slot in the housing and fills the grill area. During this process, the food being cooked on the grill is flavored by the smoke.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/800,711, filed May 16, 2006, the contents of which are hereby incorporated herein in their entirety. 
     
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to outdoor cooking devices and, more particularly, to a smoker accessory for portable gas grills. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Portable gas grills have become increasingly popular in recent years because of the interest in outdoor cooking. Along with the popularity of outdoor grilling it has also become popular to add additional flavor to food cooked on these grills by using various devices to burn smoking particles (e.g., wood chips that have been soaked in water). As the smoking particles are burned, they produce smoke which fills the grill chamber and penetrates the food, giving it additional flavor. There are several different devices that are used for the smoking process, such as, for example, a smoker attachment disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,028 that may be placed on top of the lava rocks or sear bars in existing grills or apparatuses that are built into a grill, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,183, exclusively for the purpose of smoking food. 
         [0004]    While these devices have received much consumer interest, they do not always produce the desired result in effectively providing the smoke required to flavor the food. This is primarily due to the amount of heat that is needed to ignite the smoking particles. Since these devices are not in direct contact with the heat source of the grill, the gas burners must be set at a high temperature in order to create the heat necessary to cause the smoking particles to ignite and begin to smolder. This can lead to cooking conditions that do not provide the intended smoke flavoring. 
         [0005]    Some examples of what happens when using devices that are not in direct contact with the heat source are: 1) it takes a long time for the smoking particles to get hot enough to smolder which wastes fuel and adds extra time to the grilling process; 2) users begin to cook before the smoking particles begin to smolder—they either do not smolder or smolder too late in the cooking process causing little or no flavoring of the food; or 3) the food cooks too quickly due to the high level of heat needed for the smoking particles to ignite while not leaving enough time to absorb the smoke flavoring. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    The present invention is directed toward a device that is placed in direct contact with the heat source of the gas grill. This allows for the consistent control of the heat required to cause the smoking particles to ignite and provide a steady source of smoke to effectively flavor food. 
         [0007]    More specifically, the smoker attachment may be inserted inside the gas grill in place of one or more of the sear bars (e.g., inverted “V”-shaped sear bars) that are located between the gas burners in the lower section and the cooking grid. The smoker attachment may be supported by the existing sear bar supports. Since the device is in direct contact with the heat source, users can effectively control the amount of heat required to cause the smoking particles to ignite and create the smoke required to flavor the food. Once the smoking particles begin to produce smoke, the heat can be reduced to the lowest temperature setting to allow for the food to slowly cook while absorbing the smoke flavoring. Most grills have 2 or 3 separate burners with separate temperature controls and the smoker attachment only requires the use of one burner—this allows for foods to be smoked at low temperatures. 
         [0008]    If extended smoking time is required, additional smoker attachments can be used. In this embodiment, the additional attachment may be placed above any of the other burners and the burner may be ignited after the initial smoker attachment stopped producing smoke. 
         [0009]    One embodiment of the smoker attachment includes an elongate cylindrically-shaped hollow member with a cross-section that is triangular in shape, and may include at least one opening just below the apex of the triangle (e.g., a slot that runs the length of the hollow member) to allow smoke to flow through the length of the attachment. 
         [0010]    In another embodiment, the smoker attachment has removable end-caps which prevent smoke from escaping from the end of the unit during the smoking process and allow for easy access to replenish the attachment with new smoking particles prior to use and/or to remove used smoking particles and/or ashes if desired after use. The end caps may be permanently attached to the smoker attachment (e.g., by crimping) and the smoker attachment may be sold and used as a disposable item. Thus, the smoker attachment could be sold pre-filled with smoking particles, and once the smoking particles have been exhausted, the smoker attachment may be discarded or recycled. 
         [0011]    In a other alternative embodiment, the smoker attachment may comprise a two-piece smoker attachment such that the length of the smoker attachment may advantageously be adjusted to fit different grills. For example, the two-piece smoker attachment may include a main body and an adjustable body. The main body may include inner dimensions sized and configured to receive the adjustable body in sliding relationship. So configured, the adjustable body may be slid into or out of the main body to adjust the overall length of the smoker attachment. In one embodiment, the main body and the adjustment body each have one end permanently sealed with a respective end cap. The end caps may be formed integral with the remainder of the bodies or may be formed separately from the bodies and subsequently fixed thereto via welding or some other means. 
         [0012]    A smoker attachment in accordance with one or more of the embodiments, as described above, may be used to make portable gas grills more versatile to potential customers. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is a partial perspective view of a gas grill with one of a plurality of sear bars removed to show a gas burner tube that may be disposed directly below a smoker attachment constructed in accordance with the present invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  illustrates one embodiment of a smoker attachment in accordance with the present invention positioned within the gas grill and directly above the gas burner tube illustrated in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the smoker attachment of  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  is an end view of the smoker attachment of  FIGS. 2 and 3 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  is an end perspective view of the smoker attachment of  FIGS. 2 and 3  showing end caps in place; 
           [0018]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of one embodiment of an end cap for a smoker attachment constructed in accordance with the present invention; 
           [0019]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of an end cap for a smoker attachment constructed in accordance with the present invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of an alternative smoker attachment constructed in accordance with the present invention; and 
           [0021]      FIG. 9  is a partially exploded side perspective view of the smoker attachment of  FIG. 8 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0022]    While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail, one preferred embodiment of the invention, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention, and is not intended to limit the broad aspect of the invention to the embodiments illustrated. 
         [0023]    According to one aspect of the present invention, a smoker attachment  10  is provided for heating and burning smoking particles for a portable gas grill  100 . For example, one conventional gas grill  100 , which is depicted in  FIGS. 1 and 2  includes a bottom chamber  102 , a plurality of gas burner tubes  104  (only one of which is exposed in  FIG. 1 ), a plurality of inverted V-shaped sear bars  106 , and a grilling surface  108  such as a standard grill grate, for example. During normal operation, the plurality of sear bars  106  are disposed above respective gas burner tubes  104 . As depicted in  FIG. 1 , a portion of the grilling surface  108  is removed to show four of five sear bars  106  installed within the grill  100  and one exposed gas burner tube  104 . The first sear bar  106   a  at the front of the grill has been removed to expose the one gas burner tube  104  illustrated, such that a smoker attachment  10  constructed in accordance with the present invention may be installed within the gas grill  100 . In one embodiment, when installed within the grill  100 , each of the sear bars  106  are removably supported by a support structure such as a ledge  105  (shown in  FIG. 1  only) integrally formed on opposing inner sidewalls of the bottom chamber  102 . In one embodiment, the ledge  105  includes vertical or angled slots  107  for receiving the downward extending members of the inverted V-shaped sear bars  106 , as illustrated. 
         [0024]      FIG. 2  depicts a smoker attachment  10  that has been positioned to replace the sear bar  106   a  in accordance with the present invention. In the disclosed embodiment, the ends of the smoker attachment  10  are supported by the ledges  105  (shown only in  FIG. 1 ) formed on the inner sidewalls of the bottom chamber  102  of the grill  100 . However, it should be appreciated that in alternative embodiments, the smoker attachment  10  may be supported within the grill  100  by any support structure in any manner such that the smoker attachment  10  may be adapted to be supported in generally any similar grill. The grill supporting the smoker attachment  10  does not need to utilize ledges, but rather, the support structure may include brackets, fasteners, or any other device for supporting the sear bars  106  and/or smoker attachment  10 . With the smoker attachment  10  positioned to replace the sear bar  106   a , the smoker attachment  10  is located directly above the gas burner tube  104  (shown in  FIG. 1 ), and therefore, in direct communication with any flame or other heat source provided therefrom. This ensures that the smoker attachment  10  is adequately heated to provide a desired smoking function, as will be discussed further below. It should also be appreciated that any of the sear bars  106  may be replaced by the smoker attachment  10  of the present invention. So configured, the smoker attachment  10  may be positioned directly above any of the gas burner tubes  104  to allow the flavoring of food which is cooked using the grilling surface  108  with a grill lid (not shown) of the gas grill  100  in a closed position. 
         [0025]    While a gas barbecue grill  100  employing burner tubes  104  and inverted V-shaped sear bars  106  is described herein in conjunction with the smoker attachment  10 , the present invention may be utilized with any type of barbecue grill having a bottom chamber  102  with an open top, a bottom, a heat source located in the bottom or cooking chamber and a conductive member such as the sear bars  106 , for example, positioned between the heat source and the top of the bottom chamber. 
         [0026]    With reference generally to  FIGS. 3-5 , the smoker attachment  10  of the present embodiment comprises an elongated hollow main body or housing  12  and two end caps  14 . The housing  12  defines an elongated cavity and the end caps  14 , as shown in  FIG. 5 , enclose the ends of the main housing  12 . The end caps  14  may be constructed in generally any manner separate from the main housing  12  and subsequently attached thereto by interference fit, welding, or any other means. For example, one end cap  14  may be permanently affixed to one end of the main housing  12 , while the other may be removably attached to the other end of the main housing  12 . So configured, the removably attached end cap  14  may be removed to allow a user to fill the cavity of the main body or housing  12  with smoking particles such as wood chips. Then, the end cap  14  may be positioned back onto the main housing  12  for use with the grill  100 . 
         [0027]      FIGS. 6 and 7  depict two alternative embodiments of end caps  14 . For example, in  FIG. 6 , one embodiment of the end cap  14  comprises a generally triangular shaped end plate  30  and a plurality of flange plates  32 . The end plate  30  includes corners  30   a - 30   c  adapted to be positioned inside the ends of the main housing  12 . The flange plates  32  are adapted to be disposed outside of the end of the main housing  12 . However, in an alternative embodiment, the flange plates  32  may be adapted to be disposed inside the end of the main housing  12 .  FIG. 7  depicts another embodiment of an end cap  14 , which comprises an end plate  34  and a plurality of flanges  36 . The end cap  14  depicted in  FIG. 7  is sized and configured to receive an end of the main housing  12  to close the end. Either or both embodiments of the end cap  14  may be permanently fixed to the main housing  12  via welding or some other means. Alternatively, either or both of the disclosed end caps  14  may be removably attached to the main housing  12  via frictional interference fit, for example. In another embodiment, the main housing  12  may include at least one end cap  14  integrally formed therewith. So configured, the integral end cap may be bent into position adjacent the end of the main housing  12  and subsequently welded or otherwise supplementally secured to the perimeter of the end of the main housing  12 . 
         [0028]    With reference back to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the main housing  12  of the disclosed embodiment is constructed of one-piece of material and has a cross-section that is generally triangular in shape. The housing  12  includes an apex  18  and defines a slot  16  (shown in  FIG. 4 ) generally adjacent to the apex  18 . More specifically, the main housing  12  of the embodiment of the smoker attachment  10  depicted in  FIGS. 3-5  comprises a base plate portion  20 , two side wall portions  22  and  24 , and an overhang portion  26 . 
         [0029]    As depicted, the base plate portion  20 , sidewall portions  22 ,  24 , and overhang portion  26  are arranged such that the cross-section of the smoker attachment  10  of the disclosed embodiment includes a generally equilateral triangle. However, alternative embodiments may include cross-sections that are non-equilateral triangles. Additionally, the sidewall portion  22  depicted in  FIG. 4  is shorter than the sidewall portion  24 . The overhang portion  26  is connected to the sidewall portion  24  at the apex  18  of the smoker attachment  10  and extends generally parallel to the sidewall portion  22 . So configured, the overhang portion  26  and the sidewall portion  22  define the slot  16  as a covered slot, in that the overhang portion  26  covers the slot  16  to prevent grease or other materials generated from cooking food during the cooking process from falling into the smoker attachment  10 . It should be appreciated that this configuration is merely one embodiment of the smoker attachment  10  and the present invention is not to be limited to this specific example. 
         [0030]    Each component making up the smoker attachment  10  may be manufactured of porcelain-enamel coated steel. However, any other materials, including stainless steel and aluminum may be utilized. Moreover, the main housing  12  may be constructed of separate components welded together, or may be formed from a single piece of material, as mentioned above. Such unitary construction may advantageously eliminate welded joints and allow for the even flow of heat throughout the smoker attachment  10 . Additionally, the end caps  14  of one embodiment may also be formed of the same piece of material as the main housing  12 . The slot  16  at or near the apex  18  of the main housing  12  provides for the flow of smoke across the length of the smoker attachment  10  while the end caps  14  prevent smoke from escaping through the two ends and allow for easy access to fill the main housing  12  with smoking particles such as wood-chips, for example, and to remove the used particles and/or ashes. Additional slots, holes, and/or any other suitable openings may be provided in the main housing  12  instead of, or in addition to, the slot  16 , for example. Additionally, an alternative embodiment of the smoker attachment  10  may have generally any cross-sectional geometry. For example, one alternative embodiment may include a circular cross-section, a square cross-section, a rectangular cross-section, or any other cross-section capable of serving the principles of the present invention. Further still, while the main housing  12  of the smoker attachment  10  has thus far been disclosed as being constructed of one-piece, alternative embodiments may be constructed of multiple pieces. For example, in one alternative embodiment, the overhang portion  26 , for example, or some other lid, may be hinged to the remainder of the main housing  12  such that the smoker attachment  10  may be filled with smoking particles from the top. 
         [0031]    The smoker attachment  10  may be seated parallel and directly above the gas burner tube  104 , as depicted in  FIG. 2 . So positioned, a direct source of heat may be provided to the smoker attachment  10  to initially ignite the smoking particles. Moreover, this configuration allows for a consistent and direct source of heat to ensure continuous smoldering of the smoking particles while keeping the overall temperature of the grilling surface  108  low to allow foods to be cooked at a slower pace so that they can absorb the smoke flavoring. 
         [0032]    The smoker attachment  10  provides many advantages. For example, it can be manufactured to adapt to gas grills that are constructed with a sear bar or sear plate mechanism that separates the gas burner tubes (heat source) from the grilling surface, as described above. Specifically, the smoker attachment  10  may be configured as a device that replaces an existing sear bar or sear plate (as a standalone unit), as described hereinabove. Alternatively, it may be configured as a device that can be attached to the existing sear bar or sear plate. For example, an alternative device could be used as an adapter to the grill&#39;s existing sear bar or sear plate to transform it into a smoker. The smoker attachment  10  may be configured to fit into current grill configurations, and may be configured to be positioned directly over the gas burners  104  so as to quickly ignite the smoking particles. The smoker attachment  10  allows for direct control of the heat source (gas burner tubes) required to ignite and sustain the smoking particles. The smoker attachment  10  may also be configured so that it provides for full enclosure of smoking particles (triangular, rectangular, etc.), with the slot  16 , holes and/or vents on the top and/or in sidewalls to allow for the flow of smoke flavoring, and the smoker attachment  10  may be positioned directly above the heat source and directly below the grilling surface  108 . 
         [0033]    The embodiment of the smoker attachment  10  described thus far may be used as a single attachment or as multiple attachments depending on the length of desired cooking/smoking time and the number of gas burner tubes  104  in the grill  100 , e.g. a separate smoker attachment  10  can be placed above each gas burner tube  104  and started (ignited) as needed. For example, one smoker attachment  10  may provide smoke for approximately 45 minutes. If additional smoking time is required, a second smoker attachment  10  could be placed above a different gas burner tube  104 . After the first smoker attachment  10  stops producing smoke, the gas burner tube  104  under the second attachment  10  could be ignited and smoke from this attachment would be produced for another 45 minutes, for example. This configuration using two smoker attachments  10  would provide a total smoking time of 90 minutes, in this example. The configuration described above can be implemented for each gas burner tube  104  within the grill  100 . 
         [0034]    While the smoker attachment  10  described above is of a generally fixed length, an alternative embodiment of the present invention may include an adjustable-length smoker attachment. For example,  FIGS. 8 and 9  depict an alternative smoker attachment  200  constructed in accordance with the principles of the preset invention. The smoker attachment  200  is a two-piece smoker attachment  200  having a main body  202  and an adjustment body  204 . The main body  202  and adjustment body  204  each include an open end  202   a ,  204   b , respectively, and a closed end  202   b ,  204   a . The closed ends  202   b ,  204   a  include end caps  14 , which may include end caps  14  similar to those described above with reference to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , or may include an end cap formed integral with the bodies  202 ,  204 , as described above. 
         [0035]    Additionally, the main body  202  and the adjustment body  204  have cross sectional geometries substantially similar to the cross-sectional geometry of the smoker attachment  10  described above with reference to  FIGS. 1-5 , and therefore the details will not be repeated. 
         [0036]    One distinction between the main body  202  and the adjustment body  204 , however, includes the cross-sectional dimensions of each. The main body  202  is sized and configured to slidably receive the adjustment body  204 , as depicted in  FIG. 8 . So configured, the adjustment body  204  may be positioned relative to the main body  202  to advantageously allow a user to change the overall length of the smoker attachment  200  to function with different sized grills  100 , for example. In one embodiment, the adjustment body  204  may include graduated markings pressed into or formed on a side thereof, thereby indicating to the user the total length of the overall smoker attachment  200 . In another embodiment, the graduated markings may indicate a specific model of a grill that the specifically sized attachment  200  may be adapted to, for example. In still another embodiment, the adjustment body  204  may include projections raised from the sidewalls thereof and the main body  202  may include a plurality of corresponding dimples or holes for receiving the projections in a plurality of positions. So configured, the raised projections would removably snap into the dimples or holes. Each set of dimples or holes would provide for a different length smoker attachment  200  adapted for use with a different model, or size grill, for example. 
         [0037]    Although certain embodiments of smoker attachments  10 ,  200  have been described herein in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure, the scope of coverage of this patent is not intended to be limited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all embodiments of the teachings of the disclosure that fairly fall within the scope of permissible equivalents.